LotR LCG: Thy kinsfolk wander afar

John Howe: Descent into Rivendell, no date given

**

Back in 2016, we had a couple of friends coming over to try the Lord of the Rings living card game for the first time, and I wanted to build them some decks to choose from. One of them was a Dúnedain deck I pretty much threw together on the spur of the moment from cards we had that nobody was using at the time; I'd used Beravor before in my first deck ever, but other than her, I had practically no experience with the Dúnedain archetype. This was what I came up with:

50 cards; 31 Leadership, 16 Lore, 3 Tactics; 21 allies, 17 attachments, 9 events, 1 side quest. Starting threat 30.

Amarthiúl (TBoCD)
Halbarad (TLR)
Beravor

Allies: 23 (14/6/3)
Eldahir (TTitD) x2
Dúnedain Watcher (TDM) x3
Guardian of Arnor (TBoCD) x3
Son of Arnor x3
Weather Hills Watchman (TLR) x3
East Road Ranger (TWoE) x3
Sarn Ford Sentry (TLR) x3
Dúnedain Hunter (TLR) x3

Attachments: 17 (11/6)
Heir of Valandil (TLR) x2
Dúnedain Mark (THfG) x3
Dúnedain Quest (AJtR) x3
Dúnedain Warning (CatC) x3
Forest Snare x3
Athelas (TLR) x3

Events: 9 (6/3)
Descendants of Kings (EfMG) x3
Fresh Tracks (TLD) x3
Expecting Mischief (OHaUH) x3

Side quests:
Scout Ahead (EfMG)

**

This deck actually made its first outing at the hands of a new player, and I was surprised at how succesful it was. We breezed through Passage through Mirkwood, but a four-handed attempt at Into the Pit turned into a grueling, multi-hour slog through a gigantic pile of locations and an even larger horde of goblins. After a near-disastrous initial staging, we got much further than I ever expected before threating out in the second quest stage. In both quests, the Dúnedain more than pulled their weight, so I think I managed to accidentally create a working deck!

Now that I'd actually seen the deck in action, a couple of thoughts struck me. Seeing as how they need to stay engaged with enemies and therefore have to defend regularly, at least until you can get some enemies snared, it occurs to me that A Burning Brand might be a really good idea, along with Song of Wisdom, which would also add some resource smoothing. I've also got a spare copy of Armored Destrier hanging around, and since every hero is a ranger, Wingfoot would also fit in quite nicely.

53 cards; 32 Leadership, 15 Lore, 3 Tactics, 1 neutral; 23 allies, 22 attachments, 6 events, 1 side quest. Starting threat 30.

Amarthiúl (TBoCD)
Halbarad (TLR)
Beravor

Allies: 23 (14/6/3)
Eldahir (TTitD) x2
Dúnedain Watcher (TDM) x3
Guardian of Arnor (TBoCD) x3
Son of Arnor x3
Weather Hills Watchman (TLR) x3
East Road Ranger (TWoE) x3
Sarn Ford Sentry (TLR) x3
Dúnedain Hunter (TLR) x3

Attachments: 23 (12/10/1)
Armored Destrier (TotD)
Heir of Valandil (TLR) x2
Roheryn (TFotW) x2
Dúnedain Remedy x3
Dúnedain Warning (CatC) x3
Rune-master (ASoCH)
Forest Snare x3
A Burning Brand (CatC) x2
Athelas (TLR) x3
Wingfoot (TNiE) x2
Song of Wisdom (CatC)

Events: 6
Descendants of Kings (EfMG) x3
Fresh Tracks (TLD) x3

Side quests:
Scout Ahead (EfMG)

**

In this form, the deck was succesfully employed by a new player on, of all places, a Sweden boat, where I introduced two new players to the game with Passage Through Mirkwood.

A photo posted by Michael Halila (@michaelhalila) on Jan 13, 2017 at 1:23pm PST

It was a success, in that we beat the quest, but also in that as near as I could tell, everyone enjoyed themselves. So both new players I gave the Dúnedain deck to liked it. I guess the theme of engaging enemies is easy to take to, but I also enjoyed playing it, so maybe this is just a good deck type!

**

So that's the lesson here, I guess: Dúnedain decks are fun! Try one.

Let's Read Tolkien 50: Flotsam and Jetsam

Gandalf and the King's company rode away, turning eastward to make the circuit of the ruined walls of Isengard.

As the Riders of Rohan leave, Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas stay behind at the gate-house, where Merry and Pippin serve them a meal from Saruman's captured supplies, and they catch up. There's even pipeweed, and Pippin wins Gimli's eternal gratitude by giving him his spare pipe - because of course a hobbit has a spare pipe.

The hobbits and the Three Hunters exchange stories of their pursuit, and Merry and Pippin tell about their time with the Ents, and narrate the Ents' attack on Isengard for our benefit. The hobbits had watched as Saruman commits a rookie War of the Ring error in emptying out Isengard even though there are Companions in Fangorn, and while the Huorns - like feral Ents - went after the orc army, the Ents smashed their way into Isengard and drove Saruman to hide in the tower of Orthanc. Once Isengard has been wrecked, Gríma Wormtongue shows up, and Treebeard sends him on to Saruman's tower. The hobbits are then left at the gate-house to await the King.

Finally, Aragorn, bothered by the barrels of pipeweed from the Shire, makes a prophecy: "Wormtongues may be found in other houses than King Théoden's."

**

Geez, 50. Back in November 2013, when I was a second-year theology student, I wrote about a very proper gentlehobbit having his house crashed by a party of dwarves.

As it happens, this chapter is also a meal featuring dwarves and hobbits, and not really that much else. One of the problems of reading a book you know by heart is that it's difficult to judge how effective some of the literary gambits are; much of the effect of Tolkien's changes of perspective is lost when everyone knows the story. Still, the reunion of the hobbits and the Three Hunters in the ruins of Isengard is memorable, and the pacing of the story works: this is a little interval between the climactic battle of Helm's Deep and the following chapters, which begin to set up the next major section of the plot.

In my mind at least, there are two reasons why Tolkien chose to tell the story of the Ents' assault on Isengard through the hobbits: it fits with the lowered tension of the story, and preserves a little more of the mystery of the Ents. Hearing everything at second hand leaves them at a bit of a distance, and I think it works.

Finally, Tolkien's theology of luck also rears its head here, in a remark by Gimli. I mentioned the concept way back when Bilbo met Gollum, and discussed one sense of it in Chapter III: luck as providence, Eru/God intervening in the world. Here we have a glimpse of his other idea of luck: one where luck is something you make or at least grasp for yourself. A northern theory of luck, if you will.

"The cutting of the bands on your wrists, that was smart work!" said Gimli. "Luck served you there; but you seized your chance with both hands, one might say."

This idea is a complement to the notion of luck as divine intervention: whether God stoops down to arrange matters for you or not, what's important is that you grasp the opportunity. This is a similar idea to Richard Simpkin's concept of luck management, and even has shades of the New Age-y idea of affirmations peddled by cartoonist Scott Adams in the Dilbert Future - one of the first strong signs that he was going round the bend. In this context, it's another tension between the Christian and pagan elements of Tolkien's creation.

Next time: a parley.