Editing PC Errata

The [[Player's Council]] is a group of volunteers who aim to nurture and guide the future of the Lord of the Rings TCG.  One of the aspects of this responsibility is in issuing card-altering errata to address issues with the game--it's not perfect, after all, and we can always chase the elusive perfect ideal.

__TOC__

Decipher attempted to issue as few errata as humanely possible--their policy for the Star Wars CCG was to never even ban a card if it could be avoided, and that mentality carried somewhat.  With Lord of the Rings, the standard methodology was to errata a card if it was in the most recent set, and otherwise just ban it from use.  This was driven from an understanding that the game was in fact printed on physical cardboard with ink, and they wanted the game to be divorced from this physical reality as little as possible.

However, in modern times the landscape of the game has changed.  [[Gemp]], the digital platform, dominates in number of games played, with about 6,000 per month in 2021 up to a lifetime peak of more than 10,000.  That's an average of 200 games ''per day'' in 2021, and more than 330 at peak.  

Thus, the PC has opted to take an approach more akin to that used in competitive multiplayer video games, instead.  Decipher's approach was understandable for the era in which they worked, but today with the growth of the Internet, the moving of the community into online communities, and the acclimation of players in general to the concept of regular balance patches, the idea of altering large numbers of cards on a regular basis is far more available to us than it was to Decipher.  Altering ink is a painful process, but altering pixels is trivial.

In Gemp, all errata are indicated by a red line across the upper left-hand corner.  In addition, all PC errata have a red box in the lower left-hand corner listing the date that the card was last errata'd.

= PC Errata =

Below is a list of every errata the PC has issued.  These errata apply to all formats with "PC" in the name, including Fellowship - PC, Movie - PC, and Expanded - PC.  

== X-list Errata ==

The first batch of errata issued by the PC addressed cards which Decipher had already removed from one or more formats.  Cards were banned for lots of different reasons, but regardless of source the PC attempted to bring all cards to the same standard of playability.  


{{#cargo_query:tables=Cards=C,CardReleases=CR,CardReleases=EN
|join on=C.ID = CR.BaseCardID, EN.ID = CR.BaseCardID, EN.BaseCardID = C.ID
|fields=
,CONCAT('[[File:', EN.ImageFilename, '{{!}}link=', REPLACE(REPLACE(C._pageName, '/Data', ''), 'Data:', ''),']]')=Original
,CONCAT('[[File:', CR.ImageFilename, '{{!}}link=', REPLACE(REPLACE(C._pageName, '/Data', ''), 'Data:', ''),']]')=Errata
,CR.Notes=Decipher Notes
,CR.ReleaseNotes=PC Notes
|where= EN.LanguageCode = 'EN' AND EN.Revision = 0 AND CR.Revision > 0 AND CR.Subset = 'E' AND CR.ReleaseDate < '2021-05-08'
|order by= CR.ReleaseDate, CAST(C.SetNum AS UNSIGNED INTEGER), C.CardNum, CR.Revision ASC 
|limit=400
|format= table
|column widths=,,250px,250px
}}


== 2021 Yuletide Errata ==
The second major batch of errata issued by the PC was done as part of the 2021 12 Days of Yuletide event, which also coincided with the first public playtest release of set V1, [[Shadow of the Past]].  These errata intended to push the boundary of what had previously been done with errata, breaking away from Decipher's restrictions further and issuing buffing errata alongside the nerf errata.  Several infamous cards were targeted, as well as a number of less-well-known ones.

Some of these were tweaked in the months after release.

