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The Hobbit – Mines of Moria Version
by Matthew Clemans

There's a wise Wizard, a Hobbit with a magic ring, a crew of Dwarves, and a whole mess of Orcs. If you can picture the Balrog as a Dragon named Smaug, you've got the cast and crew of Tolkien's first book – The Hobbit.

Ring-bearer
Frodo – Reluctant Adventurer
The One Ring – Isildur's Bane

Adventure Deck
[1] Westfarthing
[2] Midgewater Moors
[3] Frodo's Bedroom
[4] The Great Chasm
[5] The Bridge of Khazad-dum
[6] Dimril Dale
[7] Anduin Confluence
[8] Brownlands
[9] Emyn Muil

Free Peoples
Gimli – Dwarf of the Mountain Race (starting)
Farin – Dwarven Emissary (starting)
Gandalf – The Grey Pilgrim x2
Fror – Gimli's Kinsman
Gloin – Friend to Thorin
Hand Axe x3
Dwarven Axe x3
Gimli's Axe x2
Gandalf's Staff
Glamdring
Sting
Albert Dreary – Entertainer from Bree
Grimir – Dwarven Elder
Servant Secret Fire x3
Axe Strike x3
Sleep, Carahras x2
Delving x3
Tidings of Erebor x2
Flurry of Blows x3
Thror's Map

Shadow
Archer commander x2 (35)
Goblin Bowmen x3
Goblin Marksman x3
Moria Archer x2
Moria Archer Troop x2
Goblin Scavengers x3
Goblin Runner x3
Balrog – Durin's Bane
Goblin Scimitar x3
Moria Axe x1
Goblin Armory x3
They are coming x2
Host of Thousands x4
Bitter Hatred x2
Goblin Domain x2

Strategy

This deck takes advantage of the card drawing powers of the Dwarves and of the new Gandalf to cycle through cards and weaken your opponent's fellowship with archery to the point where your Orcs can kill or overwhelm the ring-bearer. Let's look at some of the pieces of the deck to see how this is accomplished.

Any time you build a deck you're trying to figure out a way to win. In a Lord of the Rings deck, you can choose to focus on winning with one half of the deck while stalling your opponent with the other. For example, a Hobbit deck is usually designed not to run to site nine, but to survive anything your opponent can throw at it while your Shadow deck wins the game. This deck follows a similar theory – your fellowship is strong, and can win the game for you, but generally you will win with your shadow deck.

Free Peoples

Gimli is your main fighter in this deck. When armed with his axe and a Hand Axe you can kill almost any minion in the game with a Flurry of Blows. His ability to wound an Orc when he wins a skirmish will often save you against Moria swarm decks and can also stop all those nasty Sauron Orcs that can exert to wound a companion. Fror and Farin each get strength bonuses when they face certain minions, Orcs and Uruk-hai respectively. The other Dwarves can pack a punch when armed with a pair of axes. Since everyone should be armed with an axe, you can use your Axe Strikes to the fullest potential and the recycle them back into your deck with Grimir.

While the Dwarves can pack an offensive punch, their card drawing powers are equally important. Delving allows you to draw cards during your fellowship phase – allowing you to play more and Tidings of Erebor will enable you to move two sites more often by replenishing your hand in the Regroup phase. Most importantly, these cards allow you to cycle through your deck and set up a good Shadow hand every turn.

Gandalf also plays an important part in your fellowship. His ability to draw a card at the beginning of every turn basically increases the size of your fellowship hand by one. He also explains the striking absence of any Free Peoples conditions. It was decided that it is more important to this deck to deny the shadow player their conditions than to use any of its own. Sleep, Caradhras and Albert Dreary will achieve this goal. Glamdring and Gandalf's Staff will allow Gandalf to assume an offensive role in your fellowship and give you the ability to avoid big minions – like the Balrog.

