16 Decks Were Given to the Race of Men 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

This deck summarizes the second iteration of our project regarding a single build for your entire collection. The first iteration can be found here 13 Decks Were Given to the Race of Men. We do consider this version a major upgrade however.

The project consists out of a set of 16 multiplayer decks, built out of one collection which includes one (traditional) Core Set, every official adventure pack, as well as every Saga and Deluxe expansion. It is a collaborated effort of Jban and Mormegil.

For those not interested in the details: All associated decks have been linked under "5. The Decks". Any additional information can be found under "4. Syntax".

1. The Second Iteration

The aim of the second iteration was initially to just improve the 13 decks that were initially build. After playing many games with all the decks, we found that some of the cards were underperforming and had to be changed. We went over the needs of each deck and started to look for ways to improve the decks while maintaining the rules that we initially set.

The decks had to be diverse, interesting, playable by both beginners and well-seasoned veterans and most importantly you should be able to sleeve them simultaneously such that they can be used together when you play with your physical cards without having any conflicts.

2. The Changes

Most of the initial changes came down to consistency. Some of the decks were rather dependent on finding a specific set of cards. So if those cards weren't available on your opening hand, you had to prepare for a tough game or exceptional good draws.

In case the Outlands deck missed out on the Ethir Swordsman, it was rather difficult for the deck to get to any meaningful willpower. We addressed this by adding several decent willpower options such as Halfast Gamgee, Rosie Cotton, Merry, Faramir and the Steward of Orthanc. These allies make the deck less dependent on finding those Ethir Swordsman and thus allows you to build willpower in those cases where the Ethir Swordsman is not showing up early on.

The Haldir of Lórien-Legolas deck was completely focused on getting the heroes set-up and then killing through these heroes. In case you start the game without any weapons, it was difficult for this deck to pull its weight. You are not adding to the willpower and most likely you will only be able to kill 1 enemy, which is just not enough for a deck that refrains from questing. To overcome this we added more allies in the combat department with Déorwine, Derndingle Warrior, Galadhon Archer, Marksman of Lórien.

On top of these 2 decks where we tried to shift the focus a bit, we also changed the focus severely for the Vilya deck and the Bond of Friendship decks. Not because we felt these decks didn't perform to our standards, but mainly because these archetypes are so flexible in terms of what they can run. So when modifying one of the other decks, these 2 also changed most of the times.

If you have already physically constructed the 13 decks, click here for a quick rundown of what you need to change to have the upgraded version ready.

3. More Decks

After finishing the first iteration of this project, we were of the believe that we used all good drawing effects available and that no extra decks could be constructed without a massive drop-off, since there were no good drawing effects left.

To a certain extent this was true, but we noticed that some of the drawing effects that we didn't use (Sarn Ford Sentry, Damrod, Galadhrim Minstrel) were only a few pieces away of becoming a viable deck.

Dúnedain:

We freed up Pillars of the Kings such that together with Damrod and Sarn Ford Sentry a Dúnedain deck could be constructed.

Silvan:

We inserted Gríma (over Beravor) into the Woodmen deck, since that deck was short very short on resources and with Haldan, Haleth and Ancient Mathom draw was covered.

By freeing up Beravor, another deck could be constructed. We decided to go for a Silvan deck. This trait was lacking in the initial build, since we estimated it would require too many drawing effects to be effective. But by replacing Galadriel by Beravor in the Dale deck, replacing Bifur by Ori and shuffling some of the events around the classical Silvan line-up could be assembled in a deck.

Grey Wanderer:

Finally, we also managed to get a The Grey Wanderer deck. With Ori in the Dwarf deck, 3 copies of King Under the Mountain was no longer a necessity. King Under the Mountain together with Heed the Dream, Palantir and the ability to play some cards from your deck through Timely Aid and Galadriel proved to be sufficient.

4. The Syntax

For each of the deck descriptions we followed a certain structure. To avoid extensively long deck descriptions, we decided to summarize our metrics in this section.

Ratings: A set of metrics to guide the players with selecting a deck.

• Preferred player count: The player count for which we expect the deck to perform best. The decks can of course be played in other player counts, but will most likely be less powerful.

• Complexity: The difficulty to play the deck to its full potential and to grasp the synergies within the deck. There is of course nothing wrong with playing a deck differently then intended, however you might wonder about the inclusion of some of the cards or be underwhelmed with the deck's output.

• Time Intensity: This is an indicator that basically tells a player how much time it requires to be played. Decks are likely to have a higher time intensity if they have:

  • A high number of actions and responses. (such as Aragorn)
  • A high requirement of reading (potentially new) cards (such as Mirror of Galadriel)
  • A high amount of upkeep or calculation involved (such as Faramir)

• Focus: The focus describes the general purpose of a deck. Possible focuses are:

  • Balanced
  • Willpower
  • Combat
  • Defense (X)
  • Locations

Synopsis: A small summary on what the deck tries to achieve. If the deck works around a certain archetype, the archetype is briefly explained. Finally, some of the deficits of a deck are showcased.

How it's played: A brief section that helps players on how to play the deck. The important cards are hightlighted and we give a basic orientation for a desirable opening hand. Deck specific plays are of course also included in this section.

Strengths: Highlighting what one should expect from the deck.

Weaknesses: Highlighting what one should not expect from the deck.

5. The Decks

A small summary of all the decks:

• Balanced

  • [DB01] Gandalf's Hobbits
  • [DB02] Dáin's Dwarves
  • [DB03] The Green Council (Vilya)
  • [DB04] The Free Peoples (BoF)
  • [DB05] Caldara and her Noldor Friends
  • [DB06] Brand, King of Dale
  • [DB07] Sneaky Outlands
  • [DB08] Silvans Repeat

• Willpower

  • [DB09] Hobbits, Master of the Ring (F)
  • [DB10] Gondor Unleashed (MotK)

• Combat

  • [DB11] Aragorn, Again a Machine
  • [DB12] Silvans, Attack!

• Defense

  • [DB13] Erkenbrand, A Real Defender! (F3H)
  • [DB14] Oh Trap! Dúnedain!
  • [DB15] Glóin Moneymaker (GW)

• Locations

  • [DB16] Haldan Location Management

ENJOY!!!