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| AnxiousChieftain |
![]() Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 7:00 pm |
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Joined: 15 Jul 2005
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Location: Maryland
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--- description ---
This article exhibits a Gondor skirmish event deck, utilizing a vastly under-used companion: Anarion, Lord of Anorien.
--- end description ---
It’s not often that you see a deck based on Anarion, Lord of Anorien. After all, he was released in a special Weta Collection, and thus he is not the easiest card to obtain. As soon as I could, I bought a couple copies of Anarion from Cobra, and I soon learned that it was a very good investment!
Why is Anarion a good companion? The answer is really quite simple: he can make your skirmish events at least twice as powerful. In addition, each minion skirmishing Anarion gets a big strength deduction! Gondor has traditionally been the best culture for Defender bonuses, so Anarion’s game text has great potential.
The ideal Anarion is as follows:
Anarion, Lord of Anorien
with
Ranger’s Cloak
The Saga of Elendil
Narsil, Blade of the Faithful
I Will Go
When Anarion has all this gear, he has 6 vitality and is defender +1. Now, for the fun part: assign 2 minions to him (or more, if you use Elendil’s Valor), and play any skirmish event. You just subtracted 6 strength from every minion skirmishing Anarion! Play another event, and you will almost assuredly overwhelm every minion he is skirmishing. Some minions, like Sauron, may require 3 or 4 events to overwhelm, but the majority of minions do not have the strength needed to avoid being overwhelmed.
But Anarion can’t always do everything by himself, so he needs some companions to help him along the way. Here are the cards I chose to include, with a short explanation of why I chose them.
Companions
First things first: Boromir, Bearer of Council will be the Ring-bearer. I chose Boromir over Isildur, Bearer of Heirlooms, due to Boromir’s ability. Isildur may have a slightly less harsh drawback, but Boromir’s ability can be great against some minions. To help cope with Boromir’s small amount of resistance, I use The One Ring, The Ring of Rings.
Since the main character in this deck is Anarion, Lord of Anorien, I definitely have to include him. He will be part of the starting fellowship, so only 1 copy is needed.
My all-time favorite  companion is Faramir, Son of Denethor. His ability can shut down Ninja Gollum, Beasterlings, and many more decks. In addition, The Prancing Pony can grab him from my draw deck, so I included only 1 copy.
Every bit of Anarion’s vitality is useful, so Halbarad, Ranger of the North will join the fellowship. His maneuver ability not only heals your companions - it also cycles your hand!
Aragorn, Guide and Protector is included for his skirmish wounding ability. Aragorn is this deck’s 2nd in command - Aragorn will fight anyone Anarion can’t fight, unless it would be advantageous to assign the minion to Faramir, Son of Denethor.
The last companion is a hobbit: Pippin, Wearer of Black and Silver. Why did I include a Hobbit in a Gondor deck? For several reasons. First off, his 1 twilight cost makes him able to start in the fellowship next to Anarion. Secondly, his wounding ability is very useful early in the game, and may even help in the later regions when used with Ranger’s Cloak. Finally, I can soak up archery wounds with him, and then return him to my hand (dumping all the wounds!). Next turn, each copy of Home and Hearth will trigger when I play Pippin, removing burdens from Boromir.
Possessions and Artifacts
Ithilien Blade is a nice, solid sword. The maneuver ability keeps your fellowship safe in the early sites, while the extra strength bonus can be just enough to make you win your skirmishes.
Ranger’s Cloak is a dual purpose card. The extra vitality increases Anarion’s usefulness, while the site number part can trigger Ithilien Blade’s strength bonus or Pippin’s wounding. In a pinch, you can even play it on Boromir to increase your Ring-bearer’s resistance.
To add even more vitality to Anarion, Narsil, Blade of the Faithful is included. While equipped with Narsil, Anarion won’t be able to bear Ithilien Blade, but the extra vitality makes it worth it.
