Company of Archers (4R61): Difference between revisions
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Learning to use Company of Archers well relies on learning the key cards of your opponent's Shadow side. Notable targets in [[Towers Standard]] or [[Movie Block]]: | Learning to use Company of Archers well relies on learning the key cards of your opponent's Shadow side. Notable targets in [[Towers Standard]] or [[Movie Block]]: | ||
* {{C|Dunland}}: {{Card|Over The Isen}} and {{Card|Ready to Fall}} are the main targets if they are [[Site Control|controlling sites]]. Otherwise, {{Card|Constantly Threatening}} is the main target (although savvy opponents will hold it in their hand until it's too late to remove). {{Card|Bound By Rage}} is high priority if it still has tokens on it, but very rarely played. {{Card|No Retreat}} can potentially kill you, but it can also be played around. Other conditions are chaff. | * {{C|Dunland}}: {{Card|Over The Isen}} and {{Card|Ready to Fall}} are the main targets if they are [[Site Control|controlling sites]]. Otherwise, {{Card|Constantly Threatening}} is the main target (although savvy opponents will hold it in their hand until it's too late to remove). {{Card|Bound By Rage}} is high priority if it still has tokens on it, but very rarely played. {{Card|No Retreat}} can potentially kill you, but it can also be played around. Other conditions are chaff. | ||
* [[Ninja Gollum]]: {{Card|Promise Keeping}} and {{Card|They Stole It}} are the core of the deck. Everything else is chaff unless you're at risk of dying this turn to some other condition buffing Gollum's ability to skirmish. | * [[Ninja Gollum]]: {{Card|Promise Keeping}} and {{Card|They Stole It}} are the core of the deck. Promise Keeping is more dangerous unless you need to discard They Stole It to prevent them from killing a companion this turn. Everything else is chaff unless you're at risk of dying this turn to some other condition buffing Gollum's ability to skirmish. | ||
* {{C|Gollum}} [[splash]] and other decks: {{Card|Heavy Burden}} is a sure sign of a [[corruption]] deck and a fairly high-priority threat. {{Card|Evil-smelling Fens}} is only worth removing if you think they're playing [[tentacle]]s (which are vanishingly rare) or a [[hate]] minion that screws up your entire deck, like {{Card|Ulaire Enquea, Lieutenant of Morgul}}. {{Card|Fat One Wants It}} is rarely worth removing. Other conditions are rarely if ever played. | * {{C|Gollum}} [[splash]] and other decks: {{Card|Heavy Burden}} is a sure sign of a [[corruption]] deck and a fairly high-priority threat. {{Card|Evil-smelling Fens}} is only worth removing if you think they're playing [[tentacle]]s (which are vanishingly rare) or a [[hate]] minion that screws up your entire deck, like {{Card|Ulaire Enquea, Lieutenant of Morgul}}. {{Card|Fat One Wants It}} is rarely worth removing. Other conditions are rarely if ever played. | ||
* [[Isenorcs]]: Few versions of this deck run many conditions. {{Card|Gnawing, Biting, Hacking, Burning}} can be dangerous if it's allowed to get stacked up. {{Card|No Business of Ours}} is only worth worrying about if you're playing {{Card|Curse Their Foul Feet}}. {{Card|Trapped and Alone}} is rarely significant against elves. | * [[Isenorcs]]: Few versions of this deck run many conditions. {{Card|Gnawing, Biting, Hacking, Burning}} can be dangerous if it's allowed to get stacked up. {{Card|No Business of Ours}} is only worth worrying about if you're playing {{Card|Curse Their Foul Feet}}. {{Card|Trapped and Alone}} is rarely significant against elves. | ||
Revision as of 10:16, 4 March 2022
 Blades Drawn (4U60)
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 Back to The Two Towers Index |
Elven Bow (4U62) 
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Company of Archers (4R61) is a 
Elven Event from the The Two Towers set.
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Strategy
This is a long-time staple of Towers Standard and Movie Block Elven decks to remove annoying Shadow conditions. Almost every Shadow side has some sort of nasty condition you'd rather not deal with. All you need is enough elf companions to meet the spot requirements. It's easy to just have two elves in your starting Fellowship, especially in Movie Block where Galadriel, Bearer of Wisdom (9R+14)
is available.
