Merry, From O'er the Brandywine (1C303)
 Merry, Friend to Sam (1R302)
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Noble Intentions (1C304) 
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Merry, From O'er the Brandywine (1C303) is a 
Shire Companion from the Fellowship of the Ring set.
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Strategy[edit]
The common Merry companion from the Fellowship of the Ring base set is the first indication of Merry's bravery as a fighter over his Hobbit friends. While bearing a Hand Weapon, Merry, From O'er the Brandywine receives an additional strength +2 bonus, making Merry bearing a Hobbit Sword a respectable strength 7 and bearing a Frying Pan strength 6. Future set releases like Merry's Sword or Merry's Dagger and Horn of the Mark can make this fighter a strength 8, vitality 4 stalwart with access to [Shire] stealth events that can dodge the largest minions. Merry's Armor and Everyone Knows provide further strength bonuses.
Sporting the Aragorn signet, Merry, From O'er the Brandywine can be healed each turn by Aragorn, King in Exile, making him a strong companion option in sealed play, particularly against Uruk-Hai and other minions with damage bonuses. Merry is a much more common starting companion combination with Boromir or Faramir than other 1-!twilight companions such as Pippin.
Boromir, Son of Denethor can make Merry, From O'er the Brandywine an even more valuable fighter in most formats. Even so, Merry often requires strength pumps to beat many minions and has very limited access to damage bonuses, several of which come from other cultures (Some examples being Dagger Strike, Voice of Rauros, Long Slow Wrath and Dwarven Embassy). Weather events, such as Saruman's Snows and Saruman's Frost can be particularly crippling for Merry.
Possession removal, such as Ulaire Cantea, Lieutenant of Dol Guldur are devastating but can be avoided by assignments. Possession discarding in the shadow phase, such as Corsair Marauder, or the maneuver phase, such as Stricken Dumb or Ulaire Cantea, Faster than Winds can return Merry to the back of the company as another weak Hobbit companion.
Strengths and Weaknesses[edit]
Strong Versus...[edit]
- Hobbit Sword, Merry's Sword, Merry's Dagger give Merry a double-strength bonus for the possession (triple bonus when bearing Frying Pan)
- High-vitality fighter against damage bonus minions
- Aragorn signet offers access to easy healing such as Aragorn, King in Exile and Hard Choice
- Access to [Shire] skirmish events, particularly canceling stealth events
- Best Hobbit fighter in Fellowship of the Ring block, particularly against high-strength minions
Weak Versus...[edit]
- Possession discarding, particularly before the assignment and skirmish phases
- Possession negation, such as Troop of Uruk-Hai or Parry
- Cards that target fighting Hobbits, such as Saruman's Frost
Alternate Personas[edit]
| Portrait | Name | Game Text |
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Merry, Friend to Sam (1R302)
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Skirmish: If Merry is not assigned to a skirmish, exert him twice to add his strength to another companion. |
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Merry, Horticulturalist (2C104)
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Fellowship: Exert Merry to play Farmer Maggot from your draw deck. |
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Merry, Learned Guide (4C310)
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Skirmish: Exert the Ring-bearer to discard Merry. Any Shadow player may remove  to prevent this.
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Merry, Unquenchable Hobbit (4R311)
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Skirmish: If Merry is not assigned to a skirmish, discard him to remove a  Orc from a skirmish involving an unbound companion.
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Merry, Impatient Hobbit (6R113)
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Regroup: Discard Merry to heal a  companion.
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Merry, Rohirrim Squire (7C320)
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Skirmish: If you cannot spot 3 threats, add a threat to make Merry strength +2. |
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Merry, Swordthain (7R321)
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Skirmish: If Merry is not assigned to a skirmish, return him to your hand to play up to 2  possessions from your discard pile.
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Merry, Noble Warrior (8P121)
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To play, spot a companion.
Skirmish: Discard 4 cards from hand to make Merry strength +2 for each |
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Merry, Loyal Companion (11C168)
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For each other unbound companion assigned to a skirmish, Merry is strength +2. |
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Merry, The Tall One (15C149)
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While Merry bears a follower, he is strength +2.
Skirmish:If Merry is skirmishing a hunter minion, add a threat to make Merry strength +2. |
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Merry, In the Bloom of Health (17U107)
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Add 1 to the number of Ents you can spot.
Regroup:</br> Exert Merry to place a pipeweed from your discard pile beneath your draw deck. |
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Merry, Resolute Friend (19P29)
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Fellowship.
Skirmish: If Merry is not assigned to a skirmish, take 2 |
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Merry, Of Buckland (V1_52)
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Assignment: Exert Merry 3 times to prevent a minion from being assigned to a skirmish until the regroup phase. The Shadow player may exhaust that minion to prevent this.
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