The Mad Steward 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

The Story

Denethor's descent takes a different turn in this deck's alternate history. Rather than sit and brood dark thoughts from his seat in Minas Tirith, The Mad Steward decides to heed his delusions of restoring Gondor to the might of old and goes wandering into the lands of Harad. Perhaps his fevered mind believes the Haradrim can be convinced to turn their backs on Sauron? None knows what absurd fantasies captivate his attention and lead him toward utter folly...

But fate and fortune smile on fools and madmen, and The Mad Steward can count on unlikely allies drawn to the spectacle of his very lunatic ravings and his absurd insistence that he remains steward in exile. While Boromir stays behind to hold Gondor together as the city's former leader indulges in flights of lunacy, the ever dutiful Faramir watches over his deranged father with the help of a few noble knights who remain loyal. As he sets his eyes on the sands of Harad, what shall befall this mad ruler?

The Deck

I took this deck against the Sands of Harad cycle, and so far it has beaten everything up to and including the Dungeons of Cirith Gurat (I had to make a house rule that I don't lose immediately on Stage 3a of that quest, and also that a captured hero still has to take damage from undefended attacks). There are several alternate strategies -- particularly the powerful combo of The One Ring and Inner Strength, which I didn't want to use for thematic reasons -- included in the sideboard. But the deck as is has proved very fun to play, and seems to have the right level of challenge for this cycle.

Setup

As usual with Grey Wanderer decks, Strider is the best attachment for Denethor. If it shows up in your opening hand, grab Staff of Lebethron instead. Mulligan hard for Steward of Gondor, Timely Aid, Resourceful, and Heed the Dream, in that order. The deck eats through resources, so the more the better.

Early turns

This deck spends threat and cards in the deck like resources, so don't be afraid to use the Grey Wanderer even just to get the resources. Try to set up A Very Good Tale as soon as possible, even Sneak Attack in a Gandalf, Beorn, or other big ally to power it. You're looking to tap at least 9 resources worth of allies so that you can grab a 4-cost and a 5-cost. Rivendell Scout can also be used in a pinch, though they're more for providing a bit of extra willpower and a cheap ally that can be dumped when needed (surprisingly helpful in this cycle). Look for Faramir as early as possible, since it takes a while to get the questing engine going. With your low starting threat, don't be afraid to take it slow when the quest allows.

Mid game

Eventually you should have a solid line of questers including Rivendell Scout, Gimli, Knight of Dale, Erestor, etc. With Faramir in play, you should easily be questing through whatever the encounter deck throws at you. Your combat line will mostly consist of Giant Bear and Soldier of Erebor, with Denethor as prime defender, especially if you get the Staff of Lebethron and/or the Ancestral Armor on him. In general, use Heed the Dream to search for your key attachments -- it's often worth spending the extra resources to get whatever you want out of your deck, Denethor's good for the money! Don't worry if they get discarded to A Very Good Tale or Soldier of Erebor -- Erebor Hammersmith can fetch them back, or you can Will of the West.

Late game

You should have an army of allies, most of whom are able to ready on their own. You can quest big and still have a huge combat line ready to decimate orcs, wargs, or whatever other enemies are causing you trouble. I've taken on 4 or 5 enemies at once in endgame and been fine.

Other thoughts

• Archery and other direct damage generally isn't a problem because you have so many allies with high . Denethor has healing available with the contract, which has been enough for me. You can always stack extra damage on a Gandalf or a Giant Bear, which then shuffles back into the deck. If you find that you need more healing, though, then Warden of Healing is, as usual, probably your best bet.

• One copy of Will of the West may seem out of place, but I mostly use it end game if my deck is starting to get too thin to power Soldier of Erebor. It's not a huge deal if it gets discarded, though, because a thin deck can work great with Giant Bear -- and you should have enough resources to play it every turn.

• Erestor is helpful to cycle through to the more useful cards in your deck, and to get rid of unique duplicates or cards like the Scout once you're out of secrecy.

• Halbarad is there for his stats, but also his ability helps keep the Staff of Lebethron operational.

• Note that there are two different versions of Gandalf ally available. I liked this ratio, but you can experiment with switching it up.

• Beorn can only be played with Sneak Attack, A Very Good Tale, or Timely Aid. If he gets stuck in your hand, use Erestor.

• In general, the importance of attachments is in this order: Steward, Ancestral Armor, Strider, Staff, Resourceful, Celebrian's Stone, Rod.