13 Decks Were Given to the Race of Men 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

This project is a set of 13 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 theMormegil.

For those not interested in the details: All associated decks have been linked under "4. The Decks". Any additional information can be found under "3. Syntax".

The aim was to make the decks accessible, fun and diverse for newer players and veterans of the game while still being strong enough to compete against (almost) all quests in the game (be it in easy, normal or nightmare mode). We wanted this set of decks to keep a playing group entertained for a long time, to be suitable to introduce new players to the game and to be a viable option to take to conventions of any level.

We settled on a total of 13 decks. There are still much more decks that could be built of course, however increasing the number of decks would reduce the overall strength of the build, decreasing it would mean we would have to compromise on diversity, fun and accessibilty. 13 seemed (after a lot of thinking) to be a good number.

If you want to follow in the footsteps of Thorin's company and add or remove decks "for the lucky number", feel free to do exactly that. If you have a larger or smaller collection, you might want to adjust the decks to be suited to your available options.

1. The Motivation

The original motivation for this challenge came from Jban, so he logically is the sole author of this part of our description.

At the end of last year, I finally reached a milestone that I was looking forward to for a very long time. I received my copy of Challenge of the Wainriders. This was the final missing pack. I could finally claim I owned the full collection.

However, my 'real cards' are rarely used and whenever I have friends coming over that might want to the play game, I faced one of the following issues:

• I had no pre-built decks
• The decks were not suited for beginners
• The decks were not interesting after multiple playthroughs

So I decided to build a set of decks. The idea is simple:

• Build as many decks that are likely to compete in any given quest
• Make sure all decks can be built/sleeved simultaneously

With the deck building challenge set, I turned to theMormegil, asking if he was willing to participate in the challenge (which he was), so we started thinking about the exact number, nature and focus of the decks.

2. The Challenges

Building such a set of decks comes with a lot of challenges:

• We want to all decks to be competitive, so this gives major limitations. After all you only have 3 (or in some cases 2 or 1) copies to distribute over all the decks
• We want the deck pool to be balanced, so the strength differential should be as small as possible. While we will not outright weaken any deck to satisfy this, we did not hesitate to take cards from stronger decks to improve weaker ones.

You also have some constraints in the sense that the decks should be inviting to players of different experience levels. Beginners should have a good time, as should veteran players. Therefore, we wanted decks to have:

• Good winning chances (only very few people like getting battered)
• A unique feel to them
• A decent level of efficiency, even in the hands of a newer player
• Accessibilty to new players without feeling stale to more experienced players

We tried to keep all of this mind and still provide an interesting set of decks that players of all levels could enjoy. Not every deck will fit every player/playing style of course, but there should be decent and diverse options for different players/playing groups.

3. 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
  • 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.

4. The Decks

A small summary of all the decks:

All decks:

• Balanced
  • [#01] Gandalf - Merry - Sam
  • [#02] Bifur - Dáin Ironfoot - Nori
  • [#03] Elrond - Mirlonde - Radagast
  • [#04] Éowyn - Frodo Baggins - Théodred - Thurindir
  • [#05] Arwen Undómiel - Caldara - Círdan the Shipwright
  • [#06] Bard son of Brand - Brand son of Bain - Galadriel
  • [#07] Denethor - Gildor Inglorion - Hirluin the Fair
• Willpower
  • [#08] Folco Boffin - Frodo Baggins - Pippin
  • [#09] Erestor - (Faramir) - Lothíriel
• Combat
  • [#10] Aragorn - Merry - Pippin
  • [#11] Beregond - Haldir of Lórien - Legolas
• Defense
  • [#12] Éowyn - Erkenbrand - Galdor of the Havens
• Locations
  • [#13] Beravor - Glorfindel - Haldan

Closing Note:

ENJOY!!!