Frodo's Cloak (4R303)
 Frodo, Tired Traveller (4C302)
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Get On and Get Away (4R304) 
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Frodo's Cloak (4R303) is a 
Shire Possession from the The Two Towers set.
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Strategy[edit]
Gameplay Strategy[edit]
In Fellowship block, there were two ways to remove burdens in a skirmish: Stout and Sturdy (1C315)
+ Extraordinary Resilience (1C287)
or, at a river or forest, Voice of Nimrodel (3C28)
can be played with Songs of the Blessed Realm (1C61)
out. The main reason for doing this would be trigger The Shire Countryside (3R113)
so Boromir, Son of Denethor (1U97)
and Merry, Friend to Sam (1R302)
can use their abilities more than their vitality would otherwise allow. This often a sight to behold, buffing a companion to astronomical levels (particularly for Fellowship block). However, after all the required setup, seeing how high a companion's strength can get is often the only reward -- by the time it all comes together, opponents will have had plenty of opportunities to race far ahead on the adventure path.
Frodo's Cloak can be used at (almost) any site to remove a burden by itself and doesn't take up hand space, alleviating all of these issues. Without The Shire Countryside, Sting, Baggins Heirloom (5R116)
and Sméagol, Slinker (5R29)
can go a little further and Easterlings can be robbed of the gains they make. With The Shire Countryside, combos open up across all sorts of strategies to rearm a Free Peoples in the middle of a turn. The aforementioned Boromir and Merry, Trust Me as You Once Did (3U35)
decks, Ring-bound Ranger decks leaning on Ranger's Bow (4C131)
... the possibilities span wide. Some are more reliable than others and all of them still depend on The Shire Countryside, but none of them were really worth considering until Frodo's Cloak.
That it cancels skirmishes early on the Towers site path, then, can be a blessing or a curse since it deprives the Free Peoples of how it fits into the rest of the deck. Site 4T is when the Shadow player is usually able to make their first big move: against some strategies (particularly swarms) cancelling the skirmish will work just as well, but for others (namely Easterlings) the burden it adds will only make matters worse.
Deckbuilding Strategy[edit]
For all its benefits, its uniqueness makes it better for a fallback than the primary mechanism for The Shire Countryside (3R113)
. Brace of Coneys (4C298)
is cheaper and can be stacked on Frodo until needed -- if you want more that 2 copies of Frodo's Cloak, you're often better off maxing out Brace of Coneys first and rationing your skirmish use a little more lest you wind up clogging your hand with them. Not Listening (6C43)
is more effective in skirmish phases where possible, though of course you'll have to wait until the end of the skirmish which may not be enough for certain combos.
In Movie Block and later it is completely replaced by Nine-fingered Frodo and the Ring of Doom (10C112)
which doesn't have the same deckbuilding concerns, doesn't give the opponent any extra twilight, and can be constantly recursed by Birthday Present (10R104)
.
Strengths and Weaknesses[edit]
Synergizes With...[edit]
- The One Ring, Answer To All Riddles (4R1)
, which can be put on at will to add a burden for Frodo's Cloak to remove - Sméagol, Slinker (5R29)
- Sting, Baggins Heirloom (5R116)
- The Shire Countryside (3R113)
- A Promise (2R112)
- Extraordinary Resilience (1C287)
Strong Versus...[edit]
- Easterlings in general and Small Hope (7R159)
in particular, which otherwise guarantees the minimum number of burdens for Easterling Captain (4R225)
and Easterling Axeman (4C224)
- Morgul Brute (7R188)
- Gollum, Stinker (5R25)
Weak Versus...[edit]
Relatively expensive, which can make playing it benefit the Shadow side more than the Free Peoples in the last sites
Rulings[edit]
On any adventure path other than Towers, this card will always remove a burden and heal a wound regardless of site number.
