Ok, Gandalf has the most effective condition removal, no question about it. But Dunland's nastiest permanent, Hides, isn't a condition, it's a possession. Add in the new possession-based strategies of the Isengard Warg-riders, and the Raiders' Mumaks, not to mention the Ringwraith's Black Steeds, the Uruak-Hai's Broad-bladed Swords, and possessions are clearly an important part of many Shadow strategies.

Which prompts the question - how do you get rid of them?

Gandalf, of course, has the answer to this one as well, in Roll of Thunder.

The trick to Roll of Thunder is deciding when to play it. Shadow strategies that rely heavily on possessions will usually have many more of them available than you have Rolls of Thunder to discard them with, so they must be played at the right time to gain the maximum benefit.

With some Shadow strategies, this isn't difficult - against Dunland, you'll usually want to discard Hides as soon as you see it, unless something like a War Club is going to deprive you of a possession at a critical time; with Palantir decks, discard the Palantir as soon as you see it (the Palantir is really the only current reason to use Roll of Thunder in the fellowship phase).

Wargs and Mumaks are a little more difficult, however; some judgement is needed to discard the right possessions, lest you use up all your Rolls of Thunder only to find yourself confronted by an unbeatable mounted minion just when you wanted to double move. Particularly with Wargs and Mumaks, which are expensive enough that there are rarely more than two on the table at once, it's usually most effective to save the discard until the first step of a double move (site 5, double moving into site 6, is often a good choice), turning a difficult battle into an easy clearing of the table.

With Uruks and Ringwraiths, waiting for the minion that will cause the most damage if it gets to a skirmish aided by its possession - Berserkers are a prime candidate - is often worthwhile. For Ringwraiths, that usually means when you're at a plains sit (being able to discard a Black Steed from Ulaire Attea at site 2 can often mean the difference between two wounds and two dead companions, if you're lucky enough to draw Roll of Thunder early on), or when you see The Witch-King with his Pale Blade. Similarly, with Moria, being able to discard a Cave Troll's Hammer (or Chain) will usually make more difference than discarding a Goblin Scimitar. Careful of the Army of Haradrim being able to replay the Mumak with the twilight you've just added though!

Which brings us to the other benefit of Roll of Thunder - it can be played in the maneuver phase, and moreover, for just the amount of twilight to make Gandalf, The White Wizard, strength 10. As such, it can always be used for the strength bonus if you find yourself playing against a deck that doesn't use possessions - remember, it doesn't need to spot a possession in order to be played.

by Trek Barnes

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