Rohan Culture

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

The people of Rohan, the Rohirrim, are the Horse-lords of Middle Earth. They are a people constantly at war - with the Orcs, the people of Dunland, and against Saruman the White. This has made the Rohirrim a strong culture, who appreciate life and are willing to fight for their way of life when they need to. During the War of the Rohan, the king of Rohan, Théoden was bewitched by Saruman. When Gandalf freed him, Rohan was able to fight back the armies of Saruman's Uruk-hai and aide in the final battle against Sauron. This strength and nobility shows in the power of the Rohan culture to win skirmishes and to punish your opponent.s minions turn after turn.

Rohan is the first new Free Peoples culture introduced into the Lord of the Rings TCG by The Two Towers block. While they are of the race of Man like Gondor, Rohan is a separate Kingdom and has their own unique flavor. Rohan has many powerful companions and allies who can fight when needed and can provide constant assistance to the Fellowship. They can match the strength of most minions and can easily find the pumps they need to win skirmishes. The people of Rohan are most at home on their mounts, companions like Elite Rider, and Éomer, Third Marshal of the Riddermark gain bonuses when their mounts exert their opponent's minions. This also delivers more wounds to minions which allows the Riders to finish off high vitality minions more easily. Being mounted can also provide movement bonuses along the early site path and additional benefits from skirmish events like Work for the Sword.

Rohan also benefits from possessions more than most cultures do. Théoden, who was under the spell of Saurman and Gríma, is a weak companion when he is not armed. With a strength of 6 and a vitality of two, he is easily dispatched. However, if he carries his sword, Herugrim, and the Gandalf condition, Hearken to Me, he becomes one of the strongest companions in the game. This kind of power is what Rohan excels at - beefing up a small number of companions to the point where they can take on anything the shadow player throws at them. With the addition of three companions in Battle of Helms Deep who can play possessions outside of the Fellowship phase, Rohan now also has a way to get around the high twilight cost of many of their cards.

Rohan will continue to be a powerful culture throughout the Two Towers block and into the Return of the King block as well. As one of the best options for a single culture deck, they will see even more competitive tournament play as Gríma, Chief Counselor begins to affect the play scene.