Nazgul

'Shotgun' Enquea, the most commonly-used Nazgul in the game.

The race of Nazgûl is restricted to only the Wraith culture, but they make up for that with a variety of strategies and subcultures.

The most prominent Nazgûl strategy in Fellowship Block is beatdown, usually accompanied with Blade Tip (1U209) and Black Breath (1U207) . The largely ineffective corruption angle had not been developed enough to see play.

In Towers Standard, the Nazgûl corruption strategy got a boost with cards outside the culture such as Gollum, Stinker (5R25) and Evil-smelling Fens (5U22) . Largely, however, the Twilight Nazgûl strategy relying on wounding the Ring-bearer was more effective.

Once King Block was released, however, two new Nazgûl strategies emerged; Enduring Nazgûl and Threat Nazgûl. Enduring Nazgûl focused on either corruption with Dark Swooping Shadows (10R58) or beatdown with the strength bonus from Enduring. Enduring decks use cards like Between Nazgûl and Prey (8R67) and Bent on Discovery (1R206) place wounds on those Enduring Nazgul. Threat Nazgul relied on threat adding cards like Úlairë Cantëa, Faster Than Winds (7R211) and There Came a Cry (7C208) , then used those threats to wreak havoc on the fellowship. This strategy often incorporated Morgul Destroyer (7U190) and/or Fat One Wants It (7R57) , Captured by the Ring (7C53) , and Gollum.

After the release of War of the Ring Block, the Forestgûl strategy became a strong choice. Using the new sites and the Forest keyword in conjunction with Lost in the Woods (11U212) and Dark Approach (12R162) , this strategy aimed to play 4 or 5 Fierce Nazgûl at once, hopefully crippling the fellowship for a kill. It also occasionally included Threat Nazgûl concepts for extra killing power. This block also introduced Buckland Homestead (11S230) , which could be recurred by Úlairë Nelya, Third of the Nine Riders (11S222) , bypassing most defenses against condition discard.

In the final sets of the game, no new Nazgûl strategies worth mention were released, though Nazgûl strategies as a whole were improved with cards like Úlairë Lemenya, Eternally Threatening (15R185) , They Feel The Precious (15U183) , and Úlairë Nertëa, Dark Horseman (19P38) . Threat Nazgûl in particular were given boosts, along with corruption getting Ring of Savagery (17R142) .

Overall, Nazgûl are some of the most versatile and strong minions available to Shadow players, though you will need to look out for cards like Terrible and Evil (7R50) , Glorfindel, Revealed in Wrath (9R+16) , and Flaming Brand (2R32) .

Names

While the Witch-king is one of the main antagonists, The Lord of the Rings never names to any of the other Ringwraiths, and instead refers to them only as a collective. Tolkien only named one other Nazgûl in his writing: Khamûl the Easterling in Unfinished Tales, a book compiled by his son based on his notes.

As Decipher only had rights to what was in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, they couldn't have used Khamûl regardless (albeit they did make a nod to it on Úlairë Attëa, The Easterling (2U82) ), and this wouldn't have helped name the other seven in any case. Using the names created by previous Tolkien licensors like Iron Crown's Middle-Earth Role-Playing System wasn't practical since it had to go through past the Tolkien Estate and the previous licensors for permission, and risked running into the same issue of fans unhappy with non-canonical original names. Decipher's interim solution in playtesting was "First Nazgûl," "Second Nazgûl," etc. but that wasn't very interesting.

Eventually, one of the playtesters at Decipher suggested taking the generic names and translating them into (neo)-Quenya, the scholarly language of the elves, using a then-recently-published guide to Quenyan ordinals. The singular word Úlairë was derived from The Silmarillion's Quenya name for the Nazgûl, Úlairi, and then each Nazgûl had its number attached accordingly: "Second Nazgûl" becomes "Úlairë Attëa", "Third Nazgûl" becomes "Úlairë Nelya", and so on. (The Witch-king of course is the First Nazgûl, which presumably would have been Úlairë Minya had it been necessary.) The ordinals used in order are Attëa, Nelya, Cantëa, Lemenya, Enquëa, Otsëa, Toldëa, and Nertëa.

