Spirit Pippin Attempt 1.0

• Versions
• 2.0
• 1.0

would cut:

• Elrond's Counsel is only playable when Arwen Undómiel is out so mostly a dead card
• Ranger Spikes nice to have but with only 1 lore-hero and no discount to expensive
• Poisoned Stakes for same reason
• Thorongil at least 2. it have not soo much use here, lore-pipin is nice and lore-bilbo too but usually not worth 3 res
• Small Target sounds like a very thematic card but i never saw it make something in play
• 2-3 Good Meal there are only The Galadhrim's Greeting where it is worth it other events cannot be chosen (A Test of Will you hav to activate meal before and you never know when you will need the A Test of Will Shadow of the Past is neutral so no sphere) other events have only cost of 1 and that is mostly not worth it
• Jubayr when will you pay him with only 1 hero with spirit?

if u want attachments for Bilbo's Plans ability enemies take the cheap ones:

• Followed
• Ithilien Pit
• Entangling Nets or
• Outmatched

overall you should decide, if you want trap- Bilbo Baggins -support or thread-reducing-Pippin i think both is rarely going well

This deck has surprised me greatly, I've playtested it against 4 different quests from the core set and Dark of Mirkwood, and it has never lost!

I was worried that the bloated deck size would be an issue, but using Thorongil to gain access to Lore Bilbo's card draw helps a lot - so much so that I mulligan for it and pay for it turn 1. It means I can't really do anything else that turn, but with such low starting threat it isn't really an issue, and Bilbo being able to help pay for lore cards helps immensely. Master of the Forge really helps thin the deck out as well, especially with multiple copies in play or if it finds Stone of Elostirion.

Several of the combos have been much more consistent than anticipated; Arwen Undómiel+Elrond's Counsel, Good Meal+The Galadhrim's Greeting, and the pair of Friend of Friends have all been easy to pull off (Drinking Song has helped with that, sometimes letting me shuffle around 9-10 cards at a time. In that sense, the extra copies of unique cards are actually very helpful in surfacing what I need).

I was worried that Pippin wouldn't really contribute anything beyond his low threat and access to spirit, but I have found that he's incredibly helpful against troll enemies. With Henamarth Riversong in play, it's pretty easy to use Pippin to get an Ithilien Pit onto a troll up in the staging area. From there, it's not hard to defeat them, as this deck can muster up a surprising amount of attack power.

Jubayr can be hard to afford, as I usually put all my copies of Resourceful on Bilbo, but A Good Harvest helps with that. Once Arwen is online, he just gets even better.

Cards I'm considering cutting:

• Mirkwood Runner doesn't actually do much. The attack power is nice, but mostly unnecessary.
• I haven't ever used the Shadow of the Past and Small Target combo. This deck is rarely engaged with multiple enemies, and even when it is Gaffer Gamgee and Feint generally achieve what the combo is intended to.
• I've only used Elevenses once. It did get me back into secrecy though, so there's that.
• 1 copy of Fast Hitch? Folco Boffin and Bilbo enjoy questing and then readying for the combat phase, but Bilbo doesn't really need to both defend and attack. I will say, the extra Hitch is helpful against conditions that prevent readying.
• 1 copy of Master of the Forge. The 3rd copy helps find it faster, but after a while they just kinda sit there.
• I've yet to use Mithril Shirt for its effect, but its guarded keyword has been helpful in avoiding treacheries scouted out by Henamarth Riversong.
• Poisoned Stakes is less useful than the other traps.

Cards I'm considering adding:

• 1 or 2 copies of Bilbo's Plan. I completely forgot this card existed until @doomguardmentioned it above. Some location control would be helpful.
• 1 copy of Steed of Imladris would help with location control and give the extra copies of unique cards something to do once both copies of Drinking Song are used up
• 1 copy of Miner of the Iron Hills, for those conditions that I just can't avoid.

Forgot to include Defender of Rammas as cards I'm considering cutting. They usually don't have anything to defend, and sometimes just contribute their attack. Largely, they've just been sitting there after being played.