7 Dunedain and a Dwarf 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

[Fellowship is here.]

This is the partner deck for an aggro Dúnedain build linked above. I don't belong to the school of thought that you need more than one or two side quests in a Thurindir deck, but with Legacy Blade it's certainly fun to have a bunch of side quests. Like with many partners to combat builds, this deck is tasked with questing and location control.

Questing

All the heroes quest each round, especially when Glorfindel gets his Light of Valinor. This makes Rally the West good value once you complete it. A smorgasbord of allies help out.

Special mention to Arwen, sometimes overshadowed by her hero version these days but who contributes a boost so important to Amarthiúl/Vigilant Dúnedan in the other deck that I've made her a 3x here.

Ghân-buri-Ghân is so very good against a large variety of quests. Probably he should be 2x; you can and should drop your least favorite side quest to fit him.

Despite being a side quest deck, I initially thought Rider of Rohan might be superfluous in a setting where another deck handles most of the combat, but not only was his still sometimes useful, but also so was his ablity to exhaust to various encounter effects, or his potential as an emergency meat shield I mean chump blocker.

Dúnedain Pathfinder is an excellent source of long-term in a deck that you trust can deal with the tempo hit of an additional location.

Location control

I don't care what anyone says, Asfaloth is still amazing. The classic Northern Tracker is also here, complemented by the useful Rhovanion Outrider. Súlien is clutch in quests that interfere with placing progress on locations in the staging area; if you've got those under control, then she has 3.

Heirs of Earendil is a card that, every time I draw it, I have to read it again to make sure it's as great as it seems. It is. The low starting threat of the deck is helpful here. (Besides, having high threat in this fellowship wasn't so much of an issue, as the partner deck has lots of Sentinel and can pull over unwanted enemies with Aragorn.)

Thrór's Key is sometimes perceived as a quest-specific tech card, but I have found it to be useful in most quests. Sub in Thror's Map if Travel costs are consistently an issue.

Odds & ends

• With only Thurindir around, the costs are kept low. Halfling Bounder is too good to pass up, though, as Tests of Will #4–6.
• A standard healing suite is included.
• Tale of Tinúviel + Glorfindel + Light of Valinor can be game-changing. Amarthiúl in the other deck is a particularly juicy target, and the one time I used it on a questing Súlien in order to trigger her ability too was dope.
• The standard choice of side quest for Thurindir's ability is Gather Information, which is totally understandable, but when I'm feeling spicy I enjoy starting with Scout Ahead. A turn's worth of scrying and the banishment of a bad encounter card before that copy ever hits is a sweet early-game boon.
• Unexpected Courage is for the other deck.

And, sideboard talk:

• As usual for -heavy questing decks, most of the low-cost allies can be considered. I've included Bilbo here specifically because, even if you have a Dúnedain Pipe already out, his shuffle can redistribute cards you've already buried with it if you think you'll need them again. In fact, let me come clean: I actually use him, not Bofur, but then this deck name wouldn't have worked, so.
• Magic Ring is here because I can discern times that, despite the low cost curve of the deck, it would've been great to have that extra resource on Thurindir. Both Súlien and Ioreth can use it. If you're an Artifact fan, Gather Information can find it, and again your low starting threat is helpful.
• The deck is noticeably weak on draw, with only the Pipe (and the near-compulsory Daeron's Runes) to help out. Ancient Mathom is still a good card, so try it out if you're not a fan of top-decking.
• Given the pairing with an aggro combat deck, this deck could easily sub out Idraen for many other heroes. As stated above, starting threat is not so much an issue, but her readying is nice but not crucial most of the time. Éowyn can make use of the multiple duplicate uniques in both decks.
• You could also delve into the Scout-trait-using events, but that starts to edge into a different deck entirely.
• Elrond's Counsel is great, especially for helping get that last little bit on a side quest. I just didn't find it necessary with Double Back, as well as the Secret Vigils in the partner deck.
• Ravens of the Mountain… Since side quests can almost always only be the current quest during the quest phase, the synergy doesn't seem great, but can you imagine the delight you'd have the one in a thousand times you come up just short on a side quest, use Ravens, complete the quest, and scry some important information about the first shadow card? I can, and sideboards are for dreams, or what's a heaven for? A desperation Ravens is the kind of high-variance play that really tickles me. (Yeah, yeah. Just play Secret Paths.)