The Grey Company (8/2: "I bid you stand, Men/Dwarves/Elves of the West!")

[DáinIronfoot]

Things seem a bit stagnant right now; despite the fact that I see folks poking in and around topics in the Chamber, reviews and comments seem rather sparse at the moment.

So, in an attempt to shake things up a bit, I am going to tease a mini-theme from my upcoming DC set, The End Of All Things. This theme is tied to my other DCs, of course--and especially other DCs from TEoAT--but it isn't really reliant on knowing the DC sets I have spoiled to date, so hopefully any and everyone can mosey in and immediately latch on. And reviews are most welcome, of course. 0:)

So, without further adieu, let's dive into...the Grey Company.

We'll start with two companions that are really central to the company both in Tolkien's novel and in my DC set: the Half-elven Sons of Elrond, Elladan and Elrohir. Enjoy!

I think everyone who has seen them loves Elladan, Son of Elrond and Elrohir, Son of Elrond, usually called simply "the brothers" or "the twins" in LOTR TCG circles. Their design is simple, yet elegant, and used properly they can completely frustrate and devastate nearly any opposing deck.

Trying to create new versions of such a popular and well-constructed pair of companions was an imposing task, but I knew I had to try if I was going to include the Grey Company in TEoAT...and with that being a Return of the King set, how could I not? So I decided to incorporate what made the brothers so popular (working with skirmish events) with a new theme of making them crucial to the overall Grey Company, a group of multi-culture, multi-race companions (specifically , , and cultures and the Man, Elf, Dwarf, and Wraith races). I tie all of these together through use of the ranger and hunter keywords and complimentary text.

Anyway, with the brothers, that means that while they again work best together, they can strike out on their own with other Grey Company members more easily than it is to split the Son of Elrond cards apart.

Let's break them down one at a time:

•Elladan, Clad In Grey
Companion • Elf
Strength: 7
Vitality: 3
Signet: Elrond
Ranger. While you can spot a ranger, Elladan's twilight cost is -1 (or -2 if that ranger is Elrohir).
At the start of each skirmish involving a ranger, you may exert Elladan or Elrohir to make each minion in that skirmish strength -1 for each skirmish event in your discard pile (limit -4). Then remove 2 skirmish events (or 1 skirmish event) in your discard pile from the game.
"‘Less sombre is their gear than the others', and they are fair and gallant as Elven-lords; and that is not to be wondered at in the sons of Elrond of Rivendell.'"

First, you'll notice I kept the cost and stats the same, though there are slight differences you'll see before getting to the real meat of his gametext. First, he gains a signet, and an odd one at that. If you HAVE reviewed my cards before, you're likely familiar with the Elrond signet already. If not, just know that I view it as the main signet, just as Aragorn is the main signet for , Frodo is the main signet for , Théoden is the main signet for , etc. Not much else really needs to be said about that here.

Next, you'll notice the addition of a keyword: ranger. As I mentioned earlier, this is a very common keyword for Grey Company-centric companions, and it makes perfect sense for those that know the history of the brothers. (And if you don't, you can find a terrific summary here.)

Now, the real nitty-gritty. :hey: The first line of text, as you'll see in a second, still lets you start Elladan and Elrohir together. But it is no longer limited to them. You can start Elladan, Clad In Grey with ANY -cost ranger, opening up all kinds of potential. How about Faramir, Ithilien Ranger, or better still, Captain of Ithilien? Or the myriad of true -cost rangers, like Watcher at Sarn Ford, Duilin, Ranger from Blackroot Vale, Madril, Ranger of Ithilien, or Arwen, Maiden of Rivendell? Certainly some intriguing possibilities, especially in Expanded play.

Then you have the skirmish ability, which hearkens back to the Sons of Elrond. The original ability like this was awesome, but more limited - from the original Elrohir, actually: "Each time you play an event during a skirmish involving Elrohir or Elladan, each minion in that skirmish is strength -2." Here, we have a tradeoff: you must exert one of the brothers rather than just spotting them, but you get a potential -4 strength reduction on each of those minions. It takes a little time to build up, as you have to have burned through some events already to get the full affect (and keep them coming, since they are removed from the discard pile [and the game] each time you use the ability).

•Elrohir, Grey Rider
Companion • Elf
Strength: 7
Vitality: 3
Signet: Elrond
Ranger. While you can spot a ranger, Elrohir's twilight cost is -1 (or -2 if that ranger is Elladan).
While you can spot Aragorn, Elrohir and Elladan gain the Aragorn signet.
Each time you play an event during a skirmish involving a ranger or hunter companion, you may heal Elrohir or Elladan.
"‘...the brethren Elladan and Elrohir have ridden with us, desiring to go to the war.'"

Similar beginnings: same cost and stats, same signet as Clad In Grey, same keyword (ranger), same cost reduction. Once again, there's other combo potential here as well. With other rangers costing or less already in the fellowship, Elrohir, Grey Rider costs only as well, so you can start him with the same array of companions you could start Elladan, Clad In Grey with. Fun, right?

The next line is something different, giving both of the brothers a signet that ALSO makes sense with them: Aragorn's. That means that both brothers can have two signets, which in and of itself is pretty nifty. Or, if you chose to combine this brother with the older (but equally fun and still very complimentary) Elladan, Son of Elrond, you can give a card that was never designed as signet-capable one of the most powerful signets in the game.

Last but certainly not least, we have the skirmish ability. Here, I decided to break with the old (the original Elladan reduced the cost of events) for what I decided might be even more useful: a simple and easy way to heal the brothers when you play events. This works very well on its own, but obviously has great combo potential with Elladan, Clad In Grey's skirmish ability, healing the exerting that ability requires. That is what we call a powerful cycle, eh?

So, what do you think? Hopefully you like them, but if not, let me know and I'll be happy to make changes. After we get these guys settled, we'll dive into some other big-time companions from the famous Grey Company, including a certain group of "Three Hunters".

[Thranduil]

•Elladan, Clad In Grey
Companion • Elf
Strength: 7
Vitality: 3
Signet: Elrond
Ranger. The twilight cost of each other ranger in your starting fellowship is -1 (to a minimum of 1).
At the start of each skirmish involving a ranger, you may exert Elladan or Elrohir to make each minion in that skirmish strength -1 for each skirmish event in your discard pile (limit -4). Then remove an card in the discard pile from the game.
"‘Less sombre is their gear than the others', and they are fair and gallant as Elven-lords; and that is not to be wondered at in the sons of Elrond of Rivendell.'"

I like this guy, this one is good. Fun and powerful ability, cool signet, nice reduction. All round good.

•Elrohir, Grey Rider
Companion • Elf
Strength: 7
Vitality: 3
Signet: Elrond
Ranger. While you can spot a ranger, Elrohir's twilight cost is -1.
While you can spot Aragorn, Elrohir and Elladan gain the Aragorn signet.
At the start of each skirmish involving a ranger, you may exert Elrohir or Elladan to take an skirmish event into hand from your draw deck.
"‘...the brethren Elladan and Elrohir have ridden with us, desiring to go to the war.'"

