The final card I will review in my post as head of the Card of the Day is one with symbolic value. I've had fun doing this job, I've enjoyed it, and hope my efforts have increased people's knowledge and fun while playing this great game. I feel confident that the three Heirs of Isildur will better what I have done, continuing to bring enlightenment to the masses. I have given the 'net community a cup of wisdom. I shall continue to contribute, both on the web and the newsgroup, but by cup shall become more of a shot-glass.
Cup of Farewell # Resource # Permanent-event
Playable on a company at a Haven during the organization phase. Once during
each of your turns, you can tap a character in this company, if the company is
at a Haven, to take a minor item from your sideboard into your hand (show
opponent). Cannot be duplicated on a given company.
This is one of a couple cards in Dark Minions that made minor items, if not a viable strategy on their own, at least a viable theme for part of a deck. Now they are no longer handed out at the beginning of the game and ignored, but are actually considered for play.
The main reason Cup of Farewell is worth using is it means that your minor items don't have to take up space in your deck (though if you only have a couple, Cup of Farewell will take their space anyway). Also with cup of farewell you can get the minor items into your hand when you need them rather than drawing them on your opponent's turn and having to decide between the item and some other card a couple times. There is a limitation on how "in the nick of time" you can be with the minor items, though, in that you have to be in a haven to receive the gifts of the Lady. This can be easily arranged, though, by having someone like Ioreth or an Elven Lord in a haven, ready to play Marvels Told or tap for a minor item (which, through the not-always realistic rules, goes into your hand so someone can take a gift from Cirdan and then FedEx it to the Variag Camp). This is a very nice advantage, as it lets you wait until you have a turn where you have an extra character untapped in the site phase, then bring him a minor item direct from the sideboard without it taking any hand space.
Another nice use of this card, especially if you've got a faction-heavy strategy, is Armory. If you bring out an Armory you can start stuffing it with minor items, waiting for one of your characters to come and get some. This lets them have a continuous flow of discardable minor items like Cram, Healing Herbs, Potion of Prowess, etc. without loading up on corruption all at once. Plus, if you want, you could even have three Armories, each with 3 minor items inside, giving you a total of 3 MPs.
Another interesting use of this card is with Hermit's Hill. Have one character in a haven grab a couple minor items from your sideboard, another company plays them all at Tharbad and then heads off to Hermit's Hill. At Hermit's Hill the company trades in an Elven Cloak and a bottle of Miruvor for a really slick looking sword. If you want to be really into it (and a little silly looking) you can leave one character at Tharbad to grab items and keep the site in play and another at Hermit's Hill with Rebuild the Town and Fireworks while you ferry a few others back and forth, making a trade route. Meanwhile, your opponent is raking in the MPs with big factions and greater items, but you're probably having a bit more fun.
| Ratings for Cup of Farewell: | |
|---|---|
| Isildur: | 6.5 |
| Farmer Maggot: | 6.0 |
| Strider: | 7.0 |
| Legolas: | 5.0 |
| Beorn: | 6.7 |
| Frodo: | 7.5 |
| Fingolfin: | 8.0 |
| Average: | 6.7 |
Card names and text copyright 1996 by Iron Crown Enterprises, all rights reserved. This document copyright 1997 by Trevor Stone. Permission given to duplicate so long as no profit is made and the copyright notice is kept in tact, blah, blah, blah.