King of the Mark 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

"Out of doubt, out of dark, to the day's rising he rode singing in the sun, sword unsheathing. Hope he rekindled, and in hope ended; over death, over dread, over doom lifted out of loss, out of life, unto long glory."

-Gleowine, The Return of the King

The Rohirrim ride without in this thematic but well-rounded and effective deck. With heroes handling most of the combat, the allies are free to quest hard. Additionally, some contingency cards like Dúnedain Remedy and A Test of Will make the deck resilient while just enough card draw comes from the likes of Elven-light and Steward of Orthanc.

Erkenbrand is the main defender here and gets Armored Destrier, becoming a solid defender thanks to Dúnedain Warning while Dúnedain Remedy manages the damage he is prone to taking one way or another. Éowyn quests and grants extra at the cost of discarding, and her ability pairs with Elven-light for some card draw. Théoden gets Snowmane, Herugrim, and Gúthwinë, and he becomes the main beat-stick of the deck aside from questing.

In the early game, the deck already starts with a large amount of to send to the quest, about 8 at the most. Because this is already a lot, it is often a good idea to focus building up the attacking power first. This is why Open the Armory is included to fetch those weapons for Théoden without much fuss.

Once Théoden and Erkenbrand are well-equipped, it is time to just slam down enough willpower to win while managing combat. Elven-light, Steward of Orthanc, and the flexible The White Council can draw cards so we keep having cards to add to the board state. Not only do we have Armored Destrier to ready Erkenbrand, but Desperate Defense, Westfold Horse-Breaker, and The White Council can do so as well, ensuring that the deck will rarely lack for defenses. Those last 2 cards can also be used to ready Théoden for more attacks too if necessary.

It is a pretty simple deck, and generally effective if it gets its attacking power set. It is fun if voltron or Rohan is your jam. This current version was built with solo play in mind, but in multiplayer, swapping something for The White Council might be smart if it becomes too expensive. We Are Not Idle and Campfire Tales can provide similar draw effects, but one could hardly go wrong with other cards like Unexpected Courage, Astonishing Speed, The Galadhrim's Greeting, or Free to Choose.