Enduring

Úlairë Cantëa, Thrall of the One (10R67) is one of several Nazgûl from set 10 with skirmish special abilities that use healing the minion as a cost.

Enduring is a loaded keyword introduced in set 8, Siege of Gondor. It is a synonym for the following game text: "this character is strength +2 for each wound on this character". It frequently appears on characters with above-average vitality, such as Sauron, The Lord of the Rings (9R+48) or Shelob, Her Ladyship (10R23) , which can respectively gain up to +8 or +14 strength from the enduring keyword alone.

One of the more famous set of enduring minions are the "enduring Nazgûl" introduced in the Mount Doom set. Each included the enduring keyword as well as an ability that would heal the Nazgûl in exchange for an effect. The keyword was not exclusive to minions, however: Gondor Wraiths in particular utilize it.

Enduring had a large impact on how decks dealt with minions. In earlier formats, an archery or wounding deck would often have a constant trickle of wounding effects (from Archers or automatic exertions such as from Rider's Mount (4C287) ), and the Free Peoples player would augment the trickle with a surge of targeted wounds to disable individual obstacles as needed. With enduring minions however, a trickle of wounds becomes a liability, and "almost" killing a minion goes from an unfortunate gap to a massive swing in power. As a result, decks needed to pivot away from attrition-based decks to effects capable of one-shotting minions, either through discarding them outright (Stand Against Darkness (1U63) ), killing them outright (Stone Tower (5R39) ), erasing their game text (Phial of Galadriel, Star-glass (10R13) ), or smothering their strength for an overwhelm (Círdan, The Shipwright (10R8) ). As these effects worked equally well on non-enduring minions, the Power Creep of the ecosystem thus began to rachet up.

Enduring is one of several later mechanics that "flip the script" on whether an effect is desirable or not. Normally, wounds would of course be considered a bad thing, but enduring minions want as many as they can hold. This has an ongoing impact on card design, as any card that uses exertion as a cost must now be evaluated over whether it unduly enables overly-easy enduring pumping, as Raider Halberd (7C156) famously does for Castamir of Umbar (8R51) .

Rules Entries

From the Comprehensive Rules:

For each wound on a character with the enduring keyword, that character is strength +2.

