Delving deep into RingsDB has been beneficial in exposing me to deck compositions that I otherwise would not have considered. As players, we tend to settle into our own preferred playstyles, developing a tunnel-vision that has us playing with the same staple cards in the same style decks. I’ve certainly recognized this in my play, so in an effort to step out of my comfort zone, I took a random 2-handed fellowship out for a spin. And you know what? It turned out to be pretty good.

Join us today, as CoTR shines a spotlight on…

Let Them Come!

by Traveller

Let Them Come!

Riding Sniper

Hero (3)
Éowyn (Core Set)
Glorfindel (Foundations of Stone)
Legolas (Core Set)

Ally (29)
1x Arwen Undómiel (The Watcher in the Water)
3x Curious Brandybuck (The Wastes of Eriador)
3x Defender of Rammas (Heirs of Númenor)
3x Dúnedain Hunter (The Lost Realm)
3x Envoy of Pelargir (Heirs of Númenor)
3x Ethir Swordsman (The Steward’s Fear)
3x Galadriel’s Handmaiden (Celebrimbor’s Secret)
1x Gandalf (Core Set)
3x Imladris Stargazer (Foundations of Stone)
3x Westfold Horse-breeder (The Voice of Isengard)
3x Zigil Miner (Khazad-dûm)

Attachment (10)
1x Black Arrow (On the Doorstep)
3x Light of Valinor (Foundations of Stone)
2x Miruvor (Shadow and Flame)
3x Rohan Warhorse (The Voice of Isengard)
1x Unexpected Courage (Core Set)

Event (11)
2x A Test of Will (Core Set)
3x Elrond’s Counsel (The Watcher in the Water)
1x Hands Upon the Bow (Shadow and Flame)

2x Stand and Fight (Core Set)
3x Unseen Strike (The Redhorn Gate)

Dunedain Support

Hero (3)
Beravor (Core Set)
Erkenbrand (The Antlered Crown)
Glóin (Core Set)

Ally (19)
2x Erebor Hammersmith (Core Set)
3x Erebor Record Keeper (Khazad-dûm)
1x Faramir (Core Set)
3x Galadriel (The Road Darkens)
3x Gandalf (Core Set)
1x Henamarth Riversong (Core Set)
3x Warden of Healing (The Long Dark)
3x Weather Hills Watchman (The Lost Realm)

Attachment (22)
1x Asfaloth (Foundations of Stone)
1x Boots from Erebor (Khazad-dûm)
3x Cram (Over Hill and Under Hill)
3x Dúnedain Mark (The Hunt for Gollum)
3x Dúnedain Warning (Conflict at the Carrock)
3x Expert Treasure-hunter (On the Doorstep)
1x Path of Need (Foundations of Stone)
3x Ranger Provisions (Across the Ettenmoors)
2x Self Preservation (Core Set)
2x Steward of Gondor (Core Set)

Event (9)
3x Daeron’s Runes (Foundations of Stone)
2x Sneak Attack (Core Set)
2x Strider’s Path (The Hunt for Gollum)
2x We Are Not Idle (Shadow and Flame)

What drew me to this fellowship was the sphere distributions and deck roles. My personal approach is to split my fellowships into dedicated “fighting” and “questing” decks, usually with a sphere split of tactics/leadership for combat and spirit/lore or spirit/leadership for questing. In Let Them Come!, the decks share the combat responsibilities: Dunedain Support handles defense while Riding Sniper range-kills stuff with Legolas. Colloquially, this is known as the hammer and anvil strategy.

What makes this approach work is that, by pairing tactics with spirit, Legolas can live in a low-threat deck, which turns Unseen Strike into an amazing event. That’s right: Unseen Strike. If you’re like me, and haven’t played this card since the Dwarrowdelf cycle, let me remind you that its effects last until the end of the phase. This means that, if you have Legolas loaded up with Rohan Warhorses, Miruvors, and/or Crams, you can repeatedly reap its benefits and put mega-progress on the quest.

Dunedain Support makes sure that Riding Sniper can do its thing, which means that it does everything else: healing, card draw, location control, resource generation, sentinel defense, and even more Legolas-buffing. Though unspecialized, this deck works because the obscene card draw from lore synergizes with the obscene resource generation from leadership. There’s no need to specialize when you have the means to play everything.

If you feel that you’re stuck in the comfort of your own playstyle, you may find this fellowship refreshing. If not, then you at least have access to another effective pairing. Regardless of where your experiences lie, this is a fellowship that is certainly worth a second look.

– WanderingTook