Hi All

Am getting back into this game after a long hiatus.

I've recently joined a group who have been playing this since the beginning and I want to jump right back in but I need some deckbuilding help.

I'm very time poor at the moment (long commute, busy job, family, etc).

I have the following expansions:

1 x Core set with full playset of the 2 of cards
All Saga Expansions up to date
Shadows of Mirkwood Cycle - All packs
Khazad-dum
Darrowdelf Cycle - All packs
Heirs of Numenor
Against the Shadow Cycle - All packs
The Voice of Isengard

I'm hoping the kind folk of this community could help or point me in the direction of some decks I could build with these card sets that I could leave together without having to take apart or swap cards between.

Ideally I'd like as many different decks as possible so I could bring them all to my play group and decide which one to play based on the current players and scenario.

It doesn't worry me if they are thematic or strategy based as I am just looking to put some decks together that are fun, I can keep built and just pick up and play.

If there are any specific expansions or cycles that I should start buying into that would open up more options then I am open to that as well.

Thanks guys.

Go to ringsdb.com and configure the packs you have, then search. It looks like progression-style decks through VoI will all be covered by your packs, so you should have a lot to choose from.

With the specific packs you have, you've got most of the cards that would be used for Rohan/Dwarf/Gondor/Outlands/Secrecy/Trap decks. You're missing numbers of cards needed for Silvan/Noldor/Dunedain archetypes. If you've got a particular archtype or combination of heroes that you're especially fond of, tell us and we can probably recommend which subsequent expansions have the most interesting cards to add to it.

Since you asked for decklists - I haven't actually sat down with your card restrictions to see what decks I could build. But here are some lists I've put together that seem like they'd fit your card pool:

Disclaimer - I generally put together thematic decks, because I like to play that way. None of these will qualify as power decks or anything. But I don't think they'll let you down.

Here is a Rohan/Gondor solo deck I've been working on, it seems almost perfect for your card pool. I'd just swap out Gather Information and the 2 copies of Windfola for some cards. Maybe even just a 3rd copy of Herugrim and leave it at that - puts you at 50 cards exactly. You might also be missing 1xUnexpected Courage, in which case I'd add in a copy or two of Westfold Horse-Breaker to replace it. Potential problem - uses Eowyn and Beregond, both popular heroes. But at least it's not Spirit Glorfindel.

A couple of Dwarf decks - The only card in the Dain deck that you are missing is Blue Mountain trader - swap it out for 3x any other dwarf allies you want. The Thorin deck mining deck is meant to be played with it - and the only card you are missing from that one is Longbeard Sentry. Replace with 2x dwarf allies as you please (probably Lore - maybe make it 3x Miner of the Iron Hills and 3xLongbeard Map-Maker). Running both at the same time could be problematic - I built them using 2 core sets, and so you might find yourself running out of copies of some of the core set dwarf allies. Shouldn't be too hard to adjust them for what is needed, I think.

As suggested, Outlands will fit your card pool. That deck almost builds itself, though. A published decklist shouldn't be hard to find - I haven't really made one; the deck type just doesn't interest me.

I might take some time later to put together an Outlands deck for you. And a trap deck (I love those, but the only one I have in my ringsdb account uses enough cards from later expansions that it's better to start over). You've got almost all the cards you need for that - there's one or two from later cycles that might be useful, but I bet I can get something workable.

I bet I could get a decent Gondor deck too - most of mine just tend to use LdDenethor, from Flight of the Stormcaller. I'm sure I could make a decent Aggro Gondor deck with that limited card pool.

Hi Guys

Thanks for the great replies. I'll start having a poke around ringsdb.

@Onidsen Wow, what an awesome post. Really appreciate it. I'll definitely check out those decks. It looks like it may be worth grabbing a second core set to enable me to keep multiple decks together without too much fiddling.

Cheers

Alright. None of these decks have actually been tested, so caveat emptor . But they're definitely at least worth what you're paying for them . I added a Rohan deck, too, because I just couldn't resist.

