Boromir leads the way, going there and back again. 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

Probably the most fun solo deck I have ever built, and also the most sucessful.

Resources:

A Good Harvest Steward of Gondor is a great combination that I liked from a lot of Seastan's decks, and generally it goes on Boromir with Blood of Númenor. However, steward is actually not always necessary with Imladris Stargazer Zigil Miner combination, and there have been games where I have never gotten out steward at all the deck still worked fine. So the deck is nice in that it has different forms of resource generation, and as you may notice apart from some big allies (I'm looking at you Legolas and Skinbark).

Card Draw:

Card draw can be found partially through Elven-light so it is important to grab them asap, but not worth mulligining for. It's fun to use stargazer/miner to discard some elvin light to get some resources and cards at the same time, and additionally shrink the deck which is essentially doing the same thing as drawing cards in that regard. Speaking of stargazer, she is essentially a form of card draw as it opens up the top 5 cards of your deck for inspection, which can be used to find some of the other forms of card draw, which is primarily Ancient Mathom and Legolas. So while at first it may not seem like a ton, this deck does not shy away when it comes to drawing cards, and you can always use Gather Information when you really need something badly.

Combat:

Boromir with his Gondorian Shield and Arwen Undómiel is already a 5 defense brick wall, so blood of Blood of Númenor is often just icing on the cake. You can also chump with your extra stargazers or miners is need be, but I typically do not find that necessary. Light of Valinor allows glorifindel to quest and attack, and the Dúnedain Hunters really help bring down multiple enemies or the big baddies. I often play them first turn if I have Gondorian Shield in hand, as multiple defenses is no problem with Boromir, who can defend them all and then hit back with the hunters without breaking a sweat. And then you have some great allies for the remainder of the game without any real resource cost (besides the shield of course). Legolas' role is pretty straightforward, and Skinbark is great in a pinch, and I only put in one to keep the deck to 50 cards, but also because I think it's fun (and thematic) to see the ent pop in whenever he seems fit, and not to be too hasty in coming into my hand too early in the game. Northern Trackers are great for combat, but also for questing, which brings me to the next section.

Questing:

As previously stated, Glorfindel with his light of valinor helps him do double duty. Aw However, the main quester is obviously Éowyn, and you should feed her ability with elvin lights, even if you don't necessary need it at the time so that later in the game if you have acquired the resources, you can pull back multiple for a big spurt of card draw (I often do this with Boromir's extra resources and A Good Harvest). Bofur is great if you are saving your characters for combat and need an extra quest push, but he's also good for playing cold with those 3 hit points. Ethir Swordsman, I know it's old, but they can help you make an end of the game push, and with them you can easily send your final round willpower into the twenties, with just them and a few other characters. Arwen Undómiel is mainly in the deck for her defense buff, but also does provide a solid 2 willpower, so she is solid all around. Lastly, the Northern Trackers. Honestly, if one wanted to make any edits, I'd say they are the first to go. I've only played this deck solo, so in my experience they are typically hardly ever any locations in the staging area, and with the way this deck can quest out of the gate, location lock is never an issue, but still as a fail safe you can keep them in and if nothing else use them to attack or defend if you need to save Boromir's ability for when it counts.

Threat Control/cancelation:

Elrond's Counsel and The Galadhrim's Greeting are the only threat reduction in the deck. If you play things smart, though, you shouldn't be too incrediblely concerned about threat. My rule is that if I don't need to use Boromir's ability, then save it. I don't quest with him really, and the hunters are in play so I don't have to worry about him attacking all the time, but by all means if he needs to then let him tear his enemies to bits. It's all about control, and with a deck that starts at a reasonable 25 threat with virtually no fear of unsuccessful questing, you should end your game in the fourties and be fine. A Test of Will is the only cancellation, so use it wisely. You can always add some shadow cancelation, but I had it and found that it wasn't too necessary, but if that is something that terrifies you, I'd drop out x2 Northern Trackers for some shadow cancelation, up to the player really.

Consistency/Opening Hand: What to look for

My favorite part about this deck is that, generally speaking, you aren't looking for a single card in particular. Gondorian Shield is top priority but honestly is not necessary, and if you have a good hand without the shield, I would not mulligan. Arwen Undómiel is a great first round play, as you get two willpower and bump of Boromir to three defense from the get-go. Stargazer/zigi will have you pumping through your deck by turn 2, and any card draw is great to have. Elrond's Counsel is nice to perhaps help you sneak by a few rounds to give yourself a foothold, and Light of Valinor starts the quest machine and also helps you kill enemies. A Good Harvest / Steward of Gondor is worth keeping, as if later in the game you come across another good harvest, you can often almost empty your hand playing all of your spirit cards. Lastly, some Dúnedain Hunters with a Gondorian Shield is a gem, since you get some first round support pretty easily at a low risk, for one measily reasource. So all of this to say, you will virtually never have a bad opening hand, and even if start off with a poor draw, there is enough card draw/stargazing to allow you to get on your feet in no time.

Theme (Do I even try???):

Upon looking back on the list, I realize that this deck is indeed thematic in how many different types of characters that it has. The deck represents the free people coming together to fight the enemy. You have a gondorian warrior with the steward of gondor title, you have a Rohan shield maiden, and a noldorian warrior from ages past. You have a dwarf who helped a hobbit, and one who mines all the way in Erebor. A dunedain that will rush in and fight its enemies, but also one that will help you find your way. An ent, hastily rushing to help the cause, and a Silvan to kill your enemies for you. You have men of the outlands rallying to your cause, and an Ancient Mathom to represent the hobbits back in the Shire.

Final thoughts:

Now, the question, as poised by Authraw in his blog darkling door (which if you have not invested some time in reading, I would highly recommend it https://darklingdoor.wordpress.com) is when would all of these characters come together, and where? Probably never, and probably nowhere. Nevertheless, I would like to offer a third facet of a theme deck with this one here, representing mostly each true-hearted group of middle-earth. I played through the entire campaign saga quests with this deck, and there is something wonderful about having this whole cast of characters go through and take on evil head on. I like to think of the fact that although they all might not have accompanied Frodo on his way to mount doom, each of the groups represented in the deck played some role in furthering him to complete his goal, and without them Frodo could never have succeeded.