Con of the Rings 2023: Thorongil in Rohan 1.0

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• 1.0

"[Aragorn’s] ways were hard and long, and he became somewhat grim to look upon, unless he chanced to smile; and yet he seemed to Men worthy of honour, as a king that is in exile, when he did not hide his true shape. For he went in many guises, and won renown under many names. He rode in the host of the Rohirrim, and fought for the Lord of Gondor by land and by sea…"

-The Return of the King, LoTR Appendix A, Annals of the Kings and Rulers: Here Follows a Part of The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen

This deck is a hybrid of two desires I had coming into Con of the Rings 2023: to create a Thorongil deck for the Oaths of the Rohirrim cycle and to utilize Elfhelm and his ability to boost mounted heroes.

Aragorn begins with Estel during setup. Mulligan for Elven-light, Westfold Horse-breeder, or Armored Destrier. Use Estel's ability twice each round (thanks to Aragorn's ability to ready a 1 cost title) to get yourself set up. Elven Light is the ideal discard for Estel.

Amarthiúl gets a Destrier and defends for 4 out of the gate, thanks to Elfhelm's ability. Dúnedain Warning boosts his defense as well. He also gets a Steed of the North to assist with readying in the event he gets slapped with Tired and Hungry.

Elfhelm quests modestly and acts as a secondary defender with a Destrier. He gets Warden of Arnor to assist with questing.

Aragorn gets pretty much everything else. Use Estel's search ability to find additional titles like Chieftain of the North and especially Elessar - he needs to have the Noble trait to use Proud Hunters and defending becomes a breeze between using Elessar and Amarthiul twice per round. Aragorn can quest, readies with a Steed of the North, attacks immediately with Roheryn, then readies again with Andúril. Elendilmir is a 'win more' card and Thorongil can be used for either Aragorn's Tactics or Spirit aspects depending on the needs of the quest.

3 Knowledge of the Enemy and 2 Proud Hunters included for resource generation because Steward of Gondor will likely be in high-demand. Heir of Valandil also acts as a method of resource acceleration to get Dunedain allies in play.

I'm excited to meet many of you at the Con! It's hard to be at work this week. Comments and suggestions welcome.