Bear in mind that this card can't protect you from Shadow conditions that do all their work in the Shadow Phase or Maneuver Phase on the turn where they're played, like Greed (1R125)
, Small Hope (7R159)
, Under Foot (10C52)
, Evil-smelling Fens (5U22)
, or Final Strike (10U20)
.
The only real deckbuilding consideration with this card whether you'd rather use this or one of the other Elven condition removal cards. Secret Sentinels (2R20)
is stronger and its cost is negligible, since the most popular elf allies heal themselves. Secret Sentinels is generally a better choice if you're using elf allies, even if you have enough elf companions to spot. Vilya (3R27)
is reusable but does not permanently remove conditions. Galadriel, Lady Redeemed (10R11)
can turn any Elven event into condition removal, so Company of Archers only useful in that deck if you think Galadriel is likely to get killed. After Movie Block, Secret Sentinels is rarely played. While it's better than Seclusion (12U23)
unless you only have one elf companion to spot, it's worse than Lothlórien Guides (17U9)
and Namárië (17U10)
.
Learning to use Company of Archers well relies on learning the key cards of your opponent's Shadow side. Notable targets in Towers Standard or Movie Block:
Dunland: Over the Isen (4U31)
and Ready to Fall (6R7)
are the main targets if they are controlling sites. Otherwise, Constantly Threatening (4R6)
is the main target (although savvy opponents will hold it in their hand until it's too late to remove). Bound By Rage (6C1)
is high priority if it still has tokens on it, but very rarely played. No Retreat (4R30)
can potentially kill you, but it can also be played around. Other conditions are chaff.- Ninja Gollum: Promise Keeping (8R24)
and They Stole It (6R46)
are the core of the deck. Promise Keeping is more dangerous unless you need to discard They Stole It to prevent them from killing a companion this turn. Everything else is chaff unless you're at risk of dying this turn to some other condition buffing Gollum's ability to skirmish. 
Gollum splash and other decks: Heavy Burden (7U60)
is a sure sign of a corruption deck and a fairly high-priority threat. Evil-smelling Fens (5U22)
is only worth removing if you think they're playing tentacles (which are vanishingly rare) or a hate minion that screws up your entire deck, like Úlairë Enquëa, Lieutenant of Morgul (1U231)
. Fat One Wants It (7R57)
is rarely worth removing. Other conditions are rarely if ever played.- Isenorcs: Few versions of this deck run many conditions. Gnawing, Biting, Hacking, Burning (6U63)
can be dangerous if it's allowed to get stacked up. No Business of Ours (2C44)
is only worth worrying about if you're playing Curse Their Foul Feet
. Trapped and Alone (3U72)
is rarely significant against elves. - Uruk Archery and Uruk Machines: Weapons of Isengard (4R211)
or Devilry of Orthanc (5R49)
are the main targets, ideally when they already have tokens stacked on them. These decks often run Siege Engine (5U60)
as protection against condition removal, so pick off what you can when you can. - Uruk Trackers: Worry (1U162)
and Weary (4C212)
(when played on a key companion) are the main threats. Many Riddles (4U159)
is a lesser threat but still enables Kill Them Now (4C156)
and Vengeance (4U208)
. What Did You Discover
is generally lower-priority. - Other
Isengard: Greed (1R125)
should always be removed if you think it will affect your deck, although Company of Archers will often come too late to stop it. Attack on Helm's Deep (4C137)
and Down to the Last Child (4U148)
are important targets if they haven't controlled many sites yet. If you see A Fell Voice on the Air (3R52)
or Saruman's Snows (1C138)
, they are probably setting up some sort of bomb strategy and you should be looking to see how you can dismantle it (which will often involve taking out other key pieces of the bomb combo). Suffered Much Loss (10U35)
is very rare, but if they're playing it, their deck generally relies on using it to enable monsters like Uruk Vanguard (4R200)
. Most other conditions (especially Saruman's Ambition (1C133)
) are chaff. 
Moria swarm: They Are Coming (1C196)
is the main target. The only potentially-more-dangerous target is Goblin Swarms (1R183)
, but only if it already has minions stacked on it or if they're likely to win skirmishes and stack more minions on it this turn. Goblin Armory (1R173)
, The Underdeeps of Moria (1R200)
, and Relics of Moria (1R195)
are less important, but fine targets too.- Moria Navy: The combo relies on They Are Coming (1C196)
, Under Foot (10C52)
, and Plundered Armories (1C193)
, and those cards should be targeted in that order, from most to least important. - General
Raider: Under Foot (10C52)
is always dangerous and should be removed if you can to help prevent a swarm bomb, although most decks can replay it with Ships of Great Draught (8R65)
. - Corsairs: Under Foot (10C52)
is always a high-priority target, but these decks play few if any conditions, so feel free to shoot down any that you see.
