The Last Defence of Gondor 1.0

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THE LAST DEFENCE OF GONDOR

"Men came to the door crying for the Lord of the City. 'Nay, I will not come down,' he said. 'I must stay beside my son. He might still speak before the end. But that is near. Follow whom you will, even the Grey Fool, though his hope has failed. Here I stay.'

So it was that Gandalf took command of the last defence of the City of Gondor. Wherever he came men's hearts would lift again, and the winged shadows pass from memory. Tirelessly he strode from Citadel to Gate, from north to south about the wall..."

--LotR V, p.118-119

DECK OVERVIEW

This thematic deck, inspired by Seastan's "The Pyre of Denethor", is based on the events of chapters 1 & 4--"Minas Tirith" & "The Siege of Gondor"--in The Return of the King, in which: Gandalf & Pippin, riding Shadowfax, arrive at the gates of Minas Tirith and are admitted by Ingold; Pippin vows fealty to Denethor and tells the tale of the Fellowship; Gandalf rides out twice to aid Faramir against the Nazgul and uses the Flame of Anor; Faramir is wounded during his last retreat; Denethor goes mad as a result of his dark knowledge and Faramir's apparently mortal wounding; Gandalf assumes the stewardship of Gondor and the defense of Minas Tirith; and Faramir is moved to the Houses of Healing under Ioreth's care after Denethor immolates himself. (Whew!)

HEROES & ATTACHMENTS

Gandalf 4(5) 3(4-9) 3(4) 5 Neutral/Leadership
Attachments: Gandalf's Staff[R], Narya, Wizard Pipe, Shadowfax, Steward of Gondor, Visionary Leadership
The Grey Fool is the workhorse of the deck. He can quest, ready with Shadowfax, use Narya to ready & boost 2 allies, then ready & attack with Flame of Anor. Citadel Custodian & the duplicate of Faramir make good discards for Flame of Anor. When needed, move them to the top of the deck with Wizard Pipe.

Denethor 1(2) 1(2) 3(4) 3 Leadership
Attachments: Dark Knowledge, The Fall of Gil-Galad
Denethor's extra resources help get the deck off to a quick start. Afterward, he falls into madness due to his Dark Knowledge. In the end, he succumbs to his madness and sacrifices himself to lower your threat with The Fall of Gil-Galad.

Pippin 3(4) 1(2) 1(2) 2 Lore
Attachments: In Service of the Steward
Squire Peregrin is mostly thematic and will quest each round. In Service of the Steward allows him to benefit from Visionary Leadership & For Gondor!, as well as receive resources from Denethor, Envoy of Pelargir & Squire of the Citadel. Steward of Gondor does the same for Gandalf.

ALLIES & EVENTS

Herald of Anórien & A Very Good Tale muster the all-Gondor war-host, who can quest guided by Gandalf's Visionary Leadership and ride to war with the cry of "For Gondor!" The two allies that exhaust for A Very Good Tale can be readied with Narya and receive +1 and +1 . Thus, you can feel free to exhaust higher-cost allies in order to play higher-cost allies. The discarding triggered by A Very Good Tale can also find Hidden Caches. Envoy of Pelargir & Squire of the Citadel also generate resources, while Pelargir Ship Captain can transfer them. Faramir & Ingold help with questing, while Ioreth & Warden of Healing provide healing for all characters.

Only two cards provide threat reduction: Favor of the Valar & The Fall of Gil-Galad. Since both will likely be played in the late game, Veteran of Osgiliath may have a chance to use his bonuses once your threat hits 40. Thematically, Denethor is the choice to sacrifice for The Fall of Gil-Galad; logically, too, since by then Gandalf should be able to pay for cards with Narya.

VARIATIONS

Since several Doomed cards fit the theme of Denethor's madness quite well, you could include Legacy of Númenor & Deep Knowledge, as well as The Seeing-stone to search for them. The attendant threat increase pretty much makes sacrificing Denethor with The Fall of Gil-Galad an eventual necessity.

Valour cards also fit the theme nicely, and can mesh well with the threat increase from Doomed cards. Already, Veteran of Osgiliath can benefit from a 40+ threat. But you could also add Doom Hangs Still & Rallying Cry, as well as Hope Rekindled to help pay for them.

Other good thematic cards include Rod of the Steward, Gandalf's Search, Heed the Dream, Valiant Sacrifice, or Word of Command for additional card drawing/delving. Good non-thematic additions to the deck include Galadriel for equipping, and Expert Treasure-hunter for targeted card drawing with Gandalf's effect.

CARDS BY FUNCTION

18 Resource Acceleration/Cost Discount: Denethor, Citadel Custodian, Envoy of Pelargir, Squire of the Citadel, Gandalf's Staff, Steward of Gondor, Hidden Cache

7 Resource Smoothing: Denethor, Pelargir Ship Captain, Narya

3 Player Deck Scrying/Control: Gandalf, Wizard Pipe

10 Card Drawing: Pippin, Gandalf's Staff, Hidden Cache, The White Council

3 Card Recycling: The White Council

2 Threat Reduction: Favor of the Valar, The Fall of Gil-Galad

6 Mustering: Herald of Anórien, A Very Good Tale

8 Willpower Boost: Faramir, Ingold, Veteran of Osgiliath, Visionary Leadership

11 Attack Boost: Veteran of Osgiliath, Narya, Flame of Anor, For Gondor!

8 Defense Boost: Veteran of Osgiliath, Narya, For Gondor!

0 Treachery Control:

4 Shadow Control: Dark Knowledge, Gandalf's Staff

11 Readying: Narya, Shadowfax, Flame of Anor, The White Council

3 Healing: Ioreth, Warden of Healing

0 Condition Control: