Angmar Awakened

Overview

Hi everyone,

I've decided to share some of the decks me and my friend group play with for particular cycles. This fellowship is meant to be played by 2 players for Angmar Awakened cycle. For more in-depth review of those decks check out their descrpitions :)

Each of those fellowships for each cycle contains two decks - one for players that I'm introducing to the game (Deck #1) and the other one for myself (Deck #2). Each of those Decks #1 is meant to represent the most fleshed out archetypes in the game, while Decks #2 are either some more niche archetypes or specific mechanics (think of Doomed keyword or Staging Area attack).

For additional flavour and some deckbuilding challenge I set up some rules regarding those decks:

Deck #1:

• most represented archetypes in the game, for each cycle they were chosen either for theme or what player cards were developed during this time (mostly both),
• strictly sticking to the theme,
• most powerful cards combination, while keeping in mind the rule above (so e.g. no Steward of Gondor in Silvan deck even though it is probably the most powerful card to include there),
• no card repetition (this means, that even though A Test of Will is no doubt really powerful and technicaly fits the theme of many decks, it can be only included in one of those Decks #1)

Deck #2:

• niche and underdeveloped archetypes in the game, for each cycle they were chosen either for theme, what player cards were developed during this time or what is the best approach to beat those particular quests,
• sticking to theme as much as possible (it was sometimes not possible to make a functional deck around a niche archetype while only including thematic cards),
• also the most powerful card combinations, while keeping in mind the rule above,
• no restriction on repetition (meaning even when previous Decks, either #1 or #2, used A Test of Will, it's possible to include them in every Deck #2 - I'm not a masochist. I hope.).

Also, while appreciating what this community can create but being a bit of a purist, I've decided to include ALeP cards only to a minimum (heroes), when it's either necessary to complete the archetype or it makes obvious thematic and mechanical sense.

Another thing I forgot to mention in first two fellowships is that no changes can be made for those decks while playing for consistency's sake. So no swapping heroes or other cards between the quests.

Cycle

Angmar Awakened should be more familiar for players since it was repackaged in a new format some time ago. Very good choice by FFG as this particular cycle is considered to be one of the best. It's also - in my opinion - one of the hardest set of scenarios, surpassed only by the Vengance of Mordor. Scenarios here can be demanding in various ways but most notably encounter deck tries you to slow down with various side quests which were introduced this cycle. Since decks in this fellowship are slow to start, this means your games will be much longer than average. Theme-wise, game probably achieved it's peak during this time. Quests are very well thought out, story ties up nicely and you can feel the challenge that the game presents to you. From mechanical side it feels like scenarios are finally fair. By no means, as I said before, they are easy, however there aren't really any game-losing cards. Even if you reveal most unlucky set of cards with right planning you can probably get out of it. Here is a quick overview for each scenario while using this fellowship:

1. Intruders in Chetwood (Difficulty 3/5) - your standard quest to feel out new cycle. You get bombarded with side quests but on the other hand there isn't any other pressure from encounter deck. Enemies in the staging area increase your threat but Dunedain deck should take care of them easily.
2. The Weather Hills (Difficulty 4/5) - quest that focuses harshly on direct damage. It's a good idea to get Warden of Healing or Ioreth quickly as possible since you don't want to have damage laying around. Try to stall at the first stage to muster as much strength as possible for a final push at the second stage.
3. Deadman's Dike (Difficulty 5/5) - first of the very hard quests here. You start with an enemy (which is beneficial for Dunedains), however those Baleful Shades are not that mild. Again, try to stall on the first stage with side quests. Once Thaurdir comes out you probably want to finish him quickly. Keep in mind all those discard effects. I don't find Will of the West necessary here, however be mindful about your drawing. Each card drawn decreases your decksize, so sometimes it might wise to pass on it.
4. Wastes of Eriador (Difficulty 5/5) - I heard very warm opinions about this quest from the community. Personally, I really despise it. It slows down the game even further to a snail pace, allowing you to place progress on quests every second round. Then there are nasty cards like Sudden Darkness or Wastes of Eriador location. You get stalled heavily, direct damage is thrown on you like nothing, threat increase is a real problem and you get swarmed by hordes of Wargs. Even the last part, which should be good for Dunedain, is held back by a fact all enemies go back to the staging area every two rounds. Then there are side quests, two of them, that aren't bad in other quests - but here every round counts and you don't want to be slowed down even more. I would advise to skip Gather Information and go for Keep Watch first and quest with every hero during the Day.
5. Escape from Mount Gram (Difficulty 2/5) - weird little quest but not hard at all. Once you start to free your cards it gets unbelievable easy. Start with Aragorn since not-captured cards are mostly and with Widfast so she can grab Gavin.
6. Across the Ettenmoors (Difficulty 2/5) - also not too hard of a quest, just very long with all the side quests. Enemies can be brutal here but most of them have low and high engagement cost so you can leave them in staging area for some time.
7. The Treachery of Rhudaur (Difficulty 4/5) - this quest pushes you to complete its three side quests in 5 rounds. I think both trying to clear them and straight up ignoring them and going for your own side quests are viable strategies. While going the first route try to complete Decipher Ancient Text first. This strategy is also beneficial since shadows can be horrible without claimed clues. Scout deck should mulligan hard for Woodmen's Path on the The Great Hall. When Thaurdir shows up, just like in Deadman's Dike, race to the finishing line.
8. The Battle of Carn Dum (Difficulty 5/5) - the infamous quest that still dreads many players. Yes, it's that hard, probably in top 5 hardest in my book. However you are well equiped to battle quest on the first round. Mulligan for Dúnedain Hunter since he has 3 . Scout deck should value A Test of Will to cancel many, many horrible treacheries. You can stall on the first round to clear side quests but be mindful of your threat, after 40 some shadows can trigger. Speaking of side quests, definitely go for Gather Information first. Every point of progress here is hard to come by so you should go for the easiest side quest. Again, once going into second stage try to wrap up things as quickly as possible. Thaurdir here attacks every player so he can finish Scout deck quickly.
9. The Dread Realm (Diffuclty 5/5) - the last quest and it doesn't let down in terms of difficulty. It's also very long, be prepared. Again, stall on the first stage to clear side quests but not necessarily any longer, so Sorceries don't pile up. But even then this strategy isn't that bad since most of the treacheries attach to the current quest. So if you complete a side quest they get discarded. Then it's the matter of how many there are in play to beat Daechanar. Third stage is just race to the end. In this quest you will probably face huge amount of enemies with Reanimated Dead and Cursed Undead so be prepared. Widfast shines during second stage since you can travel to other locations instaed of being stuck with the Altar.

Conclusion

So this pretty much sums up the fellowship. Keep in mind it's designed for this particular cycle and with some rules that I stated at the beginning of the description. Feel free to try those decks out!