Dwarven Disdain 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

I set out with a goal of creating a solo Bond of Friendship "control 5 dwarves" deck since they seem tailormade for each other. I also wanted to avoid Dáin Ironfoot since I always use him, although I would freely admit that he would fit this deck perfectly and improve it a lot.

I really enjoy the deck that this is based on and would recommend it to anyone, but I wanted to use Balin just because I love him so much. In fact Balin fits really well here, his lower threat than Thorin Oakenshield allows this deck to run a bit slower, and there aren't a lot of Leadership resources necessary so you can afford his important ability.

Balin is your primary defender and should get Ring Mail and Dwarven Shield. It's worth mulliganing for one or the other depending on the quest, otherwise mulligan for Erebor Record Keeper or a way to play a 5th dwarf on turn 1 (A Good Harvest) or turn 2 at the latest.

Otherwise the deck plays as what you would expect. Play as many dwarves as you can, cheat them in with Very Good Tale. Questing can take a while to get going but combat is very strong, even if needing a couple chump blocks before Balin is set up.

I've played this as a thematic (if you pretend Thorin Stonehelm is Thorin Oakenshield) deck through the 3 Over Hill and Under Hill quests and won all 3 handily, even with the riddles. Also have defeated Intruders in Chetwood.

The sideboard is there in case you'd rather try the Bombur/Thorin combo. There's also pieces for specific quests that have tough locations, condition attachments, etc.