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| AnxiousChieftain |
![]() Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 11:02 pm |
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--- description ---
This article gives a list of 10 great minions who can be splashed into virtually any deck, changing your deck from mediocre to competent.
--- end description ---
Just about every Shadow side could use a splash or two. Sometimes, cultures are about 1 pea short of a casserole when it comes to a strategy, and they just need a helping hand to make them a force to be reckoned with. That’s where splashing minions come in. These minion splashes can be added to any deck, regardless of what culture you’re using, making a huge impact.
The way I see it, there are only 2 things that a minion must have in order to be a true splash minion:
1: He must have no spotting requirements. If he needs to spot 2 Goblins to use his ability, how can he be added to a Nazgul deck?
2: His ability must be useful in nearly every deck type. For example, Morgul Skirmisher fits the first requirement, but his exerting ability doesn’t really fit the second requirement.
With only those 2 requirements, there are certainly a lot of minions that are capable of being splashed. Some are very good splashes, some are not so good. With that being said, here is my list of what I consider the Top 10 Minions that can be splashed into virtually any deck.
#10: Ugluk, Ugly Fellow
For the 10th spot on the list, Ugluk, Ugly Fellow was chosen. At only 4 twilight, he can easily dish out 4 wounds, which is great for stopping a fellowship from double-moving. He is also capable of being 12 strength, which overwhelms most generic companions.
Ugluk really works best against non-Hunter decks, but even against a deck with Hunters he can be a force to be reckoned with. He can really mess up the Free People’s assignments: do they assign Ugluk to their hunter, negating his exerting ability, but allowing their other companions to face the other strong minions in play? Or do they allow Ugluk to beat up a non-hunter, and use their hunter to attack your other minions?
Ugluk just barely makes the Top 10 cut, coming just ahead of minions such as Saruman, Black Traitor and Ulaire Enquea, Duplicitous Lieutenant.
#9: Black Gate Sentry
Wounding a companion is pretty much always a good thing, and wounding is what Black Gate Sentry does best. For 5 twilight, Black Gate Sentry can easily cause 3 wounds to the companion he is assigned to; even if the Sentry doesn’t win, he still gets to give 2 wounds.
The Sentry is especially good at killing companions with no way to place exertions or wounds on minions before the skirmish phase. Most skirmish-oriented decks are vulnerable to the Sentry.
#8: Desert Lord
Desert Lord has been splashed since the days of TTT. With three vitality, Desert Lord’s archery ability can place 2 targeted exertions on the fellowship, which is especially useful versus companions who must exert in order to perform their skirmish abilities.
Just beware of cards that hit Desert Lord before he can use his ability, such as Legolas, Woodland Emissary and Quick as May Be. If you come up against a deck that seems likely to use cards such as these, it is generally a wise idea to play other minions instead of Desert Lord.
#7: Gollum, Skulker
Skulker is a very versatile minion. Since he’s a lurker, his skirmish ability is an ideal strength boost to any other minion. This is great in a swarm deck, since he also becomes a cheap extra minion.
Archery decks will hate playing against Gollum. For 2 twilight, he can soak up a total of 4 archery wounds, allowing your other minions to make it to the skirmish phase with health to spare.
Since he only costs 2 twilight and is almost never roaming, Gollum is a very good choice for a variety of decks.
#6: Mumak Commander, Giant Among the Swertings
Many decks can find no solution to one of the most powerful companions made: Eowyn, Lady of Ithilien. Mumak Commander effectively neutralizes her by exhausting her in the maneuver phase. He also shuts down Legolas, Greenleaf and Aragorn, Ranger of the North, as well as many other companions.
At 14 strength, Mumak Commander can often add another wound during the skirmish phase, discouraging a double-move.
The only downside is his high cost, but it is generally worth the 6 twilight to get to place 2 exertions in the maneuver phase.
#5: Ulaire Lemenya, Eternally Threatening
For a total of 5 twilight, Ulaire Lemenya gives you a fierce minion with decent stats, along with 1-7 threats. Very often, he will add 2 threats, and against Three Hunter decks it is very easy to add 4 or 5 threats.
While it may seem that Lemenya works only in decks that key off of threats, he also works very nicely in a beatdown or archery deck. Both of those decks excel at killing companions, triggering even more wounds for the fellowship.
Ulaire Lemenya also can throw a wrench into any deck that adds threats as the cost for its special abilities. The new  hunter strategy is a good example of this, since Rumil and Orophin both need to add threats to use their archery abilities.
#4: Grima, Wormtongue
When Grima was released in The Two Towers, he instantly became one of the most splashed cards in the game. Not only did he reduce the power of tanked up companions, he also used his ability to clog up the Free Peoples player’s hand. Rohan was very popular at the time, but they always had to watch out for this sneaky minion.
