Unlikely Friendships 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

It was the unlikeliest trio in Middle Earth's history...

Why the name?
This trio doesn't really below together thematically - a Noldor as old as time, the new king of the Lonely Mountain, and a young-ish prince of Mirkwood. But alas, desperate times call for desperate measures when Sauron is on the move.

What's the origin story?
I was having a heck of a time beating Fate of Wilderland two-handed. I needed a second deck to pair with some Dunedain that could quest, take hits, and provide ranged support all at the same time. I was mulling this over while watching the Two Towers and saw Legolas surf on a shield at the Battle of Helm's Deep, so I thought..."Well, why the heck not?" And I wrote this down in my little deckbuilding notebook as a multiplayer deck to be paired with almost anything else you can think of (hence the relatively low number of uniques: three heroes + one ally + three attachments).

Why this lineup?
Legolas is a hero that pairs perfectly with Círdan the Shipwright. Together they quest for five on turn one and Legolas readies Cirdan so he can attack, defend, or trigger Narya if that was in the opening hand. Eventually you've got two of Mirkwood Long-knife on Legolas with a Light of Valinor so he can quest for 3 , ready another questing hero through discarding a card, then punch something for 5 (or 8 attack if you play Fair and Perilous).

Cirdan with some readying on him is fun too - Narya can ready and boost allies, and Fair and Perilous can allow him to attack for six in an emergency. It's also really fun to pile up some resources on him and play Inspiring Presence mid-game to give all heroes with lower threat +2 defense, followed by +2 attack (Narya gets you Leadership access to pay for the second effect).

Dáin Ironfoot is just a monster. He can defend for six on turn one if you discard three cards, and once he's up and running with Unexpected Courage and Armor of Erebor, he is taking all kinds of hits and generating further resources with The Day's Rising. Eventually I like to throttle back a bit on the discard mechanic, but early on its literally a live-saver.

How does the deck work?
In addition to the hero notes above, here are a few other things to keep in mind. Zigil Miner is the obvious resource engine here. Even mining blindly, I like to choose the number two (21 cards in the deck) and just go for it. An initial Elven-light is also helpful, since it can be immediately discarded to fuel Legolas' ability and then be pulled back every round.

Erebor Toymaker is also an amazing card in this deck, since he can get out discounted attachments like nobody's business. Playing Long-knives or Unexpected Courage for free is a great feeling,

Well Warned is a card I haven't played with much but I have grown to love since you can use it to drop the threat of whichever player just engaged an enemy. Use the Galadhrim Weaver to scoop that one back up.

Pelargir Shipwright I chose over Ethir Swordsman because of those 3 hitpoints. All in all, these allies provide 9 for 9 resources versus 12 for 6 resources but without the worry that a bad treachery could wipe them out. (You'll see Ethir Swordsman in the sideboard though if the quest warrants it.)

Maybe the thing I like most about this deck is that it really gives a lot of love across the table in multiplayer. Extra Armors of Erebor and Unexpected Courages have lots of good targets, and other players are always happy to see Dain on the board (especially with Sentinel!). Add in the threat drop from Well Warned and the Galadriel's Handmaidens, plus the exciting play of Inspiring Presence and there are high-fives all around.

Anything else?
The sideboard is there as a toolbox based on the quests I'm facing with some very standard stuff - extra willpower, some minor location management, condition removal, and shadow cancellation. I threw in Dwarven Tomb since I'm not sure about its use yet in this deck.

As always, please comment - what's good? What did I miss?