Rohan & Smeagol deck

[TheJord]

I am trying to build a Rohan/Smeagol site control deck to pair with my Ferny deck. I am really struggling to find a decent build. I am not too hot on Rohan (except the Ring-bearer fighting Rohan) so I could do with some help. I plan for it to focus on plains (for Safe Passage) but this is not required.

[SomeRandomDude]

Why Rohan?

[TheJord]

Mainly because my RB Hobbits I would pair it with uses Habits of Home for the mega choke. And that doesnt work with the plains I need for Ferny.

[SomeRandomDude]

How about Solo-Smeagol or something else? I mean, Rohan doesn't really work with sitepath control...

[DáinIronfoot]

I mean, Rohan doesn't really work with sitepath control...

But Smeagol certainly does.

I've actually contemplated a Smeagol/Rohan deck myself to get lots of plains sites out. I'd be curious to see people's thoughts as well.

[leokula]

Rohan and smeagol sounds really weird if u ask me... IMO rohan needs lots of cards to be good, like all nice cool companions with their toys plus conditions and events ... I wouldn't run them with smeagol.

Anyway, u can add any smeagol and start dammed gate-stream to fetch follow smeagol and then run a few one good turn deserves another. You could run a sort of swordthain build and then use Smeagol, AH with a few Unheeded for some extra kills. Otherwise just get Smeagol, PC that is cool for cycling also.

[Gil-Estel]

deagol, fateful finder could get you some needed possessions....

[DáinIronfoot]

I could see something like this, perhaps:

Frodo, Hope of Free Peoples w/ The One Ring, The Ring of Doom

Eomer, Eored Captain (starting)
Merry, Swordthain (starting)
Smeagol, Always Helps (starting)

Eowyn, Restless Maiden
Eothain, Scout of the Mark
Riders of the Mark

Eomer's Spear, Trusty Weapon
Eomer's Bow
Firefoot, Eomer's Steed
Eowyn's Sword, Dernhelm's Blade x2
Riddermark Javelin x3
Sting, Elven Long Knife

Sword Rack x2
Doom Drove Them
Home and Hearth x4
Hornblower Leaf x3
Birthday Present
Safe Passage

Simbelmyne x3
Unheeded x4
One Good Turn Deserves Another x4

Very, very rough, but you get the general idea. Lots of archery from the javelins, which Merry and the Sword Racks grab back. More exerting and wounding from the possessions, and again, Merry can grab back Trusty Weapon and Dernhelm's Blade (creating a nice little combo that I LOVE with Restless Maiden: use her text to discard Dernhelm's Blade (making her strength +2), replay with Merry, wound with the sword's text, and then Eowyn is a total of strength 11 when it's all said and done! ).

MORE exerting (in the form of exhaustion, this time) comes from Smeagol AH and Riders of the Mark.

With all the exerting going around, Unheeded is just plain mean. It's an instant kill when comboed with Smeagol AH and Riders of the Mark, and works well with Eomer's Steed and Eomer's Bow as well. Birthday Present adds a burden to get copies of Unheeded back when you need them.

Finally, a reason to use Eored Captain over Third Marshal of Riddermark: valiant on Eored Captain allows us to use Simbelmyne to pull any companion or possession you need at the time from your deck.

One major part of this deck, of course, is Smeagol and his site control. Start with Dammed Gate-stream to grab Safe Passage, then when you uncover One Good Turn Deserves Another, use it and add burdens to pull it back over and over with reckless abandon. After all, bouncing Swordthain and Home and Hearth should be peeling burdens added by this and Birthday Present like crazy. Obviously, throw in as many plains sites as possible, then abuse their existance with the javelins and Eothain.

Last comment is again on Smeagol. Note that he had to add 2 threats to auto-assign and exhaust a minion. How do we remove those threats? Easily enough, through use of Hornblower Leaf (which can also be used to discard minions in a pinch) and Elven Long Knife...which is VERY effective with Frodo having up to 7 vitality.

Like I said, very rough deck that I literally just threw together, but it's an idea, and one that might actually be pretty lethal with a little tweaking.

So yes, I think Smeagol might make a better splash with Rohan than you'd initially think.

[Gate Troll]

I'd throw a Habits of Home for Merry into the deck Dain suggested.

[DáinIronfoot]

I'd throw a Habits of Home for Merry into the deck Dain suggested.

Not a bad idea, but not one that will likely do much good since it would get discarded when you took Merry into your hand.

On that note, though, Coif wouldn't be a bad idea since you should be able to control the sitepath enough to prevent forests from appearing unless you want them to. 'Twould help make up for the complete lack of healing cards, and Eowyn could always discard it if needed for another +2 strength (and then, of course, Swordthain could later grab it back). Don't think you'd be able to find room in that deck, though...it's already on the borderline-too-large size.

[leokula]

Althought the deck "looks" pretty cool with lots of combos and stuff, my thoughts are it doesn't work.  Really. It's all over the place and it turned out to have too few rohan cards to even be a rohan deck... it's worse than solo smeagol, swordthain or unheeded deck... that's what happens when u try to do a thousand things with a deck: u probably won't get any of them done right. It's one of the million decks here at TLHH that look sooo perfect on paper, but when u play it u see it just won't work how you wanted it to. 

IMHO you should play a solid traditional rohan build, playing ur plains, walking behind ur opponent (specially since ur aiming for a shadowkill), but if he dares to let you go first, just use whatever rohan cards out there to run ahead of him. Stuff like theoden + theodred, riding like the wing or radagast would be nice. Just add all rohan big guys with their toys and events and conditions, 'cause that's the only way rohan works.