Deck Tech: Poisoned Counsels 1.0

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Hey all, welcome to week 26 of Deck Tech! Last week I posted my best 2 hero deck to date, capable of handling some surprisingly difficult quests. Though it also failed at some other difficult quests, highlighting some of the weaknesses of two hero decks.

This week we're going entirely to the opposite end of the spectrum with a high threat Dwarf swarm. How high threat? Let's just say I haven't ever finished a game with this deck below 40 threat. And below 45 is somewhat uncommon...

The foundation of the deck is a huge ramp package and Legacy of Durin to ensure we have enough card draw. Steward of Gondor, Keys of Orthanc, and Théodred mean we can keep as many Dwarven Sellswords in play as we wish, and still gain resources toward playing more. And there's even a couple of copies of Legacy of Númenor just in case.

So let's crush some dwarven quests, as Rohan tempts Dain into ruin.

Quest 1: Into the Pit

Deep Knowledge turn one draws into an Erebor Record Keeper and a Dwarven Sellsword. And in the next round, Gríma's resource and his ability let me play both extra Record Keepers and then Glóin for some resource shifting, allowing me to play a Miner of the Iron Hills.

This is just what the deck does, and I haven't even found any of the key attachments yet. The Keys come in round three, and Steward appears in round four, letting me get some momentum back in the dwarf flood and keep both Sellswords in play.

The encounter deck basically does nothing to us, except keep me from killing a Patrol Leader. No way can these goblins deal with the endless waves of Dwarves.

Final score: 96. 6 full rounds, 40 threat, 0 damage on heroes, 4 vp.

Quest 2: Foundations of Stone

This time I start with Legacy of Durin in my hand, and Deep Knowledge draws into the Keys of Orthanc. Plus nothing in the staging area thanks to a lucky treachery. Not a lot of dwarves in my hand this time, but I still roll out Steward of Gondor and six dwarves by round three. Glóin and two Dwarven Sellswords allow me to quest pretty fast.

Two more rounds, and I've doubled the amount of dwarves in play. I stall in stage two a bit to clear out my entire deck. It seems worth it.

And once we get to stage 4, we get the Old One Lair. And Dain has dropped all his snacks. Fortunately, with no cards in my deck any longer, the Nameless Things aren't a huge threat to my dwarf army. Just the Moria Bats I can't defend against or attack.

Grima does get hit with Lost and Alone twice, but it's easy to find him again when your deck is empty! Seriously, man, just stick with the rest of the party.

Final score: 153. 12 full rounds, 43 threat, 0 damage on heroes, 10 vp.

Quest 3: The Watcher in the Water

Sometimes I hate this quest, so let's just blow it up. Keys of Orthanc, Legacy of Durin and Steward of Gondor are all in my opening hand, so there we go. And Longbeard Elder draws me a card and boosts up some willpower.

Round two I Sneak Attack in a Gandalf to blow up one tentacle and attack and kill another. I've run out of dwarves in my hand, though. And don't get any more until round five, all Lore.

But, since I haven't played any leadership cards, when I start drawing them on round six I can play out a ton of dwarves. Unfortunately, the extra junk in my hand doesn't contain the password to the Doors of Durin, so I just have to engage the Watcher and kill it.

Doomed 5 in the quest phase almost eliminates me, but no big deal. And I have to use Sneak Attack to bring in Bifur for the killing blow, but I do get it. And now I don't have to play this quest again for a long time.

Final score: 97. 5 full rounds, 47 threat, 3 damage on heroes, 3 vp.

Play Tips:

1. Glóin is a great, "cheap" ally. His resources should usually go on Grima to play more Lore dwarves. And he should be kept until you have five other dwarves, if you can.
2. Théodred gives his resource to himself, to help pay the Dwarven Sellswords.
3. Unless you're right at a big threshold, just go ahead and Doomed yourself for resources. The dwarves can handle enemies.
4. This is a great deck for fast quests. You can build up a ton of willpower quick with the right opening hands.

Next week: We'll take on A Storm on Cobas Haven. Hopefully the player cards will be on ringsdb by then.

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