Here Is Good Rock (4C50)
 Gimli, Unbidden Guest (4C49)
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Khazad Ai-menu (4C51) 
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Here Is Good Rock (4C50) is a 
Dwarven Condition from the The Two Towers set.
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Strategy[edit]
Here Is Good Rock is an object lesson in how you often play cards because you like their cost rather than their effect. The main use of this card is a cycling tool: it clears out unwanted Free Peoples cards clogging up your hand so you can draw different cards when you reconcile at the end of the turn. The Damage +1 boost is just a nice extra, and rarely important. You're playing Here Lies Balin, Son of Fundin (1C19)
and your opponent isn't playing orcs? You have Servant of the Secret Fire (1R83)
in your hand but Gandalf is dead? Here Is Good Rock will clear out that junk for you. It's a simple, straightforward cycling tool, albeit one that is largely overtaken by stronger cards in later sets.
Where this card gets a little more interesting is when it interacts with the rest of the Dwarven stacking cards. Here Is Good Rock the cheapest, easiest way to stack Toss Me (6R11)
so that it gives an ongoing strength increase to any version of Gimli. The cards you have stacked here can also be discarded as fuel for Axe of Erebor (4R41)
. You can even do this in the middle of a skirmish, somewhat unexpectedly buffing Gimli's strength. Gimli, Feared Axeman (7R7)
is the natural choice to get the most out of these Gimli-boosting shenanigans, since he helps protect them from removal.
In Towers Block, HIGR mainly competes with From the Armory (4U47)
, which is has a powerful effect but is more expensive, and dissimilar stacking cards that only stack one card at a time (Courtesy of My Hall (4C44)
) or stack random cards that you don't get to choose (Ever My Heart Rises (4R46)
, More to My Liking (5U9)
, Come Here Lad (4U43)
). Things get a little more complicated when you add King Block cards to the mix. Stacking cards becomes more valuable, with the addition of Battle Tested (7U3)
, one of the strongest Dwarven pump events in the game, Slaked Thirsts (7U14)
, a powerful direct wounding tool that needs to be stacked to be used, and Sindri, Dwarven Lord (9R10)
can play cards like Battle Tested from stacked. However, it finds itself competing with Preparations (7R12)
, which is a bit more expensive but can constantly recycle cards like Battle Tested or Slaked Thirsts from discard, and Loyalty Unshaken (7R10)
, which is not reusable but offers much stronger cycling and a much stronger skirmish effect. Plus, if all you want is the cycling and the damage +1, the popular Linnar, Dwarven Lord (9R5)
can do that for you while also serving as a very efficient companion in general. On top of this, From the Armory is more relevant in later formats, because it can deflect many threat wounds at once as well as stymieing Ninja Gollum. As a result, Here Is Good Rock is relatively rarely played after Towers Block and Towers Standard.
Here Is Good Rock technically can also be used with the cards that move stacked cards into other states, like Dwarven Foresight (4R45)
to put a card in your hand, or Rest by Blind Night (4R54)
or Restless Axe (4R55)
to shuffle them into your deck. This is rarely useful with HIGR, though. Dwarven Foresight is only handy if the Free Peoples card was one you wanted to store for later use, and the Rest cards are mainly used to shuffle Shadow cards into your deck to set up a late-game Shadow effort. It would be possible to use Here Is Good Rock to set up some extreme combo deck, by stacking key cards on it, discarding your entire deck (possibly with Ever My Heart Rises (4R46)
or Realm of Dwarrowdelf (2R12)
), then using one of the two Rest cards to shuffle the cards stacked on HIGR into your deck, but such a deck would be very gimmicky.
Strengths and Weaknesses[edit]
Synergizes With...[edit]
- Cards that benefit from being stacked, like Toss Me (6R11)
and Slaked Thirsts (7U14)
- Cards that benefit from other cards being stacked, like Axe of Erebor (4R41)
, Battle Tested (7U3)
, and Sindri, Dwarven Lord (9R10)
- Any situational card or combo piece that might become a dead card under the wrong circumstances
- Gimli, Feared Axeman (7R7)
can protect it from removal
- You can use it with Dwarven Foresight (4R45)
, Rest by Blind Night (4R54)
, or Restless Axe (4R55)
to set up combos or store cards, although there are better options for this
Strong Versus...[edit]
- Minions who want to survive to the Regroup Phase, particularly Isengard Orcs
- Shadow wound prevention like Hides (4R19)
- Shadow strategies to clog your hand, like Gríma, Wormtongue (4R154)
or Speak No More to Me (10R100)
Weak Versus...[edit]
- Condition Removal. It will rarely be a high priority target unless you have a key card like Toss Me (6R11)
stacked on it, though.
