Mark's METW Hazard Deck Ideas
Some of Mark's ideas for assembling a general purpose hazard deck for METW.
This is a deck that you can use regardless of where your opponent is going or
what he is doing. It's got a little bit of everything.
Credit where it's due: I milked this web page
for all it was worth coming up with this one
Note: "Missing" means: Missing from the collection I use but I'd like to find
'em and use 'em someday.
Categories
Corruption (3/7 + 3/5)
Corruption cards are especially good to play on buff groups who would
otherwise handily beat hazard creatures that you throw at 'em.
Main Hazards
(first string)
- Lure of Expedience
- Lure of Nature
- Lure of the Senses
(second string)
- Lure of Creation
- Despair of the Heart
- The Burden of Time
- Icy Touch (support?)
Support Cards
(first string)
- Traitor
- The Balance of Things
- Ren the Unclean
(second string)
- Weariness of the Heart
- Greed
- Corpse Candle
Missing
(main)
- Alone and Unadvised
- Covetous Thoughts
- Black Breath
- Bring Our Curses Home
- Foes Shall Fall
- In the Grip of Ambition
- Longing for the West
- Morgul-knife
- The Pale Sword (support? -- Do we have this one?)
(support)
- The Roving Eye
- Echoes of the Song
- Dragon-sickness
Note: Many of the cards in the "Undead" section complement the corruption
cards nicely in that they force corruption checks if not canceled.
Undead (4 + 2/4)
Best thing about Undead is that they force corruption checks, which means they
complement the previous corruption cards nicely. They also tend to carry a
healthy number of strikes.
Main Hazards
(first string)
- Barrow-wight
- Corpse-candle
- Ghosts
- Ghouls
(second string?)
Support Cards
(first string)
- Plague of Wights
- Icy Touch
(second string?)
Note: You may need these next ones to bring Undead into play if your opponent
doesn't visit any shadow-holds or dark-holds.
- Doors of Night
- Reaching Shadow (is that right?)
Missing
(main)
- Stirring Bones
- Wisp of Pale Sheen
(support)
- Endless Whispers
- Exhalation of Decay
- Faces of the Dead
- Shadow out of the Dark
- Sleepless Malice
- The Moon is Dead
Dragons / Drakes (3+/7 + 3/7)
Drakes tend to carry high prowess and are very playable in a site path with
2-3 Wildernesses or at a Ruins & Lairs.
Main Hazards
(first string)
- Cave Drake (lots)
- Cave Worm
- Ice Drake
(second string)
- Land Drake
- Light Drake
- True Fire Drake
- Winged Fire Drake
(big nasty / rare cards)
- All at home / at hunt manifestations - also noted in "Drop n' Run" below.
Support Cards
(first string)
- Dragon's Blood
- Dragon's Desolation
- Rumour of Wealth
(second string)
- Dragon's Breath
- Fever of Unrest
- Dragon's Terror
- Doors of Night - to reduce the # of wildernesses needed in the site path
Missing
(main)
- Marsh Drake
- True Cold Drake
- Were Worm
- Wild Fell Beast (sure this isn't support?)
- Sand Drake
- Winged Cold Drake
(support)
- Summons from Long Sleep
- Withered Lands
- Deftness of Agility
- Dragon's Curse
- Exile of Solitute
- Frenzy of Madness
- From the Pits of Angband
- Foes Shall Fall
- Memories Stolen
- Parsimony of Seclusioin
- Prowess of Age
- Prowess of Might
- Subtlety of Guile
- Velocity of Haste
- Worm's Stench
Men (6/7 + 1)
Playable in a variety of situations, including many that can't be reached by
other hazard creatures (free holds, border holds, costal reigons).
Another advantage of Men is that they don't require a great deal of support
cards to bring into play (i.e. Doors of Night, Fell Beast, etc.). It's also
hard to cancel attacks by men.
The downside is that they often need support cards to make them more deadly.
Best to play these on small / weak parties.
