Hill Clan (6R6)
 Dunlending Reserve (6C5)
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Ready to Fall (6R7) 
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Hill Clan (6R6) is a 
Dunland Minion from the Ents of Fangorn set. One of many powerful skirmish-won effects utilized by the Dunlendings, Hill Clan is in a family of minions (the others being Wild Man of Dunland (4U38)
, Dunlending Arsonist (4U9)
, and Hillman Mob (4R23)
) which allow the Shadow player to bring another minion into the fray for fierce skirmishes. Unlike its kin, this minion is a costly behemoth equipped to kill companions outright.
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Strategy[edit]
Gameplay Strategy[edit]
With strength to match The Balrog, Hill Clan is the strongest Dunland minion aside from the unstable Wild Men of the Hills (5R4)
, and is almost guaranteed to win its skirmishes. This makes the effects of cards such as War Club (4U36)
or War Cry of Dunland (4C37)
much more reliable, as they are easily triggered by this minion. Its ability, while powerful, is not very versatile -- it doesn't decrease the cost of the minion played. Considering the high cost of Hill Clan, this deficiency may leave the Shadow player without enough twilight to play a strong minion that can take advantage of the damage bonus. Even without using his ability, Hill Clan can be a good choice for a Dunland deck by providing easy skirmish victories and overwhelming lesser companions.
Hill Clan will almost always bring a weaker minion into fierce skirmishes, but damage+2 is enough to kill most companions outright. When this minion hits the table, the Free Peoples will often have to decide whether to risk having a key companion overwhelmed or send a secondary companion to certain death; then make a similar decision immediately afterwards if a second minion is played with its text.
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). Though winning the skirmish is all but certain, the lack of a discount and up front expense makes this minion ill equipped for that job. If this minion wins a fierce skirmish you can use its text to play a minion then as well, though doing so means missing the chief benefit of playing a minion with its text at all (participating in fierce skirmishes with damage +2).
The twilight reduction of Wild Men of the Hills (5R4)
, Dunlending Footmen (6C3)
, and Dunlending Reserve (6C5)
will be crucial in getting the most out of this minion. When combined with War Cry of Dunland (4C37)
or Anger (4C3)
, the Shadow player may be able to sweep through the Fellowship's companions in one site. Playing Wild Men of the Hills this way potentially gives the Shadow player a minion stronger than The Balrog, Terror of Flame and Shadow (6R76)
for 
less (including the cost of Hill Clan), though the Free Peoples player will almost certainly sacrifice their hand to get rid of that threat if at all possible.
While Wild Man of Dunland (4U38)
and Dunlending Arsonist (4U9)
have fairly typical stats among Dunland Men, this minion's strength and twilight cost are significant enough that it is sometimes worthwhile to play it in the middle of a skirmish with one of its kin. This is particularly handy when the Free Peoples has had much of their gear tossed with War Club (4U36)
and their main skirmisher has just lost a skirmish, as a damage bonus on this minion will almost certainly force the Free Peoples player to pick between losing a strong companion to wounds or having a weaker companion overwhelmed.
Deckbuilding Strategy[edit]
Unlike its brothers, Hillman Clan's cost makes it virtually impossible to play both a decent minion with its text and Saruman, Rabble-rouser (4R33)
, though Saruman's strength boost combined with Hillman Clan's damage bonus will make even a small minion a ferocious adversary. Although winning skirmishes is disproportionately important for these minions, this minion typically receives fewer spots in a deck than Dunlending Arsonist (4U9)
and Hillman Mob (4R23)
which hit the sweet spot between low enough twilight to be consistently afforded alongside other minions and high enough strength to consistently activate their text.
While he doesn't directly fit with the "fierce swarm" Dunland strategy of putting cheap minions out for the fierce assignment phase, he can be a worthwhile inclusion to "break through" Fellowships that have companions able to reliably beat the regular entourage. Adding a copy or two to a deck gives the Shadow player a shot at either killing a companion (or three) or forcing stops to let their own Free Peoples get ahead on the site path.
Strengths and Weaknesses[edit]
Synergizes With...[edit]
- Wild Men of the Hills (5R4)
, Dunlending Footmen (6C3)
, and Dunlending Reserve (6C5)
- War Cry of Dunland (4C37)
Strong Versus...[edit]
- Free Peoples which hope to add more twilight than the Shadow player can use, such as Ents
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)
- Direct wounding, as there is typically little twilight leftover for Hides (4R19)
- Choke, which will make it very difficult to play a second minion with his text
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
