Edit: title should be Lost Realm deck. Don't worry, I did get my discarded cards back after playing Deadmen's Dike, they were not lost permanently. .

Well it's not a Dunedain deck, but it can make it through all the scenarios without modification, although each scenario can be very challenging, so wining is never a guarantee if the encounter deck throws a curve ball.

The following deck is a hero combination I never tried before, and it seemed to be well suited for the scenarios.

Elrond, Beregond, and Glorfindel sp.

There are only 5 lore cards in the deck, but Warden of healing is probably the most important for these scenarios especially the 2nd. Asfaloth, as usual helps out with location control.

For Elrond, I decided to not include Vilya, and steered clear of that strategy. Early in scenarios he'll be questing, but in later rounds when there are sufficient allies for questing, I'll hold him back to either defend, quite handy on Deadman's or to add a bit of attack. Putting an unexpected courage on him is great, but the first one should go to Beregond.

Here's the deck, my hunch is it would do pretty well on some of the older scenarios, but have not tired it. All cards in the deck cost 2 or less.

Deck Created with CardGameDB.com The Lord of the Rings Deckbuilder

Total Cards: (50)

Hero: (3) threat - 28

1x Glorfindel (Foundations of Stone)

1x Elrond (Shadow and Flame)

1x Beregond (Heirs of Numenor)

Ally: (16)

3x Ethir Swordsman (The Steward's Fear)

3x Galadriel’s Handmaiden (Celebrimbor's Secret)

3x Warden of Healing (The Long Dark)

3x Silvan Refugee (The Drúadan Forest)

3x West Road Traveller (Return to Mirkwood)

1x Arwen Undomiel (The Watcher in the Water)

Attachment: (20)

3x Light of Valinor (Foundations of Stone)

3x Rivendell Blade (Road to Rivendell)

3x Spear of the Citadel (Heirs of Numenor)

3x Gondorian Shield (The Steward's Fear)

3x Ancient Mathom (A Journey to Rhosgobel)

3x Unexpected Courage (Core Set)

2x Asfaloth (Foundations of Stone)

Event: (14)

2x Behind Strong Walls (Heirs of Numenor)

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

3x Hasty Stroke (Core Set)

3x Foe-hammer (Over Hill and Under Hill)

3x A Test of Will (Core Set)

Side Quest: (0)

I'm pretty satisfied with it. I was looking to make a deck that could handle all the scenarios without modification between each. Taking out Mathoms and Foe-hammers for Deadman's might help, since drawing cards during the scenario is not too wise, but I sometimes do if my hand has gone sour.

After looking at which sets the player cards came from, I was not surprised to find that all of them except one Galadriel's Maiden (could easily be replaced,) came from HoN cycle and earlier.

I tried many attempts at using some of the new dunedain cards, but could not find a deck to make it past the 1st and 2nd scenario. I did not try a Silvan theme yet from last cycle. The above deck continues to rely on the power cards of old to meet the new challenges. I'm either in a rut or have not figured out how to use some the newer card combinations. Maybe both.

Questions, comments, and suggestions welcomed.

Good to have you back. I started with my tried and true Power Heroes Ecklund, but it didn't fair so well in Chetwood. So I switched to two handed. After I've explored Isengard a bit more I'll be heading back north.

The game is reeling you back in! Also glad to see you are sticking around =)

Nice deck by the way! Only one question... how do you handle the offensive side of combat? Just Glorfindel with Blades and Beregond weakening foes with Spear of the Citadel is enough?

I guess with an unexpected courage on Glorfindel it could be enough.

Good to have you back. I started with my tried and true Power Heroes Ecklund, but it didn't fair so well in Chetwood. So I switched to two handed. After I've explored Isengard a bit more I'll be heading back north.

Ecklund?

Where's Quickbeam? Dude's OP.

The game is reeling you back in! Also glad to see you are sticking around =)

Nice deck by the way! Only one question... how do you handle the offensive side of combat? Just Glorfindel with Blades and Beregond weakening foes with Spear of the Citadel is enough?

