Editing Hunters Block

The final block to be released, Hunters Block consists of [[The Hunters]], [[Rise of Saruman]], and [[Treachery & Deceit]]. It is often cited as the most egregious [[Power Creep|power creep]] in the game's life span, although players who enjoyed [[War of the Ring Standard]] or what is now known as Pre-Hunters Expanded had little choice -- unlike [[Movie Block]], these formats were not supported by Decipher after their time was over. Anyone who wished to continue playing in tournaments had to either play [[War of the Ring Block]] and leave behind their cards from sets 4-10 or play the new [[Standard]] and [[Expanded]] formats which included Hunters Block sets and rotated out sets 4-6 anyway. It is infamous for the [[Hunter]] keyword, which many viewed as explicitly elevating the new characters above those from every prior set. However, the unrelated text which accompanied those cards drove most of the power creep itself.

As the end drew nearer for Decipher - both as custodian of LotR TCG and as a company - quality dropped dramatically. While set 15 was supposed to mark a new block, the entire set only included 8 sites and a majority of the sites in starter decks were from [[War of the Ring Block]]. Set 17 brought 4 more sites which made it possible to build a deck solely within the block, although players would still have to rely on booster packs to build a legal Hunters Block deck. The [[Starter_Decks/Hunters_Block#RoS_Uruk_Rampage_Starter_Deck Uruk Rampager Starter Deck]] in partuclar included 5 copies of {{Card|White Hand Guard}} and only 8 sites, failing to give players the cards necessary to actually start a deck at all. Sets 17 and 18 also had limited print runs, all of which left Hunters Block particularly unpopular.

Decklists can be found here at [https://lotrtcgwiki.com/forums/index.php?board=22.0 this TLHH subforum].

{{Format
|Name=Hunters Block
|ValidSets=15,17,18
|RingBearerCancel=No
|SitePath=Shadows
}}

{{Format Table}}
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-With the release of [[The Hunters]], [[War of the Ring Block]] officially became a legacy format. However, while the subsequently released sets followed the scheduled pattern of 3 sets (as seen on the promotional {{Card|4M1}}), [[Decipher]] as a company was rapidly dwindling.  Between missing release deadlines for over half a year and releasing fewer and fewer official communications, the new block had very little official structure compared to years past.  Dubbed '''Hunters Block''' after its inaugural set, the block is more known for its shortcomings than anything else, and the poor quality of the final two expansions ([[Rise of Saruman]] and [[Treachery & Deceit]]) make the block only technically playable.
+The final block to be released, Hunters Block consists of [[The Hunters]], [[Rise of Saruman]], and [[Treachery & Deceit]]. It is often cited as the most egregious [[Power Creep|power creep]] in the game's life span, although players who enjoyed [[War of the Ring Standard]] or what is now known as Pre-Hunters Expanded had little choice -- unlike [[Movie Block]], these formats were not supported by Decipher after their time was over. Anyone who wished to continue playing in tournaments had to either play [[War of the Ring Block]] and leave behind their cards from sets 4-10 or play the new [[Standard]] and [[Expanded]] formats which included Hunters Block sets and rotated out sets 4-6 anyway. It is infamous for the [[Hunter]] keyword, which many viewed as explicitly elevating the new characters above those from every prior set. However, the unrelated text which accompanied those cards drove most of the power creep itself.
-Uniquely among all base sets, [[Starter_Decks/Hunters_Block|starter decks from the era]] included sites from sets 11-13 and there were only 8 sites in all of set 15, meaning that at the time of its release there was no way to actually play with a pure Hunters Block site path. Set 17 brought 4 more sites which made it possible to build a deck solely within the "block," although players would still have to rely on booster packs to get them.  It is not known whether the Shadows site rework was always intended to do away with the traditional notions of "site blocks" from the movie years or this was merely yet another oversight as the wheels fell off the company.
+As the end drew nearer for Decipher - both as custodian of LotR TCG and as a company - quality dropped dramatically. While set 15 was supposed to mark a new block, the entire set only included 8 sites and a majority of the sites in starter decks were from [[War of the Ring Block]]. Set 17 brought 4 more sites which made it possible to build a deck solely within the block, although players would still have to rely on booster packs to build a legal Hunters Block deck. The [[Starter_Decks/Hunters_Block#RoS_Uruk_Rampage_Starter_Deck Uruk Rampager Starter Deck]] in partuclar included 5 copies of {{Card|White Hand Guard}} and only 8 sites, failing to give players the cards necessary to actually start a deck at all. Sets 17 and 18 also had limited print runs, all of which left Hunters Block particularly unpopular.
-Sets 17 and 18 also had the most limited print run of any other sets, compounding their issues.  In addition to the limited availability of boosters from sets 17 and 18, the [[Starter_Decks/Hunters_Block#RoS_Uruk_Rampage_Starter_Deck|Uruk Rampager Starter Deck]] included 5 copies of {{Card|White Hand Guard}} and only 8 sites, failing to give players the cards necessary to actually start a deck. No starter decks were produced in time for the release of set 18, the only expansion set without one at all.
-Beyond the production issues, the sets in Hunters Block themselves are often cited as the most egregious [[Power Creep|power creep]] in the game's lifespan. Players who enjoyed [[Standard]] or [[Expanded]] before its release had little choice, though -- unlike [[Movie Block]], legacy versions of those formats were not supported by Decipher after their time ended. Anyone who wished to continue playing in official events had to either play [[War of the Ring Block]] and leave behind their cards from sets 4-10 or play the new Standard and Expanded formats which included Hunters Block sets (and Standard rotated out sets 4-6 anyway). The [[Hunter]] keyword is among the most infamous additions, which many viewed as explicitly elevating the new characters above those from every prior set. However, the unrelated text which accompanied those cards drove most of the power creep itself.
 Decklists can be found here at [https://lotrtcgwiki.com/forums/index.php?board=22.0 this TLHH subforum].