After yesterday's weak orc, today's is somewhat stronger, but not as playable.
Orc-watch # Hazard # Creature # 1 MP # 9/- # Keyable: Sl, Dd, Sh, Dh
Orcs. Three Strikes.
Again, like all the other orcs, this card is best with a plethora of enhancements, but even on its own it can at least tap several members of a company.
First off, this card has 9 prowess. This means even some of the tough warriors will have a problem staying untapped against this card. And with the max enhancement, you can get them to 5 strikes at 16, something to be feared by any compnay. Their only real problem is their lower keyablility than most creatures. That shouldn't be too much of a problem in an orc deck, though. You can use Angmar Arises and Reaching Shadow to greatly enhance the range of this card (and include companies moving to/from Rivendel) and if you want to go all the way, you can play Morgul-night. Plus, often the times you want to play Orc-watch is when your opponent is going to a shadow-hold (to slow down Mr. Jones).
Orc-watch can be a decent card even outside of a deck. For instance, since Orc-watch is a starter common, there's a good chance you can pull one off in sealed deck. Then, as your opponent heads to Moria you can be pretty sure of tapping three characters. Even though your opponent may have a pretty good chance of getting the one MP, this can be better than him being able to play what he wanted to there. This card can also be a good choice agianst an Indiana Jones deck, as you will probably at least tap (or maybe wound if they stay untapped) the characters that would go for the Rescue Prisoners, or maybe tap the Scout for a Thorough Search. And a couple of these in sequence can tap most of a company. An Indy deck, though, tends to have good orc fighting, but the reasons for visiting Shadow/dark-lands/holds.
So Orc-watch is one of the best cards in a orc-based hazard strategy and can be good just on its own. Watch out for Dwarven companies, though...
| Ratings for Orc-watch: | |
|---|---|
| Isildur: | 7.0 |
| Frodo: | 6.0 |
| Samwise: | 7.0 |
| Cirdan: | 6.0 |
| Beorn: | 6.9 |
| Fingolfin: | 6.5 |
| Strider: | 7.0 |
| Legolas: | 4.0 |
| Bandobras Took: | 6.5 |
| 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.