Ulaire Enquea, Thrall of the One (10R68)

Ulaire Cantea, Thrall of the One (10R67)

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Ulaire Lemenya, Thrall of the One (10U69)

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Data

Ulaire Enquea, Thrall of the One (10R68) is a Ringwraith Minion from the Mount Doom set.

EN Nonfoil First Edition EN Foil First Edition EN Nonfoil Revision 1 DE Nonfoil First Edition DE Foil First Edition FR Nonfoil First Edition FR Foil First Edition IT Nonfoil First Edition IT Foil First Edition

Collection Info Title Úlairë Enquëa Subtitle Thrall of the One Unique Yes Collectible Yes Set 10 - Mount Doom Rarity R - Rare Card Number 68 Language EN - English Revision 0

Gameplay Info Playable Yes Culture Ringwraith Side Shadow Card Type Minion Race Nazgul Twilight Cost 6 Strength 11 Vitality 4 Site Number 3 Game Text Enduring. Shadow cards cannot exert Úlairë Enquëa during a skirmish phase. Skirmish: If Úlairë Enquëa is skirmishing, heal him to add a burden. Lore “Ever they circled above the City, like vultures that expect their fill of doomed men's flesh.”

Translations DE - German Game Text Zäh. Úlairë Enquëa kann im Kampf nicht durch Schattenkarten angestrengt werden. Kampf: Wenn Úlairë Enquëa kämpft, heile ihn, um eine Lastmarke auf den Ringträger zu legen. Lore Immer kreisten sie über der Stadt, wie Aasgeier, die darauf warteten, sich am Fleisch verurteilter Menschen gütlich zu tun. FR - French IT - Italian

Technical Info Wiki Base Card ID LOTR-EN10S068.0 TLHH ID LOTR10068 GEMP ID 10_68 LOTRO Hex ID 64 6C 89 09 LOTRO Image ID 10_068

Strategy

Úlairë Enquëa, Thrall of the One is the heart of one of the strongest corruption engines in Movie Block and Expanded. As long as you can stack wounds on Enquëa TOTO before the end of his skirmish, this Nazgul can turn each of them into burdens, powering other Wraith cards. Once he makes it to a skirmish, simply use his ability to heal himself and burden the ring-bearer for each wound on him. This does mean giving up the +2 strength from each wound from Enduring, but even if he loses the skirmish, it's usually a worthwhile tradeoff.

The very simplest way to do this is if your opponent exerts or wounds Enquëa for you, usually with archery or mounts like Brego (4U263) , as long as it's not too much wounding. You can use him the same way you'd use any Enduring minion, discouraging your opponent from these sorts of strategies. This is generally too sporadic and unreliable to be a base for a whole deck's strategy, and other Enduring Nazgûl are generally better skirmishers, but 11 strength and 4 vitality is enough to survive a couple archers and make it to the Skirmish Phase.

If you want to build a whole deck around him though, the first thing you'll need is some way to exert him. Luckily, there are many useful options. Wraith staple Between Nazgûl and Prey (8R67) is expensive, but it has many uses, exerting Enquëa, avoiding troublesome skirmishes, and possibly picking off an annoying support companion. Bent on Discovery (1R206) , Ithil Stone (9R+47) , The Ring Draws Them (3U83) , Black Marshal (10U53) , and A Shadow Fell Over Them (15R182) provide value turn after turn. Fear (1R212) , Relentless Charge (1U223) , They Will Find the Ring (2U81) , and Their Power Is in Terror (1U226) are all situational one-shot cards, but they can all be cycled to exert Enquëa for a small Twilight cost even if there are no allies or archers to harm or burdens to spot. (Beauty Is Fading (1R205) is similar, but very expensive.) He also benefits from sites that can exert him, like Pelennor Prairie (10U118) , Osgiliath Crossing (7U353) , or Dol Guldur (17U145) . In post-Shadows formats, Wraith culture also has some strong Toil cards that can exert Enquëa, like Keening Wail (11R211) , The Witch-king, Captain of the Nine Riders (11R226) , and Minas Morgul Answers (12U167) . Gothmog, Morgul Leader (18R80) won't exert Enquëa TOTO per se, but three wounds are three wounds!