Events
Anarion is an absolute beast when he’s defender +1, so Elendil’s Valor is an obvious must-include. When Anarion doesn’t need the defender bonus, it can easily be discarded with Halbarad’s maneuver ablity to heal a companion.
When played on a defender +1 companion, Swordarm of the White Tower is a cheap, strength +4 boost. This is definitely one of the best events for this deck.
Sentinels of Numenor is a nice, cheap strength event. Very powerful against Nazgul, but it also is great against Uruk Hunters, Trolls, Easterlings, Dunlendings, and all other fierce minions.
Double-moving can be one of the main dilemmas with an event based deck, since it can be hard to have enough events in hand for both sites. This is where Banners Blowing helps. It always gives a +3 boost to any Man, but it can also be replayed once from your discard pile. It’s always nice to have a couple +3 boosts in your discard pile, waiting for a crucial moment.
Conditions
I Will Go grants Anarion a steady defender bonus each turn, provided you keep initiative. It’s not hard to keep initiative, though, when most of your cards don’t get used till the skirmish phase.
The Saga of Elendil is a simple vitality boost for Anarion. When needed, it can even be discarded to give Anarion 2 extra strength.
Dealing with archery wounds can be a problem, but with 2 copies of Citadel of Minas Tirith you can negate 2 of those wounds each turn. It only works if you don’t lose a skirmish, but with all the events, it’s not like you’ll be losing skirmishes very often.
Boromir only has 8 resistance, so some form of burden-removal is needed. Since Pippin is included, the best burden-removal card for this deck is Home and Hearth. Every turn, you can remove burdens with Pippin, and even heal Boromir if at a dwelling.
Optional Cards
As always, there are optional cards that may work well in this deck.
Sometimes, Faramir, Son of Denethor isn’t enough to shut down your opponent’s skirmish special abilities. To help cope with this, Concealment is a nice event that works well with Ranger’s Cloak.
If you need more skirmish events in your deck, consider Rally the Company or Pledge of Loyalty. Both are great skirmish events that have a bigger bonus if the targeted companion has a certain amount of resistance.
For more defender bonuses, consider using Armor of the Citadel in place of one copy of I Will Go. Armor of the Citadel provides a nifty anti-damage ability, and can make Anarion defender +1. I would only suggest using this card if your Shadow has a way of manipulating the site path, as the defender bonus only works at a battleground.
If your Meta is swarm-heavy, a copy of Coat of Mail can allow Boromir to survive for much longer.
Aragorn, Isildur’s Heir is a decent replacement for Aragorn, Guide and Protector. I prefer GaP, however, for 3 reasons:
A) GaP is a ranger, and can be fetched via The Prancing Pony.
B) GaP’s skirmish action is very useful in this deck.
C) IH’s defender bonus only works on Anarion if Anarion bears a Ranger’s Cloak and there are no burdens.
If you feel consistently pressured to triple move, Radagast, The Brown or Last Throw are suitable triple-move cards. Last Throw can be a nice surprise, being an event, although Radagast is more reliable.
Decklist
This deck is ideally paired with a Shadow that can cycle well. Since the focus of the Free Peoples is to use skirmish events, it is essential that during your Shadow phase you get rid of as many Shadow cards as possible. Forest Nazgul with Moving This Way is a very good option.
Here’s the Free Peoples decklist:
Ring-bearer and Ring
Boromir, Bearer of Council
The One Ring, The Ring of Rings
Sites to Include
The Prancing Pony
Flats of Rohan
Window on the West
Fellowship (33)
Anarion, Lord of Anorien (starting)
Pippin, Wearer of Black and Silver (starting)
Faramir, Son of Denethor
Halbarad, Ranger of the North
Aragorn, Guide and Protector
Ranger’s Cloak x2
Narsil, Blade of the Faithful
Ithilien Blade x2
I Will Go x2
The Saga of Elendil x2
Citadel of Minas Tirith x2
Home and Hearth x2
Elendil’s Valor x4
Swordarm of the White Tower x4
Sentinels of Numenor x3
Banners Blowing x4
Extra Strategy
This deck requires a fair amount of skill to play, although definitely not nearly as much as decks like Refuge.