Main Hazards
(first string)
- Ambusher
- Assassin
- Brigands
- Pick-pocket
- Theif
- Abductor
(second string)
Support Cards
- Fury of the Iron Crown (good for more than just Men)
Missing
(main)
- Lawless Men
- Beorning Skin-changers
- Beorning Toll
- Dunlending Raiders
- Horse-lords
- Lord of the Carrock
- Pirates
- Sellswords between Charters
(support)
- Helms of Iron
- Rank Upon Rank
- Scimitars of Steel
- Thrice Outnumbered
- Two or Three Tribes Present
Orcs (5/8 + 3/6)
Like men, Orcs are playable on a variety of regions.
The downside is that they tend to be low prowess and require support cards to
make them more serious threats. Additionally, you may need a DoN / RS combo to
bring them into play if your opponent stays away from shaddow / dark holds.
Lastly, many characters have plusses versus Orcs, making the support cards
that much more necessary.
Main Hazards
(first string)
- Orc Guard
- Orc Lieutenant
- Orc Warband
- Orc Warriors
- Orc Watch
(second string)
- Orc Patrol
- Orc Raiders
- Wolf Riders
Support Cards
(first string)
- Minions Stir
- Fury of the Iron Crown
- Daelomin at Home
(second string)
- Doors of Night
- Choking Shadows
- The Will of Sauron
- Host of Bats
Missing
(creatures)
- Hobgoblins
- Little Snuffler
- Uruk-lieutenant
(support)
- Pierced by Many Wounds
- Power Built By Waiting
- Helms of Iron
- Scimitars of Steel
- Tribal Banner
- Tribal Totem
- Two or Three Tribes Present
- Waylaid, Wounded, and Orc-dragged
- Morgul-night
Roadblock (3+/6)
Good for slowing your opponent down w/o giving him any MPs.
Disad: You can hurt yourself with this one with the permanent / long events.
You can also really piss off your opponent doing this.
Main Hazards
(first string)
- River
- Lost in Free Domains
- Lost at Sea
- (There should be a few more "Lost in *" here, non?)
(second string?)
- Song of the Lady
- Doors of Night
- Foul Fumes
- Long Winter
- Snowstorm
- The Will of Sauron
- Twilight
Missing
(first string)
- Baduila
- Beorning Skin-changers
- Ranger Agents (for Seek Without Succes)
- Seek Without Succes
- The Way Is Shut
(second string?)
Auto-Attack Enhancement
Main Hazards
- Minions and Denizens cards: Arouse/Awaken/Incite
Support Cards
- Tidings of Bold Spies (good for drawing out cancelation cards)
Missing
Miscellaneous (2/N + 2)
Mini-categories or one-offs. The good thing about most of these cards is that
you can easily play them on your opponent and burn through your hazard deck.
Note that you can shoot yourself in the foot with these if your resource
strategy involves prowling around Dragon country or dark holds.
Main Hazards
(first string)
- Call of Home
- Muster Disperses
- Foolish Words
(second string)
- Any Nazgul
- Any Dragon / at home / ahunt manifestations
- Doors of Night
- Traitor
- Any other permanent events
Support Cards
These are support cards that are often useful for bringing any of the above
Nazgul / Dragons into play
- Fell Beast
- Fury of the Iron Crown
- Weariness of the Heart
Missing
- Any agent (dark minions)
- Any Spawn (Balrog?)
- Power Built by Waiting (Against the shadow)
- Wild Fell Beast (is this like "Fell Beast?" but for Dragons?)
Note also that the corruption cards listed above are easy to play and fit in
well with this strategy.
Summary
- Corruption (3 /7 + 3/5)
- Undead (4 + 2/4)
- Dragons / Drakes (3+/7 + 3/7)
- Men (6 /7 + 1 )
- Orcs (5 /8 + 3/6)
- Roadblock (3+/6 )
- Miscellaneous (2 /N + 3 )
Totals: (26+/35 + 15/32)
Other Tips
You should combine the above categories in such a way that they complement
each other. Examples:
- Corruption and Undead go well together because many Undead cards force
corruption checks.
- An Orc hazard strategy is well-complemented with a few Trolls. (Some
perm-events that give Orcs bonuses also give the same bonuses to Trolls.)
- Roadblock is complemented well by Men because if your opponent stays away
from Wildernesses (as in a Gondor Deck), you can hit him with Men in the
border-holds.