I guess with an unexpected courage on Glorfindel it could be enough.

Surprisingly, Glorfindel with a blade or 2, and beregond with a spear is enough to handle most enemies. Elrond if not questing can also be used and for 2 of the quests there is Iarion, who can help a good amount when side quest are in play. For Deadmen's I don't bother clearing side quests to take advantage of him more.

Where's Quickbeam? Dude's OP.

I don't have him yet. Could proxy, but I wanted to use what was available when the set was released.

Hey Tracker! Looks like a great deck. I've been having trouble with The Lost Realm, so I'll try this for sure.

I was thinking of your post in another thread about disappointment in game design. I have grown a bit weary of the game myself lately, but I think that's mostly been because I've been abroad and away from my friends for 5 months and have only been able to play solo. Solo play holds little attraction for me now, after a few years of playing. I've found that it's not even really the game mechanics themselves that keep me around - it's that the game is a great way of meeting up with my best friends of 10+ years, making coffee in the evening and stay up to date with each other's lives while tackling Heirs of Númenor for the 397th time. We all play different factions, too, so that adds even more to the flavour.

(Or just playing 2-player with my fiancée. When a scenario cannot be beaten, I ask her to join in with her Dain deck and she makes short work of most quests...)

Hey Tracker! Looks like a great deck. I've been having trouble with The Lost Realm, so I'll try this for sure.

I was thinking of your post in another thread about disappointment in game design. I have grown a bit weary of the game myself lately, but I think that's mostly been because I've been abroad and away from my friends for 5 months and have only been able to play solo. Solo play holds little attraction for me now, after a few years of playing. I've found that it's not even really the game mechanics themselves that keep me around - it's that the game is a great way of meeting up with my best friends of 10+ years, making coffee in the evening and stay up to date with each other's lives while tackling Heirs of Númenor for the 397th time. We all play different factions, too, so that adds even more to the flavour.

(Or just playing 2-player with my fiancée. When a scenario cannot be beaten, I ask her to join in with her Dain deck and she makes short work of most quests...)

After playing lost realm a bunch now, I can say I really like the scenarios. Designers did a great job. My only gripe is recent player cards tend to be more multiplayer oriented, and faction strengths are becoming a little too well defined for my tastes. And, like my deck illustrates, power cards of old are tough to replace.

Lost Realm quest design is very impressive - they're all so distinct and challenging in new ways. Inclined to agree on the Dunedain in solo play - not totally sure how to do it, but as part of a 2-player setup they're very interesting and solid. Shame solo they're a little tricky to play. Perhaps they splash into other decks well? I am yet to try this.

The spread of colour of the cards in that deck seem to be slightly unbalanced. Am I right?! Only a few red cards, to many blue cards. You could add Blood of Numenor to gain benefits, or maybe even Resourcefull.

The spread of colour of the cards in that deck seem to be slightly unbalanced. Am I right?! Only a few red cards, to many blue cards. You could add Blood of Numenor to gain benefits, or maybe even Resourcefull.

You're right, but at least Elrond can help pay for blue allies.

In terms of the tactics resources, Beregond will end up with a mountain of unused resources. Blood of Numenor is not really needed, although there have been some cases where a shadow can almost finish him off. The healing component of the deck can keep him alive through a couple of those types of hits though, and Hasty stroke if available. I've considered Gondorian Fire, because destroying enemies could be more efficient, and with 1 or 2 UC on him late game he could ready, and one shot any enemy in the Lost Realm. I also thought about adding song of travel, to help with spirit resources, but deck space is so tight.

In the end i decided to leave it as is, since it still worked. Personally i think the best choice would be Gondorian Fire, but it relies on readying, and sometimes I'll use every readying option just to defend. Very rare that I feel like i have that much control over the game, but a strong attack is a big thing that is lacking in the deck. But, it's hard to make the deck space for it since the deck is trying to cover a bit of everything; healing, treachery and shadow cancelation, enough questing WP, location control, defending, readying, threat reduction, and a little bit of attack boost. That's what these scenarios demand of a solo deck. We're being hit on all fronts, and pretty hard.

