Bard's Great Yew Bow 1.0

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• 1.0

Cool deck! Great Yew Bow is a card I have always wanted to make work without much success. Enjoyed the video and nice work.

After seeing the video, I'd suggest switching Pippin for Bifur. Pippin's card draw will barely trigger with Bard killing everything that doesnt engage. Also, maybe Marksman of Lórien? Combines well with Straight Shot; together with Bard you can one-shot some of the more sturdy enemies (up to 4 defense)... The Masters of the Forge seem kinda weird with only 7 attachments, and also the Envoys of Pelargir don't add much other than being a 1-cost ally... I'd suggest looking at allies like Ghân-buri-Ghân and Wandering Ent, that help with the much needed willpower and can be playing in turn 1 with Bifur hero

I also wonder if Pippin is really the best addition in your hero-setup. You might even consider switching from Lore to other spheres, which all can support your strategy in multiple ways.

Glorfindel, for example, seems quite obvious, as he can quest, fight if necessary, and offers access to various means of threat-reduction and even A Light in the Dark.

Another suggestion would be some Leadership hero for Fresh Tracks and the obvious Sneak Attack to get more out of your Gandalfs. You could even get healing via Dúnedain Remedy.

The deck relies heavily upon Great Yew Bow. When I build decks that fully depend upon a single card, I like to make it reliable, so that even if I don't see it after a mulligan, I can find it quick some other way.

That is why Master of the Forge is in here despite having only 7 attachments. I have a good shot at getting the bow out turn 2 if I have a copy of him in hand.

Bifur is a good suggestion, it does make your threat effectively 2 higher (losing the +1 from Pippin's ability), but the resource smoothing might be worth it.

I disagree with swapping out the lore hero for a different sphere altogether. It makes the deck extremely reliant on starting with the Bow in hand, which I don't like. But perhaps that will change when Open the Armoury is released (https://images-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com/filer_public/99/09/9909b3bc-ec73-4b6c-8f2f-1f321008fd89/mec60-open-the-armory.png).

If you're including a Lore hero just to guarantee GYB comes out early, why not go full-on Galdor of the Havens? That's the direction you went with Everything* Costs 2, what made it a worse fit here?

Does it make the threat count too high? Could you drop some of those Masters for Secret Vigils to help with that?

@ClearlyAslanGaldor of the Havens is an excellent hero, and I'm sure he would be OK in this deck. But I think the Masters of the Forge are even more consistent in getting a specific early attachment than he would be. I'm not sure how easily you'd be able to trigger his second ability, and he comes with (effectively) a 4 threat increase over Pippin. Overall I think Pippin is the better choice.

@Seastan Having just playtested the decks, I have to agree Pippen makes the deck run smoother. Staying under the engagement cost of those 28-35 enemies into the mid and late game is pretty key to maximizing Bard's potential.

Also, I hadn't seen Open the Armory yet, and I gotta say I'm going to be reworking several decks once it drops.