Manual — War of the Ring: The Card Game – Fire and Swords

Journey to the Dwarven city of Erebor, the Lonely Mountain, and meet its King, Dáin Ironfoot; sail from the Grey Havens, where dwells Círdan the Shipwright, the eldest of the Elves; march your Easterling armies out of Rhûn; or storm the Shire with your Men of Dunland...
Fire and Swords expands War of the Ring — The Card Game by introducing new battlegrounds to contest, new factions, a new type of location — skirmishes — and many new characters from The Lord of the Rings.
This expansion allows War of the Ring — The Card Game to be played by up to 6 players, but you may also use this expansion with just 2−4 players (or even solo, using it together with the solo/cooperative expansion Against the Shadow).
The rules to Fire and Swords are largely the same as those of the base game. However, the addition of three new factions results in a fresh new set of scenarios for players already familiar with the base game.
COMPONENTS
60 FACTION CARDS 31 LOCATION CARDS
© 2024 MEE • SG • AG 145 Kuo Yang
NORTHMEN • CHARACTER
GRIMBEORN THE OLD
When played, each Shadow player must forsake 1 card. This card may also be played or moved to Dol Guldur or Lórien.
© 2024 MEE • SG • AG 158 Kuo Yang
EASTERLING • CHARACTER
THE RED BANNERMAN
If in reserve, you may use your action and eliminate this card to reactivate any Easterling battleground.
© 2024 MEE • SG • AG 171 Kuo Yang
RUFFIAN • CHARACTER
BILL FERNY
If in reserve, you may use your action and cycle this card so the Free Peoples player of your choice must cycle 1 card from hand.
30 Free Peoples 30 Shadow
© 2024 MEE • SG • AG 255 Fataneh & John Howe
ATTACKER WINS
Add to an accompanying battleground.
CAIR ANDROS
MINAS TIRITH • EDORAS
DEFENDER WINS
Add to an accompanying battleground.
© 2024 MEE • SG • AG 355 Fataneh & John Howe
ATTACKER WINS
Remove 1 corruption.
NEAR HARAD
HARAD • UMBAR
DEFENDER WINS
Each Shadow player draws 1 card.
© 2024 MEE • SG • AG 36 Fataneh & John Howe 6
3
PATH 9
GORGOROTH
Each Shadow player draws 1 card.
15 Free Peoples
(5 Battlegrounds and 10 Skirmishes)
7 Shadow
(4 Battlegrounds and 3 Skirmishes)
9 Paths
32 SOLO/COOP CARDS* OTHER COMPONENTS
© 2024 MEE • SG • AG S158 Kuo Yang
EASTERLING • CHARACTER
THE RED BANNERMAN
When played or moved to a battleground, each Free Peoples player must forsake 1 card.
© 2024 MEE • SG • AG S211 Fataneh & John Howe
The Ruffian player may draw up to a one at a time play the first Ruffian army of Ruffian character and then top, cycle the unplayed.
© 2024 MEE • SG • AG War in the North Scenario © 2024 MEE • SG • AG Expanded Trilogy Scenario
EXPANDED TRILOGY SCENARIO
THE GAMEROUND
Turn order: Frodo, The Witch-king, Gandalf, Saruman, Aragorn, Bill Ferny.
1. LOCATION STEP
The starting player activates one battleground, then one path.
2. ACTION STEP
Players take turns taking actions or passing, beginning with the starting player, until all have passed consecutively.
3. COMBAT STEP
Resolve combat on the active battlegrounds, skirmishes with cards, and path.
4. VICTORY CHECK
Check to see if either side has attained victory.
5. DRAW STEP
Each Free Peoples player draws 3 cards, each Shadow player draws 4 cards.
The starting player token is passed to the next player.
RING TOKEN
Once per game, as an action, discard your Ring token to draw 2 cards. If unused, it is worth 1 victory point.
ACTIONS
— Play 1 card from your hand (cycling another card).
— Move 1 character or army in reserve to an active path or battleground.
— Cycle 1 card from your hand.
— Winnow by eliminating 2 cards from your hand to draw 1 card.
— Use an Action to resolve the “use an action to...” text of a card in play.
— Resolve a skirmish where one of your factions has a card.
— Use a Ring token to draw cards.
Instead of taking an action, you may pass if:
— The number of cards in your hand is less than or equal to your carryover limit; OR
— The number of cards in your hand is less than each opponent.
ANY EASTERLING ISENGARD MONSTROUS MORDOR RUFFIANS OUTHRON
EXPANDED TRILOGY SCENARIO
THE GAME ROUND
Turn order: Frodo, The Witch-king, Gandalf, Saruman, Aragorn, Bill Ferny.
1. LOCATION STEP
The starting player activates one battleground, then one path.
2. ACTION STEP
Players take turns taking actions or passing, beginning with the starting player, until all have passed consecutively.
3. COMBAT STEP
Resolve combat on the active battlegrounds, skirmishes with cards, and path.
4. VICTORY CHECK
Check to see if either side has attained victory.
5. DRAW STEP
Each Free Peoples player draws 3 cards, each Shadow player draws 4 cards.
The starting player token is passed to the next player.
RING TOKEN
Once per game, as an action, discard your Ring token to draw 2 cards. If unused, it is worth 1 victory point.
ACTIONS
— Play 1 card from your hand (cycling another card).
— Move 1 character or army in reserve to an active path or battleground.
— Cycle 1 card from your hand.
— Winnow by eliminating 2 cards from your hand to draw 1 card.
— Use an Action to resolve the “use an action to...” text of a card in play.
— Resolve a skirmish where one of your factions has a card.
— Use a Ring token to draw cards.
Instead of taking an action, you may pass if:
— The number of cards in your hand is less than or equal to your carryover limit; OR
— The number of cards in your hand is less than each opponent.
ANY DÚNEDAIN WARF ELF HOBBIT NORTHMEN ROHAN WIZARD
30 Shadow Bot
Faction cards
2 replacement
Location cards
6 Corruption and
2 Ring tokens
1 Turn order tracker 6 Player aids This Rulebook
* For use with the Against the Shadow expansion, marked with at the bottom of the card.