I usually bid either 1 or 0. It’s not essential to go first, but if you do, then play The Prancing Pony as the first site. If you go second, try to play The Prancing Pony as site 3. Which ranger should you fetch with it? If you know your opponent’s Shadow, then it’s much simpler. If you have no idea what Shadow you’re playing against, then Faramir, Son of Denethor is your best bet. Against Archery, I would fetch Halbarad, Ranger of the North, to provide healing. Aragorn, Guide and Protector isn’t generally good against specific decks - he’s just an all-around great companion. I usually only fetch him only if I already have Faramir and Halbarad already in play.
Make sure you arm Anarion with the key conditions and possession before you arm your secondary companions. Ithilien Blade, however, can be played on anyone - when used on Anarion, the maneuver ability subtracts from Anarion’s game text, but the strength boost is helpful.
Be careful when double-moving. If you don’t have enough events, you could get creamed. If you’ve got a couple events, or your fellowship looks strong enough to survive on its own, it can be helpful to take a risk and double-move. Against a Shadow with minions that have high site numbers, Ithilien Blade makes it much easier to double-move during the first 2 regions.
Match-ups
Here are match-ups against a variety of decks. If you would like to see a match-up against a specific deck, let me know!
Archery
You’ll be winning your skirmishes easily enough, but it’s healing that you’ll have to worry about. Pippin can absorb 3 archery wounds per turn, Halbarad can heal a companion once per site, Citadel of Minas Tirith x2 can heal 2 wounds per turn, and Home and Hearth x2 can heal Boromir twice. So, while the deck could have some trouble, it definitely has enough healing cards to run to site 9 once it gets set up.
Swarm
Not a problem. This deck packs 6 companions, a host of skirmish events for the Ring-bearer, and multiple cards to give your companions defender bonuses.
Corruption
Boromir has 8 resistance, and Home and Hearth can start removing burdens every turn. If you don’t draw any Home and Hearth, you could be in trouble, although Faramir’s ability can shut down Ulaire Enquea, Thrall of the One.
Beatdown
This deck thrives against Beatdown decks. Anarion, Faramir, and Aragorn can all easily take down minions with all the skirmish events included.
Corsairs
This deck doesn’t need its possessions to survive, so Corsair Marauder’s usefulness isn’t quite as large as it is against decks like Rohan. Anarion should be winning a lot of skirmishes, and the wounding from Pippin and Aragorn can make sure that your opponent isn’t using Raider Halberd’s ability to pump up Castamir. Be sure to watch out for Red Wrath subtracting from Anarion’s usefulness. Fierce in Despair is another nasty card, since only 1 copy of each companion is included.
Ninja Gollum
Anarion can get 6 vitality, and stay healed a fair amount. If the Shadow player uses Shelob, Her Ladyship to neutralize Anarion, then Faramir, Son of Denethor can come in and neutralize Gollum and his tricks. Which deck would win? It really depends on who gets set up first.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a strong beatdown deck, with counters to many strong decktypes, this is the deck for you! It’s very fun, is not extremely complex, has a good chance of winning, and is not very rare-intensive.
Thanks for reading! |
| Last edited by AnxiousChieftain on Tue Oct 17, 2006 7:19 pm; edited 3 times in totalMODS RULE. - lem0nhead |
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| Felipe Musco |
![]() Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 7:07 pm |
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Joined: 18 May 2006
Posts: 2434
Location: Florianópolis, SC, Brasil
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You know, although the article IS good, I can’t help but having that deja-vu feeling... Of course, it’s the first time it appears as an article, but I’ve already seen your Anarion decks on the Deck Clinic, and I actually feature a version of it in my article this month... I don’t know, didn’t see this one coming, I guess, hence the surprise.