This one I don't like at all, I'm afraid. I don't like the fact that they are so different - they don't have the same kind of cost reduction, and this one has 3 abilities which is too many. Either they should both have 3 abilities or they should both have 2; it doesn't work in my books for them to have different numbers.

I would do both of their cost reductions something like this:

"While you can spot a ranger, Elladan's twilight cost is -1 (or -2 if that ranger is Elrohir)."

And then I would lose the signet ability on Elrohir and make another card that can give the Aragorn signet to members of the Grey Company, or something like that.

The other thing I might do instead of Elrohir's ability is something which heals people so that you can use the ability on Elladan more. Something like "Each time you play an event during a skirmish involving a ranger, you may heal Elladan or Elrohir"

Thranduil

[macheteman]

i pretty much agree with thran. the only thing i would disagree on is the twilight reduction. i agree that it needs to be changed, but this is probably how i'd do it:

elladan: each other ranger in your starting fellowship is twilight cost -1. (or -2 if that ranger is elrohir)

elrohir: each other ranger is strength +1.

something like that. so that they both help out the other rangers, and in that way, their first abilities would be the "same".

just my 2 cents

-mm

[lem0nhead]

Dont move on ill be back to review shortly when im not swamped!

[DáinIronfoot]

•Elrohir, Grey Rider
Companion • Elf
Strength: 7
Vitality: 3
Signet: Elrond
Ranger. While you can spot a ranger, Elrohir's twilight cost is -1.
While you can spot Aragorn, Elrohir and Elladan gain the Aragorn signet.
At the start of each skirmish involving a ranger, you may exert Elrohir or Elladan to take an skirmish event into hand from your draw deck.
"‘...the brethren Elladan and Elrohir have ridden with us, desiring to go to the war.'"

This one I don't like at all, I'm afraid. I don't like the fact that they are so different - they don't have the same kind of cost reduction, and this one has 3 abilities which is too many. Either they should both have 3 abilities or they should both have 2; it doesn't work in my books for them to have different numbers.

I would do both of their cost reductions something like this:

"While you can spot a ranger, Elladan's twilight cost is -1 (or -2 if that ranger is Elrohir)."

And then I would lose the signet ability on Elrohir and make another card that can give the Aragorn signet to members of the Grey Company, or something like that.

The other thing I might do instead of Elrohir's ability is something which heals people so that you can use the ability on Elladan more. Something like "Each time you play an event during a skirmish involving a ranger, you may heal Elladan or Elrohir"

I can do similar cost reductions for them, sure. I can also possibly do a healing ability (or something else) on Elrohir, if his current ability doesn't seem particularly helpful. But my big concern then would be cycling through events while still mixing these guys with non-Elf companions. Granted, I will have some very splashable events to go with them later, but thinning down the deck with multiple cultures and hoping to get enough events to be helpful before it's too late...I dunno. I'm concerned about how well that would work without a fetching ability like Grey Rider's current one. If you don't think that would be a problem, I'll be happy to change it, but I'm a little reluctant otherwise. Maybe if I drop the "Then remove an card in the discard pile from the game" part of Clad In Grey's ability?

All that said, I'd be disinclined to acquiesce to your request about the signet. It's rather important for Elladan and Elrohir to get Aragorn's signet (as you'll see later), and I'd rather toss it on one of the brothers than force use of another support card to give it to them.

Dont move on ill be back to review shortly when im not swamped!

But I'll probably not be back on until this afternoon, since I am about to be swamped! Ah well...I'll catch your comments then, I s'pose. Looking forward to it. I'll leave them unchanged for now until you (and hopefully others) get to review first.

[Thranduil]

•Elrohir, Grey Rider
Companion • Elf
Strength: 7
Vitality: 3
Signet: Elrond
Ranger. While you can spot a ranger, Elrohir's twilight cost is -1.
While you can spot Aragorn, Elrohir and Elladan gain the Aragorn signet.
At the start of each skirmish involving a ranger, you may exert Elrohir or Elladan to take an skirmish event into hand from your draw deck.
"‘...the brethren Elladan and Elrohir have ridden with us, desiring to go to the war.'"

This one I don't like at all, I'm afraid. I don't like the fact that they are so different - they don't have the same kind of cost reduction, and this one has 3 abilities which is too many. Either they should both have 3 abilities or they should both have 2; it doesn't work in my books for them to have different numbers.

I would do both of their cost reductions something like this:

"While you can spot a ranger, Elladan's twilight cost is -1 (or -2 if that ranger is Elrohir)."

And then I would lose the signet ability on Elrohir and make another card that can give the Aragorn signet to members of the Grey Company, or something like that.

The other thing I might do instead of Elrohir's ability is something which heals people so that you can use the ability on Elladan more. Something like "Each time you play an event during a skirmish involving a ranger, you may heal Elladan or Elrohir"

I can do similar cost reductions for them, sure. I can also possibly do a healing ability (or something else) on Elrohir, if his current ability doesn't seem particularly helpful. But my big concern then would be cycling through events while still mixing these guys with non-Elf companions. Granted, I will have some very splashable events to go with them later, but thinning down the deck with multiple cultures and hoping to get enough events to be helpful before it's too late...I dunno. I'm concerned about how well that would work without a fetching ability like Grey Rider's current one. If you don't think that would be a problem, I'll be happy to change it, but I'm a little reluctant otherwise. Maybe if I drop the "Then remove an card in the discard pile from the game" part of Clad In Grey's ability?

I understand your point, in which case I think you should do one of 2 things: 1) make them about any culture events (easiest way to do this would be to change Elladan's ability to "... strength -1 for each event in your discard pile. Then remove an event in your discard pile from the game." or 2) make them about something else which is not so card or culture intensive. I would go for the second, but I'm seriously into splashability at the moment!

All that said, I'd be disinclined to acquiesce to your request about the signet. It's rather important for Elladan and Elrohir to get Aragorn's signet (as you'll see later), and I'd rather toss it on one of the brothers than force use of another support card to give it to them.

That's fine, just put it on both of them! I liked the ability, but I didn't like that only 1 of them had it.

Thranduil

[DáinIronfoot]

I left the signet text off of Elrohir (simply because I don't think there's any room!), but I made other recommended changes. I also made one additional change to each's skirmish ability:

- Elladan's ability now requires removing two discarded events from the game...or gives the option of removing just one skirmish event. I did this because if I had changed it exactly as Thranuil recommended, then the drawback would be optional; if you had no events in discard, you wouldn't have to do anything at all, making the ability much more powerful than I intended. This keeps it more balanced, still encouraging the use of events but not strictly limiting you to that.

- I made a subtle but important little addition to Elrohir's skirmish ability that lets him work well with the Grey Company and potentially other companions; see if you can spot it. You'll better understand why I decided to make that change when we get to Legolas and Gimli.

I'll hold off on posting more until lem0n gets a chance to review, since he specifically asked me to wait. Until then, if ya'll have any comments on the rewritten cards, feel free to post them!

