Lórien and Woodland Realm Starter Pack 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

Welcome to the third edition of the Starter Pack series, in which I attempt to provide thematic decks for every scenario. This time we're journeying through the forests of the Woodland realm and Lothlórien. This deck manages to be both thematic and powerful, which is a critical aspect of this series.

This deck is built around all of the buffs and interactions between Celeborn, Galadriel, and Thranduil's ability to use allies' "enters play" abilities to the fullest. A few cards like Naith Guide should be played before combat, but usually you should use Thranduil.

The standard Silvan engine is here, with powerful effects when the elves enter play depending on the card, Celeborn and Galadriel buffing them all up, then returning them to your hand with Feigned Voices, Host of Galadhrim, Island Amid Perils, and The Tree People. While this is the main concept of the deck, there is much more to it.

Galadriel is particularly interesting in this list, as both her exhaust ability and her Nenya ability are both great to use, so whichever one is better in the current situation is the one you should use. I find myself using her Nenya ability slightly more often, but sometimes card-draw is sorely needed, so it's always good to have her to fall back on.

Celeborn is here mostly because he buffs the elves that enter play, but his stat line is also excellent for an 11 threat hero, which this deck attempts to capitalize on. Mirkwood Long-knife (it can go on Galadriel too when she has Nenya) and Light of Valinor both work extremely well with him, and The Elvenking can turn him into a monster that can do everything.

Thranduil's role is similar to Celeborn in that he is primarily here for his ability, but his stats are useful too. His 3 defense and 4 HP can turn him into a great defender, especially with Cloak of Lórien and Box of Earth.

Cloak of Lórien and Box of Earth can notably only be played with Nenya active, but once played on Thranduil, you can feel invincible with 5 defense and location control at the same time. Woodland Courier also has great synergy with Box of Earth, especially when combined with return to hand effects.

With both Celeborn and Thranduil fully buffed up this deck is nearly unbeatable in combat against any non-boss enemy, especially when Celeborn is equipped with Light of Valinor so that he quest to the fullest and also attack.

O Lórien! and The Elvenking are both fairly obvious includes for the elf engine in the deck. If you want you can take out a few extra copies, but I found that O Lórien! especially is crucial to the deck.

Galion is maybe the strangest card in the list, but also one of the most effective. With all of the return to hand effects such as Feigned Voices, you can keep cycling him back and forth to get his own buff and the buff from Celeborn. He is a crucial card to the engine and an auto-include for me.

Legolas and Rúmil are expensive to be sure, but without resource match requirements due to Thranduil, they are some of the best cards in the deck. Rúmil especially is critical, both with his ability that can wipe out even the strongest of enemies and also his 2 .

Orophin is a simply a nice card to have as insurance. Having an extra 2 and also getting a chump-blocker back to your hand so you can buff them again with your heroes is excellent. Even if Orophin misses, he still is 3 committed to the quest for three and then either a chump-block against an enemy that Thranduil can't handle or a 3 damage attack, which is highly effective for three resources if you ask me.

Greenwood Archer and Marksman of Lórien are two of the best allies to play using Thranduil's action. Marksman of Lórien can help clear tough enemies that are revealed during staging and Greenwood Archer can either ready Celeborn if Light of Valinor isn't active, or Galadriel to use her action if you used Nenya earlier in the turn.

Galadhrim Weaver and Galadriel's Handmaiden are generically good allies that are even more useful than normal in this deck due to return to hand effects, most of all The Tree People, because these two allies are dirt cheap with great abilities that can now fetch and ally like Legolas.

When this deck's full engine is set up it feels like it could never fail, which is a good indicator of the sheer power of the Silvan archetype.

General Tips:

• Master of the Forge is a great card to include if you're willing to go slightly off-theme, as he can reduce the amount of attachments in the deck because he can find them easily.
• If you're willing to go majorly off-theme, The One Ring and Inner Strength can go on Thranduil to turn him into an even better defender. Threat isn't a problem with Galadriel's Handmaiden, The Galadhrim's Greeting, and Island Amid Perils. You can even include Elrond's Counsel for even more threat reduction if desired.
• I generally found that A Test of Will isn't needed because if you're set up you win and if not you lose, so it's not like it's going to turn the tide if you play it. It's much better to fully dedicate yourself to the archetype with cards like Feigned Voices.

I hope you enjoy the deck, and Happy Questing! I have a sneaking suspicion that we might soon be going on an adventure...