One other thing: on your article, you say the deck is complex to play, but you say it’s easy to play on the Conclusion, you might want to change one of those statements. |
| Last edited by Felipe Musco on Tue Oct 17, 2006 7:08 pm; edited 1 time in totalI don't like YOU. |
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| elf lvr |
![]() Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 7:07 pm |
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Joined: 13 Jun 2006
Posts: 3065
Location: Rivendell
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GAAAAAAHHHHHH competition!
Good formatting, interesting read, powerful deck...
Against my better judgement (or some kind of judgement, anyway), this will probably get a 5.
I think it’s worth mentioning how adding pippin can totally prevent Anarion from being killed early agains an Ugluk and a Violent hurl, hunter uruks are a devastating shadow; however, this deck counters it well. |
Happy Hunting! Elf Lvr
Winner of Best Personality in the FPCA. Thanks!
Archduke Elf Lvr - Archidoux of the Chosen Ones
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And behold, EL declared it good. And there was morning, and there was evening, the first (new) day. ~ DainIronfoot |
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| AnxiousChieftain |
![]() Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 7:13 pm |
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Joined: 15 Jul 2005
Posts: 3947
Location: Maryland
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Felipe Musco wrote: One other thing: on your article, you say the deck is complex to play, but you say it’s easy to play on the Conclusion, you might want to change one of those statements.
Nice catch, although I think I said it required a fair amount of skill to play (not complex).
elf lvr wrote: I think it’s worth mentioning how adding pippin can totally prevent Anarion from being killed early agains an Ugluk and a Violent hurl, hunter uruks are a devastating shadow; however, this deck counters it well.
Hmm... unless I’m missing something, that’s not possible. Pippin only wounds twice, and Ugluk has 3 vitality, so you’ll need an extra wound in there somehow.
Thanks for the reviews, EL and FM! |
| MODS RULE. - lem0nhead |
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| elf lvr |
![]() Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 7:14 pm |
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Joined: 13 Jun 2006
Posts: 3065
Location: Rivendell
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 my bad, I wasn’t thinking. Still, if you can pull Aragorn... |
Happy Hunting! Elf Lvr
Winner of Best Personality in the FPCA. Thanks!
Archduke Elf Lvr - Archidoux of the Chosen Ones
AMV Maker In-Training! Check out my newest production, Katsu!- A Diedara Tribute!
And behold, EL declared it good. And there was morning, and there was evening, the first (new) day. ~ DainIronfoot |
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| Felipe Musco |
![]() Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 7:16 pm |
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Joined: 18 May 2006
Posts: 2434
Location: Florianópolis, SC, Brasil
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AC, it’s still messed up. It says that "you need a fair amount of skill to pay it", and then it says that "it does not require loads of skill to play"...  |
| I don't like YOU. |
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| AnxiousChieftain |
![]() Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 7:19 pm |
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Joined: 15 Jul 2005
Posts: 3947
Location: Maryland
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elf lvr wrote: my bad, I wasn’t thinking. Still, if you can pull Aragorn...
True. With The Prancing Pony, you can also gaurantee that you pull Aragorn early.
FM: By "it does not require loads of skill to play", I meant that it wasn’t extremely complex. I guess I’ll change it again to make it clearer. |
| MODS RULE. - lem0nhead |
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| corvus |
![]() Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 7:33 pm |
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Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 1696
Location: Roaming, but dangerous!!!
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| Great one! I love decks mostly based on one key character (other than Gandalf); excellent piece of work. |
Click here if you want to trade some foils away 
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Through draught and weary days
Through grief and endless pain |
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| Gate Troll |
![]() Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 8:32 pm |
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Joined: 15 Aug 2006
Posts: 384
Location: Udun Vale, Home of the one and only... Gate Troll!
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| Good Article. I will rate it later. |
| "Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of the men who follow and of the man who leads that gains that victory."-George S. Patton. |
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| Anonymous Prodigy |
![]() Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 9:18 pm |
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Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 4197
Location: United States
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Once again, another great article by AC!  I have to agree with FM, however; this article is a more in-depth version of the decklist that you already posted. On the flip side, the strategy is very solid, and it looks like a great deck! I give it a 5, but just by a hair.  |
| I had to put something here. |
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