That's a fair point, and after testing this deck a little, I've generally found Gandalf to add little, other than
Narya burden removal (which arguably adds too much twilight) and
TMAYOD, the few times it actually sets up properly and isn't discarded. As such, I'm actually trying two slightly different decks now, one that removes Bilbo/tales and doubles down on
, and another which sticks with Bilbo/tales but replaces
with
.
I've left both decks slightly on the larger end at 40 each; not to give too much away, but my shadow side involves 4x
Fell Beast so I think the extra cards will be useful, and will filter OK.
For the Gandalf deck, I've removed Bilbo and most tales, except the ones that are useful enough in and of themselves (
NFFATROD and
There and Back Again). In addition to the traditional
Deep in Thought and
Roll of Thunder (plus Barliman), I've added a different
Glamdring (to help trigger
ALIHM),
Light the Beacons as a useful event (especially if healing is rolling well) for both buffing
and ensuring enough twilight for
Deep in Thought. Added
Bounder, since I removed
the Tale of the Great Ring and because he synergizes well with
Frodo, Old Bilbo's Heir. Also switched to
Pippin, WOBAS, which lacks the
sig, but can help with roaming
, and could set up some fun hand manipulation.
Ring-bearer:
Frodo, Old Bilbo's HeirRing:
The One Ring, The Binding RingFree Peoples Draw Deck: (40 cards)
4x
Gandalf, Defender of the West1x
Merry, Rohirrim Squire1x
Pippin, Wearer of Black and Silver1x
Sam, Great Elf Warrior1x
Barliman Butterbur, Prancing Pony Proprietor1x
Bounder1x
Glamdring, Elven Blade2x
Hobbit Sword1x
Sting, Bane of the Eight Legs1x
Gandalf's Staff1x
Narya2x
Deep in Thought1x
Light the Beacons2x
Roll of Thunder2x
Hobbit Intuition2x
Narrow Escape1x
Nine-fingered Frodo and the Ring of Doom1x
Moment of Respite1x
Not the First Halfling3x
Trust Me as You Once Did2x
A Light in His Mind1x
A Talent for Not Being Seen1x
Birthday Present1x
Escape4x
The Shire Countryside1x
There and Back AgainFor the
deck, I removed all
cards, and added two Faramirs and Boromirs. That's basically the only change, other than doubling down on some events and condition removal cards which I think will be even more important now. I added one
Athelas as I'm a little worried about removing conditions played on companions,
tricks in particular....hopefully one is enough, because the only alternative,
Seven We Had, seems crummy.
Ring-bearer:
Frodo, Old Bilbo's HeirRing:
The One Ring, The Binding RingFree Peoples Draw Deck: (40 cards)
2x
Boromir, Son of Denethor2x
Faramir, Son of Denethor1x
Merry, Friend to Sam1x
Pippin, Friend to Frodo1x
Sam, Great Elf Warrior3x
Bilbo, Well-spoken Gentlehobbit1x
Athelas2x
Hobbit Sword1x
Red Book of Westmarch1x
Sting, Bane of the Eight Legs3x
Hobbit Intuition2x
Narrow Escape2x
Nine-fingered Frodo and the Ring of Doom2x
A Light in His Mind2x
A Talent for Not Being Seen2x
Birthday Present2x
Consorting With Wizards1x
Escape1x
O Elbereth! Gilthoniel!4x
The Shire Countryside2x
The Tale of the Great Ring2x
There and Back Again