Ranger of Westernesse (11S65)
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Well-traveled (11R66) |
Ranger of Westernesse (11S65) is a Gondor Companion from the Shadows set.
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Strategy[edit]
Ranger of Westernesse is Pathfinder (1C110) with a body. He can set the site path for you, then serve as fodder for Saved From the Fire (8R20) , Ithilien Blade (15C62) , or simply chump blocking. There are other non-unique Gondor ranger companions but, except for the rarely-useful Ranger of Osgiliath (7C116) and the more-expensive Dúnedain of the South (15C59) , all of them focus on interacting with roaming minions or culture tokens. Ithilien Blade decks rarely need any more help with roaming minions, and Gondor token decks like Token Tanks generally focus on more-potent unique companions.
Ranger of Westernesse is more useful in Standard, where Pathfinder (1C110) and similar cards like Get On and Get Away (4R304) aren't playable, rather than Expanded. While his cost makes the comparison to Pathfinder unfavorable, he's more attractive when compared to the relatively higher-priced cards in Standard like Well-traveled (11R66) . Even in Expanded, though, some decks also use him as a fifth (or more!) copy of Pathfinder if site manipulation is very important to the deck's strategy.
While he is generally not played in the starting Fellowship in favor of stronger or cheaper alternatives, his ability sets site 2 when you do start with him.
Strengths and Weaknesses[edit]
Synergizes With...[edit]
- Any Gondor strategy that can use a cheap disposable ranger with a generally-useful ability. Saved From the Fire (8R20) and Ithilien Blade (15C62) are notable examples.
Strong Versus...[edit]
- Site manipulation of your own is the best defense against site manipulation.
Weak Versus...[edit]
- Because he sets the Fellowship's next site, he doesn't protect against cards that change that site in the Shadow Phase, like Úlairë Nelya, Third of the Nine Riders (11S222) .
- Large Fellowships with many fodder companions are weak to threat stacks and rule of 6 hate.