Sam tripped, catching his foot in some old root or tussock. He fell and came heavily on his hands, which sank deep into sticky ooze, so that his face was brought on his hands, which sank deep into sticky ooze, so that his face was brought close to the surface of the dark mere… For a moment the water below him looked like some window, glazed with grimy glass, through which he was peering. Wrenching his hands out of the bog, he sprang back with a cry. “There are dead things, dead faces in the water,” he said with horror. “Dead faces!”
   –The Two Towers

Head to your local retailer today or click over to our webstore to pick up your copy of The Dead Marshes, now on sale!

The fifth Adventure Pack in the Shadows of Mirkwood cycle for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game, The Dead Marshes lets your heroes at long last catch their first sight of the elusive creature, Gollum. The saga that begins with The Hunt for Gollum reaches its penultimate chapter after the heroes follow Gollum’s trail out of the crags and valleys of The Hills of Emyn Muil and into a dark and haunted mere.

The Adventure Pack features 60 new cards that introduce and support an all-new scenario with new quest cards and scenario-specific rules for escape tests, while each turn your heroes must not only quest and confront the dangers of the wretched bog, but they must also keep a sharp eye on Gollum as he tries to shake them off his trail. Players also benefit from new allies, attachments, and events for each sphere, as well as the exciting new Tactics hero, Boromir (The Dead Marshes, 95)!

Foes and fire before you, and your homes far behind

The Dead Marshes also provides fans of the Rohirrim and Spirit sphere with new options for their decks. For the first time, you can command one of the Marshals of the Mark, Elfhelm (The Dead Marshes, 100). In The Lord of the Rings, each of the Marshals commanded an éored as they rode to aid the defense of Minas Tirith and make war against the Dark Lord’s forces. Elfhelm fought bravely among the Riders of the Mark and survived the battle at the Black Gates of Mordor. Accordingly, his two attack strength and two defense make him a strong combatant, and his three hit points allow him to survive most enemies. Most importantly, Elfhelm was ever prepared to help the Riders of Rohan fulfill their duties. His readiness is reflected in The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game by his ability to reduce your threat in response to questing unsuccessfully or when it raises as the result of an encounter or quest card effect. This makes him an excellent counter to the Doomed keyword. Thematically, the Rohirrim swung the tide of the battle of Pelennor Fields, staving off certain doom. Now, Elfhelm can deflect your doom in the game.

We Do Not Sleep (The Dead Marshes, 101) marks a dramatic addition to the Rohan strategy. While it bears a steep cost and works as a slightly less efficient version of Grim Resolve (Core Set, 25), We Do Not Sleep allows you to quest with all your Rohan characters and still make use of them in the later phases. Though it’s expensive at five cost, it works for every player at the table, making it significantly stronger in multiplayer games, especially with three or four players. With the resource acceleration of Théodred (Core Set, 2) and Steward of Gondor (Core Set, 26), your Rohirrim can play We Do Not Sleep each turn, and though the combination requires some cards from the Leadership sphere of influence, that only means you can continue to have characters ready each turn if you add a few copies of Grim Resolve to your deck, giving you greater chances of drawing one or the other.

The Horse Lords of Rohan are at their best when they’re on the move, and they can ride to your aid more effectively than ever with the release of The Dead Marshes.

Head to your local retailer or visit our online webstore today to pick up this exciting Adventure Pack and see if you can snare Gollum.

The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game is a cooperative card game that puts 1-2 players (or up to four with an additional Core Set) in control of the most powerful characters and artifacts of Middle-earth. Players will select heroes, gather allies, acquire artifacts, and coordinate their efforts to face Middle-earth’s most dangerous fiends. The Living Card Game format allows players to customize their gaming experience with monthly Adventure Pack expansions to the core game.