Of the four Patrons players can use after completing the introductory questline for Tales of Tribute inElder Scrolls Online, the Duke of Crows provides perhaps themost generally usefulcards. The deck has a lot of ways for players to get Coin and draw cards, all set within the theme of the Evergloam’s loudest denizens.
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The Duke of Crows deck in Tales of Tribute is pretty easy to learn compared toElder Scrolls OnlinePatrons like, say, Red Eagle or Rahjin. Acquiring cards from this Patron can be your main focus from the start or one you start leaning into later on when your primary Patrons' options start drying up.
Duke of Crows: Patron Overview
There are many more planes of Oblivion than just the ones known to the regularfolk of theElder Scrollsuniverse. The Crow’s Wood is one of these planes, a pocket dimension contained within the Evergloam of Nocturnal overseen by the Duke of Crows and his Blackfeather Court. One of the few “living” Patrons in Tales of Tribute, players can actually meet the Duke of Crows in theClockwork CityDLC.
However, the Patron ability greatly favors the Hlallu deck with careful planning. The Patron ability is a tricky one, though, as it benefits players who can build up a lot of Coin, and the lack of a Favored ability means it’s better to wait until the late game to garnerFavor from the Duke of Crows.
6
Normal
Gain 1 Coin
2: Gain 2 Power and 2 Coin 3: Gain 2 Power
4
Toll of Flesh
In the Duke of Crows Patron deck, there are a lot of combos, and a lot of combos that only trigger after four other cards of the same Patron have been played that turn. As such, if you’re going for a Duke of Crows-centric deck, it’s important to hoard Purple cards to be able to trigger these combos in the late game. The best Duke of Crows cards take advantage of these late-game situations, though they can be hard to set up if you’re not lucky with Tavern choices early on.
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The Duke of Crows deck is incredible for card draw, opening up more options each turn and enabling larger combos - necessary to trigger the Combo 4 abilities on some cards. The Plunder and Squawking Oratory cards are key to setting up regular card draw, and Agents like Blackfeather Knave are important for triggering these large combos if you’re not lucky with your draws. Toll of Silver gives good Coin and card draw, and Murder of Crows gives Coin and Power - though not in high enough numbers tolead to victoryunless paired with another Patron.
Strategies And Synergies With Other Patrons
The Duke of Crows deck doesn’t provide too strong a path to victory on its own - the Power and Coin gain is just too meager, even with Combos. When card draw is added to these effects, though, the Duke of Crows serves as a way to enable other strategies andmake them more effective. It’s a good idea to go for Duke of Crows cards as early as possible when the game is still slow, then begin to transition into another color after you’ve gotten a handful of Duke cards.
Patrons to pair with the Duke of Crows are those that let you manipulate your draw deck. Ansei Frandar Hunding cards allow players to put cards from their Cooldown on top of their draw, and then Duke of Crows cards let you draw them immediately. The same thing goes for Psijic Loremaster Celarus, though his draw deck manipulation is not based on the Cooldown pile but onlooking ahead and decidingwhich cards you actually want to draw. If you play these cards before Duke of Crows cards, then you can essentially hand-pick what you want from your deck.
The Elder Scrolls Online: High Isleis available for PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Stadia, and Xbox One and Series X|S
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