Rallying Orc (12R100)
 Pitiless Orc (12U99)
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Retribution (12R101) 
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Rallying Orc (12R100) is a 
Orc Minion from the Black Rider set.
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Strategy[edit]
Rallying Orc is one of the most powerful Orc minions released, with an outstanding undirected wounding ability. In addition to the damage he does on his own, exerting companions fuels a Demoralized (11U114)
engine, adding Twilight to swarm with Mountain-troll (15R112)
and Goblin Hordes (11R123)
.
Orc culture has Unforgiving Depths (13C120)
, Watchful Orc (11R143)
, and Skulking Goblin (11S138)
to set up Underground sites to activate his ability. You can also run Site Manipulation in your Free Peoples deck to fill the site path with Underground or Battleground sites.
Oftentimes, the Free Peoples player will try to keep their characters exhausted when faced with such a deck, so he also works well with cards like Black Gate Sentry (15U98)
, Orkish Lackey (17C80)
, and Gothmog, Morgul Leader (18R80)
that land the last wound. He's also often played in conjunction with Pitiless Orc (12U99)
, another minion that exerts companions in the Shadow Phase. However, only Lurkers power his exertion ability, so it's important to strike a balance.
Strengths and Weaknesses[edit]
Synergizes With...[edit]
- Orc
Lurker minions. He needs lots of other Lurkers to trigger his ability. Other Orc lurkers also appreciate being at Underground sites, and some of them can buff him. This seems obvious, but if your deck isn't focusing on Lurker minions, you might be better off with cards like Pitiless Orc (12U99)
or even Úlairë Enquëa, Sixth of the Nine Riders (13R182)
. - Site Manipulation or Skulking Goblin (11S138)
. His ability only works at an Underground or Battleground site. In-culture manipulation options include Unforgiving Depths (13C120)
and Watchful Orc (11R143)
.
- Demoralized (11U114)
. With multiple copies of Demoralized in play, exerting companions with Rallying Orc can generate a pile of Twilight.
- Goblin Hordes (11R123)
and Mountain-troll (15R112)
can recur him repeatedly, and love the extra twilight he generates with Demoralized. In particular, when using Mountain-troll, make sure you're playing Rallying Orc from your discard before replaying any other Lurkers.
- Direct wounding or powerful undirected wounding, to help wear down or finish off exhausted companions. Pitiless Orc (12U99)
works alongside him, and Black Gate Sentry (15U98)
, Orkish Lackey (17C80)
, and Gothmog, Morgul Leader (18R80)
can land kills.
- Any effect that wants to spot an exhausted companion, such as Dark Fell About Him (13R178)
.
Strong Versus...[edit]
- Free Peoples exertion abilities. The Shadow Phase is generally the earliest possible part of the turn that the Shadow player can put wounds on companions, so he can preempt companions from exerting to use Maneuver, Archery, Skirmish, and Regroup Phase abilities unless they are healed.
- Any Free Peoples strategy that relies on preventing minions from doing anything, since no card prevents minion abilities that trigger from cards coming into play unless they are explicitly Response: abilities. Perspective (18U25)
can't do anything about him. Ithilien Blade (15C62)
can't prevent him from exerting companions, and those exertions might even prevent the Blade from being used at all. - He broadly counters Stewards’ Legacy (13U75)
and silencing him with it has no effect, but he has some odd interactions with it. If Rallying Orc exerts Denethor, Faramir, or Boromir, then they can trigger Stewards' Legacy and target some other minion with an ability you might've been hoping to use. However, Free Peoples players using Stewards' Legacy are often counting on it to protect them from obnoxious minions. So be careful about the order you play your minions, bearing in mind that exerting Boromir or Faramir will allow your opponent to interrupt and possibly exert or silence one of your own minions. Once Boromir and Faramir are exhausted, though, you're in the clear.
Weak Versus...[edit]
- Site Manipulation, as long as the opponent isn't also setting up an Underground site path. Forestguls, Smeagol decks, and
Gandalf decks are the main culprits. - Fellowships that are just fine not healing and staying exhausted. Rallying Orc can't do anything to exhausted characters, and once the whole Fellowship is exhausted, Demoralized (11U114)
doesn't do anything as long as they don't heal.
- Inherently strong skirmishers. Exhausting a companion doesn't prevent them from being effective in the skirmish phase as long as they win, especially if their last wound is protected with wound prevention like Dwarven Bracers (2U3)
or Sapling of the White Tree (9R35)
. - Response-speed direct wounding. If your opponent can pick him off in your Shadow Phase, then you don't get a chance to make use of his ability. Such effects are rare but popular: the main ones include Shadowplay (10U114)
, Unheeded (8R115)
, Gandalf, Powerful Guide (15R29)
, and Radagast's Herb Bag (18R26)
. - Enduring companions. These are rare, and most of them are very weak and unpopular in Expanded, like
Gondor wraiths.
