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THE LORD OF THE RINGS(tm) TRADING CARD GAME
THE TWO TOWERS(tm) DELUXE RULEBOOK
If you have played this game before...
This Deluxe Rulebook has all the new rules for The Two Towers base set that you're looking for (see below). Get a Starter Rulebook and then you'll have all the rules.
The Starter Rulebook describes a simplified game for new players. These are rules you already know if you're an experienced player. The Starter Rulebook is a great way to get a friend started with the game.
If you have never played a trading card game...
The best way to learn is from a friend who already knows how to play. If your friends aren't players yet, we've designed the Starter Rulebook and the 60-card fixed pack in starter products just for new players like you. It has more examples and explanations of basic rules to help players new to TCGs learn how to play.
If you have played another trading card game...
Play a game or two with the Starter Rulebook and the 60 cards in your fixed pack, as if you were new to TCGs. Then read this Deluxe Rulebook and add some booster packs to find all the depth and strategy of the full game.
DELUXE RULEBOOK
If you've played The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game before, you should be familiar with most of the additional concepts in this rulebook.
These include: allies, artifacts, deckbuilding rules, bidding to go first, the Rule of 4, the Rule of 9, maneuver actions, archery actions, assignment actions, regroup actions, and transfer.
However, the new rules introduced for The Two Towers base set can only be found in this rulebook. These include changes to the adventure deck, the adventure path, keywords, and new rules for site control.
STARTER RULEBOOK
The 60 cards in the fixed portion of your starter deck are designed to work with the starter rulebook, but the three rare cards in your starter deck (and the cards in booster packs) are not. These cards might have game text that is not explained in the Starter Rulebook.
If this is your first experience with a trading card game, youshould set your rare cards and booster pack aside. Rarecards have an "R" in their collector's info in the lower right corner.
The Starter Rulebook describes how to play a game between two or more players who each have a Two Towers starter deck. Other Lord of the Rings TCG starter decks might have game text that is not explained in this rulebook.
INTRODUCTION
This Deluxe Rulebook follows the same general format as the Starter Rulebook. We assume that you are familiar with the rules in the Starter Rulebook.
The body of rules explained in the Starter Rulebook and the Deluxe Rulebook replaces and supersedes all previous rulebooks (including the Expanded Rulebook). These two books are all you need to get the rules for the LOTRTCG.
Experienced players who are interested in the new rules for The Two Towers should skip to page 26.
CREDITS
Design:Joe Alread, Chuck Kallenbach, Tom Lischke, Mike Reynolds. Project Managment:Tim Ellington. Art Direction:DanBurns. Graphic Design:Joe Boulden, Jeff Hellerman, LeslieBurns, Rob Burns, Ed Gartin. Lead Playtesting:Brian Kallenbach, Geoff Snider. Production:Ross Campbell, Mike Carosi, Sandy Wible. ForNew Line Cinema:John Mayo, Mark Ordesky, Glen Sharah. For Tolkien Enterprises:Laurie Battle. Special Thanks:Brad Defruiter, Evan Lorentz, our many playtesters - and as always - Warren Holland.
IMPORTANT CONCEPTS
TYPES OF CARDS
Two card types mentioned in the Starter Rulebook are described on the next two pages: Ally and Artifact.
ALLY
All characters use the same basic card layout. An ally is a character that helps your companions from afar but does not move with them. (Each ally has a home, where that ally may skirmish alongside your companions.)
Some cards allow an ally to come to the aid of your fellowship at a site that is not that ally's home.
Allies from earlier sets do not have home sites on The Two Towers adventure path. Sites on The Two Towers adventure path are indicated with a tower symbol (like 3T or 4T).
ARTIFACT
An artifact is a unique weapon, suit of armor, or other kind of special object used by a character.
Wizard staffs, the Palant’ri, the Balrog's weapons, Bilbo's Mithril-coat, the shards of Narsil, and the Elven rings (but not The One Ring) are represented by artifact cards.
