Since the release of the Antlered Crown i've been eager to get some play time in with the limited selection of ents we have received thus far. Deck creation took some thinking however. Two spheres that ents currently occupy (tactics and lore) dont traditionally go together, I also wanted to be able to play around their biggest weakness of coming into play exhausted which i thought a low starting threat deck would be able to provide. Low and Behold, Merry and Pippin the two hobbits how partner with Treebeard make wonderful hero additions for him. Here is my deck with some explanations below
Deck Created with CardGameDB.com The Lord of the Rings Deckbuilder
Total Cards: (50)
Hero: (3)
1x Haldir of LoĢrien (Trouble in Tharbad)
1x Merry (The Black Riders)
1x Pippin (The Black Riders)
Ally: (18)
3x Treebeard (The Antlered Crown)
3x Wandering Ent (Celebrimbor's Secret)
3x Booming Ent (The Antlered Crown)
2x Warden of Healing (The Long Dark)
2x Master of the Forge (Shadow and Flame)
1x Gildor Inglorion (The Hills of Emyn Muil)
1x Boromir (The Road Darkens)
1x Henamarth Riversong (Core Set)
1x Farmer Maggot (The Black Riders)
1x Elrond (The Road Darkens)
Attachment: (16)
2x Wingfoot (The Nin-in-Eilph)
3x Bow of the Galadhrim (The Nin-in-Eilph)
2x Lembas (Trouble in Tharbad)
2x Elf-stone (The Black Riders)
3x Fast Hitch (The Dead Marshes)
3x Dagger of Westernesse (The Black Riders)
1x Black Arrow (On the Doorstep)
Event: (16)
3x Halfling Determination (The Black Riders)
2x Peace, and Thought (Shadow and Flame)
3x Take No Notice (The Black Riders)
2x Feint (Core Set)
3x Foe-hammer (Over Hill and Under Hill)
3x Daeron's Runes (Foundations of Stone)
The deck works best in multiplayer but is perfectly capable of going solo as well depending on the scenario. The last hero spot is really up for grabs, I really like Haldir but you could sub in Lore Aragorn or Beravor (or even Faramir if that's your fancy) and take out the Bows and Black Arrows for some defensive items like protector of lorien and burning brand. Even Lore bilbo is a decent option in here as the dedicated defender too if those cards are added.
As for the Ents themselves, while they seem obviously powerful I think its kind of understated how significant the drawback of entering play exhausted is and really helps balance them out. I mostly use the wandering for questing, booming for attacking (obviously) then Tree beard generally defends. All help as damage sponges as well.
Take No Notice is really just a token addition since its free with the current hero lineup. Noiseless movement is a really good alternative especially when using Haldir so feel free to sub in and out at your choosing. I like having solo copies of the non-essential unique allies as it makes it feel that much more significant when they arrive (normally thru the help of elf-stone). Peace and Thought is easily usable with the spare hitches since I've found that the two hobbits dont even really need to take too many actions a turn. As seen i also run a fair amount of healing with the wardens and lembas just because it helps in multiplayer to provide that support and also since defending is the weakest part of this deck so as built Treebeard becomes the main defender and I would prefer he not die
Let me know what you think or if you've found other good combinations that the Ents work well with.