has anyone ever used this or had success with it? it about the one card i havent touched at all since core release….dont know why it just seemed **** useless….i mean -1 will power to peek at a shadow card…its not even as if you can discard it, and with new cards that let you do exactly that….perhaps it could be used in conjuction with those cards that let you discard?

ie peek..see if its bad or not, then play an event such as dawn take you all…or is this what everyone's been doing and its just taken me a year to figure it out?

I had it initially in my Lore/Leadership deck, drop it on Denethor who never quests anyway, so the -1WP is irrelevant, then check to see the Shadow Effect to see if I need to block it or can I leave it undefended for Gloin to take damage and gain resources. Burning Brand caused me to drop it, although I could still see it on someone like Legolas who doesn't quest or maybe Eleanor who, if not needed this turn for her ability, is often the designated defender in my Spirit/Lore.

I'm currently playing MaO and there have been quite a few times when I've found myself wanting DK to see if I should block Wolves with an ally (if they have remove defender or 2 dmg to defender Shadow Effect), undefended or a hero. And to not Feint Rangers of Ithilien Enemy .

On a side note, after 8 plays, I'm 2-6 against Massing, same number of wins already (with the exact same decks) that I got vs Road to Rivendell in 10 plays…

With "a burning brand" you can only ignore the shadoweffect if the hero where "a burning brand" is attached is declared as the defender.

With "dark knowledge" you will be able to have a look at the shadowcard before declaring a defender .. this is it!

JanB

Yes, but ignoring shadow effect >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> knowing shadow effect, especially if you have no way to cancel said effect. BB is on Denethor or another wall always, so high-def + cancelling shadow effect makes for a solid block. DK won't save you against Sleeping Sentry/Sudden Pitfall, BB will. And if you only have 1 Enemy engaged, defending with the BB character does better than having DK. If you have multiple Enemies engaged, you can check for one of their Shadow Cards, which might give you an idea on who to block, but the one you block could have a bad Shadow Effect as well. And you can drop BB on Haldir for solid Sentinel defending.

yes- this is the reason i never leave my hobbit hole without a brand on fire…….one of the best cards in the game

Also, forgot to mention that I've been using Henamarth as a DK quite often when I know nasty Shadow Effects are around (like playing Massing). Since all three cards (BB, DK, Hena) are Lore, it really comes down to what you want. Henamarth can chip in to quest, fodder defense or pip in to attack in addition to his ability, which can also be used on pre-staging scouting as well as Shadow card (although only the first dealt each turn). But Hena > DK, Hena is like the Swiss Army Ally of LotR. And BB is just a no-brainer for any Lore deck.

P.S. Hobbit holes need a brand on fire, but not in the way you think !

Is there anything preventing a character from having multiple copies of Dark Knowledge attached? If not (and if you have multiple Core Sets) loading a non- quester like Denethor with multiple DKs allows you to choose which to defend with Burning Brand, and which to let take out a Snowbourn Scout. The problem is that you'd need a lot of cards in play to make the combo work.

Yeah, I think if you're finding yourself in need of 2-3 DK, thus that many Enemies engaged, might be time to look to more allies to take out those Enemies and spend your resources on them.

yes as i thought- dk seems a bit inferior since the start…but it takes all sorts i suppose, and as youve pointed out- it does have its uses

ps..nice innuendo haha

Since I brought him into this thread, is Henamarth the #1 ally when considering value for money? For cost of 1 (!!!), you get about a zillion things you can do. None of the other 1-costs can do as much as Henny, Snowbourn can't attack or quest without help, Vassal can't quest and leaves play after attacking, Erebor Record Keeper can't attack or defend plus his ability comes with an additional cost. Even when you go up in costs, not many allies can compete with Henamarth.

he's certainly up there…..infact i thought at first that it was a printing error that he was 1 cost!

His ability is rather weak in a normal game.. but in solo he is extremely good.. though a 1/1/1/1 he is still value for money. Still his ability is not that good in most game scenarios.

I think Henamarth is extremely strong in any ( solo play ) situation.

Firstly, as noted above his stats are good for just cost one.

Secondly and more importantly, when he is on the table you are no longer playing a guessing game or taking any risks with the encounter deck. You can make a precise calculation as to exactly how much questing to send in order to achieve your immediate objective, and you are no longer at risk of making inefficient plays like holding back a potential defender only to find there is no enemy to defend against. [This doesn't work when the card he sees has Surge, of course] To me, this changes the game quite dramatically.

Thirdly, he has some very handy quest-specific uses (eg checking on the outcome for use of Cave Torch, Patrol Leader, Doors of Durin, Locate tests).

The amusing situation is when he foresees his own immediate death in the form of The Necromancer's Reach or similar.

excellent point jjeagle- his downfall is he is rather puny and vulnerable..he could do with some buffing up at some point…..i cant think of any armour you can put on an elf ally at the moment (is there one?)

Yeah but when it is not a solo game his ability is just weak, near usless.

jjeagle said:

You should be tapping him after combat… this way he is protected form most character destruction treachery cards.

booored said:

Good point. Does mean you lose a turn of using him though.

Dam said:

Yes, Massing at Osgiliath has also got me to reconsider Dark Knowledge. I have exactly the same experience with the card, used to run it with Denethor and Gloin but never since because I dismissed the line-up.

jjeagle said:

That's true, but it's worth it. Besides, sometimes you desperatly need Henny's extra ATT point to kill an enemy.

As for the cost-value isssue, we once had a discussion about this and me (and most of the others) came to the conclusion that Erebor Hammersmith deserves this price. He even gets better with each Dwarrowdwelf adventure. For example he is very useful in TLD after a location test massacre.

yes he's good, but on the downside he cant attack (not really relavent) or more importantly defend, which means he cant be used as a last resort sacrifice

richsabre said:

You're thinking of the Record Keeper, Hammersmith (2 cost 1-1-3, take back attachment) is an all-rounder. I had him wielding a Dwarrowdelf Axe in my Dwarf deck, with Dain ready, he was excellent in taking out the Goblin Spearmen/Swordsmen in KD (attack 1, +1 for Dain, +1 for Axe and then 1 dmg after attacking, just enough to kill 2-def, 2-hp Enemy).

ahh my bad..so i am

But Henamarth is super good for the Watcher. Choosing between Hammersmith and Henamarth, I would always give the award to the latter, Hammersmith is great for the price and I really like his combo with either Good Meal or Ancient Mathom but none (well almost) of the Silvan synergies being out and the Elf is already kicking butt. But… that said, Record Keeper is another great 1-cost ally.

Definately, can't see a Dwarf deck (with Dain, since well, who leaves him out?) without Record Keeper. With Bifur in tow, your not even struggling for Lore resources, effectively two per turn.

Dam said:

agreed…i would be pleased if we do see a dwarf hero that rivals dain, it feels rather forced to 'have' to include him….i say 'have' as you can field a dwarf deck without him, but it would double its power if it did have him

How about an Elf Hero that does even half to Elves of what Dain does to Dwarves? Not sure more great Dwarf heroes should be on the shortlist anytime soon. Although hopefully many more before hobbits show up .