Sauron Initiative

From LOTR-TCG Wiki

Sauron Initiative is a Sauron-culture deck strategy and subculture in King Block. It's a loose group of orc Tracker minions and associated cards that all get large bonuses when you have seized Initiative.

The main cards of this half-a-deck strategy are:

Besieging Pike (7C265) and Orc Seeker (7R306) also benefit from initiative and are occasionally played with these other cards, but the pike is generally less useful than another minion or a support condition, and Orc Seeker is very similar to the stronger and more-reliable Grishnákh, Orc Captain (5R100) .

This is only half a deck because you still need to seize initiative somehow to activate these minions' gametext. The most popular ways to do so are Mordor Fighter (7R286) (although you'll also need to add threats somehow), or a discard-focused strategy with cards like Orc Inquisitor (1C268) , Tower of Barad-dûr (3R104) , and Desperate Defense of the Ring (1R244) . You can also use Some Secret Art of Flame (7C313) , usually in conjunction with cheap conditions with no spotting requirement like Orc Banner (1R263) , or initiative tools from some other culture, like Raider boats.

These cards hook into other decks very cleanly, since they're relatively efficient and have little cultural enforcement other than needing initiative. The minions are mostly trackers with decent vitality, so they fit into Sauron Grind. Discard decks naturally seize initiative, so they fit into Sauron Discard. The need to set up threats for Mordor Fighter (7R286) might naturally lead you into using some of the minions from Sauron Threats. Like many Sauron strategies in King Block, they're half a deck, looking for the other half.


Gameplay
Game Setup Starting FellowshipBiddingMulligan
Deck Building Considerations UniquenessX-ListR-ListErrataFormat
General Strategies BeatdownBombCorruptionHand ExtensionRun/StopSkirmish CancellationSwarmWin ConditionWound PreventionWounding
Deck Archetypes Auto-Corruption BombBeasterlingsBerserkersBouncing HobbitsElventsForestgulsHobbit HospitalFruit LoopsGondor KnightsGondor RangersGondor WraithsMoria ArcheryMoria BeatdownMoria NavyMoria SwarmMoria TentaclesNazgul BeatdownNinja GollumOrc CorruptionRainbow WoundingSauron GrindSauron InitiativeSauron RoamingSauron ThreatsSolo SmeagolSouthron ArcherySouthron InitiativeStupid SwarmSuper FriendsTelepathyThreatgulsToken TanksTroll SwarmUruk ArcheryUruk MachinesUruk TrackersWarg Super Swarm
Rules Rule of 4Rule of 9
Mechanics BearDiscardDraw DeckExertExhaustedFellowshipInitiativeIn Play/Leave PlayMove LimitReconcileRoamingSite ControlSpotStackSupport AreaThreats
Gameplay Terms BoatBodyBroken/NPE/OPBuff/NerfChokeComboCultural EnforcementCyclingDead DrawFetchFilterFloodGrindHand ClogHateInteractionItemLoopMatchupMetaMillNewbie TrapPilePower CreepPumpRainbowRecursionRemovalResourceRogueRule of 6SideSite ManipulationSpeed BumpSplashSubcultureTankOther Terms