Fun MECCG Trivia (Eärendil has 11 Corruption Points and more)

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CDavis7M
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In Rivendell, Bilbo sings of Eärendil
Bilbo wrote:
Eärendil was a mariner
that tarried in Arvernien;
he built a boat of timber felled
in Nimbrethil to journey in;
her sails he wove of silver fair,
of silver were her lanterns made,
her prow was fashioned like a swan,
and light upon her banners laid.

In panoply of ancient kings,
in chained rings he armoured him;
his shining shield was scored with runes
to ward all wounds and harm from him;
his bow was made of dragon-horn,
his arrows shorn of ebony,
of silver was his habergeon,
his scabbard of chalcedony;
his sword of steel was valiant,
of adamant his helmet tall,
an eagle-plume upon his crest,
upon his breast an emerald.

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And over Middle-earth he passed
and heard at last the weeping sore
of women and of elven-maids
in Elder Days, in years of yore.
But on him mighty doom was laid,
till Moon should fade, an orbéd star
to pass, and tarry never more
on Hither Shores where mortals are;
for ever still a herald on
an errand that should never rest
to bear his shining lamp afar,
the Flammifer of Westernesse.

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I'm sure you all knew this 20 years ago, but most the items in Middle Earth The Dragons are from Bilbo's song of Eärendil. Obviously the flavor-text is quoting from this passage.

But did you know that Eärendil has scored 12 Marshalling Points all on his own? Though at a total of 11 Corruption Points (+1 to his rolls) he might not keep them long.

Please share if you have any other card or art trivia. I have more but this was a big post.
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Theo
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How many Dragon's lairs do you figure it took him to get it all?
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Fangorn
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Nice idea for a scenario !
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CDavis7M
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Theo, I think Eärendil got them from the same source as the Dragons... :(

Another FUN thing is that the art of the dwarves of Thorin's company matches their description well.

It was a dwarf with a blue beard tucked into a golden belt, and very bright eyes under his dark-green hood...'Dwalin at your service!'
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Instead there was a very old-looking dwarf on the step with a white beard and a scarlet hood... 'Balin at your service!
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It was two more dwarves, both with blue hoods, silver belts, and yellow beards; and each of them carried a bag of tools and a spade....'Kili at your service!' said the one. 'And Fili!' added the other; and they both swept off their blue hoods and bowed.
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It was not four after all, it was FIVE.... He had hardly turned the knob, before they were all inside, bowing and saying 'at your service' one after another. Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin, and Gloin were their names; and very soon two purple hoods, a grey hood, a brown hood, and a white hood were hanging on the pegs, and off they marched with their broad hands stuck in their gold and silver belts to join the others....
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'At your service!' said Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur standing in a row. Then they hung up two yellow hoods and a pale green one; and also a sky-blue one with a long silver tassel. This last belonged to Thorin, an enormously important dwarf, in fact no other than the great Thorin Oakenshield himself.... Thorin indeed was very haughty, and said nothing about service; but poor Mr. Baggins said he was sorry so many times, that at last he... stopped frowning.
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'Now we are all here!' said Gandalf, looking at the row of thirteen hoods — the best detachable party hoods — and his own hat hanging on the pegs. 'Quite a merry gathering! I hope there is something left for the late-comers to eat and drink!'....
In some cards you can even spot which dwarf it is.
"Whatever did you want to go and drop him for, Dori?" "You would have droopped him," said Dori, "if a goblin had suddenly grabbed your legs from behind in the dark, tripped up your feet, and kicked you in the back!"
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Thorin is also in A Chance Meeting and Covetous Thoughts, but he's missing his tassel.
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Looks like Fili/Kili, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Thorin, Bilbo, and... another I can't tell. At least they are in the 7 company limit.
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CDavis7M
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Another fun thing I noticed are several references to the Silmarillion.

Jewel of Beleriand and Emerald of Doriath. Though I don't know if these reference specific jewels from the story.

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And then we have references to some of the Valar and Maiar. Osse, maiar of the sea, who teamed up with Melkor for a bit, and still causes rough seas here and there. And then Ulmo, Valar of the seas (though not sure what he has to do with underdeeps movement). And Orome the hunter. And of course, all the wizards and their manifestations.

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And then the Dream Cards add a few more references. Yavanna is always crying, Tuor meeting Ulmo, and also Uinen who calms her spouse Osse. Even more references in other DC cards.

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CDavis7M
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I was just browsing historic ICE webpages on the ole wayback machine: https://web.archive.org/web/19980212005 ... frame.html

I'm sure many of you knew these things:
[*] The shipment of Fatty Bolger promo cards were lost in transit to ICE. Not sure if they found them or had to reprint.
[*] Balrog was originally going to sell in booster packs with 2 rares, similar to The White Hand.
[*] The Against the Shadow Players Guide is "COMING SOON!"

Here are some images that just feel very 1998. (sorry that the gifs don't show up right due to their transparency. click the link.)

lidless eye gif:
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The iconic land drake but with Dark Minions logo https://i.imgur.com/hKGOxVQ.gif
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Denethor: https://i.imgur.com/wZVdqzC.gif
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gif-lando
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CDavis7M
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I've been reading more. Very often
Radagast is, of course, a worthy Wizard, a master of shapes and changes of hue; and he has much lore of herbs and beasts, and birds are especially his friends.
So many of Radagast's cards come from just this one sentence.

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Not much else is said about Radagast.
Goblin King
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Very cool! All of it!
Kjeld
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CDavis7M wrote: Thu Apr 11, 2019 4:22 pm And then Ulmo, Valar of the seas (though not sure what he has to do with underdeeps movement).
I always interpreted the Reach of Ulmo card to simulate seawater flooding the Under-deeps. We know from the Balrog sites that the under-deeps network extends into the sea (e.g. The Drowning-deeps --> Remains of Thangorodrim), so it makes sense.
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CDavis7M
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Kjeld wrote: Fri Oct 18, 2019 1:44 pm
CDavis7M wrote: Thu Apr 11, 2019 4:22 pm And then Ulmo, Valar of the seas (though not sure what he has to do with underdeeps movement).
I always interpreted the Reach of Ulmo card to simulate seawater flooding the Under-deeps. We know from the Balrog sites that the under-deeps network extends into the sea (e.g. The Drowning-deeps --> Remains of Thangorodrim), so it makes sense.
Ah yeah, I can see that. Does Ulmo ever do this in any of the works? I can't remember anything like that. But surely some tunnels are underwater with the sinking of Beleriand.
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CDavis7M
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True Fana and Sacrifice of Form are both sweet cards letting a Wizard obliterate an attack against them. I've always wondered what "True Fana" meant. I hadn't seen the term in The Lord of the Rings or the Silmarillion. I just assumed it meant "True/Final Form" given the ability and the artwork of Gandalf smoting the bridge with his staff to drop the Balrog into the abyss. Sacrifice of Form has a similar ability and the title seems to refer to Gandalf's sacrifice in stopping the Balrog, but the artwork doesn't depict that scene. Perhaps the artwork is "old man" Gandalf in Fangorn after his return. It turns out these (obvious?) assumptions are correct but the background of these card titles are pretty interesting.

"Fana" is a Quenya word (the language of the High Elves in Valinor). It literally means "white cloud." It has a secondary meaning of "veil," like a veil of fog. Leaving "fana" for a minute, most MECCG players will know from the introduction that the wizards are Maiar (divine beings similar but lesser to the Valar) sent to Middle-Earth to help the free peoples in their fight against Sauron. Unlike other Maiar and the Valar, the Wizards are "incarnate." Meaning, they take the form of humans and are subject to weariness, pain, and death while only retaining some of their Maiar powers. Other (non-incarnate) maiar do not appear in The Lord of the Rings. But in the Silmarillion the Valar and Maiar would sometimes interact with Elves and Men, taking visible form referred to as "raiment," which could be changed at will. This raiment acts as a "veil" over the Maiar's true form and so the elves referred to it as "Fana." And so the card "True Fana" seems to refer to a Maiar's ability to remove their raiment and reveal their true form. Right on! (except Gandalf is incarnate and can't do this).

As for "Sacrifice of Form," the term "sacrifice" is not used in The Lord of the Rings. Still, it seems clear that this is referring to Gandalf's sacrifice of his incarnate self. But what is the origin of the title of the card? Well, Tolkien had this to say about Gandalf in one of his private letters:
They thus appears as 'old' sage figures. But... all the 'angelic' powers concerned with this world were capable of many degrees of error... The wizards were not exempt, indeed being incarnate were more likely to stray, or err. Gandalf alone fully passes the test, on a moral plane anyway (he makes mistakes of judgment). For in his condition it was for him a sacrifice to perish on the Bridge in defense of his companions, less perhaps than for a motal Man or Hobbit, since he had a far greater inner power than they; but also, more, since it was a humbling and abnegation of himself in conformity to 'the Rules': for all he could know at that moment he was the only person who could direct the resistance to Sauron successfully, and all his mission was vain. He was handing over to the Authority that ordained the Rules, and giving up personal hope of success.
So, it appears that Coleman read Tolkien's letter as well as Parma Eldalamberon.
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