[lem0nhead]

Im here! Nobody panic, everyone can relax now

•Elladan, Clad In Grey
Companion • Elf
Strength: 7
Vitality: 3
Signet: Elrond
Ranger. While you can spot a ranger, Elladan's twilight cost is -1 (or -2 if that ranger is Elrohir).
At the start of each skirmish involving a ranger, you may exert Elladan or Elrohir to make each minion in that skirmish strength -1 for each skirmish event in your discard pile (limit -4). Then remove 2 skirmish events (or 1 skirmish event) in your discard pile from the game.
"‘Less sombre is their gear than the others', and they are fair and gallant as Elven-lords; and that is not to be wondered at in the sons of Elrond of Rivendell.'"

Hmmm its fine and works, but it seems overly complicated. Couldnt it have keyed off something that didnt require all that game text and mechanic?

•Elrohir, Grey Rider
Companion • Elf
Strength: 7
Vitality: 3
Signet: Elrond
Ranger. While you can spot a ranger, Elrohir's twilight cost is -1 (or -2 if that ranger is Elladan).
While you can spot Aragorn, Elrohir and Elladan gain the Aragorn signet.
Each time you play an event during a skirmish involving a ranger or hunter companion, you may heal Elrohir or Elladan.
"‘...the brethren Elladan and Elrohir have ridden with us, desiring to go to the war.'"

Yeah this is fine also, they do have a good synergy.

[Thranduil]

Hmmm its fine and works, but it seems overly complicated. Couldnt it have keyed off something that didnt require all that game text and mechanic?

I do very much agree with this.

Thranduil

[DáinIronfoot]

Hmmm its fine and works, but it seems overly complicated. Couldnt it have keyed off something that didnt require all that game text and mechanic.

I do very much agree with this.

As do I, but what am I to do? I very much like the ability, complicated as it is, and it works like a charm with the rest of the Grey Company. Like today's companion:

•Halbarad, Leader of the Grey Company
Companion • Man
Strength: 6
Vitality: 3
Signet: Aragorn
Ranger. Hunter 2.
The twilight cost of each other ranger in your starting fellowship is -1 (to a minimum of 1).
Each time you play an event during a skirmish involving a ranger, you may add a threat to heal that ranger.
"‘I have thirty with me. That is all of our kindred that could be gathered in haste....We rode as swiftly as we might when your summons came.'"

Ah, Halbarad. Such an unexpected character when we meet him, both because he kind of sneaks up on Aragorn and the Rohirrim, and because we know so little about him besides that he's an old friend of Aragorn's and fellow ranger of the north. We never hear even a mention of him until he suddenly appears with the Grey Company in Rohan, seeking Aragorn who supposedly (though never actually) summoned them.

But despite all that, he is clearly an important character. He knows the Elves of Rivendell enough to have Elladan and Elrohir following him, and he bears a banner and message from Arwen herself for her beloved. He also has the loyal following of most of the remaining northern Dúnedain. It is strongly implied that he is second-in-command of this legendary folk, behind only their chieftain Aragorn. And besides all that, if Tolkien takes the time to give a character a name that is refered to more than once or twice, that's a clear sign they are important.

Similarly, Halbarad, Leader of the Grey Company is a very important character to have around in any serious Grey Company strategy. He has both keywords important to this multi-culture group--ranger and hunter--as well as the all-important Aragorn signet. His stats and cost are coincidentally the same as Elladan and Elrohir as well, and with his first line of text (reducing the cost of other rangers in your starting fellowship), you can start him and either of the brothers for some nice multi-culture fun right off the bat (and with strong companions, to boot!). Or you can pair him with any other -cost ranger that Elladan or Elrohir could start with...as well as a few extras like Ranger of Ithilien and Ranger of the White Tree.

But while that makes him a good starting option in a Grey Company deck, it's not what makes him such a central character. No, that comes from his skirmish ability. Like the original Halbarad, Ranger of the North (who happens to work quite well with the Grey Company too, thanks to his ability to discard events for healing ), Leader of the Grey Company is a healer. In this case, he can heal more than once per turn, too...but there's a price that must be paid, as you have to add threats to do it.

As you'll see soon, though, adding threats can be a very good thing. Not only are they relatively easy to remove by tossing in a few Wraiths (yup, they'll be back and they'll work quite well with Grey Company companions) or the next card of the day, but certain Grey Company companions have abilities that trigger off threat-adding abilities like this one.

•Banner of the King
Possession • Hand Weapon
Strength +1
Resistance +1
Bearer must be a unique Man. Bearer gains the Aragorn signet.
Each time bearer wins a skirmish, you may choose one: heal or exert a character; or remove a threat.
Maneuver: Discard this possession to liberate a site.
"There flowered a White Tree, and that was for Gondor; but Seven Stars were about it, and a high crown above it, the signs of Elendil that no lord had borne for years beyond count. And the stars flamed in the sunlight, for they were wrought of gems by Arwen daughter of Elrond; and the crown was bright in the morning, for it was wrought of mithril and gold."

I know, the lore is probably FAR too long, but it was simply too cool for me to decide what to cut! Any ideas would be most appreciated.

Anyway, anyone that knows about Halbarad in Return of the King knows about the standard he bore, created with loving care over many weeks and months by the Lady of Rivendell. Though intended for Aragorn, he had Halbarad continue to carry it through the Paths of the Dead and all the way to the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. Twice it was unfurled, once during the nighttime battle between the Host of the Dead and the Corsairs of Umbar at Pelargir, and again to signal the return of the King as the captured Corsair vessels arrived at the Pelennor. It was a symbol of great hope to the Free Peoples...and great distress for their enemies.

I hoped to capture some of that with this card. It inspires great things: strength and resistance for its bearer, and healing and hope (removal of threats) for the rest of the fellowship. It also sows doubt and terror into the bad guys (potential exerting of minions and loss of controlled sites). I personally am quite happy with how it turned out, both as a powerful all-around card and as a fantastic Grey Company support card, since it can heal Grey Company companions, exert Wraiths, remove threats added by Grey Company AND Wraith companions, and give out another Aragorn signet to anyone lacking one. It just does it all so simply and well...I rarely make cards I'm happier with than this one. Which probably means you'll all hate it.

[Thranduil]

Hmmm its fine and works, but it seems overly complicated. Couldnt it have keyed off something that didnt require all that game text and mechanic.

I do very much agree with this.

As do I, but what am I to do? I very much like the ability, complicated as it is, and it works like a charm with the rest of the Grey Company.

How about something like "At the start of each skirmish involving a ranger, you may exert Elladan or Elrohir and remove an event in your discard pile from the game to make each minion that ranger is skirmishing strength -2". That's the same theme and is shorter on text.

•Halbarad, Leader of the Grey Company
Companion • Man
Strength: 7
Vitality: 3
Signet: Aragorn
Ranger. Hunter 1.
The twilight cost of each other ranger in your starting fellowship is -1 (to a minimum of 1).
Each time you play an event during a skirmish involving a ranger, you may add a threat to heal that ranger.
"‘I have thirty with me. That is all of our kindred that could be gathered in haste....We rode as swiftly as we might when your summons came.'"

Okay, fun. Not sure about the hunter bonus though, I'd prefer him at strength 6 (and yes I know the existing Halbarad has strength 7, but that cost reduction on a strength 8 companion is not ideal).

