Dunlending Arsonist (4U9)
 Death to the Strawheads (4U8)
|
 Back to The Two Towers Index |
Dunlending Brigand (4C10) 
|
Dunlending Arsonist (4U9) is a 
Dunland Minion from the The Two Towers set. One of many powerful skirmish-won effects utilized by the Dunlendings, Dunlending Arsonist is in a family of minions (the others being Wild Man of Dunland (4U38)
, Hillman Mob (4R23)
, and Hill Clan (6R6)
) which allow the Shadow player to bring another minion into the fray for fierce skirmishes. While he only gains 1 strength over his cheaper brother, 10 strength is a sufficiently high bar that few companions can beat this minion without using pumps.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Strategy[edit]
Gameplay Strategy[edit]
Because Dunlending Arsonist brings an unknown minion into fierce skirmishes at a discount (with a damage bonus to boot), the Free Peoples may have to decide between the potential harm of this minion and the definite harm of other minions on the table if it comes down to choosing which skirmish to lose. By leaving some extra twilight in the pool (
is the magic number for Wulf, Dunlending Chieftain (4R40)
, Freca, Hungry Savage (9R+2)
, and Wild Men of the Hills (5R4)
), you may be able to bluff your opponent into believing this minion poses a greater danger than he actually does. He is best combined with skirmish events or Saruman, Rabble-rouser (4R33)
to ensure victory.
When Wulf, Dunlending Chieftain (4R40)
is played by the text of this minion, the Shadow player will immediately be able to exert him to control a site as optional responses to a skirmish being resolved continue until both players pass (even if one of those options wasn't present at the resolution of the skirmish). This has some advantages over taking sites with Hillman Tribe (4C25)
: the higher base strength will make winning a little more reliable, and the Shadow player can devote all resources to Dunlending Arsonist without worrying about keeping other minions alive. If this minion wins a fierce skirmish you can use his text to play a minion then as well, though doing so means missing the fierce assignment phase so the played minion will not skirmish unless the Free Peoples player moves again (and will lose the keywords granted in the regroup phase before that happens). There are only a handful of instances in which this is practical; chief among them to play Freca, Hungry Savage (9R+2)
and deprive the Free Peoples virtually any opportunity to kill him, or to add an extra minion to the table and discourage your opponent from moving during the regroup phase (potentially bolstering your own Free Peoples prospects in the process by cycling an additional Shadow card out of your hand).
His twilight reduction will stack with the text of Wild Men of the Hills (5R4)
, Dunlending Footmen (6C3)
, and Dunlending Reserve (6C5)
, allowing powerful minions to be played for very little. When combined with War Cry of Dunland (4C37)
or Anger (4C3)
, the Shadow player may be able to force second-string companions into skirmishes they cannot survive and chip away at the Free People's numbers. This "fierce swarm" Dunland strategy can put 4 minions with 10+ strength in the fierce skirmish for as little as 8 twilight, dealing up to 8 wounds -- among the most effective wound-per-twlight ratios in the game. To achieve these results, the Shadow player must carefully manage the composition of their hand.
The biggest downside to the fierce swarm strategy is that not winning a skirmish (whether it is canceled, lost, or this minion doesn't make it to the assignment phase) not only causes the Shadow player to miss out of the first wound, but lose an opportunity to add 3 more (two from the minion played, one from the fierce skirmish Dunlending Arsonist would participate in) as well as keep the event and minion stuck in hand, preventing important cards for Free Peoples and Shadow alike from showing up when they are needed. This risk, along with the fact that most Fellowships give 8+ twilight every site after 3 anyway (especially after the introduction of the X-list), makes Dunlending Arsonist a better play than Wild Man of Dunland (4U38)
much of the time.
Thanks to the synergy with Wild Men of the Hills (5R4)
, this card may be worth including as a splash for the Dunland discard strategy. As with the fierce swarm strategy, Dunland discard sacrifices hand space for twilight savings and shares similar advantages and challenges.
Deckbuilding Strategy[edit]
Compared to his brothers, Dunlending Arsonist fits well with Saruman, Rabble-rouser (4R33)
, who can split his strength bonuses as necessary between Dunlending Arsonist and whatever minion he brings into play. Because winning skirmishes is disproportionately important for these minions, Dunlending Arsonist and Hillman Mob (4R23)
typically have even stake in a deck as they hit the sweet spot between low enough twilight to be consistently afforded alongside other minions and high enough strength to consistently activate their text.
Strengths and Weaknesses[edit]
Synergizes With...[edit]
- Wulf, Dunlending Chieftain (4R40)
- Wild Men of the Hills (5R4)
, Dunlending Footmen (6C3)
, and Dunlending Reserve (6C5)
- War Cry of Dunland (4C37)
- Saruman, Rabble-rouser (4R33)
Strong Versus...[edit]
- Free Peoples strategies which are built to manage dangers rather than defeat them, such as choke
- Free Peoples with strong archery, making it hard to reserve enough twilight for Hides (4R19)
to keep more than one minion alive - Free Peoples with good exerting capabilities which would otherwise prevent you from claiming a site with Wulf, Dunlending Chieftain (4R40)
Weak Versus...[edit]
- Skirmish canceling, as dodging the first skirmish may allow the Free Peoples player to avoid two more (while keeping the Shadow player's hand clogged with the cards)
Rulings[edit]
A minion must be in play and fierce at the start of the fierce assignment phase to participate in a fierce skirmish.
- Fierce_2 section
