I am fairly new to the game and can only play solo at the moment. I just tried Carrock for the first time tonight. I have no idea how to beat 4 trolls playing solo. I've tried a leadership/lore deck with Gloin, Bilfur, and Dain, and a spirit/tactics deck using Eowyn, Gimli, and Thalin. I have all the sets except foundations of stone, shadow and flame, redhorn gate, and road to rivendell. If my threat stays below 34 I could optionally engage one at a time but that takes forever and once threat hits 34 it is all over.

Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks!

yes its do able solo, its one of those formula-driven quests which is easy if you do it the right way, or really hard if you try something different

when i soloed it, it was when the carrock and HFG was just out, so your card pool is fine

but i think you have the right idea- keep your threat low- and i mean super low. then pick them off one at a time. however it sounds like you have already tried this….your deck sounds good (i often use dain/bifur/gloin) but i would try swapping out gloin for thalin…at least ive found it to be a better all round deck

its been a long time since i last played carrock so im trying hard to remember what the exact way to beat it- someone will have a better idea than me..

i think the way you use gandalf is key to this quest, make sure you are sneak attacking him to reduce threat. try putting in a longbeard map maker with a resource draw engine (gloin+bifur+steward of gondor is good for this) and just have map maker quest- this frees up all your other characters to attack

keep dain ready and get some decent dwarf killers in there to get dains +1. give them some attack buffs (khazad!khazad!) and the trolls should fall

try snaring them with forest snare to help (i assume they dont have 'attatchments cant be played' on them?)

so

1.keep threat low

2.minimise the amount of characters needed to quest (map maker and resource draw key here)

3. have plenty (actually alot) of allies

4. have some forest snares and attack buffs

rich

The best way to win this scenario is of course to get Grimbeorn himself. The guy can take some attacks and adds is ATT when the trolls get the beating. WIth him in play you can face all four trolls at once.

Cards that belong in each Carrock deck:

1) Song of Kings (if you don't have two leadership heroes, that is)

2) Feint (which is why you should have one tactics hero - Gimli or Boromir)

3) Dunedain Marks

4) Weapons - the more, the better; Gimli + Dwarven Axe = 4 ATT

5) Sneak Attack + Gandalf; I try to hold this combo back until I start the fight with the trolls

6) Miner of the Iron Hills

7) Either Denethor or Henamarth Riversong (both help you to plan your next quest phase)

The best strategy is to delay your progress so that you enter the second stage only when you're ready to fight the trolls. That means good quest management which is why Denethor and Henamarth are so important.

Dáin + Bifur + Boromir should be a goof combo to win this quest.

I finally won this quest last night using a Dain-Thalin-Bifur deck, but I had good draws including two Gandalfs and Grimbeorn. Erebor Battle Master was a beast with all the dwarf allies, and I was able to forest snare one of the trolls. It was odd because I have not had much success with three sphere decks before, but Bifur's ability+Steward of Gondor+songs helped me get the cards out that I needed.

Any hints on how to handle the mud adders? Automatically killing anything that blocks it is tough. If he goes unblocked and you assign his damage to a hero does the effect still kick in? I played that it does and lost Thalin because I didn't have an ally at the time to block.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Charles_Stampley said:

yes i believe it still does.

as for how to deal with it id say the following cards should buy some time (sorry if you dont have them….im just listing off the top of my head)

fresh tracks- deal 1 damage and ignore engaging from the enemy for 1 round

out of sight- engaged enemies dont attack

keep thalin questing to deal 1 damage as enemies are revealed

lure of moria-ready all dwarf characters- great card

again forest snare if you are desperate

finally just concentrate in general in getting rid of them as soon as possible- even if it means keeping a relatively worse enemy in the staging area.

rich

Charles_Stampley said:

You just need some guy with 2 defense to block them…..in your deck Dain would be a good idea. Bifur with a Burning Brand would be the best solution.

And yes, undefended attacks from the adder will kill a hero.

The new lore Aragorn is great for the Carrock. You build up an army like crazy, then when your threat is about to go to fifty, you lower it and let the trolls come. Worked for me!

Also, make sure you explore The Carrock as quickly as possible, as that card buffs every troll in play. I also leave the troll that raises your threat by 3 after every attack for last if you plan on taking them one at a time. That could put a damper on this strategy.

Thanks for the help, I really mis-played the adders and didn't realize that if they are successfully blocked they are not causing damage so their special ability does not kick in.

I don't have Loragon yet, but he is enroute. Its off to the Dead Marshes next.

Charles_Stampley said:

i really llke the dead marshes- its an interesting quest, and you should find it easier than anduin

rich