The Might of Gondor Starter Pack 1.0

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• 1.0

“I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.” - Faramir

Faramir is one of the most complex and important characters in all of Tolkien's work. He showcases bravery and nobility in its purest form, and this Starter Pack is meant to highlight what he accomplished through hardship. He is brother and friend to Boromir the Brave, and son to Denethor, the Steward of Gondor. Though his own father never fully appreciated him, Faramir always rebounded off of Boromir and became better because of it.

These three figures of power lead Gondor into war in this Starter Pack. Minas Tirith serves as a guiding light for the West, and so it makes sense that the deck is strong, even when faced with great adversity, similar to Faramir.

Denethor is perhaps the most important early-game card in this deck. The resource acceleration is absolutely incredible and enables a free turn 1 Steward of Gondor. Make sure you use Steward every turn in order to get the most out of cards like Knight of the White Tower and Ingold. Spread resources onto Boromir when necessary to keep the buff going.

A major struggle of the deck that I want to address early in the write-up is . This, especially combined with Valour, is highly problematic. The best way to void the lack of is using Faramir's ready effect to its fullest, even on 1 allies like Defender of Cair Andros. Ingold also helps greatly with this. Captains of the West is here for additional , and you will need it. However, once Denethor is set up as a defender with Shining Shield you shouldn't need to defend as much, so you shouldn't be afraid to commit allies to the quest. (Gandalf also helps immensely with both and combat, so don't be afraid to keep him around for as long as you need.)

Mulligan aggressively for Steward of Gondor first and then Song of Battle/A Good Harvest to give access to . A Good Harvest is obviously not a good long-term solution, but you shouldn't really need until the mid-game when Valour is set up.

Obviously Pillars of the Kings is an absolutely crucial card to this deck, both for setting up Valour and also maintaining it without losing the game. Favor of the Valar helps with this as well, but you really want Pillars in your hand as soon as possible.

There are many cards in the list that benefit from this high-threat, such as the ever-potent Honour Guard, but also cards that aren't used as often like Defender of Cair Andros, which becomes a powerhouse when your threat is 40.

Angbor the Fearless is yet another card that is good normally, but becomes insane when in Valour. He and Boromir on the attack with a powered-up Denethor as a defender should be able to handle almost anything the encounter deck throws at you.

Citadel Custodian is surprisingly useful because he can usually played for zero, which for 1 is of course highly worth it. Knight of the White Tower is the opposite of the Custodian in terms of cost. Denethor is who I find plays him the most often because of Steward

Card-draw is covered in this deck mainly by the Palantir, but there will be games where you don't see it. This is manageable, because you have effects like The Red Arrow and Soldier of Gondor that fish for cards that you need.

Overall, this deck is fun to play, but pretty self-explanatory. The main challenge comes with managing when to first play Pillars of the Kings and when to play it when you're in Valour. Managing threat is always a challenging aspect of the game, but especially in this deck it feels like you're solving a puzzle whenever you play.

General Tips:

• Song of Battle goes on Denethor first because he has Steward of Gondor, and then if you have additional copies, you should put one on Faramir, because we want to save as many resources on Boromir as possible.
• Faramir should be the primary spender on cards because he doesn't need to have resources.
• Anborn is here because he's thematic and has a massive four-attack when combined with Boromir, yet another reason to keep his buff active.
• Valiant Sword goes on Boromir to get the most out of his attack.
• Combat is never the problem is this deck, it's always questing. Make sure you get Ingold and your Knights of the White Tower going early so that your threat doesn't skyrocket, especially if you're in Valour.
• You'll have to assess whether to play Pillars of the Kings on turn one or not, because drawing four cards is incredibly potent; however, if you're not ready, you shouldn't play it. Make sure you have Favor of the Valar or another Pillars of the Kings ready if you're playing against a difficult scenario.

I sincerely hope that you enjoy this list and its companion, which can be found here: https://ringsdb.com/decklist/view/39918/rangersofithilienstarterpack-1.0

Good luck defending Gondor, and Happy Questing!