Snares of Numenor 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

This deck combines Prince Imrahil's ability to bounce allies, Damrod's cheap traps, and Denethor's wealth and influence into something that is guaranteed to piss off many of the enemies coming off the Encounter Deck.

I wanted to find a way to build a trap/tactics deck without sacrificing questing willpower, but that required expanding into a third sphere. Where to get that much-needed resource smoothing, though? Answer: Denethor. Since all three heroes have the Gondor trait, all benefit from his ability to pass resources between the three spheres. Adding Leadership also gives access to willpower boosts from Visionary Leadership as well as another thematically appropriate use of Steward of Gondor. I threw in a few unique allies with good willpower-to-cost ratio to sweeten the deal, and suddenly I found myself with a well-balanced deck.

Playing the deck is fairly straightforward - get those questing allies onto the board, trap enemies, summon the powerhouse allies to dispatch them.

1. Use Denethor to smooth resources and hand out titles during the planning phase. He also gets a Gondorian Shield for some added defense.

2. Play traps at a discount with Damrod. Most of the lore allies are on the cheap side, so there should always be money for traps.

3. Prince Imrahil gets all of the titles. Steward of Gondor lets him play the expensive Tactics allies, Heir of Mardil can be used to ready him with Denethor, and Visionary Leadership goes on him because he will always have a resource saved up for the combat phase. 20 of the 26 ally cards in the deck have traits that qualify for Prince Imrahil's summoning ability, and many of them have enter/leave play abilities that work like a toolbox. Choose and use at will during the combat phase.

Some of my favorite Imrahil plays:

• Ambush an enemy, then have Beorn go beast mode on it.
• Summon Anborn and use him to reclaim a trap.
• Grimbold is a Feint in ally form.
• Boromir comes into play, defends, takes damage, readies, fights.
• Envoy of Pelargir can be a quick chump without costing Prince Imrahil a resource.
• Legolas kills for free card draw.
• Mablung can drag an enemy into an Outmatched, or push a tough one back to the staging area to fall into Ranger Spikes.
• Faramir damages trapped enemies in the staging area or drags them into an Outmatched.
• Warden of Healing for a quick post-defense heal.

Don't forget Sneak Attack bouncing Gandalf for threat reduction or enemy management (card draw isn't as much of an issue in this deck). Or use Sneak Attack for any of the ideas listed above.

One additional strategy - if you are trying to turtle and prevent over-questing, you can 'turn off' Visionary Leadership by leaving Prince Imrahil without resources at the beginning of the quest phase, then 'turn it on' by passing a resource via Denethor or Steward of Gondor during quest resolution to boost your total willpower if you're about to fall short.

Keep on trappin'!