MotK Rosie Non-Saga 2.0

• Versions
• 2.0
• 1.0

v2.0
-3 Friend of Friends
+1 The One Ring
+1 Power of Command
+1 Gandalf
+1 Bill the Pony
+1 Dúnedain Quest

Concept

When Messenger of the King came out, one of the first cards that came to mind for me was Rosie Cotton. You mean I don't have to waste all that time and money on turning her into a hero with Sword-thain first before I can reasonably boost her ? Sign me up!

Deckbuilding

I quickly realized that, paired alongside Sam Gamgee, a Hobbit deck with two heroes really changes the standard Rosie build quite a bit. However, thanks to The Shirefolk, we don't really need access to anymore, and really only offers a few toys for Merry and potentially Gondorian Shield if you turn sam into the Steward of Gondor, which isn't a bad play. I also considered not using Sam altogether, but that just seemed ludicrous, as I'm still convinced Tom Cotton doesn't actually work. So, was the natural pairing, especially since it gave me access to the necessary draw in Drinking Song and Daeron's Runes, along with Master of the Forge. The choice was really between Folco Boffin and Pippin, and I think Pippin is the easy choice, especially since the threat drop from Folco won't be used, as I decided to turn the deck into a hybrid of a Rosie-Sam-do-everything build and a big-ally build.

I suppose I should note that you can slot the Ithilien Lookout in as 3x and run at 53 cards, as I'm not sure I'd cut anything else for them. The extra 2 and scry might also come in handy. I've also added Gimli to the sideboard, as his readying and 2-2-2 stat line can be of use (I might end up cutting Merry for this card, to be honest, but the hobbit is efficient, and the boost has a niche use, depending on the quest phase).

Gameplay

So, that's when I decided I could probably hard mulligan for Timely Aid or Resourceful and try to draw into a Shirefolk reasonably quickly to maintain . The rest of the deck is just trying to make Sam into a tank and to spam big bodies with Elf-stone. Pippin should help avoid engagement for as long as possible while you build up a board. I personally don't know if this deck is going to take down some of the hardest quests in the game, but if everything goes right and your copies of Drinking Song help get you what you need, it can pack a punch. Hope you enjoy!