Guarded Haven :: MEWH :: stage resource permanent-event :: 1 MP :: 1 SP :: u3
Playable on one of your Wizardhavens other than Isengard, The White Towers, or Rhosgobel. The site is protected. Cards that give marshalling points are not playable at the site by your opponent in all cases. A company moving to or from this site is not considered to be moving through the region containing the site (including one less of its region type in their site path). Cannot be duplicated on a given site.
Even without the fact that this card gives an easy marshalling point, it would be worth putting into decks for two reasons: first, as support for fallen-wizard support and bomb cards that require protected havens, and second, as a gadfly to keep your opponent from playing resources at specific sites.
But let's be honest, the first and best reason to play the card is that it gives you 1 MP. If you're a fallen-wizard, you're going to be working with wizardhavens, and so even if you're not going to be keeping Guarded Haven in the play deck, you'll want 2 or 3 of them in the sideboard to provide free MPs later on in the game (in the same way a minion would use Tribute Garnered). The one situation where this wouldn't be the case is if you're not planning on forging your own wizardhavens at all, but just using the existing ones. This can be risky (I've been shut out of havens before as a f-w when my f-w opponent played Fortress of the Towers -and- Fortress of Isen), but only moderately so. Radagast, with a built-in protected wizardhaven, probably has the least intrinsic use for this card. For the others, though, a moderate presence makes sense.
Which other cards require a protected wizardhaven?
Deep Mines:
The Fortresses make more sense to play with this card, but you never know.
Strident Spawn:
See above
An Untimely Brood:
Radagast, the obvious choice for this card, already has a protected wizhaven. Alatar, though, would definitely want Guarded Haven to use this card.
War-forges:
Fortress fodder
Girdle of Radagast:
again, Rhosgobel is probably where this is going to happen, but if Radagast wants to create that wilderness splash somewhere a little more interesting, Guarded Haven is the key.
Await the Onset:
Here's a case where Guarded Haven can really shine. Gandalf needs two protected havens, and since his abilities are primarily faction and character-oriented, he probably won't be as interested in the Fortresses. With his ability to create wizhavens out of freeholds, taking the next steps and making the guarded is an obvious (and necessary) choice.
As the above indicates, Guarded Haven is the most useful to Gandalf, followed closely by Alatar, with the other three fallen-wizards somewhere behind that.
Don't overlook the fact that a Guarded Haven is safer to travel to and from than a regular one. One less region in the path can mean some major limitations on what hazards your opponent can play on you, especially if you're not traveling far. For example, a Hidden-Guarded Haven at Ettenmoors would enable you to set out without the dreaded double wilderness. A setup in Anduin Vales would allow you to set out without having to worry about Slayers or Ambushers. Moving to sites in the same region eliminates the site path altogether, so that your only risk has to do with the site you're moving to.
Finally, a Guarded Haven blocks your opponent from playing cards there. Note that this is a strong block - it doesn't just prevent your opponent from tapping the site, say, or playing items or factions. It prevents him from playing any cards that give MPs. You probably won't have this much leeway, but if you do, imagine the annoyance of swiping one of your opponent's key sites from under him. As Gandalf against a Gondor deck, you can shut off Minas Tirith or Dol Amroth from your opponent. If your opponent looks like he's going to be grabbing for the Keys to the White Towers eventually (maybe it's a haven-sitting deck and it's his only item), turn the Barrow-downs into a guarded haven before he has the chance. The possibilities go on and on. But, admittedly, they're limited. It would be bad economics to stock the Hidden Havens and Guarded Havens necessarily to actively seek out your opponents key sites and guard them. Far more likely is that you'll get lucky and your existing plans to make a site Guarded will end up denying your opponent one key card or another.
Guarded Haven may get overlooked because there are so many other ways to protect your wizhaven (the Fortresses and Wizard's Trove first among them). But don't overlook too far, because all those extra abilities, and the free MP, shouldn't be ignored.
Gimli
Reader Comments
Findegil: Note that this card has since been errata'ed as follows: "Remove 'A company moving to or from this site is not considered to be moving through the region containing the site (including one less region in their site path.' "
Sly Southerner: Also, it can no longer be played as a starting stage resource.
Nimrandir: It was noted in the review that GH is most useful to Gandalf among all the Fallen-wizards. It is, in fact, vital to any Fallen Gandalf player attempting to get out Await the Onset. Gandalf does not have the Fortress cards available to him, so the only ways Gandalf can protect a Wizardhaven to meet the requirements of Await the Onset are to use either Guarded Haven or the Wizard's Trove/White Tree combo.
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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