Air Support 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

INTRO

This is a fun way to play eagles single-handed solo using the card pool through the first cycle. It's unconventional and not always consistent. But when it works, it is a blast to pilot. It can also be quite flexible and has the potential to be an all-rounder pet deck you could take into different styles of quests.

I picked up the game a few months ago and I've been playing progression-style. Boromir actually drove me to feel like an eagles deck was now possible, so I started looking through popular builds from others. None seemed to work for me, especially since I have been testing decks against Journey Along the Anduin, which begs for a lower starting threat. I tried a few different configurations, there were some minor explosions, and then out popped this janky thing from among the rubble.

THE PROBLEM WITH EAGLES

The main issue I was running into with other eagles decks--both net decks and my own attempts--was the need to rely on the Tactics sphere. At this point in the game, Tactics can't hang in single-handed solo play. Other than Legolas there are no questing solutions. So it relies on support from other spheres for questing, in addition to threat control and card draw.

Eagles, meanwhile, are expensive. This is the brick wall I kept hitting. I wanted desperately to run 3 tactics heroes so I could afford all these expensive eagles allies into play, along with ally Radagast. But as mentioned, mono Tactics just isn't viable in the first cycle.

I then tried to splash in a Leadership hero for resource acceleration and Sneak Attack. Which worked a little better, but I kept threating out and still struggled with willpower generation.

So I decided to try rigging something together wish fishing wire.

MY INCONSISTENT, JANKY (BUT SOMETIMES SUCCESSFUL) SOLUTION

Is a plan still considered half-baked if you never intended to fully bake it in the first place?

Eagles (and Tactics at large) lack willpower, resource acceleration and threat reduction. So I built a machine that handles those factors like a champ...and then duct-taped eagles onto the side.

In general, this deck is meant to work in 4 phases:

1. Turtle at the start. Rely on Eowyn's willpower and lean on Frodo for unexpected attacks and early-game YOLO questing.

2. Get Song of Battle onto at least one hero to unleash your eagles.

3. Build up between 3 to 5 Voltron characters, along with a small number of utility allies.

4. Steamroll everything.

PILOTING INSTRUCTIONS

Cards you want to mulligan for are listed below in 3 Tiers. Tier 1 is top priority, but if you have a couple of Tier 2, you might be willing to keep your hand.

Tier 1:

• Song of Battle

Tier 2:

• Steward of Gondor
• The Galadhrim's Greeting
• Sneak Attack + Gandalf

Your first turn you likely want to quest with everyone. Certainly Eowyn and Theodred. Depending on what you have in your starting hand, you can decide who should get Theodred's resource boost. Depending on what is already in the staging area, you could potentially hold Frodo back to keep as a defender. He's going to be your defender all game because of his ability, but whenever you can allow him to defend it can minimize the threat increase you face.

If an enemy engages you turn 1, hold back who you need to from questing so you can defeat it next round. If your heroes won't be able to defeat it, you'll need to rely on Gandalf, hopefully via Sneak Attack. But play him full-costed if need be. You need to keep your player area clear of enemies as long as possible to allow you to build up your board state and get the gimmick going.

Also don't be afraid to Sneak Attack an eagle attacker in if necessary. Gandalf is your best option for Sneak Attack, but desperate times may dictate otherwise.

Once you get yourself past the first couple turns and have your player area clear, you can start doing the thing.

You should easily have enough Spirit resources to play Galadhrim's Greeting when you draw it. Prioritize this, potentially saving 1 Spirit resource as Test of Will insurance.

Put Steward of Gondor on Theodred the moment you have it.

Otherwise, your TOP PRIORITY is to get Song of Battle onto Theodred, and then Eowyn or Frodo later.

Quest with Theodred every turn, unless you REALLY need to hold him back for an attack. You are going to want that resource boost. Have him give the extra resource to himself unless you have a Spirit card you really need it for. Theodred will be getting Song of Battle first, so you want him to have a lot of resources banked to be able to pay for those eagles.

Once Theodred has a good amount of resources saved up (and/or has Steward of Gondor attached), you can start dropping his extra resource onto Eowyn. She'll be getting the next Song of Battle you draw into.

