Old as Mountains, Hungry as Hunters 1.0

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OLD AS MOUNTAINS, HUNGRY AS HUNTERS

"'This Treebeard at any rate has not starved you.'

'He has not,' said Merry. 'But Ents only drink, and drink is not enough for content. Treebeard's draughts may be nourishing, but one feels the need of something solid.'"

--LotR III, p.212

"'I have put their names into the Long List. Ents will remember it.

Ents the earthborn, old as mountains,
the wide-walkers, water drinking;
and hungry as hunters, the Hobbit children,
the laughing-folk, the little people'"

--Treebeard, LotR III, p.244

DECK OVERVIEW

This solo deck is built loosely around the theme of Merry's & Pippin's time with Treebeard at the siege of Isengard. Apropos of a Hobbit-themed deck, 12 of the attachments are food, drink, or pipes.

HEROES & ATTACHMENTS

Treebeard 2(7) 3(8) 3 7
Attach the first Ent Draught drawn to Treebeard. The extra will let him max out the damage he takes for +5 in the Quest Phase and +5 in the Combat Phase. Unexpected Courage lets him both quest and attack.

Merry 2 1 1 4
Meriadoc Brandybuck dines on one or more Good Meal washed down with an Ent Draught and followed by a Hobbit Pipe. Fast Hitch allows him to ready after questing to use his threat-reduction effect, when needed. Good Meal lets him play Smoke Rings at 0-cost.

Pippin 2 1 1 4
Peregrin Took enjoys the same repast as Merry: a Good Meal, Ent Draught, and a Hobbit Pipe. He will also be the designated healer in the company, receiving any copies of Healing Herbs and using Good Meal to play Lore of Imladris at 0-cost. Fast Hitch lets him quest and stay ready to use Healing Herbs on Treebeard.

Miruvor can be used as a stand-in to ready any hero before their respective readying attachment materializes.

ALLIES & EVENTS

Since one of the main strategies of the deck is to use Treebeard's effect as often as possible, there is a lot of healing in the deck. Healing Herbs, Lore of Imladris & The Long Defeat can all heal him completely after he uses his effect. Ideally, in a typical round, he will take 5 damage and quest for 7, ready with Unexpected Courage or Miruvor, heal completely, then take 5 more damage to attack for 8.

Though Treebeard can defend in a pinch, that will usually be the task of allies. In particular Wandering Ent, Gandalf, and even Erebor Hammersmith make good defenders. Arwen Undómiel can give any defender +1 . If you're not facing a quest with a lot of damage infliction and aren't concerned about the Hobbits' 2 , feel free to play the 2nd & 3rd Ent Draught on the defending allies.

One of this deck's Achilles' heels is lack of resource acceleration. Good Meal is pretty much it. This is offset by the fact that, other than Gandalf, no card costs more than 2 resources, and all of the 2-cost events can be played at 0-cost with Good Meal. Despite the lack of resources, I've found that the deck usually progresses quite well, depending upon the adventure.

To get the most out of the deck, Erebor Hammersmith recycles Good Meal, Healing Herbs & Miruvor, while Galadhrim Weaver can recycle Lore of Imladris, Smoke Rings, or any other card you may need again.

On the Hobbit-themed side, each Hobbit, including Bilbo Baggins, gets a Hobbit Pipe to synergize with Smoke Rings for card drawing, threat reduction, and -boosting. [Indeed, a great combination!]

Card drawing is provided by Pippin, Gandalf, Gléowine, Hobbit Pipe, The Long Defeat, and Deep Knowledge. The latter can also boost the of Isengard Messenger.

Merry, Gandalf, and Smoke Rings should have little difficulty compensating for the threat increases from Deep Knowledge and can usually keep this deck in the low 20's.

Lastly Henamarth Riversong & Rumour from the Earth provide repeatable encounter deck scrying to help Treebeard & Merry decide whether to commit to the quest; at least until their readying attachments come into play. In any case, a little encounter scrying never hurts.

CARDS BY FUNCTION

3 Resource Acceleration/Cost Discount: Good Meal

12 Card Drawing: Pippin, Gandalf, Gléowine, Hobbit Pipe, The Long Defeat, Deep Knowledge

5 Card Recycling: Erebor Hammersmith, Galadhrim Weaver

6 Threat Reduction: Merry, Gandalf, Smoke Rings

1 Equipping: Bilbo Baggins

0 Mustering:

9 Willpower Boost: Treebeard, Isengard Messenger, Miruvor, Smoke Rings

1 Attack Boost: Treebeard

1 Defense Boost: Arwen Undómiel

3 Hit Point Boost: Ent Draught

2 Encounter Scrying: Henamarth Riversong, Rumour from the Earth

2 Treachery Control: A Test of Will

2 Shadow Control: Hasty Stroke

2 Direct Damage: Gandalf

7 Readying: Quickbeam, Fast Hitch, Miruvor, Unexpected Courage

8 Healing: Healing Herbs, The Long Defeat, Lore of Imladris

0 Condition Control: Power of Orthanc (optional)