Cobra Cards Player Community ~ View topic

LotR TCG Wiki

→ Card Sets:

All

→ Forums:

TLHH

Cobra Cards Player Community Forum Index

Forum index » Lord of the Rings TCG » LOTR TCG Strategy Article Contest

Author

Message

Rate this article!

5 (Best)

[ 0 ] 0%

[ 3 ] 42%

[ 2 ] 28%

1 (Worst)

[ 0 ] 0%

Total Votes : 7

ingold55

Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2005 4:49 pm

Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 1199 Location: Out on the front line

--- description ---
With so many versions of Aragorn available, which should you choose? This article looks at each Aragorn, with suggestions for when to use him.
--- end description ---

Have you ever looked at all the copies of Aragorn and wondered, “Which do I choose?” The main idea of this article is to help you understand these Aragorns, and decide which one to use.

Aragorn Ranger of the North: Ranger: “Maneuver: Exert Aragorn to make him defender+1 until the regroup phase.” The first time I looked at him I thought, “why get him when you can have Aragorn Heir of Elendil?” They are alike in many ways, however “Aragorn Heir of the White City” is a ranger, and the other isn’t, meaning that Ancient Roads, Pursuit Just Behind, What are They?, and many others would work with him and not Aragorn Heir of Elendil. Plus the fact that you can exert to make him defender+1 is good. However, the exerting will add up, and in the end you will have an Aragorn that is defender+1 and very vulnerable to archery. Not always a good thing. If you were to add Saga of Elendil, and Anduiril Flame of the West you would have a six health Aragorn. You could exert him twice, and make him defender +2 while keeping him healthy.

Aragorn Heir of Elendil: From what I have seen, this Aragorn is very overlooked in decks. For good reason though, he does not have a card text meaning you cannot do anything good with him such as take out twilight, wound, heal, and other characteristics. But let’s look a bit deeper. Since he is automatically defender+1 he works so well with Swordarm of the White Tower, and he does not have to exert, meaning that he is kept safe from those wounds that Aragorn Ranger of the North takes. Also, the Gandalf signet allows you to use Meduseld with him.

Aragorn King in Exile: The first time I saw him I thought he had the goofiest hair, however I came to love his card text. “At the start of each turn you may heal another companion with the Aragorn signet.” Though he is not defender+1, you can equip him with Ring of Barahir, and he provides a good amount of healing that is always needed. This Aragorn is also great in mixed fellowships, plus he has the Aragorn signet which allows him to be healed by Hard Choices when need be. Also, as a Ranger he allows you to use Ancient Roads, and other cards.

Aragorn Heir of the White City: Once again, Aragorn is a ranger; but is not defender+1. However he does work wonderfully with Pathfinder, and other cards that allow you to move during the fellowship phase. This continuous moving will take you through the sites, and will also help remove twilight. He has the Frodo signet, which works well with Frodo Son of Drogo.

Aragorn Defender of Free Peoples: This is like having a power plant in an Elven/Dwarven/Rohan deck. “Skirmish: remove an Elven token to make a minion skirmishing Aragorn strength-3. Skirmish: remove a Dwarven token to heal a Dwarf. Regroup: If Aragorn is mounted, remove a Rohan token to wound a minion twice.” Wow! He is not a ranger or defender+1, *bummer* however his card text makes it ok that he isn’t. This Aragorn I do not recommend in Hobbit or Gondor decks, but he is a definite in Elven/Dwarven/Rohan decks. Plus he has one of the coolest pictures too.

Aragorn Wingfoot: He is a ranger, but is not worth playing with in a Gondor deck. He is Perfect in Hobbit decks however. “Each time you move you may wound a minion for each unbound Hobbit you can spot.” He also has the Aragorn signet which allows you to be able to use Hard Choices on him.

Aragorn Captain of Gondor: Though he is not a ranger, he is a knight. This Aragorn works wonderfully with fortifications, plus his card text works wonderfully with Gondorian companions that don’t have a signet. “At the start of each fellowship phase, add to twilight to heal another Gondorian companion.” If you were to equip him with Ring of Barahir, and had some Gondor cards with culture tokens on it he would provide some healing that every deck needs.

Aragorn Driven by Need: This Aragorn is a very powerful Aragorn , and is great when playing with threats. His card text, “While you cannot spot three threats, Aragorn is strength +1 for each threat. Regroup: exert Aragorn to remove three threats.” For this Aragorn it would be fairly safe to play Anduril Flame of the West on him. This Aragorn shows real strength when he is playing with other companions that have Knight’s Spear equipped. With Ring of Barahir equipped, and Garrison of Osgiliath is in play you should be able to keep minions down, and the Aragorn up.

Aragorn Elessar Talcontar: I really like the fact that he is strength nine, plus he is good when playing with a mixed fellowship. The fact that you can exert a companion of one culture to heal a companion of another at the start of the fellowship phase is ideal, especially when playing with mixed fellowship. He too has the Frodo signet, meaning you can exert him to heal Frodo Son of Drogo.