Artifacts are played and used much like possessions, although they are a different card type. Artifacts are not affected by cards that affect possessions.
CULTURE
Three cultures make their first appearance in The Two Towers base set: Rohan (the men and women of the Rohirrim), Dunland (wild men called the Dunlendings), and Raider (evil men called Southrons and Easterlings).
Culture names and symbols
Free Peoples cards Shadow cards
[Dw] Dwarven [Du] Dunland
[El] Elven [Is] Isengard
[Ga] Gandalf [Mo] Moria
[Go] Gondor [Ra] Raider
[Ro] Rohan [Ri] Ringwraith
[Sh] Shire [Sa] Sauron
VITALITY
Healing
Allies may not be healed when you start your turn at a sanctuary; the wounds healed at a sanctuary are from companions only.
Killed
When a card that provides a vitality bonus for its bearer is discarded, that bearer is immediately killed if his number of wounds is then equal to or greater than his vitality.
Exert
If the cost of an action requires a character to exert X times, then that character must have X+1 or more vitality remaining or that action may not be performed.
SETTING UP THE GAME
BUILDING YOUR DECK
Each player brings to the game at least 71 cards:
¥ Frodo, bearing The One Ring (2 cards),
¥ a draw deck of at least 60 cards, and
¥ a 9-card adventure deck.
Ring-bearer
You must start the game with one copy of Frodo (any version) bearing The One Ring (again, any version). Thesetwo cards are not part of your draw deck (they do not count against your total of Free Peoples cards).
Draw Deck
Your draw deck must have at least 60 cards and must have an equal number of Shadow cards and Free Peoples cards, shuffled together. You may not have any copies of The One Ring or sites in your draw deck.
You may have up to four copies of each card title (ignoring subtitles) in your draw deck.
You may have four copies of Aragorn, King in Exile in your draw deck, or you may have two copies of that card and two copies of Aragorn, Ranger of the North. You may not have four copies of each of those cards, since they have the same title (although they have different subtitles).
Exception: Since one copy of Frodo is always part of your starting fellowship, you may have only three copies of Frodo in your draw deck.
When you draw the last card from your draw deck, you don't lose the game. Continue with the cards you have in hand and in play. Do not reshuffle your discard pile to make a new draw deck. (You reshuffle your draw deck only when playing with a starter deck and the Starter Rules).
Adventure Deck
Your adventure deck has nine different site cards, one for each of the nine site numbers.
You may not mix sites from different blocks in the same adventure deck. The sites in your adventure deck must be either from the Fellowship block (sets 1, 2, and 3) or from the Tower block (sets 4, 5, and 6).
Since cards from all the adventure decks combine to form ashared adventure path, all players in the same game must have sites from the same block.
WHO GOES FIRST?
In the Starter Rulebook, players decide randomly who goes first. However, for the Deluxe Rules, players bid burdens to determine this.
Players place secret bids for the right to determine who goes first in the game. The bidding is done with black tokens, which will become burdens on your Ring-bearer.
Don't bid too high, or your Ring-bearer will start with too many burdens and be close to being corrupted. (If Frodo accumulates 10 burdens, you lose the game.)
If you bid a number of burdens equal to your Ring-bearer's resistance, your Ring-bearer becomes corrupted before the game starts (before the first player plays site 1) and you lose the game.
Each player secretly places a number of burdens in his hand(you may bid zero). When all players are ready, simultaneously reveal the bids. The highest bid wins the right to choose where he goes in the turn order. Any choice is available.
Next, the second highest bidder chooses from the remaining positions in the turn order, and so on. Keep track of each player's bid, as these tokens will become burdens on his copy of Frodo.
If there are any ties, then the tied players resolve randomly who chooses first among them.
