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| <noinclude>__NOTOC__
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| {{NavBar|5U115|[[Battle of Helm's Deep Index]]|[[Rare Good Ballast (5U114)|Rare Good Ballast (5U114)]]|[[Sting, Baggins Heirloom (5R116)|Sting, Baggins Heirloom (5R116)]]}}
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| {{CardTabs|Shire}}
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| [[{{ROOTPAGENAME}}]] is a {{C|Shire}} [[Companion]] from the [[Battle of Helm's Deep]] set.
| | {{NavBar|Lotr05115|Battle of Helm's Deep Index|Rare Good Ballast (5U114)|Sting, Baggins Heirloom (5R116)}} |
| {{CardInfobox|5U115}}
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| {{QueryCardCategories|5U115}}</noinclude>
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| = Strategy =
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| == Gameplay Strategy ==
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| This version of Sam is intended to roll with the Shadow player's punches, simply shrugging off whatever they have. The built-in overwhelm protection allows his high vitality to shine while any number of healing techniques (a {{C|Shire}} specialty) can put him back where he started and ready for more. {{Card|Rosie Cotton, Hobbiton Lass}} is a natural partner, either on her own for the strength boost and to remove a single wound in a pinch or with the rest of the [[Hobbit Hospital]] to constantly push wounds away.
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| At site 9, Frodo, Sam, and Smeagol are often completely unassailable. Swarm strategies need to be able to at least double Frodo's strength (and often triple it, thanks to {{Card|Bounder}} or {{Card|Severed His Bonds}}) and triple Sam's. Armed just with their swords, Frodo is 6 or 7 strength depending on The One Ring and Sam is 5, requiring 3 minions with 5 strength on each of them to overcome. Smeagol takes another, meaning the Shadow player has to put forth at least 7 minions to have a chance -- and that's when there are only 3 companions. With {{Card|A Promise}} or a pump, would normally be a full swarm's worth of minions would be required to kill just one of the Hobbits. A solid showing of fierce minions may have a shot if they can kill one of the characters in a first skirmishes, although doing so almost always requires more than the 12 twilight guaranteed by the move.
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| All the Free Peoples player has to do, then, is make it that far. Moving just once per turn keeps the trio armed and ready, an incredibly tough nut for the Shadow player to crack. However, if an opponent is ahead on the adventure path there may be no need to try. Double moves are always riskier for smaller Fellowships but may be necessary to have a shot at winning, and when one of the three has to die it can be tough to decide which.
| | {{LegacyCardInfoBox |
| | | TLHHImage=LOTR05115 |
| | | WikiImage=LOTR05115 |
| | | SetNum=05 |
| | | CardNum=115 |
| | | SetName=Battle of Helm's Deep |
| | | Side=Free Peoples |
| | | Culture=Shire |
| | | Twilight=2 |
| | | FullCardType=Companion • Hobbit |
| | | Stat1Name=Strength |
| | | Stat1=3 |
| | | Stat2Name=Vitality |
| | | Stat2=4 |
| | | Stat3Name=Resistance |
| | | Stat3=5 |
| | | Stat4Name= |
| | | Stat4= |
| | | GameText=Ring-bound. While you can spot Frodo and Smeagol, Sam may not be overwhelmed unless is strength is tripled. Response: If Frodo is killed, make Sam the Ring-bearer (resistance 5). |
| | | Lore=“‘Trust Sméagol now? Very, very good.'” |
| | | Rarity=U |
| | | Notes= |
| | }} |
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| Losing Frodo or Sam means half of Sam's survivability fizzles out as well, so choosing to send Sam home would be the obvious choice if not for his response action. The ability to carry on when your Ring-bearer dies can rarely be overvalued, and with {{Card|A Promise}} even a Smeagol-oriented deck may get rid of the treacherous little toad to keep Frodo and Sam together. If there are no copies of A Promise around, however, {{Card|Sting, Baggins Heirloom}} is such a potent tool when combined with some of Smeagol's other tricks that Sam might need to be the one to go home. When Frodo is laden with many burdens and there's no relief in sight, granting him eternal rest can be the best option regardless of other considerations.
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| == Deckbuilding Strategy == | | = General Strategy = |
| This is perhaps the least flexible version of Sam. Since using this card means Smeagol is a key part of the deck, you typically choose him because of how most of your deck already looks rather than choose much of your deck because of him. {{Card|Sam, Great Elf Warrior}} in Movie block has the strength to not just fend off being overwhelmed but win skirmishes, which further confines him to either Towers or a deck with no Hobbit companions other than Frodo and Sam.
