Hobbit Sword (1C299)
 Hobbit Stealth (1C298)
|
 Back to Fellowship of the Ring Index |
Longbottom Leaf (1C300) 
|
| |||
| Set: | Fellowship of the Ring | ||
| Kind: | Free Peoples | ||
| Culture: | Shire | ||
| Twilight: | 1 | ||
| Card Type: | Possession • Hand Weapon | ||
| Strength: | +2 | ||
| Game Text: | Bearer must be a Hobbit. | ||
| Lore: | “‘Strap these on....'” | ||
| Rarity: | C | ||
| Notes: | Version: ****. | ||
|
The information presented above about LoTR TCG, both literal and graphical, is copyrighted by Decipher Inc. This website is not produced, endorsed, supported, or affiliated with Decipher.
| |||
General Strategy
Generic, unassuming Hand Weapon available to Hobbits. One of seven Shire hand weapons (the five versions of Sting and Frying Pan), Hobbit Sword is a solid strength boost to any Shire companion. Even without flashy game text like Sting or Glamdring, Hobbit Sword is an invaluable possession, boosting a Halfling towards a respectable strength. Reprinted in every base set, Hobbit Sword is one included in almost every deck in Sealed tournament play.
Besides the natural strength +2 bonus provided by the Hobbit Sword, there are several cards that specifically interact with a Hobbit bearing a possession. Hobbit Sword-Play is one of the few [Shire] pre-skirmish wounding cards (Shadowplay and Unheeded are two other examples). Dagger Strike is one of the few cards that gives the [Shire] culture access to damage bonuses (Voice of Rauros and Dwarven Embassy are other options).
While Sam never gets a specific hand weapon, he is eligible to bear Sting, Bane of the Eight Legs and Sting, Weapon of Heritage. Merry later has access to Merry's Sword, a Rohan card, and Merry's Dagger, an Elven card. Pippin gets Pippin's Sword, a Gondor card and Pippin's Dagger, an Elven possession.
In Expanded format, the card works well with Little Golden Flower and Everyone Knows, with the former providing extra vitality from the hand weapon, and the latter providing extra strength from vitality, allowing Hobbits such as Merry and Pippin to reach respectable, or even formidable, strength values.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Strong Versus...
- Synergises with various versions of Merry that focus on the Hobbit as a fighter, including Merry, Friend to Sam and Merry, From O'er the Brandywine
- Dagger Strike gives Hobbits access to the rare damage +1 bonus the culture largely lacks
- Hobbit Sword-Play
- Combines with Bounder for an extra six strength needed per overwhelm
Weak Versus...
- Weapon discard or negation, such as Ulaire Cantea, Lieutenant of Dol Guldur or Troop of Uruk-hai
- Even bearing the Hobbit Sword, [Shire] companions largely rely on Stealth events to cancel skirmishes or other pumps to win
