Saruman, Servant of Sauron (17R38)

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Saruman, Instigator of Insurrection (17R37)
Back to Rise of Saruman Index 		Throne of Isengard (17R39)


Set: Rise of Saruman
Kind: Shadow
Culture: Isengard
Twilight: 1
Card Type: Follower
Strength: +2
Game Text: Aid - (1). (At the start of the maneuver phase, you may remove (1) to transfer this to a minion.) Each time bearer wins a skirmish, you may exert a companion.
Lore: "'I gave you the chance of aiding me willingly, but you have elected the way of pain.'"
Rarity: R



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General Strategy

The first thing to note about Saruman, Servant of Sauron is that he remains in play. This means that cards that have to spot him (Their Arrows Enrage, Uruk Ravager etc.) are much easier to play. It also means that other copies of him cannot be played while he is out, so he cannot coexist with minion versions of himself. Consequently Servant of Sauron does not actually fit very well with the [Isengard] and [Uruk-hai] cultures.

Since Servant of Sauron provides extra strength and helps deal damage to opposing fellowships, he naturally complements beatdown decks such as various Nazgul and Troll builds and can be splashed into the vast majority of decks.

!Servant of Sauron also has a natural synergy with Whisper in the Dark and therefore fits well into [Man] wounding decks. He works well with Isengard Ruined as this site can trigger off of him being transferred, although he is hindered by Streets of Bree. Servant of Sauron is vulnerable to follower discard (Erkenbrand's Horn, Gamling's Horn etc.) as the Free Peoples player will not only be able to discard him from play but also received an additional benefit depending on what card they used.

!Servant of Sauron is relatively cheap. He costs one twilight to transfer but is able to use twilight provided by Free Peoples followers.

Skirmish order can sometimes be important while Servant of Sauron is active as his ability to exert companions can target those who are assigned to skirmishes, causing them to die if they then lose that skirmish. This can be particularly significant when there are Lurkers on the table or when combined with effects such as Orkish Skirmisher or Following Uruk.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strong Versus...

  • Fellowships that lack damage bonuses or archery, making him harder to get rid of.
  • Free Peoples followers, as he can use their twilight from transfer to transfer himself.

Weak Versus...

  • Follower discard (Erkenbrand's Horn; Gamling's Horn; Horn of Boromir, The Great Horn; Librarian)
  • Minion discard cards (Leaves play along with bearer) such as Ithilien Blade, Dain Ironfoot etc.
  • Events that can kill minions (Since the shadow player doesn't know when these are in the Free Peoples player's hand). Examples include Inspiration (Sudden overwhelm), Where Shall We Go? (Sudden wounds) or Diversion.
  • Follower disabling (Streets of Bree, Demon of Might)

Example Decks

  • Splashed in most non-[isengard], non-[uruk-hai] beatdown decks. Used in [man] wounding decks with Whisper in the Dark.

Rules and Clarifications

  • This version of Saruman, despite being a follower, can still be spotted by name, via cards such as Their Arrows Enrage or Uruk Ravager. See http://lotrtcgwiki.com/forums/index.php/topic,244.0.html for discussion.
  • Current Rulings Document (08/13/07): Shadow followers - During the regroup phase, each follower is returned to its owner’s support area only after the Free Peoples player has reconciled, but before the Shadow player discards all minions in play.

Extra Information

Other Versions of Saruman

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