Stat Me Up 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

This is the ultimate alliance of Dale and Outlands. The overwhelming festival of flooding the table with allies and boosting them in every way possible. Go get an abacus, this is going to get tough.

Heroes

Brand son of Bain

• King of Dale + Magic Ring + Stone of Elostirion
• Dale Commander: Draws cards and keeps the Dale engine running. Fuels the Dale swarm once he gets his title.

Bard son of Brand

• Temporarily attach King of Dale or Magic Ring to trigger Brand's card draw (we can always move them later).
• Attachment Broker: Spreads attachments of any sphere along Dale's army.

Hirluin the Fair

• The fairest of the Green Hills from Pinnath Gelin. His people’s stats are all he needs.
• Outlands Captain: Pays for Outlands allies of any sphere and anchors the Outlands swarm.

Mulligan & Setup

Mulligan for King of Dale. Having some options for early card draw is also a nice start.

We should go for the Stone of Elostirion as soon as possible.

• We can play the Stone directly with Bard, but The King's Return is our best option.
• Wait until the "quest resolution" action window to play it, so we avoid adding the location's during questing.

Magic Ring is a versatile “nice to have”, but there’s no rush to get it... except for triggering Brand's card draw.

Dúnedain Message can also help thin our deck. Go for Send for Aid as its first target.

Strategy & Card Interactions

Dale Assignments:
The theory (Final stats: / / / in parens):

• Hauberk of Mail goes initially to Redwater Sentry for the sentinel boost and because it’s free for them (1/1/4/4).
• Raiment of War goes to Warrior of Dale (just 1 cost for them, 1/4/2/5).
  • The third Raiment is best played for free on Wiglaf as part of his response (3/3/2/5).
• Bow of Yew and Spare Hood and Cloak are best on Guardian of Esgaroth (4/3/3/3).
  • There is also a third Hauberk of Mail for them (5/4/5/4).
  • Hood and Cloak can start on North Realm Lookout (3/1/1/2, see Sideboard) and be passed to the Guardians after questing.

The practice:

• Don’t stress too much about initial placement.
• Attachments can be rearranged as needed with Long Lake Traders.
• Even though Rhovanion Outriders don’t have any direct synergy, attachments will still boost their (2–3/2/1/2).

Outlands Ranks:
Every non-unique Outlands ally can be played as soon as they’re drawn.

• Ethir Swordsman () are the best to play first... willpower boost is always welcome in any quest (4/4/1/4).
• Anfalas Herdsman () are next in consideration... great to see when direct damage can be an issue (3/3/0/4).
• Knights of the Swan () are usually the ones I like to see last (3/3/0/4).

Once we have all three spheres, Forlong will provide the required for his own ability (4/4/1/6).

Running The Alliance:
By midgame, we should have a strong engine of Outlands questers (plus Wiglaf!) and Dale allies ready for combat (plus Forlong!). At that point, everything becomes straightforward. Just keep the swarm going and watch the stats climb.

Once King of Dale's 3-cost discount isn’t needed anymore, just move one of Brand's attachments over to his son. It’ll give Bard an extra boost too (if he doesn’t already have one).

Sideboard

• Dale Messenger is our best healing option.
  • If needed, remove the 2x Rhovanion Outriders.
• North Realm Lookout has synergy with attachment mechanics and a great questing ability.
  • I prefer the location control of Rhovanion Outriders.
• Warrior of Lossarnach is my least favorite Outlands ally.
  • I rarely use Outlands for defense, and Forlong already provides the sphere.
• Mariner's Compass has synergy with guarded attachments.
  • If we switch the “guardian” location, the guarded attachment will be automatically detached.
• Squire's Helm is another option for item attachment, but it does almost the same as Hauberk of Mail.
• The Galadhrim's Greeting was originally in the deck, but I find Double Back is just enough.
  
  
• The Last Alliance: I’ve thought a lot about this contract, but I don’t see any big benefit to including it here.
  • Still, it won’t hurt if we add it.

In summary: The ultimate Dale and Outlands alliance: flooding the board with unique allies, stacking boosts, and turning every turn into a stat festival. Mulligan for King of Dale, keep your abacus handy, and let the numbers do the job.