Wizard: Difference between revisions

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=Wizard=
'''Wizards''' are the Maiar servants who adopted the guise of wise men to aid the races of Middle-Earth in their struggle against [[Sauron]]. In this game, they are a [[race]] that only appears as a handful of unique [[character]]s, although two of them are main characters of Lord of the Rings and thus have many different versions. Five wizards appear in Lord of the Rings:
{{cardmedia:istari.jpg  |The Five Istari}}


About 1600 years before the events of The Lord of the Rings, the Valar gods in Valinor grew troubled at Sauron's growth in power and worried that the Free Peoples of Middle-earth would be unable to stop him unaided. To this end the Valar sent a group of the [[Maia|Maiar]] under their command to oppose and ultimately throw down Sauron from his dark throne.
* '''[[Gandalf]]''', the Grey Wizard, and later White Wizard, a wise wanderer. Every version of Gandalf is a [[Free Peoples]] [[companion]], and he is the main character of {{C|Gandalf}} [[culture]].
* '''[[Saruman]]''', the White Wizard, a treacherous scholar. Saruman is the leader of {{C|Isengard}}, and appears as a [[minion]] in four different [[Shadow Alignment|Shadow]] cultures, as well as once as {{Card|Saruman, Servant of Sauron}}, a [[Follower]] with no race keyword. (Followers do not have race keywords.)
* '''Radagast''', the Brown Wizard, a friend to animals who does not appear in the Lord of the Rings films. He is represented by three cards, two of which are wizards: {{Card|Radagast, The Brown}}, a Free Peoples wizard companion, {{Card|Radagast Deceived}}, a Shadow [[condition]] that briefly turns into a wizard minion, and {{Card|Radagast, Tender of Beasts}}, a Free Peoples follower.
* '''Alatar''' and '''Pallando''', the Blue Wizards, who are only briefly mentioned in the Lord of the Rings novels and do not appear in the films. They are represented by cards representing their distant influence: {{Card|Alatar Deceived}} and {{Card|Pallando Deceived}}, Shadow conditions that briefly turns into wizard minions, and {{Card|Alatar, Final Envoy}} and {{Card|Pallando, Far-travelling One}}, Free Peoples followers.


Those selected were Curumo, sent by Aulë the Smith, and Alatar, sent by Oromë the huntsman.  These two were not deemed enough, and Manwë, chief of the Valar, sought out Olórin to aid them. Olórin at first refused, claiming he was weak and expressing fear of Sauron, but at this he was rebuked and told that this was all the more reason to resist him. Yavanna, keeper of the woods, then requested Curumo that he take Aiwendil as a companion, as Aiwendil was like unto her in his lore and love of all living things.  Alatar then chose Pallando as a friend.
While Lord of the Rings aficionados might note that the wizards are actually Maiar in the guise of men, in this game "wizard" is considered as a separate race from [[Maia]]. The only character with the race of Maia in this game is Sauron himself. Cards which affect wizards do not affect Sauron, and no card mentions Maia by name.


These Five were commanded to resist Sauron through uprising; to incite courage and steadfastness in the peoples of Middle-earth and were forbidden to fight Power with Power.  They took the forms of old men, though as [[Maia|Maiar]] they were immortal and seemed to have incredible stamina and longevity to the ignorant watcher. As they mingled with the Free Peoples of Middle-earth, they took the names given them rather than reveal their own:  Curumo was called by Men Saruman; Aiwendil was called Radagast; Olórin was named Gandalf, and Alatar and Pallando passed into the East and were never named by the Men of Gondor.
==Cards which Interact with Wizards==
There are both Free Peoples and Shadow wizard cards, so this leads to some unusual interactions. Some cards can interact with both Free Peoples and Shadow wizards, including {{Card|Perspective}}, {{Card|Alatar Deceived}}, {{Card|Pallando Deceived}}, {{Card|Radagast Deceived}}, {{Card|Staff of Saruman, Fallen Istar's Stave}}, and {{Card|Throne of Isengard}}.  


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[[Possession]] and [[artifact]] cards that say "Bearer must be a wizard" without specifying a culture or card type can be played on your opponent's characters, although this is almost impossible with Free Peoples cards and rarely useful with Shadow cards. These cards include {{Card|Wizard Staff}}, {{Card|Brego}}, {{Card|Horse of Rohan}}, {{Card|Shadowfax, Roaring Wind}}, and {{Card|Staff of Saruman, Fallen Istar's Stave}}. All of these cards can be transferred from Gandalf or Radagast to a minion version of Saruman (or vice versa!) by {{Card|Strange-looking Men}}.
 
