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High King Leads Elves to Victory

Mike Girard
Game Developer

"Of him harpers sadly sing: / the last whose realm was fair and free / between the Mountains and the Sea."

The leader of Elves is back and he is appearing in Reflections. Gil-galad, Elven High King, is the newest addition to the Elf culture and he's coming in big. Of course, did you expect anything less from the one they call the High King?

At a twilight cost of 5, Gil-galad is a hefty pool commitment, not to mention the two Elf companion spotting requirements. This is worth the commitment though, because his 9 strength does not come with any other drawbacks. Some of the other recent high strength companions have come with big drawbacks when fighting (like the unique Ents), however Gil-galad's cost stops after he comes into play. At this point he's free to beat up any unsuspecting Uruk or Orc that meanders near the fellowship. Also, after the archery fire and fighting has taken toll on your opponent's minions, Gil-galad comes in as a street sweeper of sorts. He'll just get rid of any leftover minions that are riddled with wounds, so that your fellowship will have a clear path for a double move.

Gil-galad won't stand for any random Elven sword either, he needs his personal spear, Aiglos. Providing an extra vitality, to help sweep away those wounded minions, Aiglos can provide that vitality bonus to any Elf that needs it. Greenleaf can use an extra vitality for that extra shot needed to bring down the Witch-king. The regroup text also does not need Gil-galad in order to clean up the minion riff-raff that is lying around during the regroup phase, blocking your path for the double move. However, if Gil-galad and his spear are reunited, he gets big. Getting a strength bonus for each Elven artifact you can spot is good, on top of Gil-galad's base 9 strength. Soon, he won't have to worry about facing large minions (with the exception of Sauron and maybe your occasional Siege Troop).

What better way to fuel that strength bonus for Gil-galad than a new Elven Ring. Vilya, Ring of Air, can go on either Elrond or Gil-galad and provides the bearer an extra vitality. The text comes into play when a large minion & #150;The Lord of the Rings himself Sauron perhaps – comes down and threatens the fellowship. Gil-Galad can step up and throw his ring at the Maia and who knows, if you flip a Sauron of your own off the top of your deck, your opponent's Sauron will be overwhelmed.

So, Gil-galad with Aiglos and Vilya, and spotting Nenya and Narya, Gil-galad is a strength 13 at that point. That's not counting any kind of strength enhancing event that you might have or the ability to use Vilya's game text I think it's safe to say that Gil-galad is the new beatstick for the Elven culture.

April 8, 2004