This deck is part of Mormegil’s Deckbox, an effort to create an extensive catalogue of decks for the different archetypes, themes and playing styles available to players. Click here to check out the whole project.
Preferred Player Count: 2-4
Rating:
Premise
This Eagle deck starts with the highest threat of all my Eagle decks, however you do also get quite a big bang for your buck. Not only do you get two stat-monsters with built-in action advantage in Gwaihir and Radagast, their combination also means you can play one of the most potent combo cards for the Eagle trait in Gwaihir's Debt, which is a really good card that is unfortunately quite hard to get going sometimes. In this deck however, you can play it whenever you want since you already start out with the required traits.
Add to this the immense power of the Istari package (namely Wizard Pipe and Word of Command) as well as the Eagle synergy and you have quite a fun, tricky and powerful deck that pulls its weight very nicely.
How To Play
I know I sound like a broken record here, but as with all my Eagle decks, the number one thing you need to get going is resource acceleration, which for this deck means Radagast's Staff. Eagles are just always extremely costly, so I usually mulligan for the staff and go from there. Wizard Pipe is a another great card, drawing you cards through its combo potential with Messenger Raven and Expert Treasure-hunter, furthering its use in the deck even beyond the aforementioned Gwaihir's Debt.
Considerations
Éowyn can be a decent alternative to Hirgon if you are worried about your starting threat. Landroval is decent but there are no heroes predestined to leave play here which is why he just missed out on inclusion. A Burning Brand is a nice tech card if you are worried about encountering bad shadow effects. Secret Vigil and Deep Knowledge are potential includes (especially if put together and in high player counts) that will always pull their weight.
Enjoy!!!