Secrets and Lies

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Darkling Door 6089

This is a thematic deck built for an ongoing series on my blog, Darkling Door.

Theme: The influence of Saruman

Played Against: Nightmare To Catch an Orc

"Suddenly another voice spoke, low and melodious, its very sound an enchantment. Those who listened unwarily to that voice could seldom report the words that they heard; and if they did, they wondered, for little power remained in them. Mostly they remembered only that it was a delight to hear the voice speaking, all that it said seemed wise and reasonable, and desire awoke in them by swift agreement to seem wise themselves."

The Voice of Saruman, The Two Towers

Strategy

This is a Doomed deck capable of being both stealthy and aggressive in turn.

The early game

Gríma helps the deck to get off to a good start, letting me play cards a turn earlier than I would normally be able to get them down. I like to start off with a solid quester, like Steward of Orthanc or Isengard Messenger (who generally quests for at least 2 each round). Once I've established my board position a little bit though, I back off on the Doomed for a few rounds.

The midgame

In the midgame, I focus on building up my combat prowess. Éomer is my main attacker. I want to get him equipped with Gúthwinë and a Spear of the Mark so he's swinging for at least 6 against engaged Enemies. If I end up engaged with something that takes more than that, I can usually scrounge up a little extra using Allies or by holding back another Hero.

Ideally, though, in the midgame I can use Éomer's ability to kill medium-strength Enemies (with engagement costs between 30-40) while they're still in the Staging Area. Because his ability costs a resource, I usually give him the Keys of Orthanc if I happen to draw them—but the deck runs a little light on cards anyway, so it's not vital for the deck's functioning. The Grappling Hook makes a great combo here, allowing him to contribute more than his paltry 1 to the quest as well as letting me kill an Enemy as soon as they show up, but before they have a chance to contribute their during the Quest Phase.

Defense is generally handled by chump blockers like Snowbourn Scout, although I can always use Elfhelm's built-in ability to bring in an on-demand defender. I have access to plenty of attack cancellation, too, in the form of Feint and The Wizards's Voice, should I find that I need it.

The endgame

As my threat begins to climb in the later game and it becomes harder and harder to leave Enemies in the Staging Area, I kick back into aggressive mode to close out the quest. Saruman can be a big help here—sometimes I even use Sneak Attack to bring him in on a pivotal turn, eating the extra Doomed 3 cost in exchange for an immediate solution to whatever problem has come between me and victory.

At that point, I've thrown down the gauntlet; it's either me or the encounter deck. One of us is going to burn out fast!

► For more analysis, check out my blog post on this deck.

5 comments

Mar 06, 2018 Maogrim 111

Really, really cool thematic deck! I'm always charmed by anything including Gríma and other Isengard cards. I made a Gríma / Éowyn secrecy deck once, which was quite fun to play. ringsdb.com One question though: What is Orc Disguise doing in there? If I'm not mistaken you can't use that card in non-Saga quests. And have you thought about Golden Shield? I really like it on Éowyn, if I have a possibility to either not exhaust her, ready her, or don't need her questing.

Mar 06, 2018 Wandalf the Gizzard 2415

I think Orc Disguise is supposed to be Guthwine. That's what it is on the blog post.

Mar 06, 2018 Darkling Door 6089

Oh yeah, weird; something must have happened on the back end, because I definitely had Gúthwinë in the deck when I exported it from here to the blog post.

I did consider Golden Shield. I like it both on Gríma and Éowyn, but in this case I really needed both Heroes for questing and didn't have much access to readying.

Mar 06, 2018 nvbostwick 44

Is Keys of Orthanc enough to smooth resources? I know personally trisphere is always tough for me to balance resource generation and card costs. Also, are you able to play Needful to Know in secrecy ever? And how much does that card pay off (beside the scry)?

Mar 07, 2018 Darkling Door 6089

@nvbostwick Most of the smoothing is actually done by Gríma; Keys of Orthanc is more of a nice-to-have card that helps Éomer pay for his ability.

Needful to Know is frequently useful, although I never get the secrecy discount for it. It's mostly a way to spend resources, which can build up towards the end of the game. Sometimes it whiffs as far as a threat reduction card, but the scrying is often enough in solo too (since it means I know exactly how much I have to send on the quest).