Advice on building a Gimli/Legolas deck

[neopium]

Hi everyone,

I currently have a Gimli / Legolas token deck paired with Sauron Besiegers. It looks like this:

Ring-bearer: Frodo, Resolute Hobbit
Ring: The One Ring, Such a Weight to Carry

Adventure deck:
Dunharrow Plateau
Rohirrim Camp
Hall of the Kings
Pelennor Plain
Crashed Gate
Minas Tirith First Circle
Osgiliath Channel
Morgul Vale
Dagorlad

Free Peoples Draw Deck:
1x Gimli, Unbidden Guest
2x Fereveldir, Son of Thandronen
1x Legolas, Elven Comrade
3x Aragorn, Defender of Free Peoples
1x Gimli's Battle Axe, Trusted Weapon
1x Hand Axe
1x Asfaloth
1x Bow of the Galadhrim
1x Long-knives of Legolas
1x Aragorn's Bow
1x Ranger's Sword
1x Sting, Bane of the Eight Legs
1x Ring of Retribution
1x Ring of Barahir
2x Khazad Ai-menu
2x Valor
3x Trust
1x Endurance of Dwarves
1x My Axe Is Notched
1x Stout and Strong
1x Agility
2x Final Count
1x Shake Off the Shadow
1x Shoulder to Shoulder
1x Strength of Arms
1x The Splendor of Their Banners
1x The Tale of Gil-galad

Shadow Draw Deck:
2x Gorgoroth Agitator
4x Gorgoroth Assassin
3x Gorgoroth Berserker
2x Gorgoroth Garrison
3x Gorgoroth Pillager
1x Gorgoroth Ransacker
2x Gorgoroth Sapper
2x Gothmog, Lieutenant of Morgul
1x Olog-hai of Mordor
1x Sauron, The Lord of the Rings
2x Siege Troop
1x Troll of Gorgoroth, Abomination of Sauron
1x Grond, Hammer of the Underworld
1x Ithil Stone
2x Encirclement
2x Great Siege-towers
1x Their Marching Companies
2x Tower Walkway
2x Troop Tower

While the shadow side is pretty efficient, the free people are very disappointing. They get slaughtered very quickly and I just can't get tokens at all... which is very annoying for a token deck!

I am thus thinking about trashing the whole fellowship and start again from scratch. I however want to stick to the theme: elves and dwarves fighting side by side.

This is a real-life deck, so I also have the constraint to own the cards in order to put them in the deck, but that's my problem . I happen to have three copies of Aragorn, Defender of Free Peoples that I would like to use but it's not mandatory.

During my quest for a new deck, I noticed two examples provided on this forum:

1) http://lotrtcgwiki.com/forums/index.php/topic,921.0.html

•   Frodo, Reluctant Adventurer
•   The One Ring, Such a Weight to Carry
•   Gimli, Counter of Foes (starting)
•   Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood (starting)
•   Arwen, Daughter of Elrond
•   Bow of the Galadhrim, Gift of Galadriel
•   Dwarven Axe
•   Dwarven Bracers x2
•   Gwemegil
•   Hobbit Sword x2
•   Long-Knives of Legolas x2
•   Endurance of Dwarves x4
•   Shoulder to Shoulder x2
•   Battle Fury x3
•   Counts But One
•   Honed x3
•   Lend Us Your Aid x4
•   Still Needed x4
•   Storm of Argument x2

I really like this one. It has a lot of ways to pump the companions

I would however replace Prince of Mirkwood by Legolas, Greenleaf and use Arwen, Queen of Elves and Men.

Moreover, there is only one copy of Arwen and 4 companions in total (including Frodo), which I think is really not enough. Last, there are plenty of cards that exert Gimli, but only Shoulder to Shoulder to heal him... Here, Aragorn, Defender of Free Peoples would make sense, but the game is not using tokens at all...

2) http://lotrtcgwiki.com/forums/index.php/topic,7107.0.html

Much closer to my original deck, but too big (I want a 35 cards fellowship) and I feel it does too many things to be really efficient.

What do you think? Can anyone help?

Thanks

[neopium]

Hi again,

I see that my post didn't inspire you guys much, didn't it? 

So here is what I came up with.

Two options:
1) A deck with Gimli, Legolas, Aragorn and Arwen
2) Another one without Arwen

Here is the deck number 1):

Ring-bearer: Frodo, Resolute Hobbit
Ring: The One Ring, Such a Weight to Carry

Adventure deck:
Dunharrow Plateau
Rohirrim Camp
Hall of the Kings
Pelennor Plain
Crashed Gate
Minas Tirith First Circle
Osgiliath Channel
Morgul Vale
Dagorlad

Free Peoples Draw Deck:
1x Gimli, Counter of Foes
2x Arwen, Queen of Elves and Men
1x Legolas, Greenleaf
3x Aragorn, Defender of Free Peoples
1x Dwarven Axe
2x Dwarven Bracers
1x Asfaloth
1x Bow of the Galadhrim, Gift of Galadriel
1x Gwemegil
1x Aragorn's Bow
1x Sting, Bane of the Eight Legs
1x Ring of Retribution
1x Ring of Barahir
3x Honed
3x Lend Us Your Aid
4x Still Needed
4x Endurance of Dwarves
1x My Axe Is Notched
1x Stout and Strong
2x Final Count
1x Strength of Arms
1x The Tale of Gil-galad
1x The Choice of Luthien

The problem is that it is composed of 38 cards and I have to cut it to 35.

