For a beginner, the most difficult aspect of picking up The Lord of the Rings^TM Tradable Miniatures Game can be the Special Abilities (SA’s). Movement, Combat and Archery are simple concepts that most individuals have experience with elsewhere; however it is Special Abilities that really make the game interesting and strategic. You can read over the Special Abilities list and learn what each one does and when it is activated, but just by reading it do you gain an understanding of how to use it on the field of battle? Most probably not.

Below are some notes on how to better understand and effectively use the SA’s. These are intended to help beginners to the game get a better grasp of strategy and game play without having to play an inordinate amount of games to do it. Some SA’s require more thought than others and have more uses in the game. Some are simple to comprehend and use while others have uses that don’t automatically seem obvious. Experienced gamers will get little benefit from these rudimentary overviews and may even know of other tactics that can be used with a particular SA.

The Damage Roll

Aggressive Strategy - This Special Ability allows a player to re-roll as many dice as he wants on a particular Damage Roll. For example, if there were 10 total Damage dice rolled and 3 generated hits, a figure with this SA could pay the cost (in AP’s) and then re-roll the remaining 7 dice. This would allow for even more hits. In addition, if you have more than one figure with the Aggressive Strategy SA, you could then activate that figures SA to do it again, rerolling the missed rerolls. This is what could be called a late-game-deciding SA. When you are at a point where you need to put as many opposing figures out, this would be one way to do it. It might cost all of your Hero’s AP’s, but if the end result was to push your opponent to 50% then it would be more than worth it.

Armor - This Special Ability allows the figure holding it to ignore a damage assigned to it in any single turn. So, in essence, if 2 damage dice were assigned to this figure, he/she would take only 1. If 3 were assigned, then the number would be 2. This SA has two main strengths. First, it allows powerful Hero’s to wade into combat and survive longer. Another idea for this SA is to use numerous minions that have it, thereby creating an army that overall ignores quite a few wounds until the AP run out. While your opponent’s figures are dropping like flies, yours are surviving for one more critical turn. You can also look at it like the SA was giving one extra Wound (and perhaps more than one if it was used in more than one turn) to figures having it.

Assassin - This Special Ability allows the figure to assign 2 damage die for each Damage roll that was converted to a 6. This can be very effective in large damage chains and is especially potent when paired with a figure that has the Dirty Fighting SA. Unlike most SA’s that contribute their effect to the entire damage chain, this SA is only used on the opponents in this figure’s Kill Zone. One on one this can also be effective, as the 2 wounds resulting from a Critical Hit conversion will usually eliminate most minions. The downside is that it becomes a very expensive SA when adding in the 2 AP’s it cost to actually convert the Critical Hit. If Assassin were to cost 2, then the final cost would be 4. And that’s a pretty steep price to pay for just an extra wound.

Bodyguard - This SA allows its user to protect an adjacent Hero that is in the same combat from any damage dice being assigned to it during that combat. This does not protect against archery, only against Damage dice assigned during the Combat Phase. The figure with the Bodyguard SA must be in the same combat as well. This means that the Bodyguard can be assigned Damage and eliminated instead of the Hero he is protecting. While the figure protecting the Hero usually goes down quickly, this is still an effective SA. For example, if the opponent had 20 damage dice to assign and could only put them on a "bodyguard" and 2 other lesser minions, that is essentially 14 Damage dice averted or canceled. The Hero would walk out of it without taking any damage whatsoever. In armies that have a particular Hero that the entire group revolves around, such as UR Legolas or UR Gandalf, figures with the Bodyguard SA are very cost effective and useful.

Courage - This Special Ability allows a figure to remain on the map for one extra turn after it should have been eliminated from play. For example, if Boromir were to take enough damage in Combat to exhaust all of his Wounds, then normally he would be removed from play at the end of that turn. With Courage, he doesn’t get removed until the end of the next turn. While not game-breaking, this SA can be very helpful if you are getting close to the 50% needed to lose the game. Even though a figure may have no more Wounds and is on the map only because of Courage, he is still able to fully function as a unit, utilizing AP’s, SA’s, movement and he can fight in the next Combat Phase.