SoloRulesforMiddleEarth,TheWizards

Forthissolorules,IusedtheArdaRulesoftheCouncilofElrondandmodifiedthemtomakethemwork
solitaire.Inthisvariant,youdontusethenormaldeckconstructionrules,insteadyouusenearlyevery
cardofthegame,whenyouconstructtheplaydeck.

Youconstructthefollowingdecks(youonlyhavetodothisonce,youcanusethemeveryfuturetime
youplay):
StrongCharacterDeck:1xeachcharacterwithamindof5orhigher.
WeakCharacterDeck:1xeachcharacterwithamindlowerthan5
VictoryPointDeck:1xeachuniquenonminoritem,allies,factions.Youcanputsomenon
uniquecardsmoreofteninthedeck,ifyoulike.Puteverygoldenring3timesin,ifyoulike
rings.YoumayalsousecardslikeKingundertheMountain(IcallthemMissioncardsinthe
following),butitshardtomakepointsthisway,sothereshouldntbetoomanyofthem.
ResourceDeck:Allthenonvictorypointresourcecards,includingtheminorItems.Keycards,
e.g.cancelcards,fightcards,andthingslikeMarvellousToldGatesofMorningcouldbein
thedeckupto6times.Youshouldalsoputeachringtestingcard3timesin.FurthermoreFar
SightandSmokeRingsacoupleoftimes(theyhaveaspecialusage).
HazardDeck:Allhazardcards.Manyofthem3times,exceptiftheyarehardtoplay.Ifthere
aredifferentartworks,Iuse3ofeach.Everynonuniquecreature3times,iftherearedifferent
artworks,Iuse3ofeach.
RingDeck:PlacetheOneRing,theDwarvenRings,theMagicRings,andafewLesserRings
aside,youdontneedtoshufflethem.

Setup:
DrawarandomWizard.Heispartofyourpartyrightfromthebeginning.

Then,asyourstartingcharacters,drawalternatelycharactersfromthetwocharacterdecks,startingwith
thestrongone.Ifyouhadtospendmorethan20influencepoints(withoutputtingthecharactersunder
someonescontrol),youimmediatelyplacethatlastdrawncharacterasideonthetable.

ThisisthefirstcharacteroftheCharacterOffer.Thisisalineof5characters,1ofthemisalwaysfrom
thestrongdeck,theother4alwaysfromtheweakdeck.SonowyoufilluptheOfferwiththemissing
characters.

ThereisalsoaVictoryPointOffer,containingof8randomcardsfromthevictorypointdeck.

Thecardsthatdonthaveaspecifiedlocationtobeplayedat,areassignedtoarandomlocationthat
fulfillstherequirementsforthatcard,i.e.alegendaryitemcanbeonlyplayedattheappropriatesites
andsoon.

DrawfiveResourcecards,handlimitis5(6forPallando).

OrganizationPhase:
Youcandecidetodiscardonerandomcard(twoifoneofyourpartiesisinaheaventherearemore
rumorsaboutancienttreasures)fromanyOffer.IfinaHeavenyoucanchoose,ifyouwanttodiscard
onefromeachoffer,ortwofromoneoffer.Immediatelyrefilltheoffersfromtheappropriatedecks.

Exceptforthefirstturn,youcanthenbringonecharacterintoplayfromthecharacteroffer.Thisisonly
possible,ifyourpartyisinthesameoranadjacentregionastheHomeSiteofthecharacter.Characters
cantenterautomaticallyataHeavenanymore.Youcandecidetodiscardacharacterunderthesame

circumstances.

IfacharacterhealsinaHeaven,heisalsountapped.

TravelPhase:
Youdraw4timesthenumberofHazardCardswrittenonthedestinationcard.Youdrawthenormal
numberofresourcecards.

Ifyoudontmove,drawthenumberofHazardcardswrittenonyourlocationcard.Dontdrawany
resourcecards.

SimplyplaytheHazardsinthemosteffectivewaypossible.

Longhazardeventsremaininplayfor3turns.Simplyturnthem90degreesaftereachturntokeeptrack
ofthis.

SitePhase:
YoucanonlygetvictorypointsfromtheVictoryPointoffer,andthesecardscanbeonlyplayedattheir
assignedlocations.