Use an Action to resolve the use an action to text of a card in play Resolve a skirmish where one of your factions has a card Use a Ring token to draw cards Instead of taking an action you may pass if The number of cards in your hand is less than or equal to your carryover limit OR The number of cards in your hand is less than each opponent ANY DÚNEDAIN WARF ELF HOBBIT NORTHMEN ROHAN WIZARD 30 Shadow Bot Faction cards 2 replacement Location cards 6 Corruption and 2 Ring tokens 1 Turn order tracker 6 Player aids This Rulebook For use with the Against the Shadow expansion marked with at the bottom of the card

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WHAT’S NEW
NEW FACTIONS
Fire and Swords adds three new factions to the game:
Northmen (Free Peoples), Easterling and Ruffian
(Shadow). The new faction icons, as well two new
“generic” icons, are shown below.

FREE PEOPLES
NORTHMEN ANY FREE PEOPLES
FACTION
SHADOW
EASTERLING RUFFIAN ANY SHADOW
FACTION

NEW BATTLEGROUNDS
Five new Free Peoples battlegrounds and four new
Shadow battlegrounds are included in this expansion.
Add these new battlegrounds to the appropriate deck
as indicated by the scenario you play (see pages 6–11).

NEW PATHS
Each path number now has four paths. Unless the
scenario indicates otherwise, just add each new card to
the set of paths you play with to use them.

SKIRMISHES
Skirmishes are new locations that are added to the two
battleground decks, to represent additional locations
of Middle-earth where battles were fought, or could
have been fought.
Skirmishes work similarly, but not identically, to
battlegrounds. Note that skirmishes do not have an
activation text.