List of Cards with the Nazgûl Race

Portrait	Card Name	Culture	Card Type	Game Text
	Úlairë Attëa, Keeper of Dol Guldur (1R229)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. Skirmish: Remove to make Úlairë Attëa strength +1 (limit +5).
	Úlairë Cantëa, Lieutenant of Dol Guldur (1R230)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. Skirmish: Exert Úlairë Cantëa to discard a weapon borne by a character he is skirmishing.
	Úlairë Enquëa, Lieutenant of Morgul (1U231)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. Maneuver: Spot 6 companions (or 5 burdens) and exert Úlairë Enquëa to wound a companion (except the Ring-bearer).
	Úlairë Lemenya, Lieutenant of Morgul (1U232)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Each companion or ally who bears a condition is strength -2.
	Úlairë Nelya, Lieutenant of Morgul (1U233)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. Shadow: Exert Úlairë Nelya and spot an opponent’s site to replace it with your site of the same number.
	Úlairë Nertëa, Messenger of Dol Guldur (1U234)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	When you play Úlairë Nertëa, for each companion over 4, you may play 1 minion from your discard pile.
	Úlairë Otsëa, Lieutenant of Morgul (1U235)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Shadow: Exert Úlairë Otsëa to make a minion fierce until the regroup phase.
	Úlairë Toldëa, Messenger of Morgul (1R236)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. Assignment: Spot 4 burdens to assign a companion (except the Ring-bearer) to skirmish Úlairë Toldëa.
	The Witch-king, Lord of Angmar (1R237)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. For each other Nazgûl you can spot, The Witch-king is strength +2.
	Úlairë Attëa, The Easterling (2U82)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Twilight. When you play Úlairë Attëa, you may wound an ally.
	Úlairë Enquëa, Ringwraith in Twilight (2U83)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	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 Nelya, Ringwraith in Twilight (2R84)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Twilight. While you can spot 2 burdens or 2 wounds on the Ring-bearer, Úlairë Nelya is fierce and damage +1
	The Witch-king, Lord of the Nazgul (2R85)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Twilight. Return to Its Master may not be played. Each time The Witch-king wins a skirmish, you may exert him to wound the Ring-bearer twice.
	Úlairë Otsëa, Ringwraith in Twilight (3U86)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Twilight. Each time Úlairë Otsëa wins a skirmish, you may exert him to transfer Blade Tip from your support area to the Ring-bearer.
	Úlairë Lemenya, Winged Hunter (6U86)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Regroup: Exert Úlairë Lemenya and discard 3 cards from hand to return a companion (except the Ring-bearer) to owner’s hand.
	Úlairë Nertëa, Winged Hunter (6U87)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	When you play Úlairë Nertëa, spot another Nazgûl to make the Free Peoples player exert a Ring-bound companion for each Free Peoples culture you can spot over 2.
	Úlairë Toldëa, Winged Sentry (6R88)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. Each time Úlairë Toldëa wins a skirmish, the Free Peoples player must exert a companion or add a burden.
	The Witch-king, Deathless Lord (6P122)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. Each time a companion is killed in a skirmish involving a Nazgûl, wound an ally twice or exert a companion.
	Úlairë Attëa, Wraith on Wings (7R210)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. Shadow: If you have initiative, exert Úlairë Attëa and spot another minion to add a burden.
	Úlairë Cantëa, Faster Than Winds (7R211)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. When you play Úlairë Cantëa, add a threat for each companion over 4. Maneuver: Remove 2 threats and spot another minion to discard a possession.
	Úlairë Enquëa, Faster Than Winds (7U212)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	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 Lemenya, Assailing Minion (7R213)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Úlairë Lemenya is strength +1 for each other minion you spot. While you can spot 3 minions Úlairë Lemenya is fierce. While you can spot 4 minions Úlairë Lemenya is damage +1.
	Úlairë Lemenya, Wraith on Wings (7U214)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Regroup: If you have initiative, discard Úlairë Lemenya to discard a possession.
	Úlairë Nelya, Assailing Minion (7R215)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. Skirmish: Discard a minion to make Úlairë Nelya strength +2.
