Adventures of Thorongil: The Ranger at Edoras 1.0

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"For nearly thirty years he laboured in the cause against Sauron; and he became a friend of Gandalf the Wise, from whom he gained much wisdom. With him he made many perilous journeys, but as the years wore on he went more often alone. His 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."

-from The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen

Theme

This deck is designed to thematically represent Aragorn's service to Rohan during the 23 years he spent fighting for Rohan and Gondor before the events of The Fellowship of the Ring. He served both kingdoms in the might of his Numenorean blood, but I doubt he went without visits from his friends, such as Legolas or certain Dunedain rangers he would have known. He also brings with him his skills for avoiding the dangers of the enemy and proves to be a useful source of intel for the Rohirrim. He goes by his alias of Thorongil, never revealing his true name. Of what is remembered of his great deeds, the poets and minstrels of Rohan still sing. His feats were sung even until the War of the Ring, though in a longing way, for Rohan was betrayed by Saruman with his forces of Uruks and Dunlendings and Théoden withered under his power, so a hero who could lead them to victory over these perils was what they dreamed of.

Description

This deck is heavy with and cards, but make no mistake, it can get around to handling combat too. This deck provides much of the muscle in the fellowship that I use it in, throwing out good numbers for questing and combat while also defending itself pretty well. It just needs its partner deck to make the early game survivable, and then it will grow into a powerhouse.

The Heroes Aragorn and Théoden are both well-rounded heroes who can quest or attack and maybe defend. Legolas provides ranged attack, and his ability combined with Light of Valinor and Snowmane means that it is quite possible to have at least two heroes ready after committing them to the quest. The attachments Herugrim and Mirkwood Long-knife also help when more combat punch is needed.

The Deck Basically play your allies to increase the willpower for the quest, while your heroes can come to handle the combat. Arwen Undómiel's ability works great for Aragorn or Théoden, but is also very useful for the defenders of the other deck. Rider of Rohan is a good ally for his stats, even if we aren't sideboarding a side quest. Isengard Messenger is there because the other deck has Gríma and other doomed cards, so he regularly quests for 2 or 3 . Card draw comes from Daeron's Runes, Gléowine, Dúnedain Pipe, and Elven-light discarded by Legolas. A Test of Will is present to counter the most devastating treacheries, and Desperate Alliance allows the other player to use Aragorn to relieve the consequences of relying on Gríma. Most of the other cards are for handling enemy attacks: Háma, Ranger of Cardolan, Coney in a Trap for saving yourself, while Lembas and Desperate Defense empower the defending capabilities of the other deck. For some quests that might be too much attack prevention though, so feel free to swap cards as you like from the sideboard.

This deck certainly isn't bad, it can provide some great stats for questing or combat and has several ways to provide combat support as well. It functions as the safety valve of the doomed fellowship, and is invigorated by the doomed events of Deep Knowledge and Legacy of Númenor all the more. It's a sturdy deck once it gets going, and it brings both the strength and the theme.