How Gimli Got His Groove Back 1.0

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• 1.0

Gimli was a typical Dwarf trying to figure out his place in life. Then, a zany road trip with 8 of his best friends led him to the love of his life, Galadriel. But their love was forbidden, and he had to leave her behind...

Now, after 10 years of living in his parents' basement, Gimli (played by Seth Rogen) is determined to find the one that got away. Accompanied by his #1 wingman Bifur (Zach Galifianakas) and the cooky old man from down the street (Christopher Walken), Gimli sets out on a new quest - to get his groove back! The trio climb the Misty Mountains and pass through Fangorn, where they share a draught with Quickbeam (voiced by Vin Diesel). When Gimli stumbles across Galadriel (Elizabeth Banks), she makes him feel like a new man. But she can't stay and has to return to the Golden Wood. Will Gimli catch her at the airport as she's boarding her international flight? Or will he end up falling for the awkward-yet-sexy girl that everyone makes fun of (Tauriel, played by Anna Kendrick)? Find out next summer in this fantastical Rom Com!

Okay, actual deck talk now...

Some of the new cards like Ered Luin Miner and Master Ironsmith got me thinking about a mining deck that focuses on Well-Equipped. After trying a few combinations, I decided to make it an attachment-heavy Gimli deck. With the mining theme, you need to have some scrying to set up the Hidden Cache, Well-Equipped, and Ered Luin Miner. Gandalf hero and Stargazers didn't really interest me, so I instead focused on Galadriel ally. Not only does she set up the mining, but she can also put attachments in for free.

I went back and forth about the leadership hero. Gloin felt more thematic, but it's weird having both Gloin and Gimli because then you have to decide which one will get the Citadel Plates and Self Preservations. Instead I chose Denethor for that slot, mainly because his 3 resources allow you to play Galadriel on turn 1. If the theme bothers you, go ahead and swap Gloin back in.

Aggressively mulligan for Galadriel in your starting hand. The ideal combo is her and Well-Equipped, but Ered Nimrais Prospector can work if you don't have the Well-Equipped. Play Galadriel and grab an attachment (~90% chance of hitting something useful). Then if you see any Hidden Cache or Ered Luin Miner, you can set them up for your mining cards. It's not crazy to grab Self Preservation or Unexpected Courage with Galadriel, then set up a Citadel Plate to play for free via Well-Equipped. If you catch a Hidden Cache, you can even put the resources on Gimli to play a Master Ironsmith and drop in another Citadel Plate for free! With this scenario, you have 2 Citadel Plates, Self Preservation or Unexpected Courage, and an ally on turn 1. Then let Gimli take some undefended attacks and he will be swinging for 10 in no time!

If you don't see an early Galadriel, hopefully you at least have King Under the Mountain or Daeron's Runes to start digging for her. If you are feeling adventurous, you can try a blind Well-Equipped. It has about a 2/3 chance of hitting an attachment and 1/4 chance of hitting one of your mining targets. Blind mining with the Ered Nimrais Prospector can be productive because you might hit a mining target, and having attachments in your discard pile is good for Erebor Hammersmith and Master Ironsmith. Captain's Wisdom and Heir of Mardil usually go on Denethor to get bursts of resources for more Galadriels or some of the attachments. Steward of Gondor can go on Gimli or Denethor (depending on the situation), then Bifur can steal their extra resources.

The weakness with this deck is definitely questing. Hopefully you can pair it with a more questy deck, but if not you can use Grappling Hook to get a burst of 10+ questing from Gimli. Or, you can put in Faramir (played by Owen Wilson) to get sustained willpower. Quickbeam is mostly there for the Ent Draughts, although you don't even need him if you use Galadriel or Well-Equipped.

Ered Nimrais Prospector and King Under the Mountain are great for hitting the Hidden Cache and Ered Luin Miners. The Prospectors also let you recycle Galadriels. I originally had A Very Good Tale, but it's difficult to keep a high enough ratio of attachments (for Well-Equipped) and allies (for AVGT). Plus, several of the allies (Galadriel, Master Ironsmith, Erebor Hammersmith) aren't as effective if you don't play them from hand. Also, I found that the deck emptied pretty quickly with AVGT. So, I cut them and expanded the deck a bit over 50 cards.

Give it a try and let me know how it goes!