© 2024 MEE • SG • AG 26 Fataneh & John Howe

CARROCK
LÓRIEN • WOODLAND REALM
DEFENDER WINS
Each Free Peoples player
draws 1 card.
SKIRMISH
1. Defending faction icon(s).
2. Title.
3. Accompanying battlegrounds: The
battlegrounds that might be activated by
this skirmish.
4. Resolution text (defender wins): Resolve the
effect of this text after combat on this skirmish is
resolved, if the defender wins.
5. Resolution text (attacker wins): Resolve the
effect of this text after combat on this skirmish is
resolved, if the attacker wins.
6. Attacking faction icon(s).
7. Card artist: No game effect.
8. Card ID: No game effect.

AT TACKER WINS
Add 1 corruption.
LÓRIEN • 3
OCK
OODLAND REALM
2
6
Each Free Peoples player 4
Add 1 cor
5
7 8

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ADDITIONAL RULES
SETUP
Skirmishes are shuffled into their respective battleground decks.

LOCATION STEP
If a skirmish is drawn during the Location step, place the skirmish in the middle of the table, like a battleground.
Then, activate the first accompanying battleground listed on the skirmish, if it is still in a battleground deck. If not, activate the second accompanying battleground.
If neither of the listed accompanying battlegrounds are in a battleground deck, the starting player draws again from the battleground deck to which the skirmish belongs, repeating this entire process until a battleground is activated. All skirmishes drawn are still activated, and can be resolved normally, although they might not have an interesting effect.
Example: The starting player is the Frodo player, and Cair Andros is drawn from the Free Peoples battleground deck. Its accompanying battlegrounds, Minas Tirith and Edoras, are both already in a scoring area, so another card must be drawn. This time, it is Bree, whose accompanying battlegrounds are The Shire and Dunland. The Shire is already in a scoring area, so Dunland is activated, along with Cair Andros and Bree. If the second drawn card had been a battleground instead, it would have been activated along with Cair Andros.
Note that some skirmishes activate battlegrounds from the other team’s battleground deck!
Card text that refers to a battleground may be used to affect a skirmish, except a skirmish cannot be activated or reactivated by card text that activates or reactivates a battleground.
Example: the Isengard player could not use Threats and Promises to activate Westemnet, but the Elf player could use Nenya, Ring of Adamant to add a defense icon there.

ACTION STEP
During the Action step, players can play or move characters and armies to a skirmish as if it were a battleground.
If you have a card on a skirmish, you may use an action to resolve combat on that skirmish (only one skirmish may be resolved per action). Note that the new player aid included in this expansion lists Resolve a skirmish as an action type.

SKIRMISH COMBAT
Once a player has declared their intention to use an action to resolve a skirmish, combat is resolved in the same manner as with a battleground. However, after the winner is determined, the skirmish does not go into a scoring area; instead, resolve the skirmish’s resolution text, then remove the skirmish from the game — a skirmish can never be reactivated.

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4
© 2024 MEE • SG • AG
200
John Howe
2
BARAD-DÛR
If neither Morannon nor Minas Morgul are in the Free Peoples scoring area, Barad-dûr cannot be activated or reactivated.
COMBAT STEP
If no cards are on a skirmish during the Combat step, shuffle it back into the appropriate battleground deck.
If there are cards on a skirmish that was not resolved during the Action step, combat on the skirmish is resolved as usual, but the resolution text is not resolved.
Hint: If you’re winning a skirmish and you have a card on it, it’s usually a good idea to resolve it before the end of the round.
EFFECTS ON ACCOMPANYING BATTLEGROUNDS
— Resolution text that specifies “to an accompanying battleground” may affect either one of the battlegrounds listed on the skirmish. It is not limited only to the battleground activated by the skirmish during the Location step, but can also affect the other battleground, if it was activated later in the round.
— A skirmish that adds a combat token to an accompanying battleground does not add tokens to both battlegrounds. If both are in play, one must be chosen by the winning player.
Example: During the Location step, Cair Andros is activated. Minas Tirith is already in a scoring area, hence Edoras is activated. If the Mordor player were to reactivate Minas Tirith with The Black Captain, the winner of the Cair Andros skirmish could add the appropriate token to either Edoras or Minas Tirith.
BARAD-DÛR
Barad-dûr is Sauron’s fortress deep within Mordor. Because of the geography of Middle-earth, Barad-dûr cannot be activated or reactivated by any means unless Minas Morgul or Morannon has been conquered by the Free Peoples.
If Barad-dûr is drawn during the Location step, and neither of those battlegrounds is in the Free Peoples scoring area, draw another card from the Shadow battleground deck; if the Shadow battleground deck is empty, draw from the Free Peoples battleground deck.
Then, shuffle Barad-dûr back into the Shadow battleground deck.

