Precon Upgrade Guide
Riders of Rohan Upgrade Guide
What to cut, what to add, and how to play the Jeskai Humans precon from Tales of Middle-earth, commanded by Éowyn, Shieldmaiden.
The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth
Riders of Rohan
Aggressive tribal: straightforward. Out of the box, before any upgrades. How we rate precons
Buy Riders of Rohan on TCGplayer →Quick verdict
Riders of Rohan is an aggressive Humans deck that floods the board with tokens and wins by attacking with all of them. Éowyn, Shieldmaiden makes two hasty 2/2 Knights at the start of each of your combats as long as another Human entered that turn, so every Human you play is really three bodies. The weak spots are a few non-Human cards that switch her off, two board wipes that hurt you more than anyone, and lands that enter tapped.
TurnZero HQ rates Riders of Rohan a 2 out of 5 on difficulty and a 3 out of 5 on power, as it comes in the box. That is our editorial read, not an official Wizards rating. The full hundred cards are on the Riders of Rohan decklist page, and every other precon we cover is on the precon directory.
How the precon plays
Éowyn, Shieldmaiden is a five-mana 5/4 with first strike. At the beginning of combat on your turn, if another Human entered the battlefield under your control that turn, you create two 2/2 red Human Knight tokens with trample and haste, and then if you control six or more Humans you draw a card. The tokens can attack right away, so the trigger is both pressure and card draw once the board is wide.
The rest of the deck stacks Human-entering triggers on top. Beregond of the Guard gives your creatures +1/+1 and vigilance whenever a Human enters, Théoden, King of Rohan gives a creature double strike, and Lossarnach Captain taps a blocker. Éowyn's two Knights count for all of those, so one Human cast before combat sets off a chain of bonuses.
The monarch is the second engine. Aragorn, King of Gondor makes you the monarch and stops creatures from blocking while you hold it, Faramir, Steward of Gondor makes two 1/1 Soldiers at each of your end steps while you're the monarch, and Shared Animosity gives each attacking Human +1/+0 for every other attacking Human.
What works out of the box
Éowyn, Shieldmaiden ↗
Two hasty 2/2 Knights every combat in which another Human entered, plus a card once you have six Humans. She is the reason every Human counts twice.
Aragorn, King of Gondor ↗
Makes you the monarch and, while you stay the monarch, creatures can't block when he attacks. With a wide board that is often lethal.
Faramir, Steward of Gondor ↗
Two 1/1 Soldiers each end step while you're the monarch. The deck takes the monarch often, so Faramir keeps the board growing.
Beregond of the Guard ↗
Each Human that enters gives your creatures +1/+1 and vigilance for the turn. Éowyn's tokens trigger it twice at the start of combat.
Shared Animosity ↗
Each attacking Human gets +1/+0 for every other attacking Human. With eight attackers, each one hits for seven more than its printed power.
Théoden, King of Rohan ↗
Gives a creature double strike every time a Human enters. On Éowyn, a 5/4, that is 10 combat damage from one attacker.
What needs improvement
Éowyn needs a Human to enter every turn, and some of the deck's creatures don't help. Dearly Departed and Grey Host Reinforcements are Spirits, and Humble Defector is a Human you hand to an opponent the first time you use it. The deck also has few cheap Humans that stay relevant late, so some turns start with nothing to set off the trigger.
Two cards fight the plan outright. Supreme Verdict destroys your own wide board, and Earthquake hits every creature without flying, which is almost all of yours, and every player. The deck also lacks protection for the board, so an opponent's wipe resets several turns of tokens.
Upgrade ideas
Each upgrade below starts from something the deck does poorly and says what a replacement card has to do. The cards named are examples, not the only answer: if you own something else that does the same job, or a newer printing does it better, it goes in the same slot. Make one change at a time and play a few games between them, so you can tell which change helped. The general method is in how to upgrade a Commander precon →
1. Play more cheap Humans
Éowyn makes her tokens only if another Human entered this turn. One- and two-mana Humans let you cast one before combat almost every turn and still have mana for something else.
What to look for Humans costing one to three mana that either grow with other Humans or draw a card. They should still be worth casting on turn eight.
Cut, for example
Dearly Departed Six mana for a non-Human flier. Its graveyard bonus is minor, and it doesn't set off Éowyn when cast.
Grey Host Reinforcements A Spirit that exiles a graveyard. Graveyard hate is rarely the problem in this deck, and the card doesn't help Éowyn.
Add, for example
Thalia's Lieutenant ↗
Puts a +1/+1 counter on each other Human when it enters, then grows whenever another Human enters. In a deck of tokens it is a cheap anthem.
Champion of the Parish ↗
A one-drop Human that gains a counter each time another Human enters. Éowyn's Knights grow it by two every combat.
Mentor of the Meek ↗
Pay one to draw a card whenever a creature with power 2 or less enters. Every Knight and Soldier token qualifies.
2. Turn tokens into cards
A go-wide deck runs out of cards quickly and then has to rebuild after a wipe. Éowyn's own draw needs six Humans, so the deck wants draw that works from the first token.
What to look for Cheap permanents that draw a card when a Human enters, attacks, or dies.
Cut, for example
Humble Defector Draws two cards, then an opponent gains control of it and can draw two of their own. The deck has better ways to refill.
Lost to Legend Only hits historic permanents, and it puts the card back in the library rather than removing it for good.
Add, for example
Kindred Discovery ↗
Name Human: you draw whenever a Human enters or attacks. Éowyn's two Knights alone draw two cards when they enter and two more when they attack.
Skullclamp ↗
One mana to equip a 1/1 token, which dies and draws you two cards. The deck makes Soldiers and Humans every turn to feed it.
3. Protect the board instead of wiping it
The deck's own sweepers kill your creatures as well as everyone else's. A spell that saves your board from an opponent's wipe does far more for a token deck.
What to look for Instants that give your creatures indestructible, ideally cheap or free.
Cut, for example
Supreme Verdict Destroys all creatures, and your board is usually the biggest. It is a reset button that mostly hurts you.
Earthquake Deals X damage to every creature without flying and every player. Your Humans don't fly, so it wipes your own board.
4. Replace the tapped lands
An aggressive deck loses a lot from a land that enters tapped on turn two or three. The box has two gain lands, Windbrisk Heights and Path of Ancestry that always enter tapped, plus a utility land that only makes colorless mana.
What to look for Two-color lands in the deck's pairs that enter untapped early or from turn three on.
Cut, for example
Tranquil Cove Always enters tapped. The 1 life rarely matters.
Wind-Scarred Crag Always enters tapped, for the same small benefit.
Field of Ruin Colorless mana in a three-color deck, and destroying an opponent's land gives every player a basic.
Win conditions
The deck wins with one big attack. Cast a Human before combat, let Éowyn, Shieldmaiden add two hasty Knights, stack Beregond of the Guard and Shared Animosity bonuses, and swing with everything while Aragorn, King of Gondor stops blockers. The monarch and Faramir, Steward of Gondor rebuild the board between attacks.
Who should buy this precon
A good first precon for a player who likes attacking. The plan is simple to follow: play Humans, make tokens, attack. Most of the triggers happen at the start of combat, so there is a bit to track, but the decisions are straightforward. Players who want lots of instant-speed interaction will find it light on that even after the upgrades.
Checked against the printed decklist on October 10, 2026.
Track how the upgrades actually perform.
TurnZero HQ keeps a win rate per deck version, so you can change a few cards, play some games, and see the difference instead of guessing.
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