Is Sauron able to play a shadow card before the final combat in the finale? We looked through the rules a few times and didn't find anything that says he can't, but we wanted to be sure since it made such a big difference in the outcome. Specifically, he played "The Black Breath" which says "Play at the start of a combat involving a minion". It gives the hero a corruption, -1 strength, and -1 agility in the battle for each corruption card he has. In our case this gave the hero a -4 penalty, and as you can image the Ring Wraiths dispatched him pretty handily.

I tend to think we played it correctly and this is a lesson in why heros should think about avoiding and removing corruption cards when they can. In the game we played none of the heros ever removed any of the corruption cards they received and didn't really think twice about picking them up when they were given a choice.

Good question! On page 17, under "Playing Shadow Cards", it says: "Only one Shadow card may be played per player's turn. In other words, in a four player game, Sauron may play up to four Shadow cards per round (that being one during his turn, and one during each of the three hero turns).

On page 34, under "Finale", it says: "Once the Finale begins, players no longer take normal turns; instead the following steps are followed..."

So, from those two spots it looks to me like Sauron could not play a Shadow card. However, I agree with you: I think it should be allowed, especially since the heroes have a choice about which character will engage in the final battle.

Maybe when "Our Best Friend" gets back from Gen Con, he'll clue us in.....

TK

I've got an email from Corey K. He says "No. Sauron may NOT play a Shadow card during the finale." This will be added to the next edition of the FAQ.

TK