{{#cargo_query:tables=Cards=C,CardReleases=CR,CardReleases=EN
|join on=C.ID = CR.BaseCardID, EN.ID = CR.BaseCardID, EN.BaseCardID = C.ID
|fields=
,CONCAT('[[File:', EN.ImageFilename, '{{!}}link=', REPLACE(REPLACE(C._pageName, '/Data', ''), 'Data:', ''),']]')=Original
,CONCAT('[[File:', CR.ImageFilename, '{{!}}link=', REPLACE(REPLACE(C._pageName, '/Data', ''), 'Data:', ''),']]')=Errata
,CR.ReleaseNotes=PC Notes
|where= EN.LanguageCode = 'EN' AND EN.Revision = 0 AND CR.Revision > 0 AND CR.Subset = 'E' AND CR.ReleaseDate BETWEEN '2021-05-15' AND '2022-07-08'
|order by= CR.ReleaseDate, CAST(C.SetNum AS UNSIGNED INTEGER), C.CardNum, CR.Revision ASC 
|limit=400
|format=table
|columns=1
}}

== 2022 Errata ==
A handful of repair errata released in August 2022 which mostly buffed previously-nerfed cards to address some concerns of over-nerfing.  And also Mountain-troll was given some well-deserved nerfs.

{{#cargo_query:tables=Cards=C,CardReleases=CR,CardReleases=EN
|join on=C.ID = CR.BaseCardID, EN.ID = CR.BaseCardID, EN.BaseCardID = C.ID
|fields=
,CONCAT('[[File:', EN.ImageFilename, '{{!}}link=', REPLACE(REPLACE(C._pageName, '/Data', ''), 'Data:', ''),']]')=Original
,CONCAT('[[File:', CR.ImageFilename, '{{!}}link=', REPLACE(REPLACE(C._pageName, '/Data', ''), 'Data:', ''),']]')=Errata
,CR.ReleaseNotes=PC Notes
|where= EN.LanguageCode = 'EN' AND EN.Revision = 0 AND CR.Revision > 0 AND CR.Subset = 'E' AND CR.ReleaseDate BETWEEN '2021-07-10' AND '2022-08-20'
|order by= CR.ReleaseDate, CAST(C.SetNum AS UNSIGNED INTEGER), C.CardNum, CR.Revision ASC 
|limit=400
|format=table
|columns=1
}}

== 2022 Yuletide Errata ==
Another batch of holiday errata for the 2022 Yuletide Leagues, this batch consisted of 60+ cards in two categories: major balance errata, and a rework to the [[Fellowship Block]]-era [[Discard Deck]] archetype, which aimed to eliminate the [[NPE]] of playing against it entirely.  

To quote the [https://blog.lotrtcgpc.net/2023/01/12/2023-01-errata-remarks/ errata remarks blog post]:

{{Quote
|title=PC Errata Commentary
|source=[https://blog.lotrtcgpc.net/2023/01/12/2023-01-errata-remarks/ 2023-01 Errata Remarks]
|text=A Negative Play Experience, or NPE, is different from a card being merely overpowered or too strong. An NPE is when a card or mechanic is degenerate in the sense that it contradicts the basic reason for sitting down and playing the game.

In most card games, you are (bear with me) attempting to sit down and play your cards. It’s okay if your opponent plays better cards, or plays cards more cleverly than you, but if you are made inherently unable to play your cards at all, then you have to wonder what the point was in sitting down in the first place.

Discard decks are not overpowered or difficult to beat. You simply throw out any pretense you had of coming to the table with a fine-tuned deck, you run like a madman down the site path, and you win. Or else you cling to the plan you started with, and watch your hand get disintegrated site after site, alongside your deck getting eaten away little by little, until the number of cards you didn’t play outstrips the cards you did play by a large margin.

The discard deck is not strong! It is not OP. But it makes you question why you didn’t concede immediately, even if you win. It is, in short, an NPE.

With this errata batch, we are taking a systematic approach to excising this NPE from FOTR block. We are not satisfied with deleting those cards from the game via banning, and in fact we are also not satisfied with merely blanking those cards out and replacing the text with something else entirely.

Instead, we looked to {{Card|Desperate Defense of the Ring}}, which out of all of the discard cards does not feel quite so toxic, somehow. We realized that this must be because of the choice, that even though it is making you choose between two horrible results, you still have the agency to decide which is the least painful path in the moment.

Ironically, after applying this formula to each card, For balance purposes, many cards which affect the draw deck typically had their numbers ''increased'' to compensate for the fact that it was no longer a guaranteed hit. In some cases, the increase was dramatic, but that’s what it took to make it work as an alternate choice.

