Now up to version 34 with this deck! Recently did a MAJOR overhaul, some substantial changes. So far at least, it feels much stronger to me. I've also
discovered that a variant of this deck seems like it may be viable in a lot of different formats! More to come...
Realm of Dwarrowdelf Mk 34
Starting cards:
Ring-bearer:
Frodo, Old Bilbo's HeirRing:
The One Ring, Isildur's Bane1x
Arwen, Daughter of Elrond1x
Gimli, Son of GloinAdventure deck:
Green Dragon InnTrollshaw ForestHouse of ElrondMithril MineThe Bridge of Khazad-dumValley of the SilverlodeAnduin WilderlandShores of Nen HithoelTol BrandirFree Peoples Draw Deck:
4x
Farin, Dwarven Emissary4x
Fror, Gimli's Kinsman4x
Gloin, Friend to Thorin4x
Legolas, Greenleaf4x
Gandalf, Friend of the Shirefolk2x
Sam, Son of Hamfast2x
Thrarin, Dwarven Smith3x
Elrond, Herald to Gil-galad3x
Galadriel, Lady of the Golden Wood2x
Bounder4x
Book of Mazarbul2x
Dwarven Axe2x
Dwarven Bracers2x
Gimli's Battle Axe3x
Gimli's Helm4x
Hand Axe4x
Gwemegil4x
Sting4x
Foul Creation4x
A Wizard Is Never Late4x
Deep in Thought4x
Power According to His Stature4x
Beneath the Mountains4x
Realm of Dwarrowdelf3x
Gift of Boats4x
Shoulder to ShoulderShadow Draw Deck:
4x
Isengard Warrior4x
Orc Overseer3x
Uruk Captain3x
Uruk Raider4x
Cave Troll of Moria, Scourge of the Black Pit4x
Goblin Runner3x
Goblin Scavengers2x
Goblin Scrabbler2x
Goblin Warrior1x
The Balrog, Durin's Bane1x
The Balrog, Flame of Udun4x
Orc Ambusher2x
Orc Assassin4x
Tower Assassin4x Úlairë Cantëa,
Lieutenant of Dol Guldur2x Úlairë Enquëa, Lieutenant of Morgul
4x Úlairë Nertëa,
Messenger of Dol Guldur2x Úlairë Otsëa, Lieutenant of Morgul
3x
Goblin Scimitar4x
Saruman's Power1x
Host of Thousands4x
Hate3x
Relentless Charge3x
Their Power Is in Terror4x
Too Great and Terrible4x
Goblin Armory4x
They Are Coming4x
Seeking It Always3x
HelplessTotal Cards: 180!
Bid 3 or 4 to start, most of the time that's enough to get you in front, but not so much you're in big trouble if you don't get your site 1. Pull Sam to get those burdens off, and if it looks like you're up against corruption, keep him alive as long as you can. If you're not up against corruption, he's your early meat shield.
Priority 1 is you want to get
Realm of Dwarrowdelf out as quickly as possible, so cycle as quick as you can, play as many cards as you can. You tend to get the companions pretty quick with this deck, don't be afraid to play them out and steamroll ahead.
For quite a while I was trying various complicated means of condition discard, with Bilbo, or
Secret Sentinels, etc. Now, we're back to what's simple: Gandalf and
Deep in Thought. And once you get
Shoulder to Shoulder out,
Deep in Thought is easy.
The cornerstones of this deck are
Realm of Dwarrowdelf and
Shoulder to Shoulder. Arwen helps cycle and beat Nazgul, Legolas snipes, Dwarfs tank up, your Elf allies heal, and on you go. The only weakness is
Saruman's Power, so if you think you're facing that, just move as quick as you can, and try to keep an extra Realm in hand as a replacement. Realm will pile cards in your discard pile,
Beneath the Mountains will then load out your Dwarfs. Galadriel gets you your site 7,
Gift of Boats is a potential triple to 9,
Foul Creation is the big anti-Isengard card, Isengard being the biggest challenge to this deck.
The Shadow is a hodgepodge of stuff mainly meant to help cycle, and jack with the Fellowship meta. If the opponent does beat you to the end, you should have 3 Sauron trackers in discard by then to help jump his butt. Lots of ally hate in this deck, lots of ways of playing minions out of your discard pile, lots of anti-archery stuff. Hold those
Hate cards for the right moment to kill a guy. If nothing else, you can use them at site 9. By all means use
Saruman's Power to take out all the conditions, you probably have replacements for the few that matter.