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DáinIronfoot

Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 11:12 am

Joined: 12 Jan 2007 Posts: 4594 Location: Beltsville, MD, USA

I really, really want to build a deck with Gandalf, Bearer of Obligation as my RB, but all my attempts thus far have led to frustration and failure. I can’t seem to keep Gandalf from getting corrupted without making the rest of my deck too weak in other areas. I either spend too much attention on keeping burdens off Gandalf and end up with a weak FP and/or Shadow side, or I have a decent deck overall except Gandalf gets corrupted too easily.

What have people found to be the most viable FP and Shadow sides to build around Gandalf? Does my deck need to be big to make sure I have Gandalf

cards to discard when I move, or smaller to help me cycle better? And can it be done in Standard, or is it really only viable in Expanded?

Best regards, Dáin, Vice Aftokrator of the Chosen Ones

Check out Lasting Alliances, The Road Ahead, and Ages of Middle-earth, three of my five dream card sets that make up Wars of the Ring. Oh, and I have a trade list now!

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NBarden

Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 11:45 am

Joined: 28 Dec 2006 Posts: 5468 Location: I don't know...

Gandalf men! Your answer begins and ends there.

Ents are viable as well.

I run Erland with events, for recursion. Lots of events, like Guidance of the Istari, that +2 or +4 if bearing a follower one, multiple copies of Last Stand, a couple copies of Pallando, multiple copies of Grimbeorn, Erland, and other guys (starting fellowship is Brand and Barliman Butterbur)..

BTW, that’s another tack. 4 copies each follower with Strange Meeting. Run enough followers to chuck with Gandalf, while still getting one of each out, and then pumping your guys absurdly high strength. Toss in Erland and a few Guidance of the Istari and your guys are macho men, with plenty of Gandalf

cards to spare (and chuck with Gandy). Of course, Radagast’s Herb Bag and either resistance + shadowfax is a must.

Jarnsmid is another must have, because once you take a couple burdens, he peels them off. Meneldor + Strange Meeting and he’s huge! The Watch and Wait package, and Glamdring, Foe-Hammer is also a great idea.

Decklist would go something like this. (Sorry, this is off the top of my head, and I can’t remember all the subtitles).

Gandalf, Bearer of Obligation
Ring of Rings

Brand
New Barliman Butterbur

Jarnsmid x 3
Erland x 3
Librarian x 3

Meneldor x 2
Pallando x 2
Alatar x 2
Radagast
Gwaihir

Strange Meeting x 4
Last Stand x 3

Guidance of the Istari x 4

Radagast’s Herb Bag
Shadowfax (either resistance + one, I prefer +2 one)
Glamdring, FH
Watch and Wait x 2

37 cards and should cycle well. Grimbeorn + a big minion deck should work well also. You can work in Beorning Axe, but I find Watch and Wait more valuable.

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Spotlight on....Sense of Obligation.

OneFathom

Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 2:17 pm

Joined: 03 Dec 2006 Posts: 426 Location:

I’m not huge, personally, on the followers seeing Meneldor is pretty pricey at 3 to play, especially if you pack your deck with them. I have been playing a Gandalf men FP for a little while now, and this is what seems to work for me.

Gandalf, BoO
The One Ring, RoR

Jarnsmid, BE
Brand, KoD

Treebeard, KoW X 3
Grimbeorn, BC X 3
Erland, DC
Radagast, TB
Barliman Butterbur, R-FL

Glamdring, FH
Shadowfax, US
Radagast’s Herb Bag
Gandalf’s Staff, FoP
Beorning Axe

Pallando, FTO
Alatar, FE

Watch And Wait X 2
Moment of Respite
New Authority

The Flame of Anor X 4
Look To My Coming X 4
Terrible And Evil

Something along those lines. I figure I’d like to peel off burdens ASAP, so I start Jarn, and then along with Brand, the pumps and followers...even Beorning Axe...I figure that gives Jarn enough of a chance to survive at least 1-2 skirmishes. Look to my Coming is a great card because it allows you to play it twice...once from hand and once from the discard (as long as you remove 4 other Gandalf-culture cards from your discard pile from play). Flame is a new Servant of the Secret Fire except you need to spot 3 G-companions and can only be played on a G-comp. I would recommend using Beorn for sure. The guy is a beast, you can always rely on him to win key skirmishes and along with the axe, you can pull back key cards for other situations or use them to discard for moving again. Likewise with Barliman, but unless you use Discoveries with him, it’s kind of a toss-up whether the cards will be G-culture. I dropped G-Staff, FoP because both Pallando and Alatar have to add 2 twilight for their Aid. If there happens to be 4 twilight in the pool, he gets an extra St. +1. Not huge, but could help win a key skirmish for burden removal. Hope this helps you on your way to making a killer Gandy-Men deck.

DáinIronfoot

Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 2:49 pm

Joined: 12 Jan 2007 Posts: 4594 Location: Beltsville, MD, USA

I like the idea of Fathom’s deck better. It’s closer to the sorts of decks I’ve tried to build...but both look interesting.