•Banner of the King
Possession • Hand Weapon
Strength +1
Resistance +1
Bearer must be a unique Man. Bearer gains the Aragorn signet.
Each time bearer wins a skirmish, you may choose one: heal or exert a character; or remove a threat.
Maneuver: Discard this possession to liberate a site.
"There flowered a White Tree, and that was for Gondor; but Seven Stars were about it, and a high crown above it, the signs of Elendil that no lord had borne for years beyond count. And the stars flamed in the sunlight, for they were wrought of gems by Arwen daughter of Elrond; and the crown was bright in the morning, for it was wrought of mithril and gold."

On the contrary, I love it! But, I would suggest you save some text (so that you can fit as much of the lore in as possible ) by making the liberating a site one of the winning a skirmish triggers.

Thranduil

[sickofpalantirs]

I'd say with the hunter bonus halbie is OP.

the Banner is pretty kewl. prolly should cost 2 though.

[DáinIronfoot]

Tweaked "Halbie"'s stats and raised the cost of the banner to . Anyone else? Pretty please?

[Elf_Lvr]

•Halbarad, Leader of the Grey Company
Companion • Man
Strength: 6
Vitality: 3
Signet: Aragorn
Ranger. Hunter 2.
The twilight cost of each other ranger in your starting fellowship is -1 (to a minimum of 1).
Each time you play an event during a skirmish involving a ranger, you may add a threat to heal that ranger.
"‘I have thirty with me. That is all of our kindred that could be gathered in haste....We rode as swiftly as we might when your summons came.'"

Sweet.

•Banner of the King
Possession • Hand Weapon
Strength +1
Resistance +1
Bearer must be a unique Man. Bearer gains the Aragorn signet.
Each time bearer wins a skirmish, you may choose one: heal or exert a character; or remove a threat.
Maneuver: Discard this possession to liberate a site.
"There flowered a White Tree, and that was for Gondor; but Seven Stars were about it, and a high crown above it, the signs of Elendil that no lord had borne for years beyond count. And the stars flamed in the sunlight, for they were wrought of gems by Arwen daughter of Elrond; and the crown was bright in the morning, for it was wrought of mithril and gold."

A lot for one card, but as far as balance goes, it's okay.

[DáinIronfoot]

Not quite the same interest generated in Halbarad as there was for the Sons of Elrond, but with three reviews now in, I think we can safely move on. I'd be much obliged to anyone else who wants to take a look at him and the banner (especially with their recent tweaking)...multiple would be in store.

But perhaps today's trio of cards will generate a little more interest again. Without further adieu, here we go!

•Aragorn, Of the Grey Company
Companion • Man
Strength: 8
Vitality: 4
Signet: Aragorn
Ranger. Hunter 1. To play, spot a ranger.
When you play Aragorn, you may play an artifact or possession on him from your draw deck or discard pile.
Each time the fellowship moves, you may add a threat and spot a ranger or hunter companion to take a skirmish event of that companion's culture into hand from your draw deck.
"‘In that hour I looked on Aragorn and thought how great and terrible a Lord he might have become in the strength of his will....'"

I LOVE the lore, but I may change it to something else, as I've long contemplated using that line for a potential Aragorn ARB in my future Reflections-esque set. But anyway....

This Aragorn is obviously a powerful contributor to the Grey Company strategy, taking over for the former (but since dropped) ability of Elrohir, Grey Rider to pull skirmish events from your deck. This one is both more limited (once per move rather than once per skirmish) and also more inclusive (not limited to events of a specific culture like Grey Rider's old ability was). Obviously, you can then turn those events into powerful combos with the new-and-improved Grey Rider and Halbarad, LotGC, among others. And as I've hinted at already, the threat added as a cost of this ability can end up causing more good than harm. (I promise I'll spoil some of that soon enough. Patience, patience.... )

As for his first line of text, there is obviously already a myriad of possessions and artifacts you pull. But consider the following as well.

•Andúril, Deadly As Of Old
Artifact • Hand Weapon
Strength +3
Resistance +1
Bearer must be Aragorn. He is damage +1.
Response: If Aragorn is about to lose a skirmish, you may exert him and add a threat to make him strength +3 until the end of that skirmish.
"Then he drew Andúril and held it up glittering in the sun. ‘You shall not be sheathed again until the last battle is fought,' he said."

One of two Andúrils in the set (the other has more familiar +2/+1 stats), this one is the more Grey Company-friendly of the two thanks to its potential threat adding. Granted, with at least 11 strength, Aragorn isn't likely to be in an overwhelming situation very often, but it's a nice just-in-case to have.

•Roheryn
Possession • Mount
Strength +1
Resistance +1
Bearer must be a ranger.
Roheryn may not be discarded by Shadow cards.
If bearer is Aragorn, each time he wins a skirmish, you may exert him to remove a threat.
"Their horses were strong and of proud bearing, but rough-haired; and one stood there without a rider...Roheryn was his name."

Yes, I know I said adding threats can be a good thing, but that doesn't mean removing them is a bad thing. Yes, I would hope for a little Grey Company/Wraith meshing to manipulate threats (which Wraiths will again be good at), but I figured it couldn't hurt to toss in a little more here. I know threats are tough for Men to remove, but I figured that with this being so specific (after all, Aragorn is already known as a potential threat remover thanks to Driven By Need), it wouldn't tip the scales drastically in 's favor.

[sickofpalantirs]

Quite frankly, I'd prefer the familiar stats on anduril
I think Aragorn would be kewler like boromor, PaNM and ditch the last ability or move it to Anduril and cut andurils ability.
Roheryn is fine.

[lem0nhead]

•Halbarad, Leader of the Grey Company
Companion • Man
Strength: 6
Vitality: 3
Signet: Aragorn
Ranger. Hunter 2.
The twilight cost of each other ranger in your starting fellowship is -1 (to a minimum of 1).
Each time you play an event during a skirmish involving a ranger, you may add a threat to heal that ranger.
"‘I have thirty with me. That is all of our kindred that could be gathered in haste....We rode as swiftly as we might when your summons came.'"

I like him, hes coooooool.

•Banner of the King
Possession • Hand Weapon
Strength +1
Resistance +1
Bearer must be a unique Man. Bearer gains the Aragorn signet.
Each time bearer wins a skirmish, you may choose one: heal or exert a character; or remove a threat.
Maneuver: Discard this possession to liberate a site.
"There flowered a White Tree, and that was for Gondor; but Seven Stars were about it, and a high crown above it, the signs of Elendil that no lord had borne for years beyond count. And the stars flamed in the sunlight, for they were wrought of gems by Arwen daughter of Elrond; and the crown was bright in the morning, for it was wrought of mithril and gold."

Sweetness. Seems to have too much for me though, i might chop the strength or resistance. Otherwise peachy.

Not quite the same interest generated in Halbarad as there was for the Sons of Elrond, but with three reviews now in, I think we can safely move on. I'd be much obliged to anyone else who wants to take a look at him and the banner (especially with their recent tweaking)...multiple would be in store.

Sorry man, im doing my best!

But perhaps today's trio of cards will generate a little more interest again. Without further adieu, here we go!

•Aragorn, Of the Grey Company
Companion • Man
Strength: 8
Vitality: 4
Signet: Aragorn
Ranger. Hunter 1. To play, spot a ranger.
When you play Aragorn, you may play an artifact or possession on him from your draw deck or discard pile.
Each time the fellowship moves, you may add a threat and spot a ranger or hunter companion to take a skirmish event of that companion's culture into hand from your draw deck.
"‘In that hour I looked on Aragorn and thought how great and terrible a Lord he might have become in the strength of his will....'"

Booo an aragorn you cant start! Hes sound. Better have lots of threat removal.

•Andúril, Deadly As Of Old
Artifact • Hand Weapon
Strength +3
Resistance +1
Bearer must be Aragorn. He is damage +1.
Each time Aragorn is about to be overwhelmed, you may add a threat to wound him instead.
"Then he drew Andúril and held it up glittering in the sun. ‘You shall not be sheathed again until the last battle is fought,' he said."

Wow power??? The never dying aragorn? Seems a tad good. Also again with the better have some threat removal...

•Roheryn
Possession • Mount
Strength +1
Resistance +1
Bearer must be a ranger.
Roheryn may not be discarded by Shadow cards.
If bearer is Aragorn, each time he wins a skirmish, you may exert him to remove a threat.
"Their horses were strong and of proud bearing, but rough-haired; and one stood there without a rider...Roheryn was his name."

Ahhh i see we get some threat removal, not enough though as an exertion to do is costly. Cant you say add 3 instead?

[DáinIronfoot]

Alright, I tweaked Andúril DaoO a bit. I've left Aragorn himself alone for now since, as lem0n rightly points out, this is the only Aragorn ever with a spotting requirement, which makes it much more difficult to even get him into play. Having to spot another ranger makes his movement ability difficult to abuse with, say, hunters or hunters (while the latter has rangers, yes, there are very few). Yes, you can still mesh him with non-rangers without TOO much trouble, but the very fact you have to plan around his spotting requirement and thin out non-ranger decks with cards that otherwise wouldn't be there keeps him in check, methinks. With rangers, yes, he can be quite powerful...which is kind of the point. But even then, a one-time-per-move ability that grabs a single event doesn't seem too much to me when combined with his again-one-time-only possession/artifact grab. I did have Boromir, Proud and Noble Man in mind when I did this, but since he's much less restrictive (and cheaper) to play, I figured this was still balanced.

If ya'll disagree, then please review and say so! I never mind more reviews. I'd like to have more than two before moving on (probably to Legolas and Gimli), so....

[DáinIronfoot]

Awww...no more reviews? Not even on my birthday? *sniffle*

[lem0nhead]

Ive reviewed sorry man!! But many happy returns!!!! For hes a jolly good dwarf!!!

[Ulmo]

Where do you get the time Mr. Dwarf??  Never really looked in these threads before, so forgive me for being a bit dense - perhaps I'll get better as I get into it more and read past threads.

Anduril:

•Andúril, Deadly As Of Old
Artifact • Hand Weapon
Strength +3
Resistance +1
Bearer must be Aragorn. He is damage +1.
Each time Aragorn is about to be overwhelmed in a skirmish, you may add a threat to make him strength +4 until the end of that skirmish.
"Then he drew Andúril and held it up glittering in the sun. ‘You shall not be sheathed again until the last battle is fought,' he said."

I like that it's +3 on strength, never did like Anduril being +2, it's the Reforged Blade for pity's sake.
Do you have Skirmish actions?  If so, could this be a skirmish action rather that 'until the end of that skirmish?'  It can only be used if Aragorn is about to be overwhelmed anyway so the mechanics are the same, just saves a bit of text.
Is the strength +4 a bit too strong for the cost one threat?  He is strength 11 already.  If he's about to be overwhelmed, shouldn't the cost be more or the effect a bit less?
Sorry if this doesn't add anything constructive.

[Beregond25]

Yeah I think maybe strength +3 instead of +4 cuz that is just a bit much
Most minions wont overwhelm him anyway at 11 strength and even sauron cant at 14 without some pumps.

[Thranduil]

Yeah, I agree with Beregond25. Otherwise it's still very powerful with the resistance, and damage bonus as well - I would lose one of them. I like the Aragorn, though.

Thranduil

[DáinIronfoot]

Thran! I was waiting on you, buddy. Where you been?

Okay, thanks to all, and especially to new reviewers Beregond and Ulmo. Hope you'll stick around! Have some , fellas.

I tweaked Andúril DaoO so that the ability is now not reliant on being overwhelmed, but simply losing. I toned it down so that it only adds +3 strength instead of +4, and it requires exerting in addition to the threat add, so there's really little reason to use it unless Aragorn is facing a minion that would do particularly nasty things by winning and/or has a damage bonus AND has only 1 or 2 more strength than Aragorn. Otherwise, it's probably better to just let Gorn lose, since he's now taking a wound (and still losing, so there's TWO wounds) AND adding a threat. Still keeps it from being out of whack, in my opinion. I also kept the somewhat controversial +3 strength (rather than the traditional +2), as I think it actually helps keep it balanced with the response action and I, and at least Ulmo, think it's pretty cool.

Now that I have more than enough reviews, let's move on with a rare weekend update. I've been itching to post these two for a while. Enjoy!

•Legolas, En Tel' Mithrim
Companion • Elf
Strength: 6
Vitality: 3
Signet: Aragorn
Archer. Hunter 1.
Each time a threat is added by a Free Peoples card, if you cannot spot 4 threats, you may spot a ranger or another hunter companion and add a threat (or exert Legolas) to make the fellowship archery total +1 until the regroup phase.
"‘...I felt not the horror, and I feared not the shadows of Men, powerless and frail as I deemed them.'"

His subtitle is Elvish for "Of the Grey Company", which was an already-taken subtitle. If you don't like it, I'd be happy to change it.

Now, for his actual text. Hunter, I imagine, will not go over well with at least one reviewer ( ), but I'm trying to keep the Three Hunters as, you know, three actual hunters from The Two Towers on. I expect, though, that it's his ability that may cause more strife....

I was trying to think of a way to tie the Grey Company and Wraiths together. Tying just one of those groups in with Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli would be easy enough, but doing that AND making the ranger/hunter Grey Company companions AND the very different Wraiths (with no rangers or hunters in sight) was no small task, especially since I didn't want to just tie it all around rangers and inadvertantly make ALL rangers work remarkably well with ALL Wraiths. So I decided, as you can probably tell by some of the Grey Company cards I've already spoiled (and my not-so-subtle hints ), that I would try and tie all this into one neat little package by using threats.

But even that was not incredibly easy. I didn't want to turn into a massive threat-manipulating culture, for instance, because they already do so much that to give them big-time threat removal as well would just be too much. Besides, threats are already removed without too much trouble by Wraiths. Wait, they also add lots of threats...hold on here....

As I continued to think about it, it clicked: I could make the very act of adding threats a trigger for certain Grey Company companions and cards. Now, when Wraiths add threats, you can do fun stuff, much like all the cards Decipher made that have effects triggered when you lose initiative. As you can see here, Legolas (above) and Gimli (below) are a couple of those triggered cards.