Tom, Chuck, Tim, and Mike are playing, and the initial bids are Tom 3, Chuck 4, Tim 3, and Mike 1. Chuck wins the right to choose, and he chooses to go first (placing 4 burdens on Frodo). Tom and Tim are tied, so they flip a coin, and Tom wins the tiebreak. He chooses second (placing 3 burdens on Frodo). Tim chooses to go fourth (3 burdens), leaving third for Mike (1 burden).
The first player sits down, and the others then sit in clockwise order around the table according to their choices.
Place your adventure deck (face down) and Frodo (face up) on the table. Place The One Ring under him (so the title is showing) and place the burdens that you bid on Frodo.
The first player places his copy of site 1 (from his adventure deck) on the table to begin the adventure path. Each player places his player marker onto site 1.
Starting Fellowship
In the Starter Rulebook, players select their starting fellowships based upon which starter product they have. However, for the Deluxe Rules, players customize their starting fellowships.
Your fellowship begins with Frodo bearing The One Ring. You may play other companions (not allies, possessions, artifacts or conditions) from your draw deck (in any order), as long as the total twilight cost of your starting companions is 4 or less.
You do not add twilight tokens for playing your starting fellowship. Site text is not active when the starting fellowships are played.
You may use "When you play" game text on a starting companion. You may spot a companion in your starting fellowship as a requirement to play another starting companion.
If Legolas is in your starting fellowship, you may spot him to play another Elf companion who has the game text, "To play, spot an Elf." One of the companions in your starting fellowship must be playable without spotting other companions.
Select and reveal starting fellowships in player order. (In tournament play, you may change your starting fellowship from game to game.)
PLAYING THE GAME
Each player, going clockwise around the table, takes a turn according to the following turn sequence.
1. Fellowship Phase
2. Shadow Phase
3. Maneuver Phase
4. Archery Phase
5. Assignment Phase
6. Skirmish Phase(s)
7. Regroup Phase
When one player finishes his turn, the next player in clockwise rotation (to his left) takes a turn and so on.
Although the turn order rotates to the left, note that many other procedures in the game actually rotate to the right (counter-clockwise).
1. FELLOWSHIP PHASE
Although the rules provide card drawing only in the regroup phase, many card effects allow you to draw cards in the fellowship phase as well. The following rule limits such card drawing.
The Rule of 4: You may not draw (or take into hand) more than 4 cards during your fellowship phase.
This applies to cards taken into hand by any means. This does not apply to cards drawn "at the start of each of your turns." An effect that would require you to exceed this limit is performed as much as possible and the rest is ignored.
Playing companions
The Rule of 9:You may not have more than nine total companions in play and in your dead pile at any time. (Each copy of a non-unique companion in play or in your dead pile counts as a separate companion.)
If you have ¥Merry (a unique companion) and two copies of Dwarf Guard (a non-unique companion) in your dead pile, you may not have more than 6 companions in your fellowship.
Playing allies
Allies are characters that do not count as members of your fellowship. Play them to a row behind your fellowship called your support area. An ally may be played during any of your fellowship phases (you do not have to wait until your fellowship is at the ally's home). There is no limit to the number of allies you may have in play.
Playing artifacts
Play Free Peoples artifacts just as you play Free Peoples possessions.
2. SHADOW PHASE(S)
Playing Shadow cards
Play Shadow artifacts just as you play Shadow possessions.
You may use (and exert) another player's character to pay a cost for your Shadow card or special ability.
Shadow players may converse and plan among themselves. They may name cards in their hands, but they may not actually show each other those cards. They may make agreements, but those agreements are not binding.
3. MANEUVER PHASE
In the Starter Rulebook, there were no maneuver actions. However, for the Deluxe Rules, the maneuver phase is added before the archery phase and includes opportunities for both players to perform maneuver actions.
During the maneuver phase, you and your opponents may perform maneuver actions (special abilities on cards in play with "Maneuver:" and events with that keyword).
Perform maneuver actions
Players may perform maneuver actions using the action procedure.
