By Steve "the_poet" Horton

It's a return to form for Kenneth "Ellington" Ellingsen, top-rated Lord of the Rings Online TCG player and consistent winner at high-level events. With a reduced field of 31 players, Ellington still faced some fierce competition on his road to PSQ winner.

His Free Peoples side should be familiar to everyone by now - it's the Gandalf/Ent/Pallando deck that he's been playing for months and helped pioneer. It's a big fellowship deck that matches up well against swarm and Nazgűl alike.

Ellington decided to go with the old standby, Forest Nazgűl, this time around, instead of his usual Corsairs.

I had a chance to talk with Ellington a bit about his tournament performance.

POET: There were only 31 participants this time around. How do you feel the competition and challenge compared to past PSQs with larger attendance?

ELLINGTON: Some of the top players were missing, but I still think the competition was pretty strong.

POET: Why Forest Nazgűl this time around and not Corsairs again?

ELLINGTON: No particular reason I think. I just wanted to play something different from last time.

POET: Any trouble matchups? Did you have to face Merboy, who won the last two PSQs? If so, how did that match go?

ELLINGTON: I was absent at the last months psq, so maybe that's the reason why he won the last two? =) I really don't see how Orcs can win back to back PSQs, as a good ent deck should smother Orcs. I think most players who play ents don't know how to play them perfectly or just play too many cards in their decks. I always play a 30/30 deck which enables a fast setup.

POET: We've got the Middle-earth cards coming into Standard in a few weeks. You think any of those cards will find their way into top decks?

ELLINGTON: Grimbeorn will probably be played in an Ent deck, and the Orcs are pretty good.

POET: What do you think needs fixing in the game that you hope The Hunters will provide?

ELLINGTON: I think the game is good as it is. A lot of players complain about site manipulation, but I don't see the problem with this as it enables a lot of different shadows to be played as well. I would like to see a card that hurts Gandalf, like the old Too Great and Terrible. Right now, so many players play him just because he can do almost anything (burden, condition and possession removal as well as site manipulation).

POET: Will you miss any cards when Towers Block rotates out? Is there anything you're glad to see go?

ELLINGTON: I like TT block, as you have options to play many different decks right now. There will be a lot fewer decks viable (Ents, Elves, Rohan, Knights, Sauron, Ninja Gollum, Southrons, Dunland). Even the almighty Sméagol splash for Don't Look at Them and Follow Sméagol will be gone. I will probably miss those pesky Wargs - those guys were way too overpowered!

POET: Who do you pick for the World Cup this year?

ELLINGTON: I'm not sure who's going, but I think a German team will win. They have a lot of quality players.

POET: Thanks, Ellington!

Elves seem to be making a bit of a comeback into the meta. Three of the top five decks were Elf decks, and that hasn't happened in some time - if ever! Second-place Merboy's was a strictly fighting deck, with Sméagol, Always Helps, a deck that matches up well against Nazgűl. The fourth and fifth-place decks were both Elven Archery, a deck that messes up Swarm pretty bad. Unlike swarm decks in previous blocks, New Orc swarm has little wound prevention - only Picket Denizen from Bloodlines - and a good archery deck will tear them to pieces if it can get set up fast enough.

A ton of Nazgűl decks round out the top 8, broken up into the two most popular forms: Forest Nazgűl, which uses Lost in the Woods and lots of site manipulation for big strength bonuses; and Burden Nazgűl, using Between Nazgűl and Prey to assign burden-adding Úlairë Enquëa, Thrall of the One wherever it wants. Look for Middle-earth to shake things up a bit (maybe even make Evil Men or Uruks playable at higher levels!) and The Hunters to follow in just a few short weeks!

Here's Elligton's winning deck, and a link to the top 8:

Ring-bearer and One Ring
Frodo, Protected by Many
The One Ring, The Ring of Rings

Free Peoples (30)
1 Ent Horde
1 Erland, Dale Counselor
1 Forest Guardian
1 Gandalf, Leader of Men
1 Járnsmid, Barding Emissary
1 Radagast, The Brown
1 Skinbark, Fladrif
1 Treebeard, Keeper of the Watchwood
4 G for Grand
4 Saved From the Fire
3 Terrible and Evil
4 The Flame of Anor
4 Traveled Leader
1 Pallando, Far-travelling One
1 Glamdring, Foe-hammer
1 Sting, Weapon of Heritage

Shadow (30)
4 Black Rider
3 The Witch-king, Captain of the Nine Riders
1 Úlairë Cantëa, Black Assassin
3 Úlairë Enquëa, Sixth of the Nine Riders
3 Úlairë Nelya, Third of the Nine Riders
1 Úlairë Otsëa, Thrall of the One
3 Úlairë Toldëa, Black Shadow
4 Dark Approach
1 Hatred Stirred
4 Lost in the Woods
2 Moving This Way
1 Out of Sight and Shot

September 2005 PSQ Top Eight Decklists:

1. Ellington – Free Peoples: Gandalf/Ents. Shadow: Forest Nazgűl.
2. Merboy – Free Peoples: Elf/Sméagol. Shadow: Lurker Orc Swarm (Forced March).
3. MonkeyUnit – Free Peoples: Gandalf/Ents. Shadow: Orc Swarm (Massing Strength).
4. Dark79Archon – Free Peoples: Elf Archery. Shadow: Burden Nazgűl.
5. OrangeJedi23 – Free Peoples: Elf Archery. Shadow: Dunland.
6. Miranda – Free Peoples: Gandalf/Ents. Shadow: Forest Nazgűl.
7. LimpAjoseR – Free Peoples: Dwarf/Sméagol. Shadow: Burden Nazgűl.
8. spider_poison – Free Peoples: Gandalf/Ents. Shadow: Forest Nazgűl.

-Steve Horton