Hello all,

I've played a few games using the Core and have now built up a decent collection: 2x Core, all first cycle, Khazad-dum, both Hobbit Saga, Black Riders, The Road Darkens and The Treason Of Saruman. I'm looking for some advice on building 2 decks for myself and my 9 year old son for the Hobbit saga. I'm looking for something fairly thematic i.e. some Dwarf heroes :). I'm also looking to make my sons deck mainly offensive as he like to hit things :D. My deck would be mainly to balance his out. Probably looking at 2 spheres each to add some strategy.

There are lots of options for Dwarf decks with that card pool. The easiest strategy is to include Dain Ironfoot and all the Dwarves you can muster.

Off the top of my head, Thorin / Dain / Bifur and Oin / Nori / Thalin would make a pair of pretty balanced decks.

Nice one, I'll take a look. Any "must have" combos?

None that I can think of off the top of my head; don't miss King Under the Mountain, and include as many Dwarf Allies as you can fit. Should be pretty straightforward.

We are not idle and lure of moria are both underestimated on my opinion, and their combination (tap all your 7 dwarfs for resource, play a lot of new allies, get the new one on the quest then play lure of moria) is pretty devastating :). But they are both great of their own (especially we are not idle who can even be cycled just for the draw if you don't need resources)

6 hours ago, Rouxxor said:

We are not idle and lure of moria are both underestimated on my opinion, and their combination (tap all your 7 dwarfs for resource, play a lot of new allies, get the new one on the quest then play lure of moria) is pretty devastating :). But they are both great of their own (especially we are not idle who can even be cycled just for the draw if you don't need resources)

Yeah, I thought of those too, but the OP has neither of them yet.

Okay, first deck:

Dain, Thorin (Leadership), Bifur (Lore)

Ally (Leadership x10): 3x Gloin, 2x Gimli, 3x Longbeard Orc Slayer, 2x Dunedain Watcher
Ally (Lore x15): 3x Erebor Record Keeper, 3x Minor Of The Iron Hills, 2x Erebor Hammersmith, 3x Dori, 2x Longbeard Map maker, 2x Bifor

Event (Leadership x8): 2x Common Cause, 2x Parting Gifts, 2x Durin's Song, 2x Sneak Attack
Event (Lore x5): 2x Lore Of Imladris, 1x Beorns Hospitality, 2x Ancestral Knowledge

Attachment (Leadership x5): 3x King Under The Mountain, 2x Steward Of Gondor
Attachment (Lore x6): 2x A Burning Brand, 2x Self Preservation, 3x Forest Snare

This will be my deck, so more of a supporting role, hence healing etc. I'm still working on my son's deck, Thalin, Oin and Nori... Tactics and Spirit.

Any glaring issues? Cards that I definitely need to add or remove?

Is there a better way of listing my deck rather than typing it all up? Any automated tools out there?

Cheers,

Jed

The tool you are looking for is RingsDB: http://ringsdb.com/

These look like a good start! I do see a few problems, though:

• You have Bifur ally as well as Bifur hero--because of the uniqueness rules, the ally is a dead card.
• It looks like you used some Boons from the Saga expansions--those cards aren't meant to be included in your decks right away, but rather earned when playing through a Campaign. You'll want to pull Valiant Warrior and Intimidation out.
• If I'm counting them up right, I think you only have 49 cards in the first deck.

And I have a few suggestions, too:

• The first deck could totally use 2-3 copies of Gandalf. He comboes great with Sneak Attack, and that deck is likely to be flush with resources by the end game, so you should be able to play him outright if the need arises.
• Beorn's Hospitality is pretty expensive for what it does; I'd consider cutting it.
• A Burning Brand is a great card, but it only attaches to Lore heroes--which in these decks is just Bifur. But with only 2 defense and 3 hit points, you probably won't be defending with him often.
• After seeing how it shook out with your card pool, I'm wondering if you'll want to go with a more combat-focused hero for the second deck in place of Oin--it doesn't look like you'll need his smoothing as much as you'll need more early-game Tactics resources. I'd recommend either Gimli or Beorn, depending on your tastes and how thematic you want to be. (If you pick Gimli, don't forget to remove the Ally from the first deck).
• Dwarrowdelf Axe seems conspicuously missing from the second deck; I'd find room for 3 copies. It's worth noting that it can be played on a Dwarf character (not just "hero") so it's super flexible.
• If you do swap Oin for a Tactics hero, A Light in the Dark and Fili / Kili probably become too expensive for what you get. You might consider moving Fili / Kili to the other deck.

Nothing beats experience for telling how a deck will play out, though. Let us know how they work!

Much obliged, I'll take a look