- enduring section

List of Cards with Enduring

Portrait	Card Name	Culture	Card Type	Game Text
	King of the Dead, Oathbreaker (8R38)	Gondor	Companion • Wraith	Enduring. To play, spot a Wraith and add 2 threats. Response: If Aragorn is about to take a wound in a skirmish, exert King of the Dead to prevent that wound.
	Oathbreaker (8C41)	Gondor	Companion • Wraith	Enduring. To play, add a threat. Skirmish: Discard 3 cards from hand to discard a possession borne by a minion skirmishing this companion.
	Shadow Host (8R43)	Gondor	Companion • Wraith	Enduring. To play, spot 2 exhausted Wraiths and add 2 threats. While Shadow Host is exhausted, it is defender +1.
	Sleepless Dead (8U45)	Gondor	Companion • Wraith	Enduring. To play, add a threat. Each time this companion wins a skirmish, you may exert him to discard a minion he is skirmishing.
	Cursed of Erech (10U26)	Gondor	Companion • Wraith	Enduring. To play, add a threat. When you play Cursed of Erech, exert him twice. At the start of the maneuver phase, you may exert another Wraith to make Cursed of Erech defender +1 until the regroup phase.
	Dead Man of Dunharrow (10C27)	Gondor	Companion • Wraith	Enduring. To play, add a threat. When you play this companion, exert him twice.
	Shelob, Last Child of Ungoliant (8C26)	Gollum	Minion • Spider	Enduring. Fierce. While in a fierce skirmish, Shelob is damage +1.
	Shelob, Her Ladyship (10R23)	Gollum	Minion • Spider	Enduring. Fierce. When you play Shelob, if you can spot Gollum, you may spot a companion. That companion cannot be assigned to a skirmish until the end of the turn.
	Castamir of Umbar (8R51)	Raider	Minion • Man	Corsair. Enduring. Fierce. Shadow: Exert Castamir of Umbar and play a corsair to add 2 tokens to a card that already has a token on it.
	Úlairë Attëa, Thrall of the One (8U79)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Enduring. Regroup: Exert Úlairë Attëa and spot your minion to return that minion to your hand.
	Úlairë Nertëa, Thrall of the One (8U80)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Enduring. Fierce. The site number of each minion is –1.
	Úlairë Otsëa, Thrall of the One (8R81)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Enduring. Fierce. Regroup: Discard Úlairë Otsëa to add , where X is the current site number.
	The Witch-king, Black Captain (8R84)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Enduring. Each Man skirmishing The Witch-king loses all strength bonuses from weapons.
	Úlairë Cantëa, Thrall of the One (10R67)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Enduring. Fierce. Shadow cards cannot exert Úlairë Cantëa during a skirmish phase. Skirmish: Heal Úlairë Cantëa to discard a possession borne by a character he is skirmishing.
	Úlairë Enquëa, Thrall of the One (10R68)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Enduring. Shadow cards cannot exert Úlairë Enquëa during a skirmish phase. Skirmish: If Úlairë Enquëa is skirmishing, heal him to add a burden.
	Úlairë Lemenya, Thrall of the One (10U69)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Enduring. Fierce. Shadow cards cannot exert Úlairë Lemenya during a skirmish phase. Skirmish: Heal Úlairë Lemenya to wound up to 3 other minions.
	Úlairë Nelya, Thrall of the One (10U70)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Enduring. Fierce. Shadow cards cannot exert Úlairë Nelya during a skirmish phase. Skirmish: Heal Úlairë Nelya to add for each burden.
	Úlairë Toldëa, Thrall of the One (10R71)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Enduring. Shadow cards cannot exert Úlairë Toldëa during a skirmish phase. Skirmish: Heal Úlairë Toldëa to make him damage +1.
	Barrow-wight Stalker (16R1)	Ringwraith	Minion • Wraith	Enduring. Each Wraith cannot take wounds (except during skirmishes). Shadow: Remove a burden to play a Wraith. That minion’s twilight cost is –2.
	Candle Corpses (16R2)	Ringwraith	Minion • Wraith	Enduring. Each time the Free Peoples player assigns this minion to a companion, you may spot another Wraith and remove to wound that companion.
	Covetous Wisp (16R3)	Ringwraith	Minion • Wraith	Enduring. Each time the Free Peoples player assigns Covetous Wisp to a companion, you may spot another Wraith and remove to add a burden.
	Dead Faces (16R4)	Ringwraith	Minion • Wraith	Enduring. Each time the Free Peoples player assigns this minion to a companion, you may spot another Wraith and remove to discard a condition.
	Spirit of Dread (16R5)	Ringwraith	Minion • Wraith	Enduring. While you can spot another Wraith, wounds cannot be healed and burdens can not be removed (except by Wraiths). Skrimish: Exert Spirit of Dread to make another Wraith strength +1.
	Undead of Angmar (16R6)	Ringwraith	Minion • Wraith	Enduring. While you can spot another Wraith, each wounded companion is resistance –2. Shadow: Exert Undead of Angmar twice to play a Wraith from your draw deck, then reshuffle.
	Gorgoroth Berserker (8R96)	Sauron	Minion • Orc	Besieger. Enduring. To play, spot a Orc. Maneuver: If you have initiative, exert Gorgoroth Berserker twice to take control a site. Maneuver: Remove a threat and exert Gorgoroth Berserker twice to take control a site.
	Sauron, The Lord of the Rings (9R+48)	Sauron	Minion • Maia	Damage +2. Enduring. Fierce. For each burden you spot, threat you spot, and site you control, Sauron’s twilight cost is –1.
	Orc Slaughterer (10R95)	Sauron	Minion • Orc	Enduring. For each wound on this minion, it is strength +2. ​

Cards that Interact with Enduring

Portrait	Card Name	Culture	Card Type	Game Text
	Seasoned Leader (10R48)	Raider	Condition	Bearer must be a Southron. Bearer is Enduring. Skirmish: Remove a threat to play a condition from your discard pile.
	Between Nazgûl and Prey (8R67)	Ringwraith	Event • Assignment	Exert an enduring minion twice to assign that minion to an unbound companion.
	Black Dart (8U69)	Ringwraith	Condition • Support Area	Archery: Spot your enduring or mounted Nazgûl to transfer this condition from your support area to an unbound companion. Discard a mount borne by that companion. Bearer cannot heal.
	Dark Swooping Shadows (10R58)	Ringwraith	Event • Skirmish	Heal an enduring minion to add a burden or 2 threats.
	The Dimholt (8U117)	Site	Site	Sanctuary. Underground. Fellowship: Add 3 threats to play an enduring companion from your draw deck.
	City of the Dead (8U118)	Site	Site	Underground. Shadow: Remove 2 burdens to play an enduring minion from your draw deck or discard pile.
	Ettenmoors (11S237)	Site	Site	Plains. Skirmish: Exert your character (except an enduring character), to make it strength +2.
	Wold Battlefield (12U194)	Site	Site	Plains. Skirmish: Exert your Man (except an enduring Man) to make him or her damage +1. ​

---