In today’s game, Grima’s best use is to take out a beefed up Durin III, Dwarven Lord. Durin is nearly impossible to beat in a skirmish when he is loaded with possessions and artifacts, but take those cards away and he falls to only 7 strength. And since Grima can exert twice, there’s a good chance that you could also rip apart another Dwarf as well. Talk about a big hand clog!
For an extra bit of strategy, consider adding Grima to a deck that plays Shadow conditions on companions (Uruk Trackers, Nazgul, etc). These cards can be counted as one of the three cards necessary to use Grima’s ability, allowing Grima to punish companions who would normally fall short of the requirement.
#3: Ulaire Enquea, Lieutenant of Morgul
This baddy is one of the best splashes, and he is the main reason that fellowships do not play more than 5 companion. The mere threat of Enquea being included is often enough to keep fellowships in check.
At 6 twilight, Ulaire Enquea isn’t exactly cheap. But that’s okay, because he has super stats and a heck of an ability. If the Free Peoples player plays 6 companions, Enquea can come into play and take out their best companion. And since his ability can also be triggered by spotting 5 burdens, Enquea fits right into any corruption deck.
Even if the fellowship does not contain 6 companions, playing Enquea isn’t necessarily a bad idea; he has 11 strength, 4 vitality, and is fierce, which isn’t bad for 6 twilight. This is especially helpful against archery decks.
Ulaire Enquea has literally changed the way that the game is played. With his directed wounding, he can take what looks like an auto-loss for you and change it into an auto-win, simply by taking out a vital companion.
#2: Ulaire Nelya, Third of the Nine Riders
Before Shadows was released, the site path was generally not a very important part of the deck. People knew what to expect, since there were so few selections for each individual site number.
But with the release of Shadows, the site path became a very important part of the deck. Having a good site path can now easily alter the course of the game, and with the ability to play any site at any time you can always surprise your opponent.
That’s where Ulaire Nelya, Third of the Nine Riders comes in. Nelya is fairly cheap, with very respectable stats and a game-breaking ability. He’s also fierce, which is almost always an excellent thing; an extra wound never hurt (unless, of course, you were the one receiving the wound).
Now, check out his ability. With just one exertion in the Shadow phase, you can switch the current site for another site of your own choosing. Pause and think of the grand possibilities of his game text. How many times have you needed a specific site on the adventure path, but regrettably, your opponent is the one playing the sites? Or wanted to continually play the same site again and again and again? With Ulaire Nelya, the sky is the limit (or rather, the 9 sites in your adventure deck).
Here are 3 of the things Ulaire Nelya is best at:
1) Abuse ‘when you move to’ sites, such as Neekerbreekers’ Bog & Courtyard Parapet. Simply play the site, perform the ability, exert Nelya, and repeat as needed.
2) If your own fellowship is in the lead, use Nelya to switch the site to a site which would be advantageous to your own fellowship, such as The Prancing Pony or Old Forest Road.
3) Use an exertion to switch the current site to a site with a Shadow ability, such as Buckland Homestead of Shores of Nen Hithoel. After using the site’s ability, exert Nelya again to put the site back in your deck to be used later.
With Nelya’s 3 vitality, it is possible to have the fellowship move to City Gates, take a trip to Woody-end, and finish up with Cavern Entrance! Now that’s some fast traveling! 
Ulaire Nelya is so powerful, he almost took 1st place. But that prestigious position is awarded to...
#1: Goblin Runner
For the best splash minion, I chose a minion that’s been around since day 1 of LOTR. It’s seems obvious where Goblin Runner fits best: in a swarm deck. With his twilight adding ability, not only do you an extra minion for your swarm, you also add twilight to the pool! The only other minion that can really compete with Goblin Runner for the title of Best Swarm Splash Minion is Ulaire Nertea, Messenger of Dol Guldur; but since Nertea is X-listed (with good reason!), Goblin Runner gets to bring home the prize.
But don’t make the mistake of thinking that his uses end with swarms. I myself have found that he works very well in decks with the Balrog and/or Trolls; they can always use more twilight. Or, he can be used as a poor man’s version of Morgul Gates: you only get a net twilight reduction of 1 instead of 2, but you also get another minion added to the mix.
Other Splash Minions
Grima, Chief Counselor - If multi-cultural fellowships are popular in your meta, this version of Grima is a must-have. He can completely rip apart decks, included the semi-popular Refuge deck.
