The Istari Cometh 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

Secrecy!? Ha! When the Istari journey forth, they don't sneak about.

Lots of , , and ... but also high threat that Saruman is determined not to lessen, giving you, at best, 12 rounds to win... except that Fall of Gil-Galad on Saruman is the fail-safe, dropping your threat by 13, with Houses of Healing bringing him back, so spend his resources first.

Song of Travel on Radagast to help pay for , leaving Gandalf to focus more on and . You'll buy attachments quickly with Hunters discount, so mulligan for Gandalf's Staff or Treasure-hunter, though Wizard Pipe can be key. Use Word of Command as needed, with other draw options.

To flip Hunters contract, "ideal" cards are...

Gandalf: Staff and Celebrían's Stone, Silver Circlet, or Windfola.

Radagast: Burning Brand and Gondorian Shield as he's your main blocker.

Saruman: Dagger and Keen Longbow as you'll have cards when need boost.

Gandalf readies via Shadowfax, others via Unexpected Courage, and all 3 via Flame of Anor. (Though White Council is thematic and Hour of Wrath's valour could rock.)

While Radagast misses his staff and creatures, and Saruman complains he can't trigger Doomed... still... they are the Istari... as theoretically, Gandalf could have 13 , Radagast 7 , and Saruman 6+ .

Extra Notes...

While playing and tweaking this deck, I found it had a lot more nuances than expected, creating lots of decisions in gauging Saruman, Hunters, 3 restricted attachment limits, etc. For instance...

1) With 2 Wizard Pipes, can swap in any attachment for Gandalf, then in later phase, swap in any event for him, such as Advice, or setup Flame of Anor.

2) With so much health, undefended attacks are viable, to weaken Saruman and heal via flipped Hunters.

3) Use Gandalf's Staff for draw? Or give resource to Radagast to help with and Houses of Healing? Or resource to Gandalf for card to swap out?

4) Deck thins fast, so at some point stop over-drawing (don't trigger Treasure-hunters, etc) because once deck is empty, Wizard Pipe no longer works, but you'll have fodder for Keen Longbow(s).

5) Where to put attachments isn't always straightforward. Keen Longbow on Gandalf? Two Unexpected Courages on Radagast, with card as Gandalf can't hold them all? Unless he drops his staff when no longer needed?

6) Do you even put an early Keen Longbow (or Dagger) on Saruman, due to the biggest question of all, which is...

7) When to sacrifice Saruman for the 13 threat reduction?

You need Fall of Gil-Galad, but easy with Command. Early on, Saruman is great, so do you give him attachments for combat, and flip Hunters sooner? Though once he's gone, Hunters can flip by only checking 2 heroes... but if he's gone too early, you may not be able to bring him right back... but you can't wait too long as an enemy may not appear as you near threating out... though when he's gone, Strider lets Gandalf quest without exhausting... hmm...

Ideally, in the round he's destroyed, during Refresh, the 2 other heroes let you flip Hunters (if it hasn't already), then play Houses to bring him back. That is, unless you can blitz a quest? Or always arm him (at times with unneeded attachments to flip Hunters), with plans to re-arm him later?

All in all, a fun, puzzly deck I've been enjoying, mainly due to Flame of Anor, Word of Command, and Wizard Pipe working on every hero. And seriously... how cool does that line-up look?