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| Even when he does fit into a deck nicely, he is a deckbuilding blessing and curse: he doesn't need (and can't use) the overwhelm protection from {{Card|Bounder}} or {{Card|Severed His Bonds}}, but any other Hobbits still do. These effects provide somewhat less benefit as a result, creating tension between including enough to keep Frodo alive and not including so much that Sam's text is redundant. When {{Card|Frodo, Old Bilbo's Heir}} is your ring-bearer, for example, you're able to use Bounder reliably enough already and may get more out of {{Card|Sam, Samwise the Brave}} or {{Card|Sam, Son of Hamfast}} instead. However, if one copy of Bounder or Severed His Bonds is all you have, Nice Sensible Hobbit goes a long way to help you get by without it until site 8 or 9 -- hopefully you'll draw it by then!
| | In this section, describe: |
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| {{Card|A Promise}} is absolutely essential for Sam, with each additional point of strength he has requiring three more for the Shadow Player to overwhelm him. {{Card|A Talent for Not Being Seen}} negates the twilight Sam adds each move, and a deck of just Frodo, Sam, and Smeagol (especially {{Card|Smeagol, Slinker}}) is a powerful choke deck in any format. This is made even stronger with {{Card|Bill the Pony}} in Towers. Without the twilight to make a real impact there is little to fear when moving once per turn, though several Free Peoples events may be needed to move in the regroup phase if there are minions on the table or twilight left in the pool. When possible, going from 3-5 is safest since site 4 can be chosen to give the Shadow player nothing to work with -- the move to {{Card|Ered Nimrais}} can be reduced to provide just 3 twilight. 5-7 may also be feasible if you already have sustainable healing set up.
| | * Deck design strategy. |
| | * Gameplay considerations. |
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| = Strengths and Weaknesses = | | = Strengths and Weaknesses = |
| == Synergizes With... ==
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| * {{Card|A Promise}}
| | === Strong Versus... === |
| * {{Card|Rosie Cotton, Hobbiton Lass}}
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| * {{Card|Smeagol, Slinker}}
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| == Strong Versus... ==
| | * Add cards and explanations here. |
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| * Fierce minions with high strength such as Nazgul and {{C|Isengard}} trackers, which will let Sam get twice as much use out of his overwhelm protection
| | === Weak Versus... === |
| * Beatdown decks, which rely on breaking down the Fellowship's strongest fighters over two or three sites
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| * Swarm decks, which will have to try to overwhelm Frodo before Sam and overcome the strength bonus of The One Ring twice
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| == Weak Versus... ==
| | * Add cards and explanations here. |
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| * {{C|Isengard}} Orcs, which are at their strongest against a Fellowship built to merely survive
| | = Example Decks = |
| * {{C|Dunland}} decks, which only need to win skirmishes to inflict long-term damage to the Fellowship
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| = Alternate Personas =
| | * Decklists or links to decks that use this card. |
| {{AlternateVersionTable|5U115}}
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| = See Also = | | = Rules and Clarifications = |
| ==Sample Deck==
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| Format: [[Towers Standard]]
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| * Ring-bearer: {{Card|Frodo, Reluctant Adventurer}}
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| * Ring: {{Card|The One Ring, Answer To All Riddles}}
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| Free Peoples Draw Deck (35 cards):
| | * Clarify existing rules if needed. |
| * 1x {{Card|Smeagol, Slinker}} | | * Link to rules discussions on TLHH. |
| * 1x {{Card|Merry, Friend to Sam}} | | |
| * 1x {{Card|Pippin, Hobbit of Some Intelligence}} | | = Extra Information = |
| * 1x {{Card|Sam, Nice Sensible Hobbit}} | | == Other Versions of Sam == |
| * 1x {{Card|Bounder}} | | |
| * 1x {{Card|Rosie Cotton, Hobbiton Lass}} | | * [[lotr00078|Steadfast Friend (P)]] |
| * 2x {{Card|Brace of Coneys}} | | * [[lotr00w13|Lover of Trees (W)]] |
| * 2x {{Card|Frodo's Cloak}} | | * [[lotr01310|Faithful Companion]] |
| * 2x {{Card|Hobbit Sword}} | | * [[lotr01311|Son of Hamfast]] |
| * 2x {{Card|Sting, Baggins Heirloom}} | | * [[lotr02114|Proper Poet]] |
| * 4x {{Card|Don't Follow the Lights}} | | * [[lotr02m03|Proper Poet (M)]] |
| * 3x {{Card|Not Listening}} | | * [[lotr04315|Frodo's Gardener]] |
| * 3x {{Card|Hobbit Intuition}} | | * [[lotr04316|Samwise the Brave]] |
| * 2x {{Card|Don't Look at Them}} | | * [[lotr07326|Needer of Vittles]] |
| * 1x {{Card|Follow Smeagol}} | | * [[lotr07327|Resolute Halfling]] |
| * 4x {{Card|A Promise}} | | * [[lotr10122|Great Elf Warrior]] |
| * 1x {{Card|A Talent for Not Being Seen}} | | * [[lotr10122t|Great Elf Warrior (T)]] |
| * 4x {{Card|The Shire Countryside}} | | * [[lotr11172|Steadfast Friend]] |
| | * [[lotr13156|Bearer of Great Need]] |
| | * [[lotr13156t|Bearer of Great Need (T)]] |
| | * [[lotr13f16|Bearer of Great Need (F)]] |
| | * [[lotr15153|Innocent Traveler]] |
| | * [[lotr19032|Loyal Friend]] |
