The August 2005 Online PSQ Review
September 2, 2005
Same win, different month. Merboy, the high-rated Lord of the Rings Online player repeats this month as PSQ champion in a field of 50 players, using a deck nobody else in the top eight was using. Originality is this player's stock in trade, it seems.
Merboy chose a standard Dwarf/Smeagol Free Peoples side, but slided in three copies of Isildur, Heir of Elendil.. This corrupt companion provides Free Peoples players with a crucial ninth card, right when they need it. Often, Isildur dies later in the game due to a low hand size and a couple of burdens, but that's all right - he served his purpose.
Other than three copies of Massing Strength, Merboy's shadow side is almost pure minions. His strategy was to lay down the ultimate swarm at site 4 and either overwhelm the Ring-bearer or kill a companion. Then he'd do it again at site 5 and so on until the game was over.
Here's a chat I had with Merboy regarding his performance.
POET: Interesting choice, using Isildur with Dwarves. How does he help the Free Peoples side of the deck exactly?
MERBOY: Well, this version didn't change much from the last time I played my Dwarves in the PSQ. He is mainly in there to help me get that extra ninth card into my hand for the shadow phase, but I do use him for blocking purposes a lot as well, against weak Nazgûl and minions to help keep things off the Ring-bearer.
One of the odd things that people don't realize is how much of a corruption threat I put him in. Last month's PSQ article mentioned that I play with Sméagol, Always Helps already adding a burden. But with swarm decks, it's essential that my opponent goes first for site path control, and I actually bid 2 burdens to guarantee that. Sometimes three against people that know what I am doing.
POET: Has he ever bit it after your hand size dropped too low?
MERBOY: Yes, I have had him killed a few times from my hand size dropping, if they even make it past site 4. Usually while pitching cards to Where Shall We Go - and then I hear the companion death sound.
POET: Ahh, so he's more useful in the early game.
MERBOY: I like having him as early as possible; that's why I play three. Usually he gets out on site 1 or 2, guaranteeing me that nine-card hand for when my opponent moves to site 4.
POET: OK, now on to the shadow side... why Orc Swarm with Massing Strength?
MERBOY: Now, I decided to take a risky manuever this time with my Orcs, playing it conditionless. Basically, I was just setting up for the primo site-4 swarm. I had four Orkish Workers and four Scurrying Goblins this time, to get the twilight to swarm. With no conditions in my deck, I knew I would always have seven or eight minions and a pump in hand for the deathblow.
The main reason I was testing this version out was to see if I could swarm the annoying Ent deck before they were fully set up and ready.
POET: Yeah, I noticed you named your deck ENTBURNER!
MERBOY: Against them, my conditions just got destroyed over and over thanks to Pallando.
POET: Right, Pallando and Treebeard and the site make Shadow conditions a tough sell.
MERBOY: Yes... I only encountered one ent deck during the PSQ, He didn't draw a Saved From the Fire so he didn't have a chance at site 4.
POET: That was my next question. Did you run into any tough matchups?
MERBOY: Actually, my first two games were worrisome. First game I went up against Hobbits - usually a nice, compact fellowship with loads of Ring-bearer support and not only one, but two Ring-bearers.
I had two Massing Strength in my opening hand, and faked out trying to overwhelm Bilbo, letting him use his pumps there, then used the second one and nailed Sam. On the move to site 5, he put down The Tale of the Great Ring, but I had my third Massing Strength already drawn, and Frodo went under.
The second game was the hardest all day - it was a very long game against Gondor / Nazgûl Corruption. Starting with three burdens isn't good, and I went to site 8 without being corrupted. But the hard thing was, he pulled out Footman's Armor. Nothing like every card in the hand, no matter what, being a +2 pump for the Ring-bearer. Usually against Gondor I have an easy time when I have my conditions, but I didn't have that to fall back on this time.
So instead of going for the Ring-bearer, I just targeted overwhelming his fellowship, and constantly got minions on Boromir for the two wounds, which got converted to two burdens a lot. I ended up killing six companions and corrupting Boromir at site 9. I had resistance of 2 left on Gimli at site 8 after fending off Enquea three times thanks to Smeagol.
POET: Merboy also had some comments about his choice to play a swarm deck.
