Skirmish Cancellation

Hobbit Stealth (1C298) , an indispensable tool in Fellowship Block

Skirmish Cancellation is an informal game term referring to the phenomenon of cancelling skirmishes. When a skirmish is cancelled, there is no skirmish resolution: no winner, no loser. All characters are unassigned and do not have an opportunity to be assigned to new skirmishes until the next assignment phase (provided there is one), unless a card's game text provides such an opportunity. From Fellowship block to Movie block skirmish cancelling waned in availability for Shire, the culture with the most access to it and the largest driver of its use overall. It regained popularity thanks to No Visitors (15C150) and Halfling Leaf (17U106) cards in Standard and Expanded, the only formats in which decks can be built to reliably handle skirmishes by cancelling them all game long.

Skirmish cancelling is used primarily to avoid losing the skirmish and having companions wounded or killed: Hobbits and Smeagol typically have 3 strength without any equipment and are often at risk of being overwhelmed if they have to skirmish. However, there may be other reasons to wish to cancel a skirmish. If an opponent has effects that trigger off of winning a skirmish (such as The Witch-king, Lord of the Nazgul (2R85) or Goblin Swarms (1R183) ), the Free Peoples player may go out of their way to cancel those skirmishes and avoid what would otherwise be manageable losses. Because the Free Peoples player takes the first action and cancelling a skirmish ends it immediately, skirmish cancelling can deprive a Shadow player of taking any skirmish actions at all. Úlairë Cantëa, Lieutenant of Dol Guldur (1R230) can wreak long-term havoc by disarming a Fellowship, even if it winds up losing every skirmish -- if only given the opportunity.

Skirmish Cancelling by Format

Fellowship

Skirmish Cancelling is a large part of the meta here, for several reasons. First and foremost is the presence of Hobbit Stealth (1C298) and Hobbit Intuition (1C296) . Though they appear rather plain, they are among the most efficient skirmish events in the game: for a Hobbit with 3 strength, there is often no more better possible outcome than cancelling the skirmish completely. Barring that, just +2 strength is a substantial increase and offers even more protection from being overwhelmed than an effect that raises the overwhelm multiplier such as Bounder (1C286) (A 5 strength Hobbit requires a 10 strength foe to overwhelm normally, a 3 strength Hobbit protected by Bounder requires only 9 strength). Any and every deck can benefit from them, so until site 6 the Shadow player must be weary of skirmishes involving a Hobbit being cancelled regardless of the Free Peoples' overall strategy. Second, The Bridge of Khazad-dûm (1C349) requires that every deck have a "Balrog contingency plan." Cancelling its skirmish is typically more realistic than getting a companion up to 18 strength to win the skirmish and more desirable than allowing companions to be wounded or killed. Third, Filibert Bolger, Wily Rascal (2C101) and O Elbereth! Gilthoniel! (2R108) allow a reliable way out of otherwise insurmountable odds, especially at site 9 when the Fellowship has been worn thin and The Ring-bearer is assigned to skirmish minions many times stronger than himself.

While Hobbits are the main driver of skirmish cancelling regardless of format, Gandalf's Staff (2R22) is noteworthy for being the only permanent and reliable way for a character other than a Hobbit or Smeagol to cancel skirmishes until Erkenbrand's Shield (18R97) was released in the last regular set.

Towers

While it has a place, skirmish cancelling is less prominent Towers site path than it was in Fellowship block; all of the factors that led it to prominence in Fellowship turned against it. Hobbit Stealth / Hobbit Intuition were ruled to only cancel skirmishes on the Fellowship block site path, and the two successor events (Severed His Bonds (4C319) and Swiftly and Softly (4C321) ) offer very little once they can't cancel skirmishes anymore. Rather than risk drawing dead cards in the last sites when the opponent's Shadow side is often at its strongest, most players simply didn't include them. Without a reliable big threat like The Balrog, players had no reason to plan for losing skirmishes at any particular point in time. Filibert Bolger and O Elbereth! Gilthoniel! were banned with the introduction of the X-list shortly after the release of set 4. A few new skirmish cancelling cards were added, though the most played of them - Escape (4R300) and Frodo's Cloak (4R303) - are primarily used for their other functions (vitality and burden removal/healing, respectively). In short, cancelling skirmishes happens much less often and is much more predictable. Towers is also the only format without a competitive Hobbit-only deck, though they still tend to make up a majority in Legolas, Dauntless Hunter (4R73) and Sméagol, Slinker (5R29) decks.

