Deck: Eomer's Conflict

Early in the game, Conflict at the Carrock is a quest I spent a lot of time with. It was challenging, but not frequently hopeless like Escape from Dol Guldur. I had a goal to beat it solo, one handed, but could never quite pull it off. I don't think I ever really came close, actually. Now, with a much larger card pool, I'm excited to take on this same challenge.

My decks typically evolve throughout my attempts as I find out which cards I never chose to play and which cards I wish I had access to. Here is a breakdown of what I'm thinking of as I put a first draft together.

Eomer's Conflict

Heroes

Eomer: Here's the key of the deck for me. I have three, rather large enemies to deal with. Eomer can get boosted to insane heights (attach Firefoot, lose an ally, and play Unseen Strike to attack for 10). Fighting trolls, I expect Eomer to see his attack bonus available on most turns. A major goal will be to pump Eomer up and get him attacking twice.

Merry: Low threat and decent willpower can be a struggle in a mono-Tactics deck. Merry is here to cover those bases, hopefully aided by the +2 bonus Halfling Determination can bring him. He also brings the ability to have a Good Meal, which is handy for the often resource-sparse realm of Tactics. But Merry's role as a quester really shines with the inclusion of...

Theoden: Tactic's can't quest, eh? With Theoden at the party, my heroes can now throw down 8 willpower without any additional modifications or assistance. If that willpower is not needed at some point, Theoden can handle his own in a fight with 3 attack strength.

Starting threat of 28. Not too bad considering two of the heroes are fairly high cost.

Attachments

Firefoot (x3): A great source of attack bonus to Eomer and a way to get some direct damage possibly dealt out to weaker enemies. While it is a unique card, I am including three with the hopes of getting it out and attached early on.

Good Meal (x3): Included to essentially provide free events. While the discount given is two, I will gladly use these to pay for 1 cost events in a pinch.

Rohan Warhorse (x3): Here is how I hope to see Eomer dealing out multiple attacks once it is time to take on the trolls. Theoden can also come to the aid, when needed and possible.

Horn of Gondor (x2): This is the only way I'll see resource accumulation in this deck. I almost always include Horn of Gondor in my Tactics decks, but I rarely see it come to light. Hopefully that pattern will change this time around.

Book of Eldacar (x3): There are some great, cheap events being used in this deck and the benefits of using them multiple times are plenty.

Mighty Prowess is an option I considered and will keep in the back of my mind as I play-test this deck, with a total of six troll enemies possible in this deck (and a few goblins). 

Events

Unseen Strike (x3): This is only going to work for me if I can start my attacks before hitting the threshold of 34 threat, but the idea is to combine this with Rohan Warehorse to deal some massive damage out to two trolls at once.

Quick Strike (x3): Included with aspirations of dispatching a troll before defense is needed or to take two swipes at the same one (if Eomer can ready).

Halfling Determination (x3): An all-stat booster for Merry, I am planning on this card seeing action during Quest phases.

Thicket of Spears (x3): Once the trolls start coming, I would like to take them on in my own good time. I'm actually putting this instead of Feint, since I am more concerned about a rush of multiple enemies at an inconvenient time than I am about handling them one at time.

Hail of Stone (x3): A card I love the concept of but almost never use. Might be a perfect fit to see the trolls whittled down a bit.

Allies

Here is where I had my biggest struggle in building this deck. There are a lot of allies that would potentially work well, but which are the ones I need to make this specific deck work right?

Westfold Outrider (x3): A decent attacker and defender, with the option to pull an enemy in during the attack portion of the combat phase (and trigger Eomer's attack boost while at it).

Envoy of Pelagir (x3): Questing is a concern of mine. A cheap ally who can quest, or pitch in to a battle, is worth it.

Knight of Minas Tirith (x3): Mainly included for his constant 3 attack strength. Not sure if I will find his ability to pull enemies in useful or not, since attacking alone for 3 might not do much damage at all (and I'll still need to block that enemy).

Vassal of the Windlord (x3): Cheap fodder for blocking or attacking, with the bonus of triggering Eomer's attack bonus.

Defender of Rammas (x3): Able to take quite a beating, these guys can block an un-boosted troll (depending on the shadow effect dealt).

Bofur (x1): A Tactics ally with two willpower. Necessary for the hill I'll have to get over at the opening of stage 2. But, with no weapons in the deck, not worth including multiples of unless playtesting determines otherwise.

Gandalf (Core, x3): Good ol' standby. I thought of including the Hobbit Gandalf, for his help in sticking around and taking a few nasty hits (while helping quest round after round), but I'm a bit worried about the threat increase.

Saruman (x2): Wait, didn't I say I was worried about threat increase? Well, this is a specialized case. I'm hoping to have Saruman in hand when I only have two trolls left and am confident about dispatching one of them.

Sets Used

Core
The Dead Marshes
The Redhorn Gate
Road to Rivendell
Over Hill and Under Hill
Heirs of Numenor
Encounter at Amon Din
Assault on Osgiliath
The Morgul Vale
The Black Riders
The Voice of Isengard
The Dunland Trap

Will this deck be able to handle the questing and combat needs of the Carrock, while keeping a low enough profile to take the trolls on at will? Eomer's Conflict will get a chance to show its quality soon!