Hello, The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game players new and old. For over a decade now, this epic card game has thrilled players all over the world, and over the years those same players have built, rebuilt, and tweaked a massive variety of decks. Today, we’d like to showcase some of those decks for you!

We asked some wonderful members of The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game community to share their favorite decks with us and tell us why they’re so great. You can find links to their full deck lists within their respective sections below, as well as their thoughts about the decks’ playstyles, strengths and weaknesses, and more.

So, without further ado, let’s take a look!

The Red Arrow

Deck List: The Red Arrow

Created By: Chad Garlinghouse

Tell us about your deck’s general playstyle. Why is it your favorite deck? What are some of the best things you can pull off with it? Any standout combos?

The playstyle is a swarm of Rohan allies charging in and out of battle. This deck is a favorite of mine for a number of reasons, one of them being that I love how the deck looks on the table. The art on the Rohan allies is beautiful to look at, especially seeing an entire calvary at once.

Another reason is this deck allows you to swarm the table with Rohan allies quickly, overpowering the encounter deck with sheer numbers. One of the most powerful combinations is spirit hero Theoden and tactics hero Hirgon. Both heroes have an ability that discounts the cost of an ally. If you quest with Hirgon successfully and did not play a Rohan ally in the planning phase, you can now play a tactics Rohan ally for a discount of 2, to a minimum of 0. Free Riddermark Knight? Don’t mind if I do! Another fantastic combo is the sword Gúthwinë and the ally Grimbold, who has a Feint ability if you discard him. After Theoden, wielding Gúthwinë, helps kill the enemy that Grimbold feinted, bring him back from the discard pile to be played again the next turn.

What inspired the creation of this deck? What made you want to build it this way?

My favorite types of decks to build are those that blend theme with mechanics. The Red Arrow features a thematic hero lineup. While rereading The Lord of the Rings, I came to the passage about Denethor sending the Gondorian scout Hirgon to deliver the Red Arrow to Theoden as war was upon them. I thought about these heroes within the LCG and realized they made a very solid hero lineup, with abilities that complimented each other. The idea that these three heroes could facilitate a deck that assembled a Rohan army of allies was too good to pass up!

What are some of the particular strengths of your deck? What are some of its weaknesses?

One of the strengths of the deck is the ability to get allies in play quickly. Hirgon and Theoden reduce ally cost, and with Denethor’s setup ability of starting with 2 resources and being able to pass one to Hirgon, this enables you to play 2 allies on turn one easily. Hirgon and Theoden can quest for 4 and Denethor can defend; this is very important for your first couple of turns as the deck gets going. Another strength is the ability to return allies from your discard pile. Rohan allies leave play a lot, either by a player card effect or by taking on an enemy who was too strong. Returning these allies to your hand to be played again is a form of card-draw, which is very helpful in a deck without access to lore. Speaking of the lack of lore, we come to the major weakness: no healing. The deck does feature 3 Honour Guards to help with blocking damage.

What is your favorite scenario to play with this deck and why? What about your favorite campaign to use it in?

My favorite scenario to play is The Black Serpent because the archery and effects that cause you to discard allies are not a problem for this deck. The allies can take the archery or be discarded and Gúthwinë can bring them back. My favorite campaign scenario to play with it is Helm’s Deep. I love seeing the Rohan army defending their own keep.

If a newer player wanted to give your deck a try, what advice or recommendations would you give them?

My advice to a new player is to look for your attachments in your opening hand. Snowmane and Gúthwinë are very important to keeping the deck moving forward. A Very Good Tale is a great way to get allies into play, ideally you want to exhaust 2 allies that have a combined cost of 6 to maximize your choices. Remember, discarded Rohan allies can always be brought back.

Do you have a story or memory about this deck that you could share with us?

I do remember bringing this deck to Gen Con and it worked really well in the game we were playing. At that time, Rohan decks were not very popular, so it was great to have one that worked well.

Is there anything else you would like to tell us about your deck? 

There is no Steward of Gondor in this; I tend to leave that card out of my decks so they are more multiplayer-friendly. If you wanted to add a couple of copies, I would play it on Theoden. You lose some of the theme that way, but it would help since the spirit resources are always in need.

