I DO NOT HAVE [Thranduil](/card/19056)

The Ringmaker Cycle introduced the Sylvan archetype, where allies enter and leave play, as opposed to the standard linear growth of board state or playing chumps strategies that came beforehand. The cycle introduced two obvious picks for heroes to use: Celeborn and Galadriel... but what about the third? This deck is my Sylvan deck, making the best use I can of my meager card pool.

Why Berevor?

• She can quest if I haven't drawn into Nenya, and thus need willpower.
• She can defend for 2 and 4, which is much more than most sylvans
• She can attack for 2, once again, more than most sylvans
• She can help draw into crucial attachments, such as O Lorien or Nenya

This deck is still a work in progress, as I cannot decide how far I want to go in the "bouncy sylvans" direction, and how far I want to go with "huge sylvans who regenerate from the Sylvan Tracker" direction.

Strategy

Get cheap sylvans in play, stall until you can afford the big ones, then puke out allies who restore their HP back to full every turn thanks to Silvan Tracker.

Starting Hand

Sadly, much like every deck I build, this one lives or dies based on its crucial attachments. O Lorien and Nenya are both extremely good for the deck, so they are great to see in your starting hand, alongside a couple allies. However, if you don't get these attachments, Mirror of Galadriel can allow you to find them rather quickly.

Questing

This deck can quest for goofy amount of right from the first turn, so long as you get a silvan ally or Nenya. Early game, Galadriel and Naith Guide can allow you to quest for 7-9 without exhausting anyone prior to staging which is really good for avoiding damaging treacheries.

Defending

With a bit of setup, this deck can actually defend pretty well. Defender of the Naith or Silvan Tracker with a Cloak of Lórien can defend against most 2-3 enemies (4 instead if the active location has the forest trait, which is quite common). Against larger enemies, you can use either Berevor with Protector of Lórien to pitch attachments or Feigned Voices. Extra copies of Cloak of Lorien can go on Celeborn in a pinch, so long as he has readying.

Attacking

This is where the deck struggles. Once I have Mirkwood Runner, it should be easier, but as of now, you just have to muster an army of allies to destroy even weak enemies.

Card Draw

Thanks to the combination of Berevor, Galadriel, Galadhrim Minstrel, The Tree People, and Mirror of Galadriel, you can draw/search an insane amount of your deck. You will usually want to return Galadhrim Minstrel to hand to fuel the various event, as she doesn't do much, and then you can use her again to search for more silvan events. I typically only uses Mirror of Galadriel to fetch Nenya or O Lórien!, if I haven't drawn into them yet. Mirror is more of a desperation search card than a "use this every turn" type of card.

Resource Management

O Lorien makes allies super-cheap: once it and Nenya are in play, Silverlode Archer and Orophin are the only cards that you need to save up for. The deck is rather heavy, so just be aware of that.

Sideboard

The only real sideboard card is Power of Orthanc, which you should obviously bring to any quest with nasty conditions (like half of Ringmaker). The rest are all cards that I'm not sure I want to include in the deck.