| Questlogs using this decklist | |
|---|---|
| None. | |
| Fellowships using this decklist | |
|---|---|
| None. | |
| Derived from |
|---|
| None. Self-made deck here. |
| Inspiration for |
|---|
| None yet. |
| Card draw simulator |
|---|
|
Odds:
0% –
0% –
0%
more
|
| Gameplay simulator | ||
|---|---|---|
|
||
|
Hand
|
||
|
In Play
|
||
|
Deck
|
||
|
Discard Pile
|
Calaquendi 35
Story of Nauglamir
In the First Age (see Quenta Silmarillion), long before the Bagginsies and even the Numenor, the immense dark power of Morgoth was hellbent on destroying middle earth and there were epic battles between Elves, Dwarves, Men and this evil.
During these 'Elder Days', the Dwarves, the Children of Aulë and the Elves/Noldor, as students of Aulë (including Celebrimbor) were master crafters and miners (thanks to them for the Rings of Power). One of the most famous treasures was Nauglamir, the 'Necklace of the Dwarves', crafted for the Noldor King Finrod (Brother of Galadriel) by the Dwarves.
During the wars with Morgoth, for a time Nauglamir was lost in the elven city of Nargothrond after Glaurung the wingless dragon sacked it. The Elves later avenged the city and Hurin Thalion (see Children of Hurin) found it and returned it to the elves. The Elves requested the Dwarves help them fit one of the three Silmaril gems onto Nauglamir and they created a treasure that was beyond compare...
This thematic deck focuses on the time leading up to the Lay of the Nauglamír (LoM) displaying the mining prowess, incredible craftmanship (eg Andúril which was reforged from Narsil which was forged in the First Age by the dwarves) and the fragile but incredibly powerful alliance against evil.
Additional Lore: In the Silmarillion we learn that in the First Age due to the Dwarves desire for Nauglamir, there were tragic events and the Dwarves and Elves ultimately fell into war, which even thousands of years on in the Third Age the mutual distain is there to see at the Council of Elrond in the LoTR's. Though it is noted by Tolkien that some Dwarves (Durins folk, hello Dain & Balin's ancestors) did join the Last Alliance of Men & Elves against Sauron.
As for the ultimate fate of Nauglamir, we understand it was lost forever when Elrond & Elros' (first king of Numenor) mother Elwing threw herself in the sea to avoid pursuit from the Sons of Feanor as they hunted down the Silmaril's. Lost forever.. we've heard that before about another piece of powerful jewelry before huh.
The Deck
In short, Swarm & Mine whilst powering up Glorfindel ( ) & Dain. Love to see Lay of the Nauglamir and Light of Valinor in opening hand so can quest for respectable 7 out of the blocks with Glorfindel & Bifur. Deliberate low starting 23 means you typically have at least a couple of turns to build up your board (needs it) and you have buffer of Dain and Glorfindel ready if you need them to defend/dispatch any auto engages.
Opening Hand: If mulligan for Lay of Nauglamir, 1st turn likely just Light of Valinor (or Inner Strength if don't have) and then just Quest. Then 2nd turn will be Inner Strength (if not used already) + LoM. If the fortunate of the Valar is with you, can on round 2 be in a position where have Stargazer/Arwen + Zigil/2 cost dwarf + Ered Luin Miner online (and maybe a bit of Hidden Cashhh). If dont have LoM then can go look for it with Gather Info / Rivendell Minstrel / Stargazer soon enough. Look to flood table with Noldor and Dwarves of which 17/23 are 2 (or 1) Cost so can easily bring into play with LoM (20/23 if include 3x Ered Muin Miner who would come into play from LoM discard), as well as the fact these allies are discounted to 1 with 'The Last Alliance' per the cost reduce effect.
Exhausting 'The Last Alliance' and targeting a ready Dain means all Noldor and Dwarves get +1 and +1 so can get pretty potent especially for questing quickly, load him up with Unexpected Courage/'s and you have a true king under the mountain.
There are 52 cards but with 2x being the One Ring & Inner Strength at setup (for Dain) it means there are only 50 cards which you can mine through quickly and reset with Will of the West. With LoM, whilst 5 cost can feel steep, its Devoted and (check ahead with Imladris Stargazer for optimal timing) you can quite regularly be in a situation where you get your 2x 2 cost allies, plus discard at least one Hidden Cache &/or Ered Luin Miner then put Cache and others you didn't want to lose back in the deck, so you can end up with great economy as well as acceleration.
Glorfindel is the mighty Noldor who killed a Balrog (which happened during the fall of Gondolin after he helped the Wandering Exiles escape through Idril's Secret Way). It is therefore only fitting that we are able to add Glorfindel's Attack Capabilities via Thorongil which even by itself makes him a formidable 6-8 hero with Dain's boost.
