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| = Strategy = | | = Strategy = |
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| Ted Sandyman is an unusual card, although not one that is very useful in most decks. His main use is to turn [[site control]] effects into a global strength bonus for other {{C|Men}} [[minion]]s. However, he does also have some very unusual qualities. He's the only [[Hobbit]] that isn't a [[Free Peoples]] character, and he can stack {{C|Men}} [[minion]]s in strange places. These latter qualities are rarely useful, though. | | Of all the cards released by Decipher, Ted Sandyman is one of the most bizarre, despite not necessarily being that powerful. His race of Hobbit allows him to interact with a large number of prior released [shire] cards such as Little Golden Flower, [[lotr12123|Hope is Kindled]], [[lotr13148|Fates Entwined]] and [[lotr11167|Incognito]], since most [shire] cards never specified culture when dealing with Hobbits. He also triggers with various other cards targeting Hobbits, such as Fool of a Took!. |
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| Because of his low strength, his only useful ability outside of gimmick decks is his Maneuver ability. It synergizes decently well with site control abilities that also go off in the Maneuver phase, on cards such as {{Card|Rapt Hillman}} (especially with {{Card|Pavise}}), {{Card|Engrossed Hillman}}, and {{Card|Wandering Hillman}}. Since all of these occur in the maneuver phase, the Shadow player can control sites then immediately release them for strength bonuses, giving the Free Peoples player little opportunity to use their own [[site liberation]] abilities.
| | Ted Sandyman's Regroup ability, unlike other [man] cards that stack [man] minions on [man] support area possessions, does not specify anything regarding the target possession. This gives the Shadow player the ability to stack minions in many nonsensical ways, such as stacking minions on Gandalf's Cart or Ranger's Sword. It also gives the Shadow player some useful interactions that are otherwise impossible, like stacking [man] Men on [[lotr08030|Web]] to boost [[lotr08025|Eater of Light]], or stacking [man] Men on [[lotr06073|Scaffolding]]. |
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| Ted Sandyman is has high vitality, so he can soak up archery, undirected wounding, and exertions. His low cost and site number make him very easy to play, and can be useful for fulfilling the spotting requirements of larger {{C|Men}} minions, such as {{Card|Voice of the Desert}} and {{Card|Desert Wind}}. | | Ted Sandyman's Maneuver ability synergises well with quick and easy forms of site control, such as the abilities of Rapt Hillman (Especially with Pavise), Engrossed Hillman and Wandering Hillman. Since all of these occur in the maneuver phase, the Shadow player can control sites, then immediately release them for strength bonuses, giving the Free Peoples player little time to respond. |
| That covers his typical uses.
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| He also has some atypical ones. Most cards that spot or affect hobbits are written with the assumption that those hobbits are {{C|Shire}} Free Peoples [[character]]s. So he occasionally benefits from your opponents' cards, like {{Card|Little Golden Flower}}. Just as often, his presence is a benefit to your opponent: he'll trigger cards like {{Card|Fates Entwined}} if he wins a skirmish somehow, and your opponent can exert him to pay for {{Card|Incognito}}. The main way you can take advantage of this is by using cards that were meant to punish players who were playing {{C|Shire}} decks. Many of these cards don't work on him -- any card that specifies [[Companion|companions]], [[Ally|allies]], or [[Ring-bound]] or [[unbound]] hobbits won't work -- but there's one exception: {{Card|Fool of a Took!}} You can use Fool of a Took! and Ted Sandyman, in combination with a Free Peoples deck that [[filter]]s out as many cards that aren't {{C|Moria}} [[minion]]s as possible, to draw many minions and [[bomb]] your opponent out of the game all at once with a huge [[swarm]]. This is a gimmick deck, but it's a funny gimmick.
| | With a twilight cost of 1, Ted Sandyman has the best cost-to-vitality ratio of any minion in the game, making him strong against archery and wounding. He also never naturally roams, making him very easy to play, and can be useful for fulfilling the spotting requirements of larger [man] minions, such as Voice of the Desert and Desert Wind. |
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| His [[Regroup Phase|Regroup]] ability is even stranger. It has no limit on which [[Possession|possession]]s you can stack a {{C|Men}} minion on, or whose. If you want to stack your minions on your opponent's {{Card|Gandalf's Cart}} or {{Card|Ithilien Blade}}, you can do that. It's useless and possibly even counterproductive, but you're allowed to. You can technically get some use out of this, by stacking {{C|Men}} on {{Card|Web}} to benefit {{Card|Shelob, Eater of Light}} or on {{Card|Scaffolding}} to protect your {{Card|Isengard}} orcs, but these interactions are so esoteric and weak that you'll never find a use for them outside of the silliest gimmick decks. Even if you did have a use for this ability, he only has 3 strength, so he'll usually die in his skirmish even against fairly weak Free Peoples companions.
| | Ted Sandyman has an extremely low strength, so surviving to the Regroup phase may require some support from cards such as Coldly Still, Corsair Vandal, Gathering Strength, Agent of Saruman or his own ability. |
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| = Strengths and Weaknesses = | | = Strengths and Weaknesses = |
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| == Synergizes With... ==
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| * Site control, especially in the Shadow or Maneuver phase. (eg {{Card|Rapt Hillman}} {{Card|Engrossed Hillman}}, and {{Card|Wandering Hillman}}). He can turn that site control into immediate strength bonuses.
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| * {{Card|Fool of a Took!}} and other Shadow cards that spot Hobbits, as long as those cards don't specify {{C|Shire}} culture, [[Companion|companions]] or [[Ally|allies]], nor [[Ring-bound]] nor [[unbound]] hobbits.
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| == Strong Versus... == | | == Strong Versus... == |
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| * Archery and undirected wounding/exertion, soaking up wounds to protect more important minions. | | * Archery and Wounding |
| * Site Liberation, since he can liberate sites very early in the turn, often before the Free Peoples player gets a chance to. | | * Site Liberation (Can act first to give the Shadow player some benefit) |
| | * Choke |
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| == Weak Versus... == | | == Weak Versus... == |
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| * He will almost always die in his skirmish without support from other cards. He's rarely worth the effort. | | * Very poor strength without support from other [man] cards |
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| = Rulings = | | = Rulings = |
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| * Ted Sandyman is a Hobbit, so he can interact with some cards that spot or affect Hobbits. Note that he is not {{C|Shire}} culture, is not a [[Companion|companion]] or [[Ally|ally]], and, because he is not a companion, is neither [[Ring-bound]] nor [[unbound]]. | | * Race of Hobbit allows Ted Sandyman to interact with many [shire] cards, although he cannot benefit from cards that target [man] Men only. |
| * Can stack other minions on any active possession in play. This is any Shadow possession his player has in play, or any Free People's possession his player's opponent has in play. This has no effect on most possessions. | | * Can stack other minions on any active possession in play, although the benefits of doing so vary. |
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| * Has the typical Hobbit 3 strength, 4 vitality, 1 cost stat array, mirroring those of Merry and Pippin in [[Fellowship of the Ring]]. | | * Has the typical Hobbit statistics from Set 1, mirroring those of Merry and Pippin (3 strength, 4 vitality, 1 cost). |
| | [[Category:Cards that need manual review]] |
