Miners of Thror 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

This is a multiplayer combat-focused Dwarf mining deck. It aims to play Ring of Thrór and get attachments into free. I originally built it for a 3-player semi-thematic playthrough of the Hobbit saga quests, and have been using it more generally since then.

Short summary: Aim for 2 or more defenses per round with Dáin Ironfoot, 2 attacks with a powered-up Gimli, and 1-2 attacks with Thorin Oakenshield, or he can quest if needed.

Long discussion: I always look for Imladris Stargazer in the opening hand. Not having her makes the discard risky. Many important cards are here in quantities of 2 instead of 3, and you might burn through them without the Stargazer to help. Ring of Thrór is the next most important card to look for. I often play it on the first round, but in some games I waited until I had a bit more willpower on the table in companion decks before playing it.

Dáin Ironfoot gets one Armored Destrier (he will need Dúnedain Signal first) and a Ring Mail. Gimli gets both Citadel Plates. Ring of Thrór is typically on Gimli, but the board state might encourage you to put it on either of the other dwarves in some situations.

Other attachments go where the board state needs them: an early Dwarven Axe might go on either Gimli or Thorin, and just go ahead and replace it later with a Citadel Plate if it went on Gimli. The Unexpected Courage goes on anyone, depending on what you need when you draw it.
Gimli is happy to take a Vigilant Guard.

Don't forget that King Under the Mountain actually mines for you also, so it can trigger Hidden Cache. Ered Luin Miner was in this deck but, even when put into play for free, I found him to be very low impact without leadership Dáin Ironfoot in play, so I dropped him. I like keeping this deck list to 50 cards to increase your chances of seeing important cards in the first rounds of the game.

Timing is an important consideration here. This is a very decision-heavy deck. After using the Stargazer, you will want to do some planning. You can expect to ask yourself many questions such as: what can I afford to discard this turn? Do I want Dáin Ironfoot to burn through all 3 of the top cards? Or just 1 or 2, because I really want to play and draw the others? Should I wait and trigger King Under the Mountain until after I've finished discarding this round? Which card will I put into play with Ring of Thrór, and when should I trigger it -- if I want to do it before Dáin Ironfoot defends, Gimli (or Thorin) will need to quest, or take a defense.

Threat starts very high. You've got only Favor of the Valar. You can use Secret Vigil from the sideboard here, either replacing Favor of the Valar or in addition to it. Fun trick: after revealing cards during the staging step of the quest phase, but before resolving the quest, use Ring of Thrór to put Secret Vigil into play on an enemy in the staging area. You will get threat subtracted from the staging area, and then later you can kill the enemy and get its threat reduction, all in the same turn. Typically with this card you have to leave an enemy alive for a round to play it, and often you'll never benefit from the 'minus threat' ability.

The fellowship I have been teaming up with does not have any lore, so the only healing we have comes from Dúnedain Remedy. Feel free to swap that out if it's not needed. Also, Ring Mail is easy to swap with Ancestral Armor. I have Ring Mail here because one of the companion decks uses Hobbits-- Frodo Baggins in particular, who is a good target for the second copy of Ring Mail. Also, Ring Mail is easier to play than Ancestral Armor, should you draw it into your hand.

I have gone through games without using Will of the West several times, but I have also needed it.

Scenarios defeated so far in 2- and 3-player games:

-Journey Down the Anduin

-We Must Away Ere Break of Day (with Oin instead of Gimli)

-Intruders in Chetwood

-Treachery of Rhudaur

-The Road to Isengard

Losses:

-We Must Away Ere Break of Day (advanced too early; won on 2nd attempt).

-Over the Misty Mountains Grimm (literally came down to the final card. Our final card returned all Goblins to the staging area and increased their threat, adding around 25 threat to staging; we would have won with any other card being the next card in the deck).

Sideboard: Swap Gimli with either Óin or Thorin Stonehelm for lower threat. Óin makes it harder to play tactics cards early, but brings more consistency to your ability to play spirit cards -- you can get Imladris Stargazer down on turn 1. I have not tested with Thorin Stonehelm, but he would lean even more heavily into the mining mechanic. You would be more encouraged to play a second copy of the Imladris Stargazer with him in play (in the decklist above, I usually play only 1 copy). He combos well with Mighty Prowess, so that is in the sideboard. A third copy of Dúnedain Signal is there because I went through some games without getting to see one, even when mining down to the last 10 or so cards in the deck. This would improve consistency. For more early game defensive options, you can include Miruvor and Cram to ready Dáin Ironfoot. I have also used a version of this deck with Gandalf along with his toys instead of Gimli. That is very fun to play and powerful as well -- lower combat peak strength, but more overall versatility. However, it starts with 37 threat!