A - STEWARDS OF GONDOR SARUMAN'S CHALLENGE DECK With Saruman's deck, Glorfindel and a group of Hobbits travel into the civilized confines of Gondor, south of the White Mountains, to rally mannish factions against Sauron's hosts. The deck relies heavily on attack avoidance. The hazards mix is a pure Orc/Troll strategy. Starting Companies (2) • Glorfindel II controls Anborn. • Fatty, Sam, and Adrazar form the second company. Fatty has Cram and Adrazar has Horn of Anor. Suggested Sites for Resources • Glamdring - Glittering Caves, Isle of the Ulond, Moria, or Tolfalas • Hauberk of Bright Mail (x2) - Glittering Caves, Isle of the Ulond, Moria, or Tolfalas • Knights of DolAmroth - Dol Amroth • Men of Anfalas - Long Galen • Men of Anorien - Minas Tirith • Men o fLebennin - Pelargir • Palantir of Orthanc - Isengard • Rangers of Ithilien - Henneth Annun • Sapling of the White Tree - Glittering Caves, Isle of the Ulond, Moria, or Tolfalas • Scroll of Isildur - Tolfalas or Moria • Treebeard - Wellinghall • Riders of Rohan (sideboard) - Edoras • The White Tree (sideboard) - Minas Tirith Resource Play As quickly as possible, Adrazar and the Hobbits need find themselves in Gondor so that Adrazar can recruit factions. Stopping at the Glittering Caves along to way to pick up a major item is ideal. Glorfindel and Anborn can pick up other resources as needed. Saruman During the first free organization phase after bringing Saruman into play, tap him to bring Vanishment, Wizard's Laughter, and Wizard Uncloaked from the sideboard to the discard pile. He can then tap to take one of these spells to your hand as needed. Consider bringing Saruman into play at Isengard. This allows him to play the Palantir of Orthanc, and to use it, without moving. When using the Palantir, Saruman needs other characters in his company to support his corruption checks. You may consider moving Saruman to Wellinghall -as it is safer- if he wishes to use the Palantir every turn. In general, Saruman has plenty of tasks that require him to tap. If you lose key characters and need Saruman's presence in the field, give the Palantir to another character and bring Align Palantir in from the sideboard. A Hobbit is always agood choice to use an aligned Palantir. Hazard Play A major aspect of an Orc/Troll strategy is forcing so many combat rolls on your opponent that statistically some strikes are bound to be successful, even if the prowesses seem weak. The creatures in this deck have a high frequency of play, so it is usually a safe gambit to build them up in your hand waiting for a Minions Stir or Two or Three Tribes Present. Sideboard After playing Sapling ofthe White Tree, tap Saruman to bring in The White Tree from your sideboard. After playing Palantir of Orthanc, you probably want Align Palantir. On the hazard end of things, your sideboard has the potential of destroying a Wizard opponent's general influence. This makes your opponent vulnerable to Muster Disperses and to your influence attempts against his marshalling point sources. If you recognize early in the game that your opponent is playing many factions, you may want to dedicate An Unexpected Outposts to bringing these hazards into your play deck. Use An Unexpected Outposts to recycle Minions Stirs and Doors of Night otherwise.