Out of Retirement 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

Due to time restraints of real life, the best way for me to get LotR LCG to the table is to play 1 handed solo. I have begun a new campaign since acquiring Mountain of Fire at Gen Con. I created this deck with a desire to utilize Bilbo Baggins. His card draw ability is convenient in 1h solo, and this deck has been a lot of fun to play! Rosie Cotton helps make any Hobbit better and the same is true with Bilbo. Partnered up with his old friend Gandalf and the powerful Glorfindel, Bilbo finds himself, singing to victory more often then mourning in defeat. I hope you all enjoy this decklist and give it a shot!

Piloting Instructions

I like to mulligan for the Wizard Pipe, but Light of Valinor is always a welcome sight. Bilbo Baggins is the target for all songs and Steward of Gondor if it comes up, because I actually use him as a quester, for he is pretty powerful if you can get him a Fireside Song.

Since the deck does not run multiple copies of many of these cards, Master of the Forge can be used to help fetch the attachments. One of which, I like to grab early is Expert Treasure-hunter to throw on either Bilbo Baggins or Glorfindel both of whom I use as questing characters. This helps ramp up the card draw even further.

Rosie can come into play either using Gandalf and his ability, Song of Kings or Narya. She will get 1 Fast Hitch and Bilbo gets the other. I mainly use her ability to feed some more after encounter cards are revealed, and if Bilbo has a fast hitch, you could hold her ability back, to boost up Bilbo's stats during the combat phase.

Gandalf is used in this deck with his normal wizarding shenanigans. I am going to assume most know a little bit of how to handle the Wizard's ability instead of going into details here. As far as his participation in the game, I primarily use him as a defender. Giving him as much action advantage and Dúnedain Warnings as I can muster. He can also attach A Burning Brand if it is played from the top of the deck.

Campaign Experience

I have been playing this deck through campaign and it has performed really well. Friend of Friends makes it in from the sideboard to go on Frodo Baggins. It has been able to go through The Black Riders and The Road Darkens with only 1 loss, which occurred in A Flight to the Ford because of an insane encounter deck combo. I beat Journey in the Dark by rush questing to avoid the Balrog, rather than go for the kill.

Tech it Out

Quests within this game need to be specifically built for at times. I have found when deck tech has been necessary the core of the deck can remain the same while adding some options to help beat a specific scenario. Because Gandalf sphere matches any card from the top of the deck, this is a possibility with this deck without making too many changes.