LotR TCG Card Strategies - #17

Gandalf, Friend of the Shirefolk
Gandalf, The Grey Wizard

Gandalf is important in, well, a Gandalf deck. Almost every card in the Gandalf Culture plays on Gandalf or requires that you spot him. He also works with Elrond and Shire Lookout Point.

Let's take a quick look at the differences between the Gandalfs. The starter deck version is useful if you're playing Gandalf Signet characters. The rare version looks weaker at first, but you'll always have a Hobbit in the Fellowship. Basically, you can trade the Gandalf Signet ability for a possibility of extra Strength. Just choose whichever one is right for your deck.

OK, now that the obvious is out of the way, I'm going to tangent on some deckbuilding strategy.

How do you design a Gandalf deck? Since this character is so important, how do you get him in play? I've seen 3 different strategies...

1. Start with Gandalf and play a small Fellowship. Using just Gandalf and Frodo in the early game keeps the Twilight pool very low when you move. If the opponent is only playing 1 or 2 Minions at each site, you can defend without needing more than Gandalf's Skrimish events and cards like Hobbit Steath or Power According to His Stature. Of course, these decks do play other companions, but there's no rush, they're not needed until Site 5 or 6. A few copies of Aragorn or Boromir in the deck will be enough. You'll note that such a strategy usually plays few Free cards every turn, because it wants to keep the pool low, and because there aren't too many Minions to deal with at once. As a result, the deck as a whole moves rather slowly and needs a slower Minion strategy, like Ringwraiths.

2. Start with Gandalf and plan for a Site 1 that can give you another Companion. (Farmer Maggot's Fields, Green Dragon Inn, Prancing Pony) Then you will have a medium-sized Fellowship quickly, and still guarantee having Gandalf in play for his cards. These decks bid high to guarantee having their Site 1 in play, and so most will use Green Dragon Inn and have Sam remove the bid burdens. This strategy works well in a Pipe deck, since Gandalf's Pipe can remove those Burdens. Having Aragorn, Gandalf and Frodo first turn will let you play three of the four pipes.

3. Start a different Fellowship and hope to draw Gandalf. With a small draw deck, 4 copies of Gandalf and a strategy that draws a lot of cards, most deck can rely on a copy of Gandalf by turn 2. For example, a Moria Orc strategy will play a lot of Shadow cards and that helps to find Gandalf. A Wizard is Never Late will help, too. The extra copies of Gandalf then come in handy, as Gandalf will often get put in combat to take a wound or 2. The only thing to consider with this deck type is what you do before getting Gandalf. It may be a few sites before you can play Gandalf Events. However, with the other Companions, these decks usually focus on two Cultures at once and will not have too high a percentage of Gandalf cards.

I'll discuss more on what the specific Gandalf Culture cards can do in later reviews. For now, I hope this look at possiblities for playing Gandalf has inspired a few deck designs.