The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game – Nightmare Decks: The Land of Shadow
The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game – Nightmare Decks: The Land of Shadow Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Nightmare Setup
The Passage of the Marshes Nightmare
#1 (x1) · Nightmare-Setup.
You are playing Nightmare mode.
Forced: When a location in the staging are is explored, raise each player's threat by X, where X is that location's Mire value.
"Often they floundered, stepping or falling hands–first into waters as noisome as a cesspool, till they were slimed and fouled almost up to their necks and stank in one another's nostrils." –The Two Towers
Begin with the standard quest deck and encounter deck for The Passage of the Marshes scenario.
Remove the following cards, in the specified quantities, from the standard encounter deck:
3x Groping Dead 3x Dead Things 3x Soft Mires 3x Haunted Mere 3x Bitter Reek
Then, shuffle the encounter cards in this Nightmare Deck into the remainder of the standard The Passage of the Marshes encounter deck.
Finally, flip this setup card over and place it next to the quest deck. Its effect remains active throughout the game, which is now ready to begin.
Journey to the Cross-roads Nightmare
#1 (x1).
Preparation (Nightmare mode)
You are playing Nightmare mode.
Setup: Place 1 Southron Warrior per player facedown under The Cross-roads, then shuffle the facedown cards under The Cross-roads. Set any remaining Southron Warriors aside, out of play.
"Great strength of them was reported to us some days ago, marching north. One of their regiments is due by our reckoning to pass by, some time ere noon..." –Mablung, The Two Towers
Begin with the standard quest deck and encounter deck for The Journey to the Cross-roads scenario.
Remove the following cards, in the specified quantities, from the standard encounter deck:
1x Captain of Harad 1x Henneth Annun 2x Southward Road 4x Hills of Ithilien 3x The Dark Lord's Summons
Then, shuffle the encounter cards in this Nightmare Deck into the remainder of the standard the Journey to the Cross-roads encounter deck.
Finally, flip this setup card over and place it next to the quest deck. Its effect remains active throughout the game, which is now ready to begin.
Shelob's Lair Nightmare
#1 (x1) · Nightmare-Setup.
You are playing Nightmare mode.
Do not discard unresolved shadow cards from Shelob at the end of the combat phase.
While Cleft of Cirith Ungol is in the staging area, players cannot travel to locations not named Cleft of Cirith Ungol.
"...she was there, who was there before Sauron, and before the first stone of Barad–d–r; and she served none but herself, drinking the blood of Elves and Men, bloated and grown fat with endless brooding on her feasts, weaving webs of shadow..." –The Two Towers
Begin with the standard quest deck and encounter deck for the Shelob's Lair scenario.
Remove the following cards, in the specified quantities, from the standard encounter deck:
4x Mogul Orc 2x The Under-way 3x Deep Dark Passage 2x Many Openings
Then, shuffle the encounter cards in this Nightmare Deck into the remainder of the standard Shelob's Lair encounter deck.
Finally, flip this setup card over and place it next to the quest deck. Its effect remains active throughout the game, which is now ready to begin.
Encounter Cards
The Nightmare Deck contains 21 distinct encounter cards, 57 copies in all, listed here in alphabetical order. Each entry gives the card's set number and copies, its type, its printed stats as shown on the Hall of Beorn database, and its traits. Enemies show threat, attack, defense and hit points, then the engagement cost. Locations show threat, then quest value.
Blind Wrath
#7 (x3) · Treachery.
When Revealed: Until the end of the round, each Harad enemy in the staging area gets +2 Threat and -30 engagement cost, and cannot be optionally engaged.
Shadow: Attacking enemy gets +1 Attack. If this attack destroys a character, return attacking enemy to the staging area.
Candle-lit Pool
#3 (x3) · Location · Threat 4 · Quest 5 · Traits: Marsh. Mire 3.
Forced: When Candle-lit Pool is discarded by the Mire keyword, each player searches the encounter deck and discard pile for an Undead enemy and puts it into play engaged with him.
Travel: Spend 2 resources to travel here.
Victory 3
Cobwebbed Tunnel
#4 (x3) · Location · Threat 2 · Quest 5 · Traits: Underground.
Immune to player card effects.
While Cobwebbed Tunnel is in the staging area, each Underground location in the staging area gets +1 Threat and +5 quest points.
Travel: The first player reveals an encounter card to travel here.
Dense Fern-brake
#5 (x2) · Location · Threat 5 · Quest 5 · Traits: Forest.
While Dense Fern-brake is the active location, enemies in the staging area are immune to player card effects.
Shadow: Exhaust a character you control.
Festering Mire
#2 (x3) · Location · Threat 5 · Quest 6 · Traits: Marsh. Mire 2.
Forced: When Festering Mire is discarded by the Mire keyword, each player discards his hand.
Travel: Each player discards 1 random card from his hand to travel here.
Victory 2
Foul-smelling Cave
#2 (x2) · Location · Threat 4 · Quest 1 · Traits: Underground.
Forced: When Foul-smelling Cave is explored, place 1 resource on Shelob, if able.
