Thorongil's Raid on Umbar 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

THORONGIL'S RAID ON UMBAR

"Ecthelion II [T.A. 2886-2984, Steward of Gondor from 2953 to his death], son of Turgon, was a man of wisdom. With what power was left to him he began to strengthen his realm against the assault of Mordor. He encouraged all men of worth from near or far to enter his service, and to those who proved trustworthy he gave rank and reward. In much that he did he had the aid and advice of a great captain whom he loved above all. Thorongil men called him in Gondor, the Eagle of the Star, for he was swift and keen-eyed, and wore a silver star upon his cloak; but no one knew his true name nor in what land he was born. He came to Ecthelion from Rohan where he had served the King Thengel, but he was not one of the Rohirrim. He was a great leader of men, by land or by sea, but he departed into the shadows whence he came, before the days of Ecthelion were ended.

Thorongil often counselled Ecthelion that the strength of the rebels in Umbar was a great peril to Gondor, and a threat to the fiefs of the south that would prove deadly, if Sauron moved to open war. At last he got leave of the Steward and gathered a small fleet, and he came to Umbar unlooked-for by night, and there burned a great part of the ships of the Corsairs. He himself overthrew the Captain of the Haven in battle upon the quays, and then he withdrew his fleet with small loss. But when he came back to Pelargir, to men's grief and wonder, he would not return to Minas Tirith, where great honour awaited him."

--LotR, Appendix A "The Stewards", p.417

DECK OVERVIEW

This is a thematic solo deck based on part of Aragorn's journeys [T.A. 2957-2980] under the pseudonym Thorongil, during which he served both King Thengel of Rohan and the Steward of Gondor, Ecthelion [Denethor's father]. In particular, it focuses on Thorongil's service in Gondor and his raid on Umbar c. T.A. 2980, making cards like In Service of the Steward, Visionary Leadership, Sneak Attack, Na'asiyah, and Pelargir allies particularly thematic.

Practically, it is a pretty basic Gondor deck. Herald of Anórien musters the Gondorian raiding party which is inspired by Visionary Leadership and a battle cry of "For Gondor!" Yet, the heroes have their part to play as well...

HEROES & ATTACHMENTS

Denethor 2 1 5 3
Denethor, representing Ecthelion here, is the Heir of Mardil and Steward of Gondor and bears the Rod of the Steward. Armed with a Gondorian Shield, he organizes the defense of the realm. Heir of Mardil lets him quest then ready to defend. His resource-moving effect is used to power Aragorn's & Na'asiyah's innate effects, as needed.

Aragorn 5 4, 2 5
Aragorn, as Thorongil, is In Service of the Steward and executes the raid on Umbar with his Visionary Leadership. He wears Celebrían's Stone and wields a Sword of Númenor. In Service of the Steward lets him receive resources from Denethor and benefit from Visionary Leadership & For Gondor! Typically he will quest, pay 1 resource to ready with his effect, then attack. Sword of Númenor can also gain him a resource to power his effect. [Alternately, if In Service of the Steward has yet to appear, Visionary Leadership can go on Denethor.]

Na'asiyah 2 3(6) 4(7) 4
The Corsair Na'asiyah is also In Service of the Steward and a Captain of Gondor (perhaps representing she is one of Thorongil's ship captains?) She wields both a Sword of Númenor and a Gondorian Shield and benefits from In Service of the Steward, Denethor & Sword of Númenor in much the same way as Aragorn. She can defend or attack with her innate bonuses as needed, or do both, readying with The White Council.

ALLIES & EVENTS

Except for Gandalf, all of the allies have the Gondor trait to benefit from Visionary Leadership & For Gondor! 15 of the allies can be mustered with Herald of Anórien.

Envoy of Pelargir & Squire of the Citadel generate resources. The Squire makes an excellent chump blocker to trigger both his effect and Valiant Sacrifice. Pelargir Ship Captain provides additional resource smoothing to fill the purses of Aragorn & Na'asiyah.

Honour Guard (who can only be played with Herald of Anórien or Sneak Attack, since Na'asiyah can't pay for allies) provides some needed damage cancellation. With the threat increases from Herald of Anórien, it shouldn't take long to reach the 40-threat threshold, where Honour Guard & Veteran of Osgiliath will be especially effective. Threat reduction, when needed, comes from Gandalf & Favor of the Valar.

Lastly, The White Council is a great multi-purpose card. Though its resource generating effect is basically resource smoothing in solo play (and Denethor already has that covered), it can still be used to draw a card when needed, ready a hero to defend and attack or do either twice, or recycle any card, particularly important events like For Gondor! & Sterner than Steel or a key ally like Herald of Anórien or Gandalf.

VARIATIONS

Since I've tried to keep true to the theme of the deck, the unique Gondor allies Boromir, Faramir, and Ingold were not included, as none of them had been born at the time of Thorongil's raid on Umbar. But, if you don't care about the theme, Faramir & Ingold would fit nicely and have good effects. Boromir could be included with the addition of Roheryn and/or Song of Battle for resources.

Since the deck performs well at 40+ threat, Valour cards like Hold Your Ground!, Horn's Cry, and/or Rallying Cry could be included. If using Hold Your Ground!, switch out 3x Guard of the Citadel for 3x Gondorian Spearman. In which case, you may also want to consider adding some resource generation, as above.

Wealth of Gondor & Horn of Gondor can provide additional resource generation. Foe-hammer is an alternate option for card drawing, though I prefer to exhaust Sword of Númenor for its resource to power the heroes' effects. For more threat reduction, Secret Vigil can be included. Behind Strong Walls can replace The White Council for readying and its +1 , but I like the flexibility of the latter.

Lastly, Armored Destrier could replace Sterner than Steel for shadow control. It would also provide an alternate option for readying Denethor, allowing him to defend against multiple attacks. Heir of Mardil could then go on Aragorn, giving him an additional action each round.

CARDS BY FUNCTION

11 Resource Acceleration/Cost Discount: Denethor, Envoy of Pelargir, Squire of the Citadel, Steward of Gondor, Sword of Númenor

4 Resource Smoothing: Denethor, Pelargir Ship Captain

9 Card Drawing: Gandalf, Rod of the Steward, Valiant Sacrifice, The White Council

3 Card Recycling: The White Council

5 Threat Reduction: Gandalf, Favor of the Valar

0 Equipping:

5 Mustering: Herald of Anórien, Sneak Attack

5 Willpower Boost: Veteran of Osgiliath, Celebrían's Stone, Visionary Leadership

8 Attack Boost: Na'asiyah, Veteran of Osgiliath, Captain of Gondor, Sword of Númenor, For Gondor!

8 Defense Boost: Na'asiyah, Veteran of Osgiliath, Captain of Gondor, Gondorian Shield, For Gondor!

0 Treachery Control:

2 Shadow Control: Sterner than Steel

5 Readying: Aragorn, Heir of Mardil, The White Council

3 Healing/Damage Cancellation: Honour Guard

0 Condition Control: