Mounts are awesome!

Yes, I’ve been on an Elfhelm kick lately, and this week my delve has taken me to a wonderfully synergistic fellowship with Elfhelm at the center of it all. There is far more to it than that though, and the Rohan fans out there will be especially tickled.

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Erestor has made quite a big impact on the meta-game since his hero version was released. By forcing you to discard all of the cards in your hand at the end of the round, he dramatically alters the value of many cards. For example, “safety net” cards like A Test of Will are less useful, since you can no longer save them for the optimal moment.

What he initially brought to the table was a mechanism to fuel the Noldor discard mechanic; however, since the release of leadership Denethor, the two have formed quite a partnership.

Here’s a fun game: Go to RingsDB and run a search for all decklists that contain those two heroes. There are a lot, and for good reason: tempo is very important in this game, and no two heroes get your deck rolling faster than Erestor and Denethor.

In today’s feature, we are going to explore a high-tempo deck with Legolas as the third wheel.

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Many among the community, myself included, have been lukewarm on 2-hero decks; mainly because the early-game action/resource hit are difficult to recover from. While cards like Strider alleviate these problems somewhat, you still have to draw them, and you still have to pay for them. As community member Sechen shows us, Strider can be a useful addition if you consider that 2-hero decks don’t necessarily have to start with 2-heroes.

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Ally Treebeard made a big impact when he arrived on the scene, and deservedly so. Even today, he is a contender for the most powerful neutral card. When it came time to design a hero version, the developers had big shoes to fill, but they sure came through! Hero Treebeard is a powerhouse. Even in simple builds, Treebeard can pack a punch; throw in some action advantage, and he pulls his weight in both the questing and combat phases. Now, that’s fun and all, his but how can you truly push the limits with him? Well, why don’t you ask the elves?

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This will come as no surprise to those who know me, but I’m a fan of 2-hero decks. Building one provides a lot of puzzles and challenges; you start the game with 33% fewer actions and 33% fewer resources, and you gain 33% fewer resources per round. In return, you get a lower starting threat, which often means secrecy access. Secrecy has a few cards that will help cover for that slow start, but you need to draw them in your opening hand or else you’re starting the game well behind the 8-ball. Continue reading →