a few points of interest……

firstly- the art- if you like it now it only gets better…….

now the luck…….you're going to hate me for saying this….but in such a game you cant elliminate the luck factor and being honest in all quests coming up for you it wont get any better-

dol guldur-horrible case for this - it is PURE LUCK which hero is taken prisoner

hunt for gollum - again luck on when the clues come out

carrock - you can draw the hill trolls alongside the 4 trolls as it uses the same enounter set

rhosgobel- crazily based on luck here- healing cards are a must early on in your game

anyways you get my point and i dont want to spoil upcoming quest…but i think you already know this

secondly …theme and quest catering decks……

this isnt really a choice early on (i cant remember what packs you have….so if you have a few ignore this)

theme decks are very hard to pull off with core and only a few early packs, and only really become possible with eagles after the complete mirkwood cycle, and dwarves with the current cycle….my advice is tailor decks until you get through to the later packs when you can start thinking about theme (and this is coming from a player crazy about the theme)….this is especialy true is solo play

anyways just some thoughts

rich