So I've never played the game and wanting to get into it. Initial budget of ~$100. What would you buy?
I will play some solo but most often likely duo.
After reading some about the game, I take it I should get 2 core sets (~$60)? So that leaves room for a couple expansions. Which 2 are good to start with? Should I buy them in a specific order? Also which additional things do you buy to store/protect cards?
Hey,
Well if you were playing solo, than 1 core set would be plenty. Most solo players have 1 core set. Although the core set says that it is good for 1-2 players, I think it would be much better and not so difficult if you had two. So I think that would be a good idea to buy two core sets. Then you could also play with 3-4 players too.
So that would leave about 40 dollars for expansions. Now I would say to start buying the first few ones that came out but all of those are out of stock. They are currently reprinting them and should be done by july. Here is how the expasnsions works if you dont know (sorry if you do)
Mirkwood cycle - Has 6 seperate Adventure Packs that are about $15 each. These are the ones that are out of stock.
Khazad-Dum - This is a duluxe expansion that is around $25. It Is the size of 3 adventure packs
Dwarrowdelf cycle - Has 6 seperate Adventure Packs that are about $15 each. To play any of these adventure packs you will need to already have Khazad-Dum.
The Hobbit: Over Hill and Underhill - This is another expansion that is the same size as Khazad-Dum. This expasnion is just a stand alone expasnion.
The Hobbit: On the Doorstep - Same as above
Heirs of Numenor - This is a duluxe expansion that needs to be bought to play any of the "Against the Shadow" cycle.
Against the Shadow cycle - There is only one of the six adventure packs out so far. That one is called "The Stewards Fear"
So since the Mirkwood cycle is out of stock, I would buy Khazad-Dum and then start buying the six adventure packs in the Dwarrowdelf cycle. Don't worry that you are missing the Mirkwood cycle. You will be fine. If you ask me, I would say that most of the Dwarrowdelf cycle are better than the Mirkwood cycle. But still, there are good cards in the Mirkwood cycle so when they are done being reprinted than I would start picking them up.
So thats 2 core sets $60
Khazad-Dum $25
One Adventure pack $15
Its up to you what Adventure Pack you want to pick from the dwarrowdelf, Are you looking for a pack to give you really good cards or a really fun quest? Or a little bit of both?
Hope this helps,
Khamul
I'd definitely only say one core set.
Get Mirkwood Cycle APs if you want to maximize the use of the encounter cards from Mirkwood.
Otherwise, I'm really digging the stuff coming out now…
So I'd probably say 1 core set, Heirs of Numenor, Steward's Fear, and a couple APs from the Mirkwood cycle.
gatharion said:
I'd definitely only say one core set.
Get Mirkwood Cycle APs if you want to maximize the use of the encounter cards from Mirkwood.
Encounter cards from the core set, I meant to say
Sorry gatharion, but I strongly disagree. Almost every single place I see a review on Heirs of Numenor, they say DON"T MAKE THIS ONE OF YOUR FIRST PURCHESES AFTER THE CORE SET. They tell you to buy quite a few expansions before you buy Heirs of Numenor due to its very hard difficulty.
Yeah i'd say its fine to buy one core set, but with two players, I would buy two. I just think it wouldn't be a good idea to buy the Stewards Fear with little more than a core set, but I don't know much about the quest.
Khamul
Since I'll be playing with my wife (and occasionally with more), I think we'll probably want 2 core sets.
Also we are pretty casual gamers to the high difficulty of the more recent packs may be a bit of a turn off.
Thanks for the info.
Sorry can you rephrase that second sentance again? You are saying you are happy to play against a very hard expasnion or are you saying you dont want to? Sorry.
Khamul
Not interested on very difficult expansions yet. Could be a real turn off if we can't occasionally win the game.
ok well if I were you I would buy 2 core sets, Khazad-Dum and one of the dwarrowdelf packs. I think I would get The Wacther In the Water or Foundations of Stone due to the excellent player cards that will help you beat other expansions easier.
Khamul
to echo khamul id say stay away from anything post dwarrowdelf
rich
this is the go-to source, i think, for new players: http://talesfromthecards.wordpress.com/new-player-guides/
also, you can get the core set for ~$25, deluxe expansions for ~$19, and adventure packs for ~$9 if you shop online (miniature market is my go-to source).
that will help you strech your dollars a bit more!
Dain Ironfoot said:
this is the go-to source, i think, for new players: http://talesfromthecards.wordpress.com/new-player-guides/
also, you can get the core set for ~$25, deluxe expansions for ~$19, and adventure packs for ~$9 if you shop online (miniature market is my go-to source).
that will help you strech your dollars a bit more!
Online is definitely the way to go to get more bang for your buck… I've been using http://www.coolstuffinc.com/ for my stuff… lots of games available there, and shipping for $100 or more is free! (And you get discounts as you purchase more with them)…. I'm going to check out the miniature market that Dain suggested as well… prices seem pretty comparable!
