All around the knoll on which the Orcs were gathered little watch-fires sprang up, golden-red in the darkness, a complete ring of them. They were within a long bowshot, but the riders did not show themselves against the light, and the Orcs wasted many arrows shooting at the fires, until Ugluk stopped them.
(Two Towers, p.71)
Orc-warband :: METW & MELE :: Hazard Creature :: 4/- :: 1 MP :: ca & c
Playable: w, s, d, R, S, D
Orcs. Five strikes. If played on a company that has already faced an Orc attack this turn, Orc-warband receives +3 prowess.
Art by Heather Hudson (METW)
Art by Angelo Montanini (MELE)
Orc-warband is a basic card in every set. It's a common in both Wizards and Lidless, and even the most novice player probably has one or two in his collection. This card in among the weakest creatures in the entire set. A promising five strikes is off-set by a terrible prowess of four. Even the lowest hobbit can easily beat a strike from the Orc-warband.
So is this card completely useless? No, in fact, I have included it in many decks. First, it has good playability. About the only place a company is safe from an Orc-warband is in Gondor. Otherwise, between the single wilderness, ruin & lairs, and all the shadow and dark places you are bound to catch someone. An interesting aside for minion decks, Orc-warbands are NOT detainment when keyed to wilderness or ruins & lairs.
Second, it's special ability bumps up the attack's prowess from four to seven. Five strikes at seven is beginning to become effective. In most companies, everyone will end up taking a strike. This means you may well tap those weak characters that the buff warriors normally protect. Since the weak characters wouldn't be there without a purpose - tapping them is generally a good thing.
Third, five strikes is amazing. When your opponent faces five strikes, chances increase that he will blow at least one roll. For example, Gandalf is traveling with Bilbo, Frodo, Sam and Merry. The hazard limit is three. You play some medium strength orc like Orc-warriors. Then you follow with the Warband. Gandalf has six prowess but want to stay untapped, all the hobbits tap. So now your opponent has to roll a six or better with each hobbit and a four or better with Gandalf. The odds are good that at least one will fail.
[Ohtar whispers "Left Behind" as a combo.]
And that does not even take enhancers into account. Pierced by Many Wounds (MEDM) begs to be played with Orc-warband. A Minions Stir (METW and MELE) will increase the Orc-warband to at least six strikes at eight and seven strikes at nine with Doors of Night in play. Now we are cooking with gas! Helms of Iron (MEDM) will give every one of those five plus strikes a body of four making it even harder for your opponent to get the one M.P.
Obviously, an orc hazard strategy works much better against Heros than it does against Minions. An overt minion company will generally have enough prowess to beat the warband without tapping. Still, I am experimenting with an orc/troll hazard strategy to use against minions. I think it is workable because they are so easy to play against minion companies. Whether they can be enhanced to the point of effectiveness remains to be seen.
The thing I love best about orc hazard strategies is that anyone can build one. If you have bought even a few decks and packs, you will have enough cards for an effective Orc/Troll strategy. To play it effectively, remember two things. One, attack in waves, orcs rarely can seriously damage a party unless you play lots of them in a single movement/hazard phase. Two, if an opponent has nothing but high prowess characters, discard your lower power orcs, playing them will just be giving your opponent free M.P.s. That's what the TROLLS are for.
Frerin
Original card review taken from : http://fan.theonering.net/morgulrats/
With the authorization of the webmaster.
The reviewing team consisted of Gwaihir (Chris Farrell), Gimli (Nathan Bruinooge), Ohtar (Charles E. Bouldin, Esq.), Radagast (James Kight), Joshua B. Grace (Beorn), Martijn Steultjens (Fram Frumgarson), Jason Klank (Saruman) and Jeffery Dobberpuhl (Wormtongue)
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