Mining with my elven friends 1.0

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• 1.0

My best build of a mining deck. This deck is basically a support deck. It is built to keep fairly low threat while playing test of will and sneak attack Gandalf to nuke enemies. It can do each of these things up to 12 times per game with Will of the West. It contributes a decent amount of willpower to the quest, and it has a few sentinels (plus Legolas for ranged) to help with combat.

One can move through the deck pretty quickly. Between Galadriel, A Very Good Tale, Zigil Miners, King Under the Mountain, Gandalf, and Unlikely Friendship, it is possible to completely empty the deck in only a few turns. That is where the fun begins. Once through, the 2nd run through the deck (thanks to Will of the West) is a much more concentrated version. Imagine having only a 20-30 card deck filled with Gandalf, Sneak Attack, Test of Will, and a few threat reducing events (plus some extra allies and things that were missed the first time). The third and fourth runs are even more concentrated (if the game lasts that long).

Galadriel is typically used for draw early on. Later in the game, she is typically used for Nenya or to help teammates.

Legolas is actually great in the deck. He can discard from hand cards like Hidden Cache or Ered Luin Miner that may be picked up in subsequent runs through the deck.

There is so much card draw that most opening hands are playable. Getting at least one Zigil Miner and at least 1 dwarf pipe in play as early as possible is key. Keeping those is advisable, but a hand full of Unlikely Friendships, Sneak Attack & Gandalf, or Erebor Guards and A Very Good Tale can be just as good. Since it is a support deck, A Test of Will is nice to see to start off as well.

The allies are not especially powerful, but they are still useful. Ered Luin Miners are great chump blockers since they will often find their way back into play for free anyhow. The team gives a decent amount of willpower/bodies for sailing. The guards can typically take a few attacks as well.

The toughest part of the playing the deck is knowing what is left in the deck. Keeping an eye on the discard pile/one's hand reveals what should be guessed for Zigil Miner. Typically, it will be "0", but also sometimes "1" or "3." It is also important to remember what has been placed on the bottom of the deck with Dwarf Pipe since some of them may be desirable to draw and others may be desirable to discard.