Defenders of Eryn Lasgalen

Questlogs using this decklist
The Seventh Level - Nightmare - 2 Players - 2019-08-25
Helm's Deep - 2 Players - 2019-10-05
Murder at the Prancing Pony - 2 Players - 2019-11-01
Fellowships using this decklist
None.
Derived from
None. Self-made deck here.
Inspiration for
Nenya 1 0 0 1.0
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Jaywana 116

This is my first attempt at a Silvan deck (first deck ever published actually). I wanted to create a Silvan deck that could have a chance against Attack on Dol Guldur and be thematic in the approach. Credit goes to @saxtonine for helping with the name as it represents the collaboration between Lorien and Thranduil's Realm. From what I can tell, it's very similar to the typical Silvan deck, but having not played with them before, I will point out what worked for me.

Opening Hand

In your opening hand you're looking for Nenya, Mirror of Galadriel, Steward of Gondor and at least 1 or 2 cheap allies. Mulligan if you don't get the Mirror. It is by far the most important since it can be used to mine your deck for all the other vital pieces. This is also why you don't need as many copies of other cards. I typically try to find the Silver Harp first with the Mirror to avoid the random discards every turn. Steward and Nenya are your next priorities.

Resource Smoothing

You'll notice that has the highest number of cards and card cost, so you'll want to get Steward on Galadriel as soon as possible. Steward of Gondor is also the only card that isn't strictly thematic, but there was no way around the need for resource generation. And who wouldn't trust Galadriel with the stewardship of Gondor? Except for maybe Denethor and Boromir... Galadriel with Nenya is also the only way you can play The Tree People and Protector of Lórien.

Defending

You ideally avoid defending altogether with Feigned Voices. When that is not possible, Thranduil can handle a decent amount especially when you give him a Protector of Lórien. Speaking of which, if you have the resources for it, Galadriel can dual wield Silver Harp to help offset the Protector discards in addition to the random Mirror one. Other options include Haldir of Lórien or Silvan Tracker on the turn they enter play. I don't have Mount Gundabad yet, otherwise I would definitely find a spot for Greenwood Defender. Quicker Than Sight will help with the really bad shadow effects.

Attacking

Attacking will mostly be done by your allies. Greenwood Archer, Haldir of Lórien, Legolas, Orophin, and Rúmil can all team up to take down most enemies. Marksman of Lórien is really the most efficient killer in the deck. They are a fantastic candidate to enter in the combat phase (after staging), giving an enemy -2 and getting +1 from Celeborn to essentially attack for 6. Light of Valinor is included to go on Celeborn so he can help attack as well. Fair and Perilous is a really fun card in this deck and works great on Haldir, Orophin, Rumil, and even Legolas, especially on the turn they enter play.

Questing

Not surprisingly, your allies will be doing most of the questing. Galion and Galadhrim Weaver will be doing a lot in this deck. Ideally you will have them coming out fresh every turn to benefit from the boost. Celeborn contributes the most, especially passively. He will always quest, and with all the allies being Silvan, he essentially acts like Dáin Ironfoot.

Healing

Silvan Tracker is your only form of healing, but they they do it very efficiently. Keep in mind that they can't heal Galadriel, so you'll want to avoid placing damage on her as much as possible.

Card Draw

Galadriel and Legolas are the only forms of traditional card draw, but there are several other things that are pulling out cards for you. Galadhrim Minstrel pulls out events, The Tree People pulls out allies, and of course the Mirror of Galadriel can pull out whatever you want. With all of this, I could usually get all the cards I needed.

Silvan Bouncing Tricks

Most of the Silvan related events and attachments come with the cost 'Return a Silvan ally you control to your hand to...' and most Silvan allies have an enter play effect. Hence, Silvan bouncing. This is what they do best and also what makes them so much fun to play. There are lots of possible combos and tricks, but here are a few that stood out to me:

-Galion: Galion basically nullifies the return cost during the Planning phase. At 0 resource cost, you can play and return him as many times as you want to 'pay' that return cost. He is perfect for The Tree People. After that, you still get to use him to quest for 2 without exhausting. He is a one turn wonder, so you'll want to make sure you return him to your hand before the end of the round.

-Galadhrim Weaver: At only 1 cost, Galadhrim Weaver is the next best option for bouncing. Possibly even better than Galion with her great enter play effect. At first glance (before using the deck), I wasn't that impressed with her ability, but it turns out it's awesome. I mostly tried to use her to return the important events, like The Tree People and Feigned Voices. It's not as hard as you would think to time it either. During Planning: Play Galion, return him for Tree People, play your free ally, play Weaver to shuffle Tree People back into your deck. play Galion again. You now have 3 allies for 1 resource (oh, and they all got +1 to their stats and they won't exhaust to quest). That was my favorite combo. Since they can't attack or defend, Galion and the Weaver are also prime targets for Feigned Voices and Quicker Than Sight.

Now that this is the size of a blog post, I think I will end here. Oh, and in case you were wondering, I have not beaten Attack on Dol Guldur yet with this deck. But it did very well and I came closer than with any other deck I've used on its first try. Feel free to post any questions, comments, or suggestions.

5 comments

Aug 16, 2019 Roka 1584

Great deck, I love Silvans! I haven't seen Fair and Perilious in a Silvan Deck. Great to see new players bringing fresh ideas to the community.

Aug 16, 2019 Jaywana 116

Thanks @Roka! I've actually been playing for a few years now, I just never published any decks or played with Silvans before. But I have been having a lot of fun with them. Fair and Perilous almost didn't make it into the deck, but it's such a fun and thematic card to use. Plus it's pretty good.

Sep 18, 2020 Quetzal513 90

An interesting combo could be to use Fair and Perilous in conjunction with Galadriel activating Nenya when you need to deal a massive blow.

Sep 18, 2020 Quetzal513 90

Sorry! As soon as I got the submit comment button I thought better of Nenya's Quest Action restriction. Not sure it would even work if you had some janky attack window open up during an encounter card reveal.

Oct 04, 2020 velcrohead85 151

Looks good. How well did it work out against Attack on Dol Guldur?