Using Enquëa is fairly simple: soak any archery or miscellaneous undirected wounds, exert him as much as you can using the cards above, ram him into a skirmish, then use his skirmish ability to convert all of those wounds into burdens. Unless he'd otherwise finish off the character he's skirmishing, it doesn't really matter if he loses the skirmish: the real damage is the burdens. (In fact, losing the skirmish might even be helpful if the opponent plans to run this turn, if you can make him Fierce with Úlairë Otsëa, Lieutenant of Morgul (1U235) or Fell Beast (6U83) , or if you have a copy of Dark Swooping Shadows (10R58) in hand.) There's usually not much your opponent can do about this, but you'll want to keep an eye out for the exceptions. Skirmish cancellation is one main counter: because the Free People player always gets to go first, they can cancel the skirmish before you get to place even one burden. Gandalf's Staff (2R22) , Rohirrim Helm (5R89) , and Escape (4R300) are some of the most popular skirmish cancellation tools. Another counter is directed wounding or fortifications that can finish off Enquëa before he gets to apply his burdens. You can end up in a standoff with cards like Legolas, Greenleaf (1R50) , Aragorn’s Bow (1R90) , Citadel of the Stars (5C32) , Don’t Look at Them (6R39) , or Éowyn, Lady of Ithilien (10R72) , preventing you from exerting Enquëa for fear of him just getting killed. Cards that play from hand, like Éowyn's Sword, Dernhelm's Blade (7R230) , Terrible and Evil (7R50) , or Unheeded (8R115) , can unexpectedly kill him out of nowhere. He just needs to survive with one vitality left, so All Blades Perish (1U203) and They Feel The Precious (15U183) can help cover this weakness.

Once he's finished the skirmish for better or worse, the next problem is that Úlairë Enquëa is just one Nazgûl. You can only have four copies of him in your deck. Some of the card-draw conditions above will help you find those copies, but you'll probably want to play him more than four times a game. Luckily, there are plenty of options to recur him. Úlairë Nertëa, Messenger of Dol Guldur (1U234) , Out of Sight and Shot (7R204) , The Witch-king, Morgul King (7R221) , Morgul Squealer (8R77) , Evil-smelling Fens (5U22) , Morgulduin (7U358) , Woody-End (11S266) , and (albeit at high cost) City of the Dead (8U118) or A Shadow Fell Over Them (15R182) can take him from discard into your hand or straight into play. (Squealer can even grab him from your deck, if your opponent doesn't respect the rule of 6). Flung Into the Fray (8U71) can play him over and over, as long you have the Twilight to afford both him and some other minions. Enquëa also works very well with the Wraith rings, which send him back to your hand as soon as he's discarded, and often have more benefits besides. Ring of Rancor (9R44) and Ring of Savagery (17R142) help him stack on burdens, and Ring of Terror (17R143) can help grab supporting cards or second copies of Enquëa or the ring.

While the main goal is to stack burdens to corrupt the ring-bearer, there are fringe benefits as well. Gates of the Dead City (3R81) exerts a companion once for each copy for each burden: under ideal circumstances, that can be 12 wounds that your opponent has to manage somehow. Úlairë Toldëa, Messenger of Morgul (1R236) , Úlairë Nelya, Ringwraith in Twilight (2R84) , Morgul Creeper (8C75) , and Gollum, Stinker (5R25) are obnoxiously efficient when you can spot burdens, and Morgul Brute (7R188) can place his own burdens or consume burdens to win skirmishes. (There's also Úlairë Enquëa, Lieutenant of Morgul (1U231) , who is devastating when you can spot five burdens, but every copy of Lieutenant of Morgul you run is one less copy of Thrall of the One in your deck.) You can also get some productive use out of burdens with Pelennor Prairie (10U118) , Pelennor Plain (7U343) , Gollum, Dark as Darkness (9R+28) , or Woody-End (11S266) . Enquëa TOTO can also fit into the Auto-Corruption Bomb deck, using Gates of the Dark City and Dark Fell About Him (13R178) , often supplemented with Lingering Shadow (12U166) and Dark Temptation (12R163) .

