Introduction

Card games are a unique creative medium, which allow those who play them to express themselves in a somewhat restricted way. I think we've all experienced a point where we transition from playing "a deck" to "my deck", once we feel confident enough to venture outside the confines of the 4 core set decks. This deck is the evolution of my first successful solo deck (yes, I probably made some variant of the Aragorn-Theodred-Denethor deck, but that doesn't count. This is my second favorite solo deck to use. It can beat most of my solo-playable quests (untested against Journey Down the Anduin; protip: threat raising against the Hill Troll is a bad strategy). It is extreamly reliant on Treebeard, but it has a pretty good win rate. Sadly, now that I have Boromir, this deck isn't nearly as good as my doomed deck.

Pre-game

What to Bring in From the Sideboard

• [Power of Orthanc](/card/07014) in quests with condition attachments
• [Waters of Nimrodel](/card/08145) is used for quests with bombs of direct damage (Rockslide from Emyn Muil, Wasted Provisions...) where I need healing as quickly as possible.

Optional Cards

• [Gandalf](/card/01073) if you want more threat reduction, though he is a bit expensive
• [Lórien's Wealth](/card/01064) if you want more consistency, though once again, it is rather expensive
• [A Test of Will](/card/01050) is a card I love to see, but hate to rely on. As such, I don't use it in the deck, but it is definitely a valid option

Gameplay

Starting hand

You'll want to mulligan for Treebeard, for the deck cannot attack without him. The only exception is for quests where you desperately need willpower fast (To Catch an Orc or The Antlered Crown for example), at which point Isengard Messenger, Galadriel's Handmaiden, and Celebrían's Stone are great. Quite possibly the best starting hand you can get is Treebeard, 2 Isengard Messangers, and Ever Vigilant. If you don't get Treebeard in your starting hand, you can use Ithilien Lookout to discard any enemies waiting to pounce on you.

Early Game

The early game is where you want to get a competent board state rolling. Once you're set up, it can be extremely difficult for the encounter deck to break through you.

What to Play in the Early Game

• 8 or more : I've found that 8 is a good amount of to start with, and it doesn't take the deck long to build up to that. Some quests, such as the aforementioned To Catch an Orc and the Antlered Crown require more.
• Reliable defending: Once you drop a [Dúnedain Warning](/card/02026) or [Self Preservation](/card/01072) on [Erkenbrand](/card/08137), or play a copy of [Daughter of the Nimrodel](/card/01058), you are basically immortal when it comes to defending. (So long as you don't get engaged with too many enemies)
• 6 or more : 6 is a magic number I've found. This deck has a fair number of 2 allies, so you can drop three of those. However, you will usually want to drop Treebeard and some 2 ally instead, as then you are combat ready on turn 2 (on easy mode)

You should spam card draw effects until your board state is set up, at which point you transition into the mid game.

Mid Game

The mid game is where you focus on maintaining your board state and slowly building up your power.

What to Play in the Mid Game

• 10 or more : I've found that 10-12 allows you to bust through locations without much problem, and anything more could be a waste if some obligatory "deal 1 damage to each exhausted character" is revealed, killing allies who you needed for the late game.
• 8 or more : 8 or 9 can kill most non-boss enemies, and Treebeard's built in readying can help kill multiple enemies per turn.
• Threat reduction: this is where your threat starts to get a bit on the high side. You may want to play more conservatively with Grima, or start dropping [Gandalf](/card/01073) or [The Galadhrim's Greeting](/card/01046).

Once this state is reached, it is time to transition to the late game.

Late Game

By now, Erkenbrand is usually immortal, locations are not a problem, and Treebeard is chopping enemies like firewood. There isn't much you need to play, but you will usually have tons of resources saved up, so feel free to play your entire hand if need be.

Conclusion

Sadly, this deck's high cost curve and over-reliance on Treebeard makes it rather inferior to my doomed deck. Though I won't use it very often, it serves as a reminder of how far I've come in this game, from the fledgling Grima-Theodred-Elenor deck I first envisioned when I ordered The Voice of Isengard from Amazon, to the completed deck presented here. Feel free to share your thoughts and questions about the deck in the comments below: I really appreciate the feedback!

About the name

My Calculus III professor spoke English as a secondary language. As such, he spoke English well, but some of his word choices were different from what most people would choose. When he assigned homework, rather that asking his students to "work by yourself", he said "do your homework alone and lonely". He had a strange sense of humor. Seeing as this deck is pretty antisocial in multiplayer, I decided this was an appropriate deck name.