The Ringwraith Culture

This Strategy-Note article was written by a anonymous person and was published first on "Lord of the Rings Online (lotrtcg.decipher.com)".

"Nine he gave to Mortal Men, proud and great, and so ensnared them. Long ago they fell under the dominion of the One, and they became Ringwraiths, shadows under his great Shadow, his most terrible servants."

by Joe Lewis

Frodo couldn't have imagined the terror of which Gandalf spoke, but he would soon find out firsthand as the Nine Servants of Sauron relentlessly pursued him to the Ford of Bruinen. Slaves to the will of Sauron, the Ringwraiths exist in between this world and the Twilight World, drawn to the presence and the power of The One Ring. Once great kings of men, each of the Nine carries with him vast strength and power; chief among them being The Witch-king of Angmar, Lord of the Nazgûl. The Ringwraiths rely on unrelenting persistence and chilling precision to achieve their master's goals. While they may not be large in number, the Nine still strike terror into the hearts of all who cross their path.

How does this all translate into The Lord of the Rings TCG? For starters, the consequences of wearing the ring change from risky to dire when facing the Nazgûl. Many cards in the Ringwraith culture key off of spotting a certain amount of burdens, or the Ring-bearer wearing The One Ring. Another trait of the culture is that many of the Nazgûl naturally carry the fierce keyword, meaning they come back for another round of skirmishes. Powerful conditions can also play a factor in a Ringwraith strategy. Cards such as Blade Tip have the ability to cause damage to any companion, or can present disaster to the Ring-bearer should the Nine gain the advantage.

One minion immediately comes to mind when it comes to Ringwraiths - the Witch-King. There are currently two incarnations of the Black Captain, each carrying considerable strengths. The Witch-King, Lord of Angmar, from The Fellowship of the Ring, reflects his Black Rider persona, carrying the fierce trait and gaining strength bonuses while he can spot his loyal Nazgûl. Representing more peril to Frodo personally is the The Witch-King, Lord of the Nazgûl. His ability specifically targets the Ring-bearer, attempting to regain the Ring for his master. If you can catch Frodo exhausted or with several wounds already, this can turn into a lot of burdens as well. Any way you slice it up, the Lord of Morgul can present major problems to a fellowship.

The Nazgûl also have several minions that fit well in almost any deck. For all-around cross-cultural use, you can enlist the services of Úlairë Enquëa, Lieutenant of Morgul. His special ability is good at keeping large fellowships in check. Once they hit six companions, Enquea can often kill someone outright before Archery fire is even exchanged. Úlairë Nertëa is another minion that finds his way into other decks. Moria benefits quite well from being able to play extra minions with his ability. The Ringwraith culture is mostly a stand-alone culture, able to incorporate some bits and pieces from the others. The strength of having powerful minions is accompanied by the weakness of each of those minions carrying the unique characteristic. The Nazgûl have the potential to decimate a fellowship before it knows what hit it, but also lack a measure of stopping power should the fellowship survive the initial barrage. Given these various strengths and weaknesses, however, the Ringwraiths remain a popular choice among players.