Starting today I will do a series of related cards: Denizens.
Arouse Denizens - Resource - Short-event
The prowess of one automatic-attack at a Ruins and Lairs site is increased by 3 until the end of the turn. Cannot be duplicated at a given site.
There are several great aspects of this card. First, it boosts an Auto-attack by three prowess at a Ruins and Lairs, the most common site type. +3 is quite a bonus, and often someone goes to a site so that the auto-attack is easily beatable (or are planning on having a character take -3). This can make that a dangerous prospect.
One of the greatest aspects of this card is that, though it makes auto-attacks formidable, it's not a creature, so there's no MPs to be gained. Also, it can be played on guard, making a surprise to people who think that they can easily go in and get a card.
As I mentioned before, Ruins and Lairs are the most common sites. They also tend to be less dangerous than the shadow holds and dark holds. Plus, those that are dangerous tend to be dragon lairs, and this card on-guard with a dragon at home is quite a lovely prospect (Agburanar was just talking dirty with Leucaruth and got aroused ;-)
This card also works well with several other cards (especially when one of them is played on guard). Consider playing Choking Shadows first and then this card on guard (is he bluffing? no, my auto-attack is at +5) or having the Eye of Sauron out (Sauron's will keeps his eye from falling out). This card is also deadly along with the other denizens cards, and I will go into further detail at the end of this miniseries.
There are, of course, a few minor problems with this card. The main one is time. If your opponent isn't too concerned about wasting a turn, he can just wait a turn and the denizens become docile again. However, if you are playing a 1 deck (tourney-type) or are close in a game, one turn is too much to waste. Another (minor) problem with this card is that it only works on one attack, so you can't (for instance) make Smaug's auto-attack +3 and his at home +3 too or use one Arouse Denizens to hit multiple companies.
So all in all, Arous Denizens is a very good card, good on its own and even better with similar cards.
| Ratings for Arouse Denizens: | |
|---|---|
| Isildur: | 8.0 |
| Strider: | 6.0 |
| Frodo: | 8.0 |
| Gandalf: | 7.0 |
| Legolas: | 4.5 |
| Eonwe: | 6.0 |
| Samwise: | 6.0 |
| Smaug: | 6.0 |
| Farmer Maggot: | 8.0 |
| Wormtongue: | 5.0 |
| Average: | 6.5 |
Card names and text copyright 1996 by Iron Crown Enterprises, all rights reserved. This document copyright 1996 by Trevor Stone. Permission given to duplicate so long as no profit is made and the copyright notice is kept in tact, blah, blah, blah.