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Author Topic: KS Mithrandir Superfriends  (Read 1184 times)

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March 01, 2023, 07:50:49 PM
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WilliamFox

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KS Mithrandir Superfriends
« on: March 01, 2023, 07:50:49 PM »
Hi everyone,

While I do not have your extensive experience with the game, I thought I would still post my KS Mithrandir (P) Superfriends deck for people who could be interested. I always loved this card (especially the promotional version with the beautiful white color) and really wanted to make it work:

Frodo, Hope of Free Peoples
The One Ring, Isildur's Bane

1x Arwen, Daughter of Elrond (starting)
1x Legolas, Greenleaf (starting)

3x Gandalf, Mithrandir (P)
3x Aragorn, King in Exile

3x Elrond, Herald to Gil-Galad
1x Barliman Butterbur, Prancing Pony Proprietor

2x Shadowfax
1x Gandalf's Staff, Walking Stick (P)
1x Narya
2x Aragorn's Bow
2x Ranger's Sword
1x The Saga of Elendil
1x Asfaloth
1x Elven Sword (placeholder for Gwemegil)
1x The Tale of Gil-Galad
1x Sting, Baggins Heirloom
1x Vilya

3x Servant of the Secret Fire
3x Swordsman of the Northern Kingdom
2x Secret Sentinels

Trying to stay at 34 but not adverse to changing the count a little. Below is my "sideboard", or cards I'm still considering adding / swapping for:

1x Boromir, Lord of Gondor (6th companion to replace a dead one, ranger, I think I'll include him in the main deck)
1x Blade of Gondor
1x Aragorn, King in Exile (if needed)
1x Gandalf, Mithrandir (P) (for additional healing through discard)
1x Gift of the Evenstar (placeholder for The Last Alliance of Elves and Men)
1x Elven Bow (to increase the archery count with Arwen)
1x Asfaloth (second copy to boost Arwen more reliably)
1x Elven Sword (placeholder for Gwemegil, second copy to boost Arwen more reliably)
2x Roll of Thunder (Gandalf, Mithrandir (P) is quite strong on his own so not always critical)
2x Grown Suddenly Tall (Secret Sentinels do pretty well generally and can discard 2 conditions each against Sauron so maybe sufficient)
2x Strength of Spirit (nice synergy with the archery exertions from Legolas, Greenleaf and Aragorn's Bow but not much space in the deck)
2x Moment of Respite (for cycling and additional healing, considering including a one-off it if I find something to cut)
3x Hard Choice (good additional healing that can target most companions, but except against severe wounding maybe overkill)
2x Galadriel, Lady of the Golden Wood (for additional healing but can only target the elves so shelved for now)
1x Gandalf's Cart (for cycling but maybe less versatile than Moment of Respite)

The strategy is very straightforward : gear up Gandalf, Mithrandir (P) (up to 12 STR, DMG+2 incl. Shadowfax's exertion, 6 VIT) and Aragorn, King in Exile, the latter providing also healing every turn to offset the wounding. Gandalf's Staff, Walking Stick (P) is chosen over the other staffs to ensure that a fierce big minion such as The Witch-King, Lord of Angmar is killed during the first skirmish. Elrond, Herald to Gil-Galad, and probably Moment of Respite in the future as well, ensure that Gandalf, Mithrandir (P) can continue to wreak havoc without worry (his 2 copies can also be discarded for healing). Good skirmish support from Arwen, Daughter of Elrond and good flexibility to wound minions during the archery phase thanks to Legolas, Greenleaf and Aragorn's Bow. Servant of the Secret Fire and Swordsman of the Northern Kingdom (with 2 to 3 rangers in the deck) are very versatile pumps. Those are pretty classic.

So far, it's been quite good but I lost to swarm. I might need a one-off Power According to His Stature since Frying Pan is banned in KS but I do not own this card unfortunately. Increasing the fellowship to 6 with Boromir, Lord of Gondor is another possibility but a bit risky facing Ulaire Enquea, Lieutenant of Morgul or similar. Also vulnerable to rainbow hate (luckily not much in my meta).

Let me know if you have any comment !

Cheers
« Last Edit: March 02, 2023, 06:28:54 PM by WilliamFox »

March 02, 2023, 04:59:49 AM
Reply #1

Tunadan

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Re: KS Mithrandir Superfriends
« Reply #1 on: March 02, 2023, 04:59:49 AM »
Looks cool! I always wanted to make Mithrandir work with ents, I never considered Last Alliance.

I would recommend that you swap Daughter of Elrond for Fair Elf Maiden, Nazgul are fierce most of the time anyway and she'll work against Mumaks and the like.

Walking Stick isn't 100% neccessary with his damage +1 and Shadowfax, I'd swap to his OG staff or Focus of Power.

