Merry's Sword (7R242): Difference between revisions

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{{QueryCardCategories|7R242}}
{{QueryCardCategories|7R242}}
= Strategy =
= Strategy =
== Gameplay Strategy ==
'''Merry's Sword''' is a powerful [[direct wounding]] tool for dedicated {{C|Rohan}} decks. It isn't especially popular, however, because of two significant limitations. First, it can only be played on [[Merry]], and doesn't work well with the gametext of any popular version of Merry. Second, the meta of [[King Block]] is very unfriendly to {{C|Rohan}}, both because of [[power creep]] and because of very common [[Possession Removal|possession hate]]. The sword is a fairly common sight in [[King Standard]], but is rarely seen in the more popular [[Movie Block]].
''In this section, describe:''


* ''General usage''
Merry's Sword is a fine card in a vacuum. Under normal circumstances, you'll be able to toss out three or four [[exertion]]s when you use it, spread however you like among opposing [[minion]]s. As long as you use it as your first maneuver phase action, Merry's Sword can shut down obnoxious hate cards like {{Card|Ulaire Enquea, Lieutenant of Morgul}} and {{Card|Grima, Wormtongue}}, enabling you to play fast and loose with the [[rule of six]] or stack more than two [[possession]]s on a key companion. Any minion with an obnoxious exertion ability is fair game, as long as it isn't a [[Shadow Phase]] ability.
* ''Unorthodox or subtle usage''
* ''Common pitfalls of using this card''


== Deckbuilding Strategy ==
{{C|Rohan}} has plenty of options to take advantage of these wounds, too. {{Card|Eomer, Third Marshal of Riddermark}} and {{Card|Hrethel, Rider of Rohan}} both want to see wounds on the minions they're skirmishing. {{C|Rohan}} [[archery]] cards like {{Card|Rohirrim Javelin}}, {{Card|Rohirrim Bow}}, and {{Card|Aldor, Soldier of Edoras}} can finish off heavily-wounded minions. {{Card|Eowyn, Lady of Ithilien}} does both, and can often finish off multiple minions with one exertion if you set things up perfectly.
''In this section, describe:''


* ''Cards and strategies this card works well with''
The chief hurdle comes from finding ways to heal Merry, since you can't use any of {{C|Rohan}}'s strong healing cards like {{Card|Leowyn}} on him. There are two basic approaches. You can use {{Card|Farmer Maggot, Chaser of Rascals}} and {{Card|Frodo, Old Bilbo's Heir}} to get a trickle of healing on him. {{Card|Merry, Horticulturalist}} can help set this all up. (Occasionally you see people using some other version of Merry with strength-boosting gametext like {{Card|Merry, From O'er the Brandywine}} or {{Card|Merry, Noble Warrior}}, but he's always going to be a vulnerable support character even if you use those, so it's generally better to focus on making the sword more effective.) Alternately, you can use {{Card|Merry, Swordthain}}'s gametext to send Merry back to your hand and then replay him the next turn, replaying the sword with a card like {{Card|Weapon Store}} or {{Card|Ecglaf, Courageous Farmer}}.
* ''Cards and strategies this card works particularly well or poorly against''
 
* ''Alternate cards you might consider picking instead of this one, depending on the situation, including alternate version of characters''
Even if you do set him up nicely, you'll need to deal with the pervasive [[Possession Removal|possession hate]] in [[King Block]] or [[Movie Block]]. {{Card|Corsair Marauder}}, {{Card|Grond, Hammer of the Underworld}}, and {{Card|Ulaire Cantea, Faster than Winds}} are all common sights. {{C|Rohan}} decks can deal with these cards, but one of their best tools to do so is {{Card|Merry, Swordthain}}. Swordthain can't retrieve his own sword, however, and if he's bouncing back and forth, it's hard to also re-equip him every time.
 
In some ways, Merry is his sword's worst enemy. The gametext of {{Card|Merry, Swordthain}} is so great that you might just be better off not giving him his sword at all. Being able to recycle single-use possessions or get back key cards after the Shadow player has discarded them is very valuable, so Merry will often be too busy hopping back and forth off the table to make it worthwhile to try to re-equip him every time. Sure, his sword can contribute wounds, but so can {{Card|Rohirrim Helm}} or {{Card|Rohirrim Javelin}}, and Merry can go back to your hand to retrieve those turn after turn.
 
