Gondor Wraiths in Expanded

[Orophoin]

Hey all!

My last post was a deck trying to show that Wraiths are actually viable in Movie block.

http://lotrtcgwiki.com/forums/index.php/topic,10810.0.html

It is a fun deck that probably outperforms it's true worth as there are several pretty basic counters (Saruman's Power, Great Hill Troll and The Pale Blade all sliding to mind). Therefore surely there's no point even considering these guys in Expanded where the power curve is even more obscene?

Well that's what I thought for far too long, despite there being some obviously useful bonuses to these guys, most notably Pallando. However, I eventually decided to just test the waters. Dealing with Saruman's Power is obviously a must and there's only one card that comes to mind that can do that: Gandalf, Wise Guide. GotM can then provide burden removal almost for free given how effective these Wraiths are at removing threats. After a few failed attempts, the following deck is doing really well (with over an 80% win rate).

Ring-bearer: Isildur, Bearer of Heirlooms
Ring: The One Ring, The Ring of Rings

Adventure deck:
(1) Cavern Entrance
(1) Rohan Uplands
(1) Nurn
(2) Caras Galadhon
(2) Mithlond
(2) Westfold Village
(3) Mount Doom
(3) Imladris
(4) Sirannon Ruins

Free Peoples Draw Deck (42 cards):
3x Gandalf, Wise Guide
1x Cursed of Erech
1x Denethor, Lord of Minas Tirith (starting)
1x Faramir, Captain of Ithilien (starting)
1x King of the Dead, Oathbreaker
1x Shadow Host
2x Sleepless Dead
1x Barliman Butterbur, Prancing Pony Proprietor
2x Shadowfax, Greatest of the Mearas
3x Banner of Westernesse
1x Narsil, Blade of the Faithful
1x Scroll of Isildur
1x Seeing Stone of Orthanc
1x The Shards of Narsil
1x Throne of Minas Tirith
1x A Wizard Is Never Late
1x Deep in Thought
2x Speak Friend and Enter
2x Traveled Leader
2x Swordarm of the White Tower
1x Hearts Raised
1x Noble Leaders
1x Stewards' Legacy
1x Storied Homestead
2x Stronger and More Terrible
3x Swept Away
2x The Faithful Stone
2x Pallando, Far-travelling One
1x Elendil's Army

Shadow Draw Deck (42 cards):
2x Following Uruk
3x Mauhur, Relentless Hunter
1x Saruman, Agent of the Dark Lord
2x Sentry Uruk
1x Shagrat, Tower Captain
4x Ugluk, Ugly Fellow
4x White Hand Guard
2x White Hand Taskmaster
3x White Hand Warrior
1x Isengard Sword
1x Savagery to Match Their Numbers
1x Broken in Defeat
4x Ghastly Wound
4x Violent Hurl
3x You Do Not Know Fear
1x Greed
1x Worry
3x Fury of the Evil Army
1x Tracking the Prize
1x With All Possible Speed

As with the movie deck, keep Denethor alive until site 3, then use him to pull the three most useful cards in your deck (with Narsil). Then transfer Narsil to Isildur, triggering threats allowing you a clean slate for Swept Away as well as pumping up your Wraiths. Site 4 looks as though it should hurt, but surprisingly it is rarely a problem, especially if you choose it (Caras Galadhon is always tempting to try, though I often prefer Mount Doom, especially against Nazgul).

Gandalf protects against Saruman's Power, and Faramir with Stewards' Legacy and Storied Homestead can really help constrict your opponent. Throne of Minas Tirith discards almost all of the other problematic cards for the deck, such as Grond while adding more tokens to your cards (Oathbreaker is a really good companion). The Faithful Stone is just broken. I hate using the term, but it just is.

Wounds don't pile up on Gandalf like they do on many other Wise Guide decks thanks to Faramir who is constantly kept healed by Banner of Westernesse. The synergy between the cards does make the deck almost have an answer to everything. You just have to draw it in time, but Denethor really helps here.

The Shadow is a pretty standard Hunters deck that probably gets more kills than my FP runs to 9 (though it often can). They compliment the Wraiths well, as their biggest drawback is normally that they are known to clog you on your FP turn as you try to get a killer hand. The Wraiths need you to have 4 cards in hand anyway, so don't mind a clog. It's very event heavy (10 pumps), but they are all just so good. White Hand Warrior is so great for White Hand Guard and Mauhur, RH that I'm surprised it isn't more popular.

Fury of the Evil Army is also very versatile. Play Nurn as site 1 (or 2 if you go second). I have always thought it is a really well designed site, and I don't often say that about Hunters Block cards.

Feel free to comment, criticise or copy. It turns out that these Wraiths are very good against Troll's Keyward and Mountain Troll Swarm (the culture has no way to get rid of your conditions), and that alone makes it worth noting.

[Dictionary]

Personally I think Wraiths are far better in Expanded than Movie. The meta is much more wound focused, so Swept Away is actually useful. Strength bonuses are abundant, so no need to bother with spectral swords. Mine uses G For Grand + Leader of the Company. Wise Guide definitely has his advantages though. Swordarm of the White Tower seems like a lacklustre boost here, even at +4. Wouldn't you rather have a permanent, or more site-swapping cards?

[Shelobplayer]

Elessar Telcontar might worth a try. Exerting a wraith to heal Gandalf is great deal. You could get to use King of the Dead's ability (even though if Swept Away is in play it fulfills a very similar role). Also if you decide to pull him with Denethor, he heals him right after.

Kings' Legacy can heal Barliman. Anything that can do that is potentially broken is expanded

Out of High Airs is a card I'd run a single copy of.