Adventures of Thorongil: Counsel of the White Wizard 1.0

• Versions
• 2.0
• 1.0

"Thus he became at last the most hardy of living Men, skilled in their crafts and lore, and was yet more than they; for he was elven-wise, and there was a light in his eyes that when they were kindled few could endure. His face was sad and stern because of the doom that was laid on him, and yet hope dwelt ever in the depths of his heart, from which mirth would arise at times like a spring from the rock."

-from The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen

My newest creation is a thematic doomed solo deck that is centered on the years that Aragorn was serving the lords of Rohan and Gondor between the events of The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring. Saruman also grew in power in Isengard, and though he assisted the Rohirrim, he was already a traitor in his heart. His messenger, Grima, advised the King of Rohan with one hand and worked the influence of Saruman deeper into Rohan with the other. Erkenbrand was the Lord of Westfold and would have been very much involved with the clashes against Dunlendings and orcs. Just to the north lies the Fangorn Forest, so the inclusion of Ents makes sense given the locality.

The Heroes Erkenbrand is the main defender here, and he gets Dúnedain Warning and Armored Destrier. His on-demand shadow cancellation comes handy, and we have healing to support him as a solid wall against enemies. His 2 is not shabby either. Gríma with his Keys of Orthanc is the resource acceleration engine of this deck, and particularly makes the Ents more affordable. He also quests every round generally. Aragorn rounds it out as a quester in the early game and an attacker from the mid-game onward. Of course, the deck's willpower often reaches excellent heights when he wields Sword that was Broken. Aragorn also resets the threat before all the doomed effects push it too far, typically in the mid or late game.

The Deck Keys of Orthanc, Gléowine, or Dúnedain Warning are some of the best cards to see in the opening hand, since access to more resources and cards is generally a good thing and Erkenbrand can often use a defense boost. Aside from those, having some good allies to drop in on the early turns helps the deck keep up with questing. Thanks to Grima's cost reduction, Wellinghall Preserver and Treebeard can be played on turn 1, and Treebeard's resources are often used to ready himself during the combat phase since the deck often doesn't need extra help with paying for the Ents.

While the Isengard Messenger, Steward of Orthanc, and most of the Ents go questing, Quickbeam, Treebeard, and Eryn Galen Settler are held back for attacking with Aragorn after pushing through the early game. Elfhelm can also pop in as an attacker or a chump blocker when necessary. Elrond is a flexible ally who can quest or attack, and is great for healing up Erkenbrand or removing nasty condition attachments from play. At the very least he draws you a card in addition to providing his stats. Last but not least, Saruman himself also has excellent stats, and his powerful and unique ability can be game-winning. It is quite satisfying to use him to remove that one encounter card that directly prevents winning, such as that last enemy or location you need to finish off. Even when his application is not game-winning, it can remove the enemy or location that interferes with you the most at the time, and thus still accomplish much.

Most of the events are pretty standard, but Waters of Nimrodel may come as a slight surprise. Players are no strangers to direct damage, whether it's from archery, treacheries, or locations, damage often piles up. Waters of Nimrodel can heal the entire board, alleviating the pressure of damage accumulation in one fell swoop. Against quests with little direct damage, Ent Draught would be the recommended swap from the sideboard, since it can make Erkenbrand even more sturdy.

Final Thoughts I've enjoyed this deck and I have played it against several different quests. This deck has defeated Intruders in Chetwood, The Weather Hills, Escape from Umbar, Desert Crossing, The Dunland Trap, and Celebrimbor's Secret all in 1 to 3 tries with winning games ranging from 8 to 11 rounds. It also beat Nightmare Seventh Level in 13 rounds on the second try.

What I like about his deck is how it carries a decent handful of answers to relatively common problems that encounter decks inflict. It plays smarter than only rushing out a horde of allies because you'll need to decide on the best instances to use Saruman or Waters of Nimrodel and what you want to use Elrond for.

The deck has a weakness to being rushed by enemies in the early game when it is not ready to handle them yet, something that may take a couple rounds of building up. This weakness is made more apparent by the threat-spiking nature of the deck, which exposes it to the risk of engaging higher engagement cost enemies earlier than otherwise. This can be managed through being careful with your threat if you're in such danger and having Coney in a Trap or Elfhelm to chump block. So by and large, I consider this to be a fine deck that I will continue to play solo in the future.