Deck Tech: Sure Gamble 1.0

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• 1.0

Hey all, welcome to week 31 of Deck Tech! Two weeks ago, I posted the first Prince Imrahil deck I wanted to build. Lots of utility allies, attachments, and low threat to help us get off the ground while we bounced utility allies in and out.

This week, we're back building Prince Imrahil. But if it all comes together like it's supposed to, we're going to rely on as few random summons as possible. Instead, we're using Gandalf and his tools to stack the deck and draw through things we don't want to ambush into play.

Ideally, we'll get to a point where we can just pull in Beorn or Háma every round, and use Narya to give them extra boosts and extra actions.

And Arwen brings draw, readying, and some threat management. I don't know if you've noticed, but this deck starts just a little bit higher than my usual fare.

So let's take on some quests!

Quest 1: Foundations of Stone

You know what's probably not a great idea? Taking a deck with this many high cost cards into a quest like this. I'm already prepared for a giant Elder Nameless Thing before I even set foot into these caves.

My start isn't too great, but a Horn of Gondor and Envoy of Pelargir allows me to quest a bit hard at first. And the first enemy I see, appropriately enough, is a Goblin Scout I can't deal with just yet.

Next round, after drawing my card during the resource phase, I see Beorn on top of my deck. This is awesome, because knowing you can pull in Beorn during combat allows you to push extra hard during questing.

Over the next few rounds, I finish assembling Gandalf Voltron. He ends up with three Unexpected Courage, his Wizard Pipe and his Staff. Of course, he's going to lose some of these toys when the cave collapses on us, but I've got spares in my hand.

One of my favorite facepalm moments happens again at this point, which always seems to get me. I explored a Branching Paths using the Cave Torch, and after flipping my three options I picked... another Branching Paths! But at least I moved on to stage 3, and then on to stage 4. My stage 4 is the Old One Lair, but the only enemies I find are a few goblins that fell down into the darkness with me.

And they're easy to deal with, because Gandalf doesn't lose Narya when everyone gets swept away. And Narya with Hama means a lot of defense.

Last round, I quest as hard as I can with my few allies, and the encounter deck reveals: Lost and Alone. Apparently Imrahil wandered off. But my deck is so small at this point that he just ended up back on top.

So Gandalf tipped his staff, and Imrahil reappeared completely healed! Thanks, encounter deck.

Final Score: 126. 9 full rounds, 39 threat, 1 damage on heroes, 4 vp.

Quest 2: Peril in Pelargir

I'm trying to keep hold of the scroll for as long as possible. It doesn't last forever, though. Fair warning.

This one starts off great. I've got a Wizard Pipe and Gandalf's Staff in hand, and after my draw the top card is Unexpected Courage. So I discard a card to Arwen, use Gandalf to play the Unexpected Courage off the top of the deck, play Gandalf's Staff with the two resources left, and then use the staff to generate a resource for the Wizard Pipe.

Then I tread water for a few rounds. Locations and more Thugs pop up, and I'm forced to drop the scroll to an undefended attack in round three.

And then in the next round, Imrahil pulls in a Squire of the Citadel to take a hit for the team. His thug draws a set of shadow cards that eventually chains to 7 cards. But thanks to that, I can use some of Gandalf's actions to start cleaning up the enemies.

I keep losing attachments to the Brigands in the quest, but I keep every Unexpected Courage that I've played on Gandalf. In round nine, I draw a replacement staff and reveal a Horn of Gondor on top of the deck. So I play them both, and am surprised during questing by an enemy that's going to kill all of my allies. My timing couldn't have been better.

After that, for the next couple of rounds, I have so many resources on Imrahil. Gandalf pulls out all of the stops, including Galadhrim Weaver, to float more tactics allies and attachments to the top of the deck, and it works.

Round ten I get to stage 3, and my threat is high enough to force me to engage the Thugs imediately. And Narya helps wipe the floor with them.

The final bit is somewhat uneventful, pulling a safe location card in round eleven. And in round twelve a brigand takes one last shot at the party as it's revealed during questing. Gandalf had already readied Treebeard and Glorfindel just in case. so Treebeard took the hit and that was the end of that!

Final Score: 154. 11 full rounds, 40 threat, 7 damage on heroes, 3 vp.

Play Tips:

1. Háma can defend three times in one round with Narya's help. Defend once and ready using Hama's ability before the shadow effect is revealed. Then you can defend again, readying with Narya before the shadow effect is revealed. The second (and third) times, his defense is at 6.
2. There are a ton of ways to change up the top card of your deck. Draw one with Gandalf's Staff, Elven-light. Draw two with Daeron's Runes. And you can shuffle the deck with Galadhrim Weaver, with a few extra uses if you use Island Amid Perils. If you don't like your draw, or don't see what you want Imrahil to summon, try one of them.
3. Galadriel's Handmaiden and Island Amid Perils are threat management tools. This deck doesn't have a lot of those as written, but it should work in most quests. Anything with heavy doom could use a few Elrond's Counsel's thrown in.
4. I nearly always used Gandalf's Staff to draw cards or generate resources for this deck. You want to go fast, and Imrahil's allies will help mitigate the effects of shadows while doing it.
5. Lots of these allies are meant to be chump blockers until you can fully get Hama or Beorn rolling. Don't feel bad about throwing them away when you bring them out with Imrahil. It doesn't even cost you a card draw.

Next week: I'm going to be getting myself ready for Sands of Harad. I'll probably work on a starter deck for anyone who wants to jump in at that point, and at least one more tuned Legolas and Gimli deck.

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