Ulaire Nertea, Dark Horseman (19P38)
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Ulaire Toldea, Dark Shadow (19P39) |
Ulaire Nertea, Dark Horseman (19P38) is a Ringwraith Minion from the Age's End set.
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Strategy[edit]
Ulaire Nertea, Dark Horseman is one of the most popular versions of Nertea and also a powerful (and by many viewed as broken) card against one- or two-race decks.
When Nertea was released in Ages' End, he became the bane of monoracial decks such as Gondor Tanks and Rohan that run either all companions of their culture and race (with the possible exception of Frodo as Ring-bearer). Nertea is then free to repeatedly be assigned to the Ring-bearer and potentially corrupt them.
Because of this, Nertea was the perfect addition to Nazgul Corruption, as he is strong against Alternate Ring-Bearers, especially ones that have skirmishing penalties like Boromir, Bearer of Council (9R+31) and Gimli, Bearer of Grudges (9R+4) . Ge also can prevent assignments to a companion bearing Sense of Obligation (12U170) , or place The Lingering Shadow on desireable targets, and when played with Saruman, Servant of Sauron (17R38) , he can exert those bearing The Lingering Shadow as well. Nertea also is a solid addition to a Morcs deck, as he easily piles up burdens, and depending on the Ring-bearer, threats or wounds on the Ring-bearer. However, due to his easy monoculture hate, he is widely played in many decks as either a splash minion or as an augmentation to a strategy, i.e. Forestguls or Orc Corruption.
Nertea, then, is an effective counter to many strategies. Against Gondor decks, it is easy to assign Nertea to either Boromir, Bearer of Council (9R+31) or Isildur, Bearer of Heirlooms (9R+33) , piling up burdens or wounds quickly. However, such a strategy often runs Gandalf as a counter to Nertea. A simple way to deal with him is Úlairë Toldëa, Black Shadow (12U180) recurring Too Great and Terrible (3R85) . Alternatively, you can simply try to kill Gandalf with Nertea, often with the help of Saruman, Servant of Sauron (17R38) . Against Dwarven decks, the situation is often similar, unless they play a third race, such as Grimbeorn, Beorning Chieftain (14R6) . Shire decks are often difficult to beat with only Nertea, as they commonly run The One Ring, The Great Ring (19P1) and Merry, Friend to Sam (1R302) . However, if you can play Cavern Entrance (11S232) , it is possible to overwhelm Frodo and then Sam, if they play both. The obvious roadblock is Sting, Baggins Heirloom (5R116) or any other version, or A Promise (2R112) . Gandalf decks, however, run a variety of strong races such as Ent, Man, and Wizard. Thus, Nertea is of little use against that culture. Elven usually has a plethora of skirmish events to protect Galadriel, Bearer of Wisdom (9R+14) , not to mention Galadriel's Silver Ewer (18R11) . Rohan decks are also susceptible to Cavern Entrance (11S232) , as they commonly run Frodo. Occasionally, however, they will run an Alternate Ring-Bearer like Faramir, Bearer of Quality (17R28) or Gandalf, Bearer of Obligation (13R33) . In this case, Nertea is slightly weaker, but still effective.
Strengths and Weaknesses[edit]
Synergizes With...[edit]
- Winged Mount (8U83) to give strength and wound prevention
- Lingering Shadow (12U166) and Lost in the Woods (11U212) . Nertea's assignment restriction can allow you to place them on specific characters.
Strong Versus...[edit]
- Any monoracial deck archetype, such as Dwarven or Gondor decks. Particularly effective at Cavern Entrance (4U355) , to avoid The One Ring, The Great Ring (19P1) shenanigans.
- Support companions like Pippin, Wearer of Black and Silver (7R324) or Merry bearing Merry's Sword (7R242) .
Weak Versus...[edit]
- Rainbow decks
Alternate Personas[edit]
Portrait | Name | Game Text |
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Úlairë Nertëa, Messenger of Dol Guldur (1U234) | When you play Úlairë Nertëa, for each companion over 4, you may play 1 minion from your discard pile. | |
Úlairë Nertëa, Winged Hunter (6U87) | 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 Nertëa, Black-Mantled Wraith (7U217) | Regroup: If you have initiative, discard Úlairë Nertëa to add a burden. | |
Úlairë Nertëa, Thrall of the One (8U80) | Enduring. Fierce. | |
Úlairë Nertëa, Ninth of the Nine Riders (11S223) | 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 Nertëa, Black Horseman (12C178) | 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 Nertëa, Servant of the Shadow (13C184) | Fierce.
While you can spot a companion who has resistance 3 or less, Úlairë Nertëa is twilight cost –2. |
Example Decks[edit]
Notes[edit]
- Ulaire Nertea, Dark Horseman is one of the targets of the Players' Council Errata project.