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[[File:LOTR-EN04S103.0_card.jpg|frame|right|{{Card|Treebeard, Earthborn}} interacted with the new [[Bouncing Hobbits]] archetype. | [[File:LOTR-EN04S103.0_card.jpg|frame|right|{{Card|Treebeard, Earthborn}} interacted with the new [[Bouncing Hobbits]] archetype.]] | ||
Set 4, '''The Two Towers''' (or '''TTT''') is the second base set of the Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game, and the fourth expansion overall. It was released on November 6, 2002 (one month before the movie of the same name), as the first set of [[Towers Block]]. It introduced the Ents, the Riders of Rohan, Dunlendings, Southrons, and Easterlings. Overall, the set had little to no power creep, and was well-produced, making it easier to find sealed product than the [[Realms of the Elf-lords]] set that came immediately before it. | Set 4, '''The Two Towers''' (or '''TTT''') is the second base set of the Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game, and the fourth expansion overall. It was released on November 6, 2002 (one month before the movie of the same name), as the first set of [[Towers Block]]. It introduced the Ents, the Riders of Rohan, Dunlendings, Southrons, and Easterlings. Overall, the set had little to no power creep, and was well-produced, making it easier to find sealed product than the [[Realms of the Elf-lords]] set that came immediately before it. | ||
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* {{Card|Legolas, Dauntless Hunter}} | * {{Card|Legolas, Dauntless Hunter}} | ||
== Themes and Mechanics == | == Themes and Mechanics == | ||
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Rumor has it that Decipher originally tinkered with producing a brand new game rather than continue to extend the mechanics of the TCG, which which were tied closely to the events and structure of [[The Fellowship of the Ring]]. This would have been similar to what they did for Star Wars Episode 1, where its content was kept entirely within the [https://www.starwarsccg.org/young-jedi/ Young Jedi TCG] instead of the SWCCG (at first, anyway). Whether or not those rumors have any truth to them, the TTT set struggled to implement mechanics which represented the plot of the film and book as well as FOTR had done before it. | Rumor has it that Decipher originally tinkered with producing a brand new game rather than continue to extend the mechanics of the TCG, which which were tied closely to the events and structure of [[The Fellowship of the Ring]]. This would have been similar to what they did for Star Wars Episode 1, where its content was kept entirely within the [https://www.starwarsccg.org/young-jedi/ Young Jedi TCG] instead of the SWCCG (at first, anyway). Whether or not those rumors have any truth to them, the TTT set struggled to implement mechanics which represented the plot of the film and book as well as FOTR had done before it. | ||
The most impactful new mechanic involves the split [[Ring-bound]] and [[Unbound]] labels for companions, which was an attempt to represent the story split between Frodo in Mordor and everyone else in Rohan. Ring-bound companions (Ithilien [[Ranger]]s, Frodo, Sam, and later | The most impactful new mechanic involves the split [[Ring-bound]] and [[Unbound]] labels for companions, which was an attempt to represent the story split between Frodo in Mordor and everyone else in Rohan. Ring-bound companions (Ithilien [[Ranger]]s, Frodo, Sam, and later [[Smeagol]]) were part of Frodo's storyline, while unbound companions were off fighting in Rohan. {{C|Raider}} cards would target and gain bonuses from fighting Ring-bound companions, while {{C|Isengard}} and {{C|Dunland}} cards would target unbound companions. | ||
This mechanic endured, if only because having a shorthand of "unbound" instead of "(except the Ring-bearer)" was convenient for game design. However, even with the number of culture-level designs around targeting specific subsets of individuals, you had the issue of a {{C|Rohan}} fellowship dragging Frodo with them as their [[Ring-bearer]], or a Ring-bound Ranger fellowship trekking through Rohan, which remained thematic issues that made TTT more ill-fitted to the game mechanics thematically than FOTR was. | This mechanic endured, if only because having a shorthand of "unbound" instead of "(except the Ring-bearer)" was convenient for game design. However, even with the number of culture-level designs around targeting specific subsets of individuals, you had the issue of a {{C|Rohan}} fellowship dragging Frodo with them as their [[Ring-bearer]], or a Ring-bound Ranger fellowship trekking through Rohan, which remained thematic issues that made TTT more ill-fitted to the game mechanics thematically than FOTR was. | ||
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This set introduced three new cultures: | This set introduced three new cultures: | ||
* {{C|Dunland}}, which was only introduced because Decipher thought that 2 [[Shadow]] cultures was too few | |||
* {{C|Raider}}, representing the evil nations of Men sworn to serve Sauron | * {{C|Raider}}, representing the evil nations of Men sworn to serve Sauron | ||
* {{C|Rohan}}. | |||
* {{C|Rohan}} | |||
It was also the first set to contain zero cards from already-established cultures {{C|Moria}}, {{C|Ringwraith}}, and {{C|Sauron}}. | It was also the first set to contain zero cards from already-established cultures {{C|Moria}}, {{C|Ringwraith}}, and {{C|Sauron}}. | ||
