I've always wanted to try using the 3 weakest heroes to see how good that strategy was. With the addition of Frodo Baggins, I was finaly able to give it a try. Here's the decklist I came up with (from 3 Core Set, 1 The Hunt for Gollum and 1 Conflict at the Carrock), for solo play:

Heroes:

• Dunhere
• Eleanor
• Frodo Baggins

Leadership:

• 3 x Dunedain Mark
• 3 x Steward of Gondor
• 3 x Sneak Attack

Spirit:

• 2 x Eomund
• 3 x Northern Tracker
• 3 x Wandering Took
• 3 x Unexpected Courage
• 3 x A Test of Will
• 2 x Dwarven Tomb
• 3 x Hasty Stroke
• 3 x Stand and Fight
• 3 x The Galadhrim's Greetings

Lore:

• 2 x Daughter of the Nimrodel
• 1 x Gleowine
• 2 x Henamarth Riversong
• 1 x Rivendell Minstrel
• 2 x Forest Snare

Neutral:

• 3 x Gandalf
• 3 x Song of Kings
• 2 x Song of Wisdom

Obviously, the idea is to keep your threat low enough that you never need to engage enemies and you pick them off from the staging area with Dunhere. Once he gets a few Dunedain Mark, he's able to kill any enemy without you ever having to face them directly.

I played 4 games against Passage through Mirkwood (2 defeats, 2 wins), 2 against Journey Along the Anduin (2 wins), 2 against The Hunt for Gollum (2 wins) and 1 against Conflict at the Carrock (win). In all instances, I managed to beat my previous best score (except for Conflict at the Carrock; I still scored 14) without trying anything special (no "squeazing" the encounter deck for all victory cards or waiting additional turns for extra plays of Gandalf). The nature of the deck makes it so that your threat remains very low, resulting in great scores.

My first two tries didn't go very well. However, I'll put it on the count of getting East Blight Patrol on the first turn both times. That card is the perfect countermeasure to my deck: low engagement cost, high attack power. It means you're forced to use Frodo's ability and your threat starts to increase, meaning you then have to engage spiders and all other monsters and there's no end to it. Those games also let me get a feel for how to play the deck.

A lesson I learned early is that you need an ally, idealy Eomund, on the first turn. Getting over those first 2 turns is the key, as if you can keep control of your threat there (meaning your threat is still under 25 after 2 turns), then you should be able to start taking control. Eomund's 2 Willpower is a great deal for 3 resources. He will definitively replace Lorien Guide in most decks I'll build, even if he's unique.

Try to split your Unexpected Courage early. Getting one on Frodo or Eleanor means they can both quest and defend in the same turn, allowing you to deal with some of the low threat monsters (Dol Guldur Orcs, Misty Mountains Goblins) while still progressing on the quest.

As soon as you can lower your threat under 20, go for it. Under 15 is another critical number, depending on the scenario you're playing.

Obviously, abusing Gandalf (Sneak Attack, Stand and Fight) is another key component of the deck.

Finally, regarding the songs, I chose to go with 3 Song of Kings as getting Steward of Gondor is much more important than getting any of the Lore cards. However, once you do get Steward of Gondor, you want to play it on whatever charcter will end up with Song of Wisdoms, as there are multiple 3-cost cards in Lore.

All in all, the deck makes for interesting starts. After 4 or 5 turns, as with most "good" decks, you can see how things are going to turn. Conflict at the Carrock was probably the most stressful scenario as I was afraid of overquesting for a few turns (a well-timed Despair actualy gave me a break until Henamarth joined my army), but once I had most of my allies in play (as well as grabbing Grimbeorn the Old on the way). I was ready for the Trolls.

I now have to try it against Escape from Dol Guldur. I don't have much hope, but who knows. If I could get 1 win in 5 or 6 tries, I'd be happy.

I'd like to hear people's thought on such a build and other options for a low-threat strategy. I considered using another 8 points hero (Denethor, Gloin, Theodred), but not having Dunhere would kind of defeat the purpose of a low-threat deck, I think. Another thing I'm considering is trying 2 players with 2 heroes only each (Frodo Baggins and Eowyn; Eleanor and Dunhere). Having access to 6 Unexpected Courage along with increased questing power from Eowyn (both decks would be built similarly, at least until further songs are available), would probably (or would it?) compensate for the additional card and lower resource count. What do you think?

I'd add A Light in the Dark. Fixes the biggest "hole" in the deck - low threat enemies.

2 players = higher probability for Marks and Gandalfs So yeah, it really should compensate.

What would you remove?

