Editing Battle of Helm's Deep

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{{NavBar|Battle of Helm's Deep|[[Main Page]]|[[The Two Towers]]|[[Ents of Fangorn]]}}
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{{Set
|ID=5
|Name=Battle of Helm's Deep	
|Abbr=BoHD
|Creator=Decipher
|ReleaseDate=2003-03-12
|IsOfficial=yes
|Platforms=Paper, LotR-O, GEMP, mLOTRO, Tabletop Simulator, Lackey, gccg
|Notes=
}}

Set 5, '''Battle of Helm's Deep''' (or '''BOHD''') is the first expansion of [[Towers Block]], and the fifth set overall. It was released on March 12, 2003 and included many of the block's core concepts that Decipher wasn't able to release before The Two Towers movie came to theaters. 

== Notable Cards ==

* {{Card|Evil-smelling Fens}}
* {{Card|Gollum, Stinker}}
* {{Card|Citadel of the Stars}}
* {{Card|Grima, Chief Counselor}}
* {{Card|Dead Marshes}}
* {{Card|Sting, Baggins Heirloom}}

== Starter Deck Rares ==
For this set, Decipher decided to experiment with removing the 3 random Rare cards that normally came in a [[Starter Deck]], and replacing them with fixed Alternate Image "rares" which thematically suited the deck.  While the power level of the decks as playable specimens increased, the perceived value of these decks took a nosedive as there was no longer any reason for collectors to buy more than one.  Decipher tried once more with [[Ents of Fangorn]], and after that restored the random rares with [[The Return of the King]] and all following sets.

== Cultures ==

This set contained the debut of the {{C|Gollum}} culture, as Decipher was not licensed to spoil images of {{Smeagol}}/Gollum before The Two Towers released in theaters.  This culture broke new ground by being the first (and so far, only) culture to have both [[Free Peoples]] ''and'' [[Shadow Alignment|Shadow]] cards, centrally the inclusion of both the [[Minion]] Gollum and the [[Companion]] {{Smeagol}}.  Mechanically, this captured the internal struggle of the character perfectly; not only could {{Smeagol}} help the Fellowship while Gollum attacked it, but you could even assign {{Smeagol}} to skirmish Gollum, and watch his internal war play out on the table. 

BOHD also marked the re-introduction of the {{C|Sauron}} culture, which had been absent in the base set.

== New unloaded keywords ==

* [[Knight]], a new subculture for {{C|Gondor}} representing the soldiers of Minas Tirith.
* [[Fortification]], a type of condition representing defensive structures.  While it is used a bit by {{C|Rohan}}, this is really a {{C|Gondor}} staple.
* [[Warg-rider]], a subculture of {{C|Isengard}} [[Orc]]s which can ride [[Warg]] [[Mount]]s.

== Other mechanics ==

* [[Uruk-hai]] [[Berserker]]s, which prefer to be close to exhaustion and have ways of self-exerting to enable that.
* Widely expanded the number of cards with or referencing the [[Machine]] and [[Valiant]] keywords
* Mumakil and [[Warg]] mounts
* {{C|Sauron}} [[Tracker]]s that lower site numbers rather than roaming costs



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{{Set Table}}