Spring 2026 PC Balance Patch: V3 Errata
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PC Errata Changelog
It's time! It took us longer than we'd hoped, but here is the errata for V3. Separate from those, there are also some wording reworks for finicky cards as well as some major buffs for Isengard (mainly targeting their lackluster performance in PC-Fellowship).
V3
Gondor
Aragorn, King of Gondor and Arnor
Text was unwieldy and static strength +3 too much. Now it's strength +2 in the usual gondor/rohan setup and can only go higher with more exotic Men (or Shadow Men). In addition, his threat/burden removal now requires an exertion on his part.
NERFED
Game text: Aragorn is strength +1 for each culture among other Men you can spot. Each time the fellowship moves, you may exert Aragorn and hinder another unbound Man to remove a threat or a burden.
Northern Signal-fire, Flame of Amon Din
The wound-prevention beacon was underperforming compared to the others.
BUFFED
Game text: Beacon. To play, hinder 2 beacons. Response: If an unbound Man costing X is about to take a wound, spot X beacons to prevent that wound. Hinder a beacon.
Northern Signal-fire, Flame of Nardol
The archery beacon is now limited to at most +5 (the number of hinderable beacons you can have), which means you lose access to any of their abilities (and it also means you can't easily combo this with the capstone)
NERFED
Game text: Beacon. To play, hinder 2 beacons. Archery: Hinder X beacons and discard X 
or 
conditions or possessions to make the fellowship archery total +X.
Cirith Ungol Watchers
Both are overperforming, and the 
automatic burden one was unlocking too many shenanigans.
Removed the on-play bonus and reduced the secondary hinder bonus from 3->2 threats for the Sauron version.
Cirith Ungol Watcher, Spirit of Vigilance
NERFED
Game text: To play, spot a card and add a burden. Each time a companion exerts, draw a card (limit once per site). Response: If a companion is exerted by a Free Peoples card, discard another Cirith Ungol Watcher to add 
and hinder that companion.
Cirith Ungol Watcher, Hideous Warden
NERFED
Game text: To play, spot a 
card and add a threat. Each time a companion exerts, draw a card (limit once per site). Response: If a companion is exerted by a Free Peoples card, discard another Cirith Ungol Watcher to add 2 threats and hinder that companion.
Twilight Pyramid
The overall Sauron pyramid is performing too well, but given the levers available we've opted to try and make only small tweaks. Like with Gondor we're also buffing the underperforming pieces.
Cover of Darkness, Omen of Gloom
Omen of Gloom had a high enough win rate that it was obvious that its ability to accelerate the pyramid was extremely good. we've added a 
tax to each tutored piece.
NERFED
Game text: Twilight. To play, hinder 2 twilight conditions. Shadow: Hinder this condition and remove to take a twilight card into hand from your draw deck. Regroup: Hinder a twilight card to add .
Cover of Darkness, Omen of Horror
Omen of Horror was the odd man out on effectiveness (30%), so it's been given a buff. It now only needs 1 extra twilight condition and not 2 to get the +2.
BUFFED
Game text: Twilight. To play, hinder 2 twilight conditions. Skirmish: Exert an Orc or Troll and hinder a twilight condition to make that minion strength +2.
Ominous Sky
Ominous Sky has had its cost increased from 1-> 2, and Endless Night from 4 -> 5. Both of those have effects that are harder to alter, so making it harder to get them out should pump the brakes.
NERFED
Twilight cost: -> 
Endless Night
NERFED
Twilight cost: 
-> 
Empowered Nazgul
These have been standouts, and we're gonna hit their knees a little so they don't stand up so tall.
Ulaire Lemenya, Anointed with Terror
Lemenya has had "other" added to both clauses, which reduces his total ceiling by 1 strength in both cases.
NERFED
Game text: Fierce. Each character skirmishing this minion is strength -1 for each other Nazgul you can spot (or -1 for each other companion you can spot if you can spot 6 companions).
Ulaire Nelya, Glorified to Conquer
Nelya has been buffed due to being the laggard of the group; his ability is now set up with a tiered limit as part of a normal skirmish ability, while having a total cap that should be straightforward.
REWORKED
Game text: Fierce. Skirmish: Exert this minion to make a Nazgul strength +1 for each of your sites on the adventure path (limit +2, or limit +5 if you can spot another Nazgul).
Ulaire Otsea, Consecrated by Pestilence
Otsea has had a tax added
NERFED
Game text: Fierce. Each time a Nazgul wins a skirmish, you may exert this minion and remove to play a Shadow condition from your discard pile. Add a threat if it is .
