Caught Between the Shire and Lothlorien

Questlogs using this decklist
None.
Fellowships using this decklist
None.
Derived from
Caught Between Morning and Evening 57 42 8 1.0
Inspiration for
Realms beyond the Mountains 0 0 0 1.0
Card draw simulator
Odds: 0% – 0% – 0% more
The gameplay simulator is an experimental feature and is currently only available for those that support RingsDB development on Patreon.
Gameplay simulator
Round
0
Threat
0
Hand
In Play
Deck
Discard Pile

radAGHAST 440

This deck capitalizes on a combo that Onidsen first brought to my attention in their deck: http://ringsdb.com/decklist/view/6478/caught-between-morning-and-evening-1.0 (which is super fun, btw). That combo involves getting Herugrim on Éomer and Nenya on Galadriel, allowing Eomer to quest for 5 and then attack for 8, making him super effective at running baddies down in the staging area. I thought I'd try taking this combo in a new direction.

By including a low ally count and Strider, I found another reliable way to boost Eomer's while waiting for the Nenya/Herugrim combo to get up and running and give Eomer some useful action advantage. While I was at it, I included Folco Boffin, which opened up an interesting bevy of secrecy cards, too.

How to Play

Opening Hand: In my opening hand, I have found it is best to have Herugrim. Strider or Nenya are helpful, too, although I also don't mind if Mirror of Galadriel or Heed the Dream is there, so I can start fetching the required pieces. Normally, one wants secrecy cards in their opening hand, but not in this case, as you likely won't be triggering Folco for a few turns.

Early Game: In the early game, the goal is to find Herugrim and a boost as fast as possible, while keeping your threat in check. Galadriel's ability to allow you to draw cards and lower your threat, then, should be used generously, perhaps with the assistance of Cram as needed. Cards like the Mirror, Heed the Dream, and Captain's Wisdom allow you to fetch and play those combo pieces early, too.

Mid Game: Once Eomer is up and running and you have secrecy cards in hand, triggering Folco should become a viable decision. If Galadriel has found Nenya, even better, because now she can pay for the cards! Triggering Folco allows you to drop your threat and play Resourceful and Timely Aid. The first Resourceful should go on Eomer to fuel his ability. I tend to put the second on Galadriel to round her out. Timely Aid is a nice addition to this deck, but it may not give you the bomb effect it does in other decks, because there are only 4 different allies here! It's more effective in the mid/late game once your draw deck is more depleted and you have sufficient resources on Eomer that spending one to gamble on an ally appearing (or not) isn't going to ruin your turn.

Late Game: Once Folco is gone and the Resourcefuls are out, the boosting cards really show their utility. Song of Hope takes care of excess resources on EITHER Galadriel or Eomer (since they effectively share their willpower), just as Protector of Lórien takes care of duplicate uniques in hand. Windfola is also a fun addition, though sheerly for its boost, as the response ability doesn't work with Galadriel.

Other Card Decisions

Why Gimli and Not Prince Imrahil?

At first glance, ally Imrahil might make more sense. Once Folco is gone, why not have another hero step up? Well, the disadvantage is that this shuts off Strider's ability to let Eomer quest without exhausting. Gimli has his own action advantage, and in a deck with Resourceful, actions are more valuable than the resource Imrahil would contribute.

Terrible to Behold

This is not a thrilling card, but it actually works quite well with Eomer, especially if he is ready during combat (not so hard to do with Strider). Not only does an unmanageable attack not trigger, but Eomer is ready to take out that enemy during the next quest phase. Lots of fun!

Late Adventurer

This card is great fun with Eomer. If there are no enemies in the staging area at the start of the quest phase, just wait to commit Eomer until after staging! Any enemy that appears he likely can destroy. It's almost like not revealing a card at all!

Sneak Attack/Gandalf

In a deck that thrives on card draw, threat management and another way to deal with enemies, this classic combo pulls major weight! Just keep in mind that if you already have five characters out, you might be temporarily shutting off Eomer's +2 from Strider. There are only 2 sneak attacks because I wanted it to be 1-core friendly. If you have more, definitely not a bad choice.

Quickbeam or Gléowine?

In my experience, Gleowine's card draw can be terrific for getting the combo up and running, but in solo, Quickbeam allows this deck to handle combat somewhat better.

Dúnedain Mark

This can be subbed in (probably for Cram) if you feel like amping up Eomer's attack. Not a bad choice, as his second attack (once he's not exhausting to quest/attack) can be for up to 6 .

Vanish from Sight

I don't particularly like "in case of emergency" cards, and this one is no exception. It helps, however, if you are playing a quest with lots of threat-raising mechanics to either play secrecy cards or to avoid engagements, and therefore I've included it in the sideboard.