Pardon my asking without further analysis of your writing, but after I have glanced over the card list, one card seems a bit strange for inclusion in such a deck. As you claim and as is obvious, one tries to avoid fighting, yet you include Hasty Stroke, I know you won't be able to avoid it utterly (in a majority of cases, perhaps) but if you are to be successful you really should not be getting many enemies engaged and thus this card seems contradictory to the strategy to me.

avgzxc said:

Second A Light in the Dark. Removing Hasty Stroke, obviously. Haha.

Also, including Gleowin or Rivevendell Minstrel once won't do much. The probability of getting them (without extra drawing) is so low that you should not waste space with them.

The comments on Hasty Stroke vs A Light in the Dark do make sense. I'll do the swap (at least 2 copies). I guess I was just too used to including Hasty Stroke systematically in any Spirit deck and always ignoring A Light in the Dark.

As for Gleowine, I don't want to put more than one as he's unique and I don't have any way to use extra copies (beside chump-blocking and playing a new one). He's not a guaranteed draw, but games do tend to last for some time (it takes a while to whittle a Hill Troll sitting in the staging area) and if you do draw him (her?), he'll boost your hand in no time. Maybe I could swap that 3rd Hasty Stroke for a Protector of Lorien and thus have some way to use extra Gleowine (and Eomund)... But then, it would lead to needing that 3rd Song of Wisdom... not sure what else I could switch.

Rivendell Minstrel is there to fetch the Song of Kings if you don't have it, but more importantly, for its 2 points of Willpower. It really helps questing, as he's the only ally with Eomund that has 2 points of Willpower. The single life-point is a problem when facing potential The Necromancer's Reach, but since the deck runs 3 A Test of Will and Eleanor, those can be circumvented. Actualy, I could see adding a second Minstrel instead of the second Daughter (or Gleowine)... The heroes rarely take damage as you'll most of the time direct it toward Frodo (and take the threat hit)...

lleimmoen said:

If you were not including them, what else would you put in? Lorien Guide? The Favor of the Lady? (Those are 2 of the cards that were borderline for inclusion...).

Isn't Wandering Took's special ability useless with one player?

SiCK_Boy said:

I see what you are saying. I was not really considering that the games are longer than usual. You still will not get through more than a half of the deck, probably, but I see the point. From the two bordering inclusion, I would certainly go for the Favour of the Lady. Lorien Guide is again contradictory to the Northern Tracker (sort of) and the latter is way better, I feel. Favour is not ground-breaking but if you have the resource (as you should in the Spirit mono deck) it should always help things.

ioticus said:

Yes, but he is still a good ally for 2 ressources.

Maybe something like this:

Heroes:
Dunhere
Eleanor
Frodo Baggins

Leadership:
3 x Dunedain Mark
3 x Steward of Gondor
3 x Sneak Attack

Spirit:
2 x Eomund
3 x Northern Tracker
3 x Wandering Took
3 x Unexpected Courage
3 x A Test of Will
2 x Dwarven Tomb
3 x Stand and Fight
3 x The Galadhrim's Greetings
3 x A Light in the Dark
1 x Fortune for Fate - Daughters replacement, with all that threat removal Frodo is such a ridiculous meatbag anyway

Lore:
2 x Gleowine - 5 resource per 2 cards is way more effective than 5 resource per just 1
1 x Henamarth Riversong
3 x Rivendell Minstrel - crucial change, too frustrating to have Sneaks and Stewards locked
1 x Protector for Lorien - for late game push

Neutral:
3 x Gandalf
3 x Song of Kings
2 x Song of Wisdom

Tried a similar deck (albeit with only one core set so not as good) and keep getting crushed in the Hunt for Gollum scenario due to threat and/or the hunters. Can't even get past the second stage.

avgzxc said:

You may be underestimating Henamarth's effectiveness. I'd rather keep 2, or even 3, of him over Gleowine anytime. Also, if you go to 3 Rivendell Minstrel, you should switch the songs (3 Wisdom, 2 Kings).

Adding a Fortune or Fate and Light in the Dark instead of Daughters and Hasty Stroke seems like an okay option. I'm not a huge fan of Fortune or Fate simply because I assume a lost hero is a lost game... I'd probably add a second Protector of Lorien instead...

Still, thanks for the suggestions!

I've included Thalin in an "Under the radar" deck (with Eowyn and Dunhere) to help get those enemies out of the staging area quicker. It worked well on Anduin. If you're not engaging enemies, it's ok to have two heroes quest and Dunhere attack.

Thalin also prevents the Eastern Crows from Surging in the Journey Along the Anduin scenario, always a nice bonus.

