Bombur's Dark Knowledge: Minimum purchase Hobbit deck 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

Bombur has learned too many dark things during his journey: perhaps it's only a matter of time before he glances at Bilbo and mutters "Is it scrumptious, my precious?"

This mostly thematic solo deck is built from one core set and both Hobbit saga expansions. My Thorin and Company deck (http://ringsdb.com/decklist/view/712/thorin-and-company-a-thematic-solo-deck-for-the-hobbit-1.0) avoids unthematic cards like Faramir, who wasn't alive during the quest for Erebor, but requires several other expansions. (If you want to tweak this deck to remove Faramir, you'll have a weaker deck, but you could replace him with Silverlode Archer or Secret Paths.) My Thorin and Company decklist also includes a link which discusses strategies for the Hobbit quests.

It's important to reach the five dwarf threshold quickly, so that this deck's powerful draw and resource engine runs smoothly. Erebor Hammersmith and Miner of the Iron Hills allow you to reach it round one, while Bifur (whose response triggers even if he's the first dwarf you play) and Dori allow you to reach it round two. You should normally mulligan for one of those four cards. If you haven't reached the threshold but you have an ally in play, it's worth Sneak Attacking a (preferably high cost) ally to play A Very Good Tale and find a dwarf.

Steward of Gondor is normally for Thorin Oakenshield. Ever Vigilant is good with Gandalf, Faramir, or even Daughter of the Nimrodel. Duplicate uniques are fuel for Protector of Lórien, which is usually on Bombur or Bilbo Baggins, especially once Bilbo has Sting. If Kili's in your deck and you plan to play Fili next round, it might be worth delaying A Very Good Tale or optional draw effects. Erebor Hammersmith can retrieve an attachment discarded by A Very Good Tale, King Under the Mountain, or encounter card effects, or can recycle Cram.

Getting the treasures in the first quest can be challenging. I recommend swapping out Celebrían's Stone for Beorn, to help kill Tom quickly. Try to ensure that 6 resources worth of allies are exhausted when using A Very Good Tale in this quest, or save a Sneak Attack for Beorn. Go slowly during the first stage to set up. Once Tom is engaged, he can be killed using two attacks (including a powered-up Beorn) and Gandalf's direct damage. After killing Tom, a swarm of allies can take out a second troll, stabilizing the situation until the treasures have been found.

Surviving Gollum's riddles in the third quest is also tricky: this deck has two main spheres, a significant number of attachments and events, and various costs for its cards. Looking through your deck before shuffling it for a riddle test allows you to identify the likeliest guess. There's a serious danger, however, of losing because you run out of cards in your deck and can't answer riddles. It's probably a bad idea to play A Very Good Tale more than once this quest, and optional draw effects (especially King Under the Mountain) should be used sparingly. Since this deck can't play Will of the West, we can improvise with To me! O my kinsfolk!. It lets you choose an ally who matches the cost and/or sphere of several other cards in your deck and return it to your deck. It can even be used if your deck is empty and you need one more progress on stage two. Swap out Burglar Baggins and perhaps Celebrían's Stone to include it (you can even go up to three copies and 51 cards if you want).

With Faramir and Ever Vigilant you have a good chance of getting multiple treasures in the fifth quest, and they help for the final quest, which doesn't give you much time to set up.