To master War of the Ring, you must know the cards available to you as well as to your opponent. Using the right card at the right time can make a real difference in the game. Many of the cards are very useful at the right moment, but all cards can be put to good use since they not only function as events but also as combat effects. In this article I will take a look at the Shadow's event cards.

The Character cards
The character deck contains seven categories of cards, let us take a closer look at each category, starting with the Hunt Pool cards:
Give it to Uss!, On, On They Went, The Ring is Mine! and Shelob's Lair all allow you to add their respective Hunt tile to the Hunt Pool once the Fellowship has reached Mordor. These tiles not only damage the Fellowship but, more importantly, they prevent them from moving on the Mordor Track! Shelob's Lair can be especially nasty since it can inflict up to six Corruption points in damage, this is usually the tile negated by Mithril Coat and Sting, just remember that the Free Peoples player has to use it before you roll to determine how effective Shelob is.

The Fellowship damagers:
This category consists of many different cards, the most obvious ones being Isildur's Bane, Orc Patrol and Foul Thing from the Deep. These cards each allow you to draw a Hunt tile and damage the Fellowship (unless you draw an Eye tile or a Fellowship Special tile) in some way. These cards are tempting to hang on to and play once the Fellowship has reached Mordor where there are no possible places to rest and Heal. This can however be a gamble since any Eye tile drawn will get discarded, not something you want when the Fellowship is in Mordor. Balrog of Moria has the same effect but is limited to Moria and only makes the choice of route a bit more difficult for the Fellowship.

Nazgūl Search will force the Free Peoples player to Reveal the Fellowship. This can be used either to try to hit them with a card that needs the Fellowship to be Revealed or to Reveal them as they can enter the Mordor track in the following turn. If you Reveal them as they can be Declared in Mordor at the start of the next turn you buy yourself an extra round since the Free Peoples player must spend the next round hiding them in order to Declare in Mordor.

In this category we also find Morgul Wound and Candles of Corpses, which will increase the Corruption of the Fellowship, these are quite handy to use once the Fellowship is in Mordor but Candles of Corpses is less useful if Gollum is the Guide. The Breaking of the Fellowship and Lure of the Ring both have the potential of decreasing the number of Companions in the Fellowship and thereby making Frodo more susceptible to damage.

Finally we have Worn with Sorrow and Toil, which will force your opponent to sacrifice a Character card each time a Companion in the Fellowship is taken as a casualty, and Cruel Weather. Worn with Sorrow and Toil can be very nasty if played when there is little chance for the Fellowship to declare in a Free Peoples City or Stronghold while Cruel Weather can buy you an extra round if played as the last action in the round just as the Fellowship is able to Declare in Mordor at the beginning of the next round.

The Hunt modifiers:
Flocks of Crebain will allow you to modify a Hunt roll with +1 and used when there are many dice in the Hunt box this can pose great danger to the Fellowship. Just remember that when the Fellowship declares in a Free Peoples City or Stronghold the card is discarded. It is also useless in Mordor since you don't roll for the Hunt there.

If you need extra Eyes in the Hunt box The Lidless Eye is the card for you. This is most often used when the Fellowship is in Mordor since the number of Eyes in the Hunt Box equals the Corruption suffered if an Eye tile is drawn.

With the Nazgūl Strike you can either discard a Free Peoples Character card that is on the table or roll for the Hunt. This can be used to get rid of nasty cards like Mithril Coat and Sting or Wizard's Staff or to roll for the Hunt after the Fellowship already has moved and the odds for a successful Hunt roll are good.

The Attack cards: If used on an army with five Nazgūl Dreadful Spells will allow you to score up to five hits on an enemy army. This card should be used to soften up a strong enemy army that is dug in behind the Walls of a Stronghold before you launch the assault or to finish off said army when your units are wearing out as well.

The Ringwraiths are Abroad and The Black Captain's Commands both allow you to move and/or attack with armies containing Nazgūl and/or the Witch King. These cards are useful to maximize your Leadership prior to an attack and it allows you to launch an attack a turn earlier than using the Action dice.

Having a big army made out of Regulars besieging a Stronghold is a slow way to take down the Stronghold but with Grond, Hammer of the Underworld you can keep the assault going for three turns, something the Free Peoples player might not have prepared for. Just make sure that you have enough units to last all three turns since you cannot call off the attack. The use of this card has often ended in disaster for the Shadow after the Free Peoples player scoring many hits in the first round of combat.

The Political card:
With Wormtongue you can prevent Rohan from becoming Active (and thereby also from moving to War) until you attack either Helm's Deep or Edoras. The Free Peoples player can discard the card by getting the appropriate Companion to said Settlements but you should be ready to attack before this happens. If you play this card early you should also contemplate bringing in the Witch King since the card still prevents Rohan from becoming Active.

The Card Drawing card:
The Palantir of Orthanc will give you a chance of getting the cards you want since each time you play one with an Event Action die you get to draw a new card, just remember that this will most likely also force you to discard cards. If you get this card early the Free Peoples player will probably be keen on discarding.

The Strategy cards
The strategy deck also contains seven categories. Let us begin with the Dice card:

The Day Without Dawn will force your opponent to discard all his/her Will of the West die results. This can be quite good if s/he rolled many in one go or to deny him/her the opportunity to bring in Aragorn or Gandalf the White.

The Stronghold weakeners:
Return to Valinor scares the Elves to leave for the undying lands before you conquer Middle earth completely. This card can be quite useful just prior to an attack on an Elven Stronghold, just remember that you must control at least one Elven Stronghold before you can play this card.

With Denethor's' Folly you give yourself a better chance of taking Minas Tirith since denying the Free Peoples player the ability to play combat cards in the battle is very powerful. The removal of a Free Peoples Leader is an added bonus.

The Movement cards:
Shadows Gather, The Shadow Lengthens and The Shadow is Moving all allow you to move a greater distance or to move more armies. These should be used to launch lightning attacks that the enemy is unable to prepare for.

The Muster cards:
The majority of the Strategy cards are cards that allow you to muster many units fast. This is your main strength as the Shadow and should be used to swarm the smaller Free Peoples armies. Monsters Roused, Orcs Multiplying Again, Return of the Witch-King and Shadows on the Misty Mountain allow for mustering in the central and northwestern part of the map. From here you can launch attacks on the Shire, Rivendell, the Grey Havens and Lorien.

With The King is Revealed, Pits of Mordor and Mustering of a Long-planned War you can prepare for the attack on Gondor.

Horde From the East and Many Kings to the Service of Mordor will strengthen the Southrons and Easterlings before their entrance into the War of the Ring, and with A New Power is Rising you will get a jump start on the Free Peoples forces in Rohan

The Forward Muster cards:
With Hill-Trolls, Olog-Hai and Half-Orcs and Goblin Men you can bolster the strength of your armies no matter where they are on the board. This is especially useful when you need to reinforce a siege quickly.

The Move and Attack cards: Corsairs of Umbar can be used to either move to or attack any Gondor coastal region. Most often Dol Amroth becomes the target for this attack.

With Rage of the Dunlendings you can quickly send an army towards the Shire or to Moria, from where Lorien is a possible target.

The Fighting Uruk-Hai is the Isengard forces' equivalent of Grond, Hammer of the Underworld.

The Political cards:
With Stormcrow you can target a Free Peoples nation to make your coming attack a bit easier or to trick the Free Peoples player into thinking that you are going to attack that nation and then head somewhere else as your opponent wastes precious Muster dice on that nation.

Threats and Promises gives you a chance to maneuver your armies into striking position without the enemy being able to react to it on the Political track.

Written by Kristofer Bengtsson