Battle in the Land of Sorrow

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Fellowships using this decklist
"Won in One" Land of Sorrow 2-Player Fellowship
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GrandSpleen 1392

SPOILERS for Land of Sorrow scenario are in this deck description.

I built this deck specifically for handling the Wardens and other combat in the Land of Sorrow scenario. I wanted to be able to hit 11 attack on the first round as a guarantee. Beorn combined with [(MotK) Legolas using Strength and Courage provides that.

The second requirement was, in planning for the worst case scenario, being able to defend for 9 without losing a hero. You could see the scenario give you a 6-strength attack Warden under the Camp which boosts its attack by 3. Actually it can get worse, and the shadow effect could end up boosting its attack to 11 total. Dáin Ironfoot can take the 9-strength attack without any attachments; with a Gondorian Shield he can also survive the 11.

(MotK) Legolas was the hardest piece of the deck to choose, and I considered iterations with Na'asiyah and even (MotK) Skinbark for the higher attack without attachments. The priority was a relatively low threat, high attack hero. Legolas won due to the draw ability and because he can take attachments to boost his strength further (unlike Skinbark, who is very limited in that department) and still use his resources to pay for allies (unlike Na'asiyah). His Ranged was a boon but only once or twice during the game; Wardens can't be attacked via Ranged.

You'll notice Lore cards here. The companion deck will play Song of Wisdom on Legolas or Dain (in my game it went on Dain and that was a ine choice. His Spirit resources are of limited use anyway). A Good Harvest is also helpful for getting a Warden of Healing out.

Allies provide attack and defense power. Any help Beorn can get is really important in keeping him alive longer. "Spend" his defenses when doing so makes the difference between defeating or not defeating an enemy (do the math for the whole combat phase when you get into it, and then watch shadow cards tear up your plans!). I definitely used Landroval for Beorn in this game, and still he ended the game with 9 damage on him even after that.

Threat reduction is a must in this quest, and it's pretty risky to use The One Ring here. In my game I used Gandalf once and Favor of the Valar, as well as having Beregond block non-Warden enemies for this deck and lower its threat, and the other deck used Song of Eärendil to absorb threat from this deck. A lot of threat reduction! There are Secret Vigils here too, and I had the opportunity to use them (again, not on Wardens, who are immune), but didn't draw them at the right moments. This deck ended the game with 44 threat.

Open the Armory ended up being less than useful. I had plenty of draw, and I was spending resources as fast as I could get them, without much room to pay for something like Open the Armory. If I replaced it, I might add another copy of Favor of the Valar for even more threat cushioning, and I might consider Imladris Caregiver---this deck had plenty of cards in its hand to fuel his effect, and healing was really essential.

With current rulings, The One Ring and Messenger of the King have the same timing, meaning you can choose the order to trigger them. If you don't have Legolas or Strength and Courage in your starting hand, you get to search for both them. Nice deck-thinning! If Legolas ends up in your hand even after a mulligan, either scoop and re-set or just house-rule it. Or get really fancy and take Landroval as your MotK hero (side note: don't.). I couldn't remember whether the One Ring itself is supposed to actually start in your deck, and couldn't be bothered to dig out the manual before I played. But I think not.

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