Imrahil's Palantir 1.0

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“Tall ships and tall kings Three times three, What brought they from the foundered land Over the flowing sea? Seven stars and seven stones And one white tree. (The Two Towers)”

The seven stones are the palantiri, which the descendants of Numenor used to remotely observe the world and communicate with one another. After the fall of Arnor, the capture of Minas Ithil and sacking of Osgiliath during the Kin-Strife, many of these stones were lost. Of the few remaining, Denethor possessed the Minas Anor stone, and the visions he saw of Mordor ate away at his will over time. In a more sane mind, would Denethor allow others to use his precious seeing stone? Maybe other trusted individuals of Gondor? In this combat deck, Prince Imrahil has the stone to gain insight into the enemy's plans while he cuts down the dark foes confronting him. We make full use of defense/attack boosts, readying, resource shifting, and allies that will leave play. The Palantir will also be used, carefully.

The Heroes

Prince Imrahil is clearly the main attacker here. He gets Steward of Gondor, Gondorian Fire, Heir of Mardil, Dúnedain Cache, and the Palantir. With Heir of Mardil he has two actions per round and a third if an ally leaves play. He can use all these for attacking or to use the palantir for scrying and potential card draw.

Denethor is our main defender with a Gondorian Shield and [Dúnedain Signal] (/card/02117) for sentinel. He almost always gives his resource to Imrahil each round to ready him with Heir of Mardil.

Mablung is there as flexible body, giving a little attack/willpower or defending reasonably well with a Gondorian shield. The extra resource he gains when we engage an enemy helps afford Knight of Minas Tirith or can be shifted over to Imrahil or any other hero with Errand-rider.

Playing the Deck

As we start the early game, Steward of Gondor will be important for playing on Prince Imrahil so that we may later take advantage of Gondorian Fire. Playing Gondorian Shield on Denethor and Mablung are great early plays too. Sneak Attack + Gandalf is a prime source of card draw or threat reduction since we will use the Palantir a bit. Gandalf is also one of the allies used to leave play and trigger Imrahil's response, alongside Vassal of the Windlord, Squire of the Citadel, and any excess Errand-riders. If you exhausted Imrahil to use the palantir before the quest phase, a sneak attack Gandalf can ready him at the end of questing. The vassal readies Imrahil by attacking alongside him and leaving play afterward. Finally the squire and the errand-rider ready him by chump blocking. Valiant Sacrifice provides the opportunity for card draw in each of these situations. Although Defender of Rammas is a strong defender, if he falls to a tough enemy and readies Imrahil, he has done his job. Winged Guardian could be substituted for more controlled triggering the leave play response.

Imrahil gets resources piled on him for Gondorian Fire by Steward of Gondor, Denethor, Errand Rider, and Squire of the Citadel, making him a superb attacker in a short time. Knight of Minas Tirith and Veteran of Osgiliath still help us get the combat we need when Gondorian Fire hasn't shown up yet. Thanks to the palantir, the veteran's bonuses are a surety sooner rather than later. When you do use the palantir, make sure there is no chance of threating out (extremely risky to use with a threat of 44 or above). Gandalf can help you manage your threat and help from other players is always welcome. Using the seeing stone a little here and there can net you some card draw and some valuable insight for the rest of your group whether using it during the quest phase or to spy on the upcoming shadow cards. Behind Strong Walls may be inferior to Feint here, but it felt like it had more Gondorian flavor, so that's the only reason I didn't include Feint. Follow Me! let's you draw a card and take first player status, and since you are likely to have the highest threat the enemies will be coming your way to meet their doom. Though in a 2 player game Tireless Hunters may suffice while eradicating the shadow card. Which one is more useful depends on the quest and play environment you are in.

Concluding Thoughts

This combat deck is quite capable and fun to play, it brought me through The Thing in the Depths and several other quests. Imrahil's action advantage takes center stage in this deck, and it made me see what a delightful hero he is. Aside from cleaning up enemies, this deck easily grants resources to others and uses the palantir to know what is coming up. Both of these lend a major helpful hand to a questing deck that is working to guarantee quest progress. If you are looking for a combat deck that plays well with others, you may want to give this one a try.