In addition, Free Peoples cards which discard from the draw deck have been altered to discard from the bottom of the deck instead of the top. The topdeck discard is now reserved for more offensive and targeted cards, which in practice meant every Shadow card.

With that out of the way, let’s begin:
}}

{{#cargo_query:tables=Cards=C,CardReleases=CR,CardReleases=EN
|join on=C.ID = CR.BaseCardID, EN.ID = CR.BaseCardID, EN.BaseCardID = C.ID
|fields=
,CONCAT('[[File:', EN.ImageFilename, '{{!}}link=', REPLACE(REPLACE(C._pageName, '/Data', ''), 'Data:', ''),']]')=Original
,CONCAT('[[File:', CR.ImageFilename, '{{!}}link=', REPLACE(REPLACE(C._pageName, '/Data', ''), 'Data:', ''),']]')=Errata
,CR.ReleaseNotes=PC Notes
|where= EN.LanguageCode = 'EN' AND EN.Revision = 0 AND CR.Revision > 0 AND CR.Subset = 'E' AND CR.ReleaseDate BETWEEN '2022-08-21' AND '2023-0-08'
|order by= CR.ReleaseDate, CAST(C.SetNum AS UNSIGNED INTEGER), C.CardNum, CR.Revision ASC 
|limit=400
|format=table
|columns=1
}}

