Arwen, Lady Undomiel (3R8)
 Arwen, Elven Rider (3U7)
|
 Back to Realms of the Elf-Lords Index |
Beren and Luthien (3U9) 
|
Arwen, Lady Undomiel (3R8) is a 
Elven Companion from the Realms of the Elf-Lords set.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Strategy[edit]
Gameplay Strategy[edit]
Taking her limited use in the Fellowship block into account, Arwen, Lady Undómiel is scary in two different ways. On one hand, she has the potential to be among the most fearsome skirmishers of the format, making her scary to any Shadow player unprepared to deal with her. On the other, failure to activate and maintain her ability turns her into a liability, making her inclusion a scary prospect to the Free Peoples player.
The inherent problem with Arwen's ability is that it asks for a rather sofisticated setup, and that it does not scale with that setup (unlike e.g. Glóin, Friend to Thorin (2R7)
). She is either a great warrior, or she is in a role, that would be better served by virtually anyone else (or in fact herself as Arwen, Daughter of Elrond (1R30)
or Arwen, Elven Rider (3U7)
). Since player is very unlikely to have the three allies on the first or even second turn, she makes for an uncompelling choice of a starting companion, yet she still asks for deck built to some extent around her, which in turn makes her hardly compelling altogether.
Still, the point stands, that in the right deck, Lady Undómiel can be an exceedingly powerful companion. Once her ability is active, she essentially applies Servant of the Secret Fire (1R83)
to any minion skirmishing her. As to what the "right" deck entails may not be straightforward. A player may be tempted to look for synergies primarily among elves and site 3 Elven allies in particular. While the elven culture is needed to enable Arwen's ability, it cannot make best use of her by itself.
The one key to unlocking Lady Undómiel's full potential is hinted at in her Gandalf signet. Her ability applies to each minion assigned to her. With a simple defender +1 bonus, she can take on two minions, lowering their combined strength by 6. Against weaker enemies, this basically nullifies an entire minion. Against stronger ones, it can mean the difference between receiving a wound and being overwhelmed.
Defender bonuses are entirely foreign to the elven culture and neither dwarves nor Gondor, let alone Shire can help. 
Gandalf culture provides the only solution.
Deckbuilding Strategy[edit]
As it happens, Fellowship block offers only one card able to make Arwen defender +1 in Wielder of the Flame (2U28)
. Battle of Helm's Deep later introduced the only other card capable of providing the same bonus – the costly but powerful Down From the Hills (5R16)
, which Arwen technically can be a beneficiary of, courtesy of her signet. Either way, Gandalf is needed. Fortunately, Gandalf, The Grey Pilgrim (2P122)
offers another component Lady Undómiel needs to be effective – card draw. Drawing is essential, as player needs to draw into her, 3 Elven site 3 allies and possibly Wielder of the Flame (2U28)
as well. To unleash her even faster, one may opt to include Gandalf drawing tricks like Questions That Need Answering (1R81)
and Risk a Little Light (1C82)
.
The signet itself offers valuable synergy with Trust Me as You Once Did (3U35)
, which may provide a strength bonus without reliance on dedicated Elven pumps and with help from Servant of the Secret Fire (1R83)
alone she already overwhelms otherwise troublesome foes like Troop of Uruk-hai (1R143)
.
Arwen can be equipped with the formidable Gwemegil (1R47)
, which under right circumstances can make Lady Undómiel particularly devastating; and her trusty steed Asfaloth (1U31)
. If drawn before her, Asfaloth can be a bit easier to manage, provided a player can find space in their deck for site 6 allies as well, though doing so may be difficult. For storing Lady Undómiel's possessions, use of Gandalf's Cart (1U73)
is recommended.
Finally, Lady Undómiel needs her people to fight for. A player may want to include as many as possible and there are not that many to begin with. Her father Elrond is the obvious first choice, be it as Elrond, Lord of Rivendell (1R40)
or Elrond, Herald to Gil-galad (3R13)
. Of the two, Lord of Rivendell arguably fares a bit better here, as his spotting requirement should pose no obstacle and he bolsters card draw immensely. Golradir, Councilor of Imladris (3U20)
and Saelbeth, Elven Councilor (3U25)
offer further boost to her already powerful ability against most minions of the Fellowship block and should be counted in as well.
Naturally, ally-targeting Shadow cards can stop Lady Undomiel dead in her tracks, as does the ubiquitous Anduin Confluence (1U353)
, which in itself may warrant some sort of site manipulation via cards like Speak “Friend” and Enter (2C26)
, Thrór's Map (1R318)
or perhaps Pathfinder (1C110)
.
Strengths and Weaknesses[edit]
Synergizes With...[edit]
- Elrond, Lord of Rivendell (1R40)
- Wielder of the Flame (2U28)
- Trust Me as You Once Did (3U35)
- Gwemegil (1R47)
- Golradir, Councilor of Imladris (3U20)
- Saelbeth, Elven Councilor (3U25)
- Forests of Lothlórien (3R15)
- card drawing
Strong Versus...[edit]
- minions in general
- Troop of Uruk-Hai
- swarm (with Wielder of the Flame (2U28)
)
Weak Versus...[edit]
- Anduin Confluence (1U353)
- Memory of Many Things (2C88)
- Fear (1R212)
- Tower Assassin (2R93)
- inclusion in the starting fellowship
- mill
Rulings = Alternate Personas[edit]
| Portrait | Name | Game Text |
|---|---|---|
 |
Arwen, Daughter of Elrond (1R30)
|
Ranger.
While skirmishing a Nazgûl, Arwen is strength +3. |
 |
Arwen, Elven Rider (3U7)
|
Ranger.
Response: If the Ring-bearer is about to take a wound, discard 3 cards from hand to prevent that wound. |
 |
Arwen, Evenstar of Her People (6U13)
|
Skirmish: Exert an Elf to make a minion skirmishing Arwen strength –1. |
 |
Arwen, Fair Elf Maiden (7R16)
|
While skirmishing a fierce minion, Arwen is strength +3. |
 |
Arwen, Echo of Luthien (10U5)
|
Skirmish: Discard a card from hand to discard the bottom card of your draw deck. If the bottom card was an card, each minion skirmishing Arwen is strength –3.
|
 |
Arwen, Queen of Elves and Men (10R6)
|
Each minion skirmishing Arwen is strength –2 for each wounded minion you can spot. |
 |
Arwen, Staunch Defender (11U15)
|
Each minion skirmishing Arwen is strength –1 for each forest site on the adventure path. |
 |
Arwen, Reflection of Luthien (13S9)
|
While the fellowship is at a forest site, each of your other companions is resistance +1.
Skirmish: Exert Arwen to make a minion she is skirmishing strength –1 for each other companion assigned to a skirmish. |
 |
Arwen, She-Elf (15R11)
|
While you can spot Aragorn, Arwen is strength +1 and resistance +2.
Skirmish: Remove an |
 |
Arwen, Royal Maiden (19P6)
|
Ranger.
While you can spot 2 Maneuver: Add 3 threats to reconcile your hand. |
 |
Arwen, Maiden of Rivendell (0P63)
|
Ranger. Skirmish: Exert Arwen to make a minion skirmishing an Elf strength -2. |
 |
Arwen, Lady of Rivendell (V2_6)
|
Aragorn is strength +1. While Arwen is exhausted, Aragorn is defender +1.
Each time Aragorn is about to take a wound, you may wound Arwen to prevent that wound. |
