Mono Tactics Domination: Hama's Toolbox 2.0

• Versions
• 2.0

One of the most common misconceptions in this game is that mono tactics is not a viable deck type due to its lack of

-Card draw,

-Resource generation,

-Willpower, and

-Cancellation

Or some combination of the above. The truth is, Tactics has all of these, some of them for quite a long time. We got Foe-hammer way back in the first Hobbit box, Théoden in Morgul Vale, and Mablung in Nin-in-Eliph. Cancellation is a more recent addition, coming in the form of Sterner than Steel, but we also got Wait no Longer, which could be considered a form of cancellation because it cancels the reveal of an encounter card. And we got Proud Hunters recently as well, which gives resources for killing enemies, which you should be doing anyway in Tactics.

Now the issue with most of the cards I just mentioned is that they're events. A one-time event is not going to give you the repeatable effects you're looking for in a deck. Unless, of course, you're running Háma.

With Háma, recurring the Tactics events that give the deck its card draw and resources isn't a problem anymore. While the best event to recur with Hama is still Foe-hammer, and should be mulliganed for, the specific situations in different quests may call for other events to be brought back, an example being The Druadan Forest, where having Proud Hunters might help you get back some of the resources those Woses prowled away. Wait no Longer is also particularly useful for the end of a game, when you want to eliminate the uncertainty of a random encounter card and just put an enemy engaged with you instead. And Sterner than Steel is always nice to have in case that Sudden Pitfall just wrecks your day.

The other event in the deck is A Good Harvest, which is meant to get out Gléowine to accelerate your draw potential, and also the lone copy of Warden of Healing in case you draw into it. Gleowine, combined with Foe-hammer and Steward of Orthanc (if you're able to swallow the Doomed) nets you six cards a turn including your normal draw. That's better than most Lore decks can do.

With all these cards, the deck needs some way to pay for them. Luckily, the deck is full of resource acceleration effects. Mablung alone can get you up to 4 resources per turn. How? Once during the resource phase, once during planning (Dunedain Hunter/ Knight of Minas Tirith), once during the quest phase (Wait no Longer) and once during the encounter phase. Of course, this can't be done consistently, but it happens more often than you might think, in conjunction with other resource generators like Proud Hunters and Soldier of Dol Amroth which give the normally resource-poor Tactics sphere lots of cash. Gondorian Fire is a good late-game card to put on Mablung, allowing him to use the excess resources for good.

Of course, Mablung only gets resources when enemies are engaged, and the deck needs a way to efficiently deal with them. Luckily, we're a mono-Tactics deck, so this is fairly easy. Gondorian Shield on Mablung, along with some Defenders of Rammas, can block all day long, with Honour Guard standing ready to cancel any damage that slips through. Counterattack is swift and devastating, with a weaponized Hama and buff allies quickly eliminating all engaged enemies.

In terms of questing, while the deck can muster up a good bit of willpower, and I have won several quest-heavy scenarios with this deck in solo play, it's best if there is another deck around to help out. The deck's willpower caps at 23, which, while decent, involves sending all my heroes and most of my allies to the quest, assuming those allies are in play. A seperate questing deck alleviates the strain this places on the deck and allows it to focus on combat, which it excels at, and to pitch in a few points of during the quest phase from Théoden and the Stewards of Orthanc.

The sideboard was actually part of the first few iterations of the deck, but I found subbing in Gleowine for Theoden's toys helped solve some of the draw problems. You can always add them back in though.

Enjoy the deck!