Damage Downrange

Questlogs using this decklist
None.
Fellowships using this decklist
Discard and Dominate
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None. Self-made deck here.
Inspiration for
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Some Sort 3481

A deck built to throw a lot of damage tokens all over the table.

Typically, decks focus on powering up their heroes. This one actually drops most of the attachments on the allies and lets them do the work. Trollshaw Scout is a viable target for a Rivendell Bow and one or two Rivendell Blades. Or one could drop an Elf-friend on him, (Aside: he must be a pretty anti-social elf if he needs a card played on him just to make friends with his own race), and suddenly he's a viable candidate for a pair of Bows of the Galadhrim, which would boost his attack up to 5 against enemies engaged with you and 7 against enemies across the table.

The best part about the Trollshaw Scout? He doesn't exhaust to attack. The "drawback" is that you need to discard a card every time you attack with him. But you know what Erestor decks have a lot of? Unplayable cards ripe for discarding. With a full hand and a fully-loaded Trollshaw scout, he can attack 4+ times for 5+ damage each shot. And because of how ranged works, he can attack the same enemy two, three, or even four times a round.

(From the rulebook: "A character can declare ranged attacks against these targets while its owner is declaring attacks, or it can participate in attacks that are declared by other players." Every time any player declares an attack against an enemy, the Trollshaw Scout is free to participate, even if multiple players declare different attacks against the same enemy.)

But this is just the beginning of the ally shenanigans. Ally Legolas is also a natural target for any of these weapons, (no Elf-friend required), and every kill he lands nets you another card, (which in turn nets you another attack by a Trollshaw Scout). If Merry befriends some elves and gets his hands on a Rivendell Bow, he's free to join Legolas in all those attacks across the board, readying Legolas to do it again. And if Merry gets a few Fast Hitches on himself, he can do that again and again (and, potentially, again).

(How does an Erestor deck get a 4-cost ally like Legolas into play? With a 1-cost or 2-cost ally and a Tree People, of course.)

Speaking of Merry, be sure to stick a Mighty Prowess on him when you get a chance. Since he'll be joining in on so many attacks that destroy enemies, he can get quite a lot of mileage out of it. This is also one of the only ways to put direct damage on enemies in the staging area. (The other two are the Galadhon Archer and that Hail of Stones sitting in the sideboard to be swapped in during quests where enemies are shy and prefer not to engage.)

Aside from some top-notch attackers, the deck can turn Erestor and Haldir of Lórien into super-defenders. Protector of Lórien gives a way to turn Erestor's extra draw into extra defense, and with Elven Mail he gains Sentinel. (It's in the sideboard, Holmes.) Haldir already has Sentinel built in, but he wouldn't mind a Cloak of Lórien (also in the sideboard). Both characters can be Burningly Branded for extra safety.

That's all fun, but is there some way we can make this deck even more shenanigany? With Háma in the hero lineup, do you even have to ask? Skyward Volley is a kind of meh the first time you play it-- two resources for two damage. So just don't play it. Wait until all three have been discarded, (shouldn't take long; have I mentioned this is an Erestor deck?), then use Háma to pull one and you've got 6 damage for 2 resources on demand. If Merry can unhitch himself from Legolas for a bit, he can repeat the Háma-cycle over and over, (and, potentially, over), again.

While you're waiting for the Skyward Volley to get set up, Pursuing the Enemy and Rain of Arrows can also get out a lot of direct damage, and they can be cycled for those times when you're dealing with a rush of small baddies instead of a few big ones. And the one Foe-hammer cycles, too; each successive use results in three extra attacks from a Trollshaw Scout.

Trollshaw Scout and Protector of Lorien allow you to convert cards in hand to extra willpower, defense, or damage. Elven-light allows you to convert resources into cards in hand, provided you play one or both of your Songs of Travel before Erestor forces you to discard it. This not only helps speed up your engine, but it ensures that even if you draw through your entire deck there'll still be plenty to do.

And questing? Forget about it!

(No, seriously, forget about it.)

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