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| DáinIronfoot |
![]() Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 5:35 pm |
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Joined: 12 Jan 2007
Posts: 4594
Location: Beltsville, MD, USA
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Oh yeah? Okay then. I think we can safely move on to....
Dáin’s DC Duos #19
I’ll hold off on posting more  knights until I get more feedback, especially from AC. But there’s plenty of other Lakemen cards to post that have nothing to do with knights. Behold, two MORE of Lake-town’s greatest heroes. Enjoy!
 •Bard, The Bowman
Companion • Man
Strength: 7
Vitality: 3
Resistance: 7
Archer. Muster.
Archery: Exert Bard and add a threat to exert a minion; Bard does not add to the fellowship archery total. You may take the next archery action.
“‘I am Bard, of the line of Girion; I am the slayer of the dragon!’”
Like I said, only one man has the right to be called simply "The Bowman". 
This version of Bard can make for a tough choice: go with the skirmish-oriented Heir of Girion and his easy wounding, or spread out some wounds before the skirmishes ever start?
The Bowman is similiar to (and partially inspired by) Legolas, Greenleaf, who remains one of my favorite versions of the Fellowship’s famous Elf. Bard is not quite as good in one regard: whereas Legolas need only exert to wound, Bard has to exert and throw a threat onto the pile. However, Bard is also much better in one aspect: he allows you to immediately take the next archery action. So you can quick pop out two wounds (or more if you can find some way to beef up Bard’s vitality) before the Shadow player ever has a chance to react!
Also unlike Greenleaf, Bard has muster, giving him a little more bragging rights over Legolas.
And unlike Heir of Girion, The Bowman has no spotting requirements whatsoever, and that combined with his non-culture-specific gametext means he’s very easy to splash. Throw him and Greenleaf together and REALLY have some fun. 
 •Corwin, Huntsman
Companion • Man
Strength: 6
Vitality: 3
Resistance: 7
Ranger.
When you play Corwin, you may exert him and add  to play a weapon on him from your draw deck.
While at a forest or river, Corwin is an archer.
Braving the dangers of Mirkwood, he ventured often into the dark woods for food and sport.
"Who?", you ask. No, Corwin is not from Tolkien’s works. He WAS in the game The Hobbit that was signed off on by the keeper of all things Tolkien, though.
But forget that. Doesn’t really matter, since he’s a nifty little companion regardless of origin. He’s the only ranger I’ve made, so obviously he’s very unique. He’s also a heckuva warrior. Without too much trouble, you can throw a weapon on him as soon as he hits the table. He can also become an archer at a couple sites that are heavily featured in the Lasting Alliances sitepath, especially the last few sites. And much like The Bowman, no spotting requirements means easy splashing.
Basically, Corwin is a versatile little hero that can find a place in Man-heavy decks or decks without another Man anywhere in sight. He has nice abilities that fit well with Elves, other Men, and especially rangers.
Okay, PROBABLY not another Duo until tomorrow, so tune in then!
EDIT: Changed Bard’s text to wounding instead of exerting, as per mm’s suggestion.
EDIT: ...And back to my gut feeling of an exertion due to a second opinion. Sorry, mm. |
Last edited by DáinIronfoot on Sat Feb 03, 2007 11:46 pm; edited 3 times in totalBest regards, Dáin, Vice Aftokrator of the Chosen Ones
Check out Lasting Alliances, The Road Ahead, and Ages of Middle-earth, three of my five dream card sets that make up Wars of the Ring. Oh, and I have a trade list now!
Also, if you're into DCs or RPGs (or even if you're not!), check out Realms of Middle-earth, the sequel to CG's "DC Adventure", Realms of the North! |
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| macheteman |
![]() Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 5:52 pm |
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Joined: 07 Dec 2006
Posts: 1200
Location: The Jungle
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well, firt bard the bowman. legolas greenleaf is my favorite legolas, but bard has two great disadvantages. one (like you said) he can only exert a minion, the second, is you must add a threat and exert. that becomes very limiting as it is dependent on the number companions in your felowship, how many wounds bard has, and how many threats there are. so to be effective the deck must have a good healing and threat removal, and all these things must be in line to use the ability. so as it is i wouldn’t play it. some suggestions i have would be either remove the threat requirement, make it wound instead of exert, or some cost completely different.
the muster is excellent.
as for the second, great. ranger gives him access to pathfinder, and the weapon and archery abilities give him a true ranger feel. |
Check out my best article The Utterly Corrupt Corruption,
If at first you don't succeed...Sky-diving isn't for you.
