LotR TCG Card Strategies - #6 (Return of the Jedi)

Sauron's Defenses

This is one of the few card in the premier set that reduces the opponent's move limit. (OK, yeah, Cave Trolls tend to discourage people from moving a second time... but that's different.) Is this a big deal? Well, with a move limit reduced to 1 you will know how fast the opponent can move. You can then move more cautiously knowing they can't catch up with you. In fact, you might never need to press your luck and move 2 sites in a turn. You can move you Fellowship slowly while you beat on the opponent with your Orcs. This is a great help as those later sites get more and more dangerous.

This strategy makes for a whole different deck construction in the Free-People's side of the deck, too. You can plan to have a Fellowship phase at every site. Cards like Athelas, the Gaffer, Halls of my Home and Elrond all become even more useful. You can rely on Galadriel to heal your Archer allies more often. Fellowship events suddenly seem more powerful compared to stacking Skirmish events, since you never face a really difficult battle with minions from a previous site.

Sauron's Defenses needs 3 dead companions to have it work. That's not much of a problem for Sauron decks. Most of their Minions can exert to wound companions, so even if you can't win a battle the damage will stack up. You can also prevent healing with You Bring Great Evil. If the opponent favors a large fellowship, I find it's actually easier to kill companions, as most people will sacrifice the weak companions to the strong Orcs like Morgul Hunter or Tower Lieutenant.

You also need to exert an Orc to play the card. That's actually not much of a problem. Most Sauron cards require an Orc Tracker, just requiring any Orc is a lot less restrictive.

It's in multiplayer that this card really shines. There you can get the full benefit of stacking 2 or 3 on the table at the same time. Having a multiplayer deck that only needs to move one site a turn can be a big advantage. You have multiple opponents Reconciling at each site, if you move twice you'll be in a lot more danger than in 1-on-1. If you can slow the entire game so you only have to move one site per turn, you will have a much better chance of surviving.