Raceless

From LOTR-TCG Wiki
One of the 'enigma' characters whose origin is never explored.

Raceless cards are a curious matter of a card having no race. All characters usually have a built-in Unloaded Keyword listed in their type bar that represents their Race, but a handful of cards prove the exception to this rule. Sméagol/Gollum are the most prominent examples, but when Reflections came around both Tom Bombadil and Goldberry shared this abnormality. The reason for Decipher choosing to have "no race" as their race seems a fair call; they already had a catch-all race for things you couldn't determine the race of (see Creature), but this is obviously a bit too off to use for individuals with a murky origin.

The final Current Rulings Document has a section devoted to untangling how to interact with characters of no race:

Rules Entries[edit]

Character cards that represent the unique aspects of Gollum or Sméagol have no race. This does not mean that these cards have “a race of no race.” When an effect tells you to count (or choose or spot) a race, Gollum/Sméagol can’t be counted (or chosen or spotted).

A Shadow player must spot a race for Argument Ready to Hand (12U1) . Gollum doesn't have a race to be spotted.

Sméagol is not a companion whose race you cannot spot.

When The Nine Walkers (1R79) is in play, Sméagol does not have his cost reduced.

When an effect tells you to do something to minions of other races, that does not work on Gollum/Sméagol.

Argument Ready to Hand (12U1) can't discard Gollum, since he is not "of all other minion races" (he is not of any minion race).

When an effect tells you to do something to all minions who do not belong to a particular race, that does work on Gollum/Sméagol.

If an effect says, "Discard all minions not of the Orc race," then Gollum is discarded.

- gollum_smeagol section


List of Character Cards with no Race[edit]

Portrait Card Name Culture Card Type Game Text
Sméagol, Old Noser (5C28) Culture Gollum.svg Gollum Companion Ring-bound. To play, add a burden.

Regroup: Exert Sméagol (or Gollum) twice to reveal the top 4 cards of your draw deck. Wound a minion for each Shadow card revealed. Place those 4 cards beneath your draw deck in any order.

Sméagol, Slinker (5R29) Culture Gollum.svg Gollum Companion Ring-bound. To play, add a burden.

Skirmish: Add a burden to make Sméagol strength +2 and take no wounds.

Sméagol, Poor Creature (6C45) Culture Gollum.svg Gollum Companion Ring-bound. To play, add a burden. Skirmish: Discard a card from hand to make Sméagol strength +1.
Sméagol, Always Helps (7R71) Culture Gollum.svg Gollum Companion Ring-bound. To play, add a burden.

Assignment: Assign a minion to Sméagol and add 2 threats to exhaust that minion.

Sméagol, Hurried Guide (7C72) Culture Gollum.svg Gollum Companion Ring-bound. To play, add a burden.

Skirmish: If you have initiative, discard 2 cards from your hand. Sméagol cannot be overwhelmed unless his strength is tripled.

Sméagol, Slippery Sneak (8R27) Culture Gollum.svg Gollum Companion Ring-bound. To play, add a burden.

Skirmish: Add a number of threats equal to the total vitality of the minions Sméagol is skirmishing to discard Sméagol. Regroup: Discard Sméagol to take a Culture Gollum.svg minion from your discard pile into hand.

Sméagol, Bearer of Great Secrets (9R+30) Culture Gollum.svg Gollum Companion Ring-bound. To play, add a burden.

Each time the fellowship moves, place an unbound companion in the dead pile.

Regroup: If Sméagol is the Ring-bearer, add 2 burdens to discard each minion.

Sméagol, Scout and Guide (11R51) Culture Gollum.svg Gollum Companion Ring-bound. To play, add a burden.

Each time Sméagol wins a skirmish, you may play the fellowship's next site.

Skirmish: If Sméagol is at a marsh, exert him to cancel a skirmish involving him.

Sméagol, Simple Stoor (13U55) Culture Gollum.svg Gollum Companion Ring-bound. To play, add a burden.

For each card titled Déagol in your discard pile, Sméagol is strength +2 and resistance –1. Each time Sméagol wins a skirmish, you may take a Culture Gollum.svg card from your draw deck and place it in your discard pile.

Sméagol, Wretched and Hungry (15R49) Culture Gollum.svg Gollum Companion Ring-bound. To play, add a burden.

Each Ring-bound companion is resistance +1.

