Well, as it turns out, Drake actually got his cards in on Tuesday. Ol’ Dáin has been the holdup.

But no more. Here are the cards!

ENTRY #1:

AUTHOR’S NOTE: I picked some rather obscure characters, so minor explanations are included.

•Sancho Proudfoot, Treasure Hunter
Follower
Strength +2
Aid - Add a burden.
Skirmish: Exert bearer and discard this follower to play an artifact or possession on him or her from your draw deck.
“Frodo also had a tussle with young Sancho Proudfoot...who had begun an excavation in the larger pantry, where he thought there was an echo.”

NOTES: I just had to do Sancho. What could be better than a hobbit plundering Bag End? (From when Frodo is giving out the gifts left behind by Bilbo.)

This is pushing the VERY edge of brokeness. Strength +2? For any companion on any culture? (think, elves who don’t have much strength).

•Fíriel, Elven-Fair
Companion • Man
Strength: 4
Vitality: 3
Resistance: 7
Muster.
To play, spot an or companion.
Each time the fellowship moves, you may reinforce a Free Peoples token.
At the start of the maneuver phase, you may remove two or tokens to make Fíriel strength +4 until the regroup phase.
“‘Fíriel! Fíriel!’ they cried. / ‘Our ship is not full laden. / One more only we may bear. / Come! For your days are speeding. / Come! Earth-maiden elven-fair, / Our last call heeding.’”

I woulda preferred Vitality 4/

NOTES: From The Adventures of Tom Bombadil. She goes out at 3:00 am and talks to some elves sailing down the Anduin to the sea. They invite her to come along, but she doesn’t end up going.


•Thorongil, Advisor to Ecthelion
Companion • Man
Strength: 7
Vitality: 3
Resistance: 7
Muster.
To play, spot a companion.
Skirmish: Exert Thorongil to make another companion strength +1 and damage +1.
Regroup: Remove Thorongil from the game to make the move limit +1 and discard all minions. Each Shadow player may draw a card.
“‘Other tasks now call me, lord, and much time and many perils must pass, ere I come again to Gondor, if that be my fate.’”

Vitality 4 woulda been nice. I like it. Exert him in the skirmish to get damage for dropping the minions, then triple.

NOTES: So this guy is advisor to Ecthelion. Everyone loves him, he’s a brilliant tactician who wipes out the Corsair fleet, then rides off...to Mordor. Alone. Just up and leaves for Mordor with no more explination than the lore. Tolkien never does tell us what that’s all about.


ENTRY #2:

AUTHOR’S NOTE: I decided to go with three semi-related characters. All were called upon to help save Minas Tirith (and all of Gondor) in some way, and all answered the call. I’ll take specific notes for each from elsewhere on the ’web.

•Angbor, The Fearless
Companion • Man
Strength: 6
Vitality: 3
Resistance: 6
While you can spot Aragorn or a Wraith, Angbor is strength +1 and twilight cost -1.
Assignment: Exert Angbor twice to make a Man defender +1 until the regroup phase.
“‘Angbor of Lamedon came up with all the horsemen that he could muster. Now that the fear of the Dead was removed they came to aid us and to look on the Heir of Isildur....’”

Um...heh. Another cheap comp that can be started with Strider + a wraith. Ouch. I do like him with Anarion.

NOTES: Lord of Lamedon who followed the Grey Company. Lamedon was a fiefdom of Gondor south of the White Mountains. On March 11, 3019, Angbor and his Men were fighting the Men of Umbar and Harad at the fords on the River Gilrain near Linhir when Aragorn and the Grey Company arrived leading the Army of the Dead. Men on both sides of the battle fled, but Angbor was brave enough to remain. Aragorn called him Angbor the Fearless and told him to summon his Men and follow the Grey Company to Pelargir.
Angbor did as he was bid, arriving at Pelargir on the night of March 13. Then Aragorn sent him marching north toward Minas Tirith at the head of a company of 4,000 Men of the South while Aragorn himself sailed the fleet seized from the Corsairs up the Anduin.


•Forlong, The Fat
Companion • Man
Strength: 6
Vitality: 3
Resistance: 6
Forlong’s twilight cost is -X, where X is the current region number.
When you play Forlong (except in your starting fellowship), each other Man is strength +2 until the regroup phase.
“‘Forlong! True heart, true friend! Forlong!’”

Love it!

NOTES: Lord of Lossarnach during the War of the Ring. Forlong was very large in girth, earning him the sobriquet Forlong the Fat. At the time of the War of the Ring, he was old and his beard was grey. Forlong was well-loved and admired by the people of Gondor.
Forlong came to Minas Tirith on March 9, 3019. He wore mail and a black helmet and carried a long spear. With him came a company of 200 men to help defend the City. Forlong had to leave many of his men behind to guard Lossarnach from the threat of the Corsairs.
At the Battle of the Pelennor Fields on March 15, Forlong rode out from the City to the aid of the Rohirrim along with Prince Imrahil, Hurin of the Keys, and Hirluin of the Green Hills. Later on, Forlong lost his horse and became separated from his Men. He was killed by Enemy soldiers wielding axes.