The second deck is this one:

Ring-bearer: Frodo, Resolute Hobbit
Ring: The One Ring, Such a Weight to Carry

Adventure deck:
Dunharrow Plateau
Rohirrim Camp
Hall of the Kings
Pelennor Plain
Crashed Gate
Minas Tirith First Circle
Osgiliath Channel
Morgul Vale
Dagorlad

Free Peoples Draw Deck:
1x Gimli, Counter of Foes
1x Legolas, Greenleaf
3x Aragorn, Defender of Free Peoples
1x Elrond, Herald to Gil-galad
1x Dwarven Axe
2x Dwarven Bracers
1x Bow of the Galadhrim, Gift of Galadriel
1x Aragorn's Bow
1x Sting, Bane of the Eight Legs
1x Ring of Retribution
1x Vilya
1x Ring of Barahir
3x Honed
3x Lend Us Your Aid
4x Still Needed
4x Endurance of Dwarves
1x My Axe Is Notched
1x Stout and Strong
2x Final Count
1x Strength of Arms
1x The Tale of Gil-galad

This is a 35 cards deck. I got rid of Arwen and added Elrond for additional heal power and condition removal.

What do you think?

[ramolnar]

The problem with My Axe is Notched and Final Count is that against many decks, Legolas will not win skirmishes. You're trying to solve that with Lend Us Your Aid, but exerting twice is expensive. The deck you showed had Endurance of Dwarves for vitality, which is important.
Also, why not play Axe Strike instead of Honed? Axe Strike is +2 always and +3 sometimes, while Honed is just +1. As for Still Needed, there are better Elf pumps, such as Defiance.

This is a very, very difficult deck to construct. I think it's a fool's challenge, because I don't see any way to do it, but someone else might have a working build.

[neopium]

Thanks for your feedback.

Having often played My Axe is Notched and Final Count, I can confirm they rarely work very well together.

The whole idea of the tokens in this deck was exploit Aragorn, Defender of Free Peoples in order to have enough heal power to prevent Gimli, Counter of foes to die (as many cards exert him and he needs to be wounded to be strong). But I start to think that you are right: culture tokens are too hard to get and require too many cards in the deck.

I will try to find another approach, still based on dwarves/elves, leaving aside the culture tokens mechanism.

Any hint is welcome

[bibfortuna25]

Don't rely just on the cards that give tokens when Legolas and Gimli win skirmishes; you should use Agility and Suspended Palaces too. And your Gimli should be Unbidden Guest so he can help Legolas win more skirmishes, as well as let Aragorn DOFP heal Gimli for more boosts as needed.

[neopium]

Ok, I gave it some thought and I came up with an adaptation of the Three Hunters deck (and by the way I did not copy the correct shadow in my early post, this one is much more efficient):

Two hunters and a half

Ring-bearer: Frodo, Resolute Hobbit
Ring: The One Ring, Such a Weight to Carry

Adventure deck:
Dunharrow Plateau
Rohirrim Camp
Hall of the Kings
Pelennor Plain
Crashed Gate
Minas Tirith First Circle
Osgiliath Channel
Morgul Vale
Dagorlad

Free Peoples Draw Deck:
1x Gimli, Counter of Foes
3x Arwen, Queen of Elves and Men
1x Legolas, Greenleaf
1x Dwarven Axe
2x Dwarven Bracers
1x Asfaloth
1x Bow of the Galadhrim, Gift of Galadriel
1x Gwemegil
1x Legolas' Sword
1x Sting, Bane of the Eight Legs
1x Ring of Retribution
2x Battle Fury
1x Blood Runs Chill
2x Lend Us Your Aid
4x Quick As May Be
4x Slaked Thirsts
3x Still Needed
4x Endurance of Dwarves
1x Here Is Good Rock

Shadow Draw Deck:
2x Gorgoroth Agitator
4x Gorgoroth Assassin
1x Gorgoroth Swarm
4x Great Hill Troll
4x Mordor Pillager
2x Olog-hai of Mordor
2x Siege Troop
3x Troll of Gorgoroth, Abomination of Sauron
1x Grond, Hammer of the Underworld
1x Ithil Stone
1x Encirclement
4x Great Siege-towers
3x Their Marching Companies
1x Tower Walkway
2x Troop Tower

I tried it a few times and the fellowship seems to work correctly.

The strategy is to bid high and get Here Is Good Rock with Dunharrow Plateau. Then, cross the fingers to pull Arwen soon enough. Gimli gets wounded and stronger. You have a lot of direct wounds with Slaked Thirsts, Quick as may be and Greenleaf. With all these wounds, Arwen becomes strong enough to help win skirmishes.