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| Anonymous Prodigy |
![]() Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 5:56 pm |
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Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 4197
Location: United States
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macheteman wrote: better than what? i didn’t think there was a bard card made. there is a brand...
DainIronfoot tweaked the original DC of Bard. |
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| macheteman |
![]() Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 5:58 pm |
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Joined: 07 Dec 2006
Posts: 1200
Location: The Jungle
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oh, gotcha. yes, i agree. sorry.  |
Check out my best article The Utterly Corrupt Corruption,
If at first you don't succeed...Sky-diving isn't for you.
"Combat is dangerous. It tends to interupt your breathing process."
ROLF!!! |
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| DáinIronfoot |
![]() Posted: Sat Feb 03, 2007 3:09 pm |
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Joined: 12 Jan 2007
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Location: Beltsville, MD, USA
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mm, I changed Bard, The Bowman so that he now exerts. That look better to you (and everyone else)?
Dáin’s DC Duos #20
I’m going to go back to something I used to do on the Decipher boards: every time I hit a "0" (like 20, 30, 40, etc.), I’ll post extra cards! Kind of a Double Duo, if you will. 
So here we go: four new cards, each a different type of card. Enjoy!
•Master of Laketown, Leader of Esgaroth
Ally • Home 7 [LA] & 8 [LA] • Man
Strength: 5
Vitality: 2
Unhasty. To play, spot a Man.
Any site 8 [LA] is a sanctuary.
Fellowship: Exert Master of Laketown to play a ally from your draw deck.
“‘In the Lake-town we have always elected masters from among the old and wise....’”
I haven’t decided whether or not to have a companion version of the Master of Laketown. It doesn’t make a lot of sense for him to be one; he never leaves the comforts of his little town. But we’ll see.
That leaves us with an ally. But what an ally he is!
First let’s break down his fellowship ability. There are several allies from way back in the day, but there’s also four allies in Lasting Alliances with powerful abilities like card drawing and possession cycling.
But perhaps the best part, of course, is his ability to create a new sanctuary, right when you need it the most: at site 8! Now keep in mind a couple things, though. This ONLY works on the Lasting Alliances ([LA]) sitepath. And most [LA] site 9s are really, really nasty, with text like the following:
- When the fellowship moves here, exert every Dwarf. If you cannot spot three Dwarves, add 2 burdens.
- When the fellowship moves here, exert each unwounded companion and ally. If the Ring-bearer is unwounded, add a burden.
- Remove a threat to play Smaug from your draw deck or hand; Smaug’s twilight cost is -5.
- When the fellowship moves here, if you can spot a Man and a Dwarf, add 2 threats. Otherwise add .
Still, is it balanced, or completely out of whack? You tell me.
 •Laketown Bowmen
Companion • Man
Strength: 8
Vitality: 4
Resistance: 6
Archer. Defender +1.
To play, spot 3 Men (or 2 archers).
“But there was still a company of archers that held their ground among the burning houses.”
Not much to say here. The Lakemen version of Garrison of Gondor.
•Great Bow of Bard
Possession • Ranged Weapon
Strength +1
Bearer must be Bard.
Each time you play a archery event, you may remove a threat.
“The flames were near him. His companions were leaving him. He bent his bow for the last time....”
As if Bard wasn’t good enough already.
This is one of the few good ways the Men have to get rid of threats, and makes Bard even more of a centerpiece than he already is. Obviously, it’s a perfect compliment to The Bowman and his threat adding. And don’t worry, the Men have plenty of archery events to use this with. Be patient...we’ll get to them soon enough.
•Black Arrow
Possession • Arrow
Bearer must be a Man archer.
Archery: Discard this possession to make the fellowship archery total +2.
Skirmish: Exert bearer and discard this possession to wound a minion (or wound a Dragon twice).
“‘You have never failed me and always I have recovered you.... If ever you came from the forges of the true king under the Mountain, go now and speed well!’”
Tough choice with this one: go for the easy two exertions in the archery phase, or hold on for a guaranteed wound or two later? Either way, you definately want to have this around in any archery deck.
Tomorrow’s the Super Bowl, obviously, and between that and my ongoing master’s work, I may not have time to post another Duo. We’ll see.