SiCK_Boy said:

Rivendell Minstrel can be played through Stand and Fight and it just has to be enough. I do underestimate Henamarth but mainly becasue he is too far from the deck theme: Sneak undirectly removes threat, Steward makes threat removal cheap, Dunedain Mark makes deck more reasonable through Dunhere, Gleowine makes cards come quicker. - generally I just hate bad draws. It's like I put Gleowine out and I get a bad draws, I include him and I get good draws. So, Gleowine is more of a personal preference. Anyway, I remade that deck:

Heroes:
Dunhere
Eleanor
Frodo Baggins

Leadership:
3 x Dunedain Mark
3 x Steward of Gondor
3 x Sneak Attack

Spirit:
2 x Eomund
3 x Northern Tracker
3 x Wandering Took
3 x Westfold Horse-Breaker - 1st turn ally is often the key
3 x Unexpected Courage
3 x Mustering the Rohirrim - better chance for 1st turn ally/much quicker Eomund
3 x A Test of Will
2 x Dwarven Tomb
3 x Stand and Fight
3 x The Galadhrim's Greetings
2 x A Light in the Dark
1 x Fortune for Fate - maybe drop, so it's 50 cards

Lore:
2 x Gleowine
3 x Rivendell Minstrel

Neutral:
3 x Gandalf
3 x Song of Kings

Fock, I used Eowyn for my Frodo "proxy" and assumed discarding a card is easy. So Lore is out.

Heroes:
Dunhere
Eleanor
Frodo Baggins

Leadership:
3 x Dunedain Mark
3 x Steward of Gondor
3 x Sneak Attack
1 x Celebrian's Stone

Spirit:
3 x Eomund
3 x Northern Tracker
3 x Wandering Took
3 x Westfold Horse-Breaker - 1st turn ally is often the key
3 x Unexpected Courage
3 x Mustering the Rohirrim - better chance for 1st turn ally/much quicker Eomund
3 x A Test of Will
3 x Dwarven Tomb
3 x Stand and Fight
3 x The Galadhrim's Greetings
3 x A Light in the Dark
1 x Fortune for Fate

Neutral:
3 x Gandalf
3 x Song of Kings

And I didn't get time to reply, but the Minstrell needs to be played from your hand for his ability to work, I think.

How good is the Westfold Horse-Breaker working? I understand you may get them in play turn 1 via Mustering the Rohirrims, but wouldn't you be better off simply running Favor of the Lady (similar result - +1 will on quest) and Lorien Guide?

Favor of the Lady is like infinity below any cost 2, 1 willpower ally. It can't block, can't be boosted by Faramir(hmm, I forgot to add him) and Westfold Horse-Breaker in particular can be discarded to ready Dunhere(or any other) which is exactly what is needed early - he indirectly gives the much needed additional damage output. So, Westfold Horse-Breaker is even more than infinity ahead Favor of the Lady. Lorien Guide is at least an ally but that's exactly where his(hers?) advantages end. Generally, Favor of the Lady is more of a bad card while Lorien Guide is more of an average card. I at least can imagine myself using Lorien Guide but Favor of the Lady hmmm it has a nice art so it can be my favorite proxy for Unexpected Courage and... well, that's it. Not much use except that.

Also, Westfold Horse-Breaker makes Mustering the Rohirrim much less of a potential dead card becasue it can grab 6/50 cards in the deck.

I've mentioned Favor of the Lady a few times and, although I agree it's generally average or below (I'd rather force a second sphere via songs over it), it doesn't die to The Necromancer's Reach, which is a good point in its favor as opposed to the Horse-Breaker.

But I won't argue too much on it... as you said, the horse-breaker makes Mustering the Rohirrim playable (sorta) and this deck can still handle Necro's Reach well enough (with Eleanor and A Test of Will).

SiCK_Boy said:

Éomund makes "Mustering the Rohirrim" shine. Compare his stats and abilities to other 3 costs allies (he has 2 Willpower in addition to everything else!) and it almost seems like he and Mustering the Rohirrim were designed for one another. The conspiracy theorist in me says it's make-up for a card that really should have been 0 cost (I suspect that just like me, none of you used Mustering until Éomund showed up). Now, combine that with a buddy playing tactics and Born(e) Aloft, and you've got something special goin', maybe even a reason to use "Nor Am I a Stranger".

If Mustering the Rohirrim did cost 0, I'd probably play it. Right now, it's still not good enough I think. If there were multiple Rohan allies with varying abilities, you could use it to fetch a silver bullet. For now, it's 1 resource to dig 5 cards further and get Eomund or Westfold Horse-Breaker (there's the tactic horseman as well). You're probably better off just playing another ally instead.

SiCK_Boy said:

Now I see why you are confused: it's 10 cards. So now, there is nothing to consider: card is consistent and there is no Eowyn, so Eomund is very needed ASAP. Cost is pretty much irrelevant because it's only 1 and the deck doesn't draw many cards anyway - the sum of the the total cost of cards divided by 50 = easily below 3 (even assuming heavy Gandalf play) and later the supply = 5 resource per turn. So, in fact playing Mustering the Rohirrim simply means not wasting that many resources.

You're making a good case for it. I'll try it I think.