I love this game and I suspect you will, too. You can play a long time without expansions using the links above. I found playing solo with the core set was very rewarding. There are also a dozen or more custom scenarios out there using only core set cards. The following three decks are strong core set only decks, too:
http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/898293/journey-down-anduin-deck-built-only-single-core-set
http://boardgamegeek.com/article/9763507#9763507
Edited by StrategianYou should be fine. Most of this thread was from April 2012. I think Khazad Dum had only just come out, and the metagame was young. People were still coming to grips with the fact that solo play was just different from multiplayer. A lot of people were burned out on the three quests in the core set, which are much harder solo and got easier as you added more players.
Now we've seen quests that scale the opposite direction, too, getting harder the more players you add (and everything in between). People are more willing nowadays to accept that decks that do well multiplayer are not necessarily going to perform well solo. It's also difficult to build a single solo deck that can handle every quest (even every quest in a given cycle) which sometimes puts people off.
But I think you'll find that solo play is still very enjoyable, even without a full card pool. I've seen some of your other posts, and it sounds like you have a pretty good understanding of what you're getting into. I think you're going to love it.
Thanks for your kind post. I found an online store that sells LOTR for a reasonable price, so I've ordered one Core plus all the deluxe and sage expansions with some adventure packs thrown in. I sold some of my stuff so I got money I can use, and although I haven't played the game yet (still waiting for the shipments to arrive), I decided to spend my money based on what I read on this forum. I think I'm going to enjoy it even though I will be playing it mostly solo (still haven't convinced my brother to give this game a shot).
I would suggest to listen to the latest episode of the Grey Company Podcast. Matthew had a nice rant about solo play!
This link has Ninjadorg's six custom quests using only core cards:
http://ratdorg.blogspot.com/2011/07/lord-of-rings-card-game-ninjadorgs.html
JediZebra101 has a simple, but very fun, core set only custom quest, too:
http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/744042/jedizebra101s-scenario-1-practice-grounds
This thread is very outdated. If I could delete it, I would. None of the problems I driveled on about exist any longer. They have really fixed solo play.
Can you post that deck you mentioned?
Solo is everything possible. Check my youtube channel. Even Dol-guldor beaten solo