Men gained access to skirmish cancelling in this block with Curse Them (4C113) , Boromir's Gauntlets (4C112) , and Rohirrim Helm (5R89) . However, because these companions are also typically the strongest skirmishers they are less popular -- by and large, deck space spent on cancelling skirmishes is better spent on cards to win them.

King

Sets 7 and 8 saw even fewer opportunities to cancel skirmishes, and there was no real successor to Severed His Bonds / Swiftly and Softly -- only A Fool (8C14) . In the Standard format of The Return of the King and Siege of Gondor, the only way to cancel the Ring-bearer's skirmish was Curse Them (4C113) . Tom Bombadil, The Master (9R+52) from Reflections appeared to fill the void, but a rules change accompanied the set's new Alternate Ring-Bearers which forbid the Ring-bearer's skirmish from being cancelled altogether. Filibert Bolger and O Elbereth! Gilthoniel! were removed from the X-list as a result (the only time previously banned cards were allowed again without a change in the site path), although since Ring-bearer skirmishes couldn't be cancelled only Filibert Bolger added back to the skirmish cancelling arsenal. Even so, by the end of King Block Hobbits didn't have to rely on cancelling skirmishes to survive anymore. Everyone Knows (9R50) had alleviated much of the need to cancel skirmishes for Merry and Pippin while Sam, Great Elf Warrior (10P122) , the game's strongest version of Sam, was released in Mount Doom. A somewhat controversial substitute to skirmish cancelling, The Tale of the Great Ring (10U116) , picks up any remaining slack, particularly for Frodo who is virtually unkillable through wounds thanks to The One Ring. The result of it all is that skirmish cancelling is more readily available than it was in Towers and less needed than ever before.

Shadows and Beyond

War of the Ring Block brought the most changes to the game than any set before with the "Standard" format split into two halves: the Decipher-preferred Standard, which introduced set rotation, and the player-preferred Expanded. With each new set released, the oldest set was made illegal in Standard -- set 12 rotated out set 2, which dropped all three skirmish cancelling cards remaining from Fellowship block. The skirmish cancelling cards introduced were weak at best, and the mechanic seemed sure to become an occasional gimmick rather than anything of importance. Then set 15 ushered in Hunters Block and No Visitors (15C150) . A two-card combo with Daddy Twofoot, Next-door Neighbor (13U144) allows the Free Peoples player to reliably dodge a skirmish every turn. Bilbo, Aged Ring-bearer (13R142) knocks off the cost (often removing an extra burden as well) so that players need nothing else to do it every turn, though sometimes Bilbo, Melancholy Hobbit (12R119) is preferred to pull back the same event twice per turn (once by Daddy Twofoot in the maneuver phase and once by Bilbo in his skirmish) while other components of the deck handle the burdens and wounds (two of the Shire culture's greatest strengths). Halfling Leaf (17U106) is even more reliable for unbound Hobbits, particularly in Expanded where it is able to discard Fellowship block pipeweed possessions to cancel skirmishes. With both No Visitors and Halfling Leaf, a Hobbit deck may only ever have to plan on what to do if the Ring-bearer is assigned to a skirmish (see Replacing Characters).

Shadow Skirmish Cancelling

Because minions are far more expendable than companions, skirmish cancelling is a mechanic entirely for the Free Peoples. Almost. Race Across the Mark (4R168) provides the only avenue for the Shadow player to cancel skirmishes (though the assignment cancelling from Return to Its Master (1R224) generally provides the same result - see Removing Characters). The Uruk Trooper (4R199) family of minions most directly benefit, able stack themselves on a site and potentially set up a swarm later. Several Isengard trackers and Uruk-hai hunters are much stronger in fierce skirmishes (e.g., Uruk Plains Runner (4C189) and Pursuing Uruk (15C167) ), and cancelling the first is one way to keep them alive long enough for their text to kick in. Aside from these specific usages, allowing any minion to avoid a skirmish that would kill it means the Free Peoples will have a much harder time ever moving twice. Realistically though, the setup and cost of using the card outweigh most benefits -- if the Shadow player is able to control a site, they must have already been able accomplish these things (winning skirmishes or minions surviving until the regroup phase) without spending the extra twilight.

Related Concepts

Removing Characters

Removing a character from the current skirmish does not cancel it -- if the Free Peoples character or all minions are removed, the other side wins (removed characters are neither winning nor losing characters). However, if all characters from one side of a skirmish are removed before a skirmish begins, that skirmish never occurs and neither side wins or loses. In this case, the assignment is what becomes effectively cancelled -- a very similar result to cancelling the skirmish for whichever characters remain. Unlike cancelling skirmishes, Shadow players have a real opportunity to participate in removing characters, often by killing/discarding their own minions but occasionally by doing the same to Free Peoples characters.

