Always Charge into Battle 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

This deck is designed to trivialize the combat phase by destroying everything before enemies get to attack. It is designed to be played in a multiplayer game where other decks cover questing.

End game state: This deck wants to get to the point where the deck is empty. Once that occurs, it plays either Charge into Battle or Oath of Eorl every round in order to kill all the enemies before they get to attack. The deck has a huge amount of ranged , so wiping the board should not be a problem. As long as (MotK) Nori participates in an attack that kills an enemy, he puts the used event back onto the bottom of the deck to play turn after turn.

Card draw: In order to get to an empty deck, the deck has plenty of card draw provided by Pippin, Peace, and Thought, Sneak Attack Gandalf, Drinking Song, Daeron's Runes, We Are Not Idle, and Legolas. In the early game, Pippin and (MotK) Nori are easy to exhaust for Peace, and Thought.

Starting hand: The deck starts in secrecy, but only for one turn, so finding cards like Resourceful and Timely Aid on the first turn is very helpful. Steward of Gondor is also great to see. Mulligan any hand that does not contain those cards (or at least a Drinking Song with some other draw in order to try to find them). In a pinch, Gandalf can be used to reduce threat to put you back in secrecy to get the discounted price for Resourceful.

Nori's build: In order to be able to pay for the big # events, Nori has to be collecting at least three resources per turn. This is achieved if he gets Steward of Gondor, allowing him to play Oath of Eorl every round. In order to be able to consistently pay for Charge into Battle, he needs to collect 5 resources per turn. He can pull this off if he is equipped with Steward of Gondor and two copies of Resourceful. Getting that build set up is crucial to success. He also picks up a Dúnedain Cache to ensure that he can participate in a kill in the event of non-optionable enemies coming out. Rohan Warhorse is typically gravy for him.

Ally suite: The allies in the deck fill one of two themes. They are either high ranged allies to focus on killing all of the enemies with Oath of Eorl or Charge into Battle or they are unique Rohan allies to allow Oath of Eorl to be played. It is important to get out one of the following: Déorwine, Grimbold, or Ceorl to ensure that Oath of Eorl is on line. Since the deck starts in secrecy, the extra threat provided by Gandalf is not too much of a risk. He can pick up Shadowfax to gain ranged to help provide some questing attack.

To use Oath of Eorl or Charge into Battle?: While both cards fulfill a similar role in this deck, I have found that it is often pretty obvious which card should be played when. If the encounter deck reveals a bunch of enemies that have "when engaged" effects, then Charge into Battle will help to prevent those. (This has actually become quite useful). If extra progress is needed, then Charge into Battle is also superior since it will remove the of the enemies in the staging area. If neither of those two scenarios occur, then it is probably ideal to play Oath of Eorl instead of Charge into Battle in order to save a few resources that can be used to play more allies.

Resources: The deck will consume any leftover with ease (even given the fact that it is churning out 3-6 per turn). have typically not been an issue, but it is occasionally worth using We Are Not Idle to exhaust (MotK) Nori to give Denethor an extra resource to play a Greenwood Archer, Ceorl, etc. While the deck only appears to require 3 from Pippin, it can use those resources in other ways. He can help to keep Wilyador on the table indefinitely, pay for Resourceful, Gandalf or Shadowfax, and pairs beautifully with Ioreth if someone else is playing her (or if included in this deck in exchange for one of the other cards).