LotR TCG Card Strategies - #25

Savagery to Match Their Numbers

This is yet another card that gives +2 strength with a possibility for an additional bonus. Compare it to Their Halls of Stone or Unfamiliar Territory. The set is filled with these, it's the standard benefit for Skirmish Events that costs nothing. (well, they cost a little for Elves and Ringwraiths, but there's that "gameplay balance" again.) For a card with more than a +2 you typically have to meet special conditions or pay Twilight, for example: Axe Strike or Denizens Enraged, or to compare another Isengard Culture card, Bred for Battle.

What makes this card stand out is how good the extra bonus can be. Your Uruk-hai gets to attack twice. This can be a problem if the opponent planned on only facing them once. Even better, the +4 Strength will still apply for that second skirmish.

Unlike other options to get +4 strength, this card is very easy to use. You don't need to rely on the opponent assigning a certain character to a certain skirmish, and most decks do not go around with only four Companions. That makes Savagery difficult to counter.

Sometimes people will start sacrificing Companions to get below five. That doesn't work too well since you can play Skirmish events on ANY character. For example, Boromir can use his ability to increase Merry's strength before Merry adds his strength to Aragorn, even though Boromir and Merry are not skirmishing. Likewise, if Lurtz is about to kill Pippin and reduce the Fellowship to four, you can still play Savagery on an Uruk Soldier in another skirmish to get the +4 strength and Fierce. Normally this wouldn't work very well since effects only last until the end of the appropriate phase (and each Skirmish is a separate phase) but since Savagery lasts until the Regroup Phase you can play it ahead of time. Savagery can be avoided if the skrimish is canceled before there's a chance to play it. Of course, that's not going to help for long since the card is still in hand.

Another solution is to kill the Uruk before you have to face them in the Fierce skirmish. The trouble with that is overcoming the +4 Strength, or +8 if they play another Savagery.

The best strategy to deal with this card is to be ready to take the hits. Try not to get into battles where the +4 will overwhelm someone, and try to keep a companion healthy enough that they can take a hit from an unexpected Fierce skirmish against a Damage +1 minion.