Action Procedure
As the Free Peoples player, you get the first opportunity to perform an action, and then the player on your right gets an opportunity, and so on counter-clockwise around the table.
If a player does not wish to perform an action, he may simply pass. Passing does not prevent a player from performing an action later in the same phase.
When all players consecutively pass, proceed to the next phase.
4. ARCHERY PHASE
In the Starter Rulebook, there were no archery actions. However, for the Deluxe Rules, the archery phase includes opportunities for both players to perform archery actions.
During the archery phase, you and your opponents may perform archery actions (special abilities on cards in play with "Archery:" and events with that keyword) and then conduct archery fire.
Perform archery actions
Players may perform archery actions using the action procedure described in the maneuver phase. When all players consecutively pass, proceed to archery fire.
Archery fire
You may count archer allies for the fellowship archery total if the fellowship is at their home, or a card has allowed them to participate in archery fire.
5. ASSIGNMENT PHASE
In the Starter Rulebook, there were no assignment actions. However, for the Deluxe Rules, the assignment phase includes opportunities for both players to perform assignment actions.
During the assignment phase, you and your opponents may perform assignment actions (special abilities on cards in play with "Assignment:" and events with that keyword).
Then you may assign companions to defend against attacking minions. All assignment actions must be complete before proceeding to assign defenders.
When the assignment phase is complete, each companion being attacked will lead to a separate skirmish phase.
Perform assignment actions
Players may perform assignment actions using the action procedure described in the maneuver phase.
Many assignment actions assign a minion to a companion. All of these assignments are "one-on-one" - you cannot assign one character to another unless both of them are unassigned.
When all players consecutively pass, proceed to assign defenders.
Assign defenders
When the fellowship is at an ally's home (or if a card effect has allowed an ally to participate in skirmishes), that ally may be assigned to a skirmish in the same way that companions are assigned to skirmishes.
6. SKIRMISH PHASE(S)
Resolve that skirmish
Whenever there are two or more minions on one side of a skirmish, the strengths of those minions are added up for a single total.
If a skirmish is canceled, it ends immediately with no winner or loser.
If all characters of one side are removed from a skirmish before that skirmish begins, that skirmish does not occur.
If all characters of one side are removed during a skirmish before strength has been totaled, the skirmish resolves and the other side wins.
When resolving a skirmish, a side with a total strength greater than zero will overwhelm a side whose total strength is zero. If the strength of both sides is zero, the Shadow side wins the skirmish (but does not overwhelm).
FIERCE
Assignment Phase (Fierce)
For the Deluxe Rules, the fierce assignment phase also includes opportunities for both players to perform assignment actions.
During the fierce assignment phase, ignore an effect that results in assignment with a minion that is not fierce.
A minion must be fierce at the start of the fierce assignment phase to participate in a fierce skirmish.
An ally that was able to be assigned to a normal skirmish (because the fellowship is at that ally's home or as a result of a card effect) is also able to be assigned to a fierce skirmish.
Skirmish Phase(s) (Fierce)
Once a minion is assigned in the fierce assignment phase, that minion's fierce skirmish must be resolved, even if that minion somehow becomes no longer fierce.
7. REGROUP PHASE
In the Starter Rulebook, there were no regroup actions. However, for the Deluxe Rules, the regroup phase includes opportunities for both players to perform regroup actions.
During the regroup phase, players may perform regroup actions (special abilities on cards in play with "Regroup:" and events with that keyword). Then each Shadow player reconciles his hand.
Perform regroup actions
Players may perform regroup actions using the action procedure described in the maneuver phase. When all players consecutively pass, proceed to reconcile the Shadow players' hands.
Move limit
If the move limit is modified for a turn, then that modification is in effect for the whole turn, even if the conditions for the modification change.
OTHER IMPORTANT RULES
ACTIONS
Nearly everything that occurs during the game is some kind of action. Players perform actions to play cards, use special abilities, move their fellowships, reconcile, and so on.
