Size of deck

[Fjordhermit]

Hey, everyone, I've recently started collecting and playing this game and am having a blast with it.  One thing that I haven't quite gotten a handle on is deck size.  My tendency is to fill a deck with tons of stuff, often to the count of 90 cards (45 free, 45 shadow).  Is this stupid?  I notice people here posting their decks and they focus on not only one Shadow (for instance), but one subfaction of a Shadow.  In my decks, I include multiple factions (example: mostly Moria swarm with a handful of Nazgul).  I'll use a bunch of Hobbit stuff, Gandalf and stuff for him, and a couple of rangers (all in one deck, for example).  The decks turn out to be huge.  Is it better to go with slim and focused decks?  Is it actually a bad strategy to have large decks?

I should point out that I'm only using Fellowship cards for now.  It's all so new, maybe I'm just so excited to use as many cards as possible to try them all out.  I have a lot to learn about deck flow, apparently.
Thanks!

[Pepi]

Depends on the deck rly, but in most casses I'd say less is more.

[jcb213]

You want to keep in mind that in a game you want to go through most or all of your deck.  So, the bigger your deck is the less likely you are to get through your deck and the more likely you are to not get the cards you need.

I never build a deck that is more than 32/32 unless I have a solid drawing or cycling engine in it (moria, corsairs, etc).  It's also important to consider how you match your free peoples up with your shadow.  It's a good idea to have at least one of your sides be able to draw or cycle.  You definitely don't want to play both a free peoples and shadow that are combo heavy or require you to hold cards in your hand in the same deck, because you'll end up trying to hold cards for both and neither will be very effective.

[ket_the_jet]

Anything over seven and a half inches is considered large by most professional standards.

Oh! Deck!

It largely depends on the cycling in your deck. If you play and Corsairs or , you could conceptually have a 120 card deck that you burn through every game (Beneath The Mountains and Realm of Dwarrowdelf come to mind).

On the same token, you could play an deck with that is 60 cards and get through 45 of them by site 9.

The trick is having cards that help you flow. Cards that unclog your hand, like Fell Beast or most initiative cards in King Block can really make a huge difference and you can justify more Meta-specific cards.

When making a deck, start small. Add a few meta cards as you wish (don't overdo it with four copies of Stand Against Darkness, for example), but make sure that you can cycle those cards out if you aren't playing against that particular opponent.
-wtk

[Cw0rk]

If you play multiplayer games, you'll want to have a larger deck that if you play one on one games.

[jdizzy001]

personally, my decks are never larger than 30/30, even in multiplayer.  Crazy? yes, but I'm making a statement.  I think Big D should have limited deck sizes to 30/30.  That's just me though, and few people agree with me

[Cw0rk]

personally, my decks are never larger than 30/30, even in multiplayer.  Crazy? yes, but I'm making a statement.  I think Big D should have limited deck sizes to 30/30.  That's just me though, and few people agree with me

You probably have never played Dwarf with Moria.

[MR. Lurtzy]

The perfect deck is a 2/2.

[ket_the_jet]

personally, my decks are never larger than 30/30, even in multiplayer.  Crazy? yes, but I'm making a statement.  I think Big D should have limited deck sizes to 30/30.  That's just me though, and few people agree with me

You are inviting yourself into the loser's bracket.
-wtk

[jdizzy001]

You are inviting yourself into the loser's bracket.
-wtk

haha, i reign supreme in the losers bracket, but I've been there for so long it doesn't bother me anymore.

[Cw0rk]

You are inviting yourself into the loser's bracket.
-wtk

haha, i reign supreme in the losers bracket, but I've been there for so long it doesn't bother me anymore.

Perhaps that not limiting yourself to 30/30 would be an improvement.

[jdizzy001]

only in rare cases would i consider it. such as a moria swarm deck

[Elrohir]

Anything over seven and a half inches is considered large by most professional standards.

What are you referring to?

The perfect deck is a 2/2.

 

I prefer 32/32

[Not a Zombie]

Anything over seven and a half inches is considered large by most professional standards.

What are you referring to?

Don't ask.

My decks range anywhere from 30/30 to 38/38. My most competitive deck is I think a 37/37, but it cycles and filters like crazy.

[Witchkingx5]

back to topic, you also asked about mixing cultures and strategies:

"If a man tries to catch two rabbits, he catches none." - Confuzius

What I exactly wanted to say is, that you should really stik with one big plan and try to eliminate weaknesses in your Deck. As example, at least one Shotgun Enquea or another crwod control card is Staple in a Moria Swarm, as it would die to big fellowships with lots of wounding à la Greenleaf/ Aragorn's Bow. That' the first point about mixing cultures.

another point is Gollum. He's a great Splashing culture. DaD for Twilight Nazzies, Stinker for Corruption, Threatening Guide for Decks with threat manipulating, Old Villain for cycling, and of course CBTR grabs Gollum from discard or deck. Gollum is there as a complement for the Deck, as might be some other cards. But I don't want to get too Deck-specific. There are lots of threads about Splashing comps at the boards.

upshot:
-> mixing cultures: rather yes
-> mixing strategies: rather no, besides Splashes.