Home of the Horse Lords

"Their horses were of great stature, strong and clean-limbed; their grey coats glistened, their long tails flowed in the wind, their manes were braided on their proud necks. The Men that rode them matched them well tall and long-limbed; their hair, flaxen-pale, flowed under their light helms, and streamed in long braids behind them; their faces were stern and keen. In their hands were tall spears of ash, painted shields were slung on their backs, long swords were at their belts, their burnished shirts of mail hung down upon their knees."

~ The Two Towers

Book III, Chapter II: The Riders of Rohan

After many months of waiting, the Voice of Isengard expansion has finally been released!  Over the course of this long wait, Fantasy Flight Games has continually published articles that introduced and teased many of the new mechanics, quests, characters, and options available to the players.  The three quests in this expansion take place around the Wizard's Vale of Isengard and players now have the option of using both Saruman (as an ally) and Grima (as a hero) before their inevitable downfall into the darkness.  Likewise, Rohan, the kingdom of horse lords, receives a large portion of the spotlight in this expansion as well.  

Even though the Voice of Isengard has been officially released, I haven't had a chance to play it quite yet.  It is due to arrive on my doorstep in just a couple of days.  So, in an attempt to not go completely insane from the plight of waiting these forty-eight hours, I thought it would be a great idea to devise a couple player decks that flesh out the Rohan trait in full force.

Rohan previously received a well rounded degree of attention in the Shadows of Mirkwood Cycle, which added several new allies and events to the card pool that Eowyn, Dunhere, and Theodred could make use of.  However, during this time, Rohan was almost entirely confined to the Spirit sphere and their primarily role was to provide a huge level of willpower for questing purposes.  There was a long pause in which no new developments for the Rohan trait were released, lasting all the way up to the last couple Adventure Packs of the Against the Shadow Cycle.  Once again, Rohan made an appearance with a new ally, Guthlaf, a new weapon, a mount attachment, an event, and even Rohan's king, Theoden, as a hero.  Finally, not only were these brand new Rohan additions, but they marked an emergence of the trait into another sphere: Tactics.

To provide an even finer degree of development, Rohan has received even more player cards that strengthen the trait in the Voice of Isengard expansion.  To coincide with the recent Tactics emergence, these new player cards are primarily in that sphere as well, featuring another new hero, Eomer, as well as a new ally, the Westfold Outrider, and a new mount, the Rohan Warhorse.  The Spirit sphere also received a new ally too, the Westfold Horse-Breeder. 

So, with that brief introduction out of the way, let's jump into a couple player decks that serve to flesh out the newly evolved Rohan trait, both in the Spirit and Tactics spheres.  The first deck is focused more on the traditional role that Rohan has served before recent expansions: questing.  All three of the heroes that make up this deck come from the Core Set, going to show just how relevant the original cards still are to the ever growing state of the game.  Representing the Leadership sphere is the king's son, Theodred.  Since the Voice of Isengard quests take place before the formal events of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Theodred is alive and an able-bodied warrior in the field of battle.  Accompanying Theodred are Eowyn and Dunhere, both of whom represent the Spirit sphere.  To this day, Eowyn is perhaps the single best hero at questing out of all the ones available.  Additionally, Dunhere, a valiant Captain of the Rohirrim, provides his ever useful ability of attacking enemies in the staging area.  

 

Supporting these three heroes are allies, attachments, and events that are almost entirely restricted to the Spirit sphere.  As previously discussed, most of the older Rohan player cards are located in this sphere, and they definitely make up the bulk of this particular deck as well. 

• Allies
• Snowbourn Scout (3x)
• Westfold Horse-Breeder (2x)
• Westfold Horse-Breaker (2x)
• The Riddermark's Finest (3x)
• West Road Traveller (2x)
• Escort From Edoras (3x)
• Rider of the Mark (2x)
• Elfhelm (2x)
• Eomund (2x) 
• Attachments
• Unexpected Courage (2x)
• Song of Travel (3x)
• Steed of the Mark (3x)  
• Events
• A Test of Will (3x)
• Hasty Stroke (3x)
• The Galadhrim's Greeting (3x)
• Renewed Friendship (2x)
• Ride to Ruin (2x)
• Mustering the Rohirrim (3x)
• Astonishing Speed (3x)
• We Do Not Sleep (2x) 

This may be one of the few decks that I have ever devised that haven't featured everyone's favorite wizard, Gandalf, but there are just too many Spirit Rohan allies that had to be featured in his stead.  Since all of these player cards are from the Spirit sphere (excluding the Snowbourn Scout) it is important to get a Song of Travel onto Theodred fairly early on, and any others that may show up may be discarded to boost Eowyn's willpower.  The only new Voice of Isengard player card here is the Westfold Horse-Breeder, who will serve the main function of finding the Steed of the Mark followed by adding a small bit of questing willpower afterwards (unless a bloodthirsty Orc says otherwise.)  I have never used the Renewed Friendship event before; however, the other player deck about to be covered has several great attachments that could be placed on these heroes; so, it may finally get to see the light of play.  

 

Riding headlong into the battlefield are Theoden, Eomer, and Hama.  This mono-Tactics deck is built almost entirely around the prospect of unleashing large attacks against the enemy.  Unfortunately, there still is not a wealth of Rohan Tactics allies to choose from; therefore, a few noble eagles may fly in to assist the horse lords during the heat of battle.  

 

These fearsome horsemen ride out fully equipped with the weaponry and skills needed to best any foes that come before them.  By successfully blocking oncoming attacked followed by a hard galloping assault, these heroes will fiercely patrol the borders of Rohan and beyond.  

• Allies
• Gandalf (Core Set, 3x)
• Horseback Archer (3x)
• Westfold Outrider (3x)
• Guthlaf (2x)
• Vassal of the Windlord (3x)
• Winged Guardian (3x)
• Attachments
• Book of Eldacar (3x)
• Spear of the Mark (3x)
• Dagger of Westernesse (3x)
• Rohan Warhorse (3x)
• Mighty Prowess (3x)
• Events
• Feint (3x)
• Thicket of Spears (3x)
• Forth Eorlingas! (3x)
• Quick Strike (3x)
• The Hammer-Stroke (2x)
• Swift Strike (2x)
• Blade Mastery (2x) 

Similar to Renewed Friendship, I don't believe I have ever used the Mighty Prowess attachment before.  For quests that contain many of the same enemy type, it could truly be a devastating skill to have, though.  The Westfold Outrider and Rohan Warhorse are the two new player cards from the Voice of Isengard that I am excited to try out for the first time, and they should provide an excellent enhancement to the combat proficiency of this deck.  

Like I said, at this time I have not yet received my copy of the Voice of Isengard expansion, but I am positively bursting at the seams waiting to play it!  These two decks might prove to be a total bust against the new quests in the expansion; however, I can think of many quests off hand that they would hold up well to, providing an exciting thematic experience as well as covering most of the gameplay functionality bases too.  There are, of course, several other new player cards debuting in the Voice of Isengard expansion as well, though.  Many of these revolve around raising with your threat level through the Doomed keyword to receive powerful allies and events to take place.  So, I am very interested to see how these new player cards work with other deck types, and with that in mind, perhaps a Saruman/Doomed based player deck will be on the horizon before too long.   

Thanks for reading, and please share any of your thoughts or ideas considering the newly expanded Rohan trait as well as any of the other latest additions to the Lord of the Rings LCG you're excited about.