So the first AP of Against the Shadow is up on the products page, but no news about it yet. Strange! Maybe keep our eyes out today?
http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite_sec.asp?eidm…

 Edit: here it is!  

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_news.asp?eidn=3643 

 Looks very exciting from what's been spoilered.  Not so much the cards but the idea of a continuous narrative is really appealing.  Trap must be a new kind of card, possibly distinct from the ally/event/attachment trio…  

Outlands trait also potentially interesting provided that there are enough cards to support it.  Do you think Imrahil and Dol Amroth would be considered outlands?

EDIT: Hard to tell from the half pictured card but 'Trained for War' looks to me like something for a pure tactics deck that allows you to quest with attack or defence for a turn.

i suppose all the doomsayers need to restart their countdown until the next article… ;)

interesting they went with enemies within instead of without, suppose its best as it leaves the real bad guys for the mordor cycle

nice art- interesting ideas- well done ffg….reminds me of tolkiens discarded lotr followup

rich

 I am really looking forward to the new more cohesive narrative between AP's. I liked how the previous ones told a story and I am happy to see them expand on this idea! 

Now, the wait until January/ February!

All of the player cards look great!  I really like the art on Anborn (and traps sound interesting). A Villain trait and unique enemy cards (is that last one new?). Another Neutral ally is shown ("White Tower Watchman"). With him and "Emissary of Pelargir" it looks like we may expect a boost in Neutral allies (beyond "Gandalf").

The Outlands. trait and synergies will surely be very interesting (Ethir Swordsman is like a half cost, half benefit, spirit Core-Faramir (FaraCore?)), although I would have preferred something other than "outlands" (really it's okay). The stronger narrative thread sounds very exciting as well.

Looking forward to this cycle even more!!

P.S. ought I start a spoiler list for this AP, with card names, stats, text (like I did with HoN)?

I don't have my cards with me but I believe Forest Snare is a trap. I believe we will be getting more of them.

Overall, this cycle really is much more exciting to me than the previous. The theme is really intriguing. I especially like the traitor aspect of the narrative. The art on the box looks scary in an interesting way - much more than the nameless ageless endless shameless.

As for Anborn, the attack 3 seems already pretty good. It is interesting that Lore is pretty good in the attack dept, second best I would say, although Leadership have its boosts.

my only fears are that this will become a game of thrones type cycle….which it certainly looks like. dont get me wrong im really excited about it, and it looks great, i just hope it remains 'tokien' enough…..dont ask me what i mean by that as i cant explain it, i just hope it keeps the middle earth magic

still…packs showing some of the other lesser enemies of middle earth may prove interesting….and the others speak of sieges as we expected, so im pretty much talking crap (as usual haha) but it will be interesting to see how this one plays out, should be fun

rich

lleimmoen said:

It's a trap!  

Seriously, it is.  :)

Bryon said:

Thanks 8)

richsabre said:

I don't think we have to fear too much promiscuity and sadistic torture in these packs, hopefully it will be NOTHING like the GoT ex.

 I laugh at all the doomsayers.

So cool!!! I really love the cover art, very Assassin's Creed, brilliant!

I also think it's really cool that Christian Peterson helped create the story for this cycle. That just shows me how much they love this game at FFG and should be a reminder to all those 'doomsayers' who start complaining so quickly.  Everyone, up to the owner, puts a lot of thought, time and passion into this game and I think we owe it to them to have a little faith when our impatience starts nagging at us.

I also found it interesting that there wasn't a seperate article for the cycle in addition to the one for the AP. Perhaps they felt rushed to get this out, I can't imagine why… (cough)

Anyway, all the player cards look awesome! I'm excited to set some traps with rangers such as Anborn!

Also, Castamir shows one heck of a research effort by FFG, they really dig deep into Tolkien's world! It's interesting because there's the 'Rains of Castamir' song in Song of Ice and Fire. I thought that FFG stole the name from ASOIAF but looked it up and found a whole article on Tolkien's Castamir. Just goes to show you that, when it comes down to it, they're all borrowing from Tolkien!

 This looks like an amazing cycle! I love that they're trying to make the narrative a bigger part of the game. I'm really curious to see how it turns out.

Narsil0420 said:

Wait. They better. Whilst I share the glory feeling seeing the preview, and I am grateful for this great game, I also feel that with privilage comes responsibility (and I think they feel it too).