by Cynthia Hart

Standing behind the Dunlendings and urging them ever to greater battles is Saruman. His words are so powerful that a tiny exertion on his part will raise the strength of a Dunlending Man by +2. He plans not just to raze the plains of Rohan though, but to hinder the Fellowships move to Mordor, forcing them to exert when they move for each Dunland Man in play. If you are worried about your opponent double moving from site 7 to 9, you can play Saruman with several Dunlending men at site 7. Use Saruman's ability to exert to make a Dunlending strength +2 to keep those minions alive and stop you opponent in his tracks.

But stopping a double move is not the only use for Saruman, Rabble-Rouser. All of the major strategies of the culture: fierce fights, site control and possession removal are keyed off their winning skirmishes. In two of these strategies, single fights can make or break a game. It's that first possession removal that is the hardest. Your opponent has his possessions on the table, beefing up his companions. You MUST win the skirmish to remove them. Saruman can help ensure that win.

Site control is the other big battle. Only four Dunlending minions grant site control and in three cases you need two minions on the table to get the site. The Dunlending Ransacker can grant control of a site only if after he wins the skirmish, you can spot another Dunlending Man. At only a 7 strength, the Ransacker is a difficult minion to win skirmishes with. Even an Iron Axe only pumps him up to 10. But with Saruman on the table you can get him to at least a 13. The Hillman Tribe is a little better off, at a base strength of 9, but you can be sure your opponent will be trying all the tricks they can to beat him. The other site control minion, Wulf, needs to see another Dunlending win a skirmish and be able to exert to take control of a site. Once again, Saruman comes in handy. This time, exert him to keep Wulf free of wounds and then again if necessary to allow another minion to win.