"'The Nine are abroad again. They have crossed the River secretly and are moving westward. They have taken the guise of riders in black'"

No, you didn't misread the title - he's not unique. This represents a turning point for the Nazgul culture which, up until now, was the only culture that had to make a deck of solely unique minions. What's that you say? It's a promo? Alas, you are correct. Although, the Black Rider is scheduled to appear the block after the Return of the King, the card (in foiled promo form) is being made available to players across the world as part of the current Fierce Black Rider Tour. In honor of this tour, where Decipher employees compete in booster drafts and give away prizes to players, I present this card in all of its glory.

So what makes this a worthy addition to a Nazgul deck? Given that each starting fellowship will have at least 2-3 companions, the Black Rider plays as a 10-11 strength, Fierce minion for 5 twilight. This is a strong match up, one which is very much in line with the cost/benefit ratio of popular Nazgul such as Ulaire Cantea, Ulaire Enquea, and Ulaire Toldea. The special ability of the Black Rider is that it gets stronger for each free peoples companion your opponent plays. With the current Two Towers site path being shadow intensive, shadow swarms are very popular and these, in turn, result in rather large fellowships. Thus, it will not be unusual to see your 5 twilight Black Rider be strength 14 or greater. It can stand neck and neck with the infamous Witch-King - for 3 less twilight - and it doesn't have to stand there alone - it's not unique!

Of course, the playing field may be quite different when year four rolls around and the Black Rider becomes legal for tournament play, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it now. Try it out in casual play, or your local Race to Mount Doom League, and remember . . . be Fierce.