Teach a tree to talk; teach a tree to smash

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Loss - Foundations of Stone - Nightmare - 4 Players - 2021-04-23
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Teach a tree to talk; teach a tree to smash 1 1 1 1.0
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The Purple Wizard 1151

This is one of the most consistent and sturdy decks I've managed to put together. It works well in solo (It cruised through most of the Dreamchaser cycle, only really struggling with the immediate assault of The Havens Burn) and shines as a "fill-in-the-gap" deck in multi-player. We need a questing deck? I'm on it. You need me to defend and kill things? Treebeard loves to smash orcs. And who doesn't love to see an Elrond-blessed Warden of Healing hit the table? Masochists, that's who.

The key to the deck's engine is Elven-light. It's going to give you an extra card alongside the capacity to transfer Arwen's resource to Elrond each turn if/when you've nothing from Spirit in your hand. Absolutely mulligan for it. If that doesn't work, Heed the Dream, Daeron's Runes, and Gather Information are all there to help you find it.

Your next problem to solve is action advantage. Treebeard can do just about anything well but choosing how to use him early on is a real conundrum. An early Lembas, Unexpected Courage, Light of Valinor (for Elrond), Defender of Rammas, or even Henamarth Riversong (in solo that is; in multiplayer I'd swap two of them out for whatever you need from the sideboard) can help ease those decisions. Once you've got enough breathing room to do so, this deck's power ramps up with every Wellinghall Preserver you can get into play. They're costly and you'll have to survive their first round in play without their help, which is why they aren't an automatic buy when you're under duress, but once they get going they open up so many options for you. Buy them asap!

Lastly, you start off with a high threat and at first glance there isn't much to help there. Elrond's Counsel is often enough by itself, I've found, but the real key is to remember that you can recycle a used Favor of the Valar with Erebor Hammersmith. If you face an encounter deck dedicated to raising your threat you'll want one or two more copies of Favor of the Valar but against most quests you have enough here. If you're playing solo the real challenge may be what to do with a tough early enemy. That hill troll or that Black Rider is engaging you on turn one and you'll just have to deal with it. That's the price you pay for employing some of Middle Earth's most powerful heroes. Good luck!

2 comments

Jan 14, 2018 The BGamerJoe 4799

I played several games with this deck and featured it on my blog: lotrdecktest.wordpress.com

This is the most fun I've had with Treebeard! He can be a beast! Great work with this deck.

Jan 15, 2018 The Purple Wizard 1151

Thanks! Treebeard is an under-utilized powerhouse in this game.

I may have to make a new version with your suggestions in mind. You've given me a couple new ideas already.