Hey there,

I have been running the deck below for 2 player and am interested in knowing what other cards people might include. I have all the cards through Trouble in Tharbad (so I don't have the Gimli ally, otherwise he'd be included). I have found that the cards I find the least useful are King Under the Mountain, 1 copy of Sneak Attack, and Dori (entirely dependent on the scenario, however).

King Under the Mountain

King Under the Mountain is typically drawn in the mid-game. At this point, my card draw engine with Ori and Legacy of Durin is typically running and I have plenty of cards to choose from to play so needing resources is more of the issue than anything. Often times I draw it and it remains in my hand until the end of the game because I'd rather be spending those two resources on other cards in my hand.

With that said, there has been a game (maybe two), where I mulligan into a pretty terrible hand and King Under the Mountain is how I am able to get running. There is also one game where I drew King Under the Mountain before Legacy of Durin and it got me going then, too. Those times, alone, may be reason enough to keep the card. Other benefits include being able to, occasionally, play it on the other player's deck (who often uses Bifur when playing with me) and drawing into my Lure of Morias when I'm sitting on my We Are Not Idles waiting for the combo.

Sneak Attack

While this card is amazing for recycling Gandalf or putting into play an Erebor Battlemaster for usually 8+ attack it sometimes comes with the downside of drawing too many of them with nothing to use it with and causing my start to be too slow. So far, drawing too many Sneak Attacks has never made me lose, but it did make Nightmare Road to Rivendell harder than it needed to be! I eventually drew into one Gandalf and everything was fine and, quite frankly, the Sneak Attacks were more than welcome at that point. However, I am considering removing one copy if there is a viable card to put in its place.

Dori

Honestly, Dori is amazing and has been exceptionally useful on many scenarios. There are a few scenarios where is ability was not relevant and so I feel there may be a better card to include in my deck when playing versus such a scenario. Even with the steep cost of 3 Lore, his 2 attack is quite useful before I have my Erebor Battlemasters in play. If I was using him only for his 2 attack, Longbeard Orc Slayer would probably be better since I often am struggling to find Lore resources until Narvi's Belt shows up.

So, what are your thoughts?

1. Would you remove other cards? If so, what would you replace them with?

2. Would you keep the cards I am considering removing?

3. Are there other cards, not included in my deck, that you think should be included?

Heroes

Dain Ironfoot

Balin/Thorin Oakenshield (dependent on scenario)

Ori

Allies (24)

2 Fili

2 Gloin

3 Longbeard Elder

2 Dori

3 Erebor Hammersmith

3 Erebor Record-keeper

3 Miner of the Iron Hills

1 Kili

2 Erebor Battlemaster (I used to run the deck without Erebor Battlemaster, but found I was often far too reliant on my teammate to deal with tough enemies. Erebor Battlemaster has been incredible in this deck).

3 Gandalf

Attachments (12)

2 Hardy Leadership

2 King Under the Mountain

2 Narvi's Belt

3 Steward of Gondor

3 Legacy of Durin

Events (14)

2 Lure of Moria

3 Sneak Attack

3 We Are Not Idle

3 Daeron's Runes

3 A Test of Will (Included because, even though it is not as required in 2 player, I find it almost always necessary in 3-4 player games)

Side Deck

Brok Ironfist

Faramir

Longbeard Orc Slayer

A Very Good Tale / Hidden Cache

Lure of Moria (+1)

Parting Gifts

Ancestral Knowledge

Don't put Brok in. Just don't.

Do you know the correction about Erebor Battlemaster, right?

You have to count only the dwarfes allies...

However beautiful deck!

In my house we refer to To Me! O My Kinsfolk as the Dwarven Sneak Attack. I like To Me! O My Kinsfolk when I've got Fili and Kili around, especially if I don't have native resources to pay for one of them. If you draw Kili but can't play him (no spirit resources), you can use Daeron's Runes, or another player's Eowyn, to discard him. He can then help out for a quest or combat phase with To Me! O My Kinsfolk (but don't chump block with him), and then he'll go on to the bottom of your deck. Then you're free to play Fili and draw Kili out of your deck the usual way. It's also good for the 'enters play' ability on Longbeard Orc-Slayer and Miner of the Iron Hills,

Do you know the correction about Erebor Battlemaster, right?

You have to count only the dwarfes allies...

However beautiful deck!

I do indeed know about the correction. Generally by the time I have Narvi's Belt and my Erebor Battlemaster I have plenty of dwarf allies on the table. Often times the only thing preventing me from playing him is me feeling too scared and saving Narvi's Belt for Spirit during the quest phase haha.

And thanks

In my house we refer to To Me! O My Kinsfolk as the Dwarven Sneak Attack. I like To Me! O My Kinsfolk when I've got Fili and Kili around, especially if I don't have native resources to pay for one of them. If you draw Kili but can't play him (no spirit resources), you can use Daeron's Runes, or another player's Eowyn, to discard him. He can then help out for a quest or combat phase with To Me! O My Kinsfolk (but don't chump block with him), and then he'll go on to the bottom of your deck. Then you're free to play Fili and draw Kili out of your deck the usual way. It's also good for the 'enters play' ability on Longbeard Orc-Slayer and Miner of the Iron Hills,

Interesting interaction regarding putting Kili back into the deck. That's something I hadn't considered.

