Synergy 2.0

• Versions
• 2.0

This is pretty much my new favorite deck to play. I've always liked the idea of three heroes that all feed into each other in some way, and came close to this in a Theodred/ Erkenbrand/ Lorefindel deck, which had very strong overall synergy. But these three heroes have even greater synergy than them. Gríma reduces costs across the board, which along with Keys of Orthanc allows Balin to have a resource around for shadow cancellation. That cancellation can save Beregond from taking damage while defending, which results in threat reduction so you can use Grima's ability more often. This positive feedback loop lets you get cards down quickly, defend successfully, and blaze through the quest. Most importantly, however, the deck is an absolute blast to play because you still have to make decisions each round about how to use your resources, cards, and Grima, making some level of skill necessary but not an overwhelming amount. The only thing the deck doesn't have is theme, but I don't really mind.

Basic strategy guide: Mulligan for either Gléowine or King Under the Mountain, but I wouldn't say no to a hand with both The Day's Rising and Keys of Orthanc. The first two are preferred simply because card draw is a more urgent need than resource acceleration in this deck because you start with Grima in play.

Turn one will really depend on whether or not you have Tighten Our Belts. If you do, you can play any Dunedain Pathfinders you have, as well as a 1-cost card of your choice with Gríma's ability. If that card happens to be A Test of Will or Desperate Defense, don't worry. The great thing about Grima's ability is that you can use it without actually playing the card. If you need that Test of Will, great! Its cost is reduced and your threat goes up. However, if you don't end up playing anything, your threat doesn't increase because Grima gives the Doomed 1 to the card you're about to play, so if it ends up unused nothing will happen. Then, at the end of the round, you can get three extra resources and start the next turn with 3 resources on each hero, which can make for a bonkers second planning phase.

If you don't have Tighten Our Belts, play down either Gleowine or King Under the Mountain with Grima to get your card draw rolling as soon as possible. If you can play either The Day's Rising or Keys of Orthanc, that would be really great as well. I tend to put the keys on Balin, as Beregond will be getting resources from The Day's Rising and the Lore cards in the deck aren't that expensive.

In subsequent turns, you want to roll out your attack power. None of the deck's three heroes has any attack worth mentioning, so you are reliant on allies like Eryn Galen Settler and Quickbeam to kill enemies. Of course, if you're playing multiplayer, you can always encourage other players to run Legolas or something. You also want to get a few questing allies down, especially Arwen, who will boost up Beregond's defense.

Throughout the game, you can build up Beregond into a wall. Dúnedain Warning will boost his defense so he can block bigger enemies without taking damage, and Desperate Defense lets him block two enemies at increased defense. Silver Lamp may seem like an odd include, but it allows Balin to choose which shadow cards he wants to cancel, because you can often wind up with two engaged enemies, one resource on Balin, and the first enemy having a fairly bad shadow card. The Lamp lets you wisely plan your combat so dilemmas like this are easily resolved. Finally, there is one copy of Unexpected Courage to give Beregond an extra action. This was done to make the deck possible to build with one core set, although if you have two or three you can always add more copies. Finally, as mentioned previously, The Day's Rising lets Beregond get a resource after defending successfully.

A quick note about the sideboard cards: Errand-rider is a multiplayer card and is meant to divert surplus resources to other players, and can be subbed in for either Squire of the Citadel or Weather Hills Watchman. The Warden is in the sideboard for quests that pile on the direct damage, but Dúnedain Remedy is a better card for most quests, especially with the Watchman in the deck.

Enjoy the deck!