Sound and Fury 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

This is a combat deck that leverages the power of direct damage effects to eliminate enemies before they get to attack, as well as the flexibility of Faramir and Hirgon to provide combat advantage.

The key pieces are Thalin and Anborn. Between the two of them, any enemy can enter play with 2 damage tokens already on it. Low hit point enemies can be quickly dispatched at that point with a Gondorian Spearman, with a Spear of the Citadel as needed.

Against enemies with higher hit point totals, slightly more creative means might be required. Hirgon allows allies to be played after staging but before engaging enemies. This is most useful with the Galadhon Archer, adding one more point of damage to the total, meaning that enemies with up to 5 hit points can be killed before they get a chance to attack.

Another useful option is Rúmil. Since Hirgon's ability counts as playing from your hand, you can trigger Rúmil's ability. With a ranged hero already in play, Rúmil is a 3-cost ally with 2 , 2 , and that deals 2 direct damage when it enters play, with no setup needed. However, with just one or two additional ranged allies (of which there are 8 cards in the deck), he becomes an absolute monster.

The restriction on enemies engaged with a player does mean that you will have to deal with at least one attack from the enemy before you can kill it, and so beefier defenders like Defender of Cair Andros and Knight of the White Tower are included to deal with them. Faramir can also be outfitted with a Gondorian Shield and a Steed of the North, allowing him to quest, and then defend for 4.

Against enemies with attacks too powerful to safely defend, Grimbold and Feigned Voices give you options (the 8 Silvan allies in the deck give you a fair chance of triggering it). Feigned Voices also allows you to get extra mileage out of the Galadhon Archer or Rúmil. Hunting Party is also an option against enemies that are in the staging area at the start of the round.

Steward of Gondor should be played on Faramir, to allow him to pay for the Knight of the White Tower and Anborn. His ability to ready an ally also means that you can offer a decent contribution to the quest phase of the game via Rúmil, Grimbold, Yazan, and Knight of the White Tower, and still have characters ready for defending or attacking back. King Under the Mountain makes the deck remarkably consistent, and saves deck space that might otherwise be taken up by Weapon attachments and Foe-hammer.

Defender of the West is a proxy for the not-yet-released Necklace of Girion, a 1-cost Neutral attachment that attaches to a hero and gives them +2 and they gain an extra resource every round. Its guarded keyword means that you first have to clear a location or kill an enemy, but this deck can handle that sort of thing.

Gandalf and Sneak Attack are included for threat reduction and emergency card draw. And, if Gandalf is played from hand, he can contribute to the quest and then ready for combat after you engage an enemy - possibly the single most efficient use of Faramir's ability.