Éomer and Éowyn Go On An Adventure (and Glorfindel is There Too)

Deck List: Éomer and Éowyn Go On an Adventure

Created By: Justin

Tell us about your deck’s general playstyle. Why is it your favorite deck? What are some of the best things you can pull off with it? Any standout combos?

This deck accomplishes everything I like to accomplish. The deck quests incredibly strong, it keeps threat low, and it relies on one strong hero to deal with all the enemies engaged with me. Since my first game, the quest phase has remained my favorite phase and it's hard to find a hero that quests better than Éowyn. As a bonus, she turns every unique card you can't play into additional willpower. This allows you to play very reactively, setting up lines that allow you to best take advantage of the challenges the game laid out before you.

My favorite moment with this deck is when Éomer is all suited up with Firefoot and Unexpected Courage and he is single-handedly dealing with multiple enemies a turn with his 7 attack (or when I quest with 12+ willpower, that feels great too).

What inspired the creation of this deck? What made you want to build it this way?

When I bought The Voice of Isengard expansion, I immediately fell in love with Éomer. With most games I play, I focus on efficiency and I very rarely "dream" of elaborate combos, but Éomer caused me to start dreaming. The fact that he could attack at 5 strength reliably was exciting, and this excitement doubled when Firefoot was released in the next pack. At that point, Éowyn and Glorfindel had already found a home in all my decks, so naturally they were the perfect two to pair with Éomer. Since then, the deck has expanded with the growing card pool, focusing on cheap allies, protection, and efficient questing.

What are some of the particular strengths of your deck? What are some of its weaknesses?

This deck works incredibly well in the questing phase. Éowyn's ability is one of the strongest in the game because it turns player's otherwise dead cards into willpower and you only need to use it when you want to. This deck also handles enemies quite well, with both Éomer and Glorfindel attacking.

The bigger weaknesses of this deck are the resource generation and card draw. The deck tries to work its way around this by keeping its cost curve low, but there will still be times you may feel the lack of cards in hand or be a little short for paying for the card you want to play.

The other weakness of this deck is that the heroes aren't built to routinely tank damage or defend, so losing allies at the wrong times could be devasting. Cheap allies and discard recursion like Stand and Fight can help alleviate this, but a bad treachery at a bad time could put you on the backfoot (which is not as fun a foot as Firefoot).

What is your favorite scenario to play with this deck and why? What about your favorite campaign to use it in?

My favorite scenario to play this deck in is The Fords of Isen. This is the first scenario in The Voice of Isengard deluxe expansion. This scenario has become my routine deck testing scenario and, in turn, has become one of my favorite scenarios. This deck works particularly well against this scenario because there are hordes of enemies, allowing Éomer and Firefoot to do their job very well.

My favorite campaigns to play this deck in are the Dwarrowdelf and The Ring-maker campaigns. They both have a lot of enemies (go Firefoot) and a lot of interesting scenarios as well. This deck is a blast to bring into Foundations of Stone because it works very well after the incredible shift halfway through that scenario.

If a newer player wanted to give your deck a try, what advice or recommendations would you give them?

The first tip I'd give is that spirit Glorfindel works so much better when you have a Light of Valinor in your opening hand. If you have it, keep it and if you don't, mulligan for it. This keeps your threat low, allowing you to grab the enemies you want to fight as opposed to being forced to fight too many enemies at once.

In addition, even though a card like Dúnedain Hunter seems scary, he works as a phenomenal defender and when he eventually gets defeated, he pumps up Éomer's strength for Éomer to get revenge for the fallen hunter.

Lastly, Éowyn's ability is incredibly strong. It allows you to commit a little less than normal for the questing phase, allowing you to keep back your Envoys and Pathfinders for potential defenders if need be. Don't be afraid to discard cards to Éowyn and ensure you're asking your teammates if they want to use her ability in the questing phase too!

Is there anything else you would like to tell us about your deck?

The heroes for this deck provide a fantastic base that allows players to modify this deck to suit their playstyle. What matters is that Éowyn provides incredible questing, Éomer good damage, and Glorfindel can flex to fit both spots with ease. Because of this, players can fill their deck with what interests them, allowing for a lot of flexibility. It's a big part of what makes this game so engaging.

The Swords of the Noldor Reforged

Deck List: The Swords of the Noldor Reforged

Created By: Joseph Forster

Tell us about your deck’s general playstyle. Why is it your favorite deck? What are some of the best things you can pull off with it? Any standout combos?