Shadow: Attacking enemy gets +1 Attack (+2 Attack instead if attacking enemy is Shelob).
Gollum's Rage
#8 (x2) · Treachery · Peril. Surge.
When Revealed: Deal Gollum's Rage to Gollum as a facedown shadow card, if able.
Shadow: If attacking enemy is Gollum it gets +1 Attack and makes an additional attack against you after this one.
Great Reed Thicket
#4 (x2) · Location · Threat 2 · Quest 3 · Traits: Marsh. Mire 2.
Forced: When Great Reed Thicket is discarded by the Mire keyword, either flip Sméagol to Gollum or Gollum makes an immediate attack.
Travel: Exhaust Sméagol to travel here.
Victory 2
Growing Stench
#8 (x2) · Treachery · Surge.
When Revealed: Deal Growing Stench to Shelob as a facedown shadow card.
Shadow: Defending character cannot ready. If the attacking enemy is Shelob and this attack destroys a character, place 1 progress on Shelob.
Impenetrable Dark
#7 (x3) · Treachery.
When Revealed: Each player removes a character he controls from the quest and exhausts that character. Until the end of the round, characters cannot be readied by player card effects.
Shadow: Exhaust a character you control. Until the end of the round, that character cannot ready.
Orc of Minas Morgul
#5 (x3) · Enemy · Threat 2 · Attack 3 · Defense 2 · Hit Points 4 · Engagement cost 35 · Traits: Orc. Peril.
When Revealed: Either discard a random card from your hand, or engage Orc of Minas Morgul and reveal an additional encounter card.
Shadow: Attacking enemy gets +2 Attack.
Pale Faces
#5 (x3) · Enemy · Threat 2 · Attack 4 · Defense 3 · Hit Points 5 · Engagement cost 30 · Traits: Undead.
The engaged player cannot reduce his threat.
Forced: When Pale Faces attacks, raise your threat by 4.
Shadow: Attacking enemy get +X Attack, where X is the Mire value of the active location.
Rot and Vapors
#7 (x3) · Treachery.
When Revealed: Each player must choose: either raise your threat by 1 for each questing character you control, or deal 1 damage to each character you control.
Shadow: Attacking enemy gets +1 Attack. If this attack destroys a character, place 1 mire token on the active location.
Rotting Thing
#6 (x3) · Enemy · Threat 4 · Attack 6 · Defense 3 · Hit Points 8 · Engagement cost 34 · Traits: Undead.
Cannot have attachments.
The engaged player cannot reduce his threat.
Forced: After Rotting Thing attacks and destroys a character, place 1 mire token on the active location for each excess point of damage.
Shadowy Thicket
#6 (x3) · Location · Threat 2 · Quest 8 · Traits: Forest.
Shadowy Thicket gets +2 Threat for each facedown card under The Black Gate.
Travel: The first player reveals the top facedown card under The Cross-roads and adds it to the staging area to travel here.
"...presently the noise of fighting broke out near at hand, just above their hiding–place." –The Two Towers
Southron Rearguard
#3 (x2) · Enemy · Threat 4 · Attack 6 · Defense 4 · Hit Points 8 · Engagement cost 38 · Traits: Harad.
Cannot have attachments or be placed under The Black Gate.
Southron Rearguard gets -1 engagement cost for each progress token on stage 1B.
Shadow: Return attacking enemy to the staging area.
Southron Warrior
#2 (x4) · Enemy · Threat 3 · Attack 4 · Defense 2 · Hit Points 5 · Engagement cost 46 · Traits: Harad. Archery 2.
Forced: After Southron Warrior engages you, discard an ally you control.
Shadow: Attacking enemy gets +1 Attack (+2 Attack instead if the defending character is damaged.
Torech Ungol
#3 (x3) · Location · Threat 2 · Quest 4 · Traits: Underground.
While Torech Ungol is in the staging area, Shelob gets +1 Attack and +1 Defense.
Travel: Exhaust Sméagol to travel here.
"There agelong she had dwelt, and evil thing in spider–form, even such as once of old had lived in the Land of the Elves in the West that is now under the Sea..." –The Two Towers
Under-gate Sentry
#6 (x3) · Enemy · Threat 3 · Attack 5 · Defense 3 · Hit Points 5 · Engagement cost 30 · Traits: Orc. Uruk.
Forced: After Under-gate Sentry attacks and destroys a character you control, discard a random card from your hand.
Shadow: Either discard a random card from your hand, or exhaust a character you control.
Ware! Ware!
#8 (x2) · Treachery · Peril. Surge.
When Revealed: Either place this card facedown under The Black Gate or put the top card under The Cross-roads into play engaged with you.
Shadow: Choose an enemy in the staging area. Engage that enemy and deal it a shadow card.
Wooded Glade
#4 (x3) · Location · Threat 4 · Quest 4 · Traits: Forest.
While Wooded Glade is the active location, treat each non-objective attachment's text box as if it were blank.
Shadow: Discard a non-objective attachment you control.