Ambush

Southron Invaders (6C81) showcases one of the few cards that not only have the ambush keyword, but interact with other cards which have it.

Ambush is a loaded keyword that appears only on minions. If a minion with Ambush is assigned to a skirmish in the assignment phase by the Free Peoples player, the Shadow player may add X twilight to the pool. First introduced in The Two Towers, it's the signature keyword of the Raider Southron subculture, although it appears on a handful of cards in other Shadow cultures.

In theory, Ambush was meant to allow Southron Shadow decks to afford powerful, expensive skirmish events like On the March (4C241) and Whirling Strike (4C260) , or pricey card effects like Desert Warrior (4C222) , Southron Spear (4C255) , and Army of Haradrim (5R70) . Decipher also meant for it to synergize with Southron oliphaunt mounts like Mûmak (5C73) : if you give a minion Fierce, that means it can activate Ambush twice per site. In practice, it did not work out that way.

Ambush was one of several mechanics in Towers Block that did very little on its own unless the player had both halves of a combo. Ambush minions are generally overpriced up front, but partially refund that cost later in the turn. However, that partial refund comes late in the turn, making it only useful for the Skirmish Phase and Regroup Phase at that site, as well as all of the phases of any subsequent site if the opponent makes a double move. If the Shadow player doesn't have a card in hand or in play that can use excess twilight in those specific phases, and their opponent doesn't move again this turn, that twilight will very likely go to waste.

Many of the cards that purport to use this excess twilight, like Howl of Harad (4U236) and Harsh Tongues (7C150) , require the Shadow player to win skirmishes or keep their minions alive. That's unreliable, because Ambush minions are just not very good. Even in a swarm, a minion like Southron Scout (4C252) isn't likely to contribute very much at all, especially compared to Goblin Runner (1U178) . Ambush didn't end up particularly useful to deter double moves, either, because a bit of extra twilight is nowhere near as good as minions that actually survive the skirmish phase. In practice, players ended up finding a use for the few reliable twilight dump cards, like Whirling Strike (4C260) and Red Wrath (7U157) , but mainly used them against opponents that flooded rather than pairing them with the relatively weak Ambush minions.

Ambush also has a key weakness in that it triggers only when the Free Peoples player assigns the Ambush minion to one of their characters. The Free Peoples player can simply choose not to do that, and let the Shadow player assign their minion freely if it's too weak to make a big difference anywhere. A clever opponent can guess that the Shadow player is winding up to use Red Wrath (7U157) simply by looking at the twilight pool, or, when faced with a swarm, can choose to assign the (generally stronger!) non-Ambush minions and leave the Ambush minions for the Shadow player to assign. This doesn't come up too often, but it does mean that Southron swarm strategies couldn't count on Ambush triggering, making Ambush-based decks that much more unreliable.

Ambush largely came and went with the Southron subculture as a whole. It only appears on a small handful of cards after set 7.

Comprehensive Rules Entries

From the Comprehensive Rules:

When the Free Peoples player assigns one of his characters to skirmish a minion with the keyword "Ambush ," the Shadow player who owns that minion may add . (See assignment phase.)

If your minion with Ambush is assigned by the Free Peoples player, you may add two tokens to the twilight pool. The Free Peoples player may decide not to assign any characters to your minion with ambush, allowing you to assign it later in the assignment phase.

When a minion with the keyword Ambush is given the keyword Ambush by another card or special ability, each of those instances of ambush is resolved separately. When that minion is assigned to a skirmish by the Free Peoples player, the Shadow player has the option to add pool for each instance in the minion's text.

Desert Scout (7U134) ("Ambush .") is equipped with Raider Bow (7C155) ("Bearer is ... Ambush ."). When it is assigned to a skirmish by the Free Peoples player, the Shadow player may add , , neither, or both (as separate actions).

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Cards with Ambush

This includes cards like Raider Bow (7C155) that grant a minion Ambush.

