Chump Blocking: Difference between revisions
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Another common case is that you just don't have any other plan to deal with some horrific [[minion]]. If you're careless and {{Card|Sauron, the Lord of the Rings}} comes down, you may not have a better option than feeding two of your weakest [[companion]]s to him. The characters you throw in front of Sauron to die might be quite important and valuable, but none of them are more valuable than the [[ring-bearer]]! | Another common case is that you just don't have any other plan to deal with some horrific [[minion]]. If you're careless and {{Card|Sauron, the Lord of the Rings}} comes down, you may not have a better option than feeding two of your weakest [[companion]]s to him. The characters you throw in front of Sauron to die might be quite important and valuable, but none of them are more valuable than the [[ring-bearer]]! | ||
Generally, people only call it chump blocking when the chump in question is a Free Peoples character, because while weak [[companion]]s usually have the option to avoid skirmishing, weak [[minion]]s do not. Playing many [[minion]]s as the [[Shadow Alignment|Shadow]] player to tie up all of the strongest members of the Fellowship is called [[swarm]]ing. The term comes from [https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Chump_blocker the Magic: the Gathering] | Generally, people only call it chump blocking when the chump in question is a Free Peoples character, because while weak [[companion]]s usually have the option to avoid skirmishing, weak [[minion]]s do not. Playing many [[minion]]s as the [[Shadow Alignment|Shadow]] player to tie up all of the strongest members of the Fellowship is called [[swarm]]ing. The term comes from [https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Chump_blocker the Magic: the Gathering community] and in MTG terms minions are always analogous to attackers and only companions are analogous to blockers. | ||
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Revision as of 06:58, 6 January 2022
Chump Blocking is an informal game term. Chump blocking, or rarely "chumping", is skirmishing in a suicidal way with a weak character, because you either intentionally want to kill off that character or because it's the least bad option. Choosing an exhausted Sam, Son of Hamfast (1C311)
to skirmish The Balrog, Durin's Bane (2C51)
is a classic example of chump-blocking.
One reason to chump block is because you intentionally want to get that character killed. If your Fellowship is too large, you'll be vulnerable to cards like Úlairë Enquëa, Lieutenant of Morgul (1U231)
. Alternately, that character might bear a condition like Desperate Defense of the Ring (1R244)
that is a liability to the rest of the Fellowship. Even more rarely, the card might itself have a negative condition, like Aragorn, Strider (11R54)
or Denethor, On the Edge of Madness (18R42)
.
Another reason is because the character is useless or used up, and either can't be healed any more or is no longer an attractive target for healing. Oftentimes this includes characters who exert to produce some effect or produce their main effect when they come into play, like Legolas, Greenleaf (1R50)
or Pippin, Hobbit of Some Intelligence (1R307)
, characters who are only in the deck to for a situational benefit, like Radagast, The Brown (9R+26)
, or relatively weak characters, like most Hobbits. In the case of Sam, Son of Hamfast (1C311)
, he's all three, and it's rare that he'll survive to site 9.
Another common case is that you just don't have any other plan to deal with some horrific minion. If you're careless and Sauron, The Lord of the Rings (9R+48)
comes down, you may not have a better option than feeding two of your weakest companions to him. The characters you throw in front of Sauron to die might be quite important and valuable, but none of them are more valuable than the ring-bearer!
Generally, people only call it chump blocking when the chump in question is a Free Peoples character, because while weak companions usually have the option to avoid skirmishing, weak minions do not. Playing many minions as the Shadow player to tie up all of the strongest members of the Fellowship is called swarming. The term comes from the Magic: the Gathering community and in MTG terms minions are always analogous to attackers and only companions are analogous to blockers.