In The Lord of the Rings TCG, Wizard is the [[Race]] given to these five ''Istari''.  Gandalf and the traitor Saruman are the most prominent and powerful, successfully emboldening the forces around them to oppose their enemies.  See the [[Gandalf Culture]] and [[Isengard Culture]] for more information on strategy and use.  Radagast the Brown and his [[lotr00057|Staff]] have been represented as limited-edition [[Gandalf Culture]] cards; and Followers representing the distant influence of the two Blue Wizards Alatar and Pallando are also present.
 
There are a handful of cards which are set apart in that they may regularly interact with both Free Peoples and Shadow wizards. While it is rare that the Free Peoples would need to spot a Shadow Wizard rather than Gandalf or Radagast, the Shadow player can use this to his or her advantage when matched up against the [[Gandalf Culture]]. These cards are Perspective, Alatar Deceived, Pallando Deceived, Radagast Deceived, Staff of Saruman, Fallen Istar's Stave, and Throne of Isengard.


It is interesting to note that a generic [[lotr02029|Wizard's Staff]] possession has been printed a few times as a [[Gandalf Culture]] card with the very particular requirement of "Bearer must be a Wizard", rather than "Bearer must be Gandalf".  It could be surmised that there was to be some card or strategy in place that would allow Shadow players using Saruman to "steal" such a Staff from the Free Peoples Gandalf, and so weaken him. This was never directly implemented, though Strange-looking Men (banned or restricted in all formats) is capable of transferring [[lotr02029|Wizard's Staff]] to Saruman.
These cards all either interact with all wizards, or with all {{C|Gandalf}} culture wizards; cards that interact with Gandalf or Saruman by name have not been included. All cards below are {{C|Gandalf}} culture Free Peoples cards or {{C|Isengard}} culture Shadow cards unless otherwise noted.


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===Free Peoples===
 
==Cards with the Race of Wizard==
 
* All versions of [[Gandalf]]
* {{Card|Radagast, The Brown}}
 
* All versions of [[Saruman]] except for {{Card|Saruman, Servant of Sauron}}. (Followers do not have race keywords.)
* {{Card|Alatar Deceived}}, {{Card|Pallando Deceived}}, and {{Card|Radagast Deceived}}. These three [[condition]]s that turn into wizard [[minion]]s represent the wizards who do not appear in the Lord of the Rings films.
 
Alatar, Pallando, and Radagast also appear as {{C|Gandalf}} culture [[follower]]s: {{Card|Alatar, Final Envoy}}, {{Card|Pallando, Far-travelling One}}, and {{Card|Radagast, Tender of Beasts}}. As these are followers, however, they do not have a race keyword.
 
==Cards which Interact with the Wizards==
While many cards call out Gandalf and Saruman by name, these cards interact with any Wizard or with either of the [Gandalf] Wizards. Free Peoples cards are overwhelmingly from the [[Gandalf Culture]] while Shadow cards mostly come from the [[Isengard Culture]], with exceptions noted.
 
====Free Peoples====


* Artifacts:
* Artifacts:
  * Gandalf's Staff, Ash-staff
** {{Card|Gandalf's Staff, Ash-staff}}


* Possessions:
* Possessions:
  * Wizard Staff
** {{Card|Wizard Staff}}
  * [[LOTR04263|Brego]] ([Rohan])
** {{Card|Brego}} - {{C|Rohan}}
  * [[LOTR04283|Horse of Rohan]] ([Rohan])
** {{Card|Horse of Rohan}} - {{C|Rohan}}
  * The Art of Gandalf
** {{Card|The Art of Gandalf}}
  * Shadowfax, Roaring Wind
** {{Card|Shadowfax, Roaring Wind}}
  * Shadowfax, Greatest of the Mearas
** {{Card|Shadowfax, Greatest of the Mearas}}
  * Radagast's Herb Bag
** {{Card|Radagast's Herb Bag}}


* Conditions:
* Conditions:
  * Sent Back
** {{Card|Sent Back}}
  * G for Grand
** {{Card|G for Grand}}
  * New Authority
** {{Card|New Authority}}
  * Salve
** {{Card|Salve}}
  * Traveler's Homestead
** {{Card|Traveler's Homestead}}
  * Scintillating Bird
** {{Card|Scintillating Bird}}
  * Perspective
** {{Card|Perspective}}
  * Stern Words
** {{Card|Stern Words}}


* Followers:
* Followers:
  * Gwaihir, The Windlord
** {{Card|Gwaihir, The Windlord}}


