Elrond, the wise old lord of Elves, might have the strongest deck in the LOTRED set. His action manipulation theme works alongside some powerful cards including attacks, defends, direct damage and some special tricks, with strong minors to boot. James Bungart got things started on this, and on a LOTR Legends expansion in general, with his take on Elrond.
Elrond
by Roman, based on some ideas by James Bungart
Elrond
16 HP
Blue Deck
Melee
2x Elves
4 HP Each
Strong Ranged Minor Deck
Ranged
Elrond – 12 Special Cards
3x Hadhafang
A3. After attacking, Elrond can attack the same character again with an A3. That character may defend.
1x Immortal Blade
A11. You must have 2 available actions to play this attack. Playing this card counts as 2 actions. Draw a card.
2x Summon Water Horses
Choose an enemy character. That character and any enemy character adjacent to it takes 3 damage. This card does 1 additional damage to The Balrog, Nazgul, Witch King, Sauron, Smaug and Fire Pillars.
2x Mithril Plate
D15. Any additional effects of the attack card that would affect Elrond are negated.
2x Master Strategist
Move Elrond and all allied Elves up to 3 spaces each. Playing this card does not count as an action.
1x 3000 Years of Wisdom
You may either take a third action this turn, or grant an immediate free action to an ally. Playing this card does not count as an action.
1x Foresight
You may look at the top 5 cards of your draw pile, put 2 cards in your hand, and put the rest back on the top or bottom of the draw pile, in any order.
Some thoughts:
– I think of Elrond as a Tier 1 tough guy, the kind of deck that can go toe to toe with the baddest bad guys. He’d back down from no one including Sauron himself. Even then, this version might be too strong.
– James Bungart kicked this off but I took Elrond in a different direction, one where he’s so tactically superior that he gets more attack actions than everyone else. It’s a bit of an action manipulation deck like the AT-ST. I liked James’ idea to take a turn away from an opponent, so I tried it with the Eye of Sauron but ultimately found that giving up one action and card to take away 2 actions is just ok. Finally, I think “Foresight” (which of course I think of as “foreskin”) is an essential part of his character, and this is a more powerful version than FUTURE FORESEEN. He’s also got a reputation as a healer that I could add to the deck but I don’t know, that would just stretch games out.
I’ve got one. This Elrond, though depicts him from his time in the FOTR. This deck shows his wisdom and magic from Arwen’s escape from the Nazgul. This deck also has increased versatility and derives from Sauron and Smaug abilities.
Major: Elrond- 20hp
Blue+ deck
Minors: Horses of Water- 3hp each
Melee deck
Specials:
3000 years of wisdom x2: Draw 2 cards. Move both Water Horses up to 5 spaces each. Move all other allies that have not moved since the start of Elrond’s turn up to 2 spaces each.
Master Strategist x2: EITHER- Grant any ally an immediate action that does not count against their next turn, OR, Force any enemy to discard absolutely any card set. If you searched their draw pile, reshuffle it.
Mithril Plate x2: Def*, the attacker receives no bonuses from their attack. Elrond takes no damage and is exempt from the next attack or special effect applied to him by any enemy.
Horse Geyser x2: Each Horse of Water deals 3 damage to each enemy adjacent. Fire-based enemies and Nazgul and Sauron take +1 damage from this attack. Then, remove both Horses.
Blast of Water x2: Dmg8*, Play face up to attack from range. Defense from Fire-based enemies and Nazgul and Sauron is against this attack, rounded up. Place 2 Water Horses adjacent to the target, reviving any to full health.
Intense Stare x2: Dmg3*, If this attack does damage, the defender’s next turn is skipped.
Horse Geyser and Intense Stare are just comical names. 3000 years chains into Geyser, so the expansion’s theme is still encouraged. I do like Blast of Water and Horse Geyser, but I feel like they are too similar to Smaug’s abilities, however, they do deal bonus damage to certain characters. Master Strategist allows an ally to take a bonus action, symbolizing Elrond’s military knowledge. It also has increased versatility to deal with Smaug if Bard is not an ally; a problem I have witnessed first-hand. The discard absolutely any card set means any cards that are the same, like Smaug’s wings a Hurricane- all of those cards would be discarded, or just his Weak Spot. Intense Stare is one of those cards you save for a rainy day, and the defender cannot do any thing on their next turn, not even move.
Hi James, thanks for your ideas! Elrond needs a little more offense to his game and needs a bread-and-butter attack that he has 3 copies of, such as BLAST OF WATER being a 3x card instead of 2.
It seems like Elrond should be flanked by a couple of Elves but the Water Horses are at least more original. There are no “fire based” or water-based properties in Epic Duels though, one of the limitations of the game.
Either way, I’m inspired to come up with a full deck for Elrond based on your ideas.
The fire-based enemies are Smaug and his pillars and the Balrog
I’ve put together a draft. Let me know your thoughts!