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| {{NavBar|2R112|[[Mines of Moria Index]]|[[Practically Everyone Was Invited (2U111)|Practically Everyone Was Invited (2U111)]]|[[Red Book of Westmarch (2R113)|Red Book of Westmarch (2R113)]]}} | | {{NavBar|2R112|[[Mines of Moria Index]]|[[Practically Everyone Was Invited (2U111)|Practically Everyone Was Invited (2U111)]]|[[Red Book of Westmarch (2R113)|Red Book of Westmarch (2R113)]]}} |
| {{CardTabs|Shire}} | | {{CardTabs|Shire}} |
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| [[{{ROOTPAGENAME}}]] is a {{C|Shire}} [[Condition]] from the [[Mines of Moria]] set. It is one of a handful of [[Fellowship Block]] cards reprinted in [[War of the Ring Block]], making it legal in the [[Standard]] tournament format for the entire lifespan of the game. | | [[{{ROOTPAGENAME}}]] is a {{CI|Shire}} [[Condition]] from the [[Mines of Moria]] set. |
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| {{CardInfobox|2R112}} | | {{CardInfobox|2R112}} |
| {{QueryCardCategories|2R112}}</noinclude> | | |
| | {{QueryCardCategories|2R112}} |
| = Strategy = | | = Strategy = |
| == Gameplay Strategy == | | == Gameplay Strategy == |
| Frodo has high vitality but low strength, which is a problem for a Ring-bearer: even a modest minion can overwhelm him if he has only The One Ring at his disposal, and two minions of almost any sort are a sure kill. This is a core problem for the Free Peoples and making sure that there aren't more minions than the Ring-bearer can handle is what the game boils down to. Sam is a possible solution, able to take the Ring should Frodo die. Unfortunately, he himself is even easier to overwhelm since he doesn't start with The Ring, so swarms are can simply go for him first or even overwhelm them both. A Promise covers these weaknesses, turning two members of the weakest race in the game into characters which can not only survive a multitude of skirmishes but even win some of them.
| | ''In this section, describe:'' |
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| Alongside overwhelm protection such as {{Card|Bounder}}, Frodo and Sam can be virtually impossible to overwhelm -- but not impossible to kill. Since the strength bonus goes away once either one of them becomes exhausted, having some sort of healing is crucial for A Promise decks. Frodo can bear {{Card|Mithril-coat}} and (depending on which version of The One Ring is chosen) usually turn wounds into burdens at will, so Sam is often the weakest link. {{Card|Rosie Cotton, Hobbiton Lass}} and {{Card|The Gaffer, Sam's Father}} are both obvious choices, with or without any other support such as {{Card|Frodo, Old Bilbo's Heir}} or {{Card|Hobbiton Party Guest}}. {{Card|Hobbit Appetite}}, while expensive, can bring one of them back from the brink and undo everything the Shadow player has accomplished over several sites. {{Card|Sam, Resolute Halfling}} can be kept fully healed almost trivially, and with {{Card|Frodo, Son of Drogo}} the pair of them are all they need to stay healthy.
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| If Frodo is able to skirmish without fear, there is less need for other companions to cover him. This makes A Promise a natural fit for a choke deck. While it's possible to win games with only Frodo and Sam, most players will use all 4 twilight for the starting fellowship for a bit of breathing room, especially towards the start when there's no telling when the first copies of A Promise might be drawn. Merry and Pippin are commonly chosen to maximize the benefit of {{Card|A Talent for Not Being Seen}}, a card which already make sense to include anyway. Perhaps surprisingly, Gimli is also a good choice thanks to {{C|Dwarven}} choke tactics (namely free possessions) and his skirmishing capabilities. In [[Fellowship Block]] {{Card|Green Dragon Inn}} allows the widest variety of starting fellowships, and in [[Towers Standard]] {{Card|Eastemnet Gullies}} enables Sam and A Promise to fit nicely into a {{Card|Dauntless Hunter}} deck.
| | * ''General usage'' |
| | | * ''Unorthodox or subtle usage'' |
| Of course, A Promise isn't perfect -- Shadow sides of all sorts have conditions they fear and typically pack some condition removal for them. A Free Peoples that relies only on A Promise will struggle against a variety of decks, and especially {{C|Isengard}} which will typically have {{Card|Saruman's Power}} regardless of strategy. Even when A Promise isn't removed directly, a slow setup or intense wounding will kill Sam or Frodo before site 9 from time to time. When facing corruption strategies, the strength bonus from A Promise is usually less important. Don't let it stop you from killing Frodo off to clear burdens.
