The Fighting Fellowship

The two decks complement each other very well and have beaten every tested scenario, at the latest, on the second attempt. The goal is to beat every scenario in the game with both decks without changing them.

The tactics deck is primarily responsible for combat, although Éowyn in combination with Théoden also contributes a lot to the adventure. Éowyn is therefore limited to her function as an adventurer, but in case of emergency, her action can be triggered to either defeat a powerful opponent or to make significant progress in an adventure with the keyword Battle in one round. For Théoden, it is good to get him Onward Into Battle relatively early in the game to be able to use him both in the adventure and combat phase. He can be supplemented with the Golden Shield and/or a War Axe if necessary. Beregond, along with Grimbeorn the Old, is the main defender, and it is recommended to start with a Gondorian Shield in hand. Ideally, Beregond will receive an Unexpected Courage from the partner deck during the game to defend twice. The advantage of the mono-sphere deck is that it can play many cards fairly quickly. Thus, the few expensive allies are not a problem, especially since they are very powerful. Elfhelm also serves as a backup option if resources are tight. The Sword-thain is just a fun gimmick to make one of the unique allies a hero and receive four resources per round. Legolas, Elfhelm, or Déorwine can become the fourth hero, although Legolas was always chosen in the played scenarios. Ultimately, the Sword-Thain is there to be able to sacrifice a hero to the Balrog in the Lord of the Rings campaign. Legolas is essential for drawing cards in the game. Once he is on the table, the deck unleashes its full strength. Upgraded with a Bow of the Galadhrim and a War Axe, he gets 6 or 7 and defeats many opponents alone. With each victory, he draws a card, and the Foe, Hammer is also in the deck three times for drawing cards. Ranged attack also fulfills an important function, especially for the partner deck, which doesn't bring as much attack strength to the table.

The Tactics Spirit Lore deck is designed to be flexible and adapt to the needs of different quests. Try to get out Light of Valinor early, use Glorfindel to quest, Grimbeorn the Old to defend and attack. Beravor is your jack-of-all-trades: she can be used for extra willpower, as a secondary defender or she can help take down a tough enemy. Keep in mind, though, that this is not a combat deck. The partner deck of the fellowship will handle most of the fighting. This is the support deck that can meet a variety of needs: card draw with Beravor, Gléowine and Heed the Dream, threat control with Galadriel's Handmaiden, Woodmen's Clearing and Double Back, healing with Warden of Healing and Elrond (who’s also your choice for condition removal), location control with Asfaloth. Beef up Grimbeorn with all attachments you want, and give the ones you don’t need to your partner. Resourceful is attached as needed: Depending on the kind of quest you’re playing, one of your heroes will likely end up with some spare resources, while the other one could use some extra. Bonus: Attach it to Glorfindel and use Lay of Nimrodel to quest through basically everything. A Good Harvest also helps with resource balance. Three copies of Unexpected Courage also provide more flexibility: Attach it to your partner’s defender for more defense, or to Beravor to be able to quest or fight and draw cards. Attach it to an attacker for more attacks.