Long Slow Wrath (6C112)
 Kept Safe (6C111)
|
 Back to Ents of Fangorn Index |
Merry, Impatient Hobbit (6R113) 
|
Long Slow Wrath (6C112) is a 
Shire Event from the Ents of Fangorn set. Its counterpart is Boomed and Trumpeted (6U24)
, swapping the affected and spotted races.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Strategy
Gameplay Strategy
Hobbits are the weakest companions in the game and are often at risk of being overwhelmed when assigned to a skirmish. Long Slow Wrath allows your 
Gandalf companions to "help": the more of them you have, the more this event does. It may be unimpressive with just Gandalf, but a deck with several Ent companions will grant unbound Hobbits a respectable amount of strength and, should they win a skirmish, enough damage to obliterate whatever minion was assigned to them. Skirmish-oriented text such as Merry, From O'er the Brandywine (1C303)
and Pippin, Sworn to Service (7C323)
along with Hobbit Sword (1C299)
can bring these companions to 7 or 8 strength innately; 6 Gandalf companions and another pump will allow them to take down The Witch-king.
While having many Gandalf companions maximizes this card's effectiveness, damage +2 alone is enough to kill most minions. A Trust Me as You Once Did (3U35)
deck with Gandalf, Radagast, and Merry, Rohirrim Squire (7C320)
or Pippin, Sworn to Service (7C323)
can turn them into skirmishing machines. Everyone Knows (9R50)
combined with Escape (4R300)
also offers very high strength, but keep in mind the exertion from Long Slow Wrath will cut the benefit down unless you can heal it back with Nine-fingered Frodo and the Ring of Doom (10C112)
and The Shire Countryside (3R113)
or Stout and Sturdy (1C315)
.
Deckbuilding Strategy
Hobbits rarely have a need to skirmish in Ent decks, which combined with their substantially lower strength makes this an extremely situational card. The high vitality of all companions offers good protection from Úlairë Enquëa, Lieutenant of Morgul (1U231)
and often forces him to kill a weak Ent such as Forest Guardian (5C17)
or no companion at all. This combined with A Wizard Is Never Late (1R87)
allows the Free Peoples to get 9 companions out soon and keep them alive for much of the game. When 6 of those companions are Gandalf companions it is a rare occasion that one of the other 3 is assigned until the last few sites when losses are not only acceptable but expected. While this event can certainly save an unbound hobbit at that point, needing to put them in danger at all usually means the number of Gandalf companions will have dwindled and its effectiveness is no longer impressive. Hobbit Sword (1C299)
and Severed His Bonds (4C319)
are as good or better for unbound Hobbits in most cases and can be used to save the Ring-bearer as well.
Its damage bonus may look interesting, but your Gandalf companions have access to plenty of damage bonuses of their own and high enough strength to use it. Gandalf's Staff, Walking Stick (4R91)
with either Glamdring (1R75)
or Shadowfax (4R100)
is at least damage +3 (or damage +2 with an exertion); Treebeard, Guardian of the Forest (6C37)
and Boomed and Trumpeted (6U24)
can give your Ents damage +4 when needed, enough to kill every minion but Shelob. While Shelob's average strength and high vitality make this card a neat way to handle her, the fellowship would have to consist of the Ring-bearer, Merry or Pippin, and 7 Gandalf companions to bring the unbound Hobbit to at least 10 strength and damage +7. Playing two copies of Long Slow Wrath can do the trick with as few as 4 Gandalf companions, although having two (or more) copies in your deck just for that is hard to justify. Because Ent decks consist of a bunch of companions with the 10 or more strength there's little for the Shadow player to gain by taking out a companion with Shelob, Her Ladyship (10R23)
anyway: if there's only one Huorn (9R25)
she can nullify wound prevention and trigger Promise Keeping (8R24)
more often, but generally the Free Peoples has nothing to lose by keeping her on the table and using their companions' high vitality to double through any extra exertions.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Synergizes With...
- A Wizard Is Never Late (1R87)
- Hobbit Sword (1C299)
and other permanent strength bonuses
- Servant of the Secret Fire (1R83)
and other skirmish events that help companions in general or Hobbits in particular
Strong Versus...
- Minions with unimpressive strength and high vitality, such as Gollum and
Isengard Orcs - Pay-per-wound prevention effects like Hides (4R19)
and Scaffolding (6U73)
Weak Versus...
- Wounding strategies, which will be glad to give up a minion for another wound and make it slightly riskier to play the card just to cycle it out of hand
- Cards that prevent all wounds, such as Easterling Polearm (6U79)
and Mauhúr, Patrol Leader (4R160)