Skirmish: Exert 2 Ring-bound Hobbits to make Sméagol strength +1 and prevent him from being overwhelmed unless his strength is tripled.

Sméagol, Pitiable Guide (19P11) Culture Gollum.svg Gollum Companion Ring-bound.

To play, add a burden.

Each time Sméagol wins a skirmish, you may shuffle up to 2 Culture Gollum.svg cards from your discard pile into your draw deck.

Skirmish: Exert a Ring-bound companion to make Sméagol strength +2.

Goldberry, River-daughter (9R+51) Culture Shire.svg Shire Ally • Home 2 Each time the fellowship moves to a river, heal Goldberry and Tom Bombadil.

Skirmish: If the fellowship is at a river, exert Goldberry to make a companion strength +1.

Tom Bombadil, The Master (9R+52) Culture Shire.svg Shire Ally • Home 2 To play, remove 2 burdens or 2 threats.

Skirmish: Spot 2 Culture Shire.svg companions and exert Tom Bombadil X times, where X is the fellowship’s site number, to cancel a skirmish involving a Culture Shire.svg companion.

Gollum, Nasty Treacherous Creature (5C24) Culture Gollum.svg Gollum Minion Regroup: Discard Gollum to exert a companion or ally.
Gollum, Stinker (5R25) Culture Gollum.svg Gollum Minion Gollum is strength +1 for each burden. Each time Gollum wins a skirmish, you may add a burden.
Gollum, Old Villain (6C40) Culture Gollum.svg Gollum Minion Skirmish: Discard a card from hand to make Gollum strength +1 (or +2 if skirmishing a Ring-bound companion).
Gollum, Plotting Deceiver (7R58) Culture Gollum.svg Gollum Minion If you have initiative during the Shadow phase, you may play this minion from your discard pile.
Gollum, Vile Creature (7C59) Culture Gollum.svg Gollum Minion Skirmish: Exert Gollum twice or remove a threat to make him strength +2.
Gollum, Dark as Darkness (9R+28) Culture Gollum.svg Gollum Minion Shadow: Exert Gollum twice to exert the Ring-bearer.

Shadow: Remove a burden to add Twilight 1.svg. Skirmish: Remove a burden to add Twilight 2.svg. Regroup: Remove a burden to add Twilight 3.svg.

Regroup: Exert Gollum twice to wound the Ring-bearer.

Gollum, Mad Thing (10R21) Culture Gollum.svg Gollum Minion To assign Gollum to a skirmish, the Free Peoples player must make Gollum strength +3 until the regroup phase or add a burden.
Gollum, Skulker (11R42) Culture Gollum.svg Gollum Minion Lurker. (Skirmishes involving lurker minions must be resolved after any others.)

Skirmish: Exert Gollum twice to make another minion strength +2.

Gollum, Her Sneak (13U50) Culture Gollum.svg Gollum Minion While a card titled Déagol is removed from the game, Gollum is strength +2 and fierce.

Shadow: Remove a card titled Déagol in your discard pile from the game to play this minion from your discard pile.

Gollum, Hopeless (15R43) Culture Gollum.svg Gollum Minion At the start of each skirmish involving Gollum, he is strength +X until the end of that skirmish, where X is the Ring-bearer’s strength.
Gollum, Threatening Guide (19P10) Culture Gollum.svg Gollum Minion Gollum is strength +1 for each threat you can spot.

Each time Gollum wins a skirmish, you may add a threat.

Gollum, Worker of Mischief (0W5) Culture Gollum.svg Gollum Minion To play, spot a Culture Gollum.svg condition. Menace - When you play Gollum you may make the move limit for this turn –1.
Gollum, Wretched Creature (0W18) Culture Gollum.svg Gollum Minion




Unloaded Keywords
Race Decipher [Raceless] • BalrogCreatureDwarfElfEntHalf-trollHobbitMaiaManNazgûlOrcSpiderTreeTrollUruk-haiWizardWraith
Player's Council CrowEagle
Hobbit Draft Game BirdDragonEagleGiantGoblin
Site
Decipher BattlegroundDwellingForestMarshMountainPlainsRiverUnderground
General Decipher BesiegerCorsairEasterlingEngineFellowshipFortificationKnightMachinePipeweedRangerRing-boundSearchSouthronSpellStealthTaleTentacleTrackerTwilight • [Unbound] • ValiantVillagerWeatherWarg-rider
Player's Council Pony
Hobbit Draft Game BurglarCunningWise