Thorin and Company: a thematic solo deck for The Hobbit 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

Very nice! I'm trying to build one of these right now. I wish there were allies for Óin and Nori. I thought about two handing it and using Gandalf as a hero but there aren't enough cards to fill both decks and keep all allies 100% thematic!

After getting frustrated with the first quest with the trolls, the key to using this deck effectively is knowing what strategy to use. Here's the best way to deal with this quest:

Build up your dwarf allies during Stage 1. Have at least 5 of them out on the table. It's a bonus if you have Troll Camp in the staging area so that Bilbo can remove sacks.

When you get to Stage 2, after the trolls engage you, make sure to never put them back in the staging area. It's worth raising your threat to keep them engaged because it will be harder to quest successfully. It's also important to NEVER try to attack the trolls or put damage on them with Gandalf. It's easier to just let the encounter deck run out and turn them to stone to win the game.

When Gandalf is played, use him to reduce your threat only. Always quest with your heroes. Having Longbeard Elder out to look at the top card of the encounter deck is a godsend because this lets you plan your questing strategy. He's much better than Henamarth Riversong at doing that. Questing successfully will allow you to deplete the encounter deck, and be sure to use Balin's ability to get rid of a shadow effect card. Always have one resource attached to him for this purpose. It's also best to keep the Crow enemy engaged with you. It has a cheap 1 Attack which you can either take undefended or defend with an ally if you have enough available. The Crow is like an easy 1-card throwaway from the encounter deck.

As for the treasures, that's basically pot luck. So there you have it. This is the best strategy to use for the troll scenario with this deck.

Just so everybody knows, this deck is complete and total GARBAGE for the On the Doorstep hobbit expansion. You'll need a different deck than this one!!

@pd187540If you look at the posts on the blog he linked you can see he actually did use this deck to beat the first two quests of On the Doorstep, so it's entirely doable. That you had a different experience does not invalidate the deck.

Why no very good tale? Don't need the ally acceleration?

The bigger issue in uniqueness conflicts. All of my allies are unique, and I'm running multiple copies of each of them, so AVGT has a decent chance of whiffing. There's enough card draw in the deck that I can draw through most or all of my deck, so discarding 3-5 cards can be a real disadvantage. With Thorin's ability, resource smoothing and bonuses (such as Glóin's), and the pre-errata We Are Not Idle/Lure of Moria combo, I wasn't looking for more ally acceleration. After the WANI errata, however, the deck might want more resources/put into play effects.

That makes great sense, thanks! looking fwd to trying this out (finally playing the Hobbit boxes). I even made custom Oin and Nori allies (subbed their art for LMM and LE) for the deck

i've had the hardest time trying to beat quest 1 solo. i'll give this deck a shot next time i attempt it. thanks.