Beren and Luthien 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

This is a sort of thematic deck designed to represent the story of Beren and Luthien by use of proxies.

Beren, Luthien, and Huan are played by our heroes: Aragorn, Arwen Undómiel, and Beorn, respectively.

We begin with Beren's Secret Paths through Ered Gorgoroth, carrying only his family ring, finding his way to Doriath. From there, Beren and Luthien travel to Nargothrond to seek the support of Finrod Felagund. Our eleven Noldor allies represent Finrod, Edrahil, and their nine unnamed companions.

Angrist is represented by Sword that was Broken, which doubles as a key attachment to letting this deck reach enough willpower to play solo. The Silmaril itself is seen through the Light of Valinor. The several healing attachments and Imladris Caregiver play into the many times Beren is wounded, although in practice it will be healers other than Luthien doing the work in this deck. The Expert Treasure-hunters are a general nod to the theme of robbing Melkor in the name of a most prized treasure, and the Silver Harps are included for Luthien and Finrod's use of music.

Saruman may be a bit of an oddity, but is there to demonstrate Luthien's magical abilities from her Maia bloodline to avoid combat, as seen by cloaking herself and Beren as a Vampire and Werewolf to clouding Melkor's mind and enthralling his court. In practice, it also gives us access to Word of Command to find our singleton copies of important cards.

The high density of Doom in the deck is an intentional reference to the frequent description of any who seek the Silmarils as facing a doomed fate. However, Beren and Luthien manage to avoid the judgment of the Valar.

The rest of the Events in the deck are to smooth out the gameplay with general tools like A Test of Will and Feint.

The deck plays by leaning on Beorn through the early game and against weaker enemies, then getting an Aragorn with seven hit points that can take attacks undefended and then heal them off. Imladris Stargazer and Expert Treasure-Hunter team up to sculpt draws and gain great card advantage, while Master of the Forge either digs out attachment or shuffles away the chaff after you draw important pieces from Stargazer.

This deck is no all-star. I've been playing it against quests like Over the Misty Mountains Grim and it's a fun match-up for somewhat easier encounter decks. It uses some powerful heroes with less powerful allies for an enjoyable play experience.