HobBears 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

Now here is a deck that I like. It is not the strongest and needs a few turns to get going, but it worked consistently so far.

First of all, note it is a Last Alliance of Beornings and Hobbits.

Why is that awesome?

Getting allies out

• Beornings are cheaper and may profit from Tom Cotton's 1st round attack boost (and don't require a resource match, if engaged with high EC enemy)
• Weak Hobbits all have 2 HP so they are ideal targets to take some damage through Osbera. And since most are unique, you will eventually have a replacement at hand.
• If you don't, you can still grab Hobbits and Beornings from the discard pile with Birna or out of your deck with Raise the Shire. My favorite way of cheating in allies is through playing There and Back Again on a sneaky Beorn, but that of course requires some luck.
• Rosie can help Osbera attacking for 5, with Merry for 6 and with Halfling Determination up to 8! (Yeah, there are stronger combinations but this works for a lot of scenarios.) The Frodo/Rosie combo is superb, and if her dress is tightened by a Fast Hitch she assists everwhere.

Resource acceleration

There is no direct resource acceleration. Frodo Baggins's and Osbera's ability require you to spend a resource, so Beorn's Welcome is... well, most welcome in your starting hand. It must be mentioned that Birna's and the Beorning Pony's abilities also trigger this. If you have managed to get some good damage on a snuck in Beorn, Descendants of Beorn gives you ultimate resource acceleration, but I left this in the sideboard for quests with long build up to a heavy end boss.

Card draw

Daeron's Runes gives you all you need, as you have many ways of getting allies in. The Pony and Raise the Shire are also some kind of enhanced card draw.

Healing

As you want to make use of Osbera's strength, you want many damaged allies, but that requires healing. Half-pint worked fine for me, but if you need something stronger, it's gonna be at least one Self Preservation on Tom Cotton.

Defence

With Osbera's damage cancellation, Tom will be strong on his own for quite a few turns. Boots from Erebor may help out and in dire need, Osbera can take over. If that shouldn't be enough, give him a Hobbit Cloak or let his sister help him out.

Enemies

You want a high EC enemy engaged with you, but you are not so much depending on it like the Dúnedain. With 25 starting threat, there are almost always some harmless creatures or orcs that you can keep around for playing and send home after a turn or two. To get rid of the nasty ones an Unseen Strike can be executed.

Sideboard

Finally, the Pony opens up for some discard mechanic in the good ol' Dwarven manner with A Very Good Tale and Hidden Cache. If you got sidequests in the encounter, Halfast Gamgee should not miss to see play with his light resource acceleration. If you find yourself drawing unwanted cards, a Protector of Lórien is a good option to get the missing on Frodo or for damage control on Tom. A Good Harvest might provide you the opportunity to play an ally in the first round, Rosie in the best case.

Drawbacks

This deck is, as many before them, weak in the first few turns. It doesn't have the recommended starting willpower, which is only partially amended by Frodo's ability. But if you get Rosie and one of Beorn's Welcomes early on you should be fine.

I do not have the Ered Mithrin cycle yet, so no Beorning Skin-changer for me, but if you have some other recommendations, I am grateful.