Merry, Guard of the Citadel

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SecondhandTook 571

It's always fun to build a deck with a thematic element in mind. Though this usually means, for most, that decks contain only certain traits or particular allies, this idea (possibly un-thematic) came from the question: "What if Merry picked up the Palantir?" I know the curious nature that define Pippin's Took heritage make him the most likely of the Hobbits to commit the act he did I thought it might be fun to play around with the idea that it was Merry instead who gave in to the lure of the Palantir.

As much as the deck is about Merry thematically it is also about Faramir mechanically. In this situation Merry has been inducted into the service of the Stewards by Denethor and Faramir has cast aside his ranger persona to become the Soldier of Gondor needed to turn the tide in the wars to come.

It can be argued that as the list stands, it represents a more compassionate Denethor, who will be giving his "unwanted" son resources consistently to fuel Gondorian Fire. With other attachments such as Sword of Númenor and Dúnedain Warning, Faramir will quickly become a force to be reckoned with.

Things won't get very far though if all that is happening is Faramir bashing Orc heads and so cards like Heir of Mardil are included to turn Denethor's benevolent effect into a reliable source of readying as well. For instance, during questing, a beefed up Faramir can attack via Hands Upon the Bow to eliminate a nasty foe just revealed from the staging area. There are other enemies on the board, however, and before combat begins Denethor can grant Faramir a much needed resource, trigger Heir of Mardil, and have Faramir ready for an additional attacks. Should Merry jump in the fray with the son of the Steward then Faramir can cause even more chaos. If either Merry or Faramir are equipped with the Blade of Gondolin then this deck can make up for one of its key weaknesses: questing.

See the rest of the post at https://secondhandtook.wordpress.com/2016/06/14/hero-of-the-month-deck-merry-guard-of-the-citadel

4 comments

Jun 15, 2016 bzgaming 66

Very cool idea. I'd love to try this out. You have any good decks to pair this with for 2-player?

Jun 15, 2016 SecondhandTook 571

@bzgamingNot sure if it's "any good" because I'm still building it but I'm working on a deck called "Pippin, Esquire of Rohan" it takes up the questing piece but I don't know how the two decks will perform together. It opens up some options though like having access to Fast Hitch, Blood of Númenor (for Denethor as primary defender), and so on.

Jun 15, 2016 bzgaming 66

Cool. Looking forward to it.

Jun 15, 2016 SecondhandTook 571

@bzgaming thanks! Now I feel motivated to finish the darned thing :P