Corruption Cards - Save them for Mordor

[perry]

We've got a bunch of cards, that allows for a Hunt Tile to be drawn, and then damage the FSP in some way (adding corruption, killing companions, breaking off ). They are:

- Foul Thing: Hunt tile, must go for Random Companion first
- Orc Patrol: Hunt tile
- Lure of the Ring
- Breaking of the FSP: +1 corruption, if Gollum is the Guide
- Isildurs Bane: Hunt tile, must go to Corruption

I get the feeling, that the optimal play for Shadows, is to wait with playing any of these cards, until the FSP hits Mordor!

The rationale would be that it either:

a) Forces the FSP to keep the Companions in FSP, thus increasing the amount of Eyes that SP can put on the FSP in Morder AND slowing down FSP movement in Mordor considerable..

or

b) If FSP enters Mordor wíth only Gollum, they will be extremely vulnerable to corruption damage, since there will be no corruption shields available.


Both these alternatives are pretty bad, right? What's your thoughts?

[Goodgulf the Grey]

Interesting question. My opinion ... it depends

A lot of the decision has to do with what tiles will be in the Hunt Pool in Mordor.

If there are 4 SP special tiles and 0 FP special tiles then I would be more inclined to play them pre-Mordor. They have a higher chance of drawing "Eyes" in Mordor and SP special tiles which has a negative effect for the Shadow -- although breaking of the Fellowship for 6 via Shelob would be amusing if the Fellowship had 6 companions in Mordor -

If there are 4 FP special tiles and 0 SP special tiles then using the cards to pull FP special tiles is nice ;D. Also, if Galadriel or Challenge of the King has permanently removed several Eyes then these cards become more effective in Mordor.

Also, don't forget that Foul Thing, Orc Patrol, and Isildur's Bane can be used for possible turn stalls pre-Mordor too and this can be devestating to the FP.

[mrweasely]

Agree.

Also, the cost of drawing an eye tile pre-mordor is minimal. The cost of drawing an eye tile in mordor with 5 dice in the pool is quite high, because that eye tile then is discarded for 0 damage.

No one factor provides a hard and fast rule.

[perfidius]

Hi guys,

I have one problem with the keep-them-for-mordor strategy: what if you don’t have (or just very few) Palantir/Character results then ?

I always prefer use the most of the dices I have for a turn, because you never know what you’ll have next. And I certainly don’t like the idea of having lots of great corruption cards in my hand while the Fellowship stroll in Mordor freely, because I didn’t roll the right dices.


Cheers,

Perfidius

[genghissean]

I agree with Mr.Weasely. It really depends on the game. Especially if the FP has Smeagol with a guide and the Shadow fails to take out Lorien. Gandalf and smeagol can take at least 6 points of damage plus maybe another lucky smeagol tile or two. Gimli and axe take another 3. Gandalf's staff PREVENTS a hunt tile from being drawn. Mean while the rest of the fellowship is off buying time and you are THROWING away good combat cards holding on to your precious corruption cards while you're waiting for the fellowship to enter Mordor. Luckily WOTR, specifically "Twilight", makes any one stradegy difficult to ALWAYS or even usually use. That's what makes it an awesome game.

[thoronsul]

I would suggest use of some cards pre-Mordor, while hanging on to one or two for Mordor itself. This balances your approach, a forces the FP to get rid of some companions, slow down, take some corruption, and--if you have taken Lorien--take a longer route in order to heal. During this time, SP can threaten a military victory and force the FP to move the FSP faster than desired and declare in Mordor with healing anything. Then the last two cards can weaken the FSP (taking out companions) or nail them with some corruption if Gollum is the guide.