I would just like to say that Fatty Bolger as a character is getting a major upgrade, thanks to A Long Extended Party. He deserves it.

I always thought about this card as a fun gimmick card, but he can be incredible in a Dúnedain deck, although for some reason I never considered him in this context. Go with Thurindir as one of your heroes, grab Send for Aid, quest hard, get your Vigilant friend out (even without a Tactics hero) and start defending everything. Wild Stallion and Arwen Undómiel are really helpful for him, and an Ent Draught doesn’t do harm, either. He will allow you to stay engaged with a LOT of enemies, giving you all the Dúnedain boosts you need. I started using him now, and once he is out, combat is no longer an issue!

I think an errata with "Setup: reduce your threat by 1 for each other player in the game" (that would make him a 6-cost heros in a 4-player fellowship) could make him shine more, and open more Secrecy builds.

I think the Long Lake Fisherman deserves a place outside a Dale deck.

Yes, you can have a 2 non-unique ally for 2, but only with 1 . So his stats are decent, and he can also serve as a chump blocker if needed (without risking an undefended attack on a "deal one damage to defending character" shadow).

His response is what makes him really good. It's not as good as Heed the Dream, but usually you are looking for a specific card (usually a 3× card that you didn't get after mulligan, hello Steward of Gondor) and getting anything else would be as bad as whiffing.

He can even replace Weather Hills Watchman (must signal cards cost 1) or Odo Proudfoot (most of hobbit allies cost 2).

I think Bilbo can be one of the most powerful Hobbit heroes, if you use him correctly.

People can't stand Bilbo because of his 9 threat cost and terrible stats, and that is very understandable, but if you have him in a one-player Hobbit deck he can be very useful. Hobbits rely on their deck, and drawing 2 cards a round can, in some cases, be crucial. Plus, 9 threat won't be a problem if your other heroes have a total of 12-15, and his 2 defense is only beaten by Tom Cotton, which is really good for those weak Hobbits. There is a ton of cards you can give him, personally I would give him Hobbit Cloak, A Burning Brand, Protector of Lórien, and...

Thorongil. This is an epic card to put on Bilbo if you are using him in a normal deck and want questing power. He can easily quest 3-5, and deal damage to enemies as well.

There are instances where you can use him in a normal deck.

Say you are playing with Aragorn, Éowyn and Bilbo. That's a total threat of 30, which isn't bad at all, and to start you quest with Éowyn and Aragorn, readying Aragorn after he quests. Soon, though, you have Éowyn defending with Golden Shield, and Bilbo questing with boosters and Thorongil. Plus, it shouldn't take too long to get those attachments because of Bilbo's effect.

Overall, I would give Bilbo a 6/10 score, mostly due to his effinciency in Hobbit decks. He is definetly not one of the worst heroes in the game, far from it, way better than Pippin, Bombur or Dori (Sadly).