In Legolas' case, he does about what you'd expect: add to the archery total. But there's a catch...two catches, actually. First, you have to spot another ranger or hunter to do so. This makes it more difficult to splash this in with, say, or or , which have easy threat-adding cards, and forces you to mix Legolas in with a fellowship more along the lines of what I intended: a -heavy one. The second catch is that, much like the Driven By Need-Rohirrim Squire-Sworn To Service trio, you can only use this ability so many times (a maximum of three, in this case) before you have to remove some threats. I think that, plus the fact that any threats added after the archery phase don't help, keep this in check. Agreed?

•Gimli, Of the Grey Company
Companion • Dwarf
Strength: 6
Vitality: 3
Signet: Aragorn
Damage +1. Hunter 1.
Each time a threat is added by a Free Peoples card, if you cannot spot 4 threats, you may spot a ranger or another hunter companion to make Gimli strength +1 until the regroup phase.
"‘You might as well accept it: we're going with you, laddie.'"

Similar story here. I thought about not adding the threat limit restriction here, since all it's doing it pumping Gimli, but I opted to leave it for consistency. He's not as powerful as Legolas, certainly, but his trigger is good all the way up until the end of his skirmish, so it's more likely to take effect.

And, like Aragorn, they get threat-adding weapons to work with:

•Bow of the Galadhrim, Accurate Weapon
Possession • Ranged Weapon
Strength +1
Bearer must be Legolas.
Response: If a minion takes a wound during the archery phase or during a skirmish involving Legolas, exert Legolas to wound that minion again (limit once per phase). Any Shadow player may remove a threat to prevent this.
"‘Legolas, fire a warning shot past the bosun's ear.'"

•Axe of Erebor, Long-reaching Weapon
Possession • Hand Weapon
Strength +2
Bearer must be a Dwarf. Bearer is damage +1.
If bearer is Gimli, each time he wins a skirmish, you may add a threat to discard a minion in that skirmish. Any Shadow player may remove 2 threats to prevent this.
"‘That's it. Right. We warned you. Prepare to be boarded.'"

Both of these are designed to work especially well with the Legolas and Gimli posted above; Accurate Weapon turns the extra archery created by Legolas into even MORE wounds, and Long-reaching Weapon turns Gimli's won skirmishes (which should be easier thanks to his pumping) into auto-killed minions. There IS a buy-out for the Shadow player, but it involves removing threats, which obviously helps you in most cases anyway.

So, are these too strong? Do you like the overall idea? I hope so, because like I said before, I put a lot of time and thought into how to work all this! But don't let that keep you from speaking up if you need to.

[Not a Zombie]

•Elladan, Clad In Grey
Companion • Elf
Strength: 7
Vitality: 3
Signet: Elrond
Ranger. While you can spot a ranger, Elladan's twilight cost is -1 (or -2 if that ranger is Elrohir).
At the start of each skirmish involving a ranger, you may exert Elladan or Elrohir to make each minion in that skirmish strength -1 for each skirmish event in your discard pile (limit -4). Then remove 2 skirmish events (or 1 skirmish event) in your discard pile from the game.
"‘Less sombre is their gear than the others', and they are fair and gallant as Elven-lords; and that is not to be wondered at in the sons of Elrond of Rivendell.'"



•Elrohir, Grey Rider
Companion • Elf
Strength: 7
Vitality: 3
Signet: Elrond
Ranger. While you can spot a ranger, Elrohir's twilight cost is -1 (or -2 if that ranger is Elladan).
While you can spot Aragorn, Elrohir and Elladan gain the Aragorn signet.
Each time you play an event during a skirmish involving a ranger or hunter companion, you may heal Elrohir or Elladan.
"‘...the brethren Elladan and Elrohir have ridden with us, desiring to go to the war.'"

I don't know if you intended this, but you could start both of these plus aragorn, strider and Faramir, COG. Drop farimir first for , gorn for free, drop either of the other two for (spot ranger, farimir reduction), and drop the last one for free (spot elf, farimir reduction).

Sorry this is a little outdated, but I just noticed it  

[Ulmo]

•Legolas, En Tel' Mithrim
Companion • Elf
Strength: 6
Vitality: 3
Signet: Aragorn
Archer. Hunter 1.
Each time a threat is added by a Free Peoples card, if you cannot spot 4 threats, you may spot a ranger or another hunter companion to make the fellowship archery total +1 until the regroup phase.
"‘...I felt not the horror, and I feared not the shadows of Men, powerless and frail as I deemed them.'"

•Gimli, Of the Grey Company
Companion • Dwarf
Strength: 6
Vitality: 3
Signet: Aragorn
Damage +1. Hunter 1.
Each time a threat is added by a Free Peoples card, if you cannot spot 4 threats, you may spot a ranger or another hunter companion to make Gimli strength +1 until the regroup phase.
"‘You might as well accept it: we're going with you, laddie.'"

•Bow of the Galadhrim, Accurate Weapon
Possession • Ranged Weapon
Strength +1
Bearer must be Legolas.
Response: If Legolas is not exhausted and a minion takes a wound during the archery phase or during a skirmish involving Legolas, add a threat to wound that minion again (limit once per phase). Any Shadow player may remove 2 threats to prevent this.
"‘Legolas, fire a warning shot past the bosun's ear.'"

•Axe of Erebor, Long-reaching Weapon
Possession • Hand Weapon
Strength +2
Bearer must be a Dwarf. Bearer is damage +1.
If bearer is Gimli, each time he wins a skirmish, you may add a threat to discard a minion in that skirmish. Any Shadow player may remove 2 threats to prevent this.
"‘That's it. Right. We warned you. Prepare to be boarded.'"

I like the idea, adding threats up to a point, though adding one threat does help out 2 companions at once.
Legolas: Might be a bit strong as any threat added in 3 phases add to the archery total, but the spotting requirements probably cancel that out.
Gimli: Like him, like his lore too.
Accurate Weapon: Well thought out.  If Legolas is not exhausted he can add 2 threats to wound twice but shadow can prevent.
Long-reaching Weapon: Again, shadow prevention (with a high cost) balances it out.

Have sent you PM.

[macheteman]

so, if i have thorongil with his bow, and this legolas out, i can easily add three threats for 6 archery wounds. that is not balanced. especially with the easy threat removal in gondor/elven hunters.

it would probably be fantastic if the ability went like this:
Each time a threat is added by a Free Peoples card, if you cannot spot 4 threats, you may spot a ranger or another hunter companion and add a threat (or exert legolas) to make the fellowship archery total +1 until the regroup phase.

the others are cool concepts, i like it. with gimli's damage bonuses, he might not need to use his ability much, but its nice to have. it might be more beneficial to make it wound a minion that another ranger or hunter companion is skirmishing. but that is more along the lines of skilled defender.

[Thranduil]

Thran! I was waiting on you, buddy. Where you been?

Sorry, been on holiday and such things. Not sure I'll be online for the next 2 weeks either...

