Defenders of Ecthelion 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

This deck is a fun, straightforward one to play.

Starting Hand: It starts at 28 threat. Mulligan for Pillars of the Kings. If at all possible, it is best to play that in the first two turns before threat goes above 30. The extra card draw from that, Gildor, and Sneak Attack/Gandolf should let you draw into Soldier of Gondor or A Very Good Tale/Reinforcements.

Acceleration: One of the best combos in the deck is using reinforcements to play Gandolf and/or Solider of Gondor (once threat is above 40). When both enter play, you can draw up to 8 cards (though average would be closer to 5). They can then be used for A Very Good Tale to spam even more allies into play. It is common for the deck to put out 5-7 allies on the first turn or two. The goal is to pull off this or a similar combo using sneak attack right away. It accelerates right out of the gate because of the high amount of starting resources and the vast array of ways to draw cards and cheat allies into play.

Deck modifications: The deck is strong because it has such a high concentration of allies. Pulling out allies to add cards like Rod of the Steward or additional copies of Wealth of Gondor/Captain's Wisdom will actually reduce the effectiveness of Soldier of Gondor and A Very Good Tale, so keeping the ally count high is key. The deck will only get more powerful as more and more Gondor allies become available.

End State: The end state of the deck is quite powerful. It should be quite easy to keep resources on Boromir. When he has Visionary Leadership, all Gondor allies get +1 willpower, +1 attack, and can get another willpower from Faramir. The sheer swarm of allies and Strength of Arms make the deck quite versitile. It can effectively quest, chump, and attack.

Threat: The deck actually does not struggle with threat. Pillars of the Kings can be used to reduce threat from 47 or 48 to 40, and when the threat is that high, it is typically not difficult to spare 4 resources to play. Gandolf can potentially come into play 9 times with the deck. (3 via Sneak Attack, 3 via Reinforcements, and 3 hard cast). If threat is a concern, simply choose to reduce it by 5 rather than doing the card draw/damage. Attempt to stay above 40 until you have drawn/gone through virtually your whole deck with Soldier of Gondor/A Very Good Tale.