SUMMARY: Smoke pipes to smoke Sauron. Enlist the greatest allies in Middle Earth while drawing 5-15 cards per turn (hence the huge deck size).

EARLY GAME: Survive long enough for the card draw engine to pick up speed. A huge percentage of this deck is aimed at the early game, so survival should be perfectly doable. Key turns are first placement of Henamarth Riversong, and first Peace and Thought.

MID GAME: By turn 7-8, each turn you will be

- Drawing 5-15 cards (Smoke Rings + Peace and Thought + Ancient Mathom + Erestor + Daeron's Runes + Pippin)

- Getting Multiple Strong Allies in play (Elf-Stone, Timely Aid)

- Well below Secrecy

- No longer paying for events (Leaf Brooch, Good Meal)

LATE GAME: By the late game, your threat is 0, you have an army questing and attacking for 20+, and you are cycling through a free event deck every 2-3 turns.

CONCLUSION: First: I'm pretty certain Hobbits and Pipes are set to become one of the most powerful archetypes seen in the game yet. This deck also has proven my assumptions about deck size wrong. Because the deck works on percentages of card *types*, rather than the cards themselves, it's incredibly consistent. When the deck starts swinging in your favor, you see just how potent larger decks can be.

WEAKNESSES: Obviously not a Dunland Trap deck, or a Battle/Siege deck.

VARIANTS: One great variant is to swap out Frodo for Glorfindel, and Good Meal for Light of Valinor. This limits your pipe engine, unless you're playing Black Riders, but on the plus side, this deck is so much fun against The Black Riders!

DECK

Hero: (3)

1x Pippin (The Black Riders)

1x Frodo Baggins (Conflict at the Carrock)

1x Sam Gamgee (The Black Riders)

Ally: (27)

3x Bilbo (The Road Darkens)

3x Ithilien Lookout (The Dunland Trap)

1x Bill the Pony (The Black Riders)

2x Arwen Undomiel (The Watcher in the Water)

1x Erestor (The Long Dark)

1x Gildor Inglorion (The Hills of Emyn Muil)

3x Master of the Forge (Shadow and Flame)

1x Elfhelm (The Dead Marshes)

3x Gandalf (Core Set)

3x Northern Tracker (Core Set)

1x Faramir (Core Set)

1x Warden of Healing (The Long Dark)

3x Henamarth Riversong (Core Set)

1x Brok Ironfist (Core Set)

Attachment: (19)

3x Leaf Brooch (The Three Trials)

1x Ancient Mathom (Core Set)

3x Resourceful (The Watcher in the Water)

3x Fast Hitch (The Dead Marshes)

3x Good Meal (The Redhorn Gate)

3x Hobbit Pipe (The Black Riders)

3x Elf-stone (The Black Riders)

Event: (31)

2x Needful to Know (The Redhorn Gate)

3x Timely Aid (The Redhorn Gate)

3x Peace, and Thought (Shadow and Flame)

3x Smoke Rings (The Black Riders)

3x Elrond's Counsel (The Watcher in the Water)

3x The Galadhrim's Greeting (Core Set)

3x Sneak Attack (Core Set)

2x Will of the West (Core Set)

3x A Test of Will (Core Set)

3x Dwarven Tomb (Core Set)

3x Daeron's Runes (Foundations of Stone)

This is confusing me. The title says "75 Card Ally Bilbo & Pipe Deck" but I don't see Bilbo and I see 76 cards.

Is this deck just an export from a deck builder, which wouldn't have Bilbo available? Also, was 75 just supposed to be an estimate?

Edit:

I noticed the same thing with Leaf Brooch. I'm assuming by the card type counts that you have 3x Bilbo and 3x Leaf Brooch (says 27 allies but there are only 24 listed; says 18 attachments, only 15 listed.)

Anyway, looks pretty interesting. I'll have to give it a try.

Sorry, yes on all counts. Deck is near 80 and I lost the first draft. Edited.

Here's a faster, meaner version, slimmed down quite a bit. Tore through a Watcher, a Nazgul army, and Khazad Dum today.

Hero: (3)

1x Pippin (The Black Riders)

1x Frodo Baggins (Conflict at the Carrock)

1x Sam Gamgee (The Black Riders)

Ally: (23)

2x Bilbo (The Road Darkens)

3x Ithilien Lookout (The Dunland Trap)

1x Bill the Pony (The Black Riders)

2x Arwen Undomiel (The Watcher in the Water)

1x Erestor (The Long Dark)

1x Gildor Inglorion (The Hills of Emyn Muil)- Key combo: Bury beefy allies with Gildor, pop them into play with Timely Aid.

2x Master of the Forge (Shadow and Flame)

1x Elfhelm (The Dead Marshes)

1x Gandalf (TH:OHaUH)

1x Northern Tracker (Core Set)

1x Faramir (Core Set)

1x Warden of Healing (The Long Dark)

3x Henamarth Riversong (Core Set)

1x Brok Ironfist (Core Set)

1x Beorn (Core Set)

1x Mirkwood Runner - Great for those pesky little guys.

Attachment: (16)

1x Ancient Mathom

1x Leaf Brooch

3x Resourceful (The Watcher in the Water)

3x Fast Hitch (The Dead Marshes)

1x Good Meal (The Redhorn Gate)

3x Hobbit Pipe (The Black Riders)

2x Elf-stone (The Black Riders)

2x Hobbit Cloak (The Black Riders)

Event: (23)

3x Timely Aid (The Redhorn Gate)

2x Peace, and Thought (Shadow and Flame)

3x Smoke Rings (The Black Riders)

3x Elrond's Counsel (The Watcher in the Water)

3x The Galadhrim's Greeting (Core Set)

2x Will of the West (Core Set)

3x A Test of Will (Core Set)

1x Dwarven Tomb (Core Set)

3x Daeron's Runes (Foundations of Stone)