This deck focuses on the central Noldor mechanic of drawing lots of cards, using them in several ways throughout the turn, then losing whatever is left over at the end of the turn. There are always interesting choices with this deck. Every planning phase is interesting as you draw an entirely new hand of cards every turn, then plan how to use them. The first planning phase is massive, with a minimum of 11 cards passing through that opening hand. In addition to always having interesting planning phases, this deck is powerful and resilient and rewards replay. I’ve beat so many quests with this deck! It plays well solo and multiplayer and while it has its weak spots, it’s my go-to if I want to beat a quest and have a reliably good time doing it.

What inspired the creation of this deck? What made you want to build it this way?

I built the first version of this deck right after The Grey Havens came out. In fact, I built this to play with my friend Ryan when we first met in Portland! I wanted to lean into the Erestor and Noldor playstyle, but it took me a while to focus the deck so it was reliable. That constant flow of cards and options is so cool for the Elves. I’ve played it long enough that I had opportunities to change it up several times as new key cards were released.

What are some of the particular strengths of your deck? What are some of its weaknesses?

Noldor have a lot of answers to the hard problem the game tends to throw at a deck. They always have card draw and they always have resource acceleration. If you have those two things, you already have a solid foundation for a deck. Another huge part of getting a deck to succeed in The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game is solid starting willpower and this deck can quest for 9 willpower on turn 1 with heroes alone. It usually quests for 11 on the first turn while retaining a character to use as a defender if necessary. This deck can also stay in a game for the long haul if necessary. Recycling the deck gives you the possibility of reducing your threat by 36 over the course of a longer game. All for 0 resources! It also lets you bring back allies over and over again. Even if you draw out your deck a full 4 times and can no longer draw cards, you can play Lords of the Eldar every turn and strengthen all your characters. Its primary weakness is low attack numbers, especially early in the game. With no devoted hero attacker or clear attacking ally, you have to sacrifice some quest power to kill off the first couple enemies you see. But once you get a couple decent allies with armor and swords and they get encouraged by the Ring of Fire, you can handily take out the biggest of enemies.

What is your favorite scenario to play with this deck and why? What about your favorite campaign to use it in?

I have found this to be a silver bullet for Attack on Dol Guldur. And that quest needs a silver bullet! One of the most punishing things that can happen in that quest is forcing you to discard your hand. Possibly on several occasions. This deck doesn’t mind! It has answers to almost all of the horrible things that quest does to a player. This is the only deck I’ve used that can consistently beat that nasty quest on almost every attempt.

I also beat the eeeevil nightmare Wastes of Eriador quest several times with this deck, which is no easy task.

If a newer player wanted to give your deck a try, what advice or recommendations would you give them?

Play it several times. It doesn’t have complicated combo sequences that have to be set up, but it can be a little overwhelming dealing with all new cards every single turn and managing all the card and resource manipulation sometimes. It’s not a simple deck but with a couple plays, some of the basic and repeatable combos like Elven-Light/Arwen and Cirdan/Light of Valinor/Narya become second nature and the deck becomes a lot of fun. It’s a beginner-friendly deck because it’s hard to lose with it.

Do you have a story or memory about this deck that you could share with us?

Gen Con 2019 - I was playing some of the Ered Mithrin cycle with my friend Jon and he was playing a Dale deck. Dale relies on drawing a lot of cards as well so you can equip your army with armor and weapons. There’s a treachery in that cycle that will force the player with the most cards in hand to discard their entire hand and we drew that treachery over and over again. Each time I held up my empty hands and Dale’s economy crumbled (along with Jon’s morale). I felt bad. And good.

Is there anything else you would like to tell us about your deck?

This deck isn’t anything super original. It just focuses on the Noldor play style as the designers intended. But I feel I discovered it without netdecking or seeing anyone else do it first so I feel a special bond with the deck. I’m also proud of the fact it made it to page 1 of the Hall of Fame on RingsDB.

The Road Goes Ever On

These three decks are only a tiny taste of the possibilities that The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game has to offer. Whether you try out one of the decks shared here today or take a stab at building your own, there can be no denying the endless wealth of gameplay just waiting to be discovered!  

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