Ulaire Toldea, Blessed with Brutality
Toldea against weaker companions is now "exert this minion to exert that companion or add a threat"
REWORKED
Game text: Fierce. Each time this minion is assigned to a stronger companion, you may exhaust this minion to hinder that companion. Each time this minion is assigned to a weaker companion, you may exert this minion to exert that companion or add a threat.
The Witch-king, Empowered by His Master
TWK is having Fierce removed; Enduring / Damage+1 still lets him do a lot of damage, and now you have to pair him with existing Nazgul tools to turn him into a true monster. In addition, his ability has been altered to require you to spot another Nazgul on play, meaning that a single-minion drop no longer devastates the board.
NERFED
Game text: Fierce. Enduring. Damage +1. When you play this minion, spot another Nazgul to hinder all Free Peoples cards of one type (except companion). The Free Peoples player may restore any number of their cards, and must exert one of their characters for each card restored.
Nazgul Misc
Ill Wind
Ill Wind has been reworked to have a prevention clause rather than being nigh-automatic.
NERFED
Game text: The second time you play a Nazgul each Shadow phase, you may hinder a wounded companion (except a companion with the highest strength). The Free Peoples player may make you exert another companion to prevent this (or wound if you can spot The Witch-king).
Morgul Legions
Morgul Legions now adopts the "second play" formula of Ill Wind and shifts the hinder to one selected by Shadow to compensate.
NERFED
Game text: The second time you play a Orc each Shadow phase, you may hinder a Free Peoples possession. Shadow: Spot a Nazgul to play any number of possessions on your Orcs from your discard pile. Discard this condition.
No Man May Hinder Me
No Man has had its restore effect reduced to 1 Nazgul instead of all Nazgul (probably inconsequential).
NERFED
Game text: Maneuver or Skirmish: Restore a Nazgul. Then you may exert The Witch-king twice to hinder all Free Peoples possessions.
Desert Wind Trackers
These are stinkers. Straight up 30% win rate, utter garbage. These buffs are a little eye-watering, but that might be necessary for Southrons to be playable much at all.
Desert Wind Initiate
Initiate now gives a blanket -1 twilight to all Southrons. It stacks less well than you might think for other DW trackers, as it doesn't reduce the on-play tax. And since other southrons kinda suck in general, this sort of giant orbital laser might be needed.
BUFFED
Game text: Southron. Tracker. Ambush 
. Other Southrons are twilight cost -1. When you play this minion, remove or hinder this minion.
Desert Wind Scout
Scout now hinders or restores another minion. Can be used to flip a taxed tracker or his original use.
BUFFED
Game text: Southron. Tracker. Ambush . When you play this minion, remove or hinder this minion. Each time this minion is hindered, you may hinder or restore another 
minion.
Desert Wind Whisper
Whisper is actually nerfed, it has a 4-twilight tax to ensure he's not too easy to play with the Initiate discount.
NERFED
Game text: Southron. Tracker. When you play this minion, remove -> or hinder this minion. Each minion with ambush (X) is strength +X.
Sandcraft Trap
Sandcraft Trap now grants a blanket +1 strength to all Southrons if the trap triggers, in addition to the ambush.
BUFFED
Game text: Restore all trackers and minions with ambush. If you restored any, make each Southron ambush and strength +1 until the regroup phase.
Bladetusk Mumakil
For all the work that went into making Mumaks not too powerful, they apparently do diddly squat. This is almost certainly due to being easily disrupted by Roll of Thunder, even with the nerf. Gandalf gets to pick when the Mumaks get halted, and Raider can do almost nothing about it. Strength of Men is thus being reworked to be a counter to hinder effects.
Bladetusk Charger
Charger is now +4 instead of +3, due to being harder to justify (out of the three, he is just "combine Southrons you already paid for").
BUFFED
Game text: Maneuver: Stack 1 or more Southron Men here to make this a fierce mounted Southron minion until the end of the turn that is strength +4 and ambush for each Southron stacked here. At the start of each skirmish involving this minion, add a threat (or 2 threats if there are 4 Southrons stacked here).
Bladetusk Matriarch
Matriarch is just a wording change; she can now stack any Man, but this is just to ensure a second-turn Mumak can't get stacked on her.