Traps - This deck is encounter deck manipulation and staging area control. Between Forest Patrol, Expecting Mischief, and Ithilien Trackers with Ranger Bows, you can generally do a decent job of taking out weak and mid-level enemies in the staging area. Bigger enemies can generally be hit with Ranger Spikes. For enemies that you couldn't take care of before they engaged, Denethor with Burning Brand and Protector of Lorien is an exellent defender. And Forest Snare can take care of the rest. Dori and White Tower Watchman let you be a little more free with your undefended attacks. If there's an enemy you just need to kill, Quickbeam, Anborn, and the Ithilien Archers can do a decent job over time.

Encounter deck scrying is also a sub-theme, to make sure that Expecting Mischief or the traps hit well. If you do end up picking up a second core set, a second copy of Henamarth would be an excellent addition. I'd swap out 1 of Ghan-buri-Ghan. You won't need Denethor as a defender every time, and when you don't, his scrying can be invaluable.

With all of your card draw, you should be able to find almost everything you need, and you should have more than enough for discarding to Protector of Lorien.

Questing looks like an issue, though. Between Ithilien Tracker, Radagast's Cunning, and Secret Paths, you have some threat manipulation, but it could be tough to actually put progress on the quest.

As far as heroes go - you could put in Mirlonde instead of Pippin to lower your threat by 1. You lose out on the card draw, and Pippin's ability means that the engagement cost of enemies relative to your threat is the same. But if you aren't going to engage a lot of enemies anyways, or if you would rather have the extra point of attack, it's not an awful trade-off.

Gondor - I love a good Gondor deck, and this one isn't bad. It's missing a few important pieces that get introduced later that can make Leadership Boromir much better - especially Heir of Mardil and Rod of the Steward. But I think that core set Aragorn actually does a lot of work in this deck. You will struggle questing in the early game. Don't try this one solo. Pair it with a deck that's excellent at questing right out of the start. But, over time, you will amass an army of allies that can quest for almost obscene amounts, between Visionary Leadership, Sword that was Broken, and ally Faramir's ability. And with Boromir's attack boost, the army can erase enemies too. Beregond with Gondorian Shield and Spear of the Citadel is a monster of a defender. Starting threat is a problem - but even on Journey Along the Anduin, if you have a Shield in your starting hand, you are just fine.

Outlands - This actually looks like an Outlands deck I might enjoy playing. Gandalf is an incredibly fun hero, and he's got all of his toys with him. All the Outlands allies, Bilbo to find Gandalf's Pipe for him, and Erestor to let you discard extra copies of your unique attachments in order to draw cards. Balin is there for King Under The Mountain. I started with Lord of Morthond for card draw, but halfway through I realized that I couldn't use it because Gandalf couldn't have the printed Leadership sphere long enough to trigger it. Samwise Gamgee was another idea I had thought of - better early questing and lower starting threat - as also was Theodred, to make sure that Hirluin could get his resources. But I think this version ends up fine.

No Steward of Gondor, as you may have noticed. I tried to make these 4 decks fit the requirement you made of not needing to swap cards out between them. Note that I have not done this for the decks I posted above - there will be some card overlap between those decks (off the top of my head - Sterner than Steel, King Under the Mountain, Cram, Test of Will, Hasty Stroke, Feint, ally Gandalf, and a number of the Rohan and Gondor allies). Legacy of Numenor and Gandalf's Staff are probably enough to cover for it, especially since there just isn't anything hugely expensive other than Erestor.

Rohan - Rohan is probably my favorite archetype, and this is stereotypical Rohan. Golden Shield makes it so that one of your characters (likely Eowyn, if you can get readying on her) can block large incoming attacks. Use her discard ability to block even more, if you didn't do it during the quest phase. Merry with the Daggers + Theoden can respond well enough. Not a dedicated combat deck, though.