Shadow (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Archers)

While the fellowship of this deck is strong, the Shadow side should win games for you. There are 12 minion archers in the deck, each with special abilities. The Goblin Bowmen and Goblin Marksmen are the bread and butter of the deck. They have low vitality, but the also have low cost and (of course) contribute to the archery total. The Archer Commander will provide the Bowmen and Moria Archers with a much needed strength bonus, which, when combined with a Goblin Scimitar or Moria Axe, can defeat the best the fellowship has to offer. The Moria Archer Troop is perhaps the strongest Minion in this deck, for both his three vitality and for his game text. While you can spot another Moria archer minion, the archery total is +1. This means that a Moria Archery Troop and any other archer will provide three archery!

The archery potential in this deck can be fully utilized by taking advantage of the other Shadow cards. Moria Archers are not as cheap as other Moria minions, but the Goblin Armorys and the Goblin Runners can assure you have enough twilight to play all your archers when you need it. Especially near the end of the adventure path, your opponent will be generating great amounts of twilight. This will allow you to use The Host of Thousands and They Are coming to play your choice of minions from the discard pile. Once you get out Goblin Domain, any reinforcements they bring out will be prime bait for your archers.

There is one other minion in the deck – The Balrog. He is in there to assure that at the very least your opponent will take some wounds at the Bridge of Khazad-dum. If your opponent is unprepared, you can exhaust or kill several companions at the bridge and then finish him off with archery when he moves to site six.

There are several weaknesses to this deck type, which have been countered by certain cards. Directed archery, such as Legolas, Greenleaf or Aragorn's Bow can cause havoc to Moria decks because of the low vitality of most Moria minions. Bitter Hatred is very useful in this scenario to kill off or wound Legolas before he can pick off your archers. You can also use them to get rid of Rumil or any other Elf allies. The Goblin Armories can also assist you against directed archery or even against Power According to his Stature.

One other problem this deck faces is low average strength. The weapons, which can be retrieved with the Scavengers, will help out the little guys, as will the Archer Commander. Remember that the point is not to win skirmishes but to continually punish your opponent with archery fire.

Sites

Going first is not crucial in this deck. In fact, you should bid low as there is no burden removal. If you happen to go first, you'll play Westfarthing, which denies your opponent Prancing Pony for Aragorn, or whatever other site they chose. The choice of sites doesn't become very important until site 4. The Great Chasm allows you to play a Moria Archer for -2 cost. This is crucial to adding on wounds before your opponent travels to the bridge. On the other side of the bridge you again get the benefit of a reduced cost minion at the Dimrill Dale. Your archery total is then further increased by Brown Lands at site 8. With some strategic thinking, it's not uncommon to have an archery total close to ten here! What fellowship can survive that?



DT's Budget Swarm
by Ian Vincent

With a bit of luck we'll have lost anyone playing with multiple Cave Trolls, Witch Kings, or Lurtz when they read the deckname. Now we can get down to how you're going to beat them with just seven rares in your Hobbit deck!

Fellowship:

As your Hobbits are incapable of inflicting more than one would on a minion at a time, you won't be double moving much. You should never reach site 9 first, but if you do the fact Frodo can overwhelm the Witch King (with help from Merry, Boromir, and a few other cards) means he isn't going to die.

Minions:

Putting Moria Orcs on the bottom of your draw deck is a great way to enable you to draw lots in one hand. This can be done by:

Goblin Sneaks, use They Are Coming to get them back from the discard pile and get to the end of your draw deck.
Gimli's special ability, though careful not to give away too much twilight.

Unfortunately, 8 minions just aren't enough these days. So we need a few tricks to enable us to get more:

Site 9: Summit of Amon Hen, draw an extra card (card=minion) for each burden they have.
3 Goblin Scavengers will get back 3 Goblin Scimitars from your discard pile and draw 3 more cards.
Fool of a Took: If they have a non-Frodo Hobbit in play, then draw all those minions you recycled.
Goblin Swarms: Unlikely as it is in this deck, some of your orcs may win fights and will be placed here to use again.

Many people have ignored this decktype because Power According to His Stature, Boromir, Merry, and Bounder make overwhelming Frodo a little tricky. That's why we have three copies of Saruman's Snows to prevent Skirmish events and abilities. Fortunately for us, nobody seems to be playing with Boromir's Cloak (yet).