I'd definitely include Last Alliance for Aragorn. Hard Choice I also like, maybe 1-2 Swordsman for the Northern Kingdom can go for that.
He who breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom.

March 02, 2023, 06:55:45 PM
Reply #2

WilliamFox

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Re: KS Mithrandir Superfriends
« Reply #2 on: March 02, 2023, 06:55:45 PM »
Hi Tunadan !

Thanks a lot for your comment.

Once I get The Last Alliance of Elves and Men, I'll swap 2x Swordsman of the Northern Kingdom for it (I still have 3x Servant of the Sacred Fire anyway). Unfortunately, I do not have that card yet but I'll do my best to find it soon because it's quite critical for this deck as you said. :(

EDIT: I do not have Arwen, Fair Elf Maiden (thought I did), but I'll consider her if I get the card. On the other hand, Arwen, Daughter of Elrond has the Aragorn signet for Aragorn, King in Exile and Hard Choice, and she is also a ranger for Swordsman of the Northern Kingdom (though the latter won't matter anymore once I replace those).

Based on your recommendation, I'll experiment with Hard Choice since it's indeed a fairly potent healing at only [1] for any companion with the Aragorn signet (the card is on its way). I switched Gandalf's Staff, Walking Stick (P) for Gandalf's Staff, Focus of Power. Originally I kept the former because I wanted to kill in one skirmish the big fierce minions such as The Witch-King, Lord of Angmar, but since Legolas, Greenleaf or Aragorn's Bow can wound those once beforehand, it's not necessary providing Shadowfax is on the table.

Yesterday the deck struggled a bit due to a lack of companion, so I decided to add the 1x Boromir, Lord of Gondor and 1x Sam, Son of Hamfast since he has the Aragorn signet and will help in removing burdens. Here is the current version:

Frodo, Hope of Free Peoples
The One Ring, Isildur's Bane

1x Arwen, Daughter of Elrond (starting)
1x Legolas, Greenleaf (starting)

3x Gandalf, Mithrandir (P)
3x Aragorn, King in Exile
1x Boromir, Lord of Gondor
1x Sam, Son of Hamfast

3x Elrond, Herald to Gil-Galad
1x Barliman Butterbur, Prancing Pony Proprietor

2x Shadowfax
1x Gandalf's Staff, Focus of Power
1x Narya
2x Aragorn's Bow
2x Ranger's Sword
1x Asfaloth
1x Elven Sword (placeholder for Gwemegil)
1x Blade of Gondor
1x Sting, Baggins Heirloom
1x Vilya

3x Servant of the Secret Fire
2x Swordsman of the Northern Kingdom (placeholder for The Last Alliance of Elves and Men)
2x Secret Sentinels

I cut 1x Swordsman of the Northern Kingdom and the 2x vitality conditions (while they're always useful especially in combination with the bows, I think they're not critical here). Wanted a 2nd Boromir, Lord of Gondor but I only own one unfortunately, so I put 2x Faramir, Son of Denethor with 1x Knight's Spear and 1x Faramir's Bow (could be nice with Elven Bow on Arwen, Daughter of Elrond, Aragorn's Bow and Legolas, Greenleaf) in the sideboard just in case. Thinking also of going either for 2x Narya or 2x Gandalf's Staff Focus of Power and removing the other to avoid being tempted to attach all 3 cards to Gandalf, Mithrandir (P) and get surprised by Grima, Wormtongue with a sudden -2 VIT.
« Last Edit: March 03, 2023, 03:22:17 AM by WilliamFox »

March 04, 2023, 03:22:32 PM
Reply #3

Phallen Cassidy

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Re: KS Mithrandir Superfriends
« Reply #3 on: March 04, 2023, 03:22:32 PM »
If swarm is bringing you down, there's a quick fix: Hobbit Sword. 8 strength is much easier to get together than 12. Sting, Baggins Heirloom is a great way to use Frodo's vitality against a deck with Gollum if you had it, though there's also something to be said for Hobbit Sword being transferable to Sam in a pinch. Between that and Servant of the Secret Fire, you should be in a pretty safe spot. Bounder works wonders in an emergency too, and Boromir, Son of Denethor is a fantastic throwaway companion.

Good call on the staff swap. I think with Son of Hamfast you don't need to worry about burdens nearly as much as what would happen if Wormtongue sent back all of Gandalf's gear, my vote is to lose Narya for Focus of Power.

Faramir, Son of Denethor is also a fantastic companion, and worth including on his own merits. The most common problems he helps against for me are Morgul Brute, Morgul Destroyer, and Easterling Captain with Raider Bow and Easterling Polearm. If there's room you could have both Sons of Denethor, and 1x Knight's Spear would be good for them both. I wouldn't recommend either of their exclusive gear (Blade of Gondor or Faramir's Bow) for this build though. Not starting a character makes all their dependencies risky, and with only 1x and 2x or each you'll often have to either discard your 1x of the gear or -- perhaps worse -- hold onto it and hope the character comes soon. You're much more focused on winning skirmishes anyway. There's room to take this in a more archery-oriented direction while keeping Mithrandir, e.g. Threw Down My Enemy, if you're interested down the road.

March 06, 2023, 12:58:42 AM
Reply #4

WilliamFox

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Re: KS Mithrandir Superfriends
« Reply #4 on: March 06, 2023, 12:58:42 AM »
Thank you Phallen!

Indeed, I had thought about switching Sting, Baggins Heirloom for a Hobbit Sword. Also, as you said, Focus of Power seems a better candidate than Narya as the sole vitality artefact for Gandalf (it might be just an impression, but I feel that the +1 STR, bringing the total to 13, can make a lot of difference since it seems big minions rarely have more than 12 STR). I might keep 2x Narya in the sideboard, though, in case I remove Sam, Son of Hamfast for the sake of deck diversity (although it can hurt competitiveness a bit, I try to keep my deck thematic within reason, for fun and variety, and I already use him in another).

Following your enthusiasm, I have included 1x Faramir, Son of Denethor and switched 1x Blade of Gondor for 1x Knight's Spear, to be shared with Boromir, Lord of Gondor (or Aragorn, King in Exile if his sword does not come out). Just a shame he doesn't have the Aragorn signet. :( Those two will be good candidates for The Last Alliance of Elves and Men once I get my hand on it, and in the meantime are targets for Swordsman of the Northern Kingdom. Boromir, Son of Denethor is busy in another deck, but I think that the additional companions will help keep a rotating 5-man structure, which, together with Servant of the Secret Fire (as you mentioned) should save Frodo against Swarm.

Thank you for the tip about the archery strategy. Threw Down My Enemy seems very fun here indeed and great synergy with Gandalf, Mithrandir (P) ! Honestly, I am often tempted to go for archery with this deck because I like this theme very much. But while I have Faramir's Bow and Elven Bow to increase the amount of arrows, I do not have Gondor Bowmen nor Double Shot unfortunately. It might not be absolutely necessary, but I suppose that this is a serious loss?

March 06, 2023, 12:11:08 PM
Reply #5

Phallen Cassidy

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Re: KS Mithrandir Superfriends
« Reply #5 on: March 06, 2023, 12:11:08 PM »
Oh, my fault on the Hobbit Sword note -- I completely missed Sting there and thought there was no weapon for Frodo. No need to swap 'em out!

Gondor Bowmen is the biggest card for any Gondor archery deck (in fact, it's worth trying to fit Gondor into archery deck just for it). Hard to justify wedging archery into this setup without it, you'd probably want a total overhaul. Terrible and Evil would be nice too, keep you safe from Wormtongue or Chief Counselor / other multi-cultural hate, plus Enquea. While those exerts bite when Gandalf is already wounding himself, the regroup healing from Elrond and Moment of Respite you could make up for it. Barliman and 4x Threw Down My Enemy would make it so you don't need to kill all minions in the archery phase the way most archery decks do, it's enough to exhaust (or with Shadowfax, nearly-exhaust) the biggest threat. I recently saw someone using Task Was Not Done with Mithrandir on a Rohan build, thinking was that the mounts would exert and anyone unkillable could just be discarded. I can't help but think it would all go better with any other Gandalf though, since you're relying on tricks more than strength which is what Mithrandir offers. Skirmishing is a good route for this deck.

Expendable companions aren't awfully thematic, but they are awfully effective. If your opponent has to spend 3 sites killing e.g. Faramir and you don't even really care when that do (or better yet, want them to so you can play some other companion from hand next turn without going over 5 companions), you're going to have a much easier time dealing with whatever comes.

March 08, 2023, 02:43:12 AM
Reply #6

WilliamFox

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Re: KS Mithrandir Superfriends
« Reply #6 on: March 08, 2023, 02:43:12 AM »
No problem regarding the Hobbit Sword, I was a bit confused but I thought you were simply highlighting the flexibility of transferring it to Sam. I don't see Gollum in my meta so it's definitely a better fit than Sting, Baggins Heirloom for now. :)

I'll think about archery once I get a hand on some of the relevant cards ! Thank you for the inspiration !

PS: I have changed for The One Ring, Answer to All Riddles and removed 1 copy of Aragorn's Bow to make room for the additional companions.
« Last Edit: March 08, 2023, 02:44:53 AM by WilliamFox »