Sam, Frodo's Gardener (4R315)	Back to The Two Towers Index	Sam's Pack (4R317)



	Set:	The Two Towers
	Kind:	Free Peoples
	Culture:	Shire
	Twilight:	2
	Card Type:	Companion • Hobbit
	Strength:	3
	Vitality:	4
	Resistance:	5
	Game Text:	Ring-bound. Response: If a Shadow card is about to add any number of burdens, spot Frodo and exert Sam to prevent this. Response: If Frodo is killed, make Sam the Ring-bearer (resistance 5).
	Lore:	“‘Frodo wouldn't have got far without Sam....'”
	Rarity:	C



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General Strategy

Similar to the popular Sam, Son of Hamfast, Samwise the Brave aims to thwart burdening shadow sides by preventing the Shadow player from adding burdens altogether rather than removing them afterwards. Samwise the Brave is also capable of preventing many burdens with a single exertion, and may do so outside of the Fellowship Phase when the Shadow player needs them most.

!Samwise the Brave has many pitfalls, however. Most importantly, if he is unable to prevent a burden the Free Peoples needs to rely on other cards for burden removal and is denied from using the most efficient burden-removing card, Sam, Son of Hamfast. Samwise the Brave must be in the fellowship from the start or played soon after in order to be most effective and has to spot Frodo (either as Ring-bearer or Frodo, Frenzied Fighter), while Son of Hamfast is useful no matter when he is played and can continue to use his ability if Frodo dies or the Free Peoples is using an alternate Ring-bearer. Only a handful of Shadow cards are actually capable of adding multiple burdens at once - a majority of them add one at a time and there are few ways to allow Samwise the Brave to use his ability more than 3 times per turn against persistent burden addition from cards like Small Hope. He is also of no help preventing burdens added from sites or Free Peoples cards. These reasons, and considering that the [Shire] ally Melilot Brandybuck is already capable of preventing a burden if need be, cause Samwise the Brave to rarely be used.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strong Versus...

Cards which trigger once a burden is added, such as Gates of the Dead City
Cards which add multiple burdens at once, such as Orc Officer

Weak Versus...

Consistent burden adding
Burdens added from sites or Free Peoples cards
Fellowships with an alternate Ring-bearer

Example Decks

Decklists or links to decks that use this card.

Rules and Clarifications

From the Current Rulings Document:

If something happens to prevent one effect which in turn would have prevented a second effect, the second effect is performed.

Morgul Destroyer is played.(“When you play this minion, you may spot a Nazgûl to add 2 threats. The Free Peoples player may wound the Ring-bearer to prevent this.”) The Free Peoples player wounds the Ring-bearer to prevent the threats from being added. The Free Peoples player then discards Sapling of the White Tree. (“Response: If a Gondor Man is about to take a wound, discard this artifact to prevent that.”) Because Sapling has prevented the effect (a wound) that would have prevented Morgul Destroyer’s effect, the threats are now added.

As per the CRD, for Shadow cards which add burdens as an optional prevent cost such as Grishnakh, Orc Captain, preventing those burdens with cards such as Samwise the Brave will cause Grishnakh to draw 3 cards as the Free Peoples did not meet the criteria (in Grishnakh's case, add 2 burdens) for preventing that action.

Extra Information

Other Versions of Sam

Sam, Samwise the Brave (4C316)