Ring-bearer
Frodo, Old Bilbo's Heir (with 5 burdens)
The Ruling Ring

Adventure Deck
[1] Bag End (Frodo heals the Gaffer who heals Sam who removes a burden)
[2] Buckleberry Ferry
[3] Rivendell Terrace
[4] Pass of Caradhras
[5] The Bridge of Khazad-Dûm
[6] Lothlórien Woods
[7] Anduin Wilderland (no archery = swarm time!)
[8] Shores of Nen Hithoel
[9] Summit of Amon Hen (draw cards)

Free Peoples
Merry, Friend to Sam (starting)
Pippin, Friend to Frodo (starting)
Sam, Son of Hamfast (starting; exerts to remove burdens)
The Gaffer
Bounder x3
Hobbit Sword x3
A Talent for Not Being Seen
There and Back Again
Hobbit Intuition x4
Hobbit Stealth x4
Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood (I hate Nazgul)
Thararin, Dwarven Smith
Gimli, Dwarf of Erebor x2 (add (2) to place a Moria Orc beneath your draw deck)
Boromir, Son of Denethor x4
Boromir's Cloak
The Saga of Elendril

Shadow
Fool of a Took x2
Goblin Swarms
Uruk Savage x3
Saruman's Snows x3
They Are Coming x3
Goblin Runner x4
Goblin Sneak x4
Moria Scout x4
Goblin Scavengers x3
Goblin Scimitar x3



Slings and Arrows
byJames Kight

This is another non-rare deck, and is also meant for beginners, but instead of complete combat, this deck tries to help beginners get the feel for archers and archery actions. I'll go into what the deck is intended to do, and some possible tradeouts at the end.

The sites are pretty simple. Westfarthing can help you get your allies out quickly, Trollshaw Forest can give you card draws when you play your Bows and Cloaks, and the Rivendell Valley was made for your elves. The Mithril Mine should benefit your orcs, The Bridge goes in every deck, and Galadriel's Glade was also made for your elves. The Anduin Confluence can be dangerous for your allies, but honestly, the other two site 7 options aren't much better either. Your choice. The Shores of Nen Hithoel work great with Orcs in addition to having a huge shadow number, and finally, Emun Muil can help your swarming orcs, although sometimes, the Summit of Amon Hen can help you draw even more orcs.

The whole purpose of the Fellowship portion of this deck is archery, and card draw. Start with Legolas and Haldir, and play a bow on Haldir as soon as you can. When you draw them, play your Lórien Elves at site 3 if possible. Get Bows on them too. Get your allies out when you can, and begin your march to site 9. There is a decent mix of site 3 and site 6 allies, and each can fight on their home soil. On all other sites, use Orophin's and Rumil's special ability to wound orcs and Uruk-hai directly. Silinde should allow you to continue to draw cards when you can spot the Rivendell Valley, and Uruviel can let you peek at your opponent's hand (then again, you might even have some luck with Lothlórien Woods). Everything else should be self-explanatory.

The minion side of this deck plays itself. Really. Play 'em as you get 'em. Keep the swarm going with Scavengers/Scimitars, and shoot your opponents with Marksmen. The rest of this side of the deck is straightfoward.

Once you understand elves and archery, seriously consider Elrond, Galadriel, Arwen, Gwemegil, Asfaloth, The Mirror of Galadriel, Double Shot, Celeborn, Swan-ship of the Galadhrim, and The Tale of Gil-Galad. All of these in some fashion or another will enhance this deck tremendously. As for your minions, try a nice Cave Troll, Cave Troll's Hammer, Ancient Chieftan, Goblin Archer, Goblin Armory, Troll's Keyward, Pinned Down, and even Bitter Hatred. You can go a number of directions with the minions.

Good luck!

