It was unlikely when they awoke that Bilbo Baggins, Frodo Baggins, and Pippin planned to spend their day fighting fires, dodging Orcs, and saving villagers. Yet, their good and curious natures dictated that when they saw the first signs of smoke on the horizon, they had to investigate, and then, discovering the villagers in need of aid, they had to do what they could to help.
Still, these Hobbit heroes are no warriors like the Men of Gondor, so the deck plays to their unique strengths. Hobbits are talented at “the art of disappearing swiftly and silently,” and this deck pairs their low-starting threat and several threat-reduction cards with three copies of Hobbit-sense and a number of Secrecy effects that help them avoid enemies long enough to save some villagers and get quickly out of Amon Dîn!
Designed for experienced players in search of new challenges, the deck presents a unique play experience. Whereas most decks strike a balance between questing, defending against enemies, and mounting counter-attacks, this deck focuses primarily on questing and avoiding attacks. Both Hobbit-sense and Out of Sight allow these Hobbits to avoid the enemies engaged with them, and the deck is full of card draw effects, as well as Will of the West, to help you cycle through them. If all works according to plan, you’ll be able to optionally engage an enemy each engagement phase and then, during the combat phase, hide from all those enemies sniffing at your trail.
If things don’t work exactly to plan, Pippin can bounce an enemy back to the staging after it engages you, and Frodo can absorb some damage, converting it to threat. Plus, there’s always the chance that Gandalf will show up to help out. He is, after all, fond of Hobbits.
- Uncredited. Posted to the FFG website 6/17/13