One thing that can't be given is understanding. Knowledge can be givin, but rearely comprehension.
Gift of Comprehension # Resource # Permanent-event # 2 CP
Playable on a Dunadan at a Haven; tap the Dunadan. Gives the bearer sage skill.
This is one of several specific race enhancers from Dragons. While they're all somewhat useful, most people don't play with them, primarily because of the 2 corruption without any MPs.
While Tales of the Hunt, Mathom Lore, etc. often deserve more attention, I can understand why people don't use Gift of Comprehension. While it CAN have a useful effect, it's rarely worth the deck space and corruption points. Sage is a very useful skill. There are plenty of cards that require them to play such as ring tests and information cards. Also, in the last two expansions, there have been several cards that make sage a very good passive skill to have, allowing you to remove a permanent event or to tap to produce a nice effect. It's probably second only to ranger in its passive uses, so it's a good idea to have a couple sages in your deck. This is the sort of planning that should happen beforehand, though. Characters like Annalena are good additions to most companies, there are some powerful characters like Thrain and Cirdan that are sages. I often include Ioreth in my starting company if I have a free GI, not to adventure, but to sit at Rivendell and play cards like Marvels Told or Master of Wood, Water, and Hill. Many of the sages are rather weak, but what else are buff characters around for? While there may have been one or two situations when I wanted a sage around and didn't have one, I've never felt a need for this card. Of the 10 or so Dunedain who are not sages, many are designed to be fighters. Usually, a player wants Aragorn, Boromir, Beretar, Faramir &c. to be out fighting, probably laden with item corruption points. Adding another couple CPs so the fighter can play Dreams of Lore isn't usually the best idea.
The only cause I can think of for this card is if you have a card or cards that MUST have a sage, ring tests for instance, and only one or two sages in the deck, Gift of Comprehension may be a good "bail out" card in the sideboard so you can make a sage from someone like Imrahil. This isn't even very common, as 4 times out of 5 your wizard has the sage skill. But for this limited use, Gift of Comprehension isn't a particularly useful card, especially since you can't even store it. It even makes you more susceptable to Gnaw With Words.
| Ratings for Gift of Comprehension: | |
|---|---|
| Isildur: | 2.0 |
| Farmer Maggott: | 1.0 |
| Wormtongue: | 6.6 |
| Frodo: | 6.0 |
| Samwise: | 5.9 |
| Legolas: | 4.5 |
| Strider: | 4.0 |
| Beorn: | 7.0 |
| Fingolfin: | 2.0 |
| Average: | 4.3 |
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.