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TIMING OF OVERLAPPING EFFECTS
Whenever the timing of two (or more) card effects are identical, resolve any mandatory effects before any optional effects. Aside from this requirement, the acting player decides the order in which the effects are resolved. As always, the effects are resolved one at a time.
Example: if Faramir is wielding Horn of Gondor, the Dúnedain player can choose to resolve Horn of Gondor’s game text prior to using Faramir’s game text to activate a new path — but not in reverse order, since Faramir would no longer be in play after activating a new path.

USING SOLO / COOP FACTION CARDS
For those of you who own Against the Shadow (the War of the Ring — The Card Game solo and cooperative play expansion), 30 Shadow replacement cards have been included, which will allow you to play the scenarios included herein using the Solo and Cooperative rules. This also allows 3 friends to play cooperatively together!
When playing the solo/cooperative version, do not use skirmishes. Replace the Dunland and Rhûn battlegrounds, if the scenario uses them, with the matching replacement cards.

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SCENARIOS
Three different scenarios are included, to allow you to experience the new content of this expansion in different ways and with different player counts, from 2 to 6 people.

EXPANDED TRILOGY
This 2–6 player scenario encompasses the complete War of the Ring and uses all the cards in the base game and this expansion.

STARTING PLAYER AND TURN ORDER
The Frodo player begins the game with the starting player token.

1. FRODO — FREE PEOPLES
Dwarf, Hobbit, and Rohan
2. THE WITCH-KING — SHADOW
Mordor
3. GANDALF — FREE PEOPLES
Elf and Wizard
4. SARUMAN — SHADOW
Isengard and Monstrous
5. ARAGORN — FREE PEOPLES
Dúnedain and Northmen
6. BILL FERNY — SHADOW
Easterling, Ruffian, and Southron

SETUP, DRAW STEP, RING TOKENS
The Setup, Draw step, and Ring token rules are identical to those of the base game Trilogy scenario.

BATTLEGROUNDS, SKIRMISHES, AND PATHS
All battlegrounds, skirmishes, and paths are used.

PLAYING THE EXPANDED TRILOGY SCENARIO WITH FEWER THAN 6 PEOPLE
Like the 4-player Trilogy scenario from the base game, the Expanded Trilogy can be played by fewer than 6 players — some players will control more than one deck. See the base game Trilogy rules for more information on playing more than one deck.

