Man

The race of Man needs no introduction. Lord of the Rings is in large part the story of the ascendence of men over the older, more fantastic races of Middle-Earth. As such, men are one of the most common races for characters in this game, and appear as both Free Peoples and Shadow companion, ally, and minion cards. Gondor, Rohan, Dunland, Raider, and Men cultures are comprised (almost) entirely of men. Gandalf and Isengard cultures each include a handful of support characters who are men, and Wraith and Sauron cultures each include one single man minion who interferes with the Assignment Phase. Men in this game span nearly all possible card roles; their function is generally more dictated by culture than by race.

In Fellowship Block, all man companions are part of Gondor culture. There are a handful of Gandalf-culture allies, representing the men of Bree (including Peter Jackson as Albert Dreary, Entertainer From Bree (1R69) ) and various dignitaries at Elrond's council, as well as Bill Ferny, Swarthy Sneering Fellow (2R75) , the only man minion in this block and only Wraith man in the entire game. This block introduces rangers, which are almost exclusively men.

Towers Block introduces men to bulk of the cultures they'd appear in for the rest of the game. Rohan is the other major Free Peoples kingdom of men, and their companions are heroes and fighting men (some valiant, some not), while their allies are mostly villagers. Opposing them are Dunland and Isengard. Dunland is a land of disgruntled barbarians and a Shadow culture made almost entirely of man minions. (Saruman, Rabble-rouser (4R33) is the sole exception.) Isengard culture is chiefly dominated by uruk-hai and orcs, but this block has a small subculture of corrupt men from Théoden's court, led by Grima. Towers Block also introduces Raider culture, a culture made entirely of evil man minions, with two subcultures: Southrons, giant archers who ride oliphants, and Easterlings, disciplined warriors who place and spot burdens.

King Block doesn't introduce any new cultures. It does introduce one new man-only Gondor subculture: knights, the men who defend Minas Tirith's walls. It also adds their traditional enemy, the Corsair pirates of Umbar, to Raider culture. Corsair minions generate culture tokens and pile them up on their ship possessions in the support area for various benefits. This block also has another Peter Jackson cameo: the infamous and oft-played Castamir of Umbar (8R51) .

After King Block, Gandalf culture remains a catch-all for Free Peoples men that don't neatly fit into one of the other cultures. The various men of Bree, the men of the Dale, other foreign dignitaries, and Ghan-bûri-Ghan, Chieftain of the Woses (0P56) all appear as companions in Gandalf culture. Collectively, Gandalf men make up a small subculture mostly focused on supporting each other, as well as stronger Gandalf or Dwarven companions.

The Shadows set fundamentally reorganizes Shadow cultures. After this point, with two exceptions, all new man minions belong to Man culture, including the barbarian riot of Dunland, Sauron's armies of evil men from the east and south, the pirates of Umbar, the evil men of Bree who sell rumors to Sauron and Saruman, and Saruman's agents in Théoden's court. Each of these groups makes up a soft subculture of their own, but Man decks often include cards from multiple groups.

There are only two non- Men minions after Shadows: The Mouth of Sauron, Lieutenant of Barad-dur (12R118) , the only Sauron man in the entire game, and Gríma, Servant of Another Master (19P16) . Both the Mouth of Sauron and Grima also appear as Man minions, however: The Mouth of Sauron, Messenger of Mordor (12S73) (in the same set as Lieutenant of Barad-dur), and three different versions of Grima.

Eowyn's famous protest to the contrary notwithstanding, the race of Man includes women. Wizards may appear to be men, and Lord of the Rings aficianados might notes that many man-like creatures are half-man or formerly men, but none of them are considered men in this game.

Comprehensive Rules 4.0

From the Comprehensive Rules:

The race of "Man" includes women of the appropriate culture. A possession that requires a Rohan Man bearer may be borne by a Rohan female character who has the race of "Man."

- Man section

Cards with the Race of Man

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