Smeagol, Slinker (5R29): Difference between revisions
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{{CardTabs|Gollum}} | {{CardTabs|Gollum}} | ||
[[{{ROOTPAGENAME}}]] is a {{C|Gollum}} [[Companion]] from the [[Battle of Helm's Deep]] set. Despite representing a scrawny, diminutive creature, Slinker is one of the most capable skirmishers in the game. This has been controversial for some, | [[{{ROOTPAGENAME}}]] is a {{C|Gollum}} [[Companion]] from the [[Battle of Helm's Deep]] set. Despite representing a scrawny, diminutive creature, Slinker is one of the most capable skirmishers in the game. This has been controversial for some, who have argued that a character like Smeagol should never be able to win skirmishes against imposing a figures like The Witch-king, and that allowing such a thing to happen is one of the breaking points for the game's narrative. | ||
Reframing Slinker and other powerful versions of Smeagol may help alleviate these concerns: Smeagol distracted, avoided, and saved Frodo from many threats while guiding him into Mordor. Rather than Slinker's skirmishes representing the physical prowess of a character like Aragorn, they are conceptually closer to the acts of stealth which kept The Ring hidden and enemies off of their trail. Each burden added represents the toll his guidance and ultimate betrayal caused Frodo -- relying on Smeagol too heavily will appropriately be a Fellowship's downfall. | Reframing Slinker and other powerful versions of Smeagol may help alleviate these concerns: Smeagol distracted, avoided, and saved Frodo from many threats while guiding him into Mordor. Rather than Slinker's skirmishes representing the physical prowess of a character like Aragorn, they are conceptually closer to the acts of stealth which kept The Ring hidden and enemies off of their trail. Each burden added represents the toll his guidance and ultimate betrayal caused Frodo -- relying on Smeagol too heavily will appropriately be a Fellowship's downfall. |
Revision as of 21:40, 5 October 2022
Smeagol, Old Noser (5C28) | Back to Battle of Helm's Deep Index |
We Must Have It (5C30) |
Smeagol, Slinker (5R29) is a Gollum Companion from the Battle of Helm's Deep set. Despite representing a scrawny, diminutive creature, Slinker is one of the most capable skirmishers in the game. This has been controversial for some, who have argued that a character like Smeagol should never be able to win skirmishes against imposing a figures like The Witch-king, and that allowing such a thing to happen is one of the breaking points for the game's narrative.
Reframing Slinker and other powerful versions of Smeagol may help alleviate these concerns: Smeagol distracted, avoided, and saved Frodo from many threats while guiding him into Mordor. Rather than Slinker's skirmishes representing the physical prowess of a character like Aragorn, they are conceptually closer to the acts of stealth which kept The Ring hidden and enemies off of their trail. Each burden added represents the toll his guidance and ultimate betrayal caused Frodo -- relying on Smeagol too heavily will appropriately be a Fellowship's downfall.
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Strategy
Gameplay Strategy
Slinker's ability makes him extremely flexible: he is capable of surviving almost any skirmish, but whether he wins or loses depends on how much the Free Peoples player is willing to pay. A natural fit with Sting, Baggins Heirloom (5R116) , decks with him typically include The Shire Countryside (3R113) to address the necessary burden removal and healing. Frodo's Cloak (4R303) can heal remove 1 burden and up to 5 exertions (1 from the cloak itself and 4 from all copies of The Shire Countryside) in the middle of a skirmish, the cost of making Smeagol strength +12. If Frodo is fully healed with no burdens and armed with Sting and The One Ring, Answer To All Riddles (4R1) , Smeagol can exceed 30 strength and overwhelm even the most troubling minions. Don’t Follow the Lights (6C38) makes this unnecessary most of the time -- simply assign the weakest minion to Smeagol, do the minimum necessary to win that skirmish, and discard the strongest minion as a result. Not Listening (6C43) refunds burdens (and wounds, with The Shire Countryside) after winning so that The Fellowship can keep rolling on. Poor Wretch (5C27) adds some extra base strength to mitigate the number of burdens Slinker will need to add, and allows the Free Peoples player to get rid of higher vitality minions when preparing for a double move.
