Here's the latest version of my "Boromir" deck. Now up to version 13! The deck has evolved quite a bit since the previous post. For one thing, I no longer start Boromir, although he is still an important part of the deck:
Deck Name: Boromir, Still Sharpe
Ring-bearer:
Frodo, Resolute HobbitRing:
The One Ring, The Great RingStarting:
1x
Faramir, Captain of Ithilien1x
Ranger of the White Tree1x
Madril, Defender of Osgiliath1x
Pippin, Wearer of Black and Silver1x
Smeagol, Slippery SneakAdventure deck:
The Bridge of Khazad-dumCavern EntranceSteward's TombNeekerbreekers' BogMithlondThe Prancing PonyDammed Gate-streamMount DoomSirannon RuinsFree Peoples Draw Deck:
2x
Gandalf, Returned1x
Grimbeorn, Beorning Chieftain1x
Radagast, The Brown1x
Aragorn, Thorongil1x
Boromir, Defender of Minas Tirith1x
Elrond, Lord of Rivendell1x
Beorning Axe1x
Shadowfax, Greatest of the Mearas2x
Armor4x
Ithilien Blade1x
Ranger's Cloak1x
Throne of Minas Tirith1x
Phial of Galadriel, The Light of Earendil4x
A Wizard Is Never Late1x
Citadel to Gate2x
Deep in Thought2x
On Your Doorstep2x
Roll of Thunder4x
What Are They?1x
Follow Smeagol1x
Spirit of the White Tree1x
Stewards' Legacy2x
The Faithful Stone1x
Prized Lagan1x
Pallando, Far-travelling One1x
Deagol, Fateful FinderShadow Draw Deck:
3x
Grima, Wormtongue3x
Isengard Shaman1x
Isengard Tinker4x
Goblin Runner4x
The Balrog, Demon of Might4x
Orc Ambusher3x
Orc Scout3x
Sauron, The Lord of the Rings3x
Troll of Cirith Gorgor2x Úlairë Enquëa, Lieutenant of Morgul
2x Úlairë
Nelya, Third of the Nine Riders2x
Ships of Great Draught3x
Grond, Hammer of the Underworld2x
Ithil Stone4x
Saruman's Power2x
Host of Thousands1x
HateLet's see, where to begin...
*Swapped Gimli out for Frodo, because I found I really needed as much resistance as possible against corruption decks. And with
The One Ring, The Great Ring he's all but impossible to overwhelm, unless he's at
Cavern Entrance.
*Now start Faramir instead of Boromir, because he offers early protection for Madril against Enquea, and is an
Ithilien Blade doubler.
*Added Pippin for his additional
IB-like ability, good to have from the beginning. He's also a great way to soak up archery.
*Added Smeagol because the only real counter to site manipulation, is to run a little site manipulation yourself. Starting site is
Dammed Gate-Stream, so I can bid high, start first, pull
Follow Smeagol, and ideally site 2 is the only site my opponent will ever play.
*Both Pippin and Smeagol were also selected for their ability to be discarded, this being a fellowship that runs a total of ELEVEN companions!
*Took out two Gandalfs, added two more
A Wizard is Never Late, and took advantage of that card by adding two more Gandalf-culture characters:
Grimbeorn and
Radagast.
*
Grimbeorn is strong for when I have to fight, works well with my large minions and aids in cycling. With the
Beorning Axe, plus two of
On Your Doorstep, I also have a reasonable chance of retrieving anything I need from the discard pile.
On Your Doorstep also works great with Boromir, Elrond, and
What Are They?*
Radagast is normally an emergency measure if I fall behind. Many times I have used him at site 6 to triple-move to the end.
*Aragorn rounds out the crew as a strong fighter, another way to add threats, and/or exert minions who have troublesome special abilities.
*Spirit of the White Tree (along with
Armor) is mainly anti-Gollum strategy. Currently only have one, thinking about adding a second (since Shelob normally excludes one guy).
*Took out healing stuff like
Citadel of Minas Tirith, and instead added
Neekerbreekers' Bog and
Mithlond. A well-placed
Neekerbreekers' Bog will hurt my opponent while helping me, and with Faramir's ability to spread wounds around, these sites have worked really well (using
Follow Smeagol) to help me double-move.
*Added two
Roll of Thunder, because
Throne of Minas Tirith is not enough by itself.
Ships of Great Draught is the weak point of this deck's strategy, so if it comes out, I need to get rid of it ASAP.
*Steward's Legacy with Faramir and Boromir has been great, particularly Faramir's ability to cancel special abilities during the maneuver phase when he heals guys or swings an
IB. Another protection against Enquea and the like.
*Prized Lagan is yet another way to add threats, with the added bonus of taking away fierce, and healing my hobbits. What a card!
*Ranger's Cloak is a relatively late addition. Added it mainly as another defense against
The Balrog, Demon of Might, so one of my guys can take a hit from him and still live. But it's also another way to add threats, as well as a way for Pippen to still be usable even if Madril gets killed or negated by
Ships of Great Draught.
*Phial of Galadriel, The Light of Earendil has been great for cycling, particularly late in the game. It also provides Frodo with enough resistance that even that annoying cycle-Moria-corruption deck cannot corrupt him.
*
Deagol is another late addition, just a way to get one of my items more quickly, whatever I happen to need at the time. If I happen to get
Follow Smeagol in my starting hand, I can use site 1 to pull this instead.
*Citadel to Gate is my hail mary card, for when my ring-bearer is getting close to corruption, or for when my Gondor guys are all hurt. Bam! No threats, heal guys, use
Shadowfax to take off burdens. Rinse and repeat with
Beorning Axe, if necessary.
*Fewer changes to the Shadow-side of this deck. Replaced several Isengard Orcs with
Grima, Wormtongue, who has single-handedly won me the game on multiple occasions, mainly by clogging up my opponent's hand with FP cards allowing me to move with minimal minions to fight me. Also added
Ithil Stone for cycling and cheaper guys, one copy of
Hate for a potentially nasty surprise, and replaced
Orc Pursuer with
Orc Scout, who works as another counter to some site manipulation strategies, as well as
What Are They?