Required or optional
Every action is either optional or required. An optional action is defined as either: an event, a special ability, or an action that uses the word "may." All other actions are required actions.
If two or more required actions are occurring at the same time (for example, more than one "at the start of each of your turns" actions), the Free Peoples player decides in which order they occur.
Response actions
After all required actions to a particular trigger have resolved, players may perform response actions responding to that same trigger using the action procedure.
Response is a timing word that means that you may play anevent (or use a special ability) whenever the situation described in its game text happens.
You may respond more than once to the same situation.
Sometimes a response action interrupts another action to cancel it before it resolves. When this happens, that other action does not have its effect, but its costs and requirements are still paid.
Requirements
Check all requirements to perform an action (such as playing a card)before paying its costs. Some cards require you to see how many tokens are in the twilight pool, for example.
Phase actions
Phase actions include performing special abilities and playing event cards. (Exception: response special abilities and response events are not phase actions.)
If a phase action can be played in multiple phases (for example, "Maneuver or Skirmish:"), its action type is of the phase during which the action is taken.
Costs and Effects
A cost or an effect could be adding/removing twilight tokens, exerting a character, discarding a card, or any number of other possibilities. The costs for an action are usually listed before the word "to" (so the action takes the form of "pay X to do Y," with X being the cost and Y the effect).
Costs
If a card or special ability has a cost, you must pay that cost or you may not use that card or special ability.
Each time you pay a cost, you may only use that cost to fulfill the requirements of a single card.
If an action is prevented, its effects are ignored but its costs and requirements are still paid.
Effects
If the effect of a card or special ability requires you to perform an action and you cannot, you must perform as much as you can and ignore the rest.
If the effect of an event requires you to discard 2 cards from your hand and you only have 1 card in hand, just discard the 1 card and ignore the rest.
If the effect of a card or special ability requires you to choose one of two different actions, you must choose an action that you are fully capable of performing (if possible).
If you meet all the requirements and pay all the costs for playing a card, you may play that card even if the card will have no effect.
Exception:If you perform an action that has playing a card from hand or discard pile as part of its effect, you must play that card.
This exception applies to all kinds of actions (playing event cards, using special abilities, "when you play" game text, and so on) and all the different ways you can play a card (except playing a card directly from your draw deck).
The source of an effect is the card on which that effect is printed. Even though a card like an event may require a minion to exert to pay its cost, the source of that effect is the event card and not the minion.
Some cards have multiple effects that respond to the same kind of trigger. They count something in play, and when there is more of that thing, more effects happen.
The game text of Uglœk looks like this:
While you can spot 2 [Is] trackers, Uglœk is strength +3.
While you can spot 3 [Is] trackers, Uglœk is damage +1.
You don't have to spot 5 trackers to get both benefits. Three trackers is enough to satisfy the first requirement (if you have 3, you can spot 2) and the last requirement (spot 3).
ALLIES
Allies are not companions and don't travel along the adventure path with your fellowship. Ally cards have a home site number indicated just after the card's type, on the same line (such as ALLY ¥ HOME 3T ¥ MAN). Each ally in your support area is considered to be at his home site.
Allies normally do not participate in archery fire and skirmishes. Special abilities on allies (such as archery actions or skirmish actions) may be used as normal.
However, when your fellowship is at your ally's home, that ally participates in archery fire and skirmishes.
This doesn't mean that such an ally must take an archery wound or be assigned by the Free Peoples player to defend a skirmish, but that character is eligible to do so if the Free Peoples player so chooses.
The Shadow player may assign an unassigned minion to an ally when the fellowship is at that ally's home site.
Some card effects also allow allies to fight in this way, even when the fellowship is not at that ally's home. While an ally participates in archery fire and skirmishes, that ally is considered to be at the same site as the fellowship.