I've really gotten to know the nuances of the deck in relationship to these scenarios, but it's taken a lot of plays to figure out how to play it best.

The spread of colour of the cards in that deck seem to be slightly unbalanced. Am I right?! Only a few red cards, to many blue cards. You could add Blood of Numenor to gain benefits, or maybe even Resourcefull.

You're right, but at least Elrond can help pay for blue allies.

Without Vilya or Song of Travel... How?

The spread of colour of the cards in that deck seem to be slightly unbalanced. Am I right?! Only a few red cards, to many blue cards. You could add Blood of Numenor to gain benefits, or maybe even Resourcefull.

You're right, but at least Elrond can help pay for blue allies.

Without Vilya or Song of Travel... How?

You made me double check his hero card!

Elrond has a passive ability that allows him to spend resources to pay for spirit, leadeship, and tactics, allies.

So, it's quite easy to drop any blue ally into play, since all cost 1-2.

Elrond can pay for allies of any sphere. I find him easy to fit into several kinds of decks, particularly Silvan which have come in all spheres.

Elrond can pay for allies of any sphere. I find him easy to fit into several kinds of decks, particularly Silvan which have come in all spheres.

Ah... Of course.

Waiting for my copy of Lost Realm to arrive at the end of the month. Sad to hear they are not viable solo. But how about Halbarad, Aragorn and Sam? The hunters and whatnot can take care of combat, while a bunch of Weather Hills Watchmen boosted by Sword that was Broken can quest. I basically thought of this deck as a variation of leadership-tactics Elladan and Elrohir decks that put a bunch of allies into play, have a couple tanks and quest with weenies. Have you tried this? Is it viable in solo or not?

Waiting for my copy of Lost Realm to arrive at the end of the month. Sad to hear they are not viable solo. But how about Halbarad, Aragorn and Sam? The hunters and whatnot can take care of combat, while a bunch of Weather Hills Watchmen boosted by Sword that was Broken can quest. I basically thought of this deck as a variation of leadership-tactics Elladan and Elrohir decks that put a bunch of allies into play, have a couple tanks and quest with weenies. Have you tried this? Is it viable in solo or not?

You might make it through first quest, but the next 2 are very difficult for them, or basically any deck that does not have healing and cancelation. So, IMO lore and Spirit are essential ingredients into a solo deck. Leadership and tactics are going to have a rough go. Those are the spheres of the 2 heroes in the box, so one of the essential spheres will be missing.

2 handed you can have a support deck to focus on the healing, cancelation, questing etc. while the tactics leadership deck clears house. But solo it does not work out that way. Too many bases to cover.

If you cook up some Dumedain deck that preforms well on all these scenarios, please share it. Love to see them work solo in the lost realm.

I'll continue banging my head against the wall trying to figure them out too.

These quests are really tough. Deadman's Dike starts so strong, and then it more-or-less resets in the second quest card to be even harder. The real difficulty I've found with this quest is that since it attacks your deck before you ever draw cards, running singles of important cards to fetch is very risky. I've been playing around with a Mablung, Halbarad, Aragorn deck that really hums once Aragorn has StWB, but if it gets discarded there's not much I can do without spirit to fetch it back. That quest makes me think quite differently about designing the deck itself.

The deck can kinda run solo if you get a perfect starting hand, but Dunedain do lack early power at times. They actually may well be viable for older quests, but these new ones hit like a tonne of bricks very early on. That said, when Aragorn does this thing, and I end up engaging enemies in every phase of a turn to give Mablung a pile of resources in one turn, it is pretty satisfying

Is it viable in solo or not?

If you cook up some Dumedain deck that preforms well on all these scenarios, please share it. Love to see them work solo in the lost realm.

