Recently in the last couple of tournaments that I’ve participated in, I’ve noticed a rather disconcerting trend. Many people question why I use the Walking Stick over Gandalf’s Staff from the Mines of Moria Expansion. Sure, the Walking Stick does not let you cancel any skirmish and doesn’t make Gandalf’s spells cost one less twilight, but this new elegant staff has another, more direct, use.

When one looks at the staff’s gametext, they will see two simple lines: Bearer must be Gandalf. While you can spot two twilight tokens, Gandalf is damage +2. Many people feel it’s risky to use a staff that only provides a damage bonus unless one can spot two twilight tokens. With Gandalf, getting the twilight tokens is not hard with cards like Roll of Thunder around to add twilight after the shadow phase. Plus, with the White Wizard being as popular as he is, it does not help him to have every spell cost one less twilight as the twilight pool may not reach the required three to let him become strength +3, hence the Walking Stick and The White Wizard work together (as they should.)

Now to the real meat of the staff: the +2 damage bonus. Coupled with Shadowfax or Glamdring, Gandalf becomes a monster that deals out three to four wounds to one minion. Not many minions can survive such a beating. How many times have you used Trust Me or Servant of the Secret fire to beat the Witch King in one skirmish only to pay with interest in the fierce skirmish? With Gandalf and his Walking Stick and either possession, he will deal four wounds to the Witch King making sure there will be no second skirmish and clearing the way to double move. This staff is also useful against high vitality minions such as Warg-riders and their Wargs, or against Dunland by causing too many wounds for Hides to protect against. While the Moria staff is more defensive, this staff is much more offensive which is very handy when taking the game to your opponent rather then just reacting to his plays.

What’s important to remember about this staff is that it’s mainly only useful in the hands of The White Wizard or Friend of the Shirefolk. They are currently the only ones (before the release of the Ents expansion) that have a good chance of beating most of the high vitality minions worth worrying about. The Grey Wizard, The Grey Pilgrim and Greyhame are much better served sticking with the Mines of Moria version of Gandalf’s Staff.

by Jason Turco

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