Orc Soldier (1C271)

Orc Scouting Band (1U270)

Back to Fellowship of the Ring Index

Orc War Band (1R272)

	Set:		Fellowship of the Ring
	Kind:		Shadow
	Culture:		Sauron
	Twilight:		2
	Card Type:		Minion • Orc
	Strength:		7
	Vitality:		2
	Site Number:		6
	Game Text:		Skirmish: Exert this minion to wound a character he is skirmishing.
	Lore:		Bearing cruel weapons, Orcs go forth from Mordor to serve the Eye.
	Rarity:		C
The information presented above about LoTR TCG, both literal and graphical, is copyrighted by Decipher Inc. This website is not produced, endorsed, supported, or affiliated with Decipher.

General Strategy

Generic wounding Orc minion, the Orc Soldier, like Orc Scouting Band, Orc Hunters, and Orc War Band, contains the exert-to-wound skirmish special ability. These minions play best in the "Sauron Grind" Shadow, with support area conditions like Under the Watching Eye and Orc Bowmen causing uncomfortable assignment match-ups. The skirmish special ability allows for the Shadow player to place a wound on a free peoples character even when matched against a much stronger companion, and saves the Shadow player deck space, as the game text is effectively a built-in Mordor's Strength.

As with most Sauron minions, the high site number and roaming penalty can be cost-restrictive, although Orc Scouting Band reduces the roaming penalty for further Sauron Orcs played. Orc Soldier is the cheapest exert-to-wound minion, making it the most efficient at using its ability, although it is more likely to lose skirmishes.

With skirmish phase game text, Orc Soldier, Orc Scouting Band, and Orc War Band can be countered by pre-skirmish wounding such as Quick As May Be or Legolas, Greenleaf; however, [Sauron] grind support offers powerful pre-skirmish wounding cards such as Hate.

In the Movie Block format, Gothmog's Warg can increase the vitality of these exert-to-wound minions, making assignment match-ups even more difficult for the Free Peoples player.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strong Versus...

• Natural fit in [Sauron] Grind deck
• Best played with site-reducing Battle of Helms Deep Expansion Orcs, such as Grishnakh, Orc Captain and Orc Patrol
• Exhausted companions, even those with higher base strengths

Weak Versus...

• Armor or wound prevention
• [Rohan] Mounts and Shadowfax
• Pre-skirmish wounding
• Roaming punishments

Example Decks

Fellowship Block Sauron Grind deck by ket_the_jet

Shadow Draw Deck: 1x The Balrog, Durin's Bane 4x Orc Ambusher 4x Orc Assassin 4x Orc Scouting Band 4x Orc Soldier 2x Tower Assassin 2x Úlairë Enquëa, Lieutenant of Morgul 1x Úlairë Nertëa, Messenger of Dol Guldur 4x Hate 4x Orc Bowmen 1x Our List of Allies Grows Thin 2x Spies of Mordor 4x Under the Watching Eye 3x You Bring Great Evil