Portrait	Card Name	Culture	Card Type	Game Text
	Foul Horde (5R50)	Isengard	Minion • Orc	Warg-rider. While Foul Horde is not exhausted, it is fierce. While Foul Horde has at least 3 vitality, it is Ambush . While Foul Horde has at least 4 vitality, it is damage +1.
	Foul Horde (5R125)	Isengard	Minion • Orc	Warg-rider. While Foul Horde is not exhausted, it is fierce. While Foul Horde has at least 3 vitality, it is ambush . While Foul Horde has at least 4 vitality, it is damage +1.
	Fearsome Dunlending (11C79)	Men	Minion • Man	Ambush . When you play this minion at a plains site, you may spot an unbound companion to make that companion resistance –1 until the end of the turn.
	Warrior of Dunland (11C103)	Men	Minion • Man	Ambush . While this minion is at a plains site, it gains an additional ambush .
	Enraged Southron (12C64)	Men	Minion • Man	Ambush . The move limit for this turn is +1.
	Horror of Harad (14R13)	Orc	Minion • Half-troll	Ambush . Damage +1. Fierce. Lurker. Muster. Toil 2.
	Desert Legion (4R218)	Raider	Minion • Man	Southron. Ambush. While you can spot 4 burdens, this minion is strength +5. While you can spot 5 burdens, this minion is fierce. While you can spot 6 burdens, this minion is damage +1.
	Southron Commander (4U249)	Raider	Minion • Man	Southron. Ambush . Assignment: Spot 6 companions to assign this minion to the Ring-bearer. The Free Peoples player may discard an unbound companion to prevent this.
	Southron Fighter (4R251)	Raider	Minion • Man	Southron. Ambush . Maneuver: Exert this minion and spot 5 companions to make the Free Peoples player exert a companion.
	Southron Scout (4C252)	Raider	Minion • Man	Southron. Ambush .
	Southron Soldier (4C254)	Raider	Minion • Man	Southron. Ambush .
	Southron Troop (4R256)	Raider	Minion • Man	Southron. Archer. Ambush . To play, spot a Southron. Assignment: Spot 7 companions to assign this minion to the Ring-bearer. The Free Peoples player may make you discard a companion (except the Ring-bearer) to prevent this.
	Southron Veterans (4R257)	Raider	Minion • Man	Southron. Ambush . Maneuver: Exert this minion and spot 6 companions to make the Free Peoples player exert 2 companions.
	Southron Wanderer (4C258)	Raider	Minion • Man	Southron. Ambush . Assignment: Exert this minion and spot 5 companions to assign this minion to the Ring-bearer. The Free Peoples player may add to prevent this.
	Desert Stalker (5R72)	Raider	Minion • Man	Southron. Ambush . Maneuver: Exert this minion and spot 4 Free Peoples cultures to exert every companion.
	Southron Marcher (5C74)	Raider	Minion • Man	'Southron.'Ambush . While you can spot a Southron, this minion’s twilight cost is -2.
	Southron Runner (5C75)	Raider	Minion • Man	Southron. Ambush . While you can spot a Southron, this minion’s twilight cost is -2.
	Southron Traveler (5C76)	Raider	Minion • Man	Southron. Ambush . Response: If a Southron is about to take a wound, remove to prevent that wound.
	Southron Invaders (6C81)	Raider	Minion • Man	Southron. Ambush . When you play this minion, you may spot another Southron to play a minion with ambush from your discard pile.
	Desert Runner (7C133)	Raider	Minion • Man	Southron. Ambush . When the Free Peoples player assigns this minion to a character and you have initiative, wound that character.
	Desert Scout (7U134)	Raider	Minion • Man	Southron. Ambush . When the Free Peoples player assigns this minion to a character and you have initiative, wound that character.
	Desert Sneak (7C135)	Raider	Minion • Man	Southron. Ambush . When the Free Peoples player assigns this minion to a character and you have initiative, wound that character.
	Raider Bow (7C155)	Raider	Possession • Ranged Weapon	Bearer must be a Man. Bearer is an archer and Ambush .
	Suzerain of Harad (7R170)	Raider	Minion • Man	Southron. Archer. While you have initiative, the Ring-bearer may not take wounds during the archery phase and this minion is ambush .
	Pelennor Fields (11S253)	Site	Site	Plains. Each minion gains ambush . ​

Cards that interact with Ambush

This includes cards that interact with Ambush without granting it, as well as cards that do not mention Ambush by name but can prevent the Ambush trigger.

Portrait	Card Name	Culture	Card Type	Game Text
	Coif (12R111)	Rohan	Possession • Armor	Bearer must be a Man. Each time a Shadow card adds any number of twilight tokens, you may exert bearer to prevent that. Each time the fellowship moves from a forest site, exert a companion.
	Three Monstrous Trolls (3C114)	Shire	Condition	Tale. Response: If a Shadow card is about to add any number of twilight tokens, exert a Hobbit ally to prevent this.
	Strength in Numbers (5U77)	Raider	Condition	To play, spot a Southron. Plays to your support area. Maneuver: Discard this condition to add for each Man with ambush you spot.
	Southron Invaders (6C81)	Raider	Minion • Man	Southron. Ambush . When you play this minion, you may spot another Southron to play a minion with ambush from your discard pile. ​

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