Dwarfses on Horses 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

This is a rather straightforward mono leadership deck that mainly relies on getting a swarm of dwarves on the board. This will also enable Thorin's 5-dwarf-on-the-board ability to generate one more resource per round.

1. A Throng of Dwarves

• If you have Fili in your opening, get him out along with his brother Kili. There's only one copy of Fili in the deck, but if you feel like it, add two more. I'd rather add two other cards though.

• A Very Good Tale your dwarves if you don't have enough of them in your hand. Galadriel and Gandalf can be quite useful here. As well as Fili and Kili (any 3-cost dwarf ally really). Sometimes To me! O my kinsfolk! can also help you trigger this event. It's quite flexible and that's why I've added it here.

• Whenever you discard cards from the top of your deck, the Ered Luin Miner can get in play for free when he's discarded this way. King Under the Mountain, A Very Good Tale, and Well-Equipped can help you find these dwarves with a discount.

2. Strong Defense

The deck also has one other goal, which is quite important - to beef up Dain and get him to at least 6 defense. You can do that if you attach an Ancestral Armor and as many copies of Dunedain Warning as possible. Get him an Armored Destrier as well to ready him and remove shadow cards, if needed. With a Hardy Leadership in play, Dain can potentially get to 8 hit points.

Here your best ally is Galadriel. When you play her from your hand, she can easily find you the Dunedain Warnings and the Armored Destriers you need and put them into play. But wait, there's more. You can also plan ahead by rearranging the remaining four cards you peek at, which will later help you get the most out of the Well-Equipped event. You can easily get an Ancestral Armor and an Ered Luin Miner this way for free!!!

3. Why Steward of Gondor?

You don't have to run Steward of Gondor, but it just makes this particular deck that much stronger. When you attach it to Balin, you're almost guaranteed to trigger his ability, which can save you entire games from brutal shadow effects. Balin in conjuction with Armored Destriers is a powerhouse combination!

You can also play strong allies such as the Soldiers of Erebor and permanently pay your Dwarven Sellswords to remain in play.

4. How Does This Deck Perform?

I managed to beat in nightmare mode the Khazad-Dum quests (Into the Pit, The Seventh Level, and Flight from Moria). It wasn't the most thematic way to do it, but it was fun. I encourage you to try it against other quests as well. I also beat Intruders in Chetwood, but that's not the toughest quest out there. I'll probably try it against Assault on Osgiliath in nightmare mode next, then I'll do a run through the Hobbit quests.

If you ever try it out, let me know in the comments below. Happy questing and enemy-bashing! :)