== Future Errata ==
{{#cargo_query:tables=Cards=C,CardReleases=CR,CardReleases=EN
|join on=C.ID = CR.BaseCardID, EN.ID = CR.BaseCardID, EN.BaseCardID = C.ID
|fields=
,CONCAT('[[File:', EN.ImageFilename, '{{!}}link=', REPLACE(REPLACE(C._pageName, '/Data', ''), 'Data:', ''),']]')=Original
,CONCAT('[[File:', CR.ImageFilename, '{{!}}link=', REPLACE(REPLACE(C._pageName, '/Data', ''), 'Data:', ''),']]')=Errata
,CR.ReleaseNotes=PC Notes
|where= EN.LanguageCode = 'EN' AND EN.Revision = 0 AND CR.Revision > 0 AND CR.Subset = 'E' AND CR.ReleaseDate > '2022-07-08'
|order by= CR.ReleaseDate, CAST(C.SetNum AS UNSIGNED INTEGER), C.CardNum, CR.Revision ASC 
|limit=400
|format=table
|columns=1
}}
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[File:LOTR-EN02E032.2_card.jpg|frame|right|The PC errata for {{Card|Flaming Brand}}, intended to reduce its ability to dumpster an entire culture.|link=Flaming Brand (2R32)]]
+The [[Player's Council]] is a group of volunteers who aim to nurture and guide the future of the Lord of the Rings TCG.  One of the aspects of this responsibility is in issuing card-altering errata to address issues with the game--it's not perfect, after all, and we can always chase the elusive perfect ideal.
 __TOC__
-While the game was still active, [[Decipher]] had a policy of issuing as few [[Errata]] as possible, preferring to send problematic cards to the [[X-List]] rather than require people to ignore the ink printed on their physical cards.  However, in modern times the landscape of the game has changed.  The digital platform [[GEMP]] dominates the game scene with between 6,000 and 10,000 games per month played, and issuing and managing errata on this centralized platform is easier than it ever was during the game's official print run.
+Decipher attempted to issue as few errata as humanely possible--their policy for the Star Wars CCG was to never even ban a card if it could be avoided, and that mentality carried somewhat.  With Lord of the Rings, the standard methodology was to errata a card if it was in the most recent set, and otherwise just ban it from use.  This was driven from an understanding that the game was in fact printed on physical cardboard with ink, and they wanted the game to be divorced from this physical reality as little as possible.
-The [[Player's Council]] has opted to take an approach more akin to that used in competitive multiplayer video games, with changes issued on an as-needed basis.  The PC aims to have no X-Lists and applies the same errata to all PC formats.  These are all formats with "PC" in the name, including [[PC-Fellowship]], [[PC-Movie]], and [[PC-Expanded]].
+However, in modern times the landscape of the game has changed.  [[Gemp]], the digital platform, dominates in number of games played, with about 6,000 per month in 2021 up to a lifetime peak of more than 10,000.  That's an average of 200 games ''per day'' in 2021, and more than 330 at peak.
-In GEMP, all errata (PC or Decipher) are indicated by a red line across the upper left-hand corner.  In addition, all PC errata have a red box in the lower left-hand corner listing the date that the card was last updated.
+Thus, the PC has opted to take an approach more akin to that used in competitive multiplayer video games, instead.  Decipher's approach was understandable for the era in which they worked, but today with the growth of the Internet, the moving of the community into online communities, and the acclimation of players in general to the concept of regular balance patches, the idea of altering large numbers of cards on a regular basis is far more available to us than it was to Decipher.  Altering ink is a painful process, but altering pixels is trivial.
-To search and browse all PC-issued errata, see the following pages:
+In Gemp, all errata are indicated by a red line across the upper left-hand corner.  In addition, all PC errata have a red box in the lower left-hand corner listing the date that the card was last errata'd.
-* '''[[PC Errata/Notes]]''' - This page records the reasons each card was errata'd
+= PC Errata =
-* '''[[PC Errata/Gallery]]''' - An image dump for browsing
-* '''[[PC_Errata/List]]''' - A simple per-set list of cards
