Gloin, Not Broken 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

This is a weird deck. I’ll say that right off the bat. Normally, when playing Erestor, you don’t make the deck tri-sphere. Normally, when playing Glóin, you want to boost up his to ridiculous levels to generate tons of resources, instead of defending with him, risking death. Normally, when playing Legolas, you want cool weapons and events like Foe-hammer to get cards and bonuses. And you certainly shouldn’t base a deck on 2 cards that you can’t even pay for before they’re discarded. How does this deck even work?

Essentially, this is a Gloin deck with some weird twists to it. No Citadel Plate or Ent Draughts, just a lone copy of Boots from Erebor that you may or may not draw. Instead, the deck aims to get a Dwarven Shield (or two) onto Gloin, letting him defend and take just enough damage not to kill him. He gets some resources, along with an additional one from the Shield, then you heal the damage off of him. Next resource phase, he can send his resources wherever they are needed via Errand-rider. Typically, they go to other players, though if you’ve drawn an influx of “high cost” cards, they are sometimes needed for your own deck (like, 2 Wardens in one round is the worst that’s ever happened to me).

The only problem with this setup is that the Shield costs 2, and we have but one meager hero, leaving us unable to play the Shield (or the Warden) if either are drawn on the first turn. So, 9 resource acceleration cards are included in the deck: 3 copies each of We Are Not Idle, Unlikely Friendship and Legacy of Númenor. Of these, Legacy is the most potent and should be mulliganed for, especially since the first hand, containing ten cards, can be tricky to play without the resource boost Legacy provides.

Situations that might/will pop up:

Multiple enemies attack: This is something I took into account heavily when constructing the deck. The easiest, most repeatable solution is Heir of Mardil, giving Gloin an extra defense each turn (or allowing him to pitch in attack if there’s only one enemy). However, Lembas and Snowbourn Scout are also options, though you may want to save the scout for...

High enemy: Some enemies have 6 attack or more, and Gloin just can’t defend them without risking/ guaranteeing death. So, chump with your scout. If this option is unavailable, Anfalas Herdsman is a good alternative.

Need to kill multiple enemies: Again, the deck has solutions for this. Legolas can use Rohan Warhorse to ready once after killing an enemy, and Knights of the Swan with the Anfalas Herdsmen provide excellent attack late-game. As such, they should be prioritized over things like Lembas and Dagger of Westernesse if you’re short on resources.

(Main issue) Questing: Remember how I said resources tend to go to other players? Yeah, those coins fund questing allies around the board, because this deck just doesn’t do the whole questing thing. Send Erestor for 2 every round if you’re interested.

Finally, you might want to advise that other players bring some form of threat reduction. Legacy of Numenor may be a great early-game boost, but you might regret that bomb turn if you get swarmed with enemies you have to engage immediately afterward. In games I’ve played, Galadriel has generally been enough to keep the ship afloat, but Merry or Loragorn with Desperate Alliance also works.

Enjoy the deck!