Has anyone ever successfully worked Dáin Ironfoot, King Under the Mountain into such a deck? I see the potential for great synergy between him and Treebeard. Use Dáin to discard a condition and a minion, then get that condition back if you need it with Treebeard.

Here’s a crazy deck I’ve thrown together. Probably too big (40 cards), but I figured that with all the Gandalf

cards you’re likely to discard, it might stand a chance....

Gandalf, BoO (w/ The One Ring, RoR)

Brand, KoD (starting)
Jarnsmaid, BE (starting)

Dáin Ironfoot, KUtM x2
Treebeard, KoW x2
Erland, DC x2
Ghan-buri-Ghan, CotW x2
Grimbeorn, BC x2
Radagast, TB

Beorning Axe x3
Gandalf’s Staff, FoP
Glamdring, FH
Shadowfax, ES
Radagast’s Herb Bag

Watch and Wait x3
Salve x3
Stern Words x3
Our Time x2

The Flame of Anor x3
Look To My Coming x2
Have Patience x4

My starting fellowship is the same as Fathom’s, for the same reasons he gave. The others play their normal roles: Erland fetches events, Grimbeorn gets huge, Radagast helps move faster when able, Treebeard fetches discarded conditions. Dáin discards conditions (mainly Salve, which is free) to discard minions as you move. The rest is pretty standard: pumps or burden removal, with lots of Have Patience for healing (since you’ll likely be losing several skirmishes, especially with Jarnsmaid). Our Time helps control all that twilight a bit and limit minions and Shadow conditions, and then actually turns Gandalf’s Staff into a small pump.

What do you think? I have yet to play with this deck, but with a decent-cycling Shadow side, it might do okay....

NBarden

Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 5:37 pm

Joined: 28 Dec 2006 Posts: 5468 Location: I don't know...

Dain and Brand should be started together. Drop one of the Ghan-Buri-Ghan, he’s not useful until you can combo him properly. 5 Gandalf

men and NO Guidance of the Istari? Shocked

-Trade With Me Exclamation

Add the popcorn smiley to your sig, help it achieve world domination.
What if the hokey pokey really IS what its all about? Shocked

As I lay in bed staring at the stars last night, I thought to myself, "where the heck is the ceiling?"

Spotlight on....Sense of Obligation.

macheteman

Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 5:43 pm

Joined: 07 Dec 2006 Posts: 1200 Location: The Jungle

yeah, NB is right. replace the 3xstern words with 3xGotI.

stern words will only clog you hand more Shocked

pair it with a shadow that cycles well, and you’ll be fine.

Check out my best article The Utterly Corrupt Corruption,
If at first you don't succeed...Sky-diving isn't for you.
"Combat is dangerous. It tends to interupt your breathing process."
ROLF!!!

DáinIronfoot

Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 7:33 pm

Joined: 12 Jan 2007 Posts: 4594 Location: Beltsville, MD, USA

macheteman wrote:

yeah, NB is right. replace the 3xstern words with 3xGotI.

stern words will only clog you hand more Shocked

pair it with a shadow that cycles well, and you’ll be fine.

I had Stern Words in there because I figured that A.) you could potentially discard it with Dáin, and B.) returning to hand might actually HELP, since it would guarantee a Gandalf

card or two in hand to discard and prevent burdens on Gandalf.

But perhaps if I just drop them and replace them with Guidance of the Istari.... I had considered GotI, but left it out because I figured it might not be as good if a couple Men were slow to show up and/or got killed. But I suppose the payoff is worth it, and I can always get them back later when I DO have Men with Erland....

macheteman

Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 8:08 pm

Joined: 07 Dec 2006 Posts: 1200 Location: The Jungle

good point. either way really. GotI is really a must though.

Check out my best article The Utterly Corrupt Corruption,
If at first you don't succeed...Sky-diving isn't for you.
"Combat is dangerous. It tends to interupt your breathing process."
ROLF!!!

OneFathom

Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 8:09 pm

Joined: 03 Dec 2006 Posts: 426 Location:

Dain:

Dude, I say stick with Stern Words, your logic for that is sound to the core. Use it to pump your guys, then return it to hand, dump for the double move without having to add burdens. That Guidance of Istari...no way. The card is contingent on your Erland, Barliman, Jarnsmid staying alive. They’re like 5 strength each. It is a waste of a card, there are much better Gandalf pumps than that one, like Look To My Coming and The Flame of Anor. Stick with Stern, fa sho!

NBarden

Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2007 12:05 pm

Joined: 28 Dec 2006 Posts: 5468 Location: I don't know...

Eh....GotI is automatically a +2 pump when starting with two Gandalf

men, but gets better when you get more.

Ultimately, your call, but I think GotI is a must have for the deck.

IMO, a Strange Meeting deck would be best. 9 Gandy men, 4 GotI, 4 Strange Meeting, and all the followers.

But on your deck, where’s Pallando? Missed that last time.

-Trade With Me Exclamation

Add the popcorn smiley to your sig, help it achieve world domination.
What if the hokey pokey really IS what its all about? Shocked

As I lay in bed staring at the stars last night, I thought to myself, "where the heck is the ceiling?"

Spotlight on....Sense of Obligation.

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