| | * ''Common pitfalls of using this card'' |
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| == Deckbuilding Strategy == | | == Deckbuilding Strategy == |
| In [[Fellowship Block]] and [[Towers Standard]], including A Promise almost always means including 4 copies of it. Not only can this potentially bring Frodo and Sam up to 7 base strength, but it also provides some redundancy for {{Card|Saruman's Power}} as {{C|Isengard}} Shadow sides are popular in both formats. Between A Promise, some method of healing, {{Card|Hobbit Sword}} / {{Card|Sting}}, and additional skirmish pumps, the part of the deck built for Frodo and Sam will likely take up 10-15 cards. This leaves plenty of room to develop the remainder in almost any direction. Since the core of it all still functions even as parts are stripped away (e.g., forgoing healing or only having 3 copies of A Promise), it can also be trimmed down and used as a contingency against swarm strategies. This is particularly useful against {{C|Moria}} in Towers Standard, which has no way to discard it and uses {{Card|Cavern Entrance}} to shut out skirmish pumps and wounding from {{Card|Power According to His Stature}} and {{Card|Frying Pan}}. | | ''In this section, describe:'' |
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| In [[Movie Block]], {{Card|Sam, Great Elf Warrior}} makes A Promise less necessary for a Hobbit fellowship -- Sam gets up to 10 strength with a standard 4-Hobbit Fellowship, {{Card|Rosie Cotton, Hobbiton Lass}}, and {{Card|Hobbit Sword}}. For Frodo, {{Card|The One Ring, Such a Weight to Carry}}, a sword, and the unbanned {{Card|O Elbereth! Gilthoniel!}} bring him to 8 strength which is enough to survive 3 5-strength minions at base. Further, Merry and Pippin are less expendable for the strength boost they give Sam (which won't go away should Frodo die) and need space in the deck for {{Card|Everyone Knows}}. A Promise still helps, of course, but it isn't necessary to prevent overwhelms. It is more often seen with fewer than 4 copies compared to earlier formats and, unless there are minions which you ''need'' to be able to beat in skirmishes reliably and A Promise puts Frodo or Sam up to the necessary levels, it sometimes can be pushed out completely in favor of cards for Merry and Pippin or to help all Hobbits equally.
| | * ''Cards and strategies this card works well with'' |
| | | * ''Cards and strategies this card works particularly well or poorly against'' |
| In [[Expanded]], there are more reasons to pass on A Promise than not. {{Card|The One Ring, The Great Ring}} is chief among them, allowing you to start the game with everything needed to stave off overwhelm (as long as you can avoid {{Card|11S232}}, that is). But that's just the start: choke decks are harder to pull off, Bilbo becomes a major companion for Hobbit decks, skirmish cancelling is far more reliable, condition discarding is more prevalent, and various sources of event recursion let you constantly replay events capable of making Hobbits almost arbitrarily strong, like {{Card|Chance Observation}} and {{Card|Concerning Hobbits}}. The final hurdle is {{Card|Sudden Fury}}, which essentially fills the same role without any of the restrictions.
| | * ''Alternate cards you might consider picking instead of this one, depending on the situation, including alternate version of characters'' |
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| = Strengths and Weaknesses = | | = Strengths and Weaknesses = |
| == Synergizes With... == | | == Synergizes With... == |
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| * {{Card|Rosie Cotton, Hobbiton Lass}} | | * ''List friendly cards that work well with this card'' |
| * {{Card|Sam, Nice Sensible Hobbit}}, {{Card|Bounder}}, and any other overwhelm protection
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| * {{Card|Rare Good Ballast}}
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| * {{Card|Mithril-coat}}
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| * {{Card|Good Work}}
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| * {{Card|A Talent for Not Being Seen}}
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| == Strong Versus... == | | == Strong Versus... == |
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| * {{Card|Saruman's Snows}} or {{Card|Cavern Entrance}}, which is otherwise often a death warrant for Hobbits assigned to skirmishes | | * ''List enemy cards this card does well against'' |
| * Swarms of every sort, which may be completely unable to make an impact without discarding A Promise first
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| * Uruk-hai, whose damage bonuses are much more manageable for Hobbits (and especially the Ring-bearer) than most other companions
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| == Weak Versus... == | | == Weak Versus... == |
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| * {{Card|Saruman's Power}}, a common sight in any {{Card|Isengard}} deck | | * ''List enemy or friendly cards to avoid playing this card with'' |
| * Wounding decks, especially those with direct wounding effects like {{Card|Desert Lord}} | | |
| | = Rulings = |
| | ''In this section'': |
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| | * ''Put quotes from the CRDs and Comprehensive Rules here that reference this card specifically by name'' |
| | * ''Also put quotes if a particular rule commonly affects the outcome of a card in a subtle manner (such as quoting the [[Rule of 4]] for {{Card|8R20}})'' |
| | * ''Link to rules discussions on TLHH'' |
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| = Alternate Versions = | | = Alternate Versions = |
| A Promise was reprinted without change in [[Black Rider]] to keep the card legal at the introduction of set rotation, which banned all cards from [[Fellowship of the Ring]] and [[Mines of Moria]].
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| {{AlternateVersionTable|2R112}} | | {{AlternateVersionTable|2R112}} |
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| = See Also = | | = See Also = |
| Three of the top 16 decks from the [[Towers Standard]] World Tournament played A Promise and {{Card|Legolas, Dauntless Hunter}}: https://lotrtcgwiki.com/forums/index.php?topic=12100.msg99058
| | * ''Add links to the wayback machine (or wiki archival links) for official Decipher articles regarding the card'' |
| | * ''Link to decks that use this card'' |
| | [[Category:Cards That Need Work]] |
