Starter - Ithilien

Format: King Standard

Author: Phallen

Ring-bearer:
Ring:

Adventure deck:

Free Peoples Draw Deck:
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4x
2x
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4x
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4x
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2x

Shadow Draw Deck:
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3x
1x
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1x
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1x
3x
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1x

Notes

Faramir's rangers ambushing Mumaks. Another straightforward FP with a slightly tricky Shadow.

Free Peoples: (Starting Faramir and Ranger of Ithilien. I recommend a medium bid, 1-3)
One of the strongest starts in the game, you're all but guaranteed a strength 9 and strength 8 companion at site 2. Broadly speaking, Ring-bound Rangers can be oriented towards direct wounding or skirmishing. Since these decks are intended to give people a taste of the game in the most thematic way I've tried to get both of those directions in here, and I don't know if I've picked a balance or done both poorly. We'll see!

My philosophy on Ring-bound Rangers using Ranger's Bow is that Gondorian Ranger is more consistent than Ancient Roads, reflected here. Faramir, Ranger of Ithilien, and Mablung are your only "real" companions in a sense, though I often redshirt the Ranger of Ithilien to fit 2 Gondorian Rangers in the fellowship. Better to make sure minions roaming than to be stronger against roaming minions when you've got Bow and Banner. If you can just make minions roaming up until site 9, you'll be able to keep Frodo alive even if everyone else dies.

Note that Sam is ruled to be Ring-bound even though it's not printed on the card.

Should be able to put away minions and double one way or another, I hope? Thinking about Gondor's Vengeance.

Shadow:
Most of my Southron builds have conspicuously low minion counts, which wouldn't pair well with a FP that has no intentional cycling. I really wanted mumaks though, so I've created sort of a "Southron Greatest Hits" deck here that showcases a bit of everything that they can do without relying so much on supporting cards. Still, Raider decks are defined by their supporting cards rather than their minions, so I'm not sure that having more minions is necessarily a good thing here. We'll see?

Southrons, at their best, are all about mind games. Their effects are largely maneuver, archery, and skirmish, but the assignment phase is where they can have the biggest impact. Your opponent knows most things that you *could* do, but only you know what you *will* do. Knowing that you *could* use Desert Soldier's text to wound a companion means your opponent probably won't assign him to an exhausted companion with more than 6 strength. Similarly, Ithilien Wilderness being a potential +2 will impact what your opponent is willing to risk -- or sometimes reveal that they probably have a pump in hand and want to goad you into getting rid of it for nothing.

Red Wrath is another one worth mentioning for this specific build. It's quite an expensive event, but obviously dealing two wounds and then winning a skirmish is a kill much of the time. For a player who knows about it (i.e., someone who is seeing this deck for a second time), they will be on the lookout for signs that you have it and will play it. Especially for a minion like Southron Fighter or Southron Bowman which will usually exhaust itself with its text, you can sometimes fake having Red Wrath by leaving a point of vitality on there. Will your opponent risk losing their best fighter who has more strength but only 2 vitality, or assign an unimportant character to lose the skirmish?

Sometimes your opponent has little to lose (either I risk Red Wrath on my main fighter or lose two other companions, both options are really bad so the risk is marginal). Other times, your opponent won't engage in mind tricks at all (whether you have Red Wrath or not, I am going to assign my companion to this skirmish). So I wouldn't lean *too far* into the bluffing. I've found it a fun part of playing Southrons though, saving twilight for an event that I don't have. As I said, most of their tricks influence the assignment phase even though they happen in other phases.

Southron Sneak at 1x looks out of place here, and honestly it is. It's just there to be pulled from time to time by Southron Invaders, the best minion that plays for net 0 twilight to further influence assignments. Same story playing it regularly though, especially when you can only afford one minion to play a red wrath. Double your opportunities to play it!