REWORDED
Game text: Each time a Southron is played, you may stack a Man from play or hand here. Maneuver: Remove to make this artifact a fierce mounted Southron minion until the end of the turn that is strength +3 and ambush for each Southron stacked on her. She adds 1 to the Shadow archery total for each Southron stacked on her (limit 6).
Strength of Men
Strength of Men is totally reworked. It now provides restore options that can be used in the Maneuver phase to counter Roll of Thunder.
REWORKED
Game text: Spot 2 cards to restore 2 cards (or reconcile your hand if you can spot 5 burdens or 6 cards).
Misc Raider
Ulaire Attea, Khamul of the East
Beasterlings exist, but this piece of them isn't terribly great, probably due to the temptation of mixing in non-Raider cards to take advantage of his race. Bumped the strength from +2 to +3
BUFFED
Game text: Easterling. Fierce. While you can spot 3 burdens, each Easterling is strength +3. While you can spot 5 burdens, each Easterling is damage +1.
The Mouth of Sauron, Herald of the Dark Lord
This Mouth is the only one that gets essentially not played. He has had the discount upped from -1 to -2 on events.
BUFFED
Game text: Lurker. Your Shadow events are twilight cost -2. Response: If a minion is about to take a wound, exert this minion to prevent that wound and hinder a Free Peoples weapon.
Pipeweed
Pipes are doing extremely well. Too well, really. Most of the pieces are things we think are fine to leave, but these two are standouts.
Flotsam
Jetsam has had the heal removed (please, pipeweed doesn't need more heals)
NERFED
Game text: Pipeweed. Bearer must bear a pipe. When you play this possession, you may shuffle up to 2 pipes or pipeweed from your discard pile into your draw deck. Skirmish: Discard this possession to heal bearer.
Treasured Pipe
Treasured Pipe now smokes 2 pipeweeds for its effect (one for you, one for your friend), since the broad strength bonus is so easily accessible. This also requires players to utilize that recycling a little more.
NERFED
Game text: To play, spot a pipe or an unbound Hobbit. Bearer must be a companion. Fellowship: Discard 2 pipeweeds and spot X pipes to make X companions strength +1 until the regroup phase. Hinder this pipe.
Gondor Wraiths
Wraiths are just a smidge above 50%, which is perfect. Just a couple things to address
Sting, Sharp Elven-blade
Sting can be combined with Ethereal March to have a giant threat limit with only 4 companions. A cap is thus being added (+6 might be too high, but the important thing is that it's there). For non-wraith applications, this means you can add 3 threats from 0 before hitting the cap.
NERFED
Game text: Bearer must be a Ring-bound Hobbit. Skirmish: If you cannot spot more than 4 companions, add a threat to make bearer strength +1 for each threat you can spot (limit +6). Response: If The One Ring is transferred, play this on the new Ring-bearer. You may use this ability from your discard pile.
The Way is Shut
The Way is Shut is reworked to be the first in a wave of Secret Sentinel-alikes to let people have access to discard in a more flexible fashion.
REWORKED
Game text: Maneuver: Spot 3 Wraiths to discard a Shadow condition. You may exert a Wraith to hinder another Shadow condition. Skirmish: Make your Wraith strength +1 for each threat you can spot (limit +3).
Rohan
Merry's Sword
Merry's Sword was one of the standouts that really enabled Rohan to make nearly any shadow negligible. Now it requires an exertion per exertion you're laying down, capped to both how much vitality Merry has and how many Rohan companions you can spot. Which means by default you can sling 3 around, maybe as much as 5-6 if you really prepare, but then the star of your show is now exhausted for it.
NERFED
Game text: Bearer must be Merry. Maneuver: Exert Merry X times to exert a minion once for each companion you spot (limit X).
Merry, Master Holbytla
Merry is just getting a wording change due to all the incessant questions, no actual nerf. He's actually not doing great overall, in spite of his sword doing work.
REWORDED
Game text: Valiant. Enduring. While you can spot 3 companions (or Eowyn), Merry is considered a Man. Each time another Man exerts, you may exert Merry to heal that Man. Skirmish: If he is not assigned to a skirmish, hinder Merry to immediately resolve a skirmish involving a Man.
Vanguard's Lance
Vanguard's Lance is having the strength bonus reduced from +2 to +1
NERFED
Game text: Bearer must be a companion. While bearer is mounted, bearer is strength +1 and each time bearer wins a skirmish, you must exert them to wound a minion.
Sauron Misc
Release the Prisoners!
Altering RTP to make it easier to set up and use by not requiring it to be discarded after each use.