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WAR IN THE NORTH
The military struggle presented in Tolkien’s main
narrative focuses on the events in Gondor and Rohan.
However, great battles were also fought in the North,
in Dale, Erebor, and elsewhere. Even the Hobbits
were forced to defend the Shire!
This scenario can be played by 2, 3, or 4 players.
Note that each deck has 28 cards.
Like the base game Trilogy scenario, this scenario can
be played by 2 or 3 players, where one or both people
play 2 decks. See the base game Trilogy scenario rules
for information on playing more than one deck at
a time.
This scenario may also be played using the Two-Player
(and Three-Player) Duel scenario rules presented in
the base game.
This scenario follows the Fellowship through to
Path 9, like the Trilogy scenario, but omits the
battlegrounds of the South. Because of this, you’ll find
most of the new cards are included, and most of the
cards not included are from the base set. It’s a great
way to experience what’s in this expansion if you have
fewer players.
STARTING PLAYER AND
TURN ORDER
The Frodo player begins the game with the starting
player token.
1. FRODO — FREE PEOPLES
Dwarf (all 6): Army of the Blue Mountains, Book
of Mazarbul, Dáin Ironfoot, Dwarven Axe, Erebor
Guard, Gimli.
Hobbit (all 15): A Hundred Sturdy Hobbits,
Bilbo Baggins, Disguised as Orcs, Farmer Maggot,
Fatty Bolger, Frodo Baggins, Herbs and Stewed
Rabbit, Merry Brandybuck, Mithril Coat, Party
Invitation, Pippin Took, Rosie Cotton, Sam
Gamgee, Sting, There Is Another Way.
Northmen (all 7): Barliman Butterbur, Bill the
Pony, Grimbeorn the Old, King Brand, Northmen
Militia (2), Woodmen of the Anduin.
2. THE WITCH-KING — SHADOW
Easterling (all 11): Allies of Sauron, Easterling
Axe-men, Easterling Commander, Easterling
Garrison, Horde from the East, Many Kings to
the Service of Mordor, Mirkwood Skirmishers,
Musterings of Long-planned War, The Red
Bannerman, Variags of Khand, Wainriders.
Mordor (17): The Beguiler, The Black
Easterling, Black Rider’s Mount, Black Uruks,
The Commander, The Destroyer, The Hunter,
The Lidless Eye, The Messenger, Mordor Orcs
(2), Morgul Blade, Nazgûl’s Mantle, The Reaver,
The Ringwraiths Are Abroad, The Warrior,
The Witch-king.
3. STRIDER — FREE PEOPLES
Dúnedain (5): Athelas, Blade of Westernesse,
Boromir, Horn of Gondor, Strider.
Elf (all 18): Arwen, Bow of the Galadhrim,
Celeborn, Círdan the Shipwright, Elrond, Elven
Cloak, Galadriel, Glorfindel, High Elves (2),
Legolas, Lembas, Mirror of Galadriel, Nenya,
Ring of Adamant, Phial of Galadriel, Thranduil,
Vilya, Ring of Air, Silvan Elves.
Wizard (5): Gandalf the Grey, Narya, Ring of Fire,
Radagast the Brown, Sméagol, Tom Bombadil.
4. THE BALROG OF MORIA — SHADOW
Isengard (2): A Little Mischief in a Mean
Way, Saruman.
Monstrous (all 16): Balrog of Moria, Barrow-
wights, Candles of Corpses, Caradhras the Cruel,
Cave-troll, Flocks of Crebain, Goblins of the Misty
Mountains (3), Gollum, Hill-troll, Orc-chieftain,
Shelob, Spiders of Mirkwood, Watcher in the
Water, Wolves.

