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This is a thematic deck built for an ongoing series on my blog, Darkling Door.

Theme: The Rohirrim meet some Dúnedain in Dunland...

Played Against: Nightmare The Three Trials

"A little apart the Rangers sat, silent, in an ordered company, armed with spear and bow and sword. They were clad in cloaks of dark grey, and their hoods were cast now over helm and head. Their horses were strong and of proud bearing, but rough-haired."

—The Passing of the Grey Company, The Return of the King

Strategy

This is a Voltron Amarthiúl deck, through and through.

My #1 priority is to get an Armored Destrier into play on Amarthiúl. With Amarthiúl's bonus resource icon, Elfhelm boosts both his and to 4 and the Destrier lets him ready during combat to get good use out of both stats. The whole deck is built around this engine, so I use my mulligan unless I have either the Destrier or a Westfold Horse-breeder (to help fetch the Destrier) in hand. If I don't manage to find a Destrier in my first couple of rounds, I'm pretty much toast.

Most of the deck’s Attachments go on Amarthiúl, too, turning him into a one-man combat machine. The only exception is Windfola, who goes on Éowyn, essentially granting a +2 to for 1 resource (once Elfhelm’s bonus is taken into account). She and Elfhelm quest every round, and the Allies in the deck serve whatever function I need most at any given time—I alternately use them for questing, additional power, and as chump blockers.

By the end of the game, Amarthiúl should have two copies of Armored Destrier, a few copies of Unexpected Courage, as well as some Signals attached. At that point, he’s capable of handling the combat phase all on his own, defending the entire board (only suffering one or two Shadow Effects) and then attacking back for 5 or 6. And when the going gets tough, I can get even more utility out of him with Events like Taste it Again!.

► For more analysis, check out my blog post on this deck.