The final problem is Merry's Sword's strict [[cultural enforcement]], and the fact that the sort of deck it fits into doesn't fit the [[King Block]] meta. Merry's Sword is only useful in a nearly-pure {{C|Rohan}} deck: it's only middling compared to {{Card|Shadowplay}} and {{Card|Unheeded}} if you only have two {{C|Rohan}} companions, and subpar when you only have one. It doesn't fit into any other [[direct wounding]] decks, like [[Rainbow Wounding]]. And {{C|Rohan}} just doesn't keep up in King Block. Most of the latter sets push decks using {{C|Gondor}}, {{C|Elven}}, or {{C|Dwarven}} companions, and the Rohirrim just fall behind.


= Strengths and Weaknesses =
= Strengths and Weaknesses =
== Synergizes With... ==
== Synergizes With... ==


* ''List friendly cards that work well with this card''
* {{C|Rohan}} companions, especially ones like {{Card|Eomer, Third Marshal of Riddermark}}, {{Card|Hrethel, Rider of Rohan}}, and {{Card|Eowyn, Lady of Ithilien}} that want to skirmish wounded or exhausted minions.
* {{Card|Rohirrim Helm}} and {{Card|We Left None Alive}} are strong against exhausted minions as well.
* [[Archery]] cards like {{Card|Rohirrim Javelin}}, {{Card|Rohirrim Bow}}, and {{Card|Aldor, Soldier of Edoras}} can finish off exerted minions.
* {{Card|Farmer Maggot, Chaser of Rascals}} and {{Card|Frodo, Old Bilbo's Heir}} can heal him, and {{Card|Merry, Horticulturalist}} can [[download]] Farmer Maggot.
* Alternately, {{Card|Merry, Swordthain}} can return to your hand and get replayed for a full heal. {{Card|Weapon Store}} or {{Card|Ecglaf, Courageous Farmer}} can replay Merry's Sword, afterward.


== Strong Versus... ==
== Strong Versus... ==


* ''List enemy cards this card does well against''
* Minions that exert for an effect, as long as it isn't a [[Shadow Phase]] ability. In particular, he shuts down {{Card|Ulaire Enquea, Lieutenant of Morgul}} and {{Card|Grima, Wormtongue}}.


== Weak Versus... ==
== Weak Versus... ==


* ''List enemy or friendly cards to avoid playing this card with''
* [[Swarm]] decks. Merry really doesn't like to be forced into a skirmish, since his [[strength]] is low (even with the sword) and he wants to use his vitality to exert.
 
* Shadow [[Assignment Phase]] abilities, like {{Card|Over the Isen}}, {{Card|Brought Back Alive}}, {{Card|Orthanc Champion}}, {{Card|Gorgoroth Assassin}}, {{Card|Between Nazgul and Prey}}, and {{Card|Morgul Vanguard}}. Merry especially doesn't like being forced into a skirmish with a dangerous minion of the Shadow player's choice.
= Rulings =
* [[Possession Removal]]. Merry's Sword will almost always be a high-priority target, and [[King Block]]/[[Movie Block]] has a lot of possession hate. Notable cards include {{Card|Corsair Marauder}}, {{Card|Grond, Hammer of the Underworld}}, and {{Card|Ulaire Cantea, Faster than Winds}}.
''In this section'':
 
* ''Put quotes from the CRDs and Comprehensive Rules here that reference this card specifically by name''
* ''Also put quotes if a particular rule commonly affects the outcome of a card in a subtle manner (such as quoting the [[Rule of 4]] for {{Card|8R20}})''
* ''Link to rules discussions on TLHH''


= See Also =
== Example Deck ==


An [[Movie Block]] deck from the old wiki:


= See Also =
''The author of this deck didn't add their name, and the edit history from the old wiki has since been lost.''
== Decks ==


Ring-bearer: {{Card|Frodo, Old Bilbo's Heir}}


Ring-bearer: Frodo, Old Bilbo's Heir
Ring: {{Card|The One Ring, Answer To All Riddles}}
Ring: The One Ring, Answer To All Riddles


Adventure deck:
Adventure deck:
Sleeping Quarters
# {{Card|Sleeping Quarters}}
West Road
# {{Card|West Road}}
Base of Mindolluin
# {{Card|Base of Mindolluin}}
Osgiliath Fallen
# {{Card|Osgiliath Fallen}}
City Gates
# {{Card|City Gates}}
Minas Tirith Fourth Circle
# {{Card|Minas Tirith Fourth Circle}}
Pelennor Grassland
# {{Card|Pelennor Grassland}}
Morgul Vale
# {{Card|Morgul Vale}}
Dagorlad
# {{Card|Dagorlad}}