Once loaded with Thorongil, Asfaloth, Light of Valinor, Legacy of Gondolin, Steward of Gondor and Andúril he is every round non exhausting 5 quester + 2x location progress, 3x resources, + 1x extra card draw + 7-9 2/3x attack action swiss army knife. Anduril tends to be mid game, use Steward to get 4th Trait, then can either pay for it outright if in hand or if clever with Imladris Stargazer and target Well-Equipped with 'The Last Alliance' you can get it for free (same with Ancestral Armor no Last Alliance needed for Dain etc)
Dain (of Durin's Folk who were some of the only dwarves to support the Last Alliance) is your defender with all important readying, load him up with The One Ring, Inner Strength for Shadow Cancellation (and thematically representative for the Dwarves love for treasure but also trying to fight against evil actions to keep the Alliance alive), Ancestral Armor and Unexpected Courage x1/2, plus Arwen ability bonus can have 7 shadow cancelling shield. If you need other defenders then Balin with the other Ancestral Armor is highly capable and given Devoted and Bifur resource smoothing he can easily be played in one turn.
Once get mining engine with some combo of Stargazer + Zigil + Hidden Cache + Steward it keeps the resources flowing, if they get knocked out by direct damage or chumping you can recycle. Outside of Nauglamir / AVGT board acceleration, can be 3/4x card draw per round with King Under the Mountain and the super thematic but certainly nuanced Legacy of Gondolin (which like Nargothrond was a not so hidden Elven City and home to Glorfindel which was destroyed in the first age, its situational and best once initial hand is gone, though can swap out for other card draw if don't like the mechanics, maybe the Gondolin Blade Glamdring if want to stay thematic and power up Glorfindel even more to up as much as to 11 dual wielding Anduril and Glamdring...). Then Elven Light is the extra card draw so can feed Wandering Exile + Caregiver if under pressure for healing + readying.
Closing Comments/Refining
In balance this deck can lack some tactics firepower but with Dain swarm boost it can be quite resilient and Glorfindel leads the charge. Deck can definitely be refined to perform better pending the scenario, eg speed up swarm with A Very Good Tale, Soldier of Erebor who is a beast for combat, Deep Knowledge and Daeron's Runes if want to speed up card draw given the low threat, Hardy Leadership for lots of archery + given some squishy allies other direct damage scenarios, old school Gandalf + Sneak if just want firepower, A Test of Will for nasty treacheries etc as currently this deck is just focused on resiliency of recycling allies vs cancelling, so there are other thematic options in the sideboard.
This is V1.0 and will continue ref(m)ining, would welcome any feedback, thoughts and of course Lore comments. Thanks as always to ALeP team.
Hope you enjoy the power of naug ("dwarf") + mîr ("jewel").
| 6 comments |
|---|
Jan 27, 2025 |
Jan 29, 2025I adore Lay of the Nauglamir + Last Alliance. I went with BIfur for my Lore as it meant I could play Lay of the Nauglamir Turn 1 but pinching a resource with him and throwing a card with Arwen. Such a fun card to play with, just tipping 1/4 of your deck in discard and then sifting through it for what you want. Then playing with Wandering Spirits. Great stuff. |
Jan 29, 2025Nice deck, but Henamarth Riversong is a Silvan, so you cannot legally include him in the deck if you're using The Last Alliance :C other than that, solid build |
Jan 29, 2025
Another comparison point seeing is have found Well-Equipped to be incredible for accelerating the Dain & Glorfindel attachment & swarm build, once have Stargazer up and running can be in a position where consistently only discarding the attachment you want for them and then a hidden cache/ered luin miner/a duplicate + if get timing right you can also ready Balin post questing + Will of West to recycle. Action The Last Alliance on Well Equipped for one round giving you option to put Andúril or Thorongil on Glorfindel particularly in early rounds is satisfying.
|
Jan 30, 2025yea honoring the 1. age Glorfindel is THE card (included by Thorongili can understand that, and with this card AleP made a really good choice. the low thread is imo not really needed, you have a good defender from the start, can even block the troll a few rounds from the start. Bifur does not really add a res in solo (only swap 1 additional to lore), so Arwen Undómiel seems the better choice for me because Lay of the Nauglamír hast devoted to dwarf and noldor, so no lore is needed and there are enough allies in spirit and if needed some in leadership. Bifur and Arwen Undómiel both were not born in 1, age but are nordor or dwarf, so theme is equal (Arwen Undómiel at least in 2. age if i remember correctly). in a version without Glorfindel the Thorongil on Dáin Ironfoot gives you the attackstrength you need to boost dwarfs and make the tough enemys lay down. my experience with Lay of the Nauglamír is that the res-generation of the heroes is (after 1. lay) less important, most come from mining/discardeffects. go for (full?) efficiency and make it save playable 1. round you can go the full dwarfish route, but it is of less help the 1. age praise but perhaps interesting to the Lay of the Nauglamír -strategy at all ringsdb.com |
Jan 31, 2025Thanks as always Additional Lore for those that care: Beren then gave Nauglamir to his love Luthien, the first union of elves and men which is an interesting story in its own right (ala Aragorn & Arwen).
The Wandering Spirit build you mentioned is fun too, leaning further into discard and discard pile fun, running A Very Good Tale and perhaps Lords of the Eldar finisher + other tricksies. |
this is my dain-Lay of the Nauglamír-deck. ringsdb.com perhaps there are some inspirations.
with Arwen Undómiel u can play it 1. turn and with Erestor you gain it faster. it is very powerfull and can handle all quest that do not rob you of your deck (fortress of nurn, escape from mount gram and that haradrimquest that stole your heroes)