So there's a lot of Caldara and Emery hate, but after making a bit of a "first draft" mono-spirit deck and trying it out on a few quests, I actually think Caldara is really fun.

Hero (3)
Caldara (TBoG) x1
Eowyn (Core) x1
Glorfindel (FoS) x1


Ally (26)
Arwen Undomiel (TWitW) x2
Damrod (HON) x3
Elfhelm (TDM) x2
Emery (TBoG) x2
Gandalf (Core) x3
Imladris Stargazer (FoS) x3
Lorien Guide (Core) x3
Northern Tracker (Core) x2
Pelargir Shipwright (AoO) x3
Zigil Miner (KD) x3


Attachment (7)
Ancient Mathom (AJtR) x3
Light of Valinor (FoS) x2
Map of Earnil (AoO) x2


Event (17)
A Test of Will (Core) x2
A Watchful Peace (HON) x3
Dwarven Tomb (Core) x1
Elrond's Counsel (TWitW) x3
Fortune or Fate (Core) x1
Hasty Stroke (Core) x2
Stand and Fight (Core) x3
Will of the West (Core) x2

Glorfindel and Eowyn are a bit redundant as questers, so given a friend's second deck, I would happily swap one for Eleanor for more support. The strategy is obvious; be able to replay Fortune or Fate as much as possible, and fill the discard pile with allies. Will of the West is to efficiently mix Fortune or Fate back in if it gets put on the bottom of my deck by the Map. Some games were overwhelmed with enemies, say for example in the seventh level. Giving Caldara a bonus 1 defense from Arwen, defending with maybe some damage, discard, get allies, replay, and there were even some times I managed this two turns in a row. It is extremely effective. Emery has fantastic stats for an ally you can play for free, and does a great job of putting more allies in the discard pile.

I run Eleanor, Caldara, Éowyn. It feels good to have a mono-Spirit without Glorfindel. It is a great coop deck, still very decent solo, especially against the Mirkwood quests. Hobbit Gandalf is the key card of my experience. He is just invaluable, just last night I had him in play from round 2 till the successful end of the campaign.

Just one more tip, get rid of Stargazer and Zigil, it is one combo I had been running since it came out, but I have learnt I can easily do without it, especially in this deck that often has more resources than it requires.

Oh yeah, I have since totally bailed on the miner in favor of west road traveler. However, I like me some stargazer a bit too much. The miner is more about putting allies in the discard pile, but Emery definitely gets the job done.

Caldara decks seem to be getting a bit stronger these days, although not sure how strong yet. The following cards have/will strengthen Caldara decks:

1. Cirdan (much needed card draw)

2. Elven Jeweler (discarding allies from hand so you can Caldara them)

3. Sword-thain (1 more ally every time you discard Caldara)

4. Potentially Warden of Annuminas (another non-uniqe ally that has decent stats if played for free. Even if you assume 0 Willpower)

5. Steed of Imladris (discarding allies from hand so you can Caldara them)

I'll probably create one soon.

I love Caldara decks. I just recorded a video of one that I will post soon. I am excited see what Cirdan and Sword Thain can do for the decks as well.

I think what the archtype really needs in order to get into a top tier level is a 5-cost spirit ally.

I use to play a Caldara deck with Galadriel and Eowyn as the other heroes.

Its working amazingly well for me, and one of the MVP's of the deck are the mirrors of Galadriel. If you are lucky, you'll end discarding an ally, so it will be doing two things for you (fetching a card, and discarding an ally). Also, playing without Glorfindel you'll need some other allies with good attack, and that's why I play with 3 Warden of annuminas, and 2 Herugrim to convert Eowyn in my best attacking hero. She is always the target of the first Unexpected Courage, second one goes to Galadriel if she has Nenya attached.

I love Caldara decks. I just recorded a video of one that I will post soon. I am excited see what Cirdan and Sword Thain can do for the decks as well.

I think what the archtype really needs in order to get into a top tier level is a 5-cost spirit ally.

Yup. The two main weaknesses of my first Caldara deck were:

1. Lack of efficient card draw in order to get the cards I need to get going in the case of a bad start; and

2. Lack of useful high cost allies to really capitalize on her ability

Now with Cirdan and other various cards we're almost there...

I tested a quickly thrown together Caldara deck with Cirdan and one fortuitous example of a first turn I was able to play the following while also having Sword-thain in my hand available to play next turn (all Zigil Miners got lucky and hit the specified value twice, and Caldara was discarded to retrieve both Northern Trackers):

3x Zigil Miners

1x Unexpected Courage

2x Northern Tracker

1x Emery

If your teammate can give you one resource on the first turn it's actually pretty feasible to start with Emery + Sword-thain opening which would really improve Caldara openings.

I use to play a Caldara deck with Galadriel and Eowyn as the other heroes.

Its working amazingly well for me, and one of the MVP's of the deck are the mirrors of Galadriel. If you are lucky, you'll end discarding an ally, so it will be doing two things for you (fetching a card, and discarding an ally). Also, playing without Glorfindel you'll need some other allies with good attack, and that's why I play with 3 Warden of annuminas, and 2 Herugrim to convert Eowyn in my best attacking hero. She is always the target of the first Unexpected Courage, second one goes to Galadriel if she has Nenya attached.

And he won the 1st Spanish Championship with that Caldara deck...

have you ever try to play the dwarf version ? with Dwalin hero and Well-equiped ?