BUFFED
Game text: Maneuver: Exert a minion and remove a companion in the dead pile from the game to exert every character sharing a culture with that companion. Hinder this condition.
Mounts Doom
Most of the new sites are way worse than one might think at first blush--they are very successful for site 8/9s, but you might be surprised to see that most of them still have a 40% on-play win rate or less, meaning that Freeps is still biased to win just by getting to site 9.
That said, there are a couple tweaks that can be done, and a couple buffs for the stinkers of the group.
Desolation of Ash
Desolation of Ash has been altered to not feed into NPE burden bomb decks. Now you can only pull an event keyed to the phase you are in, so no more stacking a bunch of Maneuver pulls or whatnot. This also prevents Response from getting pulled.
(Skirmish events can totally be abused tho, but there's not as many there that will aid corruption)
NERFED
Game text: At the start of each phase, the Shadow player may remove to take a Shadow event for that phase into hand from discard.
Gorgoroth Highway
Gorgoroth Highway is a stinker. It's been altered to hinder all weapons at the start of Maneuver rather than just blocking the strength boost. (everyone still gets enduring)
REWORKED
Game text: At the start of the maneuver phase, hinder all weapons. All characters gain enduring.
Gorgoroth Wastes
Wastes was too good. Numeric nerf 2-> 1.
BUFFED
Game text: When moving here, for each Free Peoples card borne by companions, the Free Peoples player must discard it or add -> .
Cracks of Doom
Cracks of Doom is another stinker. Given a blanket +1 strength to all minions as a bonus.
BUFFED
Game text: Mountain. Underground. Game text on Free Peoples items and The One Ring does not apply. Each minion is strength +1.
Pinnacle of Doom
Pinnacle of Doom now requires a payment of per hinder, meaning twilight will need to be managed (which is also a stealth buff for ambush)
NERFED
Game text: Mountain. At the start of each phase, the Shadow player may remove to hinder a card (except companions or The One Ring).
Decipher Errata
Now for some more non-V3 errata. Besides some fixes to our previous errata, we are also addressing some long-standing thorns in our side relating to odd wording. We are also going to buff Isengard for PC-Fellowship, as it is clearly the loser of the pack and has been for some time.
Dwarves
Dwarves are indeed being quite successful, albeit the main tools for them are doing only moderately well while some of the new dwarf errata was doing monstrously well (70+% WR)
Grimir, Dwarven Elder
Grimir now requires 2 exertions, so you'll have to spend some healing to use him more than once.
NERFED
Game text: Skirmish: Spot a 
companion and exert Grimir twice to play a skirmish event from your discard pile, then remove it from the game.
A Royal Welcome
A Royal Welcome now grants either the strength or the damage bonuses, not both. And it is also limited to once per skirmish
NERFED
Game text: Fellowship: Exert a companion to heal a ally. Skirmish: Exert a ally to add that ally's strength or damage bonuses to an unbound companion (limit once per phase). Regroup: Exert a ally to heal a companion.
Threat-eating
There has for a very long time been a trick to "eating" an infinite number of threats and turning them into so much smoke. This comes down to utilizing any card which uses "prevent all wounds", as this does not prevent you from assigning those wounds, they just fizzle when laid down. All of these are being replaced with "unable to take wounds", which does not even let you assign wounds of any kind to the target.
This is largely a targeted nerf for Dwarves, as they had two different tools to negate all threats, but all other instances of this wording have also been addressed.
Gimli's Helm
NERFED
Game text: Bearer must be Gimli. He takes no more than 1 wound during each skirmish phase. Skirmish: Discard Gimli's Helm to make Gimli unable to take wounds.
From the Armory
NERFED
Game text: Plays to your support area. Skirmish: Exert a Dwarf and stack a Free Peoples card from hand here to make that Dwarf unable to take wounds.
Keep Your Forked Tongue
NERFED
Game text: Skirmish: Spot Gandalf and 3 twilight tokens to make a companion who has the Gandalf signet unable to take wounds.
Long I Fell
NERFED
Game text: Spell. Skirmish: Spot Gandalf to make him unable to take wounds. Any Shadow player may make you wound a minion to prevent this.
Faramir, Wizard's Pupil
NERFED
Game text: Ranger. Fellowship: Play a Man to heal Faramir. Skirmish: Exert Faramir to make an unbound Hobbit strength +2. Skirmish: Exert Gandalf to make Faramir unable to take wounds.