Aragorn Strider: This Aragorn is highly debatable about how good he is. On one hand he has low twilight which allows you to put him in your’ starting fellowship and have other companions in there too! On the other hand he is a major twilight adder. If he were to be in your starting fellowship, and were to survive until the end of the game, he would have added in nine twilight! This is not including weapons, and other possessions played on him! One way to look at it, is to simple say “Well I have a strong companion in my starting fellowship.” Yes you do. But if you are playing against someone who needs a lot more twilight in the pool then this Aragorn is not ideal. You may say “Well it is only one twilight.” I have found that every little bit counts in this game. He is a ranger, and this fact alone may be enough to decide you want to play with him. I say this because of A Ranger’s Versatility, What are They?, and the many other cards require you to spot a ranger.

Aragorn Guide and Protector: This card caught my eye when I saw him. “Each time you play a free peoples event, you may exert Aragorn to wound a minion he is skirmishing.” This is a “no holds back” Aragorn. It really encourages you to play with events. The fact that he is a ranger is also very good. Swordsman of the Northern Kingdom works well with him since it is an event, and it increases strength. The draw-back to this card is that you have to exert him, which means you will have to take down his vitality. This could possible hurt you when playing against archery, but he is a very good Aragorn. If playing with this Aragorn, you will want to play with cards that heal. Such as Banner of the Westenesse, or Ring of Barahir with a condition that has tokens on it.

Aragorn Isildur’s Heir: If you were to have this Aragorn in play, he would definitely be able to have Anduril Flame of the West on him, since he is strength+1 for each Gondorian card that has a token on it. If you were to have only three out he would still be eleven strength! Plus the fact that you can exert him to make a companion with seven or more resistance or more defender+1. This is one of the best Aragorns there are. Even though he is not a ranger he is absolutely wonderful.

Aragorn Swift Hunter: He is a Ranger, and He is Hunter 1! He can become ten strength if you use his card text, "Exert Aragorn to make a hunter companion strength +1." This Aragorn can be good, but he does have a weakness. since you have to exert him he will be vulnerable to attacks, and the fact that he is a hunter will mean you will want to assign him to minions more now. This can be a good thing and a bad thing. Since he can be made nine strength without having to exert or wound this makes him a choice Aragorn.

Aragorn Throngil: He is a ranger, and hunter 2! This is one of the best Aragorns I know of! Though he is a very good Aragorn he does have some disadvantages. The fact that you have to add threats to exert a minion of less strength than Aragorn has a high chance of back firing. Southron, and Nazgul minions deal with threats extensively, and if you have to many threats out, you will most likely pay for it. On the other hand this Aragorn can be made strength ten with out weapons, and that is a fact that should not be thrown aside lightly.

True, being a ranger is not the most important thing in the world, but it does come in handy when playing with cards that involve spotting a ranger. The Gondor race is made up of two things, rangers and knights. Cards such as An Able Guide, A Ranger’s Versatility, What are They?, Ancient Roads, and many others require a ranger. So using a ranger could be very important.

Last edited by ingold55 on Fri Dec 16, 2005 9:13 pm; edited 5 times in total

AnxiousChieftain

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2005 5:32 pm

Joined: 15 Jul 2005 Posts: 3947 Location: Maryland

Well, the idea was good, but there were many things that weren't that great:

1: You got Defender of the Free Peoples mixd up with Driven by Need
2: Several typos
3: All-around writing style

I liked the idea, but it could have been done better.

Keep trying; you show promising talent. Smile

MODS RULE. - lem0nhead

AdultLink

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2005 6:36 pm

Joined: 15 Dec 2005 Posts: 253 Location: Hyrule

Ingold,

You broke it down pretty good man! I agree with AnxiousChieftan, and the one error I did see was that you said that Aragorn Wingfoot works with hobbit allies. I could be wrong, but I was pretty sure that the rulebook stated that all allies are neither unbound, nor ringbound? Anyone else back me up on this or dis me? That was my thought. Pretty solid article though. I gave you a 3. I liked your healing tips! Very Happy

Haves/Wants

AnxiousChieftain

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2005 7:17 pm

Joined: 15 Jul 2005 Posts: 3947 Location: Maryland

AdultLink wrote:

I could be wrong, but I was pretty sure that the rulebook stated that all allies are neither unbound, nor ringbound?

You are correct. I forgot to mention that; it was one of the things I noticed when I first read it.

MODS RULE. - lem0nhead

Cobra

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2005 7:48 pm

Joined: 12 Jul 2005 Posts: 1202 Location: Austin, TX, USA

I think you underestimate Ranger of the North -- most often he's used as a sacrificial companion, exerting himself three times to take on up to four minions. Not the best fighter, but great for swarm protection!

I agree with AnxiousChieftain about the writing style. Presentation goes a long way. One thing you can do very easily to make this a better read would be to put space between each paragraph and bold the card names (email or PM me if you don't know how to do this).

There's definitely some good stuff here -- hope to hear more from you in the future! Smile

http://cobracards.com -- Web's best deals on Trading Card Games.

ingold55

Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2005 12:42 pm

Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 1199 Location: Out on the front line

Cobra wrote:

thanks for pointing that out Cobra! i hadn't thought of that. Very Happy

and sorry about the companion/ally mix up. Laughing