Istari In and Out

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Swordthatwasbroke 724

This is a complicated deck with a lot of timing and decision making in the first few turns. The ultimate goal is to be able to Sneak Attack Gandalf into play every single turn.

The deck relies on a six card combo that will take three to four turns to set up. The cards are Mirror of Galadriel, The Elvenking, Galadhrim Weaver, and of course Sneak Attack and Gandalf. The sixth card is Nenya, but it is not required for the combo but does make it run smoother and keeps you afloat.

The first step is to mulligan for the Mirror. If this fails then hope for a Nenya and Heed the Dream combo. Denethor allows you to play the full abilities of this card on turn one. As a last resort you might be able to get by with Elven-light and/or Deep Knowledge but it will take you longer. Try to get the six cards listed above into hand as soon as possible.

This is how the combo works. Galadriel of course gets her toys, and The Elvenking goes on Legolas. Start the turn with Galadrhim Weaver, Gandalf, and Sneak Attack in hand.

Step 1: Play Galadrhim Weaver

Step 2: Sneak Attack Gandalf at the beginning of the quest phase. Alternatively you can save this to do later in the combat phase.

Step 3: Commit characters to the quest along with Galadriel’s ability.

Step 4: Discard a card (preferably Elvenlight) to ready Galadriel.

Step 5: Return the Weaver to hand to ready Legolas.

Step 6: Use Galadriel’s ability to draw a card and also play Elvenlight, returning it to hand. Sneak attack should now be the top card of your deck.

Step 7: In the next round repeat the process above with one change. After you play the Weaver, Sneak Attack will be shuffled into your deck. At this time use the Mirror to find it again and return it to hand. Then, continue the steps in a nearly infinite loop.

Some important notes: The hardest phase of this deck is before you have the Gandalf combo up and running. Denethor will help tide you over, and don’t be afraid to use Saruman, Legacy of Númenor, or Steward of Gondor to keep you alive with other allies and means. Eventually you will have a lot of your deck in your hand. This is both ok and a good thing; it allows you to have an almost guaranteed shot of finding Sneak Attack with the Mirror. Something to watch: If you have played Sneak Attack, do not use Legolas’ ability to discard something other than Elvenlight on top of it. If you do, Sneak Attack will be stuck under the other card and the Weaver will not be able to shuffle it into your deck. This can be remedied with the The White Council but it is less than ideal.

Although complicated, this deck is very strong after the first few turns. The real difficulty is making sure your opening hand has enough searching tactics or card draw to find the necessary pieces. Sometimes I’ve had the combo set up by turn two, other unlucky times it takes until turn six or seven. The happy medium is three or four. All in all, this is a creative deck that has fun pulling off one of the most iconic combos since the core days.

14 comments

May 05, 2021 Clade 1

What quests have you tested it against?

May 05, 2021 Swordthatwasbroke 724

@Clade Escape from Umbar: 1-1 Desert Crossing: 1-0 The Mumakil: 1-0 Race Across Harad: 1-0 Beneath the Sands: 1-0 The Dungeons of Cirith Gurat: 1–0

So it’s seen some variety and done pretty good against it

May 05, 2021 Bullroarer Took 89

I haven't played the game in a few months so can you explain step 4 in more detail please? What effect is readying Galadriel?

May 05, 2021 Truck 1416

@Swordthatwasbroke Legolas effect. After he commits you can discard a card from your hand to ready a hero.

May 05, 2021 Truck 1416

Whoops, tagged wrong person. I meant @Bullroarer Took.

May 05, 2021 serpico 264

Ok beautiful idea!! I will make a try with deck.. I'm studying galadriel in solo and you had confirm the power of the lady and the mirror..powerful also the possibility that gives Galadriel to an ally like saruman of not exhauste during the quest phase.. bravo

May 05, 2021 doomguard 1963

how in step 6 is Sneak Attack on the top of your deck?

May 05, 2021 Swordthatwasbroke 724

@doomguard Good catch, it should read on top of your discard pile. But the combo works just the same.

May 05, 2021 doomguard 1963

o.k.then i understand it. it can be made more efficient. your version, with the mirror is risky. lets say, you search Sneak Attack out of the deck (what with your only 2 sneacks is about 33% if you have lets say 30 cards left in your deck the other one you have in hand or top of discard). so you have also only a 33% probailty to get the sneackattack, its worse the thicker the deck is, and better if its thinner.

thats can be improved.

then i would go to silvans, that helps to get the important cards earlier into play. means no Knight of Dale or Veteran of Osgiliath

to quicken it up, consider to use The Seeing-stone. it helps you to get the deep knowledge better and fasten all up and thin your deck (3 stones searches 3 deep knowledges makes your deck up to 12 cards thinner)

do you really need saruman? or is he only there for thematic reasons? if you cut him you have room for We Are Not Idle that can reduce your deck by another 3

consider Orophin if you accidentially discard a Galadhrim Weaver with the mirror before you have the harp.

May 05, 2021 Swordthatwasbroke 724

@doomguard While I like your suggestions, I tested a number of versions of this deck extensively. I’ll give my reasons why I won’t do it. There are only two sneak attack bc I only have one core, feel free to add another one, I would if I had the option. Your second point is to swap in silvan events and allies for the valour cards. There are several reasons why I wouldn’t do this. The first is that while this would potentially help set up the combo faster, it would leave a big hole in the deck where the allies used to be. The deck can’t survive off of sneak attacking Gandalf alone. Believe me, I’ve tried this deck using silvan. For the same reason there isn’t room for We are not Idle and The Seeing Stone. Also, with all the doomed cards, the deck frequently finds itself with high threat, so the valor abilities definitely see action. Saruman does actually play a vital role in the deck in the early stages of the game, where he can take a card out of play while also contributing two actions.

May 05, 2021 doomguard 1963

o.k. i understand the point that you need the power of the knights and veterans for the lategame.

but why no The Seeing-stone? you can use them flexible, if you need cards search for deep knowledge, if you need money choose legacy

May 05, 2021 doomguard 1963

if you are interested, my version of making sneaking gandalf a winning strategy (made carn dum) ringsdb.com

May 05, 2021 Kirha 28

I like this a LOT. Any Galadriel based deck is intriguing to me, and I really like seeing all the pieces come together to make this run like it should. I've worked and reworked a deck based on keeping OHaUH Gandalf in play... This one requires more careful plays and more pieces, but is oh so much more powerful and satisfying to pilot. Thanks for sharing!!

Jul 17, 2022 Daeyel 1

After a year, do you have any recommendations for better allies than Veteran of Osgiliath, Knight of Dale and Andrath Guardsman? If not, can you explain why you chose those specifically? I'm looking at this deck and thinking you want allies with the highest defense possible?