UNIQUENESS
Unique cards
Two cards represent the same thing if they have the same card title (even if their subtitles or collector's info are different) or they have the same collector's info (even if their titles and subtitles are different). Two cards can have the same card title even if they are in different languages.
ACTIVE CARDS
Occasionally in a multiplayer game, two copies of the same unique Shadow condition may be in play at the same time.
Only the first copy of a unique Shadow condition (or the first 4 copies of a non-unique Shadow condition) closest to the right of the Free Peoples player are in effect at any time. All other copies are also active, but their game text is ignored.
THE ONE RING
The One Ring is a special card that is neither a Free Peoples card nor a Shadow card. It has no twilight cost, and its card type is "The One Ring."
There are three versions of The One Ring: The Ruling Ring, Isildur's Bane, and Answer to All Riddles. The Starter Rulebook explains how The Ruling Ring works, since that version comes in every starter product. Other differences are explained below.
When can he put on the Ring?
Isildur's Bane also has a response that is used to put on the Ring, but the Ring-bearer may do so at any time he is about to take a wound, not just during a skirmish.
Answer to All Riddles has a skirmish special ability (not a response) that is used to put on the Ring.
What happens while he wears the Ring?
While your Ring-bearer wears Isildur's Bane, each time he is about to take a wound (during any phase), two burdens are added instead.
While your Ring-bearer wears Answer to All Riddles, he receives a +2 strength bonus and adds a burden instead of a wound (during a skirmish phase only).
How does he take the Ring off?
If your Ring-bearer puts on the Ring (any version) during the regroup phase, he then takes it off at the end of that regroup phase.
MISCELLANEOUS
Discard
Discard piles are always face-up, and cards are discarded one at a time so all players can see which cards are being discarded.
You may look through your own discard pile at any time, but you may not look through an opponent's discard pile.
When a card leaves play for any reason, any cards played on that card (or borne by or stacked on that card) are discarded.
Playing cards from draw deck or discard pile
The order of your discard pile is irrelevant, and you may place any card you wish on top after playing a card from there.
There is no penalty if you don't find (or choose not to play) a card you are looking for in your draw deck.
Look at / Reveal
When an effect says a player should look at a card, that card is shown only to that player.
When an effect says to reveal a card, that card is shown to all players.
Modifiers
When all modifiers are applied to a number (like strength, vitality, a twilight cost, or an archery total), if its final value is less than zero, then that number is zero.
Moving cards between decks and piles
Whenever you move a card from one pile to another (such as shuffling a card from your discard pile into your draw deck), you must reveal that card to all players so they can verify that the correct card was moved.
Stack
Stacking a card is not playing a card. Stacked cards are placed face up and may be looked at by any player at any time. Stacked cards are not in play. They may not be spotted.
They do not count for uniqueness. A stacked unique card may be in play elsewhere. Multiple copies of the same unique card may be stacked together.
Transfer of Artifacts and Possessions
You may transfer an artifact or possession between your Free Peoples characters during your fellowship phase by paying the twilight cost for that artifact or possession again. (Minions may not transfer artifacts or possessions.)
Both characters involved in the transfer must be at the same site. (Remember that an ally is always at his home site during your fellowship phase.)
An artifact or possession may be transferred only to a character who may bear it (as indicated by a "bearer must be" phrase in its text). You may not voluntarily discard a possession or artifact borne by your character.
Transferring a card is not playing that card, even though you must pay its twilight cost. "When you play" game text is not performed when transferring a card.
ERRATA
The gameplay of the following cards has changed since they were first printed. When Decipher reprints these cards in a future set, their gameplay will be corrected. Until that time, these cards should be played as follows:
Book of Mazarbul 0 P 7
Tale. Bearer must be a Dwarf.
At the start of each fellowship phase when the fellowship is at site 4 or higher, you may draw a card for each Dwarf companion.
Gimli, Dwarf of Erebor 1 U 12
Damage +1.
