Hey all, welcome to week 35 of Deck Tech! Last week we took Glorfindel on a journey in the desert with everyone's favorite unlikely friends, Legolas and Gimli.

This week, I wanted to tinker with something I've steered well clear of for a while: Glóin shenanigans. But I don't want to entirely trivialize combat, even though I know you can with Elrond, Warden of Healing, and enough HP.

Instead, I want to capitalize on an opportunity I think the designers missed. Dwarven Shield comes in a box with Gimli, and it's a mini-me version of Gloin's ability from the core set. Make it unique, slightly more powerful, and call it "Son of Gloin"? I would definitely go for that.

Instead, we're going to build around the Dwarven Shield and a different set of synergies. Heir of Mardil allows Gloin to quest, take an undefended attack, and spring back up to defend a stronger attack. Or we can just boost Gloin's defense to the point where you expect to get one damage from an attack and allow him to gain three resources while only needing to heal away one damage.

Backing this up, I've got Théodred because I love resources and Treebeard so I can play Ent Draught on the first turn. Treebeard is also another hero that synergizes with damage and healing effects, so they aren't all dead draws when we get through most of the deck.

Quest 1: Foundations of Stone:

I actually attempted this quest before I added a new resource dump, Lórien's Wealth, so it's maybe not entirely representative. But the fundamentals are all still here, so just pretend I've been complaining about not ever drawing it.

I get pretty much the ideal first turn setup for a quest like this, an Ent Draught and a Dwarven Shield for Gloin. And we're immediately faced with a Branching Paths, so the threat on turn one could get rough. Of course, our torch is immediately Burning Low, but that's a pretty tame threat at this point.

On the second round, I add a Dúnedain Warning to Gloin, who I feel is now sufficiently sturdy for what's to come. Everyone's questing, and I'm forced to take an undefended attack from a Goblin Swordsman. So now Gloin is nearly dead. Funny how fast your luck can change under ground.

And, of course, you can say that again. Gloin straps on Narvi's Belt the following round, equipping himself with Self Preservation and bringing out a Wellinghall Preserver for more questing and some healing support on Treebeard.

I spend a little bit stuck, tanking a pair of Goblin Swordsmen, until I find Quickbeam and Gandalf to help bring them down.

It takes me until round nine to end up at stage 4, and I some how haven't found any replacements for Gloin's equipment. No extra health, no shields, no shiny belt. But it's not too bad. The Endless Caves just need a lot of progress to get past.

I only see one Nameless Thing, down in the depths, but it pulls Faramir and Gandalf when it engages me, forcing me to defend with a Warden of Healing. Gloin isn't that durable.

After that, being able to quest with all three heroes (and boost willpower with Treebeard) and three copies of Wellinghall Preserver sees us through stage five in a single round.

It's interesting to play a deck like this, so reliant on a lot of item attachments, up against a quest where you're guaranteed to lose them all. If I'd waited a bit longer, I could have found replacements, but we ultimately didn't need them thanks to a relatively tame stage 4 draw.

Final score: 156. 11 rounds, 44 threat, 3 damage on heroes, 1 vp.

Quest 2: The Druadan Forest

So let's put the healing and resource generation ability of this deck to the test, by taking on a notoriously annoying quest.

The big thing, I think, is to build up a resource token buffer early so we can avoid some of the nastier effects. Because of that, I start by playing two Daeron's Runes, which ultimately just get me a Warden of Healing. I do spend one resource on an Ent Draught, but Theodred refills that resource shortly thereafter.

Luckily, I don't draw another Wose with a Druadan Drummer in the staging area, and Gloin can afford to take an undefended hit early here.

Archery damage can also be strategically applied to generate resources, which I definitely do early on here. Gloin ends up nearly dead, but very rich. And those resources are immediately funneled into a A Good Harvest. I play two Wellinghall Preserver, one Warden of Healing, and one Lórien's Wealth. Without leaving anyone at zero resources.

This is basically the turning point, because I can quest with the Wellinghall Preservers every round and leave Treebeard and Gimli up to handle enemies. Gloin steadily builds up his attachments until about round nine, and I keep playing my expensive allies without ever going broke. I know Faramir can be very useful in the final stage of the quest.

Conveniently, round nine is also when I finally quest into stage 3, and come face to face with Dru-buri-dru. Gloin has to take a big undefended attack from another Wose that leaves him with one hp, and Treebeard defends against Dru. But with the extra resources, I can sneak in Gandalf to convince the Wose chief that I mean no harm.

And in the following round, I use the huge surplus of resources to play Gandalf the slow way, reducing my threat, and quest to victory with a boost from Dru-buri-dru.

Final score: 127. 9 full rounds, 34 threat, 3 damage on heroes, 0 vp.

Play Tips:

1. Dwarven Shield helps generate resources from undefended attacks. You'll want to take some when you safely can.
2. Heir of Mardil is great readying for Glóin, because you can defend a big hit and then ready to defend again. Or just quest with Théodred and hang back for defense.
3. You only really need Ent Draught on Gloin, but Treebeard can use it too to get a bit more out of his ability.
4. Heal Gloin first, when you have a choice. Wellinghall Preserver can basically only heal Treebeard, and you get to choose how much damage Treebeard takes.
5. Feel free to move a Dúnedain Warning off Gloin before an attack to guarantee he takes a damage. This'll let you trigger the Dwarven Shields and potentially give you a lot more resources to work with in the long run.
6. When you're way too rich, Narvi's Belt or A Good Harvest can help you heal a ton with Warden of Healing. It's expensive (2 resources for 1 hp on Gloin), but it could save you from a really terrible defeat.

Next week: It'll be the day after Christmas, so things might be delayed or shorter than normal. But I just realized you can use Elf-friend, Fair and Perilous, and Treebeard to hit very, very hard. Or battle quest for fifteen. Sounds like fun to me!

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