Orc Patrol

Sauron's Orcs ranged far and wide, searching for Baggins and the Ring.

At last, the solution to those wimpy Trackers! Until The Battle of Helm's Deep came out the strongest Sauron Tracker was Orc Scouting Band with a strength of 8. This lack of strength made things even harder on the Under the Watching Eye/Orc Bowman decks that were already combating site numbers of 6 which kept the Sauron Orcs roaming for almost half the game. Not only were the Trackers expensive, they couldn't win skirmishes. The -1 to roaming costs just weren't enough to overcome this handicap and few games were won before site 8 or even 9.

Enter the Orc Patrol - no roaming for other Orcs played alongside it after site 3 and a Tracker that can win a skirmish over any unenhanced companion. Now the Under the Watching Eye/Orc Bowman decks really shine. Not only does Orc Patrol eliminate the roaming costs of other Orcs while allowing you to exert him to play Under the Watching Eye, but afterwards he can go on to win his skirmish.

But even more useful is the Orc Patrol's special text. The number of Free Peoples decks based around conditions - Trust Me as You Once Did, Help in Doubt and Need, Gondor Archery and Gondor/Elf Skirmish, etc - makes their ability to discard a Free People's condition invaluable. Even the frequency with which other conditions, such as Tale of Gil-Galad or There and Back Again, are used makes Orc Patrol a useful minion to have around.

No conditions around to discard? The Orc Patrol is also handy when you have a couple of Hates in hand. With his higher vitality he can be exerted twice to play two Hates, allowing you to exhaust a companion, or even kill two of them. Similar with Mordor's Strength, allowing them to potentially kill an unwounded companion, if they can win their skirmish as well.

Strong, with high vitality and special text that has endless possibilities; the Orc Patrol is a great addition to every Sauron deck.