#5 Conflict at the Carrock 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

Winning deck.

Constraints:

• Solo, single-handed deck.
• Only use cards published at the time of release (strict progression style).

Main ideas behind the deck: go slowly to the Carrock and gather a large enough force before facing the mighty trolls.

This solo deck is not super easy to "drive": it did win, but on turn… 22! Here are some useful considerations for piloting this deck:

• Gandalf is best used in conjunction with Born Aloft, if possible: this allows his power to be used more times: this is especially important, in a long game.
• Quick Strike is more powerful if the attack strength is concentrated on a single character: each use of the strike suffers from the defense of the enemy. This is ideally a wounded Gimli, with two Dwarven Axe, a couple of Dúnedain Mark, and even maybe a Citadel Plate.
• Once at the Carrock, Louis is a major hurdle: 3 threat when any Troll attacks. He must be killed swiftly. This is where Quick Strike and a single very strong character play a role.
• Multiple Beorning Beekeeper can be very useful, precisely when the four Carrock trolls arrive: dealing multiple damage to these 4-defense creatures is a good start. When they can then be finished off in a single strike by a very strong character, it's even better.
• Rupert must also be contained quickly: he shuffles Sacked! cards back in an encounter deck that can be quite thin, because of the deck strategy. This is where Forest Snare is key.
• Feint can also be very useful for sparing allies when the trolls come in, while waiting for the Forest Snare to trap them.
• Henamarth Riversong is very helpful for scouting and dosing exactly how much willpower should be invested so as to not get to the Carrock too quickly.
• The deck is also quite short in willpower. #Gandalf can be used for this. Defense can be handled by Winged Guardian or Grimbeorn.

Key abilities of this deck, starting with the most important ones:

1. Resource generation. This is useful for gathering as many allies as possible before meeting the trolls. ⇒ Leadership.
2. Card draw. This is useful for having enough allies. ⇒ Lore.
3. Threat management. This can keep the trolls at bay a little longer while gathering forces. ⇒ Lore or Spirit.
4. Direct damage and attack/hulking. The trolls are really tough. ⇒ Tactics.
5. Defense/tanking. The trolls hit hard. ⇒ Tactics sphere.
6. Readying. This can help both defend and attack in the most efficient way. ⇒ Leadership or Spirit.
7. Healing. This should only be useful for the heroes, because the allies are typically too weak to withstand the troll's attacks. ⇒ Lore.

Some cards that could be key for the scenario—but may not always be included in the deck because of constraints—, starting with those that seem to be more important:

1. No need for too much willpower (so no Éowyn), as we want to be super cautious and approach the Carrock slowly.
2. Forest Snare is very good at containing the attacks from the trolls.
3. Gimli is probably the toughest hero in the card set so far, so it is a key card. The Citadel Plate is very good with Gimli.
4. Gandalf is very good for assigning direct damage.Born Aloft is good for getting him back quickly.
5. Bilbo Baggins is good for getting more possible allies.
6. The large force (and some key cards) can be gathered more quickly with the resources from Steward of Gondor.
7. Henamarth Riversong controls the questing level and therefore the pace of the approach. It is also good for maximizing the damage that can be done each time, by controlling the questing level.
8. Gléowine is good for finding some of the key cards above.
9. Winged Guardian should so good at absorbing the huge damage from the trolls!
10. Rain of Arrows with a Ranged character like Horseback Archer could be very useful for dealing significant damage in one go.
11. Unexpected Courage can be very useful for handling the 4 trolls at the same time, by allowing characters to both defend and attack (or quest and defend, etc.).
12. The Galadhrim's Greeting or Gandalf can help keep the trolls at bay while gathering forces.
13. Dúnhere is useful so as to soften up the trolls before they find us, but because the unique trolls have 2 defense when in the staging area, he is mostly useful if he becomes stronger. That's where the Dúnedain Mark could help.

Spheres:

• Given the toughness (defense and hit points) of the trolls, weapons seem to be a must, and they are mostly found in the Tactics cards, so this seems to call for this sphere as the main sphere. Gimli is also important for the chosen strategy. Finally, the Citadel Plate combos well with Gimli but is so costly that adding a second Tactics hero seems useful. This is useful for the Winged Guardian.
• Bilbo Baggins and Forest Snare are very important to the strategy, so Lore must be included too.
• Being able to field many allies is key too, so Steward of Gondor is important. Should this call for a Leadership hero, thereby creating a 3-sphere deck? This makes resource management harder. This deck choses instead to include Song of Kings.