AAA Dúnedain 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

This is my take on a Dunedain deck that both runs well in solo and maximizes the boosts you get from the Dunedain allies. It just so happens that each hero's name starts with A, so they obviously will make a good battery or something.

You ideally want to start with Elven-light and Steward of Gondor, and Forest Snares are very good to see in your opening hand too. The first few rounds will be spent treading water and getting your engine set up. You can discard a card to give Aragorn a resource so he can afford those traps sooner, and you'll want to play Steward on Arwen. Arwen helps you quest and her hubby can as well, but you may struggle to clear all the locations if they all come out. That's what Aragorn and Northern Trackers are for. You don't really need to quest successfully every round at the beginning, you can simply reset your threat when you come close to threating out, by which point you hopefully have at least one enemy in a Snare, resource generation, and some allies out.

What does this deck look like in the end game? With 2+ engaged enemies, Amarthiúl will get two resources every round and Arwen Undómiel will discard and play Elven-light, giving a resource to Aragorn, meaning each of your three heroes gets 2 resources a round, and you draw two cards before playing any of the rest of your cards. Heir of Valandil means you can play just about any ally heavily-discounted or free, Warden of Annúminas, Ranger of Cardolan, Halbarad, and Sarn Ford Sentry provide plenty of willpower, and Northern Trackers keep you out of location lock. Gandalf provides added flexibility, and Distant Stars (my favorite card) is a natural fit with the multitude of Rangers available.

You can also play A Burning Brand on Aragorn, along with an Armored Destrier, and play another horsey on Amarthiúl, making 6 total enemies you can have engaged without worrying about any troublesome shadow effects. When you engage a seventh enemy, your Guardians of Arnor should be able to defend (with 8, there are few attacks they can't tank).

Once set up, this deck is a juggernaut that is hard to take down. Aragorn and Arwen Undómiel are really key in making the setup possible, and Amarthiúl is there to maximize the benefits from the Dúnedain archetype.