Then all the Captains of the West cried aloud, for their hearts were filled with a new hope in the midst of darkness. Out from the beleaguered hills knights of Gondor, Riders of Rohan, Dúnedain of the North, close-serried companies, drove against their wavering foes, piercing the press with the thrust of bitter spears.--The Return of the King

An Alternate Art Starter Deck

Inspired by AutumnRose's work on her two incredible alt-art starter decks (Flight to the Ford and Where the Stars are Strange), I am releasing my ninth alternate art starter deck, Captains of the West. This deck is inspired the Men of the West who have served as great Captains and leaders of their kingdoms' armies. It is a mono- deck, the only mono-sphere starter deck in this project.

For those keeping track, this deck features three repeat cards. Favor of the Valar was included in the Angmar Awakened Hero Expansion while Westfold Lancer and Westfold Outrider were included in the Riders of Rohan starter Deck. All repeated cards feature new artwork.

Théoden and Rohan

Théoden is the best questing hero, with his ability providing a boost to all heroes (not just ones you control). He also has high and Sentinel - in a multiplayer game where another player is handling questing, those stats allow you to hold back Théoden for the combat stage and use him as needed there.

Westfold Lancer is a 2 ally, a rare questing ally in . His ability can be used in a pinch if you need to dish out some damage to an enemy to soften them up or finish them off. Westfold Outrider is a 2 resource 2 ally, already great value, with an added ability to engage an enemy that can come in handy in multiplayer.

Háma is a hero with good which triggers an ability to recycle events from your discard pile straight to your hand. Fun combos can be used with this ability and things like Fierce Defense if you are in Valour, or The Hammer-stroke if enemies continue to swarm in multiplayer.

Boromir and Gondor

Before his errata, Boromir was considered by many to be a broken overpowered hero. Even with his first ability being limited to once per phase, Boromir is still a strong hero. His ability lets you use his strong combat abilities to both defend and attack if necessary. With a Spear of the Citadel he can start the damage before even attacking, and Gondorian Fire can be used to give him a massive boost in a moment of need. When things look really dire, you can trigger Boromir's second ability to deal damage to every engaged enemy. Combined with The Hammer-stroke you may be able to clear a huge amount of enemies from the board, especially if they have been hit with Fierce Defense. To make sure you don't raise your threat too high too quickly with Bormori's first ability, a "just in case" preventative measure in the form of Favor of the Valar is included.

Defender of Cair Andros is a great defensive ally who gets stronger the higher your threat climbs. With a starting threat of 34 and Boromir's ability, your threat may be in the 40's before long which would make Defender of Cair Andros a 4 3 hit points ally that also deals damage to the attacking enemy, an ability you can double up on with Spear of the Citadel since it can be played on allies as well as heroes. Henneth Annûn Guard can be used to provide a boost in a moment of need, and is a solid all-around combat ally on his own. Knight of Minas Tirith can allow you to immediately attack and possibly kill an enemy before questing even begins thanks to his ability triggering in this mono- deck. White Tower Watchman is a solid secondary blocker that can take your undefended attack damage, allowing you to possibly save your heroes to respond with a massive attack.

Bard and the remaining Men

Bard the Bowman has a high starting threat and an interesting stat balance - his 2 becomes 3 thanks to Théoden, meaning he can be used for questing if desperate. His 2 and 4 hit points are both probably higher than necessary for a hero you'd want to attack and not defend, but if desperate can be utilized. Where Bard shines is when attacking, especially if you can trigger his ability which gives -2 to an enemy that Bard is making a ranged attack against. On first read Bard's ability seems to only matter in multiplayer, but with one weapon can be massively useful in single player. Great Yew Bow allows Bard to make a ranged attack against an enemy in the staging area. With high threat it might be tricky to get an enemy to stay there that you want to attack, but if able to pull it off will have great payoff. And in multiplayer, any ranged attack Bard makes triggers his ability, making things even easier for you to protect your friends when enemies slip through to engage them. Black Arrow is another "moment of need" card that provides a one time 5 boost. Mighty Prowess should first go on Bard, as it allows you to splash some damage around each time he kills an enemy.

Northern Bowmaster is a 1 resource 2 ally that should be easy to play given how combat-focused this deck is; the only trouble you may have is leaving an enemy alive long enough to get him into play. Vigilant Dúnadan is a card that thrives in a side quest deck, but does have solid all-around stats and is easy enough to afford in a mono- deck.

Other Tricks

Book of Eldacar is one of four mono-sphere attachments that recycles events from your discard pile. Unlike Háma, Book of Eldacar allows you to immediately play the event AND shuffles it back into your deck. Charge into Battle and Trained for War are two quest-related cards that can be useful depending on the situation. Straight Shot and Goblin-cleaver both allow you to exhaust a weapon to either discard or damage an enemy - Straight Shot in particular becomes even more valuable if Bard's ranged attack has reduced an enemy's defense to 0, suddenly making it a valid target to a magic bullet answer. Shadow of the Past lets you return a card from the discard pile to the top of the encounter deck, which can let you recycle a beneficial location or a weak and easily handled enemy.

Golden Belt is a staple of any deck that likes to pile attachments on its heroes, as it allows characters to use an additional restricted attachment. Tireless Hunters is a multiplayer-only attachment but on a hero like Boromir can help him provide even more coverage during combat.

Print this deck

I have set up a Make Playing Cards project with ALeP backs that can be found here. If you wish to use official backs, a PDF of the deck that can be sent to MBPrint can be found here. A photo album with high-res versions of each individual card is available here.