Can’t Lose Deck - Road to Rivendell

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stone_of_eric 61

Well, I’m sure it CAN lose, but I’ve never lost! Try this deck if this quest gives you fits. Only downside is it’s not a Progression friendly deck for those who play that way.

Between obj ally Arwen, Envoy of Pelargir, and Squire of the Citadel you shouldn’t have any problem keeping extra resources on Balin to cancel shadow effects, and you have Eleanor to do her thing on Orc Ambush and Sleeping Sentry treacheries. 3x Test of Will are also included for the off chance you have Eleanor exhausted or you replace one nasty treachery with another.

You can quest for 6 right out of the gate with Eowyn and Arwen, and possibly 8 if you add Balin to first round questing. Eagles can help with all aspects of the game - questing, defending, attacking.

Bonus with this deck is that your threat actually starts at 22 so you avoid most Ambushes and beefier enemies.

10 comments

Oct 22, 2021 bobbymcbobface 676

Awesome deck! Just steamrolled both normal and Nightmare mode with it! What is the purpose of the three Veteran Axehands?

Oct 22, 2021 bobbymcbobface 676

I honestly think it would be worth adding three hasty stroke over the axehand.

Oct 22, 2021 stone_of_eric 61

Thanks! They’re basically there for cheap attackers since the deck is limited in consistent attack power. I’ve had them come in handy a few times. Could easily be substituted. Hasty Stroke to me is overkill, though I haven’t played the Nightmare version so I don’t know what shadow effects are in there. Orc Ambush doesn’t have a shadow, so in the normal version you’re really only concerned about canceling Sleeping Sentry, and the chances are very low you’d replace one with the other using Balin’s ability. But completely fair point that you could swap out the extra attackers with more shadow cancellation just to be on the safe side.

Oct 22, 2021 bobbymcbobface 676

Especially for Nightmare mode, probably also want a couple of Dúnedain Warning or something since there isn't really any healing for Balin. Hasty Stroke is also good if you don't want Balin to have to take a higher attack hit. I had a Winged Guardian defend a three attack enemy only to have Sleeping Sentry discard my board. So, my suggested changes would be:

-3x Veteran Axehand

-2x Bofur

+3x Hasty Stroke

+2x Dúnedain Warning

If you have ALEP cards, Hidden Roosts could be a good include for a little threat reduction and card draw. You could potentially drop the Mathoms for that.

Might be overkill, but the point of this is to never lose right? ;) Love the deck, thanks for giving me an excuse to use some time I should have been writing an essay playing LOTR instead!

Oct 22, 2021 stone_of_eric 61

Well Balin’s ability applies to any attack, not just ones he defends. So I rarely defend with him in this deck unless it’s a 2 attack enemy or something and I don’t have anyone else available to defend or chump which doesn’t happen that often. So I don’t think the Warnings are needed.

Oct 22, 2021 stone_of_eric 61

I have about half the cardpool and haven’t gotten into ALeP yet, but those sound like fun ideas! Glad you were able to get a distraction from the essay writing :-)

Oct 22, 2021 bobbymcbobface 676

Uhhhhhhh OH MY FRICKING GOSH. I have never realized that about Balin! Wow, he is a really good hero! RTFC Bobby. So yeah, I agree then. No real need for the Warnings and probably just a couple Hasty Strokes JUST in case! Man, I can't believe I missed that.

Oct 22, 2021 JYoder 338

I'm afraid Envoy and Squire can't give resources to Balin. (Though you could by adding and putting Steward on him, but then he'd have more than enough resources.)

Oct 22, 2021 stone_of_eric 61

True. What I meant is that Arwen’s Resource can go on Balin each turn and the Envoy and Squire can keep your resources generating and smoothed for the other 2. I didn’t include Steward in this deck because of the enemies that cause you to discard attachments.

Oct 22, 2021 stone_of_eric 61

Errand Rider would be a good substitution for Squire for that reason.