The core of this deck is Gamling and discard-from-play effects. If it's a Rohan ally and gets discarded from play, Gamling brings it back to your hand. And Theoden's cost reduction lets you play it again and again. I'm actually not sold on Eomund - I'm not sure how much benefit readying all of your Rohan allies is. I've included Riddermark's Finest on the sideboard to swap out for Escort from Edoras (or Eomund!) in location heavy quests. Might be worth including Ride to Ruin as well - the Horse-breeders are good targets for that.

Hope these 4 decks get you off to a good start.

Fantastic Onidsen!! They look like awesome decks for the cardpool I have.

I'll be putting these together over the weekend. I know deck building is such a big part of this game and something I've always struggled with due to time. These will enable me to just jam together a scenario, grab a deck and get playing.

Once again, thanks very much.

You should be able to make this Sneak Attack deck:

Hero (3)
Boromir (Heirs of Númenor)
Prince Imrahil (A Journey to Rhosgobel)
Sam Gamgee (The Black Riders)

Ally (16)
2x Bill the Pony (The Black Riders)
3x Envoy of Pelargir (Heirs of Númenor)
2x Faramir (Core Set)
3x Gandalf (Core Set)
2x Guard of the Citadel (Core Set)
2x Pelargir Ship Captain (The Morgul Vale)
2x White Tower Watchman (The Drúadan Forest)

Attachment (13)
2x Celebrían's Stone (Core Set)
3x Good Meal (The Redhorn Gate)
3x Steward of Gondor (Core Set)
3x Tome of Atanatar (The Blood of Gondor)
2x Visionary Leadership (The Morgul Vale)

Event (21)
3x Ever Vigilant (Core Set)
3x Gaining Strength (The Steward's Fear)
3x Second Breakfast (Conflict at the Carrock)
3x Sneak Attack (Core Set)
3x Strength of Arms (The Drúadan Forest)
3x Valiant Sacrifice (Core Set)
3x Wealth of Gondor (Heirs of Númenor)

Out of curiosity, I reconfigured my allowed packs to match your criteria (all saga before Mountain of Fire, all regular through VoI), and ringsdb returned 46 pages of results. These are the most-liked three-hero decks without repeating heroes:

http://ringsdb.com/decklist/view/535/sting-like-a-bee-1.0 (Sam, TaMerry, LoPippin)

http://ringsdb.com/decklist/view/951/back-to-basics-a-killer-deck-using-cards-from-1-core-set-1.0 (Beravor/SpEowyn/Theodred -- core set only, will need to pad to 50 cards)

http://ringsdb.com/decklist/view/2705/a-fellowship-of-sheer-power-1.0 (Gandalf/Elrond/SpGlorfindel)

http://ringsdb.com/decklist/view/3470/deck-tech-dwarf-starter-deck-1.0 (Bifur/Dain/TaGimli)

http://ringsdb.com/decklist/view/1327/deck-tech-the-quest-for-the-arkenstone-1.0 (Bombur/Ori/Thorin)

http://ringsdb.com/decklist/view/2264/of-sword-and-eagle-1.0 (TaLegolas/TaBoromir/LoDenethor)

http://ringsdb.com/decklist/view/6364/you-need-no-core-set-if-you-have-the-outlands-1.0 (TaBeregond/LeBoromir/Hirluin)

http://ringsdb.com/decklist/view/4466/guardians-of-eriador-1.0 (LeAragorn/Elrohir/Elladan)

http://ringsdb.com/decklist/view/4419/les-forets-du-gondor-sont-sournoises-2.0 (LeFaramir/Damrod/SpBeregond)

http://ringsdb.com/decklist/view/855/prisoner-of-the-dark-forest-1.0 (LoGlorfindel/LoAragorn/Mirlonde)

http://ringsdb.com/decklist/view/266/cotr_progression_021_matthew_thal_beo_dwal-1.0 (Thalin/Dwalin/Beorn)

http://ringsdb.com/decklist/view/5940/the-line-unbroken-nm-hunt-for-gollum-deck-2-1.0 (Bard/Brand/Balin)

http://ringsdb.com/decklist/view/4158/the-line-unbroken-encounter-at-amon-din-deck-2-1.0 (Bilbo/Frodo/SpPippin)