Editing Troll

{{SplashImage|LOTR-EN01S165.0_card.jpg|''They have a Cave Troll.''|300px|Cave Troll of Moria, Scourge of the Black Pit (1R165)}}

'''Trolls''' are massive, strong, and dim creatures, often found in caves, the armies of Sauron, or in poorly-moderated Internet discussions. In this game, they are a [[Shadow Alignment|Shadow]] [[race]], appearing first as a single {{C|Moria}} [[minion]], and later as {{C|Sauron}} and {{C|Orc}} [[culture]] minions.

The first troll minion was {{Card|Cave Troll of Moria}}, a {{C|Moria}} minion which set the tone for most later troll cards. It's expensive but cheaper under certain conditions, both from its own [[Twilight]] cost reduction at [[Underground]] [[Site|site]]s (sites 4 and 5 in [[Fellowship Block]]) as well as from {{Card|Troll's Keyward}}. It's so strong that it threatens to [[overwhelm]] unprepared [[companion]]s, especially when equipped with its exclusive possessions, {{Card|Cave Troll's Hammer}} and {{Card|Cave Troll's Chain}}, or the only possession it has in common with other {{C|Moria}} minions, {{Card|Goblin Spear}}. And it's both [[Fierce]] and [[Damage]] +1, allowing to do four wounds if allowed to rampage unchecked. It wasn't always played, but it would occasionally appear in [[Moria Beatdown]], a strategy on higher-strength minions supplemented with {{Card|Moria Axe}} (as opposed to the typical {{C|Moria}} [[swarm]] strategies), or simply to help keep the Free Peoples player honest.

For the next nine sets, all of the trolls were {{C|Sauron}} culture, starting in [[Ents of Fangorn]]. That set introduced {{Card|Gate Troll}} and {{Card|Troll of Udun}}. These saw only occasional play, owing to their high cost. Trolls weren't a common sight until [[Siege of Gondor]]'s [[Besieger]] trolls: {{Card|Great Hill Troll}} and {{Card|Troll of Gorgoroth, Abomination of Sauron}}. Those trolls were key parts of the Besieger deck of [[King Block]] and [[Movie Block]], which played many [[Engine]] [[condition]]s and [[possession]]s to set up to overrun the [[Fellowship]] with discount-price trolls. (This set also had {{Card|Olog-Hai of Mordor}}, but its much-more-difficult discount condition meant that it's generally skipped.) {{C|Sauron}} besiegers is a common Shadow side in [[Movie Block]] to this day. [[Mount Doom]] later introduced {{Card|Troll of Cirith Gorgor}}, a strong minion similar to the Cave-Troll, and it can be played in any {{C|Sauron}} deck that can afford its high Twilight cost.

Starting with the [[Shadows]] set, Shadow cultures were reorganized, and all subsequent trolls are {{C|Orc}} culture. In [[Expanded (Format)|Expanded]], there are two main strategies featuring trolls: Troll Swarm and Mountain Troll Swarm.

Troll Swarm is a [[beatdown]] strategy that centers on {{Card|Troll's Keyward, Keeper of the Beast}}. By including many (often 20+) troll minions in your deck and using a Free Peoples side with strong [[filter]]ing, you can reveal a whole hand full of trolls, generating enough Twilight to play those trolls. Typically this deck plays Fierce, Damage +1 trolls like {{Card|Ordnance Grunt}}, {{Card|Cave Troll of Moria, Savage Menace}}, {{Card|Porter Troll}}, and {{Card|Beastly Olog-Hai}}, plus the very annoying {{Card|Tower Troll}}. It also runs {{Card|Relentless Warg}} to get extra uses out of the Keyward, and cards that can [[recur]] the Keyward and his warg like {{Card|Goblin Hordes}}, {{Card|Orkish Warg-Master}}, and {{Card|Half-Troll of Far Harad}}.

Mountain Troll Swarm is a [[swarm]] strategy, although not properly a deck of its own. It plays a swarm of cheap [[Orc|orcs]], often with [[exertion]] abilities or abilities that activate when they come into play, then uses {{Card|Mountain-Troll}} to discard and [[recur]] all of them. This strategy works with many other {{C|Orc}} culture strategies. [[Warg Super Swarm]] plays many cheap orcs, especially ones that generate more Twilight like {{Card|Orkish Runner}}, {{Card|Orkish Scout}}, and {{Card|Scurrying Goblin}}, then supplements them with [[Warg]] possessions and cards that replay wargs. Mountain-Troll also works well with decks featuring {{Card|Demoralized}}, which play and replay minions that exhaust companions (chiefly {{Card|Pitiless Orc}}, {{Card|Rallying Orc}}, and {{Card|Orc Hammer}} with {{Card|Scavenging Goblins}}) to either supplement a [[Direct Wounding|direct wounding]] strategy, an [[Archery|archery]] strategy, or simply to set up a huge unbeatable swarm. Mountain-Troll is also a common addition to [[Lurker]] orc decks, which plays efficient swarms of Lurker orcs that all buff each other.

Trolls are a separate race from [[Half-Troll]]s in this game. Cards that apply to "trolls" do not also apply to half-trolls.


==List of Cards with the Troll Race==

{{ThumbnailTable
|filter= CR.Subtypes__full = 'Troll' AND {{PromoFilter}} AND {{HobbitFilter}}
|sort= {{CultureSort}}
}}

==List of Cards that Interact with the Troll Race==

{{ThumbnailTable
|filter= CR.GameText RLIKE '(?<!Cave )\\b(Troll)\\b' AND {{PromoFilter}} AND {{HobbitFilter}}
|sort= {{CultureSort}}
}}


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