Ring-bearer
Frodo, Son of Drogo
The One Ring, The Ruling Ring

Adventure Deck
[1] Westfarthing
[2]Trollshaw Forest
[3] Rivendell Valley
[4] Mithril Mine
[5] The Bridge of Khazad-Dum
[6] Galadriel's Glade
[7] Anduin Confluence
[8] Shores of Nen Hithoel
[9] Emyn Muil

Free Peoples
Border Defenses x 4
Defiance x 4
Elven Bow x 4
Elven Cloak x 2
Far-Seeing Eyes x 2
Haldir, Elf of the Golden Wood
Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood
Lorien Elf x 4
Mallorn-Trees
Orophin, Lorien Bowman
Rumil, Elven Protector
The Seen and the Unseen x 2
Silinde, Elf of Mirkwood
Swan-Ship of the Galadhrim x 2
Uriviel, Maid of Lorien
The White Arrows of Lorien x 3

Shadow
Drums in the Deep x 4
Goblin Marksman x 3
Goblin Patrol Group x 2
Goblin Runner x 4
Goblin Scavengers x 3
Goblin Scimitar x 3
Goblin Spear x 2
Goblin Wallcrawler x 2
Goblin Warrior x 2
Host of Thousands x 4
They Are Coming x 2
Unfamiliar Territory x 3




Cleave and Cleave Alike
byJames Kight

Before we get too deep into this deck, let me clarify that this deck is built without rares. It's a very simple deck, and is intended for beginners to help them get the hang of the game without getting too complicated. As you learn the game and become more comfortable with a style of play, please feel free to replace some of these cards with other ones that you like better. I've inlcuded a few tradeout suggestions at the end.

To begin with, it's a Dwarven deck, and is not the strongest deck by any means. The lack of a decent number of Dwarven companions will make it tough to go all the way consistently with this deck, but it showcases combat and discarding to a decent extent.

The sites are super straightforward. East Road tries to punish early Fellowships, Midgewater Moors continues the discard theme, and Rivendell Terrace is simply the least useable Sanctuary for an opponent. Moria Lake forces your opponent to exert, and could probably be exchanged with Dwarrowdelf Chamber since you have Gimli. The Bridge is common to all decks, Dimrill Dale is another simple haven, but depending on what your opponent is playing, might be exchanged with Lothlorien Woods, or Galadriel's Glade. The Anduin Confluence attempts to stop Hobbit ally decks, but considering the lack of archery in this deck, might be exchanged with Anduin Wilderland. The Shores of Nen Hithoel is very dangerous, but remains one of my favorite sites with its Shadow number. Finally, the Slopes of Amon Hen cater specifically to your Uruk-hai.

The starting party should be Gimli and Farin. As you play the fellowship cards with these two, each should get their own axe. Actually, now that I think about it, why not go ahead and add 2 more Dwarven Axes to this deck, and add another Uruk-hai Sword and another Uruk-hai Raiding Party to even things up. Everything else is fairly self-explanatory on the Fellowship side. Nothing but combat here, and a few ways to discard cards from your opponent's deck. Nothing fancy.

As far as the Minion side, this deck takes advantage of the Damage +1 Uruk-hai to discard more cards from your opponent's deck with cards like Soldier, Rager & Sword. Saruman's Snows will halt the play of any skirmish cards or actions, and will shut Hobbit Decks down flat. Conversely, a card like this will stop your Dwarf cards too. Somthing to keep in mind. The Saruman's Powers will keep your opponent from building up too many Fellowship conditions, and the 2 Worry cards will start the pain building for the Ring-bearer as your Uruk-hai start to win skirmishes. Everything else is self-explanatory.

As you get comfortable with these cards, try replacing a few. You might try Savagery to Match Their Numbers, a nice rare that gives an Uruk-hai +2 Str, or +3 Str and Fierce if there are 5 companions. Lurtzes are always welcome, as are Uruk Lieutenants. Finally, if you want to take advantage of the Archery keyword, throw in an Orthanc Assassin or two.

With the Dwarven cards, as I said before, go ahead and add a few more Axes. Gimli, Son of Gloin is a good addition since he can exert to get bigger, and he can use help from Gimli's Axe and Gimli's Helm. I've had limited success with Nobody Tosses a Dwarf combined with the Axes and Halls of My Home. Dwarves are good at burning through decks. Finally, to be better protected, you probably need to splash another culture and throw in some condition destruction (Elves/The Seen and the Unseen, Gandalf/Sleep Caradhras). Also, no matter what deck you're building, Elrond is always good.

Good luck!