Personally I don't think you need 2 core sets right off the bat, especially if you are expanding your card pool with expansions right away. Many of the cards in the 2nd core set will not be useful (extra copies of the heroes, encounter sets, player cards that you already have 3 of). That said, here are my suggestions for $100 (assuming you buy at www.coolstuffinc.com):
Core Set - $26
Khazad-Dum - $19.50
Heirs of Numenor - $19.50
A Journey to Rhosgobel - $10
A Watcher in the Water - $10
Foundations of Stone - $10
Shadow and Flame -$10
Total: $105
If you decide you absolutely need 2 Core Sets:
Core Set x2 - $52
Khazad-Dum - $19.50
A Watcher in the Water - $10
Foundations of Stone - $10
Shadow and Flame or A Journey to Rhosgobel - $10
Total: $101.50
I would also recommend Return to Mirkwood (especially if you want to make Dwarf decks) which you can get for $15 on Amazon now or wait for the reprinting and get it for $10 on Cool Stuff Inc.
Some of these quests will be difficult to start with, but with the new easy mode should be doable.
So I think if you get Steward's Fear and Heirs of Neumenor, I think you should be okay. I hear those outlands cards are pretty good…
Well I strongly agree on getting 2 core sets. Since you are playing 2 player almost always, you will need 100 player cards to build a standard deck for each of you 2 players. now the core set comes with 120 player cards I believe(not including heroes). So you would be quite limited to cards you would have to have in your deck. If you wanted to run the standard 50 card decks, then you would each have to take 2 spheres to put in your deck. But if you had 2 core sets, than for example, you would each be able to each have spirit in both your decks which is a very common thing.
Sorry Im probably making no sense 
But I would definitly take 2 cores for 2 players. And if you dont now you will most likely be wanting another not too long after. 
Khamul
Personally, I think buying the 2nd core set immediately is largely wasted. Eventually I would get the second core set, but at the start, I would just get one. You limit the card pool by spending $25-30 on another core when you can get 2 adventure packs or a larger expansion with that money.
If you get 2 adventure packs, that's 20 new options for your deck (plus 2 new quests to offer more playing options), whereas a core set would give tons of duplicates, of which about 10 are highly desired. Beyond those 10 cards or so, it's not worth having the 2nd core set.
If you're more casual players, go for the Mirkwood cycle (as much of it as you can). Plenty of fun player cards and easier quests.
joezim007 said:
Personally, I think buying the 2nd core set immediately is largely wasted. Eventually I would get the second core set, but at the start, I would just get one. You limit the card pool by spending $25-30 on another core when you can get 2 adventure packs or a larger expansion with that money.
If you get 2 adventure packs, that's 20 new options for your deck (plus 2 new quests to offer more playing options), whereas a core set would give tons of duplicates, of which about 10 are highly desired. Beyond those 10 cards or so, it's not worth having the 2nd core set.
If you're more casual players, go for the Mirkwood cycle (as much of it as you can). Plenty of fun player cards and easier quests.
Pretty much agree with this 100%. Or if you like Dwarves, get 1 core set, the Return to Mirkwood AP (for Dain), Kazhad-dum expansion, and the last 3 Dwarrodelf cycle AP's.
A second core set can be added later if you decide to fill in those few cards later.
I'm rather partial to the Mirkwood Cycle, but that's mainly because that's where you get Eagles (and I love me some Eagles). I think one core set at the beginning is fine, and that opens up more varied adventure packs. I would suggest getting the Hobbit Saga (mainly the first one. Because you can get a BEAR HERO!) and the Steward's fear is definatly the new hotness, and from what I hear, you can make a pretty good deck from what it has. As I said before, if you add that to HoN, then you can do some cool things.
hope that helps!
Khamul The Easterling said:
Well I strongly agree on getting 2 core sets. Since you are playing 2 player almost always, you will need 100 player cards to build a standard deck for each of you 2 players. now the core set comes with 120 player cards I believe(not including heroes). So you would be quite limited to cards you would have to have in your deck. If you wanted to run the standard 50 card decks, then you would each have to take 2 spheres to put in your deck. But if you had 2 core sets, than for example, you would each be able to each have spirit in both your decks which is a very common thing.
The problem with this argument is that they won't be suffering from a card limitation because they are buying a bunch of expansions at the same time.
Yes since you only have one core the you wont have enough cards for each player to have a same sphere. So in other words, all 4 spheres will have to be used up, 2 on one player and 2 on the other. Because with 1 core and only a few expansions there will not be enough cards to have a same sphere in each player's deck. Now that's tottaly fine but it is common for there to be a sphere used in more than just 1 deck in multiplayer games. You see what im saying? And the expansions wont help that too much cause not every single card is good in an expansion. Most of the time only aboout 2-3 will be used in a deck.(not including the hero) So do you kinda see where im trying to get at?
Khamul