Hints & strategie notes for this Deck
One of the new themes introduced in The Two Towers is the discarding Unbound
Hobbits. Captured and held by the Uruk-hai and the Orcs of Sauron, Merry and
Pippin were hardly able to fight against their captors. When they were able to,
they escaped into Fangorn Forest where they met Treebeard and were reunited with
Gandalf. This adventure is mirrored in the game by the abilities of Merry and
Pippin to discard themselves to either remove a Sauron Orc or an Uruk-hai from a
skirmish or to discard themselves from a skirmish. This allows you to avoid
fighting nasty minions and allows you to keep replaying Merry and Pippin to
fight (and run) another day. While many of the cards central to this strategy
are a part of the Hobbit culture, Gandalf and the Ents contribute a significant
amount of power and versatility to the Unbound Hobbits. Here we will look at
some of the ways in which Gandalf benefits the Unbound Hobbit decktype.
The key to unbound hobbits is being able to continuously play your hobbits
again after you.ve discarded them. Gandalf, Greyhame was custom tailored for
this - with his ability to play a companion from your discard pile each turn,
you should have no problem bringing back your hobbits when you need them.
Greyhame also allows you the luxury of not having to hold your hobbits in your
hand if you want to play them later. This allows you to discard extra hobbits as
you draw them and bring them back when you need them, avoiding cards like Greed
or Ulaire Enquea that trigger when you have too many companions in play. Also,
the ability to get your companions back after you discard them allows you to
save cards like Aragorn, Ranger of the North or Sam, Proper Poet for the final
push into site nine.
Treebeard, Earthborn serves a similar function to Greyhame. When your unbound
hobbit is about to be discarded, you can stack him on Treebeard and then play
him next turn. Unlike Greyhame, you can play both Hobbits each turn. Also,
Treebeard is a powerful fighter when at his home site or allowed to fight with
other cards. If you are using Treebeard as the lynchpin of your deck, you must
also be careful of cards like Tower Assassin and Fear. If he is discarded or
killed, the Hobbits stacked on him are discarded. Treebeard, Oldest Living Thing
is also a viable option for this deck. Whether you are playing multiples of
Merry and Pippin or multiples of Gandalf, you can use the extra copies to heal
the companions you have on the table. This gets those extra copies out of your
hand and keeps your companions on the table healthy away from Sanctuaries.
Not all the useful Gandalf cards for the Unbound Hobbit theme come from the
Two Towers. Many older Gandalf cards can enhance this deck. Wielder of the Flame
from Mines of Moria can make Merry or Pippin defender +1 so that they can run
away from even more minions. Also, Fireworks, from Realms of the Elf-Lords in
invaluable in retrieving your Hobbits as well as stealth cards and anything else
you might need at the time.
This sample deck uses many of the above concepts and mixes them with a strong
Uruk-hai shadow side.