Unlike Durin's Bane, Flame of Udun can be played in conjunction with other minions, but it has to spot a minion, so in most cases, you’ll see this Balrog in Orc decks. Note that while the regular Balrog can almost always be played at site 5, even against super choke decks, this Balrog is more expensive, so it’s a little bit trickier to play him. Being able to play him with other minions is a huge advantage however, as it means you’ll usually put pressure on your opponent, even if they can counter the Balrog himself. He can also play orcs from discard; this is not usually that useful, as there’s rarely enough twilight to make the most of this, but if you want a specific minion, or if your opponent floods the pool, this ability can also be handy.

Another difference between this Balrog and Durin's Bane is that he does not skip the archery phase. This is useful for archers, as they don't want the Balrog preventing them from shooting, but if you don't have any archers, consider Fill with Fear, to protect the Balrog from Greenleaf/Aragorn's Bow.

• In a fair fight, the Balrog is strong against pretty much everything. However, there are many specific counters to the Balrog, listed below.

• Armor/Gimli's Helm (Unless bearing a Whip of Many Thongs)
• Stealth/Gandalf's Staff
• Super Choke (Unless you have Goblin Runners)
• Mass Archery (Unless you have Fill with Fear)
• Horn of Boromir (Unless you have Such a Little Thing)
• Cannon Fodder, as it wastes the Balrog's potential. Examples are Haldir, Elf of the Golden Wood ; Dwarf Guard; Thrarin, Dwarven Smith and Lorien Elf
• Super Frodo (Using A Promise, Sting, Mithril Coat, O Elbereth Gilthoniel, Bounder) - with enough strength bonuses + Mithril Coat, the Balrog will barely scratch Frodo.