I'll Damage You Directly 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

Ah, is there anything better than dropping direct damage on an enemy with an insane amount of ? Well, perhaps winning the quest but this is a perfectly fine strategy to do so.

As you may have guessed, this deck focusses on dealing direct damage to each enemy that the encounter deck can throw at you. The deck is mostly build to handle swarms of enemies with either low (orcs, goblins) or enemies with an higher-than-average amount of (trolls, Nazgûl).

In this deck, Thalin is your main man (Dwarf?) when it comes to questing. He will make sure that any enemies coming out of the encounter deck will be harmed. Most of the time in swarm games (Watcher, 7th level) the enemies won't have a lot of left or are killed outright before triggering effects or the favourite keyword of any player: Surge. Most bats, crows and other avians will be killed by Thalin directly. Thalin's can be boosted with a ready Dain Ironfoot and Dúnedain Quest on him. Readying Thalin might not be a bad idea since he could wield Dwarrowdelf Axe's or a Spear of the Citadel.

After questing, it is time to defend. The classic Gondorian Spearman & Spear of the Citadel combo deals an additional 2 damage to any attacking enemy (that's 3 direct damage already). But Dain Ironfoot is also a sturdy defender if you can't get the allies out fast enough. Feint can also be played to prevent an enemy attack outright.

Now for the good part, attacking. Imagine an Éomer with his trusted steed Firefoot, Mighty Prowess, Rohan Warhorse (Can't have enough horse right?) and enough Dúnedain Marks to make Aragorn proud. Now you've got an attacker that deals quite a lot of damage to any enemy engaged with you, and an additional point of damage to an enemy that you didn't engage (or got to the staging area due to some effect, Goblin Spearmen's shadow effect comes to mind, or wargs...). Additional attackers that are clearing the board are the new Azain Silverbeard with perhaps some Dwarrowdelf Axe action going. You could Sneak Attack a Descendant of Thorondor, Longbeard Orc Slayer or Gandalf into play for more damage to enemies. Using Cram to ready Dain Ironfoot helps you with a boost of 1 which might just help you to kill that last enemy.

During planning you can also play down a Farmer Maggot or Galadhon Archer to destroy whoever survived the onslaught of the previous round.

Resources in this deck are provided with the trusted Steward of Gondor. Songs, Errand-rider and Parting Gifts can shift those resources to pay for s or Azain Silverbeards additional effect. Card draw is provided by Gandalf (if you choose not to use his 4 direct damage) and King Under the Mountain.

This deck is very fun to play against a swarm of small enemies, but I also had a successful run against Conflict at the Carrock where questing isn't an issue and you get some time to prepare your deck. Once the trolls hit, I could deal a lot of damage to them since they all share traits.

The only text that can prevent some of the damage is the Immune to Player Card Effects text that some boss enemies have. In this case you should muster as much regular power and kill it the traditional way.

Happy Hunting!