* Events:
* Events:
  * Borne Far Away
** {{Card|Borne Far Away}}
  * Gathering Wind
** {{Card|Gathering Wind}}
  * Out of the High Airs
** {{Card|Out of the High Airs}}
  * Ease the Burden
** {{Card|Ease the Burden}}
  * Final Account
** {{Card|Final Account}}
  * Inspiration
** {{Card|Inspiration}}
  * New-awakened
** {{Card|New-awakened}}
  * Prolonged Struggle
** {{Card|Prolonged Struggle}}
  * Discoveries
** {{Card|Discoveries}}
  * Introspection
** {{Card|Introspection}}
  * Traveled Leader
** {{Card|Traveled Leader}}
  * A New Light
** {{Card|A New Light}}
  * Drawn to Full Height
** {{Card|Drawn to Full Height}}
  * One-Upsmanship
** {{Card|One-Upsmanship}}


====Shadow====
===Shadow===
* Artifacts:
* Artifacts:
  * Staff of Saruman, Fallen Istar's Stave
** {{Card|Staff of Saruman, Fallen Istar's Stave}}
  * Throne of Isengard
** {{Card|Throne of Isengard}}


* Conditions
* Conditions
  * Alatar Deceived
** {{Card|Alatar Deceived}}
  * Pallando Deceived
** {{Card|Pallando Deceived}}
  * Radagast Deceived
** {{Card|Radagast Deceived}}


* Events
* Events
  * One of You Must Do This
** {{Card|One of You Must Do This}}
  * [[LOTR03063|Massing in the East]] ([Sauron])
** {{Card|Massing in the East}} - {{C|Sauron}}
 
== See Also ==
* [https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Wizards Wizards] on Tolkien Gateway
 
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{{:Unloaded Keyword Table}}
{{Unloaded Keyword Table}}


[[Category:Races]]
[[Category:Races]]

Revision as of 06:53, 30 December 2021

Wizards are the Maiar servants who adopted the guise of wise men to aid the races of Middle-Earth in their struggle against Sauron. In this game, they are a race that only appears as a handful of unique characters, although two of them are main characters of Lord of the Rings and thus have many different versions. Five wizards appear in Lord of the Rings:

While Lord of the Rings aficionados might note that the wizards are actually Maiar in the guise of men, in this game "wizard" is considered as a separate race from Maia. The only character with the race of Maia in this game is Sauron himself. Cards which affect wizards do not affect Sauron, and no card mentions Maia by name.

Cards which Interact with Wizards

There are both Free Peoples and Shadow wizard cards, so this leads to some unusual interactions. Some cards can interact with both Free Peoples and Shadow wizards, including Perspective (18U25) , Alatar Deceived (13R78) , Pallando Deceived (13U79) , Radagast Deceived (13R80) , Staff of Saruman, Fallen Istar's Stave (13R81) , and Throne of Isengard (17R39) .

Possession and artifact cards that say "Bearer must be a wizard" without specifying a culture or card type can be played on your opponent's characters, although this is almost impossible with Free Peoples cards and rarely useful with Shadow cards. These cards include Wizard Staff (2C29) , Brego (4U263) , Horse of Rohan (4C283) , Shadowfax, Roaring Wind (13R40) , and Staff of Saruman, Fallen Istar's Stave (13R81) . All of these cards can be transferred from Gandalf or Radagast to a minion version of Saruman (or vice versa!) by Strange-looking Men (11R100) .

These cards all either interact with all wizards, or with all Gandalf culture wizards; cards that interact with Gandalf or Saruman by name have not been included. All cards below are Gandalf culture Free Peoples cards or Isengard culture Shadow cards unless otherwise noted.

Free Peoples

Shadow

See Also

Unloaded Keywords
Race Decipher [Raceless] • Balrog • Creature • Dwarf • Elf • Ent • Half-troll • Hobbit • Maia • Man • Nazgûl • Orc • Spider • Tree • Troll • Uruk-hai • Wizard • Wraith
Player's Council Crow • Eagle
Hobbit Draft Game Bird • Dragon • Eagle • Giant • Goblin
Site
Decipher Battleground • Dwelling • Forest • Marsh • Mountain • Plains • River • Underground
General Decipher Besieger • Corsair • Easterling • Engine • Fellowship • Fortification • Knight • Machine • Pipeweed • Ranger • Ring-bound • Search • Southron • Spell • Stealth • Tale • Tentacle • Tracker • Twilight • [Unbound] • Valiant • Villager • Weather • Warg-rider
Player's Council Pony
Hobbit Draft Game Burglar • Cunning • Wise
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