Lords of Middle-earth introduces three very powerful Characters from Tolkien’s epic masterpiece that can help the Free Peoples in their effort to prevail against the overwhelming force of the Shadow. Lady Galadriel and Lord Elrond strengthen the Free Peoples military, and they add as well to the resilience of the Fellowship of the Ring. Gandalf the Grey, Keeper of Narya, provides a quicker route to an additional, yet slightly weaker, Action Die. In this article we will look at how these three Characters can be used to enhance your Free Peoples strategies.

Lady Galadriel, Keeper of Nenya

Bringing Galadriel into play in Lórien will make the Elven Stronghold even more difficult for the Shadow to conquer, as she allows for Army units to be Mustered directly into the Stronghold, even when under siege. This will undoubtedly come in handy as once she is in play the Shadow player might turn his attention towards Lórien, if he hadn’t already done so.

With the aid of “Nenya, the Ring of Adamant,” you can discard a drawn Standard Hunt tile showing an Eye. There are two different ways you could employ this ability to further your chances of winning the game by undoing the One Ring in the fire of Mount Doom, let us examine them...

You could decide to use Galadriel’s Elven Ring to eliminate a drawn Eye tile prior to the Fellowship entering Mordor. This use of the Ring will not only help the Ring-bearers to stay hidden and avoid any damage suffered from the Eye tile when drawn outside Mordor; as the tile is removed for the remainder of the game, you will also be able to prevent the Eye tile from being placed back into the Hunt Pool once the Fellowship enters Mordor.

Your other option is to save using “Nenya, the Ring of Adamant” until the Fellowship is in Mordor: Remember that, in Mordor, Eyes deal Corruption damage equal to the number of Action Dice in the Hunt box.

Lord Elrond, Keeper of Vilya

With his powerful abilities Lord Elrond adds some strength to Rivendell but, most importantly, his Elven Ring ability will grant you an extra action during the game.

“The Household of Elrond” ability, while not as powerful as Galadriel’s “Valour of the Elven People,” adds some strength to a Free Peoples Army in Rivendell.This added strength is welcome since, as with Galadriel, Elrond’s presence on the game board will draw the attention of the Shadow player.

If Elrond’s ability is slightly weaker than Galadriel’s, his Elven Ring ability is perhaps slightly stronger. Being able to retain an Action Die to use again in the same game turn can hardly be overestimated. This is especially useful when moving the Fellowship as the Action Die you choose to retain does not end up in the Hunt box, thereby not increasing the danger of the Hunt or the damage an Eye tile will deal in Mordor.

Gandalf the Grey, Keeper of Narya

Unlike the two Elven Keepers, you must choose if you want to bring into play Gandalf the Grey, Keeper of Narya before the game begins. This alternate Gandalf has the benefit of easily adding an additional, yet slightly weaker, Action Die to the Free Peoples Action Dice Pool.

The access to an additional Action Die from the start can be very useful (even with the risk of rolling an Eye), and once Gandalf, Keeper of Narya, becomes a casualty, or separates from the Fellowship, he can still be turned into Gandalf the White to provide his additional Standard Action Die. At first glance, this looks very powerful; after all, the number of Action Dice available to a player is essentially what determines who will have the greatest chance to fulfil one of his victory conditions.

However, the usefulness of either version of Gandalf depends somewhat on random factors; rolling plenty of Event Action Die results will make Gandalf, the Grey Wanderer, more powerful, while being unable to move the Fellowship for a turn will make Gandalf, Keeper of Narya, weaker, as will rolling an Eye on his Keeper Action Die.

*This is the first of a series of three articles written by Kristofer Bengtsson for Lords of Middle-earth players.

Tags: Kristofer Bengtsson, Lords of Middle-earth, Strategy, War of the Ring