Editing Cultural Enforcement

[[File:LOTR-EN10S028.0_card.jpg|right|frame|link=Denethor, Lord of Minas Tirith (10R28)|''Denethor, Lord of Minas Tirith has very strong cultural enforcement. He's only useful in a deck with many other cards of the same culture.'']]

'''Cultural Enforcement''' is the mechanism used throughout the LotR-TCG to enforce the use of specific [[culture]]s (similar to the use of colored mana costs in Magic: the Gathering). Cards with cultural enforcement require you to play them as part of a deck that focuses on that specific [[culture]] to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the intended power level of the card. Usually this takes the form of [[spot]]ting, [[exert]]ing, or targeting cards of a particular culture, but in some cases this is done more indirectly. 

Such indirect methods include:

* Referring to a specific [[Race]] that only appears in one culture: [[Dwarf]] for the {{C|Dwarven}} culture, [[Nazgul]] for {{C|Ringwraith}}.
* Referring to [[unique]] individuals by name who are only part of one culture: [[Gandalf]] for {{C|Gandalf}}, [[Theoden]] for {{C|Rohan}}.
* Referring to keywords or combinations of keywords which are exclusive to a particular culture: '''[[besieger]]s''' for {{C|Sauron}}, '''[[Ring-bound]] [[Ranger]]s''' for {{C|Gondor}}.
* Utilizing mechanics which are used primarily by one culture: [[roaming]] minions for {{C|Gondor}} '''[[Ranger]]s''', mass [[archery]] for the {{C|Elven}} culture.

The more cultural requirements, the stronger the enforcement is (and theoretically, the stronger or more thematic the effect you purchase as a result). Denethor, Lord of Minas Tirith (pictured at the right) is an example of a card with very strong cultural enforcement. He has to spot two other {{C|Gondor}} [[Man|men]] just to be played, and once on the table his ability doesn't even work except with {{C|Gondor}} culture cards. On the other hand, your investment into that culture purchases you the ability to pull any {{C|Gondor}} cards you want from your deck, which cannot be underestimated. 

In contrast, {{Card|Legolas, Greenleaf}} has very weak cultural enforcement. [[Splash]] him into any Free Peoples deck and he just does his own thing, cheerfully [[direct wounding|wounding and killing]] any troublesome minions without needing any other {{C|Elven}} cards to function. He can certainly fit into an {{C|Elven}} deck, especially one that can heal him after he's [[exert]]ed with cards like {{Card|Elrond, Herald to Gil-Galad}} or {{Card|Shadow Between}}, but he fits just as well into a [[rainbow]] deck like [[Rainbow Wounding]].

Cultural enforcement is often layered or stacked, such as with {{Card|Madril, Loyal Lieutenant}}, which not only refers to {{C|Gondor}} culture, but also the '''[[Ranger]]''' keyword (which is [[Arwen, Daughter of Elrond (1R30)|almost]] [[Arwen, Elven Rider (3U7)|exclusive]] to {{C|Gondor}}) and manipulation of minion [[Site Number|site number]]s (an exclusively '''Ranger'''-y thing to do). Madril was designed for a very specific deck, full of {{C|Gondor}} '''Rangers''' that cause minions to become [[roaming]] then uses cards like {{Card|What Are They?}} or {{Card|Ranger's Bow}} against them.

In general, "cultural enforcement" is only used when referring to cards that look at or affect your own cards. Cards that ''harm'' a particular culture that your opponent is playing are called [[hate]] cards.

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