His lowering twilight cost is representative of him coming "late to the party", as he did in the story, but still making a splash. And with his ability, he might be better in the late game anyway, since he doesn’t make a huge impact after his initial, inspiring appearance.


•Hirluin, The Fair
Companion • Man
Strength: 6
Vitality: 3
Resistance: 7
Knight. To play, spot a Man.
Each time a Man takes a wound in a skirmish, you may exert a Man to wound a minion in that skirmish (or if you exert Hirluin, wound that minion twice).
“‘But the horsemen rode eastward to the succour of Éomer: Húrin the Tall...and Hirluin of the Green Hills....’”

Why the absurd spotting requirements? Nice.

NOTES: Lord of the Green Hills during the War of the Ring. Hirluin led a company of 300 green-clad Men from the Green Hills in southwestern Gondor to the defense of Minas Tirith. They arrived on March 9, 3019. Hirluin fought at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields on March 15. He rode to the aid of Éomer and the Rohirrim along with Prince Imrahil, Hurin of the Keys, and Forlong. Hirluin of the Green Hills was killed during the battle and his name was remembered in a song written by a minstrel of Rohan.

Here, I obviously wanted some / synergy. His ability is a bit reliant on the Shadow player, which is why it’s also somewhat powerful. This is EXCELLENT defense against direct wounding and also protecting weaker Rohirrim (like Eowyn).


Alright, folks. This is it, then. Please vote for your favorite, and also please do so by Tuesday, January 29th by midnight (EST).

Good luck, Drake!

•Sancho Proudfoot, Treasure Hunter
Follower
Strength +2
Aid - Add a burden.
Skirmish: Exert bearer and discard this follower to play an artifact or possession on him or her from your draw deck.
“Frodo also had a tussle with young Sancho Proudfoot...who had begun an excavation in the larger pantry, where he thought there was an echo.”

Seems a little useless. A burden for +2 strength and his one shot ability isnt all that useful. Very representative from editors notes though.

•Fíriel, Elven-Fair
Companion • Man
Strength: 4
Vitality: 3
Resistance: 7
Muster.
To play, spot an or companion.
Each time the fellowship moves, you may reinforce a Free Peoples token.
At the start of the maneuver phase, you may remove two or tokens to make Fíriel strength +4 until the regroup phase.
“‘Fíriel! Fíriel!’ they cried. / ‘Our ship is not full laden. / One more only we may bear. / Come! For your days are speeding. / Come! Earth-maiden elven-fair, / Our last call heeding.’”

Awesome.

•Thorongil, Advisor to Ecthelion
Companion • Man
Strength: 7
Vitality: 3
Resistance: 7
Muster.
To play, spot a companion.
Skirmish: Exert Thorongil to make another companion strength +1 and damage +1.
Regroup: Remove Thorongil from the game to make the move limit +1 and discard all minions. Each Shadow player may draw a card.
“‘Other tasks now call me, lord, and much time and many perils must pass, ere I come again to Gondor, if that be my fate.’”

I dont like the regroup ability. I see a great tie in but it equates to a nasty card. Moving to any site except 9 you get his great ability to discard all minions and move again plus cos he’s removed from the game so u can play him again. Dont like. And moving to site 9 hes just awesome, and the card drawing is not enough as they reconcile anyway at this point so a card is limited usefulness. I think if you’d said dead pile (even though its less tying in, id have been happier).

ENTRY #2:

•Angbor, The Fearless
Companion • Man
Strength: 6
Vitality: 3
Resistance: 6
While you can spot Aragorn or a Wraith, Angbor is strength +1 and twilight cost -1.
Assignment: Exert Angbor twice to make a Man defender +1 until the regroup phase.
“‘Angbor of Lamedon came up with all the horsemen that he could muster. Now that the fear of the Dead was removed they came to aid us and to look on the Heir of Isildur....’”


Good but really not that useful. His twilight reducer is only good for starting fellowships and if it was a wraith deck youd want 2 starting wraiths so no room for him and only strider would allow u to use his text which are limited decks.

•Forlong, The Fat
Companion • Man
Strength: 6
Vitality: 3
Resistance: 6
Forlong’s twilight cost is -X, where X is the current region number.
When you play Forlong (except in your starting fellowship), each other Man is strength +2 until the regroup phase.
“‘Forlong! True heart, true friend! Forlong!’”

Again great tie in perfect representation but useless card. I’d love to vote on the tie ins but at the same time its a lotr tcg card that you have to balance on whether you’d use it cos its good or not.

•Hirluin, The Fair
Companion • Man
Strength: 6
Vitality: 3
Resistance: 7
Knight. To play, spot a Man.
Each time a Man takes a wound in a skirmish, you may exert a Man to wound a minion in that skirmish (or if you exert Hirluin, wound that minion twice).
“‘But the horsemen rode eastward to the succour of Éomer: Húrin the Tall...and Hirluin of the Green Hills....’”

Nice but limited usefulness. You have to lose a skirmish first then to compound that you have to exert and u only wound a minion that already skirmished once? So 2 wounds for 1 not useful one? Would have been loads better ifyou didnt have to exert to do it as in a hidan deck there isnt going to be masses of gondor men to exert and their vitality will be at a premium.