Ring-bearer
Frodo, Son of Drogo
The One Ring, The Ruling Ring

Adventure Deck
[1] East Road
[2] Midgewater Moors
[3] Rivendell Terrace
[4] Moria Lake
[5] The Bridge of Khazad-Dum
[6] Dimrill Dale
[7] Anduin Confluence
[8] Shores of Nen Hithoel
[9] Slopes of Amon Hen

Free Peoples
Axe Strike x 4
Battle Fury x 4
Cleaving Blow x 4
Delving x 2
Dwarf Guard x 4
Dwarven Armor x 2
Dwarven Axe x 2
Farin, Dwarven Emissary x 2
Gimli, Dwarf of Erebor x 2
Grimir, Dwarven Elder
Halls of My Home x 2
Lord of Moria
Their Halls of Stone x 3
Thrarin, Dwarven Smith

Shadow
Bred for Battle x 4
Saruman's Ambition x 4
Saruman's Power x 2
Saruman's Snows x 2
Uruk Rager x 2
Uruk Savage x 2
Uruk Shaman x 2
Uruk Slayer x 3
Uruk Soldier x 4
Uruk-Hai Armory x 2
Uruk-Hai Raiding Party x 2
Uruk-Hai Sword x 3
Worry x 2




You Move, You Wound
by Justin Pakes
TCG Studio Designer

Ring-bearer
Frodo, Son of Drogo
The One Ring, Isildur's Bane

Adventure Deck
[1] The Prancing Pony
[2] Trollshaw Forest
[3] Rivendell Terrace
[4] Moria Stairway
[5] The Bridge of Khazad-dûm
[6] Galadriel's Glade
[7] Anduin Confluence
[8] Anduin Banks
[9] Tol Brandir

Free Peoples
A Ranger's Versatility
Aragorn, King in Exile x3
Aragorn's Bow
Armor x2
Arwen, Daughter Of Elrond
Athelas x2
Blade of Gondor x2
Boromir, Lord of Gondor
Bounder
Dagger Strike x2
Gandalf, Friend of the Shirefolk x2
Gimli, Son of Glóin
Glamdring
Gondor's Vengeance
Hobbit Appetite
Hobbit Stealth
Hobbit Sword x2
Legolas, Prince Of Mirkwood
Merry, Friend to Sam
Power According to His Stature
Ranger's Sword x2
Sleep, Caradhras
Stout and Sturdy

Shadow
Band of the Eye
Enduring Evil x2
Hate x4
Mordor's Strength
Morgul Hunter
Morgul Warden x2
Orc Assassin x2
Orc Bowmen x4
Orc Hunters x3
Orc Inquisitor x2
Orc Scouting Band x3
Strength Born of Fear
Thin and Stretched
Under the Watching Eye x3
You Bring Great Evil x2



Eventful and Hateful
A Gandalf/Sauron deck from Brian Kallenbach.

Ring-bearer
Frodo, Son of Drogo
The One Ring, Isildur's Bane

Adventure Deck
[1] The Prancing Pony
[2] Weathertop
[3] Council Courtyard
[4] Moria Lake
[5] The Bridge of Khazad-dûm
[6] Lothlórien Woods
[7] Anduin Confluence
[8] Shores of Nen Hithoel
[9] Tol Brandir

Free Peoples
Aragorn, Ranger of the North
Aragorn's Bow x2
Armor x2
Barliman Butterbur, Prancing Pony Proprietor
Boromir, Lord of Gondor x2
Gandalf, Friend of the Shirefolk
Glamdring x2
Power According to His Stature x2
Questions That Need Answering x4
Servant of the Secret Fire x4
Sleep, Caradhras x2
Swordarm of the White Tower x4
Swordsman of the Northern Kingdom x3

Shadow
Curse From Mordor x2
Enduring Evil x3
Enheartened Foe x3
Hate x4
Morgul Hunter x3
Orc Ambusher x4
Orc Assassin x4
Orc Bowmen x4
Orc Scouting Band x3



Joan and Randy
by Mike Reynolds
TCG Studio Designer

Ring-bearer
Frodo, Son of Drogo
The One Ring, Isildur's Bane

Adventure Deck
[1] The Prancing Pony
[2] Bree Gate
[3] Rivendell Waterfall
[4] Balin's Tomb
[5] The Bridge of Khazad-dûm
[6] Galadriel's Glade
[7] Silverlode Banks
[8] Pillars of the Kings
[9] Slopes of Amon Hen

