Shoulder to Shoulder (1C59)
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Silinde, Elf of Mirkwood (1U60) |
Shoulder to Shoulder (1C59) is a Elven Condition from the Fellowship of the Ring set.
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Strategy[edit]
Shoulder to Shoulder allows the Free Peoples player to redistribute wounds between Dwarfs and Elves and vice versa, for 1 twilight per transfer. This is a deceptively strong way to heal your Fellowship, even though you're simply transferring wounds rather than actually removing them. Don't think of this card as necessarily only working between a dwarf and elf or elf and dwarf: if you've got a wound on an elf (e.g Legolas) that you'd like to have on another elf (e.g. Arwen), simply exert the dwarf to heal Legolas, then exert Arwen to heal the dwarf. It costs twice as much twilight, but it works. Don't think of this as a card where you need a deck split evenly between Dwarven and Elven cultures, either: all you need is one elf and one dwarf! You can splash Gimli, Bearer of Grudges (9R+4) or even Thrarin, Dwarven Smith (1U27) into an Elven deck, or Elrond, Herald to Gil-galad (3R13) into a Dwarven deck.
Shoulder to Shoulder is a strong way to enable characters who need to exert to use some powerful ability. Legolas, Greenleaf (1R50) , Gimli, Son of Gloin (1R13) , Úri, Dwarven Lord (9R11) , and Círdan, The Shipwright (10R8) appreciate being fully fully healed for the subsequent archery and skirmish phases. It also makes it easier to get use out of the many powerful cards that exert dwarfs, like Preparations (7R12) or Blood Runs Chill (8R3) . You can also just use it to get your companions out of the danger zone if they unexpectedly lose a skirmish or face a copy of Hate (1R250) . Also, since Shoulder to Shoulder works in the maneuver phase, you can use it to reshuffle a wound before your opponent has a chance to kill someone with Úlairë Enquëa, Lieutenant of Morgul (1U231) or Orkish Lackey (17C80) .
The best way to get mileage out of Shoulder to Shoulder is to have a plan for where you're going to park those wounds. One of the best ways to deal with them is allies, particularly Elven ones. Shoulder to Shoulder isn't limited to companions! Simply offload those wounds to a bunch of lazy jerks chilling out in your support area. You can even turn this into a healing value engine, with the right allies. If you have many allies, Galadriel, Lady of Light (1R45) and Elrond, Lord of Rivendell (1R40) can heal them en masse. (In fact, it contributed to both of those cards getting added to the X-list.) But even just Elrond, Herald to Gil-galad (3R13) can absorb two wounds harmlessly every single turn. If you're not using those allies (or sometimes even if you are), you can often "park" wounds on a dwarf or elf ring-bearer—Gimli, Bearer of Grudges (9R+4) or Galadriel, Bearer of Wisdom (9R+14) —on the idea that they're unlikely to be taking wounds unexpectedly. The One Ring, Answer To All Riddles (4R1) or The One Ring, The Ring of Doom (15R1) can give you some extra wound storage space. You can also just park the wounds on Gimli, Counter of Foes (8C5) , to strengthen him.
The only downside to Shoulder to Shoulder is that it generates twilight. Potentially a lot of twilight, if you're using it to transfer wounds from elf to elf or dwarf to dwarf via an intermediary. This isn't as bad as it could be, since you're generating that twilight in the Maneuver Phase. (You can even use it to safely enable Gandalf culture cards that want to spot twilight tokens, like Deep in Thought (3C30) .) That twilight isn't available to the Shadow player to use to play more minions (unless you move again this turn!). Also, you can just look at the board and make sure there aren't any cards in play that can soak up that extra twilight, like Greed (1R125) , Howl of Harad (4U236) , Easterling Captain (4R225) , or Rapid Reload (15U89) . Be careful against Raiders in general, though: Whirling Strike (4C260) , Red Wrath (7U157) , or Fierce in Despair (7R148) can take out a companion unexpectedly.
Strengths and Weaknesses[edit]
Synergizes With...[edit]
- Dwarven and Elven companions with strong exertion abilities, like Legolas, Greenleaf (1R50) , Gimli, Son of Gloin (1R13) , Úri, Dwarven Lord (9R11) , and Círdan, The Shipwright (10R8) , or strong cards that exert dwarfs or elves, like Preparations (7R12) or Blood Runs Chill (8R3) .
- Dwarf and elf allies, especially the Elven allies that heal themselves or other allies, like Galadriel, Lady of Light (1R45) , Elrond, Lord of Rivendell (1R40) , and Elrond, Herald to Gil-galad (3R13) .
- Companions that want to be wounded, like Gimli, Counter of Foes (8C5) .
Strong Versus...[edit]
- Shadow direct wounding, especially when it's trying to kill someone off and especially in the maneuver phase. Examples: Úlairë Enquëa, Lieutenant of Morgul (1U231) , Hate (1R250) , and Orkish Lackey (17C80)
- In combination with self-healing Elven allies, it's strong against grind strategies like archery and Sauron Grind
Weak Versus...[edit]
- Expensive Shadow events and abilities that work in the Maneuver Phase or later. Cards like Greed (1R125) , Howl of Harad (4U236) , Easterling Captain (4R225) , or Rapid Reload (15U89) , but Raider events like Whirling Strike (4C260) , Red Wrath (7U157) , or Fierce in Despair (7R148) can come out of their hand unexpectedly.
- Both Steward's Tomb (10U119) and Steward's Tomb (18U139)
See Also[edit]
Decks[edit]
- Every My Heart Rises/Greyhame, a Movie Block deck by Enduring on The Last Homely House forums
Movie Block Shoulder to Shoulder Wounding by fenix
Starting:
- Gimli, Bearer of Grudges (9R+4)
- The One Ring, Answer To All Riddles (4R1)
- Legolas, Greenleaf (1R50)
- Glorfindel, Revealed in Wrath (9R+16)
Draw Deck
- Durin III, Dwarven Lord (9R+3) x3
- Faramir, Son of Denethor (4C117) x2
- Sam, Son of Hamfast (1C311) x2