Insight of the Noble V3

Knowledge is power in Tolkien's world, and those who are noble certainly seem to have great insight. Whether it is Galadriel peering at the past, present, and future with her mirror, the line of stewards with the Palantir, or long-lived, elven-wise Aragorn. They are heroes not only through might, but by wisdom and knowledge. It was this thought that spurred me to make a 2-player fellowship that made use of the Palantir and the mirror, has been an enjoyable project for me. Now this is a three player version of that fellowship. I asked @D4rkWolf10 to make a third deck that could be played with the other two decks without requiring them to change a thing and still readily interact with the Palantir. He rose to the challenge and succeeded, and I am very thankful for his efforts. Let me introduce you to our fellowship!

Imrahil's Palantir

This one is the combat deck of the fellowship and the deck that dares to look into the Palantir. It carries Gondorian Shield which can be played on Denethor or Beregond and can handle combat by hulking Prince Imrahil for Gondorian Fire or alternatively through a group of strong allies. Imrahil has action advantage to spare because if his own ability and Heir of Mardil, so he can exhaust to use the Palantir now and then. The threat rise it brings can be controlled by the fellowship, and the extra card draw can be nice, but the scrying is the most useful part. Knowing how the round will go ahead of time enables everyone to make the best choices in the planning phase. We will know how much we need to quest, what to expect for enemies, and whether or not it is necessary to be ready to play A Test of Will.

The Mirror's Gaze

This questing deck packs a powerful arsenal and rarely ever fails to deliver quest progress. Being mono- makes it easier to pay for expensive cards from the sphere like Northern Tracker, Pelargir Shipwright, and The Galadhrim's Greeting. The deck also has healing and treachery/shadow cancellation of course, but the kicker is how it is able to recycle A Test of Will to use it again and again as needed. Both Dwarven Tomb and the combination of Galadhrim Weaver with Mirror of Galadriel allows us to bring back A Test of Will or Hasty Stroke pretty often. This factor in addition to the location control, high willpower, healing and threat reduction is how this deck "smooths over" the road to victory.

Defenders of Ithilien

My buddy, D4rkWolf10, developed this deck solely to support the other two decks. Using sentinel, traps, and tricks, it makes the most out of the knowledge granted by the Palantir. Aragorn takes care of its own threat problem, so Beregond is free to sentinel defend enemies to reduce the threat of the Palantir-combat deck. This can easily allow another one or two uses of the Palantir throughout the game since it will typically raise threat by two or four. And with the knowledge gained by the Palantir, it is easier to decide which trap is best to play and if Interrogation is a good maneuver to get rid of a troubling encounter card. Steward of Gondor tends to generate more resources for the Palantir-combat deck than necessary, so Heed the Dream stands a good chance of being played for both search effects, which is a sure way for any of the decks to find any missing pieces of their engine or for any card that would be really good to play that round. Also Miruvor is another card that can be used by any of the decks, allowing for extra actions. It may be a bit unconventional, but what else would fit better as a third wheel for such a fellowship? Naught else.

Concluding Thoughts

It was our first time working together to build and test decks, and it was quite rewarding. In all likelihood, our partnership will give rise to more fellowships in the future. When it comes to this fellowship, if you like scrying ahead to dance around fate, this ought to be a fellowship you will enjoy. Those moments where you see what's coming and devise the perfect plan to make it through are certainly highlights of the teamwork sported by these decks. Much like in Middle Earth, power is made better when it is tempered and focused by wisdom.