Host of Galadhrim

Card Talk Season 5 Episode 55
- Video episode
- Audio episode
Cycle
- Vengeance of Mordor

Sets
- The City of Ulfast
- Elves of Lorien starter deck
Player Card Effects
- Enters Play

A combo-tastic card for Silvan decks!

Background

Galadhrim is the term of the elves dwelling in Lothlorien. The Host of Galadhrim in the books would defend Lorien against the orcs invasions. After Sauron’s defeat they attack Dol Guldur to drive out the remaining forces there.

Card Theme

The Silvan archetype centers around their hit and run tactics. This is why many of the ally cards feature enter play effects. The supporting events return a Silvan ally to hand to be replayed later. Host of Galadhrim basically does this en masse with returning all of them to hand and replaying them all in one go. It is very fitting to represent the show of force when they all would come together to attack considering all their enters play effects will trigger.

Card Synergies and Interactions

Silvan Allies

The big two Silvan allies for Host of Galadhrim are Galadhrim Weaver and Galadhrim Minstrel. These two are key to decks that look to replay Host of Galadhrim over and over again. Players will need at least 1 weaver, 2 Hosts (one of which is in the discard), and 1 minstrel. It works best with an empty deck. Player plays Host of Galadhrim to replay weaver shuffling the Host of Galadhrim in the discard back into the deck. Then replay Galadhrim Minstrel to find that shuffled in Host again in the top 5 cards. More copies of the weaver and minstrel can lead to recurring 2 other events every turn like Legacy of Numenor to pay for Hosts every turn or Feigned Voices to cancel attacks.

The other Silvan allies that are good to replay provide a variety of effects.

Threat reduction from Galadriel’s Handmaiden.
Damage and enemy debuff from Galadhon Archer and Marksman of Lorien.
Greenwood Archer and Naith Guide provide some action advantage.
Woodland Courier does a little location control.
Orophin is the most situational with bringing a Silvan ally back from the discard, but very useful if employing a chump blocking strategy.

Celeborn and Galadriel Heroes

Celeborn will boost the stats of each ally repalyed by Host of Galadhrim. Galadriel will give them all action advantage to leverage the +1 willpower and the +1 to the combat stats. It functions very much like a global ready effect like Grim Resolve after questing. Very effective when flooded with enemies to have all allies ready for combat. The increased willpower and not exhausting to quest also make this combination with Silvan allies great for a very powerful quest push. If there is ever a quest stage that a player needs to get through quickly, or just wants to race to the finish then that is the time to play Host with these two.

Lord of Morthond

Lord of Morthond can generate significant card draw from Host of Galadhrim. Host doesn’t require a resource match to replay the allies since they are played for no cost. Leadership has several options to play non-Leadership allies the first time. Thranduil hero allows players to play Silvan allies outside the Leadership sphere. Mustering effects like Timely Aid and A Very Good Tale can also help a mono Leadership line up put non-Leadership allies into play. A Good Harvest and the sphere granting songs are possibilities as well. Although this can easily become a win more situation since Host of Galadhrim is usually a late game card to play once several allies are in play already.

Ring Rating

Card Talk uses the highly scientific yet arbitrary scale of 1 ring for the card to rule them all to 10 to be cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came.

I rate Host of Galadhrim at 4 rings. Getting several enter play effects can be very powerful. Combined with Galadriel and Celeborn to boost all the allies and have them quest without exhausting makes for a very strong turn. It is the kind of bomb event effect that should be expected from a 4 cost card that generally doesn’t usually hit the mark in this game. This one does it however in spades. It is not that hard to play it more than 3 times in a game considering it combos with Galadhrim Weaver.

There are only a couple limitations to this card that keep me from rating it more highly. It only really goes in one kind of deck and that is Silvans. It’s effectiveness is all centered around having several of them to replay making it a niche card. It is also a late game card due to its cost and the aforementioned need of allies on the board to replay. It’s possible to draw it too early when it is not that helpful but that is just a minor annoyance.

Overall, this card when played well is powerful. Turn the game around powerful. When abused with Galadriel, Celeborn, weavers, Legacy of Numenor, and minstrels it will steam roll quests that don’t have any effects that discard cards from a player’s hand.

Dave – 3
Grant – TBR
Ted – 5
Matt – 4
Average – 4

External Links

Sample Decks

Hosts Of Galadhrim (A Silvan Combo Deck) by The Mormegil

Deck that endlessly recurs Host of Galadhrim.