	Úlairë Nelya, Black-Mantled Wraith (7U216)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. Regroup: If you have initiative, discard Úlairë Nelya to exert each Ring-bound companion.
	Úlairë Nertëa, Black-Mantled Wraith (7U217)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Regroup: If you have initiative, discard Úlairë Nertëa to add a burden.
	Úlairë Otsëa, Black-Mantled Wraith (7U218)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Regroup: If you have initiative, discard Úlairë Otsëa to make the Free Peoples player exert a Ring–bound companion twice or return an unbound companion to his or her hand.
	Úlairë Toldëa, Wraith on Wings (7R219)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. While you have initiative and can spot a Nazgûl, Úlairë Toldëa’s twilight cost is –6.
	The Witch-king, Morgul King (7R221)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. When you play The Witch-king, you may remove a threat to take a card into hand from your discard pile. The Ring-bearer cannot take threat wounds.
	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.
	Úlairë Attëa, Second of the Nine Riders (11R219)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. Each time Úlairë Attëa is assigned to a fierce skirmish involving a character who has resistance 4 or less, you may exert Úlairë Attëa to add a burden.
	Úlairë Cantëa, Fourth of the Nine Riders (11S220)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	While Úlairë Cantëa is at a forest or dwelling site, he is strength +2 and Fierce.
	Úlairë Lemenya, Fifth of the Nine Riders (11S221)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Each character skirmishing Úlairë Lemenya who has resistance 5 or less is strength –3.
	Úlairë Nelya, Third of the Nine Riders (11S222)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. Shadow: Exert Úlairë Nelya to replace the fellowship's current site with a site from your adventure deck.
	Úlairë Nertëa, Ninth of the Nine Riders (11S223)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Lurker. (Skirmishes involving lurker minions must be resolved after any others.) While Úlairë Nertëa is at a forest site, he is strength +2. While you can spot 6 companions, each Nazgûl is strength +2.
	Úlairë Otsëa, Seventh of the Nine Riders (11R224)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	When you play Úlairë Otsëa, you may spot a companion who has X wounds to reveal the top X cards of your draw deck. Take each card revealed this way into hand.
	Úlairë Toldëa, Eighth of the Nine Riders (11S225)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. Each time Úlairë Toldëa wins a skirmish, you may play the fellowship's next site.
	The Witch-king, Captain of the Nine Riders (11R226)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. Toil 2. (For each character you exert when playing this, its twilight cost is –2.) Muster. (At the start of the regroup phase, you may discard a card from hand to draw a card.)
	Black Rider (12U161)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. This minion is strength +1 for each companion you can spot.
	Úlairë Attëa, Black Predator (12R173)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. Skirmish: Remove and discard a card from hand to make Úlairë Attëa strength +3.
	Úlairë Cantëa, Black Assassin (12R174)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. Assignment: Assign Úlairë Cantëa to a companion who has resistance 0. Skirmish: Spot 6 companions and another card to kill a companion Úlairë Cantëa is skirmishing.
	Úlairë Enquëa, Black Threat (12R175)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	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 Lemenya, Black Enemy (12U176)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	When you play Úlairë Lemenya, you may play a mount from your discard pile.
	Úlairë Nelya, Black Hunter (12C177)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. Each time Úlairë Nelya wins a skirmish, you may draw a card.
	Úlairë Nertëa, Black Horseman (12C178)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	The twilight cost of each mount is –1. While Úlairë Nertëa is mounted, each Nazgûl is strength +1 and has muster. (At the start of the regroup phase, you may discard a card from hand to draw a card.)
	Úlairë Otsëa, Black Specter (12R179)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Shadow: Exert Úlairë Otsëa and discard a condition from hand to discard a Free Peoples condition from play.
	Úlairë Toldëa, Black Shadow (12U180)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. When you play Úlairë Toldëa, you may exert him to take a event from your discard pile into hand.
