Continuing with a mini-theme from a week or so ago, I once heard someone mention that the following card was the worst in Wizards
Horses # Resource # Short-event
Playable only at the end of the organization phase. Hazard limit for a company is decreased by two (to a minimum of 2). The prowess of any hazard creatures played against this company is modified by +2.
Well, this card certainly doesn't deserve to be given the title of worst card in the game (over Morannon?), but using it can be pretty risky. In fact, most of the raters said something to the effect of "This card may be useful, but with all the nasty creatures out now there's no WAY I'm going to play this card."
First, this card has a very good ability. Reduce the hazard limit. No skills required, no regions required, no character tapping, nothing. The only two limitations are that it's to a minimum of two (as almost everything is) and you have to play it during the organization phase (otherwise: "surprise, you can't play those other two hazards you wanted to play!"). With a medium sized company of four or five, this can be very helpful. It makes it a lot more likely that there will be a character or two untapped during the site phase. With a large company, chances are your opponent won't have that many hazards to play on you, and with a smaller company you don't get the full effect. This card pretty well eliminates big combo playing (such as multiple cards to change the region types) as well as some of the weaker cards aimed at tapping your characters. It helps to know what's in your opponent's hand (so you can tell how many hazards she wants to play), but reducing the hazard limit by two is almost always a good thing, especially if you are heading to a dangerous area.
This card has a big drawback for such a big bonus, it can make it very dangerous for you to actually GET to your site. +2 modification to all hazard creature attacks is as good as a Clouds, and you don't get to use it next turn. Plus, when you can face ten orcs from one Two or Three Tribes Present, playing this card, especially when your don't yet know what's in your opponent's deck, can be deadly.
This card is most useful against a corruption, roadblock, or other events- based deck. Thus, it may be best to put this card in your sideboard and see what your opponent's deck holds before you bring it in. Of course, if you are planning on canceling all the attacks you face (4 hobbits, two others, Torque of Hues, nature ring), this may be a good card to pack.
| Ratings for Horses: | |
|---|---|
| Isildur: | 4.5 |
| Frodo: | 6.0 |
| Bandobras Took: | 6.0 |
| Cirdan: | 2.0 |
| Alatar: | 5.0 |
| Legolas: | 3.0 |
| Samwise: | 2.1 |
| Gandalf: | 5.0 |
| Farmer Maggot: | 4.0 |
| Strider: | 5.0 |
| Beorn: | 7.5 |
| Wormtongue: | 3.5 |
| Fingolfin: | 3.0 |
| Merry: | 5.0 |
| Average: | 4.4 |
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.