Ifyouareatasite,whereinformationisplayable,youcanplayinsteadFarSightorSmokeRings.
TapaCharacter.Thensearchthedecksforacard,necessarytocompleteamissionthatisalreadyin
theVictoryPointOffer,andthatwouldgiveyouotherwisenoPointsatall.
Examples:IfyouhadtheWhiteTreeintheOfferyoucouldsearchSablingoftheWhiteTree,butnot
theotherwayaround,becauseyouwouldgetthePointsfortheSablingwithouttheWhiteTree.If
thereisReturnoftheKingyoumightsearchforAragorn.

Youcanalsosearchforcardsthisway,thatwouldallowyoutotestaring,ifyouhaveone.Afterthe
test,simplytakeanappropriaterandomringoutoftheRingdeck.

Victory:
IfyouhaveacertainnumberofVictoryPointsafteracertainamountofturnse.g.25pointsafter7turns,
youwin.Whencountingthepoints,alsothepartiesthatareintheUnderDeepscount.

IfyoudestroyedtheOneRing,youwin.

IfyourWizardiskilledoryoudonthaveenoughpoints,youblewit.

SpecialRules:
YoucanalwaysmovewithPalantirs,youdonthavetodiscardthem.

IfyouuseaPalantir,youareallowedtotakeanycardyouwant,thatisnotalreadyinplay,inyourhand
ortoplaceitnexttooneoftheOffers.

IfPallandousesSmokeRingsorFarSightataninformationSite,itworksthesameasaPalantir.
EyesofMandosworkalsothisway.

Ruferto
IhaveafullsetofTheWizards,and2setsoffixed,commonanduncommoncards.Isthisenough?

Callasmar
Soyouindeedhavealotofcards.Thatshouldbeperfectlyenoughtoplaythisvariant.
Youllfindsomebasicguidelinesforthedeckconstructioninmyrules.Youwillneedalittleexperience
tobuildagoodardadeck.Butyoucanimproveitwithtime...Usesimplyonecopyofeachcardto
start...thenlookfortheuniquecards.Youshouldusethemonlyonceinyourdeck.Normallyyouare
onlyallowedtouseanonuniquecarduptothreetimes.Hereyoucouldusethemmoreoften,butifyou
onlyhavethem3timesitdoesntmatteranyhow.

Resources:Therearesomeimportantcards:Fightcards(Riskyblow,luckystrike,Flameofthe
wizard...all3x),Cardstoimproveyourinfluence(Oldfriends,newfriendship?....all3x),Cardstocancela
fight(Darkquarrel,afewhidingcards.....),Marvelloustold(importantcard),3Gatesofmorning,formy
houserules,youneedtheFarSight,Ringtests,
Mustertogetthefactions....Youhavetofindyourownbalancehere.
Hazards:Iuseeverynonuniquecreature3x,Lurecards3x,cardsthatforceyoutoalurecheck3x,all
thesecardsthatimprovetheattackvaluesandtheautomaticattacks3x,GatesofNight!!,Perilreturns!,
LongWinter3x,FoulFumes3x...itshardtosay....again,youhavetotryit...
Goodluck

Considering a few things might be useful. See also the rules file for this, there's a couple of tips there.
-keep a more or less equal amount of resources (non mp) and hazards in the play deck.
-determine how big you want the play deck to be. Take into account how often you want to play it (or
rather, how often take the trouble to build another one), how many players usually play etc. You
don't need more than 50 cards per player, and 10-15 MP cards per player.
-hazards: mix events with creatures, for a general Arda deck for beginners I'd say 50-50. Creature
wise, choose mainly non-unique creatures as those are more generally keyable. But of course,
throwing in a Smaug (or Smaug Ahunt) or Great Goblin is always fun, a few Nazguls too. Wilderness
and Borderlands are the most common types of regions you'll travel, Ruins and Borderholds probably
the most common types of sites you'll go to, so look for creatures that can hit there (but don't neglect
Shadowlands or Shadowholds completely).
-resources: don't add too many combat cancellers, don't add too many combat helpers either, try to
balance that a bit. In my deck I got like 20% cancellers, 20% fighters, 20% influence helpers, and 40%
various (ringtests, movement enhancers and such), but it is an Expanded World deck which contains
many alternative strategies, so you can also go a bit higher on the combat cancel/helper cards.
-MP resources: try to balance a bit items, allies, factions and events. In my deck I got almost 45%
items, 25% factions, 15% allies and 15% events. Items are the bigger category because they are more
flexible to play, and there's more of them around anyway.
In general for resources, certainly for new players, don't add too many character specific resources or
site specific resources, as that will make the deck less flexible.
Hope this helps