Marshalling Eagles for Gondor's Defence 1.0

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• 1.0

A trusty old Eagle deck that really grew on me playing a lot of progression recently, so i decided to make it my first published Deck!

Note: This is not a Solo Deck. The Tactics Core Deck has twice as much starting as this one, others will have to handle non-keyword questing.

This version of the Deck is progression-appropriate for Heirs of Numenor (I personally don't use OHaUH cards in Heirs of Numenor progression, instead grouping up both Hobbit boxes right after HoN) and also includes some cards specifically meant for HoN scenarios (Shadow of the Past, most notably)

First, a word on the Heroes: Boromir is easily the best target for Support of the Eagles. I particularly like the flexibility of sending Boromir on a keyword quest and having the option of panic-pushing your / total by another 3-5 points if the encounter deck throws a sudden flood of 4 - locations at you.

Beregond, surprising noone, is your table's main defender. Loading him up with attachments that increase his unrivalled survivability is trivial, his Spear is free and Citadel Plate's price point is bearable when played on him. He is also usually the second to recieve Support of the Eagles, the Boost allows him to stomach the Southron Mercenaries' shadow effect, a Mumak or an Orc Vanguard attack without dying (or losing half of his HP with Plate.

Sentinel means that it's usually easy to convince your -Player to play Unexpected Courage on him, he is usually the first recipient on the table.

Thalin is here to round out the line-up. He is mostly tech against the Heirs of Numenor box, he provides a nice questing baseline on keyword quests and his damage is very meaningful against a number of enemies. Umbar Assassins can suddenly be taken out by Gandalf or Descendant of Thorondor, Ithilien Bats dissipate into the ether and those surprisingly sturdy Lossanarch Bandits can be swiftly stricken.

The bones of this deck are the standard Mirkwood eagle package: Eagles of the Misty Mountains, Winged Guardian, Vassal of the Windlord, Support of the Eagles and The Eagles Are Coming! are amazing cards, especially for keyword quests which -playing me usually struggles with.

Landroval, likewise, is a pretty good card, he is quite expensive, but his stats aren't terrible. His reaction is a nice safety net for when things go south, but Sentinel is by far the more impactful ability on his card, he can easily defend 2 or three smaller attacks over the course of a game, before joining the Flock by either dying to an attack, Blocking Wargs or rescuing a hero!

Descendant of Thorondor is mostly here to pad the number of targets for The Eagles Are Coming!, he isn't a great [at this stage in the card pool] ally without Sneak Attack, but every once in a while, he can clear an Umbar Assassin that Gandalf damaged.

Siege-quester of Rammas and Battle-ready Axehand are here to join the party for all your Quest-Phase needs.

A note on ressources: This deck isn't exactly cheap - if you play two-handed or are very persuasive, you can rely on Steward of Gondor flying across the table - in which case, don't hesitate to reciprocate and give away Horn of Gondor. If you know you are going to get Steward, or are playing physically without a full core playset, the Horn probably doesn't need to be a 3-of. (I'd currently replace it with an extra copy of Rivendell Blade)

Speaking of, Rivendell Blade and Rivendell Bow are Placeholders for various -Attachments that your friends might want on their heroes. Glorfindel is a very common way to access for the Heirs box, which is why i'm running his favorite attachments, but depending on your Fellowship, Ring Mail, Dwarrowdelf Axe or, failing any trait synergy, Blade of Gondolin can slot in here.

Events include some staples (Feint and Quick Strike). Swift Strike is a personal favorite of mine, it is quite pricey but can finish off enemies who slipped through to less battle-ready players.

Shadow of the Past is mostly here as a tech card for Into Ithilien, putting one of the Rangers back, they are great sight on many occasions.

I am not sure if i will continue to play this Deck deeper into the cycle [I'm definitely playing dwarves for the Hobbit Saga], but here are some ideas on how to adapt this deck for later Quests.

The Steward's Fear gives us Gondorian Shield, which neatly replaces Citadel Plate in Beregond's kit, with the upside that extra copies are greatly appreciated by Boromir or any Denethor's, Eleanor's or non-Denethor Steward of Gondor's on the table.

A more impactful change is that I would probably exchange Thalin for Legolas, depending on the quest. If I'm doing that, replacing Swift Strike, Rivendell Bow and Quick Strike for Blade of Gondolin, Foe-hammer and Hands Upon the Bow are other changes i would consider.

I know that Mono-Sphere decks at this point in the Card pool are a very tight deck-building space, but i feel like this is a very optimized list and would love to hear what people think!

Dwim