As you approach Mordor you must pay close attention to the Corruption marker. Entering Mordor with Corruption above five is usually not a good idea but sometimes you have no choice since there aren't any places to Heal close by; Minas Tirith is the closest and it might have fallen to the Shadow.

First you should try to manage the Event cards that you hold. The four Character cards that allows you top put the special tiles into play ("Elven Rope," "Elven Cloaks," "Phial of Galadriel" and "Sméagol Helps Nice Master") should be played before entering Mordor if possible, and if you draw any of them once Frodo is in Mordor, always add them to the Hunt pool before moving. If any of these are drawn, Frodo's uphill climb will be slightly easier. You should also try to get and keep certain cards; saving Corruption-reducing cards (e.g. "I Will Go Alone" and "Bilbo's Song") could win you the game if they are used in Mordor. As Frodo closes in on Mount Doom the Corruption marker closes in on that twelfth Corruption point.

The Shadow also has four special Hunt tiles ("The Ring is Mine!", "On, on They Went," "Give it to Uss!" and "Shelob's Lair"), which will all prevent you from moving on the Mordor Track if drawn. "Shelob's Lair" is especially nasty, since it can deal out a total of six Corruption points, which often proves too much for poor Frodo. To avoid one of these nasty tiles you have the card "Mithril Coat and Sting" which will force the Shadow to draw a new tile and replace the drawn one; this could also save Frodo if an Eye tile is drawn when there are too many dice in the Hunt Box fro him to survive.

The second thing you should decide upon before entering Mordor is how many Companions to bring, since the number of Companions determine how many Hunt dice the Shadow can allocate to the Hunt at the beginning of each turn. This is much more important now that an Eye tile drawn in Mordor adds Corruption equal to the number of dice in the Hunt box, including the Fellowship's Character and Will of the West dice previously used to move the Fellowship in the same turn.

The Companions you bring can be used to absorb Corruption and, if you have any of the protection cards (e.g. "Axe and Bow") in play or in your hand, the corresponding Companions should be brought with Frodo. The dilemma is that with many Companions the Shadow can put more dice in the Hunt box and the more dangerous the Eye tiles become. I would suggest that no more than three Companions be brought into Mordor, and they should be the Companions with the highest Levels possible if you must choose which to separate before entering. Once in Mordor you should take the Companions as casualties as soon as possible in order to limit the number of Hunt dice the Shadow can place in the Hunt box.

Remember to use Gollum's ability to ignore Reveal icons on numbered normal (gray) Hunt tiles; this is important to remember, since staying hidden gives you more dice to use to move instead of hiding a revealed Fellowship. Gollum can also be used Reveal the Fellowship if they are not revealed through the drawn Hunt tile to reduce Corruption by one. This can literally win you the game on the final step: if you move to the final step of the Mordor Track (The Crack of Doom) and the tile drawn brings Frodo to twelve Corruption points but doesn't reveal him, Gollum can reduce the Corruption to eleven - and being revealed on the Crack of Doom doesn't matter: the Ring is destroyed either way.

When and how often to move when in Mordor? This question is difficult to answer, since it depends on the number of Hunt dice in the Hunt Box, Frodo's current Corruption and the composition of the Hunt pool. You should at all times try to be up to speed on what tiles are left in the Hunt pool: are the odds good you will draw one of your special tiles or an Eye tile, and can you risk drawing an Eye tile? Remember that if you don't attempt to move or hide The Fellowship during a turn, you suffer one Corruption point, but sometimes that can be the best choice if faced with many dice in the Hunt Box and a high ratio of Eye tiles left in the Hunt pool.

Finally there is no better motivation than that of dire urgency - if the Shadow is getting close to ten Victory points you might as well go out on a limb with Frodo and make a mad final dash up the slopes of Mount Doom. Remember that if you manage to destroy the Ring in the same turn as the Shadow reaches his tenth and final Victory point you still win the game.

Having read all this I hope you have realized that you must plan for the journey through Mordor from the beginning of the game. Here follows some pointers to remember:

• Which protection Event cards do you have, and are the Companions needed to use them still in the Fellowship?
• Which Corruption-reducing Event cards do I have, and which are still in the deck waiting to be drawn?
• What is the composition of the Hunt pool?
• How much time do I have before the Shadow reaches ten victory points?

Written by Kristofer Bengtsson