Ever since Celeborn and Galadriel were out, together with the many Silvan tricks, I had been searching for a good Silvan Lore hero to fill the third spot. There was Haldir but his ability did not seem to fit the deck so well. Well, the deck can still be very strong but I feel Haldir deserves a Tactics treatment to boost his attack and fulfill his role as an assassin. There are now two other Silvan Lore heroes but they do not fit either: it, again, seems a waste to use Mirlonde with no other Lore hero, and Róssiel's power lies in tricks not apt for the deck either. So I had been trying out other heroes, and they worked well but not felt thematic enough: Lore Pippin or Bifur.

I had been aware of Elrond, of course, but he had seemed preoccupied by prolonged chats with Gandalf and his obsession with Vilya. Finally, a few weeks back, I dismantled such a deck so that Elrond could join the Galadhrim. And of course, it works wonders. Though not a Silvan, Elrond fits both thematically and mechanically very, very well. I especially like the fact you can play Tactics allies without a need of songs or A Good Harvest; and the boost of healing is noticeable also.

But guess what, only a few days later there is an announcement of a new Lore Silvan hero coming up. And I am guessing, just like others, that it will be Thranduil. And it feels he might be coming a bit too late for my liking though I am no less excited to see him. Do you think he will further enforce the Silvan strategies? Judging by the two allies, the "enter play" tricks remain. If it is really him, do you think he will be able to pay for all silvan allies, or would that be too close to Elrond's ability? It seems not very likely he may further boost stats of Silvan allies as that would certainly be too close to Celeborn's ability (unless it is hit points but I doubt that too).

What do you think he might do? Or is it going to be someone else? I cannot imagine that alternative now, we all know he is the one major character missing and the announcement seems to whet the appetite.

I'm expecting Captain Jack Thranduil to have a Scout-oriented ability.

And a jaunty hat.

Ever since Celeborn and Galadriel were out, together with the many Silvan tricks, I had been searching for a good Silvan Lore hero to fill the third spot. There was Haldir but his ability did not seem to fit the deck so well. Well, the deck can still be very strong but I feel Haldir deserves a Tactics treatment to boost his attack and fulfill his role as an assassin. There are now two other Silvan Lore heroes but they do not fit either: it, again, seems a waste to use Mirlonde with no other Lore hero, and Róssiel's power lies in tricks not apt for the deck either. So I had been trying out other heroes, and they worked well but not felt thematic enough: Lore Pippin or Bifur.

I had been aware of Elrond, of course, but he had seemed preoccupied by prolonged chats with Gandalf and his obsession with Vilya. Finally, a few weeks back, I dismantled such a deck so that Elrond could join the Galadhrim. And of course, it works wonders. Though not a Silvan, Elrond fits both thematically and mechanically very, very well. I especially like the fact you can play Tactics allies without a need of songs or A Good Harvest; and the boost of healing is noticeable also.

But guess what, only a few days later there is an announcement of a new Lore Silvan hero coming up. And I am guessing, just like others, that it will be Thranduil. And it feels he might be coming a bit too late for my liking though I am no less excited to see him. Do you think he will further enforce the Silvan strategies? Judging by the two allies, the "enter play" tricks remain. If it is really him, do you think he will be able to pay for all silvan allies, or would that be too close to Elrond's ability? It seems not very likely he may further boost stats of Silvan allies as that would certainly be too close to Celeborn's ability (unless it is hit points but I doubt that too).

What do you think he might do? Or is it going to be someone else? I cannot imagine that alternative now, we all know he is the one major character missing and the announcement seems to whet the appetite.

I’ve been loving both Haldir and Rossiel lately but neither really fit in a Celeborn/Galadriel deck (I’ve been running them with Legolas in a Sniping/Victory Display/Ent deck that’s been doing pretty well). Elrond is a perfect fit for a Celeborn and Galadriel Tri-Sphere though—especially if you are running Silvan tracker.

I don’t know about Thranduil. We might get him but I’m just as inclined to think we’ll get another FFG hero or a minor character. I’ve been thinking for a while that the game would do a cycle revisiting Mirkwood and that would be a perfect time to get both Thranduil and a Lore Legolas.

Guess we’ll just have to see--the way FFG spoils we really shouldn't have to wait too long.

I played 2 Silvan decks 2-Handed, one with Legolas to get access to Tactics, and one with lower threat to make use of Haldir. Worked really well, as long as I could get the bows out quickly.

You can see them here: https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/122921-silvan-doubles/?p=1371597

I played 2 Silvan decks 2-Handed, one with Legolas to get access to Tactics, and one with lower threat to make use of Haldir. Worked really well, as long as I could get the bows out quickly.

You can see them here: https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/122921-silvan-doubles/?p=1371597

Cool decks.

Have you thought at all about Great Yew Bow instead of Hands Upon the Bow? It's worked really well for me slapped onto Legolas (along with a Bow of the Galadhrim or Rivendell Blade) to help Haldir snipe enemies in the Staging Area before they can engage. You lose the extra +1 attack but it's a permanent attachment that you can use as needed. Then you can just feed the extra copies to Protector or Lorien.

I also hate to see a Legolas deck without Arod but I guess you have enough willpower here that you don't really need him.

I played 2 Silvan decks 2-Handed, one with Legolas to get access to Tactics, and one with lower threat to make use of Haldir. Worked really well, as long as I could get the bows out quickly.

You can see them here: https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/122921-silvan-doubles/?p=1371597

Cool decks.

Have you thought at all about Great Yew Bow instead of Hands Upon the Bow? It's worked really well for me slapped onto Legolas (along with a Bow of the Galadhrim or Rivendell Blade) to help Haldir snipe enemies in the Staging Area before they can engage. You lose the extra +1 attack but it's a permanent attachment that you can use as needed. Then you can just feed the extra copies to Protector or Lorien.

I also hate to see a Legolas deck without Arod but I guess you have enough willpower here that you don't really need him.

I would use Great Yew Bow, but it prevents me from getting my attackers powered up by better weapons, and it is a combat action, so it doesn't let you clear out willpower during the quest phase.

Also, these decks were built before Arod existed.

I played 2 Silvan decks 2-Handed, one with Legolas to get access to Tactics, and one with lower threat to make use of Haldir. Worked really well, as long as I could get the bows out quickly.

You can see them here: https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/122921-silvan-doubles/?p=1371597

Cool decks.

Have you thought at all about Great Yew Bow instead of Hands Upon the Bow? It's worked really well for me slapped onto Legolas (along with a Bow of the Galadhrim or Rivendell Blade) to help Haldir snipe enemies in the Staging Area before they can engage. You lose the extra +1 attack but it's a permanent attachment that you can use as needed. Then you can just feed the extra copies to Protector or Lorien.

I also hate to see a Legolas deck without Arod but I guess you have enough willpower here that you don't really need him.

I would use Great Yew Bow, but it prevents me from getting my attackers powered up by better weapons, and it is a combat action, so it doesn't let you clear out willpower during the quest phase.

Also, these decks were built before Arod existed.

Makes sense.

I like the more consistent 1-2 punch Great Yew Bow gives you with Haldir but I can certainly see the value of being able to eliminate high-threat enemies for Questing.

I'm expecting Captain Jack Thranduil to have a Scout-oriented ability.

And a jaunty hat.

This game does need a jaunty hat attachment.