All corruption decks share a big weakness: burden removal and high-resistance ring-bearers. The toughest challenge comes in Shire culture. Almost every version of Frodo has 10 resistance, and Frodo, Resolute Hobbit (10P121) has even more. Any version of Sam can wipe burdens by picking up the One Ring when Frodo dies, but Sam, Son of Hamfast (1C311) in particular can soak three burdens right away, and keep soaking them as long as the Free Peoples player heals him. Dedicated Shire decks often have powerful reusable burden-removal tools like A Light in His Mind (10U108) , Bilbo, Aged Ring-bearer (13R142) , and Golden Perch Ale (18U108) , and want to keep using them to heal companions with The Shire Countryside (3R113) . There are burden removal cards in other cultures as well: Elf-song (1C39) , Narya (3R34) , Watch and Wait (12R35) , Járnsmid, Barding Emissary (12R30) , Shadowfax, Greatest of the Mearas (17R24) , and Not Listening (6C43) are some of the most common and obnoxious. Most alternate ring-bearers have lower resistance than Frodo, however, particularly the Gondor ring-bearers, and Enquëa TOTO is effective at preying on those decks.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Synergizes With...

• Any card that exerts (or wounds) a Nazgûl or Wraith minion as a cost, either with their game text or the Toil keyword. There are many of these in Wraith culture: highlights include Between Nazgûl and Prey (8R67) , Bent on Discovery (1R206) , Ithil Stone (9R+47) , The Ring Draws Them (3U83) , Black Marshal (10U53) , A Shadow Fell Over Them (15R182) , Fear (1R212) , Relentless Charge (1U223) , They Will Find the Ring (2U81) , Their Power Is in Terror (1U226) , Beauty Is Fading (1R205) , Keening Wail (11R211) , The Witch-king, Captain of the Nine Riders (11R226) , and Minas Morgul Answers (12U167) . You can also exert him with sites like Pelennor Prairie (10U118) , Osgiliath Crossing (7U353) , or Dol Guldur (17U145) . Gothmog, Morgul Leader (18R80) is another strong, splashable option.
• All Blades Perish (1U203) or They Feel The Precious (15U183) , to protect him from direct wounding once he's exerted down to 1 vitality.
• Sources of Fierce, allowing him to lose a skirmish, get wounded, then skirmish again and turn that wound into a burden. These include Úlairë Otsëa, Lieutenant of Morgul (1U235) , Fell Beast (6U83) , and Shadowy Mount (12R171) . You can retrieve one of these mounts with Echo of Hooves (12C164) , which can also exert him.
• Cards that spot or consume burdens. Notable cards include Gates of the Dead City (3R81) , Úlairë Toldëa, Messenger of Morgul (1R236) , Úlairë Nelya, Ringwraith in Twilight (2R84) , Morgul Brute (7R188) , Morgul Creeper (8C75) , Gollum, Stinker (5R25) , Gollum, Dark as Darkness (9R+28) , Pelennor Prairie (10U118) , Pelennor Plain (7U343) , and Woody-End (11S266) .
• Cards that recur him. These include Úlairë Nertëa, Messenger of Dol Guldur (1U234) , Out of Sight and Shot (7R204) , The Witch-king, Morgul King (7R221) , Morgul Squealer (8R77) , Evil-smelling Fens (5U22) , Morgulduin (7U358) , Woody-End (11S266) , Flung Into the Fray (8U71) , Ring of Rancor (9R44) , Ring of Savagery (17R142) , and Ring of Terror (17R143) .
• Any burden-stacking tools, particularly in Wraith culture. Drawn to Its Power (1U211) , Dark Swooping Shadows (10R58) (played on him after losing his skirmish), Keening Wail (11R211) , Sense of Obligation (12U170) , Lingering Shadow (12U166) , Death Fell About Him , and so on will all help stack on the burdens for a corruption kill.

Strong Versus...

• Archery and other undirected wounding. Not only can Enquëa TOTO soak three wounds safely, he can convert them immediately into burdens without you needing to use any cards to exert him.
• Free Peoples cards that exert minions. In particular, this includes most mounts, especially Rohan mounts like Brego (4U263) . You want to exert Enquëa. Your opponent probably won't use cards like Shadowplay (10U114) , Sméagol, Always Helps (7R71) , or Slaked Thirsts (7U14) on Enquëa, but the fact that he's practically immune to them is helpful.
• Éomer, Third Marshal of Riddermark (4R267) , Éomer, Eored Captain (19P25) , and any other card that spots wounds on minions during a skirmish but doesn't use them to immediately kill Enquëa.
• High-strength skirmishers. While Enquëa TOTO has enough strength to threaten utility companions, he doesn't actually care about losing his skirmish. If he rams into a 25 strength Durin III, Dwarven Lord (9R+3) or gets knocked down to 0 strength by Círdan, The Shipwright (10R8) , it doesn't matter, since he can flip his wounds into burdens before the end of the skirmish anyway. Losing the skirmish can sometimes even be helpful, as long as the Free Peoples character doesn't overwhelm him or have Damage +3 or more.
• Low-resistance ring-bearers. Gimli, Bearer of Grudges (9R+4) and all of the Gondor ring-bearers had best watch out.