-* '''[[PC_Errata/Table]]''' - A detailed sortable table containing the game text in text format
+Below is a list of every errata the PC has issued.  These errata apply to all formats with "PC" in the name, including Fellowship - PC, Movie - PC, and Expanded - PC.
-= PC Errata History =
+== X-list Errata ==
-PC errata tend to be released in batches, each batch aiming to address a particular cluster of issues or targeting a particular event.
+The first batch of errata issued by the PC addressed cards which Decipher had already removed from one or more formats.  Cards were banned for lots of different reasons, but regardless of source the PC attempted to bring all cards to the same standard of playability.
-'''NOTE''': The errata listed below are historical in nature.  If you are looking for the ''current'' errata, then use one of the pages above.
-== X-List Errata ==
-The first batch of errata issued by the PC in March and April 2021 addressed cards which Decipher had already removed from one or more formats.  Decipher added cards to the [[X-List]] for all sorts of reason, but regardless of origin the PC attempted to bring all cards to the same standard of playability.
-As this was the first foray by the PC into making changes, many of them were very conservative--you could even call them "timid".  In some cases only the smallest possible change was made to address the recorded reasons for why Decipher had altered a card--such as {{Card|Dauntless Hunter}} being limited to 2; this addressed its reason for its ban from [[Expanded]], but did nothing to address its otherwise infamous reputation.
-The first installment of these errata targeted the 5 most impactful banned cards [https://lotrtcg.wordpress.com/2021/02/19/return-of-the-kings-edict/ as detailed in these blog posts here], and later [https://lotrtcg.wordpress.com/2021/03/26/fellowship-errata-spoiler/ the rest of the Fellowship Block X-List cards followed] along with the remaining Movie- and Expanded-era cards.
 {{#cargo_query:tables=Cards=C,CardReleases=CR,CardReleases=EN
 |join on=C.ID = CR.BaseCardID, EN.ID = CR.BaseCardID, EN.BaseCardID = C.ID
 |fields=
-CONCAT('{{Card{{!}}', CR.ID, '}}')=Errata
+,CONCAT('[[File:', EN.ImageFilename, '{{!}}link=', REPLACE(REPLACE(C._pageName, '/Data', ''), 'Data:', ''),']]')=Original
-|where= EN.LanguageCode = 'EN' AND EN.Revision = 0 AND CR.Revision > 0 AND CR.Subset IN ('E', 'S') AND CR.ReleaseDate < '2021-05-08'
+,CONCAT('[[File:', CR.ImageFilename, '{{!}}link=', REPLACE(REPLACE(C._pageName, '/Data', ''), 'Data:', ''),']]')=Errata
-|order by= {{StandardSort}}
+,CR.Notes=Decipher Notes
-|limit=100
+,CR.ReleaseNotes=PC Notes
-|format= ul
+|where= EN.LanguageCode = 'EN' AND EN.Revision = 0 AND CR.Revision > 0 AND CR.Subset = 'E' AND CR.ReleaseDate < '2021-05-08'
-|columns=2
+|order by= CR.ReleaseDate, CAST(C.SetNum AS UNSIGNED INTEGER), C.CardNum, CR.Revision ASC
+|limit=400
+|format= table
+|column widths=,,250px,250px
 }}
@@ Line 52: / Line 43: @@
 |join on=C.ID = CR.BaseCardID, EN.ID = CR.BaseCardID, EN.BaseCardID = C.ID
 |fields=
-CONCAT('{{Card{{!}}', CR.ID, '}}')=Errata
+,CONCAT('[[File:', EN.ImageFilename, '{{!}}link=', REPLACE(REPLACE(C._pageName, '/Data', ''), 'Data:', ''),']]')=Original
-|where= EN.LanguageCode = 'EN' AND EN.Revision = 0 AND CR.Revision > 0 AND CR.Subset IN ('E', 'S') AND CR.ReleaseDate BETWEEN '2021-05-15' AND '2022-07-08'
+,CONCAT('[[File:', CR.ImageFilename, '{{!}}link=', REPLACE(REPLACE(C._pageName, '/Data', ''), 'Data:', ''),']]')=Errata
-|order by= {{StandardSort}}
+,CR.ReleaseNotes=PC Notes
-|limit=100
+|where= EN.LanguageCode = 'EN' AND EN.Revision = 0 AND CR.Revision > 0 AND CR.Subset = 'E' AND CR.ReleaseDate BETWEEN '2021-05-15' AND '2022-07-08'
-|format= ul
+|order by= CR.ReleaseDate, CAST(C.SetNum AS UNSIGNED INTEGER), C.CardNum, CR.Revision ASC
-|columns=2
+|limit=400
+|format=table
+|columns=1
 }}
+== 2022 Errata ==
-== 2022 Summer Errata ==
+A handful of repair errata released in August 2022 which mostly buffed previously-nerfed cards to address some concerns of over-nerfing.  And also Mountain-troll was given some well-deserved nerfs.
