Rate this Deck: SFtF Rohan/Southron Wounding

[Cw0rk]

How did your shadow performed?

[ket_the_jet]

The Shadow was a unique experience. I'll be honest that not all of the cards for this deck have arrived, so I played with one less Saved By the Fire and one less Rout (I still got Saved From the Fire in the first or second hand both games).

Facing three or four archery points each turn (before Double Shot) made having a few High Vantage a really great card, but I just wasn't able to cycle the deck well enough. My other two decks are based mostly on minion conditions (Moria-- Goblin Armory, Goblin Swarms, They Are Coming; Direct Wounding-- Under The Watching Eye, They Stole It, Final Strike) so having these events made it difficult sometimes--I'd have two Red Wrath, two High Vantage, and a Southron Chieftain. To play, spot a man. That's just no good.

I did pick up the initiative with Harsh Tongues in the second game and was able to hold onto that for the whole game. That was nice. But a little cycling on either side of the deck would be great. So here are my thoughts on cards that could be added (but I don't yet know what to take out):

Leowyn. A great card cycling and healing. Because this deck has no pumps, I could not beat an Easterling Army with an Easterling Polearm. So Leowyn would be a nice way to get rid of cards and heal.

Deor. On the other side, Deor is a nice strength bonus and a great way to cycle through the deck. Both Leowyn and Deor can be fetched with Simbelmyne which is a pretty nice advantage too.

Merry, Swordthain. It might be worth putting a copy in so that I don't have to hold onto Firefoot or Eomer's Spear early in the game while I wait for Eomer to show up (example). Plus, I can bounce him back to my hand and then discard him with Deor as a boost.

For the record, when I burned Elite Rider in the first turn of game one, I grabbed Eowyn, Lady of Rohan and two Simbelmyne. I then used the Simbelmyne to play Theoden, Leader of Spears and Herugrim, Sword of the Mark.

In the second game, I got Saved From the Fire in the second turn. I had Eowyn in play, which was nice, and so I burned the Elite Rider for The Red Arrow, Eomer, Keeper of Oaths, and Simbelmyne. I played Theoden, Leader of Spears with Simbelmyne, then played Eomer during the assignment phase to play weapons from the top ten cards of my draw deck...it's a small enough deck that I got Windfola, Herugrim, Sword of the Mark, and Eomer's Spear.

Another problem I faced in my deck was burdens. Sam, Son of Hamfast is necessary in this deck with no other burden removal, but with Boromir, Bearer of Council having to fight a few times courtesy Visions From Afar...it just might be an awfully good idea to make sure my Rohirrim companions can win a skirmish against Gollum, Stinker and a We Must Have It or two...those burdens crept up and kept me from double moving.

So there we go. Leowyn, Deor, and Merry, Swordthain. What three cards should I remove from this deck to fit them in? I want to keep the deck under 64 cards (62 when starting fellowship in play) so that my statistical chances of getting Saved From the Fire in turn one or two are increased.
-wtk

[ket_the_jet]

Another point is that, odds are, I am not going to use Saved From the Fire after the first burn. So it was never really my plan to keep Gandalf, Leader of Men alive but, incidentally, he stayed alive until turn five or six and that was a bit of an impediment (always wary of Shotgun Enquea). So I have to be sure to kill Gandalf early enough, and worst-case scenario can just use Saved From the Fire to do so...

...it was definitely a problem when Eomer got killed in the first game and I had Gamling, Warrior of Rohan in my hand but could not play him because I knew my brother had another Shotgun Enquea...that meant I could not use Let Us Be Swift or No Rest for the Weary.

As I look at this, I really liked the Red Arrow trick to get Rohirrim Army or Eomer, Keeper of Oaths during the assignment phase. But that looks like the first card I would cut out of this deck. And I know it is my swarm protection, besides Firefoot, but I am thinking of removing the two No Rest For the Weary. With those three edits, adding Leowyn, Deor, and Merry, Swordthain would be much easier.

Edit: It should be noted that I am the only person in my meta that runs any sort of ally hate.
-wtk

[Cw0rk]

For swarm protection, you should consider using heavy chain on Boromir.

[ket_the_jet]

For swarm protection, you should consider using heavy chain on Boromir.

Or Coat of Mail, but yeah. I really didn't ever think of that!

Edit: Of course, you could conceptually grab Heavy Chain with Simbelmyne if you sniff Moria.
-wtk

[legolas3333]

For swarm protection, you should consider using heavy chain on Boromir.

Or Coat of Mail, but yeah. I really didn't ever think of that!

Edit: Of course, you could conceptually grab Heavy Chain with Simbelmyne if you sniff Moria.
-wtk

or play it with eomer

my version of the deck i burn gandalf second and use a radagast to run if need be, same problems as you btw, not the cycling but the healing.

