How to Play The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game – The Dream-chaser Hero Expansion

Game Objective

The Dream-chaser hero expansion for The Lord of the Rings: Card Game does not define its own game objective, but provides Player Cards to assemble or improve Player Decks. The main objective is to use these cards to succeed in any scenario or campaign of the base game. The suggested starting deck compositions, such as Dominant Steward and Friend-of-Elves, aim to help players face the game's challenges, whether defending and generating resources, or eliminating enemies and exploring locations.

Preparation (Setup)

The Dream-chaser expansion is a set of cards that complements the base game. To prepare the game using this expansion:

• Separate the 209 cards included in the expansion: 8 Hero Cards and 201 Player Cards.
• The cards in this expansion can be identified by the "TM" symbol preceding each card's number.
• Choose one of the suggested starting deck compositions, such as Dominant Steward or Friend-of-Elves, or create your own deck using cards from this expansion and the base set.
• The starting deck compositions can be played together or individually.
• For the Dominant Steward composition, the Heroes are Denethor, Aragorn, and Beravor. The deck includes 25 Allies, 11 Attachments, and 14 specific Events listed in the manual.
• For the Friend-of-Elves composition, the Heroes are Círdan the Shipwright, Gimli, and Éowyn. The deck includes 24 Allies, 10 Attachments, and 16 specific Events listed in the manual.
• Denethor, one of the Heroes of the Dominant Steward deck, starts each game with 2 additional resources.
• Consult the base game manual for setup details of the scenario or campaign you will be playing, including the board, tokens, and other scenario cards.

Game Flow

Consult the manual for details on this section.

Actions and How to Play

The Dream-chaser expansion provides cards that allow for various strategies and actions during the game. While it does not detail the game phases, it describes how Heroes and Player Cards can be used:

• Denethor (Hero - Dominant Steward): With 3 Defense Strength, he is the deck's primary defender. He can defend multiple attacks per round with Armored Steeds and receive a temporary defense boost with Protector of Lórien. He also generates 2 additional resources at the start of the game.
• Steward of Gondor (Attachment): Placed on Denethor, it helps play high-cost Leadership Cards, such as Knight of the White Tower.
• Surprise Attack with Gandalf (Event and Ally): A powerful combo enabled by Heed the Dream.
• Gimli (Hero - Friend-of-Elves): Can be equipped with two Citadel Plate (ideally via Master Smith) and suffer damage to increase his Attack Strength, reaching 14. With Unexpected Courage, he accumulates eliminations quickly.
• Círdan and Éowyn (Heroes - Friend-of-Elves): Can participate in quests together, accumulating 8 Willpower each round.
• Northern Trackers and Rhovanion Emissaries (Allies - Friend-of-Elves): Can repeatedly remove inconvenient locations from the staging area.
• Feint and Quick Strike (Events - Friend-of-Elves): Help mitigate the deck's defense weakness. Quick Strike on Gimli can destroy larger enemies before they attack.
• Messenger of the Forest and Master Smith (Allies - Friend-of-Elves): Can be sacrificed to defend large attacks.

End of Game and Scoring

Consult the manual for details on this section.

Tips for Winning

• Maximize defense and resource generation with Denethor: In the Dominant Steward deck, use Denethor as your primary defender, equipping him with Armored Steeds to defend multiple attacks and Protector of Lórien for defense boosts. Take advantage of his additional resources and the Steward of Gondor card to play high-cost cards.
• Turn Gimli into a combat machine: In the Friend-of-Elves deck, focus on equipping Gimli with two Citadel Plate (with the help of Master Smith) and allow him to suffer damage to increase his Attack Strength. Use Unexpected Courage to boost his eliminations and Quick Strike to destroy enemies before they attack.
• Prioritize quests and exploration with Círdan and Éowyn: In the Friend-of-Elves deck, utilize the combined high Willpower of Círdan and Éowyn to advance quests and use Northern Trackers and Rhovanion Emissaries to manage locations in the staging area.