Deck Spotlight: The Grey Company at Gen Con 2014

Another year has flown by, and it is once again time for my pilgrimage to the far-off kingdom of Indianapolis. The convocation of nerd-wizards always brings some surprises, and an early look at the latest expansions for our fair game. Best of all, it will provide an opportunity to play multi-player games with friends, and without the need for OCTGN and Skype.

This year, recent talk has focused on the just-announced Gandalf hero, and how dramatically he looks to shake up the meta-game. I for one and very excited about the GenCon exclusive quest. This year we will be traveling to the Barrow Downs. This bear is hoping to run into an old friend, Mr. Tom Bombadil, along the way. As good as my honey cakes are, the only food that I’ve had to better them is the food served by Tom Bombadil and his wife Goldberry. In any case, there will no doubt be lots of nasty undead enemies to slay along the way, which should help to build up a powerful appetite.

We of The Grey Company have decided to coordinate our decks this year, so that we can play four player games using heroes that represent the members of Fellowship of the Ring. The hope is that The Road Darkens will be available at GenCon, so that we can play it together with these decks. With 12 heroes between us, and only nine in the original fellowship, we will obviously have to make some allowances for more minor characters in our decks. Another interesting twist, and one that needs to be accounted for when gauging the relative strength of the new Gandalf hero, is the impact of not being able to use either version of his ally card. Looking at the deck list below, the absence of Sneak Attack and Core Set Gandalf are both notable.

Aside from the omission of the ever-present wizard, this deck has several other features which mark is as a multi-player and support deck. Bill the Pony, while always a worthwhile ally to include in any deck with Sam Gamgee, is also here to boost the other decks which will include Hobbit heroes, as well as the Frodo Baggins fellowship hero. Campfire Tales, often not worth including in a solo deck, is quite strong in four-player games, especially when some of the other decks will lack card draw. Vassal of the Windlord and Rivendell Bow will provide some much-needed Range – always vital in multi-player games. The latter card is an excellent target for another player’s Glorfindel, as that hero will often be ready for combat after the quest phase.

As illustrated in one of last year’s GenCon decks, Elrohir can become quite the defensive power with aid from Steward of Gondor and Gondorian Shield. The latest adventure pack brought us Elven Mail, which provides two things our defender has typically lacked: Sentinel and extra hit points. Those extra two hit points are almost as important as the Sentinel, because this deck lacks shadow cancellation. Still, the Sentinel is the biggest advantage of this attachment, with it Elrohir should be able to defend for all players at the table.

In cases where we lack the Leadership resources for extra defending, or the enemy is simply too large, Feint is a logical inclusion for a support deck. In case of emergency, this deck even features two copies of The Wizard’s Voice. While Doomed 3 might seem like a hefty cost, the idea of being able to use 1 card to prevent 4 attacks in a critical round makes this a worthwhile inclusion. While a player might complain about raising their threat by 3, if it means saving one of their heroes from death, it seems like a fair trade.

This deck also includes an excessive amount of readying effects, if it was to be used for solo play. Given that each of our heroes already has an ability to ready themselves, some might wonder at the choice to include three copies of Cram and Grim Resolve. The idea here is that these cards are for the benefit of the other three players at the table. Grim Resolve, in particular, is an amazingly powerful card in a four player game. Cram will most likely be attached to Legolas, or Aragorn, given their useful keywords.

Errand-rider is a must in any deck which features resource acceleration or heroes from different spheres. In the case where there are fewer enemies, and Elrohir starts to pile up excess resources, we can always send them to other players. It is always a good idea, for example, to ensure that the players who include Spirit in their deck can afford to pay for their cancellation cards. If for some reason other players don’t need extra resources, this deck has a handful of powerful but expensive allies that it can pay for as well.

The last card worth mentioning is Faramir. Three copies may seem excessive, but like Grim Resolve, the power of this card is so magnified in a four player game, that we want to make absolutely certain that we can get him on the table at some point. To be clear, it is very unlikely that I will be using Faramir to boost my own characters. This deck is much more designed as a combat and support deck – it’s primary role is not to quest. Other decks at the table however, will be committing many more characters to the quest, at which point Faramir’s ability becomes truly game-changing.

Apart from the as-yet unknown fate of The Road Darkens, it is always fun going into a new GenCon scenario not knowing what you will face. Four player games can be particularly challenging, as a bit of bad luck or an odd mix of locations can mean staging area lock and a quick death for all. This risk is precisely why this deck is so extreme in some of its choices. The main goal of this deck is two-fold: to use Elrohir and combat tricks (Feint, Wizard’s Voice) to ensure that we can safely engage most enemies immediately, and to use global boosting and readying effects to ensure that the other players can focus on making quest progress unimpeded. The fact the the readying will also allow other players to help out with combat is another benefit of this approach.

