by Ben Litz

The Riders of Rohan, the horse-lords of Middle earth, have long defended their lands and people from the forces or the enemy. In doing so the Rohirrim have become quite skilled in fighting the ferocious orcs and men that thwart and invade their plains. This has translated very nicely into the TCG. The Rohan culture is a skirmish-lovers dream. This deck plays on their strong skirmishing abilities - it's what I like to call a "Beat Down Deck".

This deck uses powerful Rohan companions with mounts, spears, and pumps to fend off your opponent's minions allowing Frodo to slip to site nine un-scathed. This deck starts Eowyn, Daughter of Eomund, which allows the playing of possessions in the maneuver phase; and Eomer, Third Marshall of Riddermark, who gains big strength bonuses from wounded minions. Gamling, a new companion introduced in The Battle of Helm's Deep expansion, compliments this deck style nicely since he allows you to play possessions on him during the skirmish phase to make him bigger. Of course, using only three companions opens your fellowship up to being swarmed, amongst other things. Use Elite Riders to fill out your fellowship, and Rohirrim Scouts; first to cycle your possessions back into your hand to be re-played later, and then to dive in front of the bigger minions you don't feel you can beat with the other riders. Think of the scouts as Rohan's own non-unique version of Sam. Use them, and then lose them.

Another thing that can get your Riders out of a tough spot is the Rohirrim Bow. Use it in the archery phase to get that extra wound on a large minion, or have your Riders combine their fire to totally eliminate a threat. An Honorable Change and Work for the Sword will give your Riders that extra needed boost of strength or damage when you need it; as will Thundering Hosts, also from the new expansion. Frodo is not without help in this deck. Sting and Severed His Bonds should make him feel safer and give him an extra boost if he ends up having to skirmish. Remember to keep Eowyn as free (of possessions) as possible and use her often in skirmishes as she can heal her self later in the Maneuver phase. With these combinations and strategies you should be able to beat any minion your opponent is able to throw down. Also it helps to go first with this deck to get a head start on your opponent. You should be able to double move often and even triple move when the time is right.

Here is a Sample Deck:

Collection Manager deck file

Ring Bearer:

Frodo, Courteous Halfling
The One Ring, Isildur's Bane

Adventure Deck:

[1] Horse Country
[2] Plains of Rohan
[3] Stables
[4] White Rocks
[5] Deep of Helm
[6] Hornburg Armory
[7] King's Room
[8] Nan Curunir
[9] Orthanc Balcony

Free Peoples: (34)

Eomer, Third Marshall of Riddermark
Eowyn, Daughter of Eomund
Elite Rider x3
Rohirrim Scout x3
Gamling x2
Rider's Spear x4
Rider's Mount x4
Firefoot
Eomer's Spear
Rohirrim Bow x4
An Honorable Charge x2
Thundering Host x2
Work for the Sword x2
Severed His Bonds x2
Sting x2

Shadow: (34)

Uruk Regular x4
Troop of Uruk-Hai x4
Saruman, Keeper of Isengard x2
Savagery to Match Their Numbers x4
Saurman's Ambition x3
Uruk Captain x2
Lutz x2
Uruk Lieutenant x4
Uruk Warrior x4
Uruk Ravager x2
Uruk Fighter x3

As far as the shadow side goes for this deck, you gotta go with Uruks. You can use either Uruk Bomb for open format or Trackers if you want to build this deck for TTT only. You will have to use either the new Sting, Baggin's Heirloom or Hobbit Sword for the TTT option. Either way all the shadow side has to do for this deck is slow your opponent down long enough for your Free Peoples to get out in front. Once they do, they should have no problem running to nine.

This deck is a fun deck to play. Test it out. Try seeing how high you can get your Rider's strength, or how many sites you can move without loosing a skirmish. With a little tweaking this can be made into a competitive tournament deck. The Rohirrim had a late entry into the TCG as a culture, but they have arrived in full force. Give them a try and let them help you "Beat Down" the competition in your next tournament. On a final note, this is obviously an Open Format Deck. Stay tuned for Standard Format Deck Types soon.