How fun, we got both of our new tactics toys (Na’asiyah and Prince Imrahil) back-to-back! Now, just like a kid who got two brand new action-figures for Christmas, let’s mash them together and see what happens! Will it work? To quote stokesbook: “it’s ingeniously stupid”… but he also said that “it works surprisingly well”, so let’s take a look.

Join us today, as CoTR shines a spotlight on…

Ain’t Paying Nobody (Except Maybe a Few…)

by bigfomlof

Hero (3)
Na’asiyah (A Storm on Cobas Haven)
Prince Imrahil (The City of Corsairs)
Théodred (Core Set)

Ally (34)
2x Azain Silverbeard (Flight of the Stormcaller)
1x Beorn (Core Set)
2x Boromir (The Road Darkens)
1x Brok Ironfist (Core Set)
3x Defender of Rammas (Heirs of Númenor)
1x Déorwine (Temple of the Deceived)
2x Éothain (The Dread Realm)
2x Faramir (Core Set)
3x Gandalf (Core Set)
1x Gimli (The Treason of Saruman)
3x Grimbold (The Flame of the West)
3x Knight of the White Tower (The City of Corsairs)
2x Legolas (The Treason of Saruman)
2x Marksman of Lórien (The Drowned Ruins)
3x Veteran of Osgiliath (Escape from Mount Gram)
3x Warden of Helm’s Deep (The Antlered Crown)

Attachment (8)
1x Celebrían’s Stone (Core Set)
2x Heir of Mardil (Celebrimbor’s Secret)
3x Steward of Gondor (Core Set)
2x Visionary Leadership (The Morgul Vale)

Event (9)
3x Feint (Core Set)
3x Sneak Attack (Core Set)
3x Valiant Sacrifice (Core Set)

In my own naivety, I quickly wrote off putting Na’asiyah and the new Prince Imrahil in the same deck, because I felt that they clashed. After all, Prince Imrahil requires an abundance of allies, and Na’asiyah can’t pay for any! Well, I was flat-out wrong. It so happens that Na’asiyah is the perfect match for our Prince, because she is versatile. As it turn out, when you are pulling random allies out of your deck, versatility is very, very important.

With 34 allies, Prince Imrahil’s ability will rarely whiff. Better still is that we are at a point in the game’s life cycle where we can stuff the deck full of great allies. You will not be disappointed with what you pull; and, whether it be an attacker or defender that enters play, Na’asiyah can fulfill the missing role.

Ain’t Paying Nobody (Except Maybe a Few…) is a pretty entertaining deck to play, and has some neat tricks. First off, putting Heir of Mardil on Prince Imrahil is genius, because it lets Theodred ready him during the quest phase: it’s like having both the old and new Prince Imrahils in one card! The best tactic, though, is to drop Azain Silverbeard into play and use Na’asiyah’s resources to fuel his ability. Enemies in modern quests tend to share a lot of traits, so he can wreck a lot of havoc on the board.

The tempo provided by this deck is also worth a mention: being able to drop high-cost allies in the early-game is great for buying you some time to get on your feet. In a multiplayer game, it can tank for a couple of turns so that the other decks get up and running. By the late-game, it will be able to muster surprisingly decent willpower, especially when Visionary Leadership has targets across the table.

If you were like me, and initially glossed over this deck, know that it is worth a second look. I hope you have as much fun with it as I did. Now have fun storming the castle!

– WanderingTook