Main Deck

Hero (3)
Bifur (Khazad-dûm)
Celeborn (The Dunland Trap)
Galadriel (Celebrimbor’s Secret)

Ally (15)
1x Galadhrim Healer (The Dread Realm)
3x Galadhrim Minstrel (Trouble in Tharbad)
3x Galadhrim Weaver (The Treachery of Rhudaur)
3x Galadriel’s Handmaiden (Celebrimbor’s Secret)
1x Galion (Fire in the Night)
1x Haldir of Lórien (A Journey to Rhosgobel)
1x Henamarth Riversong (Core Set)
1x Orophin (Celebrimbor’s Secret)
1x Woodland Courier (The Drowned Ruins)

Attachment (5)
2x O Lórien! (Trouble in Tharbad)
3x Steward of Gondor (Core Set)

Event (30)
2x A Test of Will (Core Set)
3x Daeron’s Runes (Foundations of Stone)
3x Deep Knowledge (The Voice of Isengard)
2x Feigned Voices (The Three Trials)
3x Host of Galadhrim (The City of Ulfast)
3x Legacy of Númenor (The Voice of Isengard)
3x Peace, and Thought (Shadow and Flame)
2x The Seeing-stone (The Voice of Isengard)
3x The Tree People (The Dunland Trap)
3x Unlikely Friendship (The Sands of Harad)
3x We Are Not Idle (Shadow and Flame)

3 Heroes, 50 Cards
Cards up to The City of Ulfast

Sideboard

Hero (4)
Aragorn (The Watcher in the Water)
Folco Boffin (The Dungeons of Cirith Gurat)
Gríma (The Voice of Isengard)
Pippin (The Black Riders)

Contract (1)
1x Messenger of the King (The Land of Sorrow)

Ally (6)
1x Bombur (Road to Rivendell)
1x Defender of the Naith (Trouble in Tharbad)
1x Greenwood Archer (The Sands of Harad)
1x Naith Guide (The Dunland Trap)
1x Robin Smallburrow (The Drowned Ruins)
1x Silvan Tracker (The Dead Marshes)

Attachment (3)
1x Keys of Orthanc (The Voice of Isengard)
1x The Elvenking (Fire in the Night)
1x The One Ring (A Shadow in the East)

Event (16)
1x A Test of Will (Core Set)
3x A Very Good Tale (Over Hill and Under Hill)
3x Desperate Alliance (On the Doorstep)
3x Drinking Song (Mount Gundabad)
1x Feigned Voices (The Three Trials)
2x Quicker Than Sight (Fire in the Night)
1x The Master Ring (A Shadow in the East)
1x The Seeing-stone (The Voice of Isengard)
1x The White Council (The Dunland Trap)

Player Side Quest (1)
1x Double Back (Escape from Mount Gram)

Decklist built and published on RingsDB.

Silvan Lord of Morthond by MrSpaceBear

Draw extra card by replaying non-Leadership allies with Host of Galadhrim.

Main Deck

Hero (3)
(MotK) Faramir (Messenger of the King Allies)
Celeborn (The Dunland Trap)
Thranduil (Fire in the Night)

Ally (20)
1x Galadhon Archer (The Nîn-in-Eilph)
1x Galadhrim Healer (The Dread Realm)
2x Galadhrim Minstrel (Trouble in Tharbad)
1x Galadhrim Weaver (The Treachery of Rhudaur)
1x Galadriel’s Handmaiden (Celebrimbor’s Secret)
1x Galion (Fire in the Night)
3x Gandalf (Core Set)
3x Greenwood Archer (The Sands of Harad)
1x Legolas (The Treason of Saruman)
1x Marksman of Lórien (The Drowned Ruins)
1x Naith Guide (The Dunland Trap)
1x Orophin (Celebrimbor’s Secret)
1x Rúmil (The Three Trials)
1x Silvan Tracker (The Dead Marshes)
1x Woodland Courier (The Drowned Ruins)

Attachment (13)
1x Ancestral Armor (Roam Across Rhovanion)
3x Lord of Morthond (Encounter at Amon Dîn)
2x O Lórien! (Trouble in Tharbad)
1x Shining Shield (The Fortress of Nurn)
3x Steward of Gondor (Core Set)
3x The Elvenking (Fire in the Night)

Event (17)
2x Captain’s Wisdom (The Thing in the Depths)
1x Elf Guide (Mount Gundabad)
3x Feigned Voices (The Three Trials)
3x Host of Galadhrim (The City of Ulfast)
3x Reinforcements (The Treachery of Rhudaur)
3x Sneak Attack (Core Set)
2x Strength of Arms (The Drúadan Forest)

3 Heroes, 50 Cards
Cards up to The Fortress of Nurn

Decklist built and published on RingsDB.

Host of Galadhrim

Background

Card Theme