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8
Ruffian (all 10): Bill Ferny, Death to the Straw-
heads, Dirty Thieving Ruffians, Gathering to the
Summons, Lost!, Lotho Sackville-Baggins, Spies,
Squint-eyed Southerner, Ted Sandyman, Wild
Men of Dunland.
SETUP, DRAW STEP, RING TOKENS
The Setup, Draw step, and Ring token rules are
identical to those of the base game scenario rules you
have chosen to use, except that only the following
location cards are used:
BATTLEGROUNDS AND SKIRMISHES
Free Peoples: Bree*, Carrock*, Dale, Erebor, Ered
Luin*, Grey Havens, Iron Hills*, Lórien, Rivendell,
The Shire, Woodland Realm.
Shadow: Angmar*, Dol Guldur, Dunland, Moria,
Mount Gundabad, Rhûn.
* Denotes a skirmish.
PATHS
All paths are used.
SPECIAL RULES
If the Shadow wins the combat on a Free Peoples
battleground (not a skirmish), in addition to taking
control of the battleground and placing it in their
scoring area, add 1 corruption token to the scoring
area. This also applies if a battleground is reactivated
and the Shadow wins the combat on it again.
EPIC DUEL
This scenario is for two players who do not mind a
longer game (it takes about twice the time of a normal
Trilogy game) and want to experience it all in a
unique format.
STARTING PLAYER AND
TURN ORDER
The Gandalf player begins the game with the starting
player token.
The faction decks are divided into three sections. The
cards in each deck should be separated accordingly.
See Setup and Special Rules for more information.
1. GANDALF — THE FREE PEOPLES
SECTION 1
Dúnedain (7): Athelas, Blade of Westernesse,
Boromir, Halbarad, Horn of Gondor, Strider, We
Prove the Swifter!
Dwarf (3): Book of Mazarbul, Dwarven
Axe, Gimli.
Elf (15): Arwen, Bow of the Galadhrim,
Celeborn, Círdan the Shipwright, Elrond,
Galadriel, Glorfindel, High Elves (2), Legolas,
Mirror of Galadriel, Nenya, Ring of Adamant,
Silvan Elves, Thranduil, Vilya, Ring of Air.
Hobbit (11): Bilbo Baggins, Farmer Maggot,
Fatty Bolger, Frodo Baggins, Merry Brandybuck,
Mithril Coat, Party Invitation, Pippin Took, Rosie
Cotton, Sam Gamgee, Sting.
Northmen (3): Barliman Butterbur, Bill the Pony,
Grimbeorn the Old.
Wizard (6): Gandalf the Grey, Gandalf’s Staff,
Glamdring, Narya, Ring of Fire, Radagast the
Brown, Tom Bombadil.

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SECTION 2
Dúnedain (6): Aragorn, Faramir, The Grey Company, Knights of Dol Amroth, Prince Imrahil, The Three Hunters.
Elf (3): Elven Cloak, Lembas, Phial of Galadriel.
Hobbit (2): Herbs and Stewed Rabbit, There Is Another Way.
Rohan (8): Éomer, Éowyn, Riders of Rohan (2), Shadowfax, Théoden, Théodred, Village Militia.
Wizard (6): Ent-draught, Gandalf the White, Gwaihir the Windlord, Quickbeam, Sméagol, Treebeard.
SECTION 3
Dúnedain (10): Andúril, Challenge of the King, Dead Men of Dunharrow, Denethor, Guards of the Citadel, Paths of the Dead, Soldiers of Gondor, Stout Staves, The Great Gate, The Red Arrow.
Dwarf (3): Army of the Blue Mountains, Dáin Ironfoot, Erebor Guard.
Hobbit (2): Disguised as Orcs, A Hundred Sturdy Hobbits.
Northmen (4): King Brand, Northmen Militia (2), Woodmen of the Anduin.
Rohan (1): Death! Ride, Ride to Ruin!
2. THE WITCH-KING — SHADOW
SECTION 1
Easterling (2): Mirkwood Skirmishers, Musterings of Long-planned War.
Isengard (7): Gríma Wormtongue, Half-orcs and Goblin-men, Palantír of Orthanc, Saruman, Saruman’s Staff, Uglúk, Woven of All Colours.
Monstrous (13): Balrog of Moria, Barrow-wights, Caradhras the Cruel, Cave-troll, Flocks of Crebain, Goblins of the Misty Mountains (3), Hill-troll, Orc-chieftain, Spiders of Mirkwood, Watcher in the Water, Wolves.
Mordor (17): The Beguiler, Black Breath, The Black Easterling, Black Rider’s Mount, Black Uruks, The Commander, The Destroyer, The Hunter, The Lidless Eye, The Messenger, Mordor Orcs, Morgul Blade, Nazgûl’s Mantle, The Reaver, The Ringwraiths Are Abroad, The Warrior, The Witch-king.
Ruffian (6): Bill Ferny, Lost!, Lotho Sackville-Baggins, Spies, Squint-eyed Southerner, Ted Sandyman.
SECTION 2
Easterling (5): Easterling Commander, Easterling Garrison, Many Kings to the Service of Mordor, The Red Bannerman, Variags of Khand.
Isengard (6): Devilry of Orthanc, Fighting Uruk-hai, Threats and Promises, Warg Riders, White Hand Orcs (2).
Monstrous (2): Candles of Corpses, Gollum.
Mordor (3): Grishnákh, The Day Without Dawn, Trolls of Udûn.
Ruffian (3): Death to the Straw-heads, Gathering to the Summons, Wild Men of Dunland.
Southron (6): The Black Fleet, Coastal Raiders, Corsairs of Umbar, A Giant Among the Swertings, Haradrim Mûmakil, Haradrim Regulars.
SECTION 3
Easterling (4): Allies of Sauron, Easterling Axe-men, Horde from the East, Wainriders.
Isengard (1): A Little Mischief in a Mean Way.
Monstrous (1): Shelob.
Mordor (10): The Black Captain, Fell Beast, Gorbag & Shagrat, Grond, Hammer of the Underworld, Mordor Orcs (4), Mouth of Sauron, Olog-hai.
Ruffian (1): Dirty Thieving Ruffians.
Southron (3): The Black Serpent, Haradrim Cavalry, The Last Stroke of Doom.