In any case, it will be interesting to see whether or not the lack of Core Set Gandalf greatly hinders this deck. I am also curious to see whether or not The Wizard’s Voice can be a life-saving card, or it just sits dead in my hand. More than anything, I can’t wait to see my friends from the Grey Company and enjoy some intense multi-player games of The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game. For anyone attending GenCon 2014, we will be at the Cardboard of the Rings event Friday morning, as well as hosting our own event off-site that same evening. Safe travels to all those attending, and I look forward to meeting you there!

Fellowship – Elladan, Elrohir, Sam Gamgee

Heroes:
Elladan (RtR)
Elrohir (TRG)
Sam Gamgee (TBR)

Allies: 18
Errand-rider (HoN) x3
Vassal of the Windlord (TDM) x3
Bill the Pony (TBR) x3
Bofur (TH:OHaUH) x2
Denethor (EaAD) x2
Erestor (TLD) x2
Faramir (Core) x3

Attachments: 18
Cram (TH:OHaUH) x3
Gondorian Shield (TSF) x3
Rivendell Blade (RtR) x3
Rivendell Bow (TWitW) x3
Steward of Gondor (Core) x3
Elven Mail (TTT) x3

Events: 14
The Wizard’s Voice (VoI) x2
Foe-Hammer (TH:OHaUH) x3
Campfire Tales (THfG) x3
Feint (Core) x3
Grim Resolve (Core) x3

Post-GenCon Update!

Here are the rest of the Grey Company’s Decks.

Ian’s Deck

Heroes:
Gandalf (TRD)
Aragorn (TWitW)
Glorfindel (FoS)

Allies: 16
Bilbo Baggins (TRD) x3
Elrond (TRD) x2
Ethir Swordsman (TSF) x3
Ithilien Tracker (HoN) x2
Warden of Healing (TLD) x3
West Road Traveller (RtM) x3

Attachments: 18
Miruvor (SaF) x3
Gandalf’s Staff (TRD) x2
A Burning Brand (TWitW) x2
Light of Valinor (FoS) x3
Sword that was Broken (TWitW) x2
Expert Treasure-hunter (TH:OtD) x2
Asfaloth (FoS) x2
Unexpected Courage (Core) x2

Events: 18
Flame of Anor (TRD) x3
Feint (Core) x3
A Test of Will (Core) x3
Hasty Stroke (Core) x3
Elrond’s Counsel (TWitW) x3
Daeron’s Runes (FoS) x3

Matthew’s Deck

Heroes:
Boromir (TDM)
Gimli (Core)
Legolas (Core)

Allies: 25
Westfold Outrider (VoI) x3
Veteran Axehand (Core) x3
Gondorian Spearman (Core) x3
Winged Guardian (THfG) x3
Beorn (Core) x2
Landroval (AJtR) x2
Vassal of the Windlord (TDM) x3
Eagles of the Misty Mountains (RtM) x3
Farmer Maggot (TBR) x2
Knight of Minas Tirith (AoO) x2

Attachments: 19
Rohan Warhorse (VoI) x2
Blade of Gondolin (Core) x2
Horn of Gondor (Core) x3
Dwarrowdelf Axe (KD) x2
Rivendell Blade (RtR) x2
Ring Mail (TLD) x3
Gondorian Shield (TSF) x3
Gondorian Fire (AoO) x2

Events: 6
Foe-Hammer (TH:OHaUH) x3
Feint (Core) x3

Derek’s Deck

Heroes:
Fatty Bolger (TBR)
Merry (TBR)
Pippin (TBR)

Allies: 14
Farmer Maggot (TBR) x2
Barliman Butterbur (TBR) x2
Escort from Edoras (AJtR) x3
Arwen Undómiel (TWitW) x2
Bilbo Baggins (TRD) x2
Warden of Healing (TLD) x3

Attachments: 12
Fast Hitch (TDM) x3
Good Meal (TRG) x3
Hobbit Pipe (TBR) x3
Dagger of Westernesse (TBR) x3

Events: 24
Daeron’s Runes (FoS) x3
Take No Notice (TBR) x3
Galadhrim’s Greeting (Core) x3
Test of Will (Core) x3
Dwarven Tomb (Core) x2
Smoke Rings (TBR) x3
Unseen Strike (TRG) x2
Halfling Determination (TBR) x3
Power of Orthanc (VoI) x2