SpirAgorn Shines - Heavy Questing and Location Control 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

This is a multiplayer questing and location control deck that takes full advantage of our final and oft-besmirched hero, Spirit Aragorn (or SpirAgorn). While I have played decks that can output more raw willpower, I have never played a deck that has such a strong combination of willpower AND location control (other than maybe Caldara decks, pre-errata).

Let's talk about SpirAgorn. What does he bring to the table?

• Double-value : If you can boost his with Silver Circlet, Celebrían's Stone, or other effects, you first get a direct boost to via questing and then a second boost with his ability to reduce the of a location. It makes these -boosting cards very efficient. Leather Boots is the perfect card to leverage Aragorn's ability since it is cheap and naturally triggers on the reveal of a location.
• Sword that was Broken: Thanks to one of my favorite recent cards, Reforged, you can play this amazing attachment out of . Paired with Arwen Undómiel, you can play the SwtB on turn 1. This deck has a bunch of cheap allies to fully leverage the power of the Sword. Also, the icon can be useful to play other attachments while the Artifact trait has synergy with Ring of Barahir to make Aragorn a tank.
• Location control: Even though he is only placing 1 progress per round, that one progress can make a big difference when combined with other location control cards like Northern Tracker and Rhovanion Outrider. The one progress can mean that a location is cleared a turn earlier, more quickly reducing the and nasty effects in the staging area.

Briefly about the other heroes:

• Arwen Undómiel and Erestor are a great combination that provides both card draw and resource generation that make the deck remarkably consistent. With Stand and Fight and Reforged, the downside of Erestor is largely mitigated because you can still play cards that you drew earlier in the game. Once Aragorn gets the icon from Ring of Barahir, Arwen's resources on him solve any resource smoothing issues.

Highlighting some cards in the draw deck:

• Northern Tracker and Rhovanion Outrider are still really good, especially in multiplayer. You can play an Outrider on turn 1. Try to save at least 1 spirit resource for the future, if possible, in case you draw a Northern Tracker the next turn.
• Dunedain Pathfinder and Elven Jeweler are efficient, cheap allies whose downsides are almost entirely mitigated by the rest of the deck. Sometimes you actually need more locations in the staging area to get the most out of the Rhovanion Outrider or Aragorn, so the Pathfinders are a free 3 (with StwB).
• There are many options for other cheap allies. I went with Envoy of Pelargir, Guardian of Ithilien and Henamarth Riversong because their 1 attack can often be needed to kill any enemies that end up engaged with you. But you can pick the ones you like. Some options are included in the sideboard.
• Healing Herbs are a nice, free source of healing. The second Leather Boots should go on Erestor, so you can use that readying to potentially heal 5+ damage off of Aragorn (thanks to Ring of Barahir).

Sideboard options:

• Steward of Gondor is entirely replaceable and likely contested in a multiplayer game. But if it's not being used, you can play it with Reforged or the leadership icon from Sword that was Broken.
• Mithril Shirt and Stone of Elostirion work great in this deck (if someone else has a good target for them), because they add more locations.
• If someone is running Elfhelm, you can add mounts to boost Aragorn's AND (via StwB). I'd recommend Westfold Horse-breeders combined with Windfola and/or Steed of Imladris.
• If nobody is using The One Ring, you can give it to Aragorn with Well Preserved to potentially get him up to double-digit hit points.
• If you're playing a long quest, you might want to add Galadhrim Weavers to let you cycle cards back into your deck.

Strategy Discussion:

• This deck brings a lot to the table in terms of questing, location control, and healing. But it has very little combat strength. So, you need to pair it with a deck that can carry the combat load, ideally with both ranged and sentinel.
• Mulligan for Elven Jeweler, Sword that was Broken, and Dunedain Pathfinder. These are great in your initial 10 cards so you can play them early.
• Take a mulligan if you have cards like Northern Tracker, Stand and Fight, and Reforged (unless you have Sword or Steward). These cards are a lot better later in the game.
• Don't be afraid to save your resources. You will always have something good to spend them on later. Especially if you draw an Elven Jeweler, the best option might be to discard one card with Arwen and the other two cards to play the Jeweler for free. On the next turn, you might want to spend 10+ resources if you happen to draw two Northern Trackers, for example.
• Sometimes you have the choice of playing either Sword that was Broken or Steward of Gondor on turn 1 (via Reforged). This can be a very tough choice, although I usually go with the Sword. Keep in mind that if you play Sword that was Broken on turn 1, you will be able to player Steward in the future. If you play Steward first, you will need to wait for another Reforged before you can play Sword.
• Guardian of Ithilien can be brought into play during combat via Stand and Fight to bounce an enemy to the staging area and effectively get a free Feint.

Typical Game Progression:

• Turn 1: Ideally we would have Dunedain Pathfinder, Elven Jeweler, Reforged, Sword that was Broken, and Leather Boots. By playing these cards, we have 15 (effectively 18 if you reveal a location and use Aragorn's ability), although you will have added a location to the staging area.
• Turn 2: Maybe we get a Steward of Gondor, Envoy of Pelargir, and Rhovanion Outrider. Now we are up to 20 (effectively 23) and we are placing 2 progress on locations.
• Turn 3: Maybe we get a Northern Tracker and another Dunedain Pathfinder. Now we have 25 (effectively 28) and we are destroying the locations in the staging area with up to 3 progress per turn on a single location.

Conlclusion:

• I've been really enjoying this deck. It feels very strong and makes the most out of a hero that a lot of people have written off. There are a ton of interesting decision points (thanks to Erestor forcing you to "use it or lose it" with every card in your hand). It can be a painful choice regarding how to spend your resources, or which attachment to grab with Reforged.
• Your teammates will thank you for bringing location control, questing, and healing to the table. Their gratefulness might even allow them to forgive you for using popular, contested cards like Arwen Undómiel, Steward of Gondor, and Aragorn.
• Give it a spin and let me know what you think!