EDIT: Minor tweak to the Master based on AC’s review. |
Last edited by DáinIronfoot on Tue Feb 13, 2007 6:30 pm; edited 4 times in totalBest regards, Dáin, Vice Aftokrator of the Chosen Ones
Check out Lasting Alliances, The Road Ahead, and Ages of Middle-earth, three of my five dream card sets that make up Wars of the Ring. Oh, and I have a trade list now!
Also, if you're into DCs or RPGs (or even if you're not!), check out Realms of Middle-earth, the sequel to CG's "DC Adventure", Realms of the North! |
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| AnxiousChieftain |
![]() Posted: Sat Feb 03, 2007 9:40 pm |
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Joined: 15 Jul 2005
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Location: Maryland
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Alright, you can keep ’em as knights. I won’t complain, but I can’t say I’m endorsing the idea. 
DáinIronfoot wrote: • Bard, Heir of Girion
Companion • Man
Strength: 7
Vitality: 3
Resistance: 7
Archer. Knight. To play, spot a Man.
Each time a archer wins a skirmish, you may spot another Man and exert either that Man or Bard to wound a minion in that skirmish.
“‘Bard is he, of the race of Dale, of the line of Girion; he is a grim man but true.’”
Better, but for simplicity’s sake I think you could change the ability to:
Each time a archer wins a skirmish, you may exert a Man to wound a minion in that skirmish.
Basically the same thing, and a lot less wordy.
DáinIronfoot wrote: • Bard, The Bowman
Companion • Man
Strength: 7
Vitality: 3
Resistance: 7
Archer. Muster.
Archery: Exert Bard and add a threat to wound a minion; Bard does not add to the fellowship archery total. You may take the next archery action.
“‘I am Bard, of the line of Girion; I am the slayer of the dragon!’”
I’m going to go against the grain and say that it should stay as an exertion for the minion. He would just seem more balanced that way.
DáinIronfoot wrote: • Corwin, Huntsman
Companion • Man
Strength: 6
Vitality: 3
Resistance: 7
Ranger.
When you play Corwin, you may exert him and add to play a weapon on him from your draw deck.
While at a forest or river, Corwin is an archer.
Braving the dangers of Mirkwood, he ventured often into the dark woods for food and sport.
Cool.
DáinIronfoot wrote: • Master of Laketown, Leader of Esgaroth
Ally • Home 7 [LA] & 8 [LA] • Man
Strength: 5
Vitality: 2
Any site 8 [LA] is a sanctuary.
Fellowship: Exert Master of Laketown to play a ally from your draw deck.
“‘In the Lake-town we have always elected masters from among the old and wise....’”
Nice. I think it’s especially balanced since a lot of the time you’re going to want to run from site 7 to 9 (or 6 to 9), so you won’t always get the benefit of a 3rd sanctuary. If you do choose to stop at site 8, your opponent might be able to run to site 9 first.
You just might want to make him culturally enforced, though.
DáinIronfoot wrote: • Laketown Bowmen
Companion • Man
Strength: 8
Vitality: 4
Resistance: 6
Archer. Defender +1.
To play, spot 3 Men (or 2 archers).
“But there was still a company of archers that held their ground among the burning houses.”
I’d like him more if he had 3 vitality. I don’t think any non-unique Men have had 4 vitality yet (please correct me if I’m wrong).
DáinIronfoot wrote: • Great Bow of Bard
Possession • Ranged Weapon
Strength +1
Bearer must be Bard.
Each time you play a archery event, you may remove a threat.
“The flames were near him. His companions were leaving him. He bent his bow for the last time....”
Awesome.
DáinIronfoot wrote: • Black Arrow
Possession • Arrow
Bearer must be a Man archer.
Archery: Discard this possession to make the fellowship archery total +2.
Skirmish: Exert bearer and discard this possession to wound a minion (or wound a Dragon twice).
“‘You have never failed me and always I have recovered you.... If ever you came from the forges of the true king under the Mountain, go now and speed well!’”
Wow, great card. This would definitely be a staple in any Men archery deck.
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| DáinIronfoot |
![]() Posted: Sat Feb 03, 2007 11:44 pm |
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Joined: 12 Jan 2007
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Location: Beltsville, MD, USA
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AnxiousChieftain wrote: Alright, you can keep ’em as knights. I won’t complain, but I can’t say I’m endorsing the idea.
Fair enough. We’ll agree to disagree then. I can live with that if you can.
Thanks for getting back to me about that. I didn’t want to leave that hanging.
AnxiousChieftain wrote: DáinIronfoot wrote: • Bard, Heir of Girion
Companion • Man
Strength: 7
Vitality: 3
Resistance: 7
Archer. Knight. To play, spot a Man.
