Frodo's Pipe (3U107)

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Frodo's Pipe (3U107) is a Shire Possession from the Realms of the Elf-Lords set.

Collection Info
Title Frodo's Pipe
Unique Yes
Collectible Yes
Set 3 - Realms of the Elf-lords
Rarity U - Uncommon
Card Number 107
Language EN - English
Revision 0
Gameplay Info
Playable Yes
Culture Shire
Side Free Peoples
Card Type Possession
Item Class Pipe
Twilight Cost 1
Game Text Bearer must be Frodo.

Fellowship: Discard a pipeweed possession and spot X pipes to heal a companion with the Frodo signet X times.

Lore “‘All the same, observations that I have made on my own many journeys south have convinced me that the weed itself is not native to our parts of the world.'”
Translations
DE - German
Card Name Frodos Pfeife
Game Text Muss auf Frodo gespielt werden. Gemeinschaft. Lege ein Pfeifenkraut ab und entdecke X Pfeifen, um einen Gefährten mit dem Frodosiegel X mal zu heilen.
Lore "Beobachtungen, die ich selbst auf meinen vielen Reisen nach dem Süden machen konnte, haben mich indessen überzeugt, dass das Kraut nicht zu den einheimischen Pflanzen unseres Teils der Welt gehört...“
ES - Spanish
Card Name La Pipa de Frodo
Game Text El portador debe ser Frodo.

Comunidad: Descarta una posesión hierba para pipa y avista X pipas para curar un compañero con el sello de Frodo X veces.

Lore “Al mismo tiempo, mis propias observaciones en los viajes que hice al sur me convencieron de que la hierba no es originaria de nuestra región.”
FR - French
Card Name La Pipe de Frodon
Game Text Le détenteur doit être Frodon. Compagnie : Défaussez une possession Herbe à pipe et désignez X pipes pour guérir X fois un compagnon possédant le sceau de Frodon.
Lore « “Néanmoins, certaines observations que j'ai faites au cours de mes nombreux voyages dans le sud m'ont convaincu que l'herbe même n'est pas originaire de notre partie du monde...” »
IT - Italian
Card Name La Pipa di Frodo
Game Text Il possessore deve essere Frodo.

Compagnia: Scarta un bene Erba-pipa e avvista X pipe per curare X volte un compagno con il sigillo di Frodo.

Lore “‘Ciò nonostante, dalle ricerche compiute da me personalmente durante numerosi viaggi nel Sud, risulta che detta erba non è originaria delle nostre parti.'”
PL - Polish


Technical Info
Wiki Base Card ID LOTR-EN03S107.0
TLHH ID LOTR03107
GEMP ID 3_107
LOTRO Hex ID 6B 72 DC 02
LOTRO Image ID 03_107


Strategy[edit]

Gameplay Strategy[edit]

In many ways it is the complement of Aragorn’s Pipe (1U91) , putting massive healing on a single companion rather than healing several companions once. Pipeweed decks typically include 2-3 Shire pipes and either Aragorn's Pipe or Gandalf’s Pipe (1U74) - often both - so it will reliably heal a staggering 3-5 wounds, far more than most companions need. Using it to heal just two wounds is typically less efficient than spending an extra pipeweed to use Aragorn's Pipe twice to heal several companions (regardless of signet). If there are many companions with the Frodo signet it is, perhaps unexpectedly, still less efficient than Aragorn's Pipe much of the time -- needing to heal two companions three times happens less often than needing to heal three companions twice. However, it's still a good fallback should an opponent discard Aragorn's Pipe. Gandalf’s Pipe (1U74) outdoes them both with The Shire Countryside (3R113) , though this makes Sleep, Caradhras (1C84) much harder to benefit from (and makes the deck very susceptible to Saruman's Power (1U136) by the same token).

This leaves a very particular circumstance for Frodo's Pipe to shine: healing many wounds off of one companion without necessarily needing to heal anyone else (or there's no room for any Gondor companions). There are a number of possibilities for this, the most obvious ones are listed in the Strengths and Weaknesses section below.

In Fellowship Block, pipe-based strategies are largely untouchable -- a pipeweed deck only really has to fear Isengard Smith (3U60) . Towers' Dunland can threaten a pipeweed deck by getting rid of the pipes with War Club (4U36) or Dunlending Pillager (4U13) , although decks built around Frodo's Pipe in particular are often able to handle troublesome Dunland minions. While Úlairë Cantëa, Faster Than Winds (7R211) opens up targeted possession discarding in Return of the King, the costs associated make it difficult to do this repeatedly and the pipes are often kept safe by Shadow players prioritizing weapons. This all changes in Siege of Gondor, where Corsairs make quick work of all possession-based strategies thanks to Corsair Marauder (8R57) and Ships of Great Draught (8R65) . This largely confines pipeweed decks to Fellowship Block, Towers Standard, and King Standard.

Deckbuilding Strategy[edit]

While Old Toby (1C305) and Longbottom Leaf (1C300) provide plenty of cycling to a pipeweed deck, space is still limited: pipes and pipeweed will add 10 or more cards to a deck on their own. Since all pipes are unique, players are left with a deckbuilding conundrum: with too few distinct pipes, you'll often have to burn through pipeweed too quickly at the start of the game and may run out before the end; with too many, you'll wind up drawing redundant pipes instead of more helpful cards. Duplicates of the most important pipes are a good idea to make sure they appear when they're needed, but too many will keep the other pipes stuck in the deck for a longer time. Typically, the solution is to pick the 2-3 most important pipes for two copies and then another 1-2 pipes at one copy each to support them.

How Frodo's Pipe competes for space depends on the deck. If the strategy hinges on a single companion with the Frodo signet, it may take top priority with two or even three copies. Otherwise, decks with Gondor companions will typically get more out of Aragorn’s Pipe (1U91) , and if the Frodo signet is only on unimportant companions it jockeys with Bilbo's Pipe (1U285) for least-most important pipe depending on whether there are any tales worth recycling. A deck with Gimli and no Frodo signets may still value Frodo's pipe above Gimli's Pipe (3U2) , which is seldom of any more use. The other Shire pipes may be borne by Hobbit allies who are less likely to be killed than Gimli, while Frodo's Pipe is safest of all on the Ring-bearer.

Strengths and Weaknesses[edit]

Synergizes With...[edit]

Obviously any companion with the Frodo signet can benefit from Frodo's Pipe, but most of them don't need or can't use all the healing it provides. So which companions make the best targets?

Strong Versus...[edit]

  • Wounding strategies of all stripes -- even cards like Hate (1R250) typically rely on some indirect wounding to soften companions first, and Frodo's Pipe naturally encourages the Free Peoples player to place wounds on high vitality companions who can stay out just out of striking distance
  • Beatdown decks, which aim to hound the Free People's key companions until they can't risk skirmishing

Weak Versus...[edit]

  • Possession discarding such as Corsair Marauder (8R57) , which can heavily cripple a Free Peoples strategy that depends on the healing from Frodo's Pipe until another copy is drawn

See Also[edit]

Decks[edit]

Towers Standard Pipeweed by ket_the_jet

Free Peoples Draw Deck (37 cards):