- Easterling decks (including Beasterlings): The only condition this deck usually plays is Small Hope (7R159)
. Its main effect happens in the Shadow Phase, usually on the turn when it's played, which you can't do anything about. Feel free to swat it anyway, though, since there are unlikely to be any other good targets.
- Southrons: If they're playing Howl of Harad (4U236)
or Cast Unto the Winds (10C36)
, it's because their deck relies on it. Many Southron decks play Seasoned Leader (10R48)
, which is a good target for removal, because it can often kill an otherwise-dangerous exhausted minion like Desert Lord (4R219)
. Seasoned Leader (along with Ships of Great Draught, above) does mean that removing conditions is often temporary, so pick off whatever's annoying at the moment. - General
Ringwraith: If they are playing Gates of the Dead City (3R81)
(generally a sign of a corruption deck) or Streaming to the Field (8U78)
(generally only seen in Morc archery), it's because their deck relies on those cards. Most other conditions aren't quite chaff, but none of them are so individually impactful that you need to save Company of Archers for them. - Besiegers: You need to kill the engines. In general, engines that threaten to help orcs win skirmishes are more important than ones that aren't giving their strength bonus yet and Their Marching Companies (8U107)
is always the lowest priority, but you absolutely need to be removing engines to weaken their many cards that spot engines. The only other conditions worth possibly targeting against Besiegers are Encirclement (7R268)
(if they've controlled two or more sites) or Dead Marshes (5R95)
(because it can be used to recur engines). - Sauron Grind: Orc Bowmen (1R264)
is generally more impactful to remove than Under the Watching Eye (1C281)
, due to its higher cost and the fact that UTWE has already had its effect for this turn. If Dead Marshes (5R95)
is in play and could be used to replay two conditions, it's a better target, but that requires both awareness of what's in your opponent's discard pile and for your opponent to have made a mistake by not using it already. - Sauron Initiative: Tower of Barad-dûr (3R104)
or Some Secret Art of Flame (7C313)
(the latter is rarely played) are more important than cards that benefit from having initiative like Flames Within (10C85)
, although obviously the latter is a fine target if you need to get rid of it to survive this turn. 
Sauron corruption and discard: Desperate Defense of the Ring (1R244)
is the usual target. Thin and Stretched (1R279)
is generally weaker, as it only triggers once per turn even against fierce minions or on a double move. In Movie Block, this deck often uses minions that trigger from initiative, so Tower of Barad-dûr (3R104)
may also be a good target under those circumstances. (Tower of Barad-dûr is generally not worth getting rid of just to prevent the discard unless you think you are going to run out of cards in your deck.) The Irresistable Shadow
is almost never worth discarding unless you are about to lose to it right now.- General Sauron: There are lots of random conditions in this culture that offer conditional or one-shot strength bonuses, especially in Movie Block. These include Orc Banner (1R263)
, Fires Raged Unchecked (7R269)
, Flames Within (10C85)
, and Rank and File (10U96)
. Focus on whatever's going to help you survive this turn's skirmishes. These generally aren't a high-priority target unless you need to pick one off in order to get through this turn's skirmishes. Happily, except for Flames Within, most of the decks that run these conditions do not run many other important conditions.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Synergizes With...
- Círdan, The Shipwright (10R8)
likes to have Elven events in your discard pile.
Strong Versus...
- Shadow conditions. Moria swarm, Sauron corruption, Sauron Grind, most Dunland decks, Besiegers, and Ninja Gollum all rely heavily on conditions to work, and have little or no way to protect them from removal.
Weak Versus...
- Shadow sides that play few or no conditions. This is most common in Dunland or Isengard Shadows packing Too Long Have These Peasants Stood (6U8)
or Saruman's Power (1U136)
. - Shadow conditions that do all their work in the Shadow or Maneuver Phases. Notable cards include Greed (1R125)
, Small Hope (7R159)
, Under Foot (10C52)
, Evil-smelling Fens (5U22)
, and Final Strike (10U20)