Weak Versus...

• Steward's Tomb (10U119) / Steward's Tomb (18U139) . If you cannot heal Enquëa TOTO, you cannot use his ability. This site is an especially bad choice in King Block, because site 5 is one of the most important sites for your Shadow side.
• Direct wounding and fortifications. Exerting Enquëa TOTO down to low vitality leaves him vulnerable to being picked off by cards like Legolas, Greenleaf (1R50) , Aragorn’s Bow (1R90) , Citadel of the Stars (5C32) , Don’t Look at Them (6R39) , Éowyn's Sword, Dernhelm's Blade (7R230) , Terrible and Evil (7R50) , Unheeded (8R115) , or many, many others. Éowyn, Lady of Ithilien (10R72) deserves special mention as a nightmare to play around.
• Skirmish cancellation, especially if he isn't Fierce. Cards like Gandalf's Staff (2R22) or Escape (4R300) work before he even gets a chance to use his ability.
• Burden removal. Sam, Son of Hamfast (1C311) , A Light in His Mind (10U108) , Bilbo, Aged Ring-bearer (13R142) , Golden Perch Ale (18U108) , Elf-song (1C39) , Narya (3R34) , Watch and Wait (12R35) , Járnsmid, Barding Emissary (12R30) , Shadowfax, Greatest of the Mearas (17R24) , and Not Listening (6C43) are all common (in their respective formats) and very obnoxious. Decks using The Shire Countryside (3R113) as an engine are a terrible matchup for you.
• High-resistance ring-bearers. Frodo, Resolute Hobbit (10P121) is a huge pain, but only a little bit more than any version of Frodo. Galadriel, Bearer of Wisdom (9R+14) can occasionally get almost as high in an Elven deck.
• Cards that prevent activated minion abilities, like Faramir, Son of Denethor (4C117) , Crashing Cavalry (13C13) , Stewards’ Legacy (13U75) , Perspective (18U25) , and Cavern Entrance (11S232) .

Decks

• Turbo-Force Corruption by Celebrimbor on the Cobracards forums

Alternate Personas

Portrait	Name	Game Text
	Úlairë Enquëa, Lieutenant of Morgul (1U231)	Fierce. Maneuver: Spot 6 companions (or 5 burdens) and exert Úlairë Enquëa to wound a companion (except the Ring-bearer).
	Úlairë Enquëa, Ringwraith in Twilight (2U83)	Twilight. Each time Úlairë Enquëa wins a skirmish, you may exert him to wound the Ring-bearer once (or twice if you spot 5 burdens).
	Úlairë Enquëa, Faster Than Winds (7U212)	Fierce. While you can spot 6 companions, Úlairë Enquëa is Damage +1. Each time a companion is killed, you may exert Úlairë Enquëa to exert the Ring–bearer.
	Úlairë Enquëa, Black Threat (12R175)	Fierce. Toil 1. (For each character you exert when playing this, its twilight cost is –1.) Response: If you are playing a event that has toil X, exert Úlairë Enquëa to reduce that event’s twilight cost by X.
	Úlairë Enquëa, Sixth of the Nine Riders (13R182)	Fierce. When you play Úlairë Enquëa, if you can spot 2 other Nazgûl, you may exert 2 unbound companions (or exert each companion if you can spot 6 companions).
	Úlairë Enquëa, Duplicitous Lieutenant (17R140)	Fierce. Each time the Free Peoples player heals a companion, you may add a burden. Maneuver: Exert Úlairë Enquëa twice to discard a condition (or two conditions if you can spot 5 Free Peoples player's conditions).
	Úlairë Enquëa, Dark Threat (19P36)	Fierce. Maneuver: Spot 6 companions and discard a Nazgûl from hand to wound an unbound companion. ​