Proud and Willful, True-hearted and Generous... Rohan

by Geoff Snider
Decipher Playtester

The first we see of Rohan in The Two Towers are the Rohirrim, the Riders of Rohan. Led by the Third Marshal of the Riddermark, Éomer, Sister-son of Théoden, Son of Thengel; they are the horse lords. Meeting the three hunters, Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas on the plains of Rohan, the Rohirrim befriend them and lend them steeds to help in their hunt for the hobbits Merry and Pippin.

A central theme to the Rohan culture is their mounts. Firefoot, Brego, Horse of Rohan and Rider's Mount all make an appearance in The Two Towers. Rider's Mount, however, is the standard mount for this expansion. Causing minions to exert at the start of a skirmish involving a mount is a radical new ability, creating an alternate way for companions to deal damage to minions. Mounts not only provide a way to stop skirmish or regroup abilities dependent on vitality (like those of the Sauron or Isengard Orcs), but acts as a damage bonus. In combination with all their damage +1 weapons, mounted companions will almost always kill any minion they come across, given that they win their skirmish.

One of the new non-unique companions for Rohan is the Rider of Rohan. Even though he's a small supporting character, his ability allows other riders' abilities to function at their maximum efficiency. Éomer, Third Marshal of Riddermark and the Elite Rider's game texts key off of the Rider of Rohan's ability to exert any minion while mounted.

Éomer, Third Marshal of Riddermark is a benchmark card of The Two Towers. Many cards in the set stem their themes from similar abilities; the elves, for instance, have several cards that key off of wounds on minions. Éomer is also the centerpiece for the Rohan culture, as many of their non-unique companions' functions center on him. Undoubtedly very powerful, he actually makes life harder for those unfortunate minions with high vitality. Take for instance everyone's favorite Nazgûl, The Witch King, Lord of Angmar. With four vitality he's usually pretty hard to get rid of, but when a mounted Éomer gets hold of him, look out! Just assigning him to mounted Éomer causes an exertion, and then the mounted Rider of Rohan may use his ability to exert the Witch King twice more. Éomer would then be an overwhelming strength of fifteen when equipped with his spear. Just imagine what he could do to the Balrog!

One of my favorite cards from The Two Towers is Fortress Never Fallen. From a storyline standpoint, this card represents Rohan's drive to succeed in the face of adversity. They rush to the fortress of Helm's Deep to protect their citizens from the evils of Isengard. On a game play level, this card rewards the Eorlings for achieving their goals. Each time a Rohan man wins a skirmish, you may eventually cancel another condition. Since condition canceling in The Two Towers will become more and more important as new sets are released, players will eventually turn to this card for a powerful backup.

October 15, 2002