Orkish Footman - For only 3 twilight, Orkish Footman can have a huge amount of strength. Only problem is, if your deck wants to use the twilight for your featured minions, Orkish Footman won’t be too much of a help.
Saruman, Black Traitor / Ulaire Enquea, Duplicitous Lieutenant - Both of these minions have the capability to take out a condition (or 2 conditions in Enquea’s case!). Saruman is cheaper than Enquea, but he cannot skirmish or take archery wounds.
And there are even more! Even if a minion isn’t listed here, it doesn’t mean that it isn’t a good splash. Some good splashes are very dependent on the meta, and so could fit right into your deck. Just experiment and find out what works best for you.
Conclusion
As you can hopefully see, splashing a minion or two to your deck can greatly aid it and bring you victory where you would normally find defeat. If you have an open slot or two in your deck, consider adding one of these minions. Odds are, it’ll improve your deck! |
| Last edited by AnxiousChieftain on Fri Mar 02, 2007 10:22 am; edited 8 times in totalMODS RULE. - lem0nhead |
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| NBarden |
![]() Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 1:53 am |
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Joined: 28 Dec 2006
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Insert Goblin Runner in as numbah 2 and its a nice little article. I skimmed through the cards real quick, and Goblin Runner is definitely better than those other cards. Probably even better than Shotgun Enquea.
Oh hey, speaking of Goblin Runners, I FINALLY BEAT RANSOM! I pulled what’s called my Balrog swarm, in which I throw out tons of minions and a Balrog off about 6-7 twilight. Incidentally, two of those Goblin runners were involved...
Sorry about the spam, but I’m just thrilled that I finally beat him....
Anyway, I’ll review it in more detail and edit the post to say something productive.
EDIT: Okay, altogether, good article, but it was just to short. And I’m mad that you stole my idea for next months article. Actually, next months article is an exhaustive look at which cards from certain cultures work in other cultures. So we stole each other’s idea. 
Anyways, good article, but rather short....maybe make it a top ten list or something. I withhold judgment for a later time. |
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| Anonymous Prodigy |
![]() Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 9:01 am |
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| As NBarden pointed out, Goblin Runner needs to be moved up a slot or two. I can’t believe Black Rider is missing from this list! The length was also shorter than normal, especially if compared to other articles written by you. Otherwise, it was a good article; well formatted, and very easy to read. I give it a 4. |
| I had to put something here. |
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| AnxiousChieftain |
![]() Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 9:05 am |
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Joined: 15 Jul 2005
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Location: Maryland
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Goblin Runner got moved to up to #3. He’s good, but I don’t think he’s better than Nelya or Enquea.
I might add a short list of 5 runners up. This list would include Grima, Chief Counselor for sure, and maybe minions like Black Gate Sentry and/or Mumak Commander, Giant Among the Swertings. If you have any minions who’d like to be added, let me know and I’ll see if they make the cut.
Thanks!
- AC
P.S. Good job beating Ransom with the Goblin Runners. Kinda proves my point! |
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| NBarden |
![]() Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 1:29 pm |
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| shieldelf |
![]() Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 1:38 pm |
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| I liked it, since I know nothing about splashes (or most other stuff like that) I cant offer any help but I liked it, kinda helps me understand what splashing does. |
Elfs pwn, need I say more???
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| sickofpalantirs |
![]() Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 4:02 pm |
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Location: somwhere, over the rainbow way up high. There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby.
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| good article, but you definitely need more. add at least another 5. |
Sop's haves/ top wants
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| macheteman |
![]() Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 4:10 pm |
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yes, SoP is right. add another five and you will most likely get a five. from me.
-macheteman |
Check out my best article The Utterly Corrupt Corruption,
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| AnxiousChieftain |
![]() Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 8:21 pm |
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Due to overwhelming demand, 5 more splashes have been added! 
NBarden wrote: Actually, Goblin Runner works in any deck against any deck. Nelya only works if you run control of sites, and Enquea only works in corruption or versus big fellowships.
Yes, Goblin Runner can be easier to splash, but the abilities of Nelya and Enquea are arguably better than the ability of Goblin Runner. I really think that all 3 of them could tie for 1st place, but that isn’t possible, so I have to divide them in some way. I dunno... I’ll think about it for a bit, and then I might switch up the top 3 splashers.
Thanks!
- AC |
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| NBarden |
![]() Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 8:29 pm |
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My ranking, Goblin Runner, Site-Swap Nelya, Shotgun Enquea. That should be the order. Cause Site-Swap Nelya does work for specific strategies vs Enquea works against certain strategies. Better to have a card work for you then possibly against someone else. And Goblin Runner works for ANYTHING.
Its especially cool comboed with Scurrying Goblin in an  deck .
You get a 4. |
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