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10
SETUP
Each player places their section 1 faction cards in their
draw deck and their section 2 cards in their cycle pile.
Section 3 cards are set aside for now.
Each player draws 7 cards. The Free Peoples player
then must cycle 2 of the cards drawn, but the Shadow
player does not cycle any cards.
Only the location cards listed below are used.
The battleground decks are divided into 3 sections.
The section 1 battlegrounds are the starting
battleground decks. The section 2 and 3 battlegrounds
are set aside for now.
Each path number is divided into 2 parts (“A” and
“B”). Assemble the path deck normally, but place all
part A paths before all part B paths with the same
path number.
See Special Rules for more information on how each
deck is used as the game progresses.
FREE PEOPLES BATTLEGROUNDS AND SKIRMISHES
Section 1: Grey Havens, Rivendell, Woodland Realm.
Section 2: Carrock*, Dol Amroth, Edoras, Fords
of Isen*, Helm’s Deep, Lamedon*, Lórien,
Pelargir, Westemnet*.
Section 3: Bree*, Cair Andros*, Dale, Erebor,
Ered Luin*, The Great Stone-Bridge*, Iron Hills*,
Lossarnach*, Minas Tirith, The Shire.
* Denotes a skirmish.
SHADOW BATTLEGROUNDS AND SKIRMISHES
Section 1: Angmar*, Minas Morgul, Morannon,
Moria, Mount Gundabad, Núrn*, Orthanc.
Section 2: Dol Guldur, Dunland, Harad, Near
Harad*, Rhûn, Umbar.
Section 3: Barad-dûr.
* Denotes a skirmish.
PATHS
Path 1A: Bag End, A Long-expected Party
Path 1B: Bucklebury Ferry, Gildor’s Encampment
Path 2A: The Barrow-downs, The Old Forest
Path 2B: Inn of the Prancing Pony, Weathertop
Path 3A: Fords of Bruinen, The Last Homely House
Path 3B: The Council of Elrond, Imladris
Path 4A: Caradhras, The Doors of Durin
Path 4B: The High Pass, Khazad-dûm
Path 5A: Dimrill Dale, Lothlórien
Path 5B: Egladil, Fangorn
Path 6A: Amon Hen, Emyn Muil
Path 6B: The Black Gate, Dead Marshes
Path 7A: Henneth Annûn, Osgiliath
Path 7B: The Crossroads, The Tower of Ecthelion
Path 8A: Morgul Vale, The Stairs
Path 8B: Cirith Ungol, Shelob’s Lair
Path 9A: Gorgoroth, Morgai
Path 9B: Crack of Doom, Orodruin
DRAW STEP
During the Draw step, the Gandalf player draws 4
cards, and The Witch-king player draws 6 cards.
RING TOKENS
Each player starts with one Ring token, which
functions in the same way as in the Two-Player
Duel scenario.
SPECIAL RULES
— The Two-Player Duel scenario special rules for
“Each Player” are applied; the special path scoring
rule is not — normal scoring rules are used.
— Each path number consists of 2 parts: A and
B. The progression of path numbers includes
the part as well as the number of each path, as
explained below:

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— When advancing to a new path number, the
progression is as follows: 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B,
and so on.
Example: In the Location step, if the last path
activated in the previous round was a 2A, the path
activated in the current round will be a 2B, and
the path activated in the next round will be a 3A.
Likewise, if Gandalf the Grey is on a path 4A and
uses his ability to activate a path of the next higher
number, that path will be a 4B.
— For paths 4 and 7, the last path A that is activated
dictates the path B that will follow (the path B is
not chosen randomly or selected):
Caradhras ➞ The High Pass;
The Doors of Durin ➞ Khazad-dûm;
Henneth Annûn ➞ The Cross-roads;
Osgiliath ➞ The Tower of Ecthelion.
If the path number of The Black Gate becomes 7,
either The Cross-roads or The Tower of Ecthelion
can be activated next.
— Cards that activate a path of the same number
cannot be used to go from a part A path to a part
B path, or vice versa.
— It is not possible, as a result of a card text effect,
to skip over a path number and part, nor to
move “backward.”
Example: Glorfindel’s “use an action” text may
not be used if it is on a path 2A, as you would skip
path 2B. If used on a path 2B, you would choose a
random 3A path. On a path 3A, you would choose
a random path from among the remaining 3A (if
any) and 3Bs. On a path 3B, you would choose
the remaining 3B (if any).
— Cards that can be played to or moved to a path
number can be played to either the A or B path.
— Immediately after you recycle for the first time,
add your section 3 faction cards to your cycle pile.
— During the Victory Check step, if both
players have recycled at least once, each player
shuffles their section 2 battlegrounds into their
battleground decks. If both players have recycled
at least twice, each player shuffles their section 3
battlegrounds into their battleground decks. You
cannot activate a battleground that has yet to
be added into its deck.

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War of the Ring, Middle-earth, The Lord of the Rings, and the characters, items, events and places therein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Middle-earth Enterprises LLC and are used under license by Sophisticated Games Ltd and their respective licensees. War of the Ring — The Card Game, Fire and Swords © 2024 Ares Games Srl. © 2024 Sophisticated Games Ltd. Warning. Not suitable for children under three years. Small parts. Choking hazard. Made in China. Version 1.0 — 2024.05.02 A game by IAN BRODY Game Design IAN BRODY Development KARIN WESTON-BRODY and ROBERTO DI MEGLIO Art Direction FABIO MAIORANA Graphic Design FABIO MAIORANA and FRANCESCO MATTIOLI Layout HONDA EIJI Artwork JOHN HOWE, JON HODGSON, FATANEH HOWE, FRANCESCO MATTIOLI, FRANCO RIVOLLI, ANDREA PIPARO, KUO YANG, QUADRA STUDIO DI ANTONIO DE LUCA (MAURO ALOCCI, DOMENICO CAVA, FEDERICA COSTANTINI) Proofreading KEVIN CHAPMAN, ANDREA CORCELLA, ANDREI MUNTEANU Production ROBERTO DI MEGLIO and FABRIZIO ROLLA A Game Created, Published and Distributed Worldwide by ARES GAMES SRL Via dei Metalmeccanici 16, 55041, Capezzano Pianore (LU), Italy www.aresgames.eu Retain this information for your records.

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