Long Slow Wrath (6C112) is a 
Shire Event from the Ents of Fangorn set. Its counterpart is Boomed and Trumpeted (6U24)
, swapping the affected and spotted races. Long Slow Wrath is usually valued for its strength bonus on weak companions rather than its damage bonus, while Boomed and Trumpeted is usually valued for its damage bonus on strong companions rather than its strength bonus.
Strategy[edit]
Gameplay Strategy[edit]
Hobbits are the weakest companions in the game and are the most at risk of being overwhelmed when assigned to a skirmish. Long Slow Wrath allows your 
Gandalf companions to "help": the more of them you have, the more this event does. It may be unimpressive with just Gandalf, but a deck with several Ent companions will grant unbound Hobbits a respectable amount of strength and, should they manage to win a skirmish, enough damage to obliterate whatever minion was assigned to them. Skirmish-oriented text such as Merry, From O'er the Brandywine (1C303)
and Pippin, Sworn to Service (7C323)
along with Hobbit Sword (1C299)
can bring these companions to 7 or 8 strength innately; 6 Gandalf companions and another pump will allow them to take down The Witch-king.
While having many Gandalf companions maximizes this card's effectiveness, damage +2 alone is enough to kill most minions. A Trust Me as You Once Did (3U35)
deck with Gandalf, Radagast, and Merry, Rohirrim Squire (7C320)
or Pippin, Sworn to Service (7C323)
can turn them into skirmishing machines. Everyone Knows (9R50)
combined with Escape (4R300)
and Ent Draught (9R24)
also offers very high strength, but keep in mind the exertion from Long Slow Wrath will cut the strength gain down unless you can heal it back with Stout and Sturdy (1C315)
or Nine-fingered Frodo and the Ring of Doom (10C112)
and The Shire Countryside (3R113)
.
Deckbuilding Strategy[edit]
Hobbits rarely have a need to skirmish in Ent decks, which combined with their substantially lower strength makes this an extremely situational card. The high vitality of all companions offers good protection from Úlairë Enquëa, Lieutenant of Morgul (1U231)
and often forces him to kill a weak Ent such as Forest Guardian (5C17)
or no companion at all. This combined with A Wizard Is Never Late (1R87)
allows the Free Peoples to get 9 companions out soon and keep them alive for much of the game. When 6 of those companions are Gandalf companions it is a rare occasion that one of the other 3 is assigned until the last few sites when losses are not only acceptable but expected. While this event can certainly save an unbound hobbit at that point, needing to put them in danger at all usually means the number of Gandalf companions will have dwindled and its effectiveness is no longer impressive. When just using this event to survive, Hobbit Sword (1C299)
, Hobbit Intuition (1C296)
, or Severed His Bonds (4C319)
are as good or better for unbound Hobbits in most cases and can be used to save Frodo as well.
Its damage bonus may look interesting, but your Gandalf companions have access to plenty of damage bonuses of their own and high enough strength to reliably use them. Gandalf's Staff, Walking Stick (4R91)
with either Glamdring (1R75)
or Shadowfax (4R100)
is at least damage +3 (or damage +2 with an exertion); Treebeard, Guardian of the Forest (6C37)
and Boomed and Trumpeted (6U24)
can give your Ents damage +4 which is enough to kill any minion but Shelob. While Shelob's average strength and high vitality could make this card a neat way to handle her, the fellowship would have to consist of the Ring-bearer, an unbound Hobbit, and 7 Gandalf companions to do it. Playing two copies of Long Slow Wrath can do the trick with as few as 3 Gandalf companions provided one of them can wound her in the first skirmish, although having two (or more) copies in your deck just for that is hard to justify. Because Ent decks consist of a bunch of companions with the 10 or more strength there's little for the Shadow player to gain by taking out a companion with Shelob, Her Ladyship (10R23)
anyway: if there's only one Huorn (9R25)
she can mute its wound prevention and trigger Promise Keeping (8R24)
more often, but generally the Free Peoples has nothing to lose by keeping her on the table and using their companions' high vitality to muscle through any extra exertions.
Strengths and Weaknesses[edit]
Synergizes With...[edit]
Strong Versus...[edit]
- Minions with unimpressive strength and high vitality, such as Gollum and
Isengard Orcs (though these minions would often be overwhelmed by Ents anyway)
- Pay-per-wound prevention effects like Hides (4R19)
and Scaffolding (6U73)
Weak Versus...[edit]
Kept Safe (6C111)
and other skirmish pumps that help companions in general or Hobbits in particular
and Mauhúr, Patrol Leader (4R160)