MERBOY: Swarm is one of the few viable strategies now to get to the Ring-bearer. When you put out something for the fellowship, it stays forever. If you play a big minion for 12 twilight, you expect it to win, but things like Sméagol, Always Helps kill it. Or choke Dwarves - you can't compete against a 15-base-strength Durin III, Dwarven Lord with 10 twilight - its just not possible. But people forget that only the Ring-bearer matters.
How many games have you ever finished at site 9 with eight companions dead and the Ring-bearer lives for the win? It's a great rush. Well, same for the swarmer... its a rush too.
POET: Thanks, Merboy!
Once again, Gandalf overwhelmingly made his demigod-like presence known across the Lord of the Rings tournament scene. Half the top 8 were Gandalf/Ent decks with Pallando, a very popular deck that throws out Treebeard, Keeper of the Watchwood and Pallando together. One of the only ways to defeat this deck is to swarm Frodo before your opponent gets a chance to set up.
Elf Telepathy made it to third place this month, no mean feat for a decktype that hasn't really been around for a year or more. The other Free Peoples decks were the typical Dwarf/Smeagol and an entirely atypical Dwarf/Smeagol deck with 49 cards on each side and a Southron/Evil Men Archery package. There's always one rogue deck in the top 8, it seems, and Repicheep's is it! Surprisingly, there were no Gondor decks of any kind this time around.
As for minion sides, it's almost all stuff we've seen before. Southron Archery won Worlds this year, so it's not surprising that it would find its way into the top 8. Expect to see it at the highest level right up until a bunch of its cards get nerfed with this fall's rotation of Towers Block. Repicheep's aforementioned 98-card deck had a combination of Southron archers and Evil Men archers. What, no room for Uruk archery?
Once again, there were numerous Orc Swarm decks, but all three were different varieties, showing that there is a lot of room to maneuver in the Orc culture, as long as it's swarm.
Here's Merboy's winning deck, followed by a link to the top 8.
Ring-bearer and One Ring
Gimli, Bearer of Grudges
The One Ring, The Ring of Rings
Free Peoples (30)
1 Sméagol, Always Helps
1 Linnar, Dwarven Lord
1 Durin III, Dwarven Lord
3 Isildur, Heir of Elendil
1 Ring of Guile
1 Ring of Fury
1 Ring of Accretion
1 Follow Sméagol
2 Search Far and Wide
3 Where Shall We Go
3 Out of Darkness
4 Durability
2 No Pauses, No Spills
1 Axe of Erebor
2 Axe of Khazad-dûm
2 Dwarven Bracers
1 Belt of Erebor
Shadow (30)
3 Watchful Orc
4 Champion Orc
3 Scurrying Goblin
4 Orkish Worker
1 Frenzied Orc
4 Orc Dreg
3 Chamber Patrol
4 Picket Denizen
4 Underdeeps Denizen
3 Massing Strength
Adventure Deck
(1) Cavern Entrance
(1) Watch-tower of Cirith Ungol
(1) Shores of Nin Hithoel
(2) Moria Stairway
(2) Chamber of Mazarbul
(2) Osgiliath Reclaimed
(3) Caves of Aglarond
(3) Moria Guardroom
(3) Starkhorn
August 2005 PSQ Top Eight Decklists:
- Merboy – Free Peoples: Dwarf/Sméagol/Isildur. Shadow: Orc Swarm (Massing Strength).
- LimpAjoseR – Free Peoples: Dwarf/Sméagol. Shadow: Burden Nazgûl.
- Skali – Free Peoples: Elf Telepathy. Shadow: Forest Nazgûl.
- Roy1991 – Free Peoples: Gandalf/Ents. Shadow: Corsairs.
- sexybugger – Free Peoples: Gandalf/Ents. Shadow: Orc Swarm (Forced March).
- BerndReinartz – Free Peoples: Gandalf/Ents. Shadow: Southron Archery.
- Repicheep – Free Peoples: Dwarf/Sméagol Discard. Shadow: Southron/Gollum/Evil Men Archery.
- Zoeckler – Free Peoples: Gandalf/Ents. Shadow: Orc Lurker Swarm.
-Steve Horton
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