[ket_the_jet]

same problems as you btw, not the cycling but the healing.

Might of Numenor with Boromir, Bearer of Council would be good. The problem is the deck size. I can't let the deck inflate like that.

Conceptually I could ditch some 3 Simbelmyne since I do have Saved From the Fire doing the heavy lifting, but I just don't know.

I'm going to have to get a Leowyn and run it through against a couple decks with that.
-wtk

[Cw0rk]

I think you can remove swift steed, windfola, 2 no rest for the weary.

Then you can add heavy chain, 2 might of numenor and leowyn.

[ket_the_jet]

I think I am much more likely going to remove the two No Rest For the Weary for Deor and Leowyn. Those will both help cycling so much.

The Red Arrow will be removed for Merry, Swordthain. That will allow me to discard my possessions if I get them in my hand early.

Heavy Chain is a nice idea...I just need to figure out what to drop for that. I'm starting to think that Blade of Gondor is enough swarm protection.

I'll run it like that and see if Might of Numenor would be a better idea for healing.
-wtk

[Anautikus]

Harsh tongues can be set up pretty quickly; add some Raider bows for wonderful twilight generation. I run a Rout shadow, and you might want to add Desert Lord/ Seasoned Leader; works nice for more wounding. Once rout is set up, your opponent's fellowship will be devastated with the immense exertions. And if you can get some threats out, throw in a Bold Men and Grim or 2. use Seasoned Leader when a companion's about to die, and then discard another companion. Pretty amazing if you can pull it off; props to Gil-Estel for telling me about it.

[ket_the_jet]

That's a ridiculously sick combination! I feel like that's a lot of work to make that happen though, especially since this is meant to be a deck for beginners and intermediate-level players...

...the problem with Raider Bow or Mumak is that I am afraid of coming up with four possessions and conditions in my hand, but no minions. Do you mind posting your Shadow just for my edification?
-wtk

[Anautikus]

I've actually been playing around with my Rout shadow, seeing what works best. It's a bit splashy. I think if you were going for a beginners/intermediate deck, then it's fine; I just missed that part! Also my shadow's a bit on the big side, but I deal.

Minions:
Desert Lord x2
Desert Sneak x3
Desert Runner x2
Desert Scout x3
Elite Archer x1
Southron Bowman x1
Southron Marksmen x1
Suzerain of Harad x1
Corsair Plunderer x2
Enquea, LoM x1
Morgul Lurker x2

Possessions/Events:
Raider Bow x3
Red Wrath x2

Conditions:
Harsh Tongues x3
Rout x4
Seasoned Leader x1
Under Foot x1
Rallying Call x1

I actually don't run the Bold Men and Grim combo personally (don't have the card haha).
Also, since I go expanded, I throw in 2 Black Gate Sentry's for more pain. Very fun.

[ket_the_jet]

I actually don't run the Bold Men and Grim combo personally (don't have the card haha).
Also, since I go expanded, I throw in 2 Black Gate Sentry's for more pain. Very fun.

I appreciate you posting this. Both Under Foot and Rallying Call seem like really neat cards to fit in here, if I can figure out where.

I feel like you should run a copy or two of High Vantage to prevent your guys from being killed before the skirmish phase--Desert Sneak, Desert Scout, and Desert Runner, particularly. Morgul Lurker is a nice splash idea in this deck...I just don't think I can justify the room needed for him.

A copy of Rallying Call seems almost necessary for my deck. I know I said that, but man...that card is really sweet.
-wtk

Edit: I updated the deck list. Take a look. I am a little worried about the minion: non-minion ratio (17:15), but Rout and Harsh Tongues are too important. I really like High Vantage and Red Wrath...maybe just two of each of those though?

[ket_the_jet]

Thursday is the big test for this deck. Going to play test it against four others. Hopefully, by then, I can consider it near-complete!
-wtk

[ket_the_jet]

I played two more games with this deck. It did win its first game (it is 1-3 now, seems about right for the decklist...)

Here are some more thoughts:
1. It is a pretty good deck for a beginner. With the exception of explaining the idea behind Saved From the Fire to set up your fellowship, there is a lot of leeway for a new player to grab different things.
2. It cycles much better with Leowyn and Deor on the free peoples side.
3. In the four games I have played, the opponent was moved to site three with me playing one or fewer minions because of opening hands including a ton of free peoples cards, conditions that need to spot minions, or events but no minions.
4. Finally, the Free Peoples is basically a stall for the shadow to get the initiative. In the last two games, I got the initiative by turn four and was able to keep it by continually playing Harsh Tongues. The Free Peoples never really get strong enough to kill a Witch-King or something like that, but they are tough enough to survive it.

Those are my final thoughts on this deck. I think I am ready to put this one to bed and give this to my friend.
-wtk