The Raven deck 1.0

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• 1.0

What about if we want to build a deck around the "Raven" word and its sinister aspect ? (No relation to the eponym encounter deck of the LOTR LCG official fourth cycle ;-).

Here is a kind of deck that I never seen before. I used official cardpool and added just one type Alep card with the word Raven : Edrik Ravenhelm. That ally allows Orthanc Guard to ready during the combat phase with an attack boost Soldier of Isengard may benefit too.

I took the Messenger of the King contract to choose Gildor Inglorion as the Messenger. His stats are great and his action allows to build a deck with more duplicates and attachments than usual. The choice between different draw sources is one of the deck's big assets.

Thanks to Gríma and Keys of Orthanc, resources generation is great and Isengard Messenger is sure to get a good willpower/ price ratio (Mirkwood Pioneer and Soldier of Isengard bring even more wp bonus to Isengard Messenger).

Frodo Baggins mitigates the threat (along with Gandalf) and ready (MotK) Gildor Inglorion who can make draw several new cards each round thanks to the combo of its action + Expert Treasure-hunter (phase 3) + Messenger Raven (phase 7). Just remember the MoK contract forbids the Messenger to be readied more than once per phase.

Exhaust Grima to trigger Ravens of the Mountain which synergize with the sub-theme location control. It scries for planning the Gildor's defense too.

Ravenhill Scout + Mariner's Compass, and Mirkwood Explorer, have some nice location progress combos.

The little combo Edrik Ravenhelm's action + Orthanc Guard chump-blocking + Grave Cairn may bring an offensive chump-blocking option if we do not want or can not defend with Gildor Inglorion.

Grima's action benefit lore or leadership sphere (or neutral cards), depending on the situation.

There are enough draw options in the deck to use them only when it's actually needed. So you do neither have to trigger (MotK) Gildor Inglorion's action each and every round, nor trigger and play Messenger Raven each new round. I would just recommend to play the Frodo's response each round if able.

Attach Steward of Gondor and Expert Treasure-hunter to Frodo Baggins ; Magic Ring, Expert Treasure-hunter, Cloak of Lórien, Protector of Lórien, A Burning Brand to (MotK) Gildor Inglorion ; Keys of Orthanc to Gríma ; Mariner's Compass to Ravenhill Scout.

Elf-stone help to get Edrik Ravenhelm, Faramir, Ravenhill Scout or Mirkwood Explorer. Envoy of Pelargir is another way to manage the bi-sphere resources of that deck.

Mulligan for some resources generation. Prioritize Steward of Gondor. Around the mid-game you will like to see Edrik Ravenhelm in your hand.