Data:Saruman's Snows (1C138)/Collection

Saruman's Reach (1R137)

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Savagery to Match Their Numbers (1R139)

Strategy

Collection

History

Data

As a card from the Fellowship of the Ring set, Data:Saruman's Snows (1C138) was primarily gained through [standard booster packs | as a card in the XXX starter deck | direct purchase from the XXX product | explanation of promotional distribution], or sometimes as [a random rare in a starter deck]. It is a [brief description of usage], so its demand is [enormous | relatively high | average | relatively low | nonexistent].

• As a Common, Saruman's Snows has a 7 in 121 (~5.8%) chance of being in any FotR booster pack.
• Foil versions of Movie-era Common cards were randomly selected to be inserted into booster packs at a rate of 1 out of 13 packs (~7.7% of packs). This means any given FotR booster pack had a 1 in 1,573 (~0.064%) chance of containing a foil Saruman's Snows.
• The Fellowship of the Ring was printed (both standard and foil) in 7 languages other than English: German, French, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Portuguese, and Chinese.

All known card variants (including those listed above) are below:

Card Image	Identifier	Notes
	English • Nonfoil
	English • Nonfoil
	English • Nonfoil	Snows is a card that sits at the center of a small cluster of instant-kill strategies: put down <span class="tooltip">Isengard Warrior&nbsp;(3U61)START_WIDGET"'-c84d4e23805f4dcdEND_WIDGET</span> and another Isenorc, play Snows, and then 4-5 other minions: boom, instant overwhelmed Frodo. No archery abilities can be used to thin the herd of minions, and all the ways you might keep Frodo alive (<span class="tooltip">Power According to His Stature&nbsp;(1R308)START_WIDGET"'-a527cbf2f153389fEND_WIDGET</span>, <span class="tooltip">Hobbit Stealth&nbsp;(1C298)START_WIDGET"'-6e8a19d5a05e8266END_WIDGET</span>, <span class="tooltip">Boromir, Son of Denethor&nbsp;(1U97)START_WIDGET"'-ecab72cacd41ff87END_WIDGET</span>, <span class="tooltip">Merry, Friend to Sam&nbsp;(1R302)START_WIDGET"'-a9818b135641c004END_WIDGET</span>) can’t be used. The only defenses available are cards that trigger during the Maneuver phase, because all other phases have been systematically denied you. Snows is also powerful within more general strategies that aren’t attempting a Stupid Swarm insta-kill, but it’s the straightforward power of the insta-kill that really needs addressed. Thus, our errata addresses that specific use case without touching any others. Stupid Swarm relies on having a variety of cheap minions (mostly Moria), with a limited number of Isengard Orcs in the mix. By making Snows only apply to those Isenorcs, it should be possible for the Free Peoples player to assign those few that remain away from the Ring-bearer, leaving Frodo available to use any of the tools in his toolbox to avoid a gristly death. Decipher Notes: This card had perhaps a slower rise to power than some, but before long players knew this was one of the most effective conditions in the game. Its impact was so deep, more than one top-level tournament deck has been seen stocking multiple copies of <span class="tooltip">Boromir's Cloak&nbsp;(1U98)START_WIDGET"'-3f6bc3533487a657END_WIDGET</span> exclusively to deal with it. For a “swarm” style of Shadow strategy, quite potent enough on its own, Saruman's Snows ensures the Ring-bearer will be overwhelmed. Saruman's Snows does not necessarily interact directly with any of the new rules in Shadows. We have witnessed over the years, however, that it is a figurative mallet where a scalpel is called for. Denying an opponent a resource or opportunity he was counting on is of course what the game is all about. A missed chance to heal here, a lost special ability there; in the right quantities, these are the things meant to decide games. But Saruman's Snows is a card able to cut off an entire phase of the game – neither skirmish special abilities nor events can slip by it. Consequently, it’s a constant impediment to new card design. In a way, it doesn’t matter how interesting or impactful a new card we release is – if it happens in the skirmish phase, there’s a frequently used card out there that can shut it off. You may well see aspects of this card reappearing in the future, but not all together in a gift-wrapped single package like this.
	English • Foil
	German • Nonfoil
	German • Foil
	French • Nonfoil
	French • Foil
	Italian • Nonfoil
	Italian • Foil
	Spanish • Nonfoil
	Spanish • Foil
	Polish • Nonfoil
	Polish • Foil
	Portuguese • Nonfoil
	Portuguese • Foil
	Chinese • Nonfoil
	Chinese • Foil	​