Galadriel, Summoner of Bears (Covid-safe version) 1.0

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• 1.0

Mulligan for Mirror of Galadriel. The mirror is a portal to another world. A world of bears, Giant Bears, Beorn bears and even Jubayr (groan). Bears are love, bears are life.

A quick note on our support Hero choices. Galadriel is the star, the other two can be changed up for quests/playstyle preference. I've included explanations at the bottom for this, with Beregond possibly being a superior option to Caldara in a number of quests.

First, let's talk about this setup. Círdan the Shipwright smashes through your deck (ending in a bear loop - more on that later). He also brings Narya to the table to ready those bears and Jubayr. He combos well with Caldara who is there to speed up the initial setup. Downside is Tactics allies don't synergise with Caldara, and both Cirdan and Galadriel's Mirror discards cannot be fully controlled. Still, the deck works surprisingly well. My nemesis, Three Trials solo, fell to this deck on both its 1st and 2nd attempt (but I think I was a bit lucky not to get clobbered immediately).

Cirdan + Galadriel + Mirror is 4 cards out of your deck a round without even counting Elven-light which is really more of a backup (sure 2 of the 4 end up in discard but that's really quite okay because thinning, searching and discard recursion is all part of the game-plan).

Early game

You want Mirror of Galadriel followed by Nenya, Light of Valinor, Narya/Steward of Gondor (though really Steward bonus resources aren't that vital, but help sustain the end-game loop). Most stuff can be fetched by Mirror if you lack it.

You also want to be getting out at least one of Glorfindel/Jubayr/Imrahil via a Caldara pop. Ideal situation is Prince Imrahil into Caldara (ideally with Jubayr, Glorfindel and a Northern Tracker/Arwen Undómiel/Wild Stallion, but really any available Spirit allies is solid). Just quest (possibly defend if safe) with Caldara for a bit then toss her for whoever's in discard by then. On quests where there isn't time for this, look at the Beregond alternatives at the end.

Main Gimmick

1) Use Mirror of Galadriel to fetch Bear. If Bear is discarded don't worry.

2) Use Stand and Fight or The Storm Comes to play Beorning Skin-changer for a mere 2 Resources, quest with him, then watch him change into a Giant Bear or Beorn.

3) Use Narya to get huge value. You should also have Jubayr on a Wild Stallion as a target, meanwhile Glorfindel readies himself easily (also on a Stallion).

4) When needed, trigger Beorn or Giant Bear's ability and then shuffle back into deck.

5) Keep playing those skin-changers and Beorns on a Mirror-shuffle-fetch-loop. Throw in a friendly bear every so often to mix it up and because in lockdown times everyone could do with a covid-safe bear hug.

Late Game

Due to obscene draw your deck is almost empty. You have loads of resources from Steward and The Storm Comes is out. You don't even need the Skin-changers at this point and either Mirror is searching into a small deck or you stop using mirror, and literally just draw bears, play bears, shuffle bears cos that's your deck now.

For the soundtrack to your adventure, we have some haunting tunes played on a Silver Harp. The great thing about this is you don't have to use it. If you want the card that the Mirror randomly discarded to actually be in the discard after all, simply temporarily switch to some heavy metal or DNB at your discretion. Then return to the harp music when you're ready.

In the end-game, however, it is very useful. You need it to stop bears being discarded post-mirror if you're funding them from Steward, having used up your Skin-changers. You also may need to stop them being discarded off Cirdan's Forced ability when you're at the bears only stage of your deck.

Late Night Game

If you reach the point where you're looking in the Mirror of Galadriel and all you see staring back at you is a Giant Bear, either you've been playing for too long or you've been neglecting basic hygiene whilst quarantining alone. Either way, it's time to put down the deck and focus on other things, like shaving or solving a global pandemic.

Alternative Heroes

Galadriel stays as she's the vital cog in the deck's machinery.

1) "I think I was lucky not to get killed by Three Trials in the first couple of rounds" (both playthroughs) leads us to Beregond and Beregond as possible replacements for Caldara. In this case you also want to consider Ancestral Armor via Narya and funded by Steward of Gondor, or Gondorian Shield, as well as Protector of Lórien. If you go Tactics you can also bring in Raiment of War as an alternative to the Wild Stallion. This line-up does breach the 30 Threat threshold (although with Beregond plus Galadriel you'll be reducing threat each round). On the plus side it can handle a big early enemy whilst it sets up. Also, with Caldara gone and Beregond defending, you can cut Prince Imrahil and Jubayr (thus easily fitting in Beregond's toys).

2) Arwen Undómiel can replace Círdan the Shipwright. You lose out on the massive value of Narya but gain lower threat, resource acceleration (though you also lose Steward of Gondor) and you can set up Caldara via discard quickly (you can also add more Spirit Allies for consistency since you dropped Narya and Steward). You can also run Arwen Undómiel with Beregond/Beregond, thus creating a very consistent start at the cost of less late game power (but tbh the late game power is overkill anyway). Finally, you can even go Círdan the Shipwright and Arwen Undómiel if you fancy all the cards and all the resources for your bear army (though this is 30 threat, you can stay at 29 for things like Hill Trolls due to the timing of Galadriel's ability). Arwen, Galadriel, Beregond is the way to go if you need early defence and can't risk breaching 30 threat, however.

3) I actually tried Thurindir, instead of Caldara, the first time to guarantee Gather Information to guarantee Mirror. Unfortunately running a 0 Defence Hero next to Galadriel is kinda a non-starter. Still, in multiplayer, this is not out of the question. (His cards are not on the sideboard).