Nazgul Misc
The Pale Blade
While we're cleaning up wording, The Pale Blade has always been a strange case; most responses are not self-repeatable on the same stimulus, and this is a constant trip-up to new players. Besides streamlining it, this is also a nerf for Ringwraith, the most performant Shadow in PC-Fellowship at the moment.
NERFED
Game text: Bearer must be The Witch-king. He is damage +1. Each time The Witch-king wins a skirmish, you may exert him to discard a Free Peoples condition.
Isengard
Isengard has suffered in PC-Fellowship. They have never recovered losing Savagery/KOI, and the very meager bone they got last month is pathetic and unuseful. And Isenorcs have just never quite been able to make it. So let's give em some buffs across the board.
Wastes of Emyn Muil
The text on the original version of Wastes was made obsolete by making it a rule followed by all PC formats; the text we stapled onto it was not very good. This rework aims to give you some recursion options for minions at the cost of making them somewhat less effective at their ultimate goal.
REWORKED
Game text: Shadow: Heal a companion to play an 
Orc from your discard pile.
Slopes of Amon Hen
Slopes was easily the most lackluster site 9 option (besides Wastes), so we are retooling the discount. The way this works is a wash for the first 3 minions you play, but if you play any more than that the discount becomes heavier and heavier.
BUFFED
Game text: While you can spot more companions than minions, minions are twilight cost -1 for each minion you can spot.
Servants to Saruman
Requiring that you have no cards in hand is not very helpful of a secondary restriction, so now the bonus is bigger for any of the smaller Orcs.
BUFFED
Game text: Skirmish: Make an Orc strength +2 (or +4 if that Orc is strength 7 or less).
Trapped and Alone
Trapped and Alone now lets you cancel an orc's skirmish if there's one you really want to dodge for keeping a key Orc alive until Regroup.
BUFFED
Game text: Plays to your support area. Each character skirmishing an Orc loses all damage bonuses from weapons. Skirmish: Spot a skirmishing Orc. Make the Free Peoples shuffle another Orc into your draw deck to cancel the active skirmish.
Uruk Shaman
Uruk Shaman now works with any Isengard minion, Saruman, or Isenorcs. It loses the ability to interact with Sauron Uruks, but eh.
BUFFED
Game text: Damage +1. Maneuver: Remove to heal an minion.
Uruk-hai Armory
Uruk-hai armory has always been pathetic starter-deck trash. Now it lets the (meager) Isengard swords get recycled while being useful for Wargs as well. And since it's an armory, now it also gets to do the double-duty that Goblin Armory does, but at a cost of twilight rather than generating it.
BUFFED
Game text: Plays to your support area. While you can spot an Uruk-hai, the fellowship archery total is -1. Shadow: Discard this condition to play an possession from your discard pile. Response: If your minion is about to take a wound, remove and discard this condition to prevent that wound.
Uruk-hai Raiding Party
Uruk-hai Raiding Party has no text except the damage bonus, so now it's used as a cheap and general strength pump across the field. It also gets fierce itself if there are enough uruks out.
BUFFED
Game text: Damage +1. While you can spot 2 Uruk-hai, each Uruk-hai is strength +1. While you can spot 4 Uruk-hai, this minion is fierce.
Beyond the Height of Men
Beyond the Height of Men is a staple to knock out Armor, and now it also can be used to disable troublesome weapons
BUFFED
Game text: Exert an Uruk-hai to discard a Free Peoples armor, helm, or shield. Hinder up to 4 Free Peoples possessions if you can spot 6 companions or 8 cards.
Uruk Captain
Uruk Captain is one of the mainstays, but he's always been more of a Lurtz-fisher than anything. Now his ability exerts any uruk, meaning you can use him to chain a swarm if you have enough twilight (and vitality) to spare.
BUFFED
Game text: Damage +1. Shadow: Remove and exert an Uruk-hai to play an Uruk-hai from your discard pile.
Hate and Anger
Hate and Anger is now made to work with any Orc and any Uruk. This will no doubt get used by Cirith Ungol uruks, but now native Isenorcs can also grant the card draw.
BUFFED
Game text: Spot an Uruk-hai and an Orc to draw 3 cards.
Orthanc Berserker
Orthanc Berserker's ability is nigh impossible to use, so that combo has been left alone but now you can activate it just by having enough cards on the table, usually becoming reliable around the time that Uruks lose roaming.
BUFFED
Game text: Damage +1. Maneuver: Spot 5 burdens or 5 cards and exert Orthanc Berserker twice to exhaust a companion (except the Ring-bearer).