Arwen

Character: Scout/Sage Elf

Mind: 3
Direct influence: 0
Marshalling Points: 1
Prowess/Body: 2/8

Unique. +7 direct influence only usable against Aragorn II.

Home site: Rivendell

She's probably the best of the "big character helpers", the characters who don't do much themselves but who offer huge D.I. bonuses against specific other characters. Another example of this is Celeborn. The problem with using these guys is that they usually don't offer entirely enough influence to control the character themselves, so they need boosters to be of any use, though if you do use them they're some of the few characters who can actually give out more influence than their mind (you get 4 extra with Arwen).

So, for example, just play a Lesser Ring on Arwen and you have a 3-mind influence for Aragorn II, a savings of SIX over what it normally costs to control him. And it's pretty difficult to control him with almost any character, too, since direct influence scarcely gets even above 3 and he needs nine to control him. Same with the other characters with helpers like this. Basically, it's a way to get the really strong characters in play without using much direct influence or your Wizard.

In fact, using cards like this you can even successfully pull off a non-Wizard strategy and still get out good characters, one of the main problems with such a strategy otherwise. Any special item type ring will give you this much extra, anyway, so it's fairly easy to get it.

Plus there's another use for this card and its genre, perhaps the best of all. You can use it to influence AWAY Aragorn (or whoever) from your opponent. With this much direct influence, it's a good bit easier, and it's perfectly okay by the rules (I don't know of any rulings or anything that counters it). Still, there's not that much else about this card. It gives you 4 extra direct influence, as I said before, and it doesn't have much else as a feature. Its home's Rivendell, just making there no extra site to play it at, so no bonus there, 1 marshalling point isn't much but can be handy, and 2/8 is only 1 prowess above (and 1 body below) a Hobbit.

Not that much else to say about this card, actually, except that overall it's a useful card with Aragorn II and influence boosters.

Ratings for: ARWEN

Rater	Rating	Rater	Rating
Gandalf	6.5	Lobelia	N/R
Morgoth	5.0	Faramir	5.0
Shadowfax	7.9	Beren	N/R
Isildur	5.75	Gollum	5.8
Turin	6.0	Sauron	N/R
Radagast	4.0	Cirdan	N/R
Eru	6.5	Average	5.82

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