The Elf Culture

This Strategy-Note article was written by Ben Litz and was published first on "Lord of the Rings Online (lotrtcg.decipher.com)".

When you think of elves what comes to mind? Santa's Elves, The Keebler Elves, or an immortal race of supreme beings, Fierce Hunters, Great Artisans, and skilled defenders renowned throughout Middle Earth for their mythic and magical ways. Well, the latter of the three is what should come to mind if you are thinking in terms of The Lord of the Rings TCG. The Elves of Middle earth are an enriched people, loving nature, art, peaceful tranquility and harmony; they sailed from the undying lands of Valinor to find just that. Elrond, Galadriel, Celeborn, and Cirdan had no idea the roll they would play in Middle Earth when they first arrived, or the hand they would have in destroying Sauron; but time would show that the Elves were to play a crucial part indeed.

Known as some of the wisest in Middle Earth the elves made it their mission to stand against the forces of evil and to defeat the Dark Lord Sauron. The elves made their presence known during numerous conflicts with the enemy and stood along men throughout the War of the Ring. It is safe to say that without the help of the Elves Sauron would have easily defeated the Free Peoples and laid claim to all the lands of Middle Earth. The Elves find their power in their speed and agility as well as their knowledge of nature and their surroundings. It is these attributes that define Tolkien's Elves, and which Decipher have translated into the TCG as well.

Initially the Elven culture looks a bit weak, 6/3 and 5/3 Companions don't seem to be enough to survive the push to site nine, but there is a lot more to the Elves than their strength and vitality. The Elves have a fix for just about everything: condition removal, card drawing, discarding, healing, skirmish helpers and, most especially, archery. The variety and versatility of the Elves is what makes them many player's favorite culture.

The Elves are fortunate in that they are currently the only race that has the ability to make any companion not specifically prohibited from being so an archer, via the Elven Bow. Add in the fact that the Premier archer Legolas is also of the Elven culture and you see why several very solid Elven strategies revolve around heavy archery.

The speed and agility of the Elves makes them skilled skirmishers as well. They have all you could want, swords, bows, some of the most powerful skirmish pumps, and allies. The expansions that have been and will be added in Tower block have helped the Elves significantly in this area, adding more companions, more pumps, more possessions, and again more versatility.

Though Elves can function well all by themselves, they aren't picky about helping out other cultures either. In the works of Tolkien we see a bond develop between Legolas and Gimli; two conflicting personalities merge to a great friendship. We also see the Elves gladly fight with the men of Numenor during the War of the Ring, and then along side the Rohirrim during the invasion of Helm's Deep. The elves work terrifically as a supporting culture, lending their skills to fill in the voids of others. For example elven archery can greatly help out Rohan companions such as Eomer, Third Marshall of the Riddermark, and the Elite Rider. Elven condition removal and card drawing mechanics can help the Dwarves cycle through those decks even faster; and the healing abilities of the Elves can help sustain your Hobbits for that push to nine.

Having seen some of the new cards coming up in the Ents of Fangorn expansion I think it's safe to say that the Elves are indeed eternal and will be a viable culture long into the future. It is in this set that their telepathic abilities will begin to be tapped into as well as a very nice card cycling mechanic. Looks like the Elves are just going to become more and more rounded as the game progresses - being immortal must be nice.