If you can't avoid a situation entirely, at least you can
Dodge # Resource # Short-event
Target character does not tap against one strike (unless he is wounded by the
strike). If wounded by the strike, his body is modified by -1 for the resulting
body check.
Since the general purpose of playing hazards is to tap characters, Dodge can often directly counter this purpose. It's not as powerful as some other cards, but it is more versitile.
In order to effectively look at Dodge, you must also look at Block and Risky Blow. Dodge keeps you untapped and you're at -1 body. Block keeps a warrior untapped with no body modification. Risky Blow gives +3/-1 to a warrior, which he can use like a Dodge (staying untapped at -3 cancels the bonus from the Blow), but the warrior could also tap and try to kill the creature. Thus, Dodge's main advantage is the lack of skill required. You can play it on someone who could not Block like Peath if you expect a Nazgul coming or a Hobbit or someone who's Memories have been Stolen. This is also useful as you can use a Dodge along with a Risky Blow to get around the "one skill card per strike" rule.
So how useful is Dodge? It's especially useful in games wher time is of the utmost importance, mainly one or two deck games. If you have only one character untapped after hazards have been played, you can use Dodge to keep him untapped during the auto attack so he can grab an item, keeping you from wasting a turn. Or if you need to protect someone weak, you can keep a strong character untapped.
Dodge has certain advantages and disadvantages over cards which just untap the character later. The first disadvantage Dodge has is that it's worthelss against cards like Gnaw with Words or River. The untappers can also allow a character to tap to produce an effect several times. The other major disadvantage to Dodge is you can't wait to use it until after the barrage of creatures. If you tap once, you can't untap with it. It does have an advantage, though, in it's ease of play. The untap cards all have restrictions, And Forth He Hastened requires a wizard, Hundreds of Butterflies adds one to the hazard limit, Cram, Waybread, and Healing Herbs all involve getting an item and a corruption point. Dodge can be played anywhere by anyone with only the drawback of -1 body if the character ends up wounded. It can be really effective if you know what's coming with something like Mirror of Galadriel or Here is a Snake! It can also be a pretty good card in sealed deck.
| Ratings for Dodge: | |
|---|---|
| Isildur: | 6.8 |
| Bandobras: | 9.5 |
| Farmer Maggot: | 6.0 |
| Legolas: | 6.0 |
| Strider: | 6.0 |
| Fingolfin: | 8.0 |
| Beorn: | 7.2 |
| Cirdan: | 4.5 |
| Frodo: | 7.5 |
| Samwise: | 6.1 |
| Average: | 6.8 |
Card names and text copyright 1996 by Iron Crown Enterprises, all rights reserved. This document copyright 1997 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.