Free Peoples Draw Deck:
Free Peoples Draw Deck:
1x Legolas, Greenleaf
1x Gamling, Warrior of Rohan
1x Rohirrim Army
1x Theoden, Tall and Proud
1x Eomer, Third Marshal of Riddermark
1x Eowyn, Lady of Ithilien
1x Merry, Horticulturalist
1x Sam, Son of Hamfast
1x Leowyn
1x Farmer Maggot, Chaser of Rascals
1x Brego
1x Eomer's Spear
1x Firefoot
2x Merry's Sword
1x Rider's Mount
1x Rider's Spear
2x Rohirrim Bow
1x Eowyn's Sword, Dernhelm's Blade
1x Sting, Bane of the Eight Legs
2x Fey He Seemed
4x Simbelmyne
2x Power According to His Stature
1x Arrow-slits
1x Fortress Never Fallen
1x A Light in His Mind
1x Cliffs of Emyn Muil
1x The Tale of the Great Ring


[[Category:Cards That Need Work]]
''The original deck didn't specify, but the starting companions are probably Théoden and Merry, so you can play Simbelmyne right away.''
* {{Card|Legolas, Greenleaf}} x1
* {{Card|Gamling, Warrior of Rohan}} x1
* {{Card|Rohirrim Army}} x1
* {{Card|Theoden, Tall and Proud}} x1
* {{Card|Eomer, Third Marshal of Riddermark}} x1
* {{Card|Eowyn, Lady of Ithilien}} x1
* {{Card|Merry, Horticulturalist}} x1
* {{Card|Sam, Son of Hamfast}} x1
* {{Card|Leowyn}} x1
* {{Card|Farmer Maggot, Chaser of Rascals}} x1
* {{Card|Brego}} x1
* {{Card|Eomer's Spear}} x1
* {{Card|Firefoot}} x1
* {{Card|Merry's Sword}} x2
* {{Card|Rider's Mount}} x1
* {{Card|Rider's Spear}} x1
* {{Card|Rohirrim Bow}} x2
* {{Card|Eowyn's Sword, Dernhelm's Blade}} x1
* {{Card|Sting, Bane of the Eight Legs}} x1
* {{Card|Fey He Seemed}} x2
* {{Card|Simbelmyne}} x4
* {{Card|Power According to His Stature}} x2
* {{Card|Arrow-slits}} x1
* {{Card|Fortress Never Fallen}} x1
* {{Card|A Light in His Mind}} x1
* {{Card|Cliffs of Emyn Muil}} x1
* {{Card|The Tale of the Great Ring}} x1

Revision as of 02:57, 18 April 2022

Merry's Armor (7R241)
Back to Return of the King Index 		Morning Came (7C243)
Strategy
Collection
History
Data

Merry's Sword (7R242) is a Rohan Possession from the Return of the King set.


  • EN Nonfoil First Edition

    EN Nonfoil First Edition

  • EN Foil First Edition

    EN Foil First Edition

  • DE Nonfoil First Edition

    DE Nonfoil First Edition

  • DE Foil First Edition

    DE Foil First Edition

  • FR Nonfoil First Edition

    FR Nonfoil First Edition

  • FR Foil First Edition

    FR Foil First Edition

  • IT Nonfoil First Edition

    IT Nonfoil First Edition

  • IT Foil First Edition

    IT Foil First Edition

Collection Info
Title Merry's Sword
Unique Yes
Collectible Yes
Set 7 - Return of the King
Rarity R - Rare
Card Number 242
Language EN - English
Revision 0
Gameplay Info
Playable Yes
Culture Rohan
Side Free Peoples
Card Type Possession
Item Class Hand Weapon
Twilight Cost 1
Strength +2
Game Text Bearer must be Merry.

Maneuver: Exert Merry twice to exert a minion once for each companion you spot.

Translations
DE - German
Card Name Merrys Schwert
Game Text Muss auf Merry gespielt werden.

Manöver: Strenge Merry zweimal an, um einen Diener einmal für jeden Gefährten, den du entdeckst, anzustrengen.

FR - French
IT - Italian


Technical Info
Wiki Base Card ID LOTR-EN07S242.0
TLHH ID LOTR07242
GEMP ID 7_242
LOTRO Hex ID 62 0B AD 06
LOTRO Image ID 07_242


Strategy

Merry's Sword is a powerful direct wounding tool for dedicated Rohan decks. It isn't especially popular, however, because of two significant limitations. First, it can only be played on Merry, and doesn't work well with the gametext of any popular version of Merry. Second, the meta of King Block is very unfriendly to Rohan, both because of power creep and because of very common possession hate. The sword is a fairly common sight in King Standard, but is rarely seen in the more popular Movie Block.