Fellowship: If the twilight pool has fewer than 2 twilight tokens, add (2) to place a card from hand beneath your draw deck.
Far-seeing Eyes 1 C 43
This Elven condition is unique (¥FAR-SEEING EYES).
Gift of Boats 1 U 46
To play, exert an Elf ally. Plays to your support area.
When the fellowship moves from a river during the fellowship phase, the move limit for this turn is +1.
The Mirror Of Galadriel 1 R 55
Plays to your support area. Each Elf ally whose home is site 6 is strength +1.
Maneuver: If an opponent has at least 7 cards in hand, exert Galadriel to look at 2 of those cards at random. Discard one and replace the other.
A Ranger's Versatility1 U 113
Maneuver:Exert a ranger at a river or forest to exhaust a minion.
Thr—r's Map1 R 318
Plays to your support area.
Fellowship or Regroup:Exert 2 Hobbits and discard Thr—r's Map to play the fellowship's next site (replacing opponent's site if necessary).
Book of Mazarbul3 R 1
Refer to entry Book of Mazarbul, 0 P 7.
We Must Go Warily3 C 48
Response:If the fellowship moves in the regroup phase, exert a [Go] companion twice to make each minion's twilight cost +1 until the next regroup phase.
NEW RULES FOR THE TWO TOWERS
FORMATS
Each game now has one of the following formats:
* Tower block (only cards from sets 4, 5, and 6),
*
* Fellowship block (only cards from sets 1, 2, and 3), or
*
* open (all cards allowed, except for Fellowship block sites).
*
Adventure Deck
The sites provided in The Two Towers base set have site numbers identified with the tower symbol (T). The Two Towers site deck is numbered from 1T to 9T, just like The Fellowship of the Ring site deck is numbered from 1 to 9.
This is an alternative to the sites from the first three sets, not an extension of those sites. The game will always have only 9 sites in the adventure deck.
You may not mix sites from different blocks in the same adventure deck.
Adventure Path
Sites from The Two Towers set have a site identifier:the tower symbol (T). Fellowship block sites have no such symbol, and therefore have a "blank" identifier.
Great Hall has a site number of 6 and a site identifier of T (Tower block). Dimrill Dale also has a site number of 6 and no site identifier (which means it's from the Fellowship block).
Minions
For playing minions, use only the site number, not the site identifier.
A Moria Orc is roaming at site 3 (Fellowship block) and at site 3T (Tower block).
Allies
For the home sites of allies, use the site identifier. An ally from the Fellowship block has no home site in the Tower block.
Elrond's home site is 3, not 3T.
Game text
When a site's number is specifically mentioned in game text, that number uses the site identifier.
Hobbit Stealth (Skirmish: At sites 1 to 5, cancel a skirmish involving a Hobbit. At any other site, make a Hobbit strength +2.) cannot cancel a skirmish in the Tower block. However, this card adds its strength bonus at any Two Towers site.
KEYWORDS
Unloaded keywords
The new unloaded keywords are battleground, Easterling, Ent, machine, Southron, valiant, and villager.
Loaded keywords
The new loaded keywords are ambush, Ring-bound, unbound, and unhasty.
Ambush. When the Free Peoples player assigns one of his characters to skirmish a minion with the keyword ambush (X), the Shadow player who owns that minion may add (X).
If your Southron with ambush (2) is assigned by the Free Peoples player, you may add two tokens to the twilight pool.
Ring-bound and unbound. Only companions can be unbound or Ring-bound (not allies or minions). Any companion without the Ring-bound keyword is an unbound companion.
Exception: All versions of Frodo and Sam are Ring-bound.
Unhasty is a loaded keyword found on Ents that means, "This ally may only participate in archery fire or skirmishes when at its home site or when a [Ga] card allows it to do so."
SITE CONTROL
Shadow players may now take control of sites on the adventure path and the Free Peoples player may liberate controlled sites. Various card effects refer to these controlled sites as well.