-A handful of repair errata were released in July and August 2022, almost all of which were alterations to previous errata.  These were mostly buffs to compensate for the over-nerfed state those cards had been left in, sometimes through oversight and in other cases simply being too harsh.
 {{#cargo_query:tables=Cards=C,CardReleases=CR,CardReleases=EN
 |join on=C.ID = CR.BaseCardID, EN.ID = CR.BaseCardID, EN.BaseCardID = C.ID
 |fields=
-CONCAT('{{Card{{!}}', CR.ID, '}}')=Errata
+,CONCAT('[[File:', EN.ImageFilename, '{{!}}link=', REPLACE(REPLACE(C._pageName, '/Data', ''), 'Data:', ''),']]')=Original
-|where= EN.LanguageCode = 'EN' AND EN.Revision = 0 AND CR.Revision > 0 AND CR.Subset IN ('E', 'S') AND CR.ReleaseDate BETWEEN '2022-07-08' AND '2022-09-08'
+,CONCAT('[[File:', CR.ImageFilename, '{{!}}link=', REPLACE(REPLACE(C._pageName, '/Data', ''), 'Data:', ''),']]')=Errata
-|order by= {{StandardSort}}
+,CR.ReleaseNotes=PC Notes
-|limit=100
+|where= EN.LanguageCode = 'EN' AND EN.Revision = 0 AND CR.Revision > 0 AND CR.Subset = 'E' AND CR.ReleaseDate BETWEEN '2021-07-10' AND '2022-08-20'
-|format= ul
+|order by= CR.ReleaseDate, CAST(C.SetNum AS UNSIGNED INTEGER), C.CardNum, CR.Revision ASC
-|columns=2
+|limit=400
+|format=table
+|columns=1
 }}
 == 2022 Yuletide Errata ==
@@ Line 99: / Line 92: @@
 In addition, Free Peoples cards which discard from the draw deck have been altered to discard from the bottom of the deck instead of the top. The topdeck discard is now reserved for more offensive and targeted cards, which in practice meant every Shadow card.
+With that out of the way, let’s begin:
 }}
 {{#cargo_query:tables=Cards=C,CardReleases=CR,CardReleases=EN
 |join on=C.ID = CR.BaseCardID, EN.ID = CR.BaseCardID, EN.BaseCardID = C.ID
 |fields=
-CONCAT('{{Card{{!}}', CR.ID, '}}')=Errata
+,CONCAT('[[File:', EN.ImageFilename, '{{!}}link=', REPLACE(REPLACE(C._pageName, '/Data', ''), 'Data:', ''),']]')=Original
-|where= EN.LanguageCode = 'EN' AND EN.Revision = 0 AND CR.Revision > 0 AND CR.Subset IN ('E', 'S') AND CR.ReleaseDate BETWEEN '2022-09-01' AND '2023-01-31'
+,CONCAT('[[File:', CR.ImageFilename, '{{!}}link=', REPLACE(REPLACE(C._pageName, '/Data', ''), 'Data:', ''),']]')=Errata
-|order by= {{StandardSort}}
+,CR.ReleaseNotes=PC Notes
-|limit=100
+|where= EN.LanguageCode = 'EN' AND EN.Revision = 0 AND CR.Revision > 0 AND CR.Subset = 'E' AND CR.ReleaseDate BETWEEN '2022-08-21' AND '2023-0-08'
-|format= ul
+|order by= CR.ReleaseDate, CAST(C.SetNum AS UNSIGNED INTEGER), C.CardNum, CR.Revision ASC
-|columns=2
+|limit=400
+|format=table
+|columns=1
 }}
-== 2023 World Championship Errata ==
+== Future Errata ==
-With the return of the World Championship under the PC's management, it was known in advance that certain problematic elements of PC-Movie were going to need alteration, and some of those changes were finally made (controversially) [https://lotrtcg.wordpress.com/2023/06/06/june-2023-errata-final-batch-before-the-wc/ in June 2023].
 {{#cargo_query:tables=Cards=C,CardReleases=CR,CardReleases=EN
 |join on=C.ID = CR.BaseCardID, EN.ID = CR.BaseCardID, EN.BaseCardID = C.ID
 |fields=
-CONCAT('{{Card{{!}}', CR.ID, '}}')=Errata
+,CONCAT('[[File:', EN.ImageFilename, '{{!}}link=', REPLACE(REPLACE(C._pageName, '/Data', ''), 'Data:', ''),']]')=Original
-|where= EN.LanguageCode = 'EN' AND EN.Revision = 0 AND CR.Revision > 0 AND CR.Subset IN ('E', 'S') AND CR.ReleaseDate BETWEEN '2023-01-31' AND '2023-06-15'
+,CONCAT('[[File:', CR.ImageFilename, '{{!}}link=', REPLACE(REPLACE(C._pageName, '/Data', ''), 'Data:', ''),']]')=Errata
-|order by= {{StandardSort}}
+,CR.ReleaseNotes=PC Notes
-|limit=100
+|where= EN.LanguageCode = 'EN' AND EN.Revision = 0 AND CR.Revision > 0 AND CR.Subset = 'E' AND CR.ReleaseDate > '2022-07-08'
-|format= ul
+|order by= CR.ReleaseDate, CAST(C.SetNum AS UNSIGNED INTEGER), C.CardNum, CR.Revision ASC
-|columns=2
+|limit=400
+|format=table
+|columns=1
 }}
-== Future Errata ==
-If there has been an errata batch released since the above section, please go bother [https://lotrtcgpc.net/discord ketura on the PC Discord] to update this article, lol.
-Also, if you have an idea for a card to alter (whether through a buff or a nerf), [https://lotrtcgpc.net/discord the PC would love to hear from you].
-----
-{{Format Table}}