Boromir's Eagles 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

This a pretty straightforward Eagles deck I built progression style, meaning it uses the first two cycles and the Hobbit Sagas to beat all the quests those expansions contain, plus Massing At Osgiliath, i.e. the definitive testing quest. This is partnered with a Spirit/Lore deck (Eowyn/Glorfindel/Aragorn) that handles most of questing and takes care of threat issues stemming from Boromir. See the fellowship link.

When I first opened the pack with Boromir I didn't think too much of him, but when I saw Support of the Eagles a pack later I started understanding how busted he could become. Tactics is probably my favorite sphere and it's fun to assemble a pretty unbeatable board state that isn't Dwarves or Outlands. This deck can't quest for shit but that's the fun of playing two-handed.

The gameplan is pretty straightforward. Get Steward on Legolas (he never defends) and play all your Eagles out.

Attachments: The first Rivendell Blade goes on Legolas, the second either on him or Glorfindel depending on the situation. Support of the Eagles goes on Boromir at which point you will have effectively won. Sword that was Broken goes on Aragorn in the other deck.

Events: The Eagles Are Coming! keeps Eagle allies coming into your hand, while A Very Good Tale accelerates your board state. I try to wait till I have at least six resources worth of allies to exhaust, but depending on the situation you can do less. Feint is Feint and Sneak Attack is Sneak Attack, though Descendant of Thorondor gives it a lot of extra utility. They pretty much take care of all your Goblin Sniper needs, plus the annoying tentacles you don't want to engage with in Watcher in the Water. Valiant Sacrifice is versatile if mediocre draw, and We Are Not Idle is just a cantrip, but in a pinch your Veteran Axehands can do some work.

Allies: Three of each Eagle, not counting Landroval, who I find fairly weak and not worth it as a one-of. Deck space is already fairly tight. Gandalf is there to arrive precisely on time and Snowbourn Scouts and Gondorian Spearmans are your chumps, though the latter also take care of a lot of annoying enemies like Eastern Crows. Veteran Axehand is Tactic's equivalent of Spirit's 2-for-2 questers. Faramir ends games when targeting the other deck.

The main concerns of the deck (assuming a multiplayer setting where someone else is questing) are threating out and surviving the midgame, before Boromir and your board are unstoppable. He's the main defender early on but the ally package is so good that he'll rarely need to take more than a few scratches before everything is in place.

Having recently acquired Heirs of Numenor, I'm already imaging how this deck will reshape itself. Defender of Rammas seems too good to pass up, Errand-Rider is in (in my opinion) an objectively superior chump to Snowbourn, and Envoy of Pelargir makes a turn 1 Steward possible which can pretty much win games on its own. Blood of Numenor also makes me want to completely drop Support of the Eagles but who knows, I think I'm too attached.

Miscellaneous note that is maybe worth mentioning: Boromir quests when he needs Theodred's resource.

Legolas could maybe be Hama, but the questing deck gets in enough trouble every now and then that makes me think the ranged is necessary. His progress ability also helps accelerate your questing, which matters when one of your primary losing conditions is threating out. Theodred's resource acceleration is also key, especially with other decks involved, but I've been wondering if Balin's superior stats and helpful ability make him viable. At that point you could port in King Under the Mountain as a more consistent draw engine. Probably something worth trying. In a multiplayer setting Boromir could be exchanged for Bard or Brand if you wanted and the deck would mostly function the same, though you lose a defender and all of the stone-cold killing efficiency of Gondor's finest.