This began in Fellowship block as something restricted to the Free Peoples. Gimli's Battle Axe (1R14) and Long Knives of Legolas offered protection against swarms by allowing Gimli or Legolas to wound minions assigned to Frodo (or anyone else) after they win their own skirmishes, hopefully killing it. The events Dismay Our Enemies (2U17) , Staff Asunder (2R27) , and Flee in Terror (2U33) allow minions to be discarded directly, though somewhat unreliably.

With decreased support for skirmish cancelling in Towers came a new concept: discarding companions, specifically Merry and Pippin. The text on each Towers version of these characters discards them, though only Merry, Learned Guide (4C310) and Pippin, Woolly-footed Rascal (4C314) are able to do it while assigned to a skirmish. Warmed Up a Bit (4C322) may be used with any copy of them to get out of a skirmish, while Knocked on the Head (4C308) , Treebeard, Earthborne , and Gandalf, Greyhame (4R89) offer more reliable ways to pull them back than hoping to draw another copy.

Merry, Unquenchable Hobbit (4R311) and Pippin, Just a Nuisance (4R313) are the only way for the Free Peoples player to remove a minion from a skirmish without killing or discarding it. This is one step up from cancelling a skirmish since it counts as a win for the companion (even though the minion does not lose). Return to Its Master (1R224) and Mordor Assassin (7R284) are the only ways for skirmish assignments to be undone without having one side killed/discarded.

Sometimes the thing that the Free Peoples player is trying to accomplish is not to prevent a companion from being wounded or killed, but prevent a particular minion from being able to win a skirmish and avoid response actions or triggers such as The Witch-king, Lord of the Nazgul (2R85) or Goblin Swarms (1R183) . While rarely ideal, the Free Peoples player is sometimes able to kill their own companions assigned to skirmish other minions to dodge those effects. By discarding a vitality-granting card such as The Tale of Gil-galad (1R66) , the Free Peoples player can kill an exhausted companion. The introduction of threats in King block allowed players to take advantage this more reliably: by allowing (or being forced to) kill a companion in one skirmish, a second may be killed by threat wounds. While certainly a heavy blow to lose two or more companions in a single skirmish, it is often less painful than allowing an opponent to take advantage of these effects -- particularly when the companions were going to die in their skirmishes anyway.

While there are a few Shadow cards that allow players to discard or kill their own minions mid-skirmish, ideal usage is obstructed by the fact that the Free Peoples decides skirmish order. If a Shadow player might benefit from discarding a minion before its skirmish (e.g., using Orc Cutthroat (5U104) to discard an Orc that will be killed in its skirmish anyway), the Free Peoples player can often simply resolve those skirmishes first. The lurker keyword solves issue this by forcing lurker skirmishes to be resolved last, allowing for cards such as Column of Easterlings (11C72) to have a greater chance of meaningful impact. Only cards from War of the Ring block use lurker, however, and it is very limited in scope as a result.

Replacing Characters

Like Towers before it, King Block offered another new way to get out of a skirmish. This time, by allowing certain companions to take the place of the companion currently skirmishing. Counts But One (8U4) , Mighty Steed (8U17) , and Brave and Loyal (10U105) gave Gimli, Gandalf, and any Hobbit the ability to fight in the place of other companions. While the skirmish still occurs, allowing these companions to "fight twice" can save the replaced character from certain death. Typically these are used so a strong companion wins two skirmishes, but they may also let an expendable companion be wounded or killed and save a more important character from the same fate. The concept was expanded in later formats, most notably in Pippin, Brave Decoy (11R170) able to do it at essentially no cost, Guardian (12U50) opening up access to Gondor, and Frodo, Frenzied Fighter (13R149) - the only non-Ring-bearer version of Frodo - capable of replacing the Ring-bearer in a skirmish.

Importantly, cancelling a skirmish and replacing a character are not exclusive. Pippin can be assigned to skirmish a minion, cancel the skirmish with Halfling Leaf (17U106) , replace another companion, and then cancel *that* skirmish as well. If the other companion has a sufficiently large defender bonus, this may constitute the entirety of the skirmish phases for the site (with just one opportunity for the Shadow player to act, after the Free Peoples uses Pippin's ability). While The Ring-bearer's skirmish cannot be cancelled in Movie block and beyond, Frodo, Frenzied Fighter's skirmish can -- and because he can replace the Ring-bearer, it is possible for a Hobbit deck to cancel every single skirmish all game long regardless of the original assignments.

