Love of the Halfling's Leaf 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

Gandalf, my old friend, this will be a night to remember.

Pipes: This deck makes fantastic use of Smoke and Think along with the pipes for hobbits, dwarves, and wizards. Bilbo Baggins is chosen as the MOTK ally (though if he is drawn into hand, Arwen Undómiel works just fine as a substitute). Once Bilbo Baggins enters play, he searches for Wizard Pipe (or Hobbit Pipe/Dwarf Pipe if that is already in hand). In total, there are 7 pipes in the deck. The Spare Pipe can go on just about anyone, but Dáin Ironfoot is typically the first target for extra hit points. The pipes are all functional in this deck. Wizard Pipe is key to swap the top card that you want onto the top of your deck (to then Discard with Dáin Ironfoot, play with Gandalf's ability, or mill with a Zigil Miner/Well-Equipped). The Hobbit Pipe helps to empower Smoke and Think as well as draw some cards when Smoke Rings is played later in the game. Dwarf Pipe is amazing in this deck. It should be churning through the deck quickly. Use the Dwarf Pipe to put the key pieces back on the bottom to find again. This can be key allies like Faramir in quests where high willpower is needed. It can be A Test of Will in multiplayer games where extra cancels may be needed. The Spare Pipe is a tutor for an event and helps to fuel Smoke and Think.

Smoke & Think: Smoke and Think is insane. The deck will start with a pipe and thanks to the ability to dig through the deck quickly, it will likely have 2-3 in a turn or two. Late game, it will have 6 or 7 pipes in play. That means that by playing Smoke and Think, your next card is usually free. This can be used early game to help ramp. Mid/late game, it is typically used to help get massive allies like Glorfindel, Legolas, Firyal, and Faramir into play. When they are on the top of the deck, Gandalf provides the resource match needed to play them.

Digging: Dáin Ironfoot is probably the best defender in the game...certainly round 1. But in this deck, his ability also allows you to dig through your deck for the key pieces needed to beat a quest. As an added bonus, you can get Ered Luin Miner or trigger Hidden Cache for free. In a deck with Smoke and Think, the Hidden Cache is not quite as needed as it once was, but it still helps with the early game (as do the Ered Luin Miner).

Early game: An opening hand with a Zigil Miner is typically worth keeping. Well-Equipped is another awesome card. It can be used to get free Unexpected Courage if needed, though lining it up for Ancestral Armor is quite fun. Drop pipes into play and dig with Dáin Ironfoot & Zigil Miner for key cards.

Late game: After milling the deck once, play all of the events (Smoke Rings should reduce your threat by 6-7) and play Will of the West. At this point, it is time to dig for the Smoke and Thinks to get all the allies into play as well as always ensuring you have access to A Test of Will. Smoke Rings should be reducing threat by a massive amount, and Old Toby should be drawing about 1/3-1/2 of your deck when you play it. (Note that very late in the game, you may want to avoid playing it).

Highlights: The deck can play A Test of Will up to 9 times, and it frequently cancels. The deck can play Smoke and Think up to 9 times as well. If each use nets around 3 resources, that is 27 free resources worth of loot. The deck can block for 9, starts questing for 5, and has some ranged attack. It typically ends with lower threat than where it began.

Multiplayer: The deck typically takes the role of defender/location control/cancel. Prioritize Armor of Erebor to pick up Sentinel on Dáin Ironfoot. Shadowfax and Legolas, also become higher priorities to get some ranged attacks in. If any of the allies conflict with other players, simply swap them out. None of them are key to success; they are simply some of the strongest toolbox allies. Note that Treebeard was not included simply because he slows the ramp. Taking an extra turn to use his stats against quests like Carn Dum can be a real hindrance.

Healing: This a weakness of the deck; however, it has not typically been a problem. The first 3 damage get spread across the heroes to be healed with Old Toby. If a lot of archery is an issue, it is not a problem to let the Ered Luin Miner take the hit. They will likely come back into play for free anyhow the next time through the deck.

The Ring: This is a great candidate to run The One Ring. Put it on Dáin Ironfoot with Inner Strength to make him even more invincible.

Performance: Thus far, the deck is 2-0 vs The Land of Sorrow. It is great against Under Ash Mountains due to the Dwarf Pipes (though it does slow the digging of the deck). It also shines against The City of Ulfast since Dáin Ironfoot can handle the City Guard. Some of the willpower boosting cards (like Silver Circlet) are in there to help against Mt. Doom (as opposed to Ethir Swordsman).