Silvan Leadership drops a Gandalf 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

I've been toying with Archol's excellent deck "Gandalf's Reinforcement(s) of the Silvans" for a few months now and have finally carved out a version of my own that I like. This one is definitely intended as a combat deck for multi-player as it doesn't really ramp up questing enough to be reliable in solo. Most rounds I find myself questing for anywhere from 5-10, with the occasional big round when I use Reinforcements during the quest phase to add Gandalf and Faramir for a big push.

The real strength in this deck is in the multitude of options and solutions it provides for combat. There's always something you can do. Whether that's bringing Gandalf in via Sneak Attack or Reinforcements, cancelling an attack with Feigned Voices, bringing in a useful silvan ally via Thranduil, readying a hero with Greenwood Archer, readying ALL allies with Strength of Arms, giving yourself or another player the resources needed to play the right card with Legacy of Númenor, or defending multiple attacks with Greenwood Defender. So many options! You may not always have exactly the one you want in hand but you can just about always do SOMETHING.

That is, you can do something provided you have card draw. I mulligan for Legolas or Gandalf and use Gandalf for card draw until I find Legolas. Beyond them, Unlikely Friendship, We Are Not Idle, and Galadhrim Minstrel all keep your deck moving. O Lórien! and Steward of Gondor provide resource acceleration to do all the fun things this deck wants to do. Steward goes on Balin, who can use it to replace crippling shadow effects. I originally tried this deck without Steward, as Archol managed with his deck, but found I needed it and that even WITH Steward I spend resources as fast as I get them.

As for the rest of the cards:

~Tome of Atanatar is fantastic. It really increases the range of the toolbox this deck has. Once you've got one in play you can grab whatever event you need from the discard pile. I usually try to use it on Sneak Attack or Reinforcements but sometimes Feigned Voices or even one of the other events will save the day.

~Faramir as we all know is a powerhouse, whether you buy him straight up or sneak him in.

~Silvan Tracker is an urgent buy in some quests and generally unimportant in others. It's always great to have him in a quest with archery and tell the others you'll take all the archery damage, the rest of the game.

~Ancestral Armor makes Thranduil SO much more reliable as a defender. Add in Silvan Tracker and Balin's shadow cancellation and when you've got all three set up Thranduil isn't afraid of anything.

~Song of Wisdom was my 50th card but I'm glad it's here. Without it, the only way to get your lore allies in play is via Thranduil in the combat phase, which winds up being a choke point as you can only get one in play per round. I'd much rather play a Greenwood Archer via Thranduil in the combat phase but when that's the only chance I have to play a lore ally it makes for a tough decision. Song of Wisdom changes that, allowing me to play the lore allies before questing, where they can put Celeborn's boost to best use. It might even be worth having two of Song of Wisdom but I don't know what else to cut; it might depend on the quest. If you want/need a 51st card this is a strong choice.

~The Elvenking might be the one to cut. I don't find I use it often, but when I do it's because I need it and just having it there feels like a valuable security blanket. The obvious value is to ready Thranduil for another defense with it, especially once he's got Ancestral Armor attached. But I've also used it to pull back an exhausted Silvan ally that I want to ready then re-purchase that same ally via Thranduil. With Greenwood Archer this combo winds up readying two heroes and with the archer itself that's often enough to kill off an enemy.