Of course, there are some weaknesses. With only 4 companions, losing any of them is problematic. Swarm might be a problem, but I just won a game on Gemp against a Moria deck. Archery and direct wounding helps for that matter.

Feedback is welcome!

[Galdor420]

Ring of Barahir (6R55) will help keep your companions healed and keep your tokens useful. Not the First Halfling (8U18) is a great choice if u use frodo because its an on the table buff that will help everyone but frodo. Speaking of great on the table buffs I suggest using Gandalf, Friend of the Shirefolk (1R72) , Aragorn, Frodo, Legolas and Gimli and use gandalf signants where u can for Trust Me as You Once Did (3U35) (Wizard Staff (7C52) is a solid choice too). Not to mention Servant of the Secret Fire (1R83) works on any culture companion and so does Down From the Hills (5R16) to make sure guys win skirmishes. Then you can even use Terrible and Evil (7R50) or Quick As May Be (4U53) in case Grima, Chief Counselor (5R51) or anyone else that nasty shows their head. Elrond, Herald to Gil-galad (3R13) can also use Shoulder to Shoulder (1C59) to heal gimli twice ever turn (and u can use gimli to heal legolas the same way).

[neopium]

Thanks Galdor for your feedback.
I however gave up on the token idea and concentrated more on the Elf/Dwarf combination.

After a few more tests, I think I need one more companion (I was thinking Aragorn, Ranger of the North) and some more Frodo protection, such as TTOTGR

[neopium]

Or maybe just Linnar, Dwarven Lord or Sindri, Dwarven Lord... That way he can benefit from the event to fight... and if Gimli happens to die, I can still spot a dwarf...

There is of course also Durin III, Dwarven Lord, but his twilight cost is quite high and I don't have much possessions or artifacts...

[bibfortuna25]

Here is my version of a token deck:

Frodo, Resolute Hobbit
The One Ring, Answer To All Riddles

1x Gimli, Unbidden Guest
1x Legolas, Archer of Mirkwood
4x Aragorn, Defender of Free Peoples
1x Sam, Son of Hamfast
2x Elrond, Herald to Gil-galad
1x Gimli's Battle Axe
1x Hand Axe
1x Asfaloth
1x Bow of the Galadhrim
1x Long-knives of Legolas
1x Sting, Bane of the Eight Legs
1x Ring of Fury
1x Vilya
1x Anduril, Flame of the West
1x Ring of Barahir
2x Secret Sentinels
2x My Axe Is Notched
2x Stout and Strong
1x Suspended Palaces
1x Agility
2x Final Count
2x Strength of Arms
1x Garrison of Osgiliath
1x The Tale of the Great Ring

When all of the tokens are up and running, it's pretty efficient.

[neopium]

Thanks bibfortuna for sharing your token deck.

I think for now I will go on with the direct wound theme. My last iteration:

Two hunters and a half

Ring-bearer: Frodo, Resolute Hobbit
Ring: The One Ring, Such a Weight to Carry

Adventure deck:
Dunharrow Plateau
Rohirrim Camp
Hall of the Kings
Pelennor Plain
Crashed Gate
Minas Tirith First Circle
Osgiliath Channel
Morgul Vale
Dagorlad

Free Peoples Draw Deck:
1x Gimli, Counter of Foes (starting)
1x Linnar, Dwarven Lord
3x Arwen, Queen of Elves and Men
1x Legolas, Greenleaf (starting)
1x Dwarven Axe
2x Dwarven Bracers
1x Asfaloth
2x Bow of the Galadhrim, Gift of Galadriel
1x Gwemegil
1x Sting, Bane of the Eight Legs
1x Ring of Retribution
4x Baruk Khazad
1x Blood Runs Chill
4x Quick As May Be
3x Slaked Thirsts
3x Still Needed
4x Endurance of Dwarves
1x Here Is Good Rock

Shadow Draw Deck:
2x Gorgoroth Agitator
4x Gorgoroth Assassin
1x Gorgoroth Swarm
4x Great Hill Troll
4x Mordor Pillager
2x Olog-hai of Mordor
2x Siege Troop
3x Troll of Gorgoroth, Abomination of Sauron
1x Grond, Hammer of the Underworld
1x Ithil Stone
1x Encirclement
4x Great Siege-towers
3x Their Marching Companies
1x Tower Walkway
2x Troop Tower

I know that for maneuver wounding, there is also Terrible and evil associated with Gandalf, but I don't have enough room for that. I though about removing Arwen and her associated cards, but it doesn't free enough space for 4x Terrible and Evil and 3x Gandal, Grey Pilgrim.

With direct wounding, Eowyn, Lady of Ithilien is a good option too, but you need a way to heal her if you want her to work efficiently more than once.

[Shelobplayer]

For a Gimli/Legolas deck in movie block, I'd go with Gimli, BoG + elves with LUYA and Shoulder to Shoulder with Elrond, Herald to Gil-Galad and some other allies (1 copy of Grimir, Dwarven Elder is nice for such a deck too). A 3 hunters deck is more suited for towers standard imho.