•Legolas, En Tel' Mithrim
Companion • Elf
Strength: 6
Vitality: 3
Signet: Aragorn
Archer. Hunter 1.
Each time a threat is added by a Free Peoples card, if you cannot spot 4 threats, you may spot a ranger or another hunter companion to make the fellowship archery total +1 until the regroup phase.
"‘...I felt not the horror, and I feared not the shadows of Men, powerless and frail as I deemed them.'"

•Gimli, Of the Grey Company
Companion • Dwarf
Strength: 6
Vitality: 3
Signet: Aragorn
Damage +1. Hunter 1.
Each time a threat is added by a Free Peoples card, if you cannot spot 4 threats, you may spot a ranger or another hunter companion to make Gimli strength +1 until the regroup phase.
"‘You might as well accept it: we're going with you, laddie.'"

I'm not sure about these two. They're probably balanced (even with the hunter bonus! ) but they seem inelegant to me. Given that most of the Grey Company is , it seems appropriate to me that these guys should bring into the Grey Company the and ways respectively of doing threats. Now I'm not sure about your other DCs, but Dwarves get stronger for threats, prevent wounds with them, and draw cards, while Elves heal and wound with threats, and more importantly can remove them. So I might make a duo of special abilities that add threats to do something (or do something to remove threats) and that work together.

Thranduil

[lem0nhead]

•Legolas, En Tel' Mithrim
Companion • Elf
Strength: 6
Vitality: 3
Signet: Aragorn
Archer. Hunter 1.
Each time a threat is added by a Free Peoples card, if you cannot spot 4 threats, you may spot a ranger or another hunter companion to make the fellowship archery total +1 until the regroup phase.
"‘...I felt not the horror, and I feared not the shadows of Men, powerless and frail as I deemed them.'"

Removing threats is an easy mechanic, it wouldnt take too long before this could get insanely abusive!

•Gimli, Of the Grey Company
Companion • Dwarf
Strength: 6
Vitality: 3
Signet: Aragorn
Damage +1. Hunter 1.
Each time a threat is added by a Free Peoples card, if you cannot spot 4 threats, you may spot a ranger or another hunter companion to make Gimli strength +1 until the regroup phase.
"‘You might as well accept it: we're going with you, laddie.'"

This is less abusive, and bothers me less. Ok.

•Bow of the Galadhrim, Accurate Weapon
Possession • Ranged Weapon
Strength +1
Bearer must be Legolas.
Response: If Legolas is not exhausted and a minion takes a wound during the archery phase or during a skirmish involving Legolas, add a threat to wound that minion again (limit once per phase). Any Shadow player may remove 2 threats to prevent this.
"‘Legolas, fire a warning shot past the bosun's ear.'"

Wow; wordy! Id change the prevention to 1 threat remove.

•Axe of Erebor, Long-reaching Weapon
Possession • Hand Weapon
Strength +2
Bearer must be a Dwarf. Bearer is damage +1.
If bearer is Gimli, each time he wins a skirmish, you may add a threat to discard a minion in that skirmish. Any Shadow player may remove 2 threats to prevent this.
"‘That's it. Right. We warned you. Prepare to be boarded.'"

Yeah this one is ok. Powerful but ok. Dont think id change this to 1 threat prevent.

[DáinIronfoot]

Thanks for the reviews, all. If you haven't already heard, it appears my days of posting at work are over. The blockers finally clamped all the way down. I can view the forums, but can't access any topics within, meaning no posting either. Blarg.

So I'm now limited to evenings...which, in truth, is what I figured would happen at NSA all along. So oh well.

That won't stop me! I still have my evenings and weekends! Onward and upward, right?

Sweet_Stuff, I don't think your starting fellowship would work. Faramir CoG only reduces the cost of other Men, not rangers. So he has no way to reduce the cost of the Sons of Elrond. Strider, yes, but not Elladan or Elrohir.

As for Legolas and Gimli, I tweaked Legolas and his bow. Tried to think of a better way of doing Lego, and finally just settled on mm's simple fix. Since that now racks up threats more quickly, I changed the Bow to exerting Legolas instead of adding MORE threats, which actually probably works better anyway. And it saves on text.

Hoping you like those changes (but if you don't, certainly let me know!), as I'm going to shift gears a bit and move on.

So far I've covered only the true Grey Company. But as I've hinted at throughout this topic, I designed the Grey Company to also (hopefully) work well with a long-neglected race. Big D gave us an awesome taste of these companions back in King block...but then, strangely, never mentioned them again.

Time to fix that...as we bring back Wraiths!

•Angbor, The Fearless
Companion • Man
Strength: 6
Vitality: 4
Resistance: 7
Knight. While you can spot Aragorn or a Wraith, Angbor is twilight cost -1 and gains the Aragorn signet.
Response: If a companion wins a skirmish, exert Angbor twice to remove a threat.
"‘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....'"

...well, in a second. Little detour to the detour first.

Angbor is a minor thread in the literary tapestry of The Return of the King, but he plays a key role: he's the only Gondorian leader in the southern parts of the kingdom that doesn't flee from the oncoming army of the Dead. Aragorn rewards his bravery by putting him in command of an army of Gondorians he has march to Gondor while Aragorn leads the Grey Company and the Dead upriver in the formerly corsair ships. I figured this made little Angbor a curious snub from the King block, and one that deserved to appear now that the Dead are back. He helps them out directly by removing threats, something unheard of with companions. I tried to balance this a bit by making him expensive without Aragorn or some Wraiths around, and by limiting Angbor's ability to once-per-turn unless you have some in-skirmish healing. Does he work?

Okay, NOW we'll get into Wraiths.

•Grey Host
Companion • Wraith
Strength: 9
Vitality: 6
Signet: Aragorn
Damage +1. Enduring. To play, spot 2 Wraiths (or Aragorn) and add a threat.
Grey Host's twilight cost is -2 for each ranger and Wraith you can spot.
Each time Grey Host kills a minion in a skirmish, you may remove a threat.
"‘...the Dead ride behind. They have been summoned.'"

Figured I'd start with the Wraith (or Wraiths in this case, I suppose) most closely tied to the Grey Company. Yes, he's a great splash in a Wraith-heavy fellowship, but as long as Aragorn's around, you can start this guy pretty cheaply without any other Wraiths around at all! Grey Company = rangers = this companion for a reasonable cost. And perhaps best of all, when he kills minions (likely with his high strength and built-in damage bonus), you get to remove threats, which is great with other Wraiths OR with the Grey Company. Nifty!

[Beregond25]

•Angbor, The Fearless
Companion • Man
Strength: 6
Vitality: 4
Resistance: 7
Knight. While you can spot Aragorn or a Wraith, Angbor is twilight cost -1 and gains the Aragorn signet.
Response: If a companion wins a skirmish, exert Angbor twice to remove a threat.
"‘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....'"

I am new to this but maybe make it if a Gondor wraith wins a skirmish exert Angbor twice and exert another companion to remove a threat.

•Grey Host
Companion • Wraith
Strength: 12
Vitality: 3
Signet: Aragorn
Damage +1. Enduring. To play, spot 2 Wraiths (or Aragorn) and add 2 threats.
Grey Host's twilight cost is -2 for each ranger and Wraith you can spot.
Each time Grey Host kills a minion in a skirmish, you may remove a threat.
"‘...the Dead ride behind. They have been summoned.'"