See Also

Most of the time skirmish cancelling is used to protect companions from being wounded or killed by losing their skirmish, but avoiding the skirmish altogether isn't the only way to mitigate these outcomes. Wound Prevention is a much more common practice for both Free Peoples and Shadow players, allowing characters to simply not take wounds. Overwhelm Protection is a Free Peoples effect, helping to prevent characters from being overwhelmed and killed outright. Refer to those articles for more information.

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Related Cards

Skirmish Cancelling

Card Name	Culture	Card Type	Game Text
Hobbit Intuition (1C296)	Shire	Event	Stealth. Skirmish: At sites 1 to 4, cancel a skirmish involving a Hobbit. At any other site, make a Hobbit strength +3.
Hobbit Stealth (1C298)	Shire	Event	Stealth. Skirmish: At sites 1 to 5, cancel a skirmish involving a Hobbit. At any other site, make a Hobbit strength +2.
Gandalf's Staff (2R22)	Gandalf	Artifact • Staff	Bearer must be Gandalf. The twilight cost of each spell is -1. Skirmish: Exert Gandalf twice to cancel a skirmish involving him.
Filibert Bolger, Wily Rascal (2C101)	Shire	Ally • Home 1 • Hobbit	Skirmish: Exert a Hobbit companion twice to cancel a fierce skirmish involving that Hobbit.
O Elbereth! Gilthoniel! (2R108)	Shire	Condition	Tale. Bearer must be the Ring-bearer. Skirmish: Discard this condition to take off The One Ring or to cancel a skirmish involving the Ring-bearer and a Nazgûl.
Voice of Nimrodel (3C28)	Elven	Event	Tale. Skirmish: Exert an Elf at a river or forest to cancel a skirmish involving that Elf.
Boromir's Gauntlets (4C112)	Gondor	Possession • Gauntlets	Bearer must be a Man. Skirmish: Exert bearer to cancel a skirmish involving bearer. Any Shadow player may remove to prevent this.
Curse Them (4C113)	Gondor	Event	Skirmish: Exert a Ring-bound Man to cancel a skirmish involving a roaming minion.
Escape (4R300)	Shire	Condition	Stealth. Bearer must be an unbound Hobbit. Limit 1 per character. Skirmish: Exert bearer twice to cancel a skirmish involving him. Any Shadow player may remove to prevent this.
Frodo's Cloak (4R303)	Shire	Possession • Cloak	Bearer must be Frodo. Skirmish: At sites 1 to 4, add a burden and discard this possession to cancel a skirmish involving Frodo. At any other site, discard this possession to remove a burden and heal Frodo.
Severed His Bonds (4C319)	Shire	Event	Stealth. Skirmish: At sites 1 to 4, cancel a skirmish involving a Hobbit. At any other site, prevent a Hobbit from being overwhelmed unless his or her strength is tripled.
Swiftly and Softly (4C321)	Shire	Event	Stealth. Skirmish: At sites 1 to 5, cancel a skirmish involving a Hobbit. At any other site, prevent a Hobbit from taking more than 1 wound.
Rohirrim Helm (5R89)	Rohan	Possession • Helm	Bearer must be a Man. Skirmish: Discard this possession to cancel a skirmish involving bearer. A minion in this skirmish may exert to prevent this.
Rohirrim Helm (5R127)	Rohan	Possession • Helm	Bearer must be a Man. Skirmish: Discard this possession to cancel a skirmish involving bearer. A minion in this skirmish may exert to prevent this.
Sneaking! (7R73)	Gollum	Event • Skirmish	Stealth. Heal Sméagol (or cancel Sméagol’s skirmish if he has more vitality than the minion or minions he is skirmishing).
Tom Bombadil, The Master (9R+52)	Shire	Ally • Home 2	To play, remove 2 burdens or 2 threats. Skirmish: Spot 2 companions and exert Tom Bombadil X times, where X is the fellowship’s site number, to cancel a skirmish involving a companion.
Slunk Out of Sight (10U115)	Shire	Event • Skirmish	Stealth. If there are 6 or more cards in your discard pile, cancel a skirmish involving your Hobbit and a minion who is not fierce. Each minion in that skirmish is fierce until the regroup phase.
Sméagol, Scout and Guide (11R51)	Gollum	Companion	Ring-bound. To play, add a burden. Each time Sméagol wins a skirmish, you may play the fellowship's next site. Skirmish: If Sméagol is at a marsh, exert him to cancel a skirmish involving him.
Crouched Down (11C162)	Shire	Event • Skirmish	Stealth. Cancel a skirmish involving a Hobbit and a minion whose strength is lower than that Hobbit's resistance.
Incognito (11C167)	Shire	Event • Skirmish	Stealth. If the fellowship is at a dwelling site, exert 2 Hobbits to cancel a skirmish involving a Hobbit. At any other site, exert 2 Hobbits to make a Hobbit strength +3.
Humble Homestead (13R152)	Shire	Condition • Support Area	To play, spot 2 Hobbits. When you play this, add a token here for each forest site and each dwelling site on the adventure path. Skirmish: Discard this from play or remove 3 tokens from here to cancel a skirmish involving a Hobbit.
No Visitors (15C150)	Shire	Event • Skirmish	Transfer a follower from a Hobbit to your support area to cancel a skirmish involving that Hobbit.
Halfling Leaf (17U106)	Shire	Condition • Support Area	Pipeweed. To play, spot a Hobbit. Skirmish: Discard a pipeweed from play to cancel a skirmish involving an unbound Hobbit.
Erkenbrand's Shield (18R97)	Rohan	Possession • Shield	Bearer must be a Man. The minion archery total is -1. Skirmish: Add to cancel a fierce skirmish involving bearer. Response: If a Man is about to take a wound, spot Gandalf and exert bearer to prevent that wound.
Make a Run For It (18C109)	Shire	Event • Skirmish	Remove 2 tokens to cancel a skirmish involving an unbound Hobbit.
Race Across the Mark (4R168)	Isengard	Condition	Skirmish: Spot a site you control and remove to cancel a skirmish involving an Uruk-hai. ​

