Someone must have spiked my tea, because I’m spotlighting a two-hero deck… Wait! Don’t run away yet, because this one’s worth trying out!

Yes, in general, I’m not a big fan of 2-hero decks. The big problem that I have with them is that they tend to be overly-dependent on certain cards, be it a first-round resourceful or a particularly impactful Timely Aid. Sure, when all the stars align, these decks can pack one helluva punch. The problem is that they fail utterly just a little too often for my tastes. Nothing hurts more than exhausting Gimli and Gildor Inglorian to play A Very Good Tale, only to pull out a single Rivendell Scout for your efforts. That’s hard to recover from, especially considering you’re already behind in resources from the lack of a third hero.

Yet, despite my usual arguments, here I am looking at a 2-hero deck list that works. How does it do it? Let’s find out!

Join us today, as CoTR shines a spotlight on…

Legion of Heroes

by Arrhias

Hero (2)
Denethor (Flight of the Stormcaller)
Elrond (Shadow and Flame)

Ally (25)
1x Arwen Undómiel (The Watcher in the Water)
1x Beorn (Core Set)
1x Boromir (The Road Darkens)
1x Déorwine (Temple of the Deceived)
1x Elfhelm (The Dead Marshes)
1x Erestor (The Long Dark)
1x Faramir (Core Set)
1x Firyal (The Mûmakil)
1x Galdor of the Havens (The Treachery of Rhudaur)
3x Gandalf (Core Set)
2x Gildor Inglorion (The Hills of Emyn Muil)
1x Gimli (The Treason of Saruman)
1x Glorfindel (Flight of the Stormcaller)
1x Jubayr (The Mûmakil)
1x Legolas (The Treason of Saruman)
1x Quickbeam (The Treason of Saruman)
1x Súlien (The City of Corsairs)
1x Treebeard (The Antlered Crown)
3x Warden of Healing (The Long Dark)
1x Yazan (The Mûmakil)

Attachment (14)
2x A Burning Brand (Conflict at the Carrock)
2x Heir of Mardil (Celebrimbor’s Secret)
3x Resourceful (The Watcher in the Water)
3x Steward of Gondor (Core Set)
2x Strider (The Drowned Ruins)
2x Vilya (Shadow and Flame)

Event (15)
3x A Very Good Tale (Over Hill and Under Hill)
3x Daeron’s Runes (Foundations of Stone)
3x Sneak Attack (Core Set)
3x Timely Aid (The Redhorn Gate)
3x Vanish from Sight (Flight of the Stormcaller)

Of all the 2-hero decks that I’ve played, this one has been the most consistent. The reason is that Arrhias has built in multiple safe-guards to prevent this deck from being too dependent on luck.

I’ve already discussed how temperamental A Very Good Tale can be, but look at the allies in this deck: not a single one of them is a dud. Considering that half the deck is allies, you are more than likely going to pull someone out. The caution with builds like this is that it can be hard to get the ball rolling, hence the usual inclusion of low-cost allies like Rivendell Scout.  That’s where the genius of this deck lies, for it packs two additional strategies for getting your big allies out quickly: Vilya and Elrond. Vilya is self-explanatory. While it works best with Gildor Inglorian on the table, even playing it blind it will bring out an ally fifty percent of the time. Elrond also brings the ability to play allies from any sphere, and here that ability is used to its fullest. Denethor ensures that he gets a healthy stream of resources, and if you’re lucky, can even play a Steward of Gondor on him in the first turn.  When Elrond is collecting four resources per turn, not including Resourcefuls, paying for these allies in cash is not a problem.

The first time I played this deck, I got really lucky. By the second turn, Elrond was voted in as the Steward of Gondor, and had two copies of Resourceful on him. I pulled Firyal with Timely Aid, and steamrolled the quest from there. In my second game, I wasn’t as lucky with my Timely Aid, I was forced to pay full cost for a Resourceful, and I didn’t even draw the Steward, but that was okay because there were other strategies available. Fast-forward one turn later: Vilya had pulled out Erestor, and A Very Good Tale brought me back on track. The way Legion of Heroes is structured, even if you struggle to get the ball rolling, you won’t flounder.

Not bad for a 2-hero deck, isn’t it?

– WanderingTook