Ent for multiplayer 2.0

• Versions
• 2.0
• 1.0

I try to build a deck for each trait who will take the best of their particular gameplay. With Ent I try to use the ready ability of Faramir. I usually have enough experience to see if this is the best option available but with Ent I can't tell if this is, or not, better than playing Erestor for having a lot of allies on turn one.

I- Choosing Heroes

The main concern with Faramir is that leadership resources are not used at all on the Ent strategy. It still allow some good cards (legacy of numenor is essential to play ents on turn one) but we need to use Faramir resource in another way. We try with Treebeard hero but we wasn't satisfied, especially because the lack of treebeard ally was disturbing. It is the best ally in this deck so we prefer it over his hero version. So we have treebeard ally, both a great card in general in Ent strategy, an awesome card to ready on Faramir ability and a good way to spend Faramir first resources when we don't have steward (beware: play steward on partner heroe is often the best choice). But we need a lot of lore resources so we play Bifur as a way to take advantage of Faramir resources. By the time I was building the deck Mablung was a really choice to play both the tactics ents, treebeard and the events. It was better than Hirgon. Now we also have quickeam hero that can be better. I didn't yet get a chance to playtest it so I let this as a side option (+1 quickeam hero -1 mablung hero, -2 quickeam ally +1 wandering ent +1 leaflock)

II- Determining strategy

Ent usually have a lot of each stat (willpower, attack and defense) but it can't have a good quest role since his allies aren't ready quick enough. But he can do more in fight thanks to treebeard (both good to defend or attack), the wonderful tactics ally (defend at 5 and attack at 6 for 2 cost ally, worth waiting one turn) and because we can ready thanks to wellinghall preserver (who go questing). Since we asume the fight role we want to be able to be really good at blocking, and some gondorian shield (usually on Mablung) are sometime useless but some other time priceless on difficult early game.

III- Choice of cards

Since this deck is supposed to be played with paired partner, capable of compensate his weakness we can play powerful cards and be sure that his drawback is irrelevant. Yes I'm talking about legacy of numenor and deep knowledge, and seeing-stone to play more of the one of our choice. It it only thanks to those cards that I can play against all the most awful nightmare with plenty of decks and win most of the time. We still play secret vigil because it is a powerful weapon to lower the threat, but it is up to other players to have some Double Back or Aragorn and Desperate Alliance.

I already say how great are most of the ent. I just have not talk about quickeam ally. He is of the most powerful ally in the game since his drawback (deal one damage) is a million time less disrupting that having to exhaust him. Here, though he feel less powerful than his companions, but it help a lot to have some allies who come ready ^^.

But it highlight even more why Wandering ent is pretty bad: he only can block a little bit better than quickbeam but come exhaust :x. But we want some density of ents for entmoot so we still play it. Envoy of pelargir is in many of my decks. His 1 willpower and 1 attack for 1 make him convenient for many things (quest, attack, block and die) and we enjoy in almost all decks to rearrange our resources. In this deck we can play a steward of gondor turn one in some situation and use Faramir resource later in the game, often to give resource to another player.

And it only let some events. Daeron's Runes is in all my lore decks. It give you more choice about what you can play. I don't care about discarding cards, cards still in my deck are not more useful than cards in my discard pile. We are not idle is also a card of this category: it allow you to play only 47 "active" cards instead of 50 if you play it at the moment you draw it. So you will draw with more regularity your best cards. It have an additionnal bonus here since we can exhast Bifur to gain one resource. There is no automatic play here: just a lot of calculation for determining if we prefer his willpower of a resource on any hero. It make 11 cards that give a 2nd resource on Faramir to play steward of Gondor turn one ^^.

IV- How deck behave in game

It is clearly less powerful than outlands, vilya, dwarf, noldor, boromir and some others topdecks. But he is still decent and his a good weapon to beat every quest except for like 4 or 5 hardest.