Merry's Sword is a fine card in a vacuum. Under normal circumstances, you'll be able to toss out three or four exertions when you use it, spread however you like among opposing minions. As long as you use it as your first maneuver phase action, Merry's Sword can shut down obnoxious hate cards like Úlairë Enquëa, Lieutenant of Morgul (1U231) and Gríma, Wormtongue (4R154) , enabling you to play fast and loose with the rule of six or stack more than two possessions on a key companion. Any minion with an obnoxious exertion ability is fair game, as long as it isn't a Shadow Phase ability.

Rohan has plenty of options to take advantage of these wounds, too. Éomer, Third Marshal of Riddermark (4R267) and Hrethel, Rider of Rohan (6C95) both want to see wounds on the minions they're skirmishing. Rohan archery cards like Rohirrim Javelin (7C248) , Rohirrim Bow (5C88) , and Aldor, Soldier of Edoras (4R262) can finish off heavily-wounded minions. Éowyn, Lady of Ithilien (10R72) does both, and can often finish off multiple minions with one exertion if you set things up perfectly.

The chief hurdle comes from finding ways to heal Merry, since you can't use any of Rohan's strong healing cards like Léowyn (7R239) on him. There are two basic approaches. You can use Farmer Maggot, Chaser of Rascals (1R288) and Frodo, Old Bilbo's Heir (1R289) to get a trickle of healing on him. Merry, Horticulturalist (2C104) can help set this all up. (Occasionally you see people using some other version of Merry with strength-boosting gametext like Merry, From O'er the Brandywine (1C303) or Merry, Noble Warrior (8P121) , but he's always going to be a vulnerable support character even if you use those, so it's generally better to focus on making the sword more effective.) Alternately, you can use Merry, Swordthain (7R321) 's gametext to send Merry back to your hand and then replay him the next turn, replaying the sword with a card like Weapon Store (4R294) or Ecglaf, Courageous Farmer (5C81) .

Even if you do set him up nicely, you'll need to deal with the pervasive possession hate in King Block or Movie Block. Corsair Marauder (8R57) , Grond, Hammer of the Underworld (8R103) , and Úlairë Cantëa, Faster Than Winds (7R211) are all common sights. Rohan decks can deal with these cards, but one of their best tools to do so is Merry, Swordthain (7R321) . Swordthain can't retrieve his own sword, however, and if he's bouncing back and forth, it's hard to also re-equip him every time.

In some ways, Merry is his sword's worst enemy. The gametext of Merry, Swordthain (7R321) is so great that you might just be better off not giving him his sword at all. Being able to recycle single-use possessions or get back key cards after the Shadow player has discarded them is very valuable, so Merry will often be too busy hopping back and forth off the table to make it worthwhile to try to re-equip him every time. Sure, his sword can contribute wounds, but so can Rohirrim Helm (5R89) or Rohirrim Javelin (7C248) , and Merry can go back to your hand to retrieve those turn after turn.

The final problem is Merry's Sword's strict cultural enforcement, and the fact that the sort of deck it fits into doesn't fit the King Block meta. Merry's Sword is only useful in a nearly-pure Rohan deck: it's only middling compared to Shadowplay (10U114) and Unheeded (8R115) if you only have two Rohan companions, and subpar when you only have one. It doesn't fit into any other direct wounding decks, like Rainbow Wounding. And Rohan just doesn't keep up in King Block. Most of the latter sets push decks using Gondor, Elven, or Dwarven companions, and the Rohirrim just fall behind.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Synergizes With...

Strong Versus...

Weak Versus...

See Also

Example Deck

An Movie Block deck from the old wiki:

The author of this deck didn't add their name, and the edit history from the old wiki has since been lost.

Ring-bearer: Frodo, Old Bilbo's Heir (1R289)

Ring: The One Ring, Answer To All Riddles (4R1)

Adventure deck:

  1. Sleeping Quarters (7U333)
  2. West Road (7U337)
  3. Base of Mindolluin (10U117)
  4. Osgiliath Fallen (7U342)
  5. City Gates (7U344)
  6. Minas Tirith Fourth Circle (7U348)
  7. Pelennor Grassland (7U354)
  8. Morgul Vale (7U357)
  9. Dagorlad (7U360)

Free Peoples Draw Deck:

The original deck didn't specify, but the starting companions are probably Théoden and Merry, so you can play Simbelmyne right away.

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