Celebrimbor’s Secret Is Now Available for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game

“I do not counsel you one way or the other. I am not a counsellor. You may learn something, and whether what you see will be fair or evil, that may be profitable, and yet it may not. Seeing is both good and perilous.”
    –Galadriel, The Fellowship of the Ring

No one truly knows how much may yet be gained from Celebrimbor’s abandoned forge and its long-lost secrets, but several of Middle-earth’s heroes have committed themselves to finding out. Now, as they approach the ancient ruins of Ost-in-Edhil, they discover their quest is more urgent than ever; dozens of Orcs have arrived ahead of them, led by one of Mordor’s many spies. Although it appears that the Orcs have not yet uncovered Celebrimbor’s secret forge, the heroes have no time to spare…

The race to Celebrimbor’s long-lost forge is afoot!

Celebrimbor’s Secret, the fifth thrilling installment in The Ring-maker cycle of Adventure Packs for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game, is now available at your local retailer and online through our webstore.

Among its sixty new cards, you’ll find a new hero, Galadriel (Celebrimbor’s Secret, 112); three copies each of nine different player cards; and a high-stakes scenario in which your heroes must race through the ruins of Ost-in-Edhil to find Celebrimbor’s lost forge before it’s found by the forces of Mordor!

Scouring the Ruins

The new scenario from Celebrimbor’s Secret takes shape around its “scour” keyword. Throughout the scenario, your heroes are trying to locate Celebrimbor’s forge ahead of the forces of Mordor, and though they start off digging in the wrong spot, the Orcs are many, the spy who leads them possesses an evil cunning, and the more that time passes, the more that it works in their favor.

Like all the scenarios from The Ring-maker cycle, Celebrimbor’s Secret utilizes the Time X keyword to drive its action forward at break-neck speed, and each time the last time counter is removed from either of the scenario’s two quest stages, you must trigger each scour effect in play. These have multiple effects, most of which result in damage to the scenario’s locations, and they serve to accelerate the plot and heighten the tension of your game. Each location that suffers damage equal to its printed quest points is considered “explored” by the Orcs and placed under an objective, The Orc’s Search (Celebrimbor’s Secret, 125). As locations and other cards are placed under The Orc’s Search, your threat increases faster and faster, and your quest becomes truly desperate.

Meanwhile, the Spy Bellach (Celebrimbor’s Secret, 124) also starts in the staging area, and as cards are placed under The Orc’s Search, his threat value increases. This is important largely because the first quest stage reads, “Bellach is immune to player card effects and cannot be engaged.” Likewise, the second quest stage grants him the same protection until you place twelve progress on it. Therefore, as Bellach oversees the Orcs’ search for Celebrimbor’s forge, he adds an ever-increasing amount to the threat total in the staging area, as well as a nasty scour effect of his own, “Scour: Each player must search the encounter deck and discard pile for an Orc enemy and add it to the staging area.”

If you hope to aid Saruman and the White Council, you’ll need to explore the ruins of Ost-in-Edhil for Celebrimbor’s lost forge, even as you deal with The Orc’s Search and Bellach. It’s a difficult predicament, and time is against you.

Protectors of Lórien

Fortunately, as you head into the ruins Celebrimbor’s Secret also offers you the aid of a powerful hero, some powerful allies, and other fantastic resources.

The majestic Elven Lady, Galadriel, makes her first appearance as a hero within The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game, as do her handmaidens, and these characters, along with Orophin (Celebrimbor’s Secret, 114), greatly strengthen your ability to create a Lórien-themed deck based around the Silvan trait.

Throughout The Ring-maker cycle, the Silvan trait has grown and become increasingly viable as the foundation for a number of fun and successful decks. Now, as the Lady of Loth-lórien makes her appearance, you can run both Galadriel and Celeborn (The Dunland Trap, 1) together. Together, the Lord and Lady offer tremendous leadership for their Silvan allies. Whenever you bring a Silvan character into play, Celeborn boosts its Willpower, Attack Strength, and Defense Strength; and Galadriel allows that ally to commit to the quest without exhausting.

The sample deck below further illustrates some of the ways you might take advantage of the new Silvan abilities as Haldir of Lórien (Trouble in Tharbad, 56) joins the Lord and Lady for an all-Lórien trio of heroes.

Heroes (3):

Celeborn
Galadriel
Haldir of Lórien

Allies (27):

3x Defender of the Naith
1x Elrond (The Road Darkens, 5)
3x Galadhrim Minstrel
3x Galadriel’s Handmaiden (Celebrimbor’s Secret, 117)
3x Gandalf (Core Set, 73)
2x Gléowine
1x Henamarth Riversong
2x Mirkwood Runner (Return to Mirkwood, 123)
3x Naith Guide
1x Orophin
2x Silvan Refugee (The Drúadan Forest, 37)
3x Silvan Tracker (The Dead Marshes, 102)

Events (11):

2x A Test of Will
3x Feigned Voices
1x Island Amid Perils
2x Sneak Attack
3x The Tree People

Attachments (12):

3x Dúnedain Mark (The Hunt for Gollum, 2)
1x Light of Valinor (Foundations of Stone, 107)
3x Nenya (Celebrimbor’s Secret, 121)
3x O Lórien!
1x Protector of Lórien
1x Wingfoot

Drawn primarily from The Ring-maker cycle and the Core Set, with a handful of cards splashed in from select Adventure Packs, this deck serves as just one example of the many different synergies you can weave between your Silvan characters, especially as the boosts that Celeborn and Galadriel provide are multiplied by the tremendous number of Silvan allies.

On the round he enters play, the Defender of the Naith can quest for one Willpower and defend with a Defense Strength of three. Likewise, on the round he enters play, the Mirkwood Runner can quest for two Willpower and attack for three Attack Strength, bypassing an enemy’s defense. If either of them takes damage (or any of your other Silvan characters), each Silvan Tracker can heal one point from each as they ready. If you get two or three Silvan Trackers into play at the same time, you can heal an astounding amount of damage from your characters each refresh phase.

With all of the tricks at their disposal, it’s no wonder the Silvan were able to defend Loth-lórien from the evils around it. The only question is how well their tricks will work as they lend their aid to the rest of Middle-earth.

Will You See Fair or Evil?

The race for Celebrimbor’s forge has begun, and the fate of Middle-earth may hang in the balance. Will you successfully recover the forge’s secrets for the White Council, helping them devise a plan to resist the Dark Lord? Or will you have them wrested away from you, uncovered by a horde of Orcs and their cruel taskmaster?

Celebrimbor’s Secret is now available at your local retailer and online through our webstore!

…