High cost but good for the card. Nice
Like the Lore

off subject but Legolas could have ranger

[sickofpalantirs]

•Angbor, The Fearless
Companion • Man
Strength: 6
Vitality: 4
Resistance: 7
Knight. While you can spot Aragorn or a Wraith, Angbor is twilight cost -1 and gains the Aragorn signet.
Response: If a companion wins a skirmish, exert Angbor twice to remove a threat.
"‘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....'"
fine by me



•Grey Host
Companion • Wraith
Strength: 12
Vitality: 3
Signet: Aragorn
Damage +1. Enduring. To play, spot 2 Wraiths (or Aragorn) and add 2 threats.
Grey Host's twilight cost is -2 for each ranger and Wraith you can spot.
Each time Grey Host kills a minion in a skirmish, you may remove a threat.
"‘...the Dead ride behind. They have been summoned.'"

Ah...I always loved big beatstick companions...

[lem0nhead]

•Angbor, The Fearless
Companion • Man
Strength: 6
Vitality: 4
Resistance: 7
Knight. While you can spot Aragorn or a Wraith, Angbor is twilight cost -1 and gains the Aragorn signet.
Response: If a companion wins a skirmish, exert Angbor twice to remove a threat.
"‘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....'"

Not a great ability but hes solid enough of a companion by his stats.

•Grey Host
Companion • Wraith
Strength: 12
Vitality: 3
Signet: Aragorn
Damage +1. Enduring. To play, spot 2 Wraiths (or Aragorn) and add 2 threats.
Grey Host's twilight cost is -2 for each ranger and Wraith you can spot.
Each time Grey Host kills a minion in a skirmish, you may remove a threat.
"‘...the Dead ride behind. They have been summoned.'"[/i

So hes the big ent of the wraith world i see. Seens ok i reckon.

[Ulmo]

•Angbor, The Fearless
Companion • Man
Strength: 6
Vitality: 4
Resistance: 7
Knight. While you can spot Aragorn or a Wraith, Angbor is twilight cost -1 and gains the Aragorn signet.
Response: If a companion wins a skirmish, exert Angbor twice to remove a threat.
"‘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....'"

Balanced with vitality 4 and double exertion

•Grey Host
Companion • Wraith
Strength: 12
Vitality: 3
Signet: Aragorn
Damage +1. Enduring. To play, spot 2 Wraiths (or Aragorn) and add 2 threats.
Grey Host's twilight cost is -2 for each ranger and Wraith you can spot.
Each time Grey Host kills a minion in a skirmish, you may remove a threat.
"‘...the Dead ride behind. They have been summoned.'"

Always liked Host of Fangorn and Ent Horde with the cost reduction. Not sure about adding 2 threats to play though, seems a bit steep.  Could be defender +1 if more minions than comps?  Vitality 4?

[DáinIronfoot]

I'll consider tweaking Grey Host, Ulmo. I had thought about a conditional defender bonus myself....

For now, let's finally get to some events, shall we? We've hinted at them quite heavily with several of these companions, so let's start with ones that also tie into the threat theme. :hey:

Heeded Them Not
Event • Skirmish
Spot a Dwarf and add a threat to exert a minion skirmishing that Dwarf.
"‘...we came then at last upon battle in earnest.'"

Felt Not the Horror
Event • Skirmish
Spot an Elf and add a threat to make a minion skirmishing that Elf strength -3.
"‘And lo! in the darkness of Mordor my hope rose....'"

Just wanted to give Dwarves and Elves a simple threat-adding event. But the main event is below....

This Day We Fight!
Event • Skirmish
Spot Aragorn and X threats to make each character with the Aragorn signet strength +X (limit +3) until the regroup phase.
"‘I bid you stand, men of the West!'"

Bwaha! I rarely make events that can so drastically beef up the bulk of your fellowship, but I felt like if you work hard enough to get several companions with a certain signet AND a decent amount of threats, you ought to get rewarded for it. Is it too much, though?

[lem0nhead]

Heeded Them Not
Event • Skirmish
Add a threat to wound a minion skirmishing a Dwarf (except the Ring-bearer).
"‘...we came then at last upon battle in earnest.'"

I dont like events that can be abused by playing them without getting the effect. Id say Spot a dwarf and add a threat to wound a minion skirmishing that dwarf. Apart from that it seems ok, not sure if its not a 2 cost.

Felt Not the Horror
Event • Skirmish
Add a threat to make a minion skirmishing an Elf (except the Ring-bearer) strength -3.
"‘And lo! in the darkness of Mordor my hope rose....'"

See above.

This Day We Fight!
Event • Skirmish
Spot Aragorn and X threats or X twilight tokens to make each character with the Aragorn signet strength +X (limit +3) until the regroup phase.
"‘I bid you stand, men of the West!'"

Think you should pick one or the other because as it is this is insanely powerful. And it should probably be threats as pool is easy to add and inconsequential.

[Ulmo]

I like the changes you made after lem0n's suggestions.
Looks like they're all balanced.
This Day We Fight was far too powerful when adding twilight, glad you changed it to threats only.

[Thranduil]

•Angbor, The Fearless
Companion • Man
Strength: 6
Vitality: 4
Resistance: 7
Knight. While you can spot Aragorn or a Wraith, Angbor is twilight cost -1 and gains the Aragorn signet.
Response: If a companion wins a skirmish, exert Angbor twice to remove a threat.
"‘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....'"

I feel like he does not need resistance 7, but is otherwise fine.

•Grey Host
Companion • Wraith
Strength: 12
Vitality: 3
Signet: Aragorn
Damage +1. Enduring. To play, spot 2 Wraiths (or Aragorn) and add 2 threats.
Grey Host's twilight cost is -2 for each ranger and Wraith you can spot.
Each time Grey Host kills a minion in a skirmish, you may remove a threat.
"‘...the Dead ride behind. They have been summoned.'"

I think much cooler would be something like strength 5 vitality 7, or some other ridiculous distribution of stats that makes this guy's enduring phenomenal.

Heeded Them Not
Event • Skirmish
Spot a Dwarf (except the Ring-bearer) and add a threat to wound a minion skirmishing that Dwarf.
"‘...we came then at last upon battle in earnest.'"

I'm not sure what the reason is for the parentheses - the RB is always Gimli, and it's comparable to PAthS. Perhaps make it more by making it exert not wound (given that Dwarves like to kill through damage bonuses).

Felt Not the Horror
Event • Skirmish
Spot an Elf (except the Ring-bearer) and add a threat to make a minion skirmishing that Elf strength -3.
"‘And lo! in the darkness of Mordor my hope rose....'"

Again, not sure why it needs the parentheses (there are no balance issues I can see).

This Day We Fight!
Event • Skirmish
Spot Aragorn and X threats to make each character with the Aragorn signet strength +X (limit +3) until the regroup phase.
"‘I bid you stand, men of the West!'"

NO LIMITS! This card is currently very disappointing. Make it cost and lose the limit, or perhaps make it add the threats in the first place.

Thranduil