While it's possible to manage all of Smeagol's skirmishes on strength alone, Don’t Look at Them (6R39) can still offer a great benefit on many fronts. Most obviously, it's an alternative way to win skirmishes against minions with 1 vitality and a welcome reprieve from all the burdens and exertions. It also can act as a sort of damage bonus, reducing minions to 1 vitality so that the skirmish victory can kill them. which may be the only way to put away minions without needing to overwhelm them or discard them with Don't Follow the Lights. Further, it provides a big edge over Ringwraith decks, particularly those with Morgul Brute (7R188) whose an ability makes it the only minion the Free Peoples player may be outright unable to beat in a skirmish otherwise. Lastly, it's an opportunity to cycle through extra cards which often a necessity when so much of the deck's success depends on having the right events in hand and removing burdens before the Shadow player can capitalize on them. Doing so gives the Free Peoples the necessary control to remove yet another burden with A Light in His Mind (10U108) as well.
Since he may never end up taking wounds in a skirmish, he is often left with excess vitality compared to other versions of Smeagol. Follow Sméagol (5U23) is essentially free site manipulation in these cases, denying opponents their favorable sites while giving your Shadow the leg up even as you lead the way down the adventure path. Frodo, Son of Drogo (1C290) is a relatively unpopular Ring-bearer, but he provides a way for Slinker to safely "take back" exertions from Sting and maximize the Free Peoples' effectiveness. This is especially true if several copies of The Shire Countryside are in play and some of the healing from it or Not Listening would be wasted otherwise.
Smeagol already adds a burden to play, and Slinker relies heavily on adding burdens to skirmish. Decks built around him must be cautious with their opening bids, as without having the right cards to start with a normally safe bid of 3 can quickly turn into 5 burdens going into site 3, opening the door for Úlairë Enquëa, Lieutenant of Morgul (1U231) to showing and kill a companion. At the same time, Slinker decks rely heavily on tricks and often need to get ahead of opponents early so they can reliably rearm in the more harrowing later sites. When it is necessary to have 5 burdens, remember that Enquea can typically only kill companions with 3 vitality or less while Hobbits and Smeagol have 4 vitality. As long as the Ring-bearer is the only wounded companion, you can stall long enough to drop back below 5 burdens before another copy of Enquea can finish anyone off.
Deckbuilding Strategy
To build a deck entirely around Slinker requires at least 20 cards, with the remainder usually taken up by gear and tricks to be utilized by Hobbits. However, since he doesn't cost any twilight he can slot into any deck, and sometimes players can benefit from splashing Slinker to help get through the first sites and die when the going gets rough later. A deck which is already removing burdens quickly (typically Hobbit shennanigans but occasionally Gandalf cards) may not need the full kit to get the full value out of him. Sméagol, Poor Creature (6C45) may still be preferred as the designated speed bump even when the Free Peoples has plenty of burden removal though, since he helps a deck get through cards faster and draw what it really needs.
In Towers he generally fills the need for a strong skirmisher in an otherwise all-Hobbit deck, often seen alongside Sam, Nice Sensible Hobbit (5U115) . This deck may operate with or without Merry and Pippin. In Movie, Sam, Great Elf Warrior (10P122) is a substantial enough upgrade that the deck almost always starts with all 4 Hobbits and Smeagol. Sam, Samwise the Brave (4C316) is occasionally used to ensure that the Shadow player can't interfere with the flow of burdens, important when playing against dedicated corruption decks.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Synergizes With...
- Not Listening (6C43)
- Don’t Follow the Lights (6C38)
- Poor Wretch (5C27) (particularly for the damage bonus)
- Frodo, Son of Drogo (1C290)
- Sting, Baggins Heirloom (5R116)
- Frodo's Cloak (4R303)
- Brace of Coneys (4C298)
Strong Versus...
