I used this deck for the first quest of my Hobbit Campaign. I am going to try and keep it as thematic as possible, stemming from the 'What If?' of 'What if Saruman engaged Bilbo for the Quest for Erebor?'
Bilbo Baggins has been disturbed from his life of Comfort And Ease by a Nasty Surprise. One normal day while smoking in his garden, Bilbo was greeted by a strange figure in robes and bushy eyebrows bearing a staff. On the evening of the next day, the old man returns along with thirteen dwarves, who are seeking to employ Mr Baggins as their Burglar on their quest to reclaim the gold of Erebor from Smaug the Dragon. Saruman the White, for that is the identity of the strange man, has gathered this expedition to root out the dragon from his mountain lair, though none of the company yet know this. Something Tookish awoke in Mr Baggins despite his misgivings, and the next morning he found himself in the Company of Thorin Oakenshield, going on an adventure.
This deck revolves around getting out as many of the allies out as we can, as fast as decently possible, making the most of the '5 Dwarves' mechanic if we are able. Fili and Kili are the most obvious choices to push us over that threshold, but they are expensive. The Erebor Record Keeper is the cheapest ally in the deck, and so may be key in pushing up numbers sooner rather than later. Once there, Dwalin and Glóin provide resource acceleration and smoothing as you swell your ranks, Bofur should be used to dig out your Dwarrowdelf Axes, which will be key in slaying the Trolls.
You will need to engage the Trolls one at a time, and as late as possible. To that end Nori will drop your threat each time you play a Dwarf ally, which combines nicely with Legacy of Durin to get some card draw going as well. Otherwise, Woodmen's Clearing will be your only other source of threat reduction, though its low cost and high impact should more than make up for the scarcity of other options. Use Saruman sparingly, only when his entrance can be fully utilised by getting rid of a key enemy card, such as Troll Camp, and when you also need his high or . Do not be afraid to chump block with this list. There are multiple copies of the unique Dwarves to allow for exactly this. Playing them a second time will only increase the utility you get out of Nori and Legacy of Durin.
This deck represents the Company of Thorin Oakenshield. If you get out each unique Dwarf ally as well as both copies of Erebor Record Keeper andnthe solitary Soldier of Erebor you shall have the full tally. I have also done my best to shy away from cards that would be inappropriate to use at this stage in the Campaign, such as A Very Good Tale or King Under the Mountain, as both come later in the story.