	The Witch-king, Black Lord (12R183)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. The Witch-king is twilight cost –1 for each wound on the Ring-bearer. Each time a companion is played, you may reveal this card from hand to exert the Ring-bearer.
	Úlairë Enquëa, Sixth of the Nine Riders (13R182)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	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 Lemenya, Servant of the Shadow (13U183)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. Shadow: Exert Úlairë Lemenya and discard a Nazgûl from your hand to discard a condition from play.
	Úlairë Nertëa, Servant of the Shadow (13C184)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. While you can spot a companion who has resistance 3 or less, Úlairë Nertëa is twilight cost –2.
	Úlairë Attëa, Desirous of Power (15R184)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. Úlairë Attëa is strength +1 for every 3 twilight tokens you can spot.
	Úlairë Lemenya, Eternally Threatening (15R185)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. When you play Úlairë Lemenya, you may remove to add a threat for each Free Peoples culture you can spot.
	Úlairë Nelya, Fell Rider (15R186)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. While you can spot 6 companions, minions cannot take wounds (except during skirmish phases). Skirmish: If this minion is mounted, exert him twice to wound a companion bearing a condition.
	Úlairë Cantëa, Duplicitous Assassin (17R139)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. Each unbound companion is resistance -1 for each card he or she bears. Skirmish: Exert Úlairë Cantëa to exert a companion with resistance 2 or less.
	Úlairë Enquëa, Duplicitous Lieutenant (17R140)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	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 Otsëa, Duplicitous Specter (17R141)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. When you play Úlairë Otsëa, you may spot another Nazgûl to draw a card for each wounded companion you can spot. Regroup: Exert Úlairë Otsëa and discard a card from hand to add a burden.
	The Witch-king, Conqueror of Arthedain (17R144)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. Each time the Witch-king wins a fierce skirmish, you may exert a companion for each companion you can spot over 4.
	Úlairë Attëa, Dark Predator (19P35)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. While you can spot 5 twilight tokens in the twilight pool and another card, Úlairë Attëa is strength +3.
	Úlairë Enquëa, Dark Threat (19P36)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. Maneuver: Spot 6 companions and discard a Nazgûl from hand to wound an unbound companion.
	Úlairë Lemenya, Dark Enemy (19P37)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. Úlairë Lemenya is strength +1 for each possession in your discard pile.
	Úlairë Nertëa, Dark Horseman (19P38)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. When you play Úlairë Nertëa, name a race. The Free Peoples player cannot assign Úlairë Nertëa to skirmish a companion of the named race.
	Úlairë Toldëa, Dark Shadow (19P39)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. Úlairë Toldëa cannot be assigned to skirmish the same companion in a fierce skirmish that he has already been assigned to this turn.
	The Witch-king, Dark Lord (19P40)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. Skirmish: Discard a Nazgûl from hand to make The Witch-king strength +1 (or strength +2 if you can spot that discarded Nazgûl).
	The Nazgûl (0W10)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. To play, spot a Nazgûl. Menace - When you play this minion, you may add 2 burdens.
	Úlairë Toldëa, Relentless Wraith (0W26)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul
	Úlairë Otsëa, Seventh of the Nine Riders (0W31)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	When you play Úlairë Otsëa, you may spot a companion who has X wounds to reveal the top X cards of your draw deck. Take each card revealed this way into hand.
	The Witch-king, Conqueror of Arthedain (0W37)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. When you play the Witch-king, you may spot an exhausted companion to add 2 threats. Each time the Witch-king wins a skirmish, you may remove a threat to exert a companion for each companion over 4.
	Ringwraith in Twilight (V1_40)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Twilight. This minion is strength +1 for each wound on the Ring-bearer. At the start of the maneuver phase, you may exert this minion to make it fierce until the regroup phase. The Free Peoples player may exert the Ring-bearer to prevent this. ​

List of Cards that Interact with the Nazgûl Race

List is too large to display; see the Advanced Search here.

---