I'll continue banging my head against the wall trying to figure them out too.

I tried several decks including a version with Mablung, Grima and Halbarad. Mablung with Visionary Leadership would provide the questing power and Grima some cost reduction, but even that didn't really work out; a secondary support deck would really be helpfull and actually a most.

The main problem is questing power if you play solo and also the slow start/the long setup you need to get all your attachments out.

Aragorn Halbarad and Beravor/Grima is another combo I want to try out and then with Sword that was Broken. I think for solo Forest Snare is a real must to get some shenanigans going.

What would be your thoughts on that?

These quests are really tough. Deadman's Dike starts so strong, and then it more-or-less resets in the second quest card to be even harder. The real difficulty I've found with this quest is that since it attacks your deck before you ever draw cards, running singles of important cards to fetch is very risky. I've been playing around with a Mablung, Halbarad, Aragorn deck that really hums once Aragorn has StWB, but if it gets discarded there's not much I can do without spirit to fetch it back. That quest makes me think quite differently about designing the deck itself.

Second Breakfast might be a good sideboard card for this quest.

Yeah, figuring out a good solo Dunedain deck is the real challenge. I'd love to see your thoughts Tracker. Yeah, maybe Halbarad/Denethor/Aragorn? Willpower is tough... There aren't great thematic options in spirit yet.

Yeah, figuring out a good solo Dunedain deck is the real challenge. I'd love to see your thoughts Tracker. Yeah, maybe Halbarad/Denethor/Aragorn? Willpower is tough... There aren't great thematic options in spirit yet.

I actually tried that group of heroes. With Aragorn lore, brought in some gondor rangers. The main problem was questing power, and a slow, slow set up. Also, Denethor was not a strong a defender as he used to be against these new enemies. 3 hp is not enough to last long.

Here's some rambling thoughts of mine on the Dunedain. In the simplest of terms, playing the Dunedain changes the timing paradigm of the game (assuming Aragorn is on the table). As a solo player you look to achieve "control of the board" by clearing it and then being able to handle whatever you could draw from the encounter deck.

So here is a simple example in a normal game with the assumption the board is clear:

1. Draw an encounter card. We'll assume it's an enemy and engage him.

2. Enemy attacks.

3. We attack back and destroy it.

With the Dunedain the paradigm shifts so that we want to start the turn with an enemy engaged with us:

1. Draw an encounter card. Again assume it's an enemy and it's threat is higher than ours . Do not engage the enemy.

2. Engaged enemy attacks.

3. We attack back, destroy engaged enemy and then engage the other enemy. We do not attack it because we want to be engaged with it at the beginning of the turn.

Of course this makes two very big assumptions: that our threat is lower than the drawn enemy's, which is unlikely given the high Dunedain starting threat, and that we draw an enemy to begin with. If we want to stay engaged with an enemy in order to reap the Dunedain bonuses while we are drawing locations, we have to continue to let that enemy take free shots at us.

Me no likey.

Anyway, for the time being, I don't feel they are really playable in solo yet.

Another "problem" is that Aragorn (Le), Aragorn (Lo), Beravor and Idraen don't really support the "engaged with" mechanic. Though Loragorn's threat reset is certainly useful.

@Bullroarer

Yeah, that's a good assessment of the trait for solo.

I guess that's why Forest Snare can solve some of those problems, but that still can take a bit to set up.

If forest snare is part of the strategy, Aragorn lore, Beravor, and Halabrad will most likely be the heroes.

Starting threat at 32. No real strong quester to start, and a hero as defender would most likely be Aragorn or Beravor. But then the deck lacks attack strength. Most of the deck will rely on the allies, since other than Wingfoot there are no other readying options.

To me deck the deck strategy seems spread too thin for solo, too many things hinge on certain cards, and most likely early engagement of enemies in the early rounds will lead to things falling apart, or if they stay in staging area, questing will be to weak and active location gets locked.

These were some of the things I experienced during Lost Realm quests. Very frustrating.