Each time a archer wins a skirmish, you may spot another Man and exert either that Man or Bard to wound a minion in that skirmish.
“‘Bard is he, of the race of Dale, of the line of Girion; he is a grim man but true.’”
Better, but for simplicity’s sake I think you could change the ability to:
Each time a archer wins a skirmish, you may exert a Man to wound a minion in that skirmish.
Basically the same thing, and a lot less wordy.
Okay, I’ll do that.
AnxiousChieftain wrote: DáinIronfoot wrote: • Bard, The Bowman
Companion • Man
Strength: 7
Vitality: 3
Resistance: 7
Archer. Muster.
Archery: Exert Bard and add a threat to wound a minion; Bard does not add to the fellowship archery total. You may take the next archery action.
“‘I am Bard, of the line of Girion; I am the slayer of the dragon!’”
I’m going to go against the grain and say that it should stay as an exertion for the minion. He would just seem more balanced that way.
Heheh. Okay. I still like that better too, but I didn’t want to keep it if I was the only one. Back to an exertion, then.
AnxiousChieftain wrote: DáinIronfoot wrote: • Master of Laketown, Leader of Esgaroth
Ally • Home 7 [LA] & 8 [LA] • Man
Strength: 5
Vitality: 2
Any site 8 [LA] is a sanctuary.
Fellowship: Exert Master of Laketown to play a ally from your draw deck.
“‘In the Lake-town we have always elected masters from among the old and wise....’”
Nice. I think it’s especially balanced since a lot of the time you’re going to want to run from site 7 to 9 (or 6 to 9), so you won’t always get the benefit of a 3rd sanctuary. If you do choose to stop at site 8, your opponent might be able to run to site 9 first.
You just might want to make him culturally enforced, though.
A good point that I didn’t even think about. And yes, I’ll make sure to add a spotting requirement or something.
AnxiousChieftain wrote: DáinIronfoot wrote: • Laketown Bowmen
Companion • Man
Strength: 8
Vitality: 4
Resistance: 6
Archer. Defender +1.
To play, spot 3 Men (or 2 archers).
“But there was still a company of archers that held their ground among the burning houses.”
I’d like him more if he had 3 vitality. I don’t think any non-unique Men have had 4 vitality yet (please correct me if I’m wrong).
I am assuming that, following the example of Garrison of Gondor, I should then drop the cost to too?
However, this IS unique. Does that make any difference? I’ll leave it unedited until I hear what you think.
AnxiousChieftain wrote: DáinIronfoot wrote: • Black Arrow
Possession • Arrow
Bearer must be a Man archer.
Archery: Discard this possession to make the fellowship archery total +2.
Skirmish: Exert bearer and discard this possession to wound a minion (or wound a Dragon twice).
“‘You have never failed me and always I have recovered you.... If ever you came from the forges of the true king under the Mountain, go now and speed well!’”
Wow, great card. This would definitely be a staple in any Men archery deck.
Thanks! Just what I was going for.
Thanks for the review, AC. |
Best regards, Dáin, Vice Aftokrator of the Chosen Ones
Check out Lasting Alliances, The Road Ahead, and Ages of Middle-earth, three of my five dream card sets that make up Wars of the Ring. Oh, and I have a trade list now!
Also, if you're into DCs or RPGs (or even if you're not!), check out Realms of Middle-earth, the sequel to CG's "DC Adventure", Realms of the North! |
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| DáinIronfoot |
![]() Posted: Sun Feb 04, 2007 4:27 pm |
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Location: Beltsville, MD, USA
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Well I finally get a major project done for my class, so I have more time today than I thought I would. That means it’s time for...
Dáin’s DC Duos #21
And I’m so happy about being done with that project early, I’m going to post an extra card.
More archery today, something the Men have plenty of. Yesterday we covered Bard’s bow, so today I thought we’d go into the other bows and an event that, collectively, show just what a potent force the Lakemen can be in the archery phase. Who needs skirmishes when you can dish out a lot of wounds two phases earlier?  Enjoy!
Esgaroth Longbow
Possession • Ranged Weapon
Bearer must be a Man companion.
Bearer is an archer.
“Bows twanged and arrows whistled....”
Elven Bow, anyone? The Lakemen are clearly awesome archers in The Hobbit, so I figured they merited a weapon like this. Eat your hearts out, Elves!
Bow of Yew
Possession • Ranged Weapon
Bearer must be a Man.