- Uruk-hai, which have little care for burdens and can have their damage bonuses soaked up by Smeagol
- Southrons, which often try to wound companions directly in skirmishes
Weak Versus...
- Easterlings, which will only grow in strength with the burdens from Smeagol
- Warg (5C65) decks, which force the Free Peoples to add many burdens before being able to increase Smeagol's strength at all
- Isengard Orcs, which typically have too much strength to overwhelm and too much vitality to kill in skirmishes
- Morgul Brute (7R188) , who can immediately remove the burdens to gain the upper hand again
Rulings
Alternate Personas
Portrait | Name | Game Text |
---|---|---|
Sméagol, Old Noser (5C28) | Ring-bound. To play, add a burden.
Regroup: Exert Sméagol (or Gollum) twice to reveal the top 4 cards of your draw deck. Wound a minion for each Shadow card revealed. Place those 4 cards beneath your draw deck in any order. | |
Sméagol, Poor Creature (6C45) | Ring-bound. To play, add a burden. Skirmish: Discard a card from hand to make Sméagol strength +1. | |
Sméagol, Always Helps (7R71) | Ring-bound. To play, add a burden.
Assignment: Assign a minion to Sméagol and add 2 threats to exhaust that minion. | |
Sméagol, Hurried Guide (7C72) | Ring-bound. To play, add a burden.
Skirmish: If you have initiative, discard 2 cards from your hand. Sméagol cannot be overwhelmed unless his strength is tripled. | |
Sméagol, Slippery Sneak (8R27) | Ring-bound. To play, add a burden.
Skirmish: Add a number of threats equal to the total vitality of the minions Sméagol is skirmishing to discard Sméagol. Regroup: Discard Sméagol to take a minion from your discard pile into hand. | |
Sméagol, Bearer of Great Secrets (9R+30) | Ring-bound. To play, add a burden.
Each time the fellowship moves, place an unbound companion in the dead pile. Regroup: If Sméagol is the Ring-bearer, add 2 burdens to discard each minion. | |
Sméagol, Scout and Guide (11R51) | Ring-bound. To play, add a burden.
Each time Sméagol wins a skirmish, you may play the fellowship's next site. Skirmish: If Sméagol is at a marsh, exert him to cancel a skirmish involving him. | |
Sméagol, Simple Stoor (13U55) | Ring-bound. To play, add a burden.
For each card titled Déagol in your discard pile, Sméagol is strength +2 and resistance –1. Each time Sméagol wins a skirmish, you may take a card from your draw deck and place it in your discard pile. | |
Sméagol, Wretched and Hungry (15R49) | Ring-bound. To play, add a burden.
Each Ring-bound companion is resistance +1. Skirmish: Exert 2 Ring-bound Hobbits to make Sméagol strength +1 and prevent him from being overwhelmed unless his strength is tripled. | |
Sméagol, Pitiable Guide (19P11) | Ring-bound.
To play, add a burden. Each time Sméagol wins a skirmish, you may shuffle up to 2 cards from your discard pile into your draw deck. Skirmish: Exert a Ring-bound companion to make Sméagol strength +2. |
See Also
Merrick_H's Super Smeagol deck
Built for King Standard, but legal for Towers Standard. Click here for the full decklist. Free Peoples Draw Deck:
- 1x Sméagol, Slinker (5R29)
- 1x Boromir, Son of Denethor (1U97)
- 1x Merry, Friend to Sam (1R302)
- 1x Blade of Gondor (1R95)
- 2x Brace of Coneys (4C298)
- 3x Frodo's Cloak (4R303)
- 2x Hobbit Sword (1C299)
- 2x Sting, Baggins Heirloom (5R116)
- 4x Nasty (7U64)
- 4x Not Listening (6C43)
- 2x Power According to His Stature (1R308)
- 4x Poor Wretch (5C27)
- 1x The Saga of Elendil (1R114)
- 4x The Shire Countryside (3R113)