Directly Removing Characters from Skirmish Assignments

While there are many cards that discard or kill skirmishing characters, doing so is just another way to win a skirmish rather than a way avoid one. Therefore, only cards reasonably capable of removing non-skirmishing characters are listed here. Cards indirectly capable of removing characters by wounding or otherwise reducing vitality are excluded.

Discarding Companions

Card Name	Culture	Card Type	Game Text
Merry, Learned Guide (4C310)	Shire	Companion • Hobbit	Skirmish: Exert the Ring-bearer to discard Merry. Any Shadow player may remove to prevent this.
Pippin, Woolly-footed Rascal (4C314)	Shire	Companion • Hobbit	Skirmish: Add a burden to discard Pippin. Any Shadow player may remove to prevent this.
Warmed Up a Bit (4C322)	Shire	Event	Stealth. Skirmish: Discard an unbound Hobbit.
Where Now The Horse (17U103)	Rohan	Event • Skirmish	Spot a companion to make Frodo strength +5. If Frodo loses the skirmish, discard that companion.
Bold Men and Grim (7R129)	Raider	Condition • Support Area	To play, spot 2 Men and add a threat. Each time a companion is about to be killed, you may remove a threat to discard a companion (except the Ring-bearer). Discard this condition at the start of the regroup phase. ​

Discarding Minions

Card Name	Culture	Card Type	Game Text
Dismay Our Enemies (2U17)	Elven	Event	Response: If an Elf archer wins a skirmish, make an opponent choose a minion to discard. That opponent may remove to prevent this.
Flee in Terror (2U33)	Gondor	Event	Response: If a companion wins a skirmish, discard an exhausted Orc. That minion’s owner may remove to prevent this.
Don’t Follow the Lights (6C38)	Gollum	Event	Response: If Sméagol wins a skirmish, add a burden to discard a minion.
Diversion (12R120)	Shire	Event • Regroup	Discard a Hobbit not assigned to a skirmish from play to discard a minion from play. If the fellowship is at a battleground site, you may add 2 burdens to play this event during a skirmish involving a Hobbit.
Duinhir, Tall Man of Blackroot Vale (14R8)	Gondor	Companion • Man	While you can spot a mount, Duinhir is damage +1. Each time Duinhir wins a skirmish, if you can spot more minions than companions, you may exert him to discard a minion that has strength 7 or less.
Orc Cutthroat (5U104)	Sauron	Minion • Orc	Tracker. The site number of each Orc is -3. Skirmish: Discard another Orc and exert Orc Cutthroat to wound a companion he is skirmishing.
Úlairë Nelya, Assailing Minion (7R215)	Ringwraith	Minion • Nazgul	Fierce. Skirmish: Discard a minion to make Úlairë Nelya strength +2.
Gorgoroth Axeman (7U271)	Sauron	Minion • Orc	Besieger. Skirmish: Discard this minion to make a minion strength +1 for each site you control (or +2 if you have initiative).
Orc Fanatic (7C300)	Sauron	Minion • Orc	Skirmish: Discard this minion to make another Orc strength +3.
Orc Rager (7C304)	Sauron	Minion • Orc	Skirmish: Discard this minion to make another Orc strength +4.
Column of Easterlings (11C72)	Men	Minion • Man	Lurker. (Skirmishes involving lurker minions must be resolved after any others.) Skirmish: Discard this minion to make a minion strength +4.
Massing Strength (13C111)	Orc	Event • Skirmish	Discard any number of your minions from play to make an minion strength +3 for each one discarded.
Battlefield Recruit (15S95)	Orc	Minion • Orc	Skirmish: Discard this minion to make a minion strength +2.
Battlefield Veteran (15S96)	Orc	Minion • Orc	Skirmish: Discard this minion to make a minion strength +1. ​