Celebrian Stone goes on Eowyn when you can afford it. She'll be questing every round, unless critically wounded. At some point Frodo and Theodred will have much better uses.

If you have Radagast in hand and can afford it without jeopardizing the above priorities, prioritize him above playing eagle allies. You want to invest in him early to get that extra resource for playing eagles. You'll use Radagast to quest every turn. Don't spend his resources on healing eagles, unless it is one of your Voltron Eagles of the Misty Mountains. Instead spend his resources to play eagle allies.

Play The Eagles Are Coming! whenever you have it. There's no downside. If necessary, you can always discard some of those extra eagle cards to fuel Eowyn's ability. But save them if you can.

Ok, once all the above is done, you are ready to stop triaging and start building your FINAL FORM.

Put Unexpected Courage on Theodred first, and then Frodo. Then double up on Frodo if you get a third.

In terms of eagles, get Eagles of the Misty Mountains on the table first if possible. Then, play the others as needed.

Almost always when you have the opportunity for a non-Eagles of the Misty Mountains eagles ally to leave play, you want to do it. Use the Eagles of the Misty Mountains effect to flip the leaving eagle and attach it to the Eagles of the Misty Mountains.

So that means after defending with Winged Guardian or Attacking with Vassal of the Windlord, they get attached to Eagles of the Misty Mountains afterward. Chump block with Descendant of Thorandor if you need a chump. That's the only way to get him out of play, which you ultimately want in this build.

Once you have at least one eagle ally on the table, play Support of the Eagles onto whichever character you have an Unexpected Courage on. Frodo is likely the best candidate. Your second Support of the Eagles goes on Theodred. The goal is to have one on both Theodred and Frodo by mid game.

Citadel Plate goes on whoever is hurting most between Eowyn and Theodred.

Ok, phew. Once your your engine is humming, here are some piloting tips:

-- Always quest with Eowyn. She should be able to handle this virtually on her own, but you can also quest with Radagast, Northern Tracker(s), Faramir, and Eagles of the Misty Mountains as needed.

-- Hold back Frodo to use as your defender. With Support of the Eagles and a powered-up Eagles of the Misty Mountains, he should be able to block just about anything. If you have more than one baddie engaged, you can chump block with a non-essential eagle ally to continue to develop Eagles of the Misty Mountains, or you can have Frodo take hits undefended, and increase your threat instead of wounding him.

-- Theodred should quest most rounds, especially if you have Unexpected Courage on him. He's your main attacker and should be able to deliver big swings with Support of the Eagles.

-- If you have a boss-level enemy engaged, you can have Frodo take attacks undefended and save him to attack alongside Theodred, using Support of the Eagles.

-- You have very little card draw in this deck. Whenever possible, use Gandalf for his card draw effect, and prioritize using Sneak Attack on him to get the most use out of him.

-- Don't be afraid to use Sneak Attack on Descendant of Thorondor in a pinch if you don't have access to Gandalf. Drop him in and out to take out an annoying enemy in the staging area, or to pre-wound a high-defense enemy.

FEEDBACK APPRECIATED!

Like I said, this deck just simply falls apart sometimes. You really need to get some of your set pieces--or at least water-treading pieces--in the first round or two. A lot hangs on getting Song of Battle out, and with little card draw this can be hit or miss. You can use Gandalf for card draw as mentioned, and you can actually hold the fort for quite a while with Spirit interference and a few Sneak Attacks.

But it's so fun to play when it doesn't fall apart. Do a few test draws to see if you think it is worth trying out. If you can get Song of Battle early, you are likely going to have a good time. But Galadhrim's Greeting can be a good substitute and keep you in the game while you wait around for Song of Battle. Likewise Steward of Gondor can allow you to use Gandalf even without Sneak Attack, as well as get Radagast out to have a different means to pay for eagles allies.

Super fun deck that's fragile at the start but can snowball into giving you multiple powered-up defenders, attackers and questers.

Let me know if you see room for improvements or have comments if you try it out.