Desperate Defense of the Ring

[ebridge]

My son and I played last night (Fellowship Block).  I was at site 9 trying to win.  He had The Irresistable Shadow (think that's what it's called) out, and I had 4 burdens on me.  He emptied my deck in the maneuver phase, so I was one burden away from losing the game.  Both Frodo and Merry had Desperate Defense of the Ring on them.  I only had 1 card left in hand, so discarding 3 cards was not an option.

1) Desperate Defense of the ring says something like "if bearer is assigned to a skirmish, then ..."  What happens if I choose to not assign Frodo or Merry (or anyone, for that matter) in the Assignment phase, and then the Shadow player assigns Minions to fight them in his assignment phase?  Have my guys been "assigned to a skirmish" if I did not assign them?  It's crucially important in a situation like that because I'm trying to see if I could have somehow squeaked out a win by letting Frodo get overwhelmed and then Sam picking up the ring for the win.

2) Thin and Stretched - Frodo also had this on him.  It says something like "at end of turn, if ringbearer was not assigned to a skirmish and another opponent was, add a burden."  1) Is there an "end of turn" (and end of game) check at site 9 also, or does Frodo win because he is alive and well after the skirmish phase?  2)  As above, is "assigned to a skirmish" only referring to the Free Peoples player doing the assigning, or is it that anyone who fights in a skirmish was "assigned" to that skirmish by someone (Free Peoples OR Shadow player)?  3) If the ringbearer dies, does this card transfer to the new ringbearer (Sam in this case)?

Thanks so much for your help!

[Yrael]

Any time a minion is assigned to someone who bears DDotR you have to pay the cost regardless of who assigned it. Some shadow cards say "each time the free peoples assigns..." in that case you can allow the shadow to assign the minion and avoid the cost.

At site 9, unless you are at a certain site (I don't remember which one but it isn't FotR), the game ends after the last skirmish has been resolved. There is no regroup phase or end of turn. As for assigned to a skirmish, if he has a minion facing him, it counts regardless of who put it there. Thin and stretched does not transfer, only the ring does (the burdens are reset to 0 as well).