Mount Doom

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Mount Doom
ID	10
Name	Mount Doom
Creator	Decipher
Release Date	2004-07-14
Is Official	yes
Platforms	Paper • LotR-O • GEMP • mLOTRO • Tabletop Simulator • Lackey • gccg
Notes

Mount Doom is the second and final expansion set in King Block and the tenth set overall. It was released on July 14, 2004. The set contained 122 cards (40 commons, 40 uncommons, 40 rares, and 2 premium cards that only appeared in starter decks), all of which could appear in foil versions. Four rares and one premium card from the set had Tengwar versions produced.

Themes and Mechanics

Mount Doom did not have a significant mechanical identity; rather, it added to the strategies already established by the first two King Block sets, including Gondor Wraiths, Corsairs, Morgul Orcs, Enduring Nazgûl, and Besiegers.

Cultures

For the most part, Mount Doom used the same cultures as the rest of King Block: all of the Free Peoples (with a focus on Elven, Gondor, and Shire), along with Gollum, Raider, Ringwraith, Sauron. The one exception is the card Suffered Much Loss (10U35) , which is the only Isengard card printed in King Block.

Because of the changes to Shadow cultures made in set 11, Mount Doom is the last set to feature any cards of the Raider culture. The Isengard and Sauron cultures would also be discontinued as primary cultures, although they would feature on individual cards in future sets.

New Keywords

Mount Doom did not introduce any new keywords, loaded or unloaded, however it does feature the only appearance of Uruk-hai outside of the Isengard and Uruk-hai cultures.

Starter Decks

The premium cards for the Mount Doom starter decks were Frodo, Resolute Hobbit (10P121) and Sam, Great Elf Warrior (10P122) , continuing the trend from Siege of Gondor of having hobbits appear as the face cards of the starter decks. With the release of Mount Doom, each of the nine companions that set out from Rivendell led at least one starter deck; the five non-hobbit companions all had starter decks in Fellowship block (Gandalf had two).

• Frodo Starter Deck: Shire / Gondor / Ringwraith
• Sam Starter Deck: Shire / Sauron

Cycles

Free Peoples Cycles
Cycle Name	Dwarven	Elven	Gandalf	Gondor	Rohan	Shire
Lose initiative conditions	Memories of Darkness (10U2)	Glimpse of Fate (10U12)	Brooding on Tomorrow (10U15)	Hardy Garrison (10U33)	Fell Deeds Awake (10U73)	A Light in His Mind (10U108)
	Conditions that trigger each time the Free Peoples player loses initiative (sometimes with the restriction "except during the Fellowship phase").

Shadow Cycles
Cycle Name	Gollum	Raider	Ringwraith	Sauron
Anti-possession events	A Dark Shape Sprang (10R19)	Stampeded (10R51)	N/A	Ruinous Hail (10U98)
	Response events that can be played if a Free Peoples possession is played. Curiously, while the trigger is nearly the same for all three events, it is worded slightly differently on each one.
Initiative conditions	Unabated in Malice (10C24)	Under Foot (10C52)	Stooping to the Kill (10C64)	Flames Within (10C85)
	Common conditions with two abilities: one that is only active when the Shadow has initiative, and the other that discards the condition to give a minion a strength bonus during a skirmish. It could be argued that Suffered Much Loss (10U35) is also a member of the cycle, but unlike the other abilities it is an uncommon and doesn't have an ability to discard it during a skirmish.

Reprinted Cards

Mount Doom did not contain any reprinted cards.

Notable Cards

• Galadriel, Lady Redeemed (10R11)
• Aragorn, Elessar Telcontar (10R25)
• Suffered Much Loss (10U35)
• Frodo, Resolute Hobbit (10P121)
• Sam, Great Elf Warrior (10P122)

X-listed Cards

Unbeknownst at the time, Mount Doom was a glimpse into the tumultuous era ahead for the game. Along with Aggression (8C1) from Siege of Gondor, 4 cards were added to the X-list in the week before and month after its release directly because of interactions it caused -- the most during the time of any expansion set. Treebeard, Keeper of the Watchwood (10R18) and Base of Mindolluin (10U117) were the first cards to cause pre-emptive bans, adding Steadfast Champion (7U49) and Gondorian Captain (7C96) respectively to the X-list due to loops that could occur in Movie Block. Mordor Fiend (10C91) holds the distinction of the fastest ban in the game's history (one day after the set was released) for yet another loop while Memories of Darkness (10U2) clocked in less than a month later as the second-fastest ban for enabling various abuses including loops. While not banned during the time of Mount Doom, the set's infamous Galadriel, Lady Redeemed (10R11) did not trail far behind and was banned shortly after Shadows.

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