LotR TCG Card Strategies - #27

Gwemegil

Being a Ranger for only 2 Twilight, Arwen is certainly not useless, but let's face it, 6 Strength doesn't beat many minions. Give Arwen a sword, however, and 8 Strength will beat most Moria goblins and many Sauron Orcs. Against Ringwraiths, Gwemegil makes her an 11, which beats five of the nine without even needing a Skirmish event.

But wait, it gets better! Gwemegil has this ability to exert for another +1 Strength. If she's taking a wound either way, this isn't much of a cost. The difference though is that if she exerts and wins the skirmish, it keeps the minion from following the Fellowships to the next site. (or from going on Goblin Swarms.) Even better, against stronger minions, this is a trade-off of one wound on Arwen for two on the minion with Damage +1. Then with Aragorn King in Exile that one wound disappears next turn. What's more important than the exerting ability, though, is the discard ability. You will always have something in hand you can discard. It may not be as efficient as Defiance or even Anchient Enmity, but if all you need is +1, then it's worth it to win a skirmish.

Of course, you don't even need to win a skirmish to profit from the discarding. Gwemegil can be a great way to clear useless cards out of your hand. This can help fix a bad draw. Or you could plan for this extra discarding and play narrow-use cards like Foul Creation, Greatest Kingdom of My People, Weight of a Legacy, The Nine Servants of Sauron, etc, and pitch them to Gwemegil if they're not needed against your opponent. Even better, you can stack 4 copies of Gwemegil to be sure to get one quickly and easily toss away the extra copies when you draw them.