Free Peoples
Aragorn, King in Exile
Aragorn's Bow x4
Arwen, Daughter of Elrond
Double Shot x4
Elven Bow x4
Haldir, Elf of the Golden Wood
Legolas, Greenleaf
Lórien Elf x2
Orophin, Lórien Bowman
Pathfinder x2
Rúmil, Elven Protector x2
The Choice of Lúthien
The Council of Elrond x2
The Last Alliance of Elves and Men
The Saga of Elendil
The Splendor of Their Banners
The Tale of Gil-galad

Shadow
Bred for Battle x4
Savagery to Match Their Numbers x4
Spies of Saruman x2
Troop of Uruk-hai x4
Uruk Fighter x4
Uruk Savage x4
Uruk Soldier x4
Uruk Warrior x4



Elven Deck of Death
by Chuck Kallenbach II
TCG Studio Designer

Starting companions are Arwen (she gets an Elven Bow and she's a ranger) and Legolas. Obviously, this deck is about archery fire. You'll find that the special abilities of Legolas, Greenleaf and Aragorn's Bow will kill off the deadliest minions you face. A volley of arrows from supporting Elven Bows often finish the rest.

The same goes for the Goblin archers. In fact, many times just playing them for an archery shot is all they're good for. However, enough archery wounds and your opponent will have to stop at a sanctuary, slowing him down.

There's also a trap at site 8, which prevents your opponent from moving again if you can play 5 Orcs. Put cheap Runners beneath your deck with Sneaks, and then play them at Nen Hithoel with your Underdeeps. If you're at site 7 at this point, you can move two sites for the win.

The deck has a lot of rares, but here's some suggested substitutions. Remember, you don't have to build a deck exactly like this one. You should tailor the deck to fight the decks you face in local games.

For characters like Aragorn, Boromir, and Legolas, there are uncommon versions of each. Arwen is a special case, and she's hard to replace. Another strong companion like Gimli or Gandalf is pretty good. Maybe we'll get some new Elf companions in the Realms of the Elf-lords expansion.

The rare possessions (Blade of Gondor, Gwemegil, Aragorn's Bow) can be replaced with Elven Cloaks, if minion archers are a problem. The White Arrows of Lorien can sub for Double Shots. Another possibility is working in some Swan-ship of the Galadhrim events to let your allies fight more often.

Elrond, Celeborn, and Galadriel are valuable allies indeed, and it's difficult to replace their healing and card-drawing abilities. Possibilities include a few Athelas cards to be used by Aragorn and Boromir, or maybe some Mallorn-trees.

On the Shadow side, you can replace the Moria Axes with Goblin Scimitars (helps you draw cards too). Replace the Underdeeps with Pinned Down or They Are Coming. The Goblin Archers will be sorely missed, but you can sub in some Goblin Wallcrawlers or Scavengers.

Ring-bearer
Frodo, Son of Drogo
The One Ring, Isildur's Bane

Adventure Deck
[1] The Prancing Pony
[2] Ettenmoors
[3] Rivendell Valley
[4] Moria Lake
[5] The Bridge of Khazad-dûm
[6] Lothlórien Woods
[7] Silverlode Banks
[8] Shores of Nen Hithoel
[9] Emyn Muil

Free Peoples
Aragorn, Ranger of the North
Aragorn's Bow
Arwen, Daughter of Elrond
Blade of Gondor
Boromir, Lord of Gondor
Celeborn, Lord of Lórien
Elrond, Lord of Rivendell
Elven Bow x4
Double Shot x4
Galadriel, Lady of Light
Gwemegil
Haldir, Elf of the Golden Wood
Legolas, Greenleaf
Lórien Elf x4
Orophin, Lórien Bowman
Ranger's Sword
Rúmil, Elven Protector
Silinde, Elf of Mirkwood
Uruviel, Maid of Lórien
What Are They? x2

Shadow
Goblin Archer x4
Goblin Marksman x4
Goblin Patrol Troop x4
Goblin Runner x4
Goblin Sneak x4
Moria Axe x4
Moria Scout x4
The Underdeeps of Moria x2