Raise the Shire 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

Time to Raise the Shire! For a long time I have tried to find a Hobbit Deck that could hold it's own in combat without relying on the standard Hobbit lineup (Sam/Merry/Pippin). This in large part due to my wife's deck that she usually runs consisting of that specific lineup, locking those heroes off to me.

With a little help from AleP's contract department, I finally have such a deck!

Main Goal

This deck is largely counting on At the End of All Things, The Riddle-game and Sting to guarantee I have a strong opening against any enemies coming my way. With those cards all down, Tom Cotton starts with a mighty 5 defense, and the ability to damage any enemy he defends with stings response power. From there, the goal is to build up a decent board state consisting of the various other hobbits, as well as stacking as many readying effects (Fatty Lumpkin, Fast Hitch) to Tom as possible so he can defend against any and all threats that show up. By the end of the game, Tom should be sporting a 6 defense (8 if Rosie targets it) that deals 2 damage to any attackers (thank you Spear of the Citadel and the ability to swing back for 4 (6 if Rosie targets that) and one bonus hit from Sting.

Opening Hand

The nice thing with this deck is the opening hand isn't as important as for most other decks. There is no one card that makes this deck work that doesn't start the game in play. That being said, try and find any readying you can as the strength of this deck is based on how much Tom gets to do. Also keep in mind that Hungry Creature loves to eat hobbits, so you want to play a bit conservatively early on to make sure you can answer the riddles as they come up. It is a nice feature that only 2 riddles must be answered correctly since The Riddle-game is easier for a hobbit hero than anyone else. Keep in mind that this deck does have a ready built in to At the End of All Things, you just need to hurt nob. This can be dangerous given the inability to heal until the contract flips, but means you can handle some tough enemies for a few rounds before being fully setup.

The Flip

After turn three, you can flip At the End of All Things and gain a bunch of resources as well as any two cards from your deck that you may be lacking. This tends to be very different cards depending on the scenario, but it is often when I find my copy or two of Friend of Friends, or more Fast Hitch or a key ally or two.

Nob

Oh right, this deck has a second hero. Nob is here largely because I needed card draw, as well as easy access to healing, both of which he provides. He is quite good early on at making sure the riddle game goes off without a hitch, and is no slouch when it comes to questing with his 3 willpower. He also can become something of a safety valve and is the usual target of the Bree Pony in case Tom takes on too many enemies, or you need one extra action to get a kill shot in, Nob is a decent secondary undefended defender.

Pairs Well With

This deck is weakest at questing, though it isn't bad at it. It pairs well with decks that tend to avoid combat early on in the game in favor of questing. Incidentally, this means it pairs quite well with my wife's hobbit deck!