Spelunking with the Wind-lord 2.0

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Built for use in a 4P fellowship in the Dwarrowdelf cycle.

Using Brand son of Bain to pair with Merry for some shenanigans.

Ultimately I just wanted to play an Eagles deck using Gwaihir to prove that you can hunt orcs and goblins in their caves with wings and beaks.

Ideally try to mulligan for Word of Command or Radagast's Staff to get Eagles of the Misty Mountains on the table right away for 2. With Gwaihir, Wilyador, and Brand son of Bain the aim is to be a support tactics deck picking off enemies engaged with other players. Building up Eagles of the Misty Mountains by bouncing Eagles in and out using Born Aloft, Meneldor's Flight, and Flight of the Eagles will give us the option to attach them to EoMM or use them for their abilities to clear locations from the staging area (Meneldor can contribute 2 directly, or you can bounce Eagle Emissary to quest and bring it back after the resolution step). The sooner they can be built up the better off we'll be. The early sections of DD can be tough without a little bit of self-defense, as Gwaihir will be used mostly for his sentinel ability.

Secret Vigil is included to try to bring the starting threat down a bit when coming across higher threat Goblins and Trolls, and it shines in a higher player count game. The White Council is also included because it benefits from having 4 players where the readying can counter some encounter swarm mechanics. Use Radagast to play Messenger Raven for little to nothing (it costs 1 anyway), where it helps the player who's playing Gandalf.

28 June 2024: Updated with some recommendations from @doomguard.