Other

While Merry and Pippin can only remove skirmishing characters, they do so in a way that more closely resembles skirmish cancelling than a conventional skirmish win. The primary function of Return to Its Master and Mordor Assassin are, of course, killing the Ring-bearer. Mordor Assassin is almost impossible to meaningfully use for anything else, but Return to Its Master has been creatively repurposed to take advantage of the assignment cancellation from time to time.

Card Name	Culture	Card Type	Game Text
Return to Its Master (1R224)	Ringwraith	Event	Response: If the Ring-bearer wears The One Ring at the end of a skirmish phase, cancel all remaining assignments and assign a Nazgûl to skirmish the Ring-bearer; The One Ring’s game text does not apply during this skirmish.
Merry, Unquenchable Hobbit (4R311)	Shire	Companion • Hobbit	Skirmish: If Merry is not assigned to a skirmish, discard him to remove a Orc from a skirmish involving an unbound companion.
Pippin, Just a Nuisance (4R313)	Shire	Companion • Hobbit	Skirmish: If Pippin is not assigned to a skirmish, discard him to remove an Uruk-hai from a skirmish involving an unbound companion.
Mordor Assassin (7R284)	Sauron	Minion • Orc	Response: If a companion is overwhelmed during a skirmish involving a Orc, remove a threat to assign this minion to the Ring-bearer (even if the Ring-bearer is already assigned). ​

Replacing Characters in Skirmishes

Card Name	Culture	Card Type	Game Text
Counts But One (8U4)	Dwarven	Event • Skirmish	If Gimli is not assigned to a skirmish, add a threat to have him replace an unbound companion in a skirmish.
Mighty Steed (8U17)	Gandalf	Event • Skirmish	If Gandalf is not assigned to a skirmish, spot Shadowfax or exert Gandalf to have him replace an unbound companion in a skirmish.
Brave and Loyal (10U105)	Shire	Event • Skirmish	If a Hobbit companion is not assigned to a skirmish, exert that Hobbit to have him or her replace a companion (except the Ring-bearer) in a skirmish.
Pippin, Brave Decoy (11R170)	Shire	Companion • Hobbit	Skirmish: If Pippin is not assigned to a skirmish, spot an unbound companion who has less resistance than Pippin to have Pippin replace him or her in a skirmish.
Gandalf, The White Rider (12R27)	Gandalf	Companion • Wizard	Skirmish: If Gandalf is not assigned to a skirmish, exert him and another unbound companion skirmishing a minion to make Gandalf strength +3 and have him replace that companion in that skirmish.
Blade of Gondor, Sword of Boromir (12R42)	Gondor	Possession • Hand Weapon	Bearer must be Boromir. He is damage +1. Skirmish: If Boromir is not assigned to a skirmish, discard a card borne by him to have him replace an unbound Hobbit skirmishing a minion.
Guardian (12U50)	Gondor	Condition • Support Area	Toil 2. (For each character you exert when playing this, its twilight cost is –2.) Skirmish: If a companion is not assigned to a skirmish, discard this condition to have him or her replace an unbound companion skirmishing a minion.
Frodo, Frenzied Fighter (13R149)	Shire	Companion • Hobbit	Ring-bound. While you can spot more minions than companions, Frodo cannot be overwhelmed unless his strength is tripled. Skirmish: If Frodo is not assigned to a skirmish, exert Frodo to have him replace a Ring-bound companion skirmishing a minion. ​