I also like the idea of using it with Erebor Battlemaster. He is a dead draw sometimes in my hand, but I never discard him with Daeron's Runes or King Under the Mountain because I know I will need him eventually.

Don't put Brok in. Just don't.

I edited my post for you

A Very Good Tale might be an excellent card for this deck

A Very Good Tale might be an excellent card for this deck

I agree and I have used it before I added in the Erebor Battlemasters. It should be even better now that I have the Erebor Battlemasters. I typically found it was not worth it or that it was clogging my hand before I had enough allies in play even though it seems like it is great. I think it might just be a card that I only need one copy of. It might warrant removing one Sneak Attack or one Dori. It is definitely something I should try again. It's just that there are some cards in this deck that are very painful to lose. Losing Lure of Moria can be devastating. Losing We Are Not Idle is also painful.

Usually I use it when Gandalf refreshes in the Refresh Phase and then am sad when Gandalf is also one of my top 5 cards

This deck by jjeagle is awesome and may offer you some good ideas:

https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/121989-one-deck-to-rule-them-all-almost/

With Narvi's Belt on Dain (with Steward of Gondor), you can play Burning Brand on him, which makes him a super powerful defender.

ok, so I LOVE dwarf decks, so much so that I built so many, now Im a bit tired of dwarves. But anyhow, when I build a dwarf deck (solo) the heroes I use are Dain (duh) ori and nori. This way I have spirit also, and can get all of its goodies! This way, also your not constantly worrying about drawing kili. another card that I have actually found invaluable in my dwarf deck is errand runner. I put 2 copies of him in instead of narvies belt. Think about it. Narvi, while good, is expensive and I often draw it at the beginning of the game and its a dud. the runner, or the other hand, gives me perfect resource balance, and can also chump. If you want the deck, just ask.

Dwarves are always cool when you get backto them after leaving them eating some dust. Same thing with Outlands. I'm talking about pure solo playing.

The deck has evolved as I have played it more. I currently am using the following deck which is a slightly modified version of what is listed in my original post.

The main change I made to the deck was removing the amount of cards I had 2 copies of to 1 copy. I instead added two Word of Commands. This allows for a lot more flexibility and I can search for the 1 copy cards I need versus specific scenarios that I don't necessarily need against all scenarios (Hardy Leadership, Erebor Battle Master, Narvi's Belt, King Under the Mountain, Lure of Moria). I have also decide to remove my A Test of Wills as generally the reason I needed them was to prevent my allies getting obliterated by treacheries. Unfortunately, this didn't solve my weakness to shadow cards that cause additional attacks. My solution to this problem was including 1x Will of the West. While it does not protect me from said treacheries or shadow effects directly, it does allow me to reshuffle all my lost cards back into my deck for reuse which solved both my problems. I have also included 3 Deep Knowledges for more card draw and as a result of including Will of the West which allows me to recycle all my Sneak Attacks/Gandalfs I have no problem reducing my threat.

Now, an additional change I am considering, but have not yet tested is using Peace and Thought during the refresh phase, allowing Thorin to ready with Heir of Mardil during the resource phase. It seems like I would have to include quite a few cards just to realize this combo, though so I suspect it is not worth it. If I had 3 Peace and Thoughts, I typically would draw them when I could not afford to exhaust two heroes because I don't have Heir of Mardil yet. On the other hand, if I include 2-3 copies of Heir of Mardil then I may draw it and not my Peace and Thoughts and be stuck with Heir of Mardil clogging my hand and no way to utilize it (mostly because Steward of Gondor generally goes on Ori in this deck). I suppose Gloin, Tighten Our Belts, and We Are Not Idle could all activate it as well. And Erebor Record-keepers could ready my heroes in a pinch.

The change may also act as a replacement for my Deep Knowledges when I am playing 3-4 player games as the Doomed is not always appreciated.

So what are your thoughts on the matter? Do you think it would be worth it in my 2 player games when I already have access to Deep Knowledge? Would it be worth it as a replacement for Deep Knowledge in 3-4 player games?

Heroes

Dain Ironfoot

Thorin Oakenshield (dependent on scenario but occasionally Balin)

Ori

Allies (22)

2 Fili

2 Gloin

3 Longbeard Elder

1 Dori

3 Erebor Hammersmith

3 Erebor Record-keeper

3 Miner of the Iron Hills

1 Kili

1 Erebor Battlemaster

3 Gandalf

Attachments (9)

1 Hardy Leadership

1 King Under the Mountain

1 Narvi's Belt

3 Steward of Gondor

3 Legacy of Durin

Events (19)

1 Lure of Moria

3 Sneak Attack

3 We Are Not Idle

3 Tighten Our Belts

3 Daeron's Runes

2 Word of Command

3 Deep Knowledge

1 Will of the West