Tea Time at the Wilderlands. 2.0

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• 2.0

One fine morning, Gandalf takes a ride with his halfling friend Folco Boffin, to go an visit his other friend the Brown Wizard Radagast in the Wilderlands. Visiting Radagast is always a fun thing for Gandalf, though sadly the darkening of the times and the return of some annoying Dark Lord has been making these visit more sporadic, duty, after all, calls.

After arriving at the meeting spot, Gandalf spots Radagast chilling with some Wilderland creatures and allies. Radagast is ecstatic to have his friend for a visit and expresses wonder at Folco. "I love these hobbits friends of your Gandalf, you got to bring them here more," Radagast says, full of glee and acting more like a mad old man than the great Wizard that he is. But this is Radagast after all, a Wizards that spends more time with creatures than with people, such behavior is to be expected.

After the pleasantries are done for, tea that Radagast was preparing is ready, who proceeds to stand up to so he can serve it to his guest. BUT! This is middle-earth, and things never go as planned (unless you are Eru Illuvatar/Tom Bombadil) and just as they are about to start their tea, they hear it, Orcs are coming for them, and things take a turn for the worse.

Radagast and Gandalf exchange looks, they been through worse before, so they get ready to fight. The first thing is making sure they have their staves in hand, Gandalf's Staff and Radagast's Staff. Wizards are not ones to carry a lot of resources, and lowering the cost of creatures and getting an extra resource per turn are key elements to keep the animals and eagles that will support the wizards in the coming fight well-fed and focused on the enemy. As such, every turn, even big hungry creatures like Giant Bear can be paid for.

The second thing is to plan a diversion. Radagast takes the chance to prepare their Wizard Pipes (would a true wizard fight without taking the time to have a few puffs?), so they don't get bogged down with the stress of "resources matching" and Gandalf's abilities are used most efficiently. Meanwhile, Gandalf takes some tricks he learned from his friend Strider and sets up Folco Boffin to leave, to distract their enemies while they still get things ready up, lowering the threat they represent to the Wizard pair.

At this point, two things become necessary. First, Radagast must focus on making sure the creatures and eagles of the Wilderlands are supporting them, playing at least one per turn, and keeping up his attention for defending or, if necessary, playing a [Word of Command] (/card/04084)to fetch some missing tool or key ally. Meanwhile, Gandalf should put on his Naryaring, a source of inspiration that livens up their allies, so they don't spend an entire turn exhausted. Apparently, Giant Bear and some of Eagles of the Misty Mountainsare quite fond of the elven ring of fire.

Of note here are the key allies that are participating in this fights. Radagast's Loyal Hounds are cheap and can be played for free if his staff is up, they also help protect him, so are a great crutch in the earlier turns. Nonetheless, Meneldor is also super important, so that Gwaihir's Debt can be activated, and get even more of those Eagle allies out of the deck and into the fray. If things are contained, Messenger Raven is also a nice card to play, so the Wizards don't run out of options to confront the pesky enemies attacking.

Later on, a Protector of Lórien or a Shadowfax can help in making the wizards even a more formidable pair. Using the first to get rid of those cumbersome repeated unique cards, and the second to get the most out of Gandalf, especially if other heroes join the fight.

With the help of their creature allies and smart playing, questing and defending, the Wizards have had no trouble in ensuring the Fate of the Wilderland, and the safety of the forest. Once over, the stress of the fight becomes just another fun story to tell in the future!!!