Éomer

Éomer, Third Marshal of the Riddermark, is a horse-lord in his prime — restless, loyal, and quick to draw his sword against the Enemy even when his own king hesitates. On the board he begins in the Eastemnet, the open eastern grasslands of Rohan that face the shadow gathering across the Anduin. It is exposed country, close to the front, and exactly where a cavalry commander wants to be.

That starting position ties Éomer to the Rohirrim — the brown Free Peoples army — and to the wide, connected roads of the horse-country. Where other heroes plant themselves near a haven or a stronghold, Éomer is built to move: a mounted marshal who can be at Edoras one turn and riding to relieve a threatened line the next, gathering riders as he goes.

The team wins one shared victory — clear every Objective, then let Frodo cast the Ring into Mount Doom — so Éomer's job is to keep the map from collapsing while the Ring-bearer creeps toward Mordor. As a mobile battle leader near the front, he is your rapid-response force: the hero who rides to wherever shadow troops are about to overrun a haven or press a battle line, and thins them before they can cost the team hope.

Just as importantly, he keeps Rohan in the field. By Mustering brown troops and marching them to the trouble spots, Éomer builds the standing army that other heroes need to fight beside — and every shadow troop he Routs is danger kept away from Frodo. He is not the one who carries the Ring; he is the one who buys the miles.

Éomer's turn is about tempo. He leans hardest on Travel and Attack: use his mobility to cross Rohan's connected roads, drop into a location where friendly and shadow troops share ground, and roll a battle — which also shifts the Eye of Sauron onto that region and off of Frodo. And after a battle roll, if he's banked Valor, he can Show Valor to scrub extra shadow troops off the board.

His second pillar is the Rohirrim engine. At a Rohan location he can Muster brown troops (spending Friendship) to rebuild the army, then Travel to lead them where they're needed — troops in his location can ride along. Round it out with Prepare at a haven to bank the Valor and Friendship he burns through, and, when a teammate shares his location, Fellowship to pass region cards toward Frodo. Think of him as the cavalry that never sits still: gather, ride, strike, repeat.