Weaknesses

This deck has plenty - it's no "One Deck." It's heavily dependent on getting Herugrim in place. Additionally, enemies engaging is not something this deck likes. Low threat and another player with a sentinel blocker majorly help in this department. (It pairs swimmingly with a solid Dúnhere/Fastred deck, btw).

Summary

This deck is a lot of fun. I love it because it makes use of uncommon cards, contains quirky combos, and a truly bizarre hero lineup. While it's not the greatest deck you'll see on RingsDB today, it is a lot of fun and absolutely worth a try. I'd love to hear any thoughts you have on it or ways you've tweaked it. I think my next iteration will substitute Fastred for Galadriel... Thanks for reading and happy questing!

16 comments

Sep 19, 2018 SamthemanGamgee 477

You can also put celebrian stone on eomer for some extra will and attack

Sep 20, 2018 死锁 283

why Windfola?

You can't attach it to Éomer , and Galadriel can't do quest,so Windfola is just 1resource->1, Celebrían's Stone is much better.

Sep 20, 2018 radAGHAST 440

@SamthemanGamgee @死锁 As long as Herugrim is triggering during the quest phase and Galadriel/Nenya is targeting Eomer, either Celebrian's Stone or Windfola both would boost Eomer's willpower and attack. I chose Windfola for one valid reason and one silly reason: 1 resource is far less precious in this deck than 2 resources, and I hardly ever get to use Windfola :-P. That said, Celebrian's Stone certainly wouldn't be a bad choice.

Sep 20, 2018 Onidsen 1102

This looks like a really fun take on my deck, although it might end up running into the same problems that my other deck did - early low engagement cost enemies. I ended up replacing Arwen Undómiel with Fastred, and that ended up working much better.

On the other hand, the lower starting threat of this deck, combined with the emergency button on Folco Boffin, might be enough to overcome those difficulties. I especially like the inclusion of Strider - that's a brilliant idea. Have you considered Necklace of Girion as an alternative to Resourceful? It would also boost Éomer's willpower significantly.

Sep 20, 2018 radAGHAST 440

Thanks @Onidsen! Yeah I like the idea of Fastred. He fills in a few weaknesses. And no! I forgot all about Girion. That fits perfectly... so long as a low engagement enemy isn’t guarding it!

Sep 20, 2018 Dyfer 1

Why Rosie? She can only boost Folco, so you can add any other 2 cost 2 willpower ally.

Sep 20, 2018 radAGHAST 440

@Dyfer Yeah sure. She helps Folco in a pinch early on, but really she’s just 2 more willpower. There aren’t very many of those, most are in lore or spirit. I opted for the one in leadership. Mablung’s not a bad choice either as he avoids enemy engagements or pushes enemies back to the staging area. Thanks for the thought!

Sep 20, 2018 radAGHAST 440

@Dyferthe more it think about it the more I like Mablung. Thanks for making me think of it. But if I were going to do Fastred I’d pick Arwen.

Sep 20, 2018 Wandalf the Gizzard 2415

I second Necklace of Girion. Glad to see some underused cards like Late Adventurer, Terrible to Behold, and Vanish from Sight.

Sep 20, 2018 Mormegil 2896

Celebrians Stone instead of Song of Hope?

Sep 21, 2018 SubwayTolkien 125

A unique hero combination that I really like!!! I don't think secrecy has been fully realized yet, but as they build out the archetype, this may be a great deck to use to test those mechanics.

Sep 21, 2018 The BGamerJoe 4799

I just beat The Ring Goes South with this deck. Works great until you meet the Watcher, then you have to be very careful! I never engaged an enemy. Nicely built.

Sep 21, 2018 radAGHAST 440

@The BGamerJoe that’s awesome! Thanks for letting me know. Hope it was fun! @TolkeinWhiteBoythanks, I agree that secrecy STILL isn’t quite there (nice username, btw). @The Mormegil yeah I think you’re right (or for Windfola like the others suggested). @Wandalf the Gizzard thanks! I have a lot of fun trying to use under appreciated cards.

Sep 22, 2018 Aurion 861

This is a great concept! I like it a lot. Have you thought about Guardian of Ithilien as another way to get low engagement cost enemies back in the staging area?

Sep 22, 2018 Aurion 861

I have had quite a bit of success with this deck already, with only a few minor alterations. I've brought in Guardian of Ithilien and Mablung instead of Quickbeam and Rosie Cotton to help push low engagement enemies back to the staging area and I swapped 1 of the copies of Cram for Unexpected Courage so Galadriel can use both Nenya and her ability each round. I also swapped 1 copy of Captain's Wisdom for Steward of Gondor to get Song of Hope really working and a Silver Harp to get consistent use out of the Mirror of Galadriel.

Sep 23, 2018 radAGHAST 440

@Aurion those all sound like great improvements! I’m glad I posted this deck... I never would’ve thought of Guardian of Ithilien. Thanks!