Control
Shadow players may now use card effects to take control of sites. A Shadow player may only take control of a site on the adventure path that has been passed by all players. A site has been passed when all player markers are on sites with higher site numbers.
When all player markers are at site 2T or higher, you may take control of site 1T.
When a Shadow player takes control of a site, the site on the adventure path with the lowest site number must be selected.
An opponent controls site 1T and all player markers are at site 4T or higher, so you must take control of site 2T.
When you take control of a site, place that site in your support area, lengthwise. Many card effects in The Two Towers base set depend upon the number of sites you control.
A site you control is always active, and its game text functions like it does on the adventure path. A site you take control of during another player's turn is still active during your turn.
Liberate
A Free Peoples player may have a card effect that allows him to liberate a site. Only a site that is controlled by another player (in another player's support area) may be liberated. You may not liberate a site on the adventure path, a site in any adventure deck, or a site you control.
When you liberate a site, place it back on the adventure path. Any cards on that site are discarded. You must liberate the site with the highest site number controlled by one of your opponents first, regardless of which opponent controls that site. (If you control the site with the highest site number, you must liberate the next highest site controlled by an opponent.)
CULTURE TOKENS
Some conditions in The Two Towers set tell you to "place an [El] token on this card" (or "a [Ra] token," and so on).
You can use any convenient markers for these tokens. They don't have to be any particular color. You can use the same tokens you're using for burdens or wounds, since these tokens are not placed on a character card.
SUBTITLES
Some possession, artifact, and condition cards have subtitles. These function in the same manner as subtitles on character cards.
The cards Gandalf's Staff, Walking Stick and Gandalf's Staff (no subtitle) represent the same thing.
MOUNTED
Some cards use the term "mounted" in game text, which means, "bearing a possession with the class of mount."
WHERE'S GOLLUM?
Because The Two Towers base set is released before the premiere of the film on which it is based, we can't spoil certain elements of the story.
You'll find Gollum and many more characters and scenes from the film in the first two expansion sets for 2003:Battle of Helm's Deep in March and Ents of Fangorn in July.
COLLECTOR INFORMATION
The Two Towers(tm) base set for The Lord ofthe Rings(tm) trading card game comes in 63-card starter decks (therearetwo different ones), 74-card deluxe starter sets, and 11-card booster packs.
Each 11-card booster pack contains 1 rare card and a mixture of 10 uncommon and common cards.
Sixty of the cards in your starter deck or deluxe starter set are fixed, since you get the same ones in each of that type of starter. Three of the cards in a starter are randomly-inserted rare cards. The 74 cards in a deluxe starter set also include an 11-card booster pack.
A complete set of The Two Towers has 365 cards: 121 rare, 121 uncommon, and 121 common cards; plus two premium cards found only in the starter decks.
In the lower right corner of every card, you'll see a code like "4 R 12." The first number is the set number, with 4 indicating The Two Towers set.
The letter is the rarity code, with R for rare, U for uncommon, C for common, and P for premium. Last is the number for that card in the set.
CONTACTING DECIPHER
Check out our website, send us an email or give us a call:
* websites: decipher.com & lotrfanclub.com
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* rules questions email: elrond@decipher.com
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* customer service email: ccgcustomerservice@decipher.com
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* fan club email: help@lotrfanclub.com
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* telephone: 757-623-3600
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* address: P.O. Box 56, Norfolk, VA, USA 23501-0056
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(c) 2002 New Line Productions, Inc. The Lord of the Rings and the characters, names and places therein, TM The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Tolkien Enterprises under license to New Line Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Decipher Inc. Authorized User. TM, (r), & (c) 2002 Decipher Inc., P.O. Box 56, Norfolk, Virginia U.S.A. 23501. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.
The information in this document is copyrighted by Decipher Inc. 2002; however, it can be freely disseminated online or by traditional publishing means as long as it is not altered and all copyright notices are attached.
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