More than meets the eye 4.0

• Versions
• 4.0
• 3.0

People in the Middle Earth disagree on whether this deck is about Nenya or Vilya... two of the Three are here and that's where all eyes are focused. But no one pays attention to the girl and her knives.

I've successfully tested this deck against scenarios like Temple of Doom or Carn Dûm. Having Vilya in the early game is something that we still want, but this deck can perform pretty well without finding it so soon.

Na'asiyah is our best response against nasty enemies, and much more if we have other 3 heroes generating resourses for taking care of our deck. Na'asiyah is not here to share the money. Every resource of hers will be more valuable as fuel for her ability.

Heroes:

• Elrond
  • Vilya
  • A Burning Brand
  • Protector of Lórien
  • Unexpected Courage
• Galadriel
  • Nenya
  • Unexpected Courage

Notes:

• The three noldor heroes are fairly straightforward.
  • If rings didn't show up, use Galadriel and Gildor's abilities to improve card-draw.
• Elrond is our "safest" defender.
  • We should find his courage and defensive boosts as soon as possible.
  • In the meantime, defensive tasks can be taken by Na'asiyah.
• Resources from Na'asiyah only will be used to: activate her action or paying for events.
  • Vilya and Nenya should be paid by the elves (they are their owners after all).
• Ring finders:
  • Imladris Stargazer + Galadriel's (or Gildor's) action.
  • Master of the Forge.
  • Gandalf's draw response, in the worst case scenario.
• Saruman's doomed penalty is not as bad as it looks.
  • He's usually my MVP in The Battle of Carn Dûm.
  • Besides, this deck has several ways for threat reduction:
  • Galadriel's action.
  • Gandalf's response.
  • The Galadhrim's Greeting
  • Pillars of the Kings.
• If the deck is out of cards, Beorn + Vilya is a killer combo.
  • We can boost Beorn's each round and then put him back for free with Vilya on each refresh phase.
• Born Aloft and Bulwark of the West are great to be used with Gandalf or Saruman, right before their discard forced effect takes place.
• Feint and Quick Strike have almost the same feel.
  • Strike's big advantage: it can be used against immune enemies!

Improvements:

• If you don't want duplicates of unique allies, replace each extra copy with Angbor, Firyal, Jubayr, and Yazan.
• Peace, and Thought could be a good option for card drawing, but the only replacement I see for this event are the Masters of the Forge. However, I like them more, since they are also useful as:
  • deck shufflers (if there are not good choices for the Stargazer),
  • targets for the Bulwark of the West,
  • chump blockers.
• Radagast and Saruman are here just because I like the idea of having a deck with the 3 istari allies.
  • Radagast will be useful to pay/heal eagles. He's a nice complement to Elrond's abilities.
  • Play Saruman when his response is really needed (he never liked that nasty troll in the banks of the Anduin). Another reason can be found right below...

If Na'asiyah cannot be used:

• Remove her together with Gildor, Gandalf (x2), and the contract.
• Then include Gandalf, as a hero, and his mount (x2).
  
  
• On the Raid on the Grey Havens: mulligan for Saruman.
  • Once played, in round 1, he can nullify the aflame location and go questing without exhaustion.
  • In combat, Gandalf can absorb ravager's undefended 4 attack.
  • Finally Saruman and Gandalf can kill the ravager together.