Storm Chasers (#RCO) 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

RCO - Revised Content Only

"With them went many Elves of the High Kindred who would no longer stay in Middle-earth" - The Return of the King

This deck, which can be constructed from currently released Revised Content, was designed to successfully take down the new Dream-Chaser campaign in tandem with a combat-focused Dunedain deck (https://ringsdb.com/decklist/view/43972/lonelysailorsarewerco-multiplayer-1.0). While not as powerful as a Noldor build with a complete card pool (really missing Light of Valinor and Reforged), this deck can still ramp up the allies and willpower quickly under the right conditions.

Disclaimer: My first build left out A Test of Will & Silver Harp by pure oversight, but once I realized my mistake I decided to roll with it and attempt the campaign without cancellation. If you prefer to be less at the mercy of the encounter deck, feel free to slot those cards in :).

Heroes -

Cirdan - He powers the questing side of things and then, once equipped with Narya and Unexpected Courage, he rallies your allies (and those across the table) to the cause. He will also take on the title of Steward of Gondor to super-charge the Lords of the Eldar.

Erestor - Simply put, his built-in card draw may be the most powerful hero ability in the game, and it fuels this deck's engine. Your extra cards can be converted into resources (with To the Sea, to the Sea!), healing (with Imladris Caregivers), readying (with Glorfindel), and ally support (Lindon Navigator & Elven Jeweler). His icon also provides access to Explorer's Almanac and Lembas.

Arwen - Another powerhouse, it is hard to turn down 3 , an extra resource per turn, and a reliable way to put Elven-light into the discard pile for a measly 9 threat!

Allies -

This is almost a showcase of each Noldor ally available in the Revised Content, but these Elves bring powerful stats and abilities to the table, from questing (Sailor of Lune, Lindir, Lindon Navigator) to combat (Glorfindel, Guardian of Rivendell, Veteran Sword-elf) to healing (Imladris Caregiver, Elrond). One potentially overlooked strength of this lineup is that every single ally has at least 2 , meaning that your board cannot be wiped clean by a single direct damage treachery.

Attachments -

Círdan the Shipwright's three attachments are the most immediate priority, as you will need to play Narya -> Steward of Gondor -> Unexpected Courage to get him questing and readying allies each round. Explorer's Almanac is an underrated method of location control, allowing you to quest past troublesome locations without having to stomach their travel effects. Lembas typically goes across the table for the healing, but you can also stick it on Cirdan in the early game if you can't afford Unexpected Courage yet. To the Sea, to the Sea! is self-explanatory :).

Events -

Elrond's Counsel ensures that your threat is never an issue, Elven-light is an integral part of your card-engine, Stand and Fight allows you to play the final Veteran Sword-elf from your discard pile to take advantage of her buffed-up stats, and Will of the West recycles your cards. I have found that one re-shuffle is typically sufficient for a game, so I tend to let the first Will of the West go and play the second one. Once your deck empties all the way, you should have Círdan the Shipwright equipped with enough allies that you can recur Lords of the Eldar each round until you have powered through the quest.

General Strategy -

As with most Erestor decks, the opening hand is the most critical factor in the success of a quest, since you will be seeing 10 cards with the potential to gain a foothold against the encounter deck. Narya and To the Sea, to the Sea! are the most critical cards to mulligan for, but Steward of Gondor is excellent provided you find Narya first. Ideally, you would be able to give Círdan the Shipwright his ring for the access -> use Arwen Undómiel to get him a second resource -> play Steward of Gondor and immediately exhaust it for two more resources -> play To the Sea, to the Sea! -> drop in an ally at a discounted rate with your extra cards. Elven Jewelers are also a welcome sight to fully utilize that large opening hand.

Subsequent rounds should be spent getting Elven-light into your discard pile, searching for Unexpected Courage to allow Círdan the Shipwright to quest and use Narya, and play more allies. Once you are set up, you should be able to quest over the encounter deck and even handle some enemies that slip past your partner combat deck. Eventually, you should have enough of an army built up that you can cruise to the end of the quest by emptying your deck and playing Lords of the Eldar repeatedly until Sauron's forces limp back into the shadows.

Concluding Thoughts -

Although designed to pair with a combat deck, these Elves are viable in solo play in quests that are heavier on questing than fighting. I'd encourage you to give them a try and experience the card-draw firepower of a fully armed and operational Noldor deck :).