If bearer is an archer, he or she is strength +1.
Archery: Exert bearer and discard a archery event from hand to make the fellowship archery total +1.
“Now he shot with a great yew bow....”
Clearly the weaker of the two bows...or is it? With enough archery events in your deck, this can make the Esgaroth Longbow all but irrelevant. With this bow, you have to potential to dish out two or more archery wounds AND have a strength bonus to help mop up any minions left when the skirmishing begins.
Of course, who even needs lot of archery events when you have one like this:
So Fierce Was Its Flight
Event • Archery
Spot a archer and either discard an arrow or make the fellowship archery total -2 (to a minimum of 0) to wound a minion.
At the end of each archery phase during which this event was played or discarded, you may exert a archer to take this event into hand from your discard pile.
“The black arrow sped straight from the string.... In it smote and vanished, barb, shaft and feather....”
At first glance, this event doesn’t have a whole lot going for it except that it’s relatively cheap for a guaranteed archery wound. Then you get to the last line...and realize that if you have a good way to heal archers, this event keeps coming back over and over and over. You can have just one of these in your deck and STILL use it every turn. It’s more like a condition than an event...without the risk of being discarded by classic condition killers. And it’s non-unique, so you can play several at once, every turn, as long as you have enough archers to spread the exertions around. Easy enough with cards like the Esgaroth Longbow.
More tomorrow!
EDIT: Changes made to So Fierce Was Its Flight based on AC’s review. |
Last edited by DáinIronfoot on Mon Feb 05, 2007 2:09 pm; edited 1 time in totalBest regards, Dáin, Vice Aftokrator of the Chosen Ones
Check out Lasting Alliances, The Road Ahead, and Ages of Middle-earth, three of my five dream card sets that make up Wars of the Ring. Oh, and I have a trade list now!
Also, if you're into DCs or RPGs (or even if you're not!), check out Realms of Middle-earth, the sequel to CG's "DC Adventure", Realms of the North! |
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| thonnas7 |
![]() Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2007 12:04 am |
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Joined: 07 May 2006
Posts: 397
Location: Springfield, OR
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DáinIronfoot wrote: Dáin’s DC Duos #21
Esgaroth Longbow
Possession • Ranged Weapon
Bearer must be a Man companion.
Bearer is an archer.
“Bows twanged and arrows whistled....”
Archers.
Bow of Yew
Possession • Ranged Weapon
Bearer must be a Man.
If bearer is an archer, he or she is strength +1.
Archery: Exert bearer and discard a archery event from hand to make the fellowship archery total +1.
“Now he shot with a great yew bow....”
The archery ability is harsh, but I don’t see any way to change it. Good card. GP!
So Fierce Was Its Flight
Event • Archery
Discard an arrow or make the fellowship archery total -2 to wound a minion.
At the end of each archery phase during which this event was played or discarded, you may exert a Man archer to take this event into hand from your discard pile.
“The black arrow sped straight from the string, straight for the hollow by the left breast where the foreleg was flung wide. In it smote and vanished, barb, shaft and feather....”
Are there going to be a lot of arrows? |
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| AnxiousChieftain |
![]() Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2007 1:16 pm |
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Location: Maryland
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DáinIronfoot wrote: Esgaroth Longbow
Possession • Ranged Weapon
Bearer must be a Man companion.
Bearer is an archer.
“Bows twanged and arrows whistled....”
Why only a companion, and not an ally? 
DáinIronfoot wrote: Bow of Yew
Possession • Ranged Weapon
Bearer must be a Man.
If bearer is an archer, he or she is strength +1.
Archery: Exert bearer and discard a archery event from hand to make the fellowship archery total +1.
“Now he shot with a great yew bow....”
Cool.
DáinIronfoot wrote: So Fierce Was Its Flight
Event • Archery
Discard an arrow or make the fellowship archery total -2 to wound a minion.
At the end of each archery phase during which this event was played or discarded, you may exert a Man archer to take this event into hand from your discard pile.
“The black arrow sped straight from the string, straight for the hollow by the left breast where the foreleg was flung wide. In it smote and vanished, barb, shaft and feather....”
Nice, although to follow the pattern of previous cards you need to add ’(to a minimum of 0)’ after the archery deduction. Also, it’d look better if you dropped the word ’Man’ after ’’; I can’t find any way to make a non-Man companion an archer.
Also, I just now realized that this isn’t culturally enforced. 
Still, awesome cards!
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