Mountain Folk

The Dwarves, Gnomes and other rarer mountain races, known collectively as the Mountain Folk, have been allied with one another as long as modern history has been recorded. Led by the hero-king Hadarck of the Dwarves and the genius Bilgrin the Brilliant of the Gnomes, these two peoples conquered the mineral-rich hills and mountains of the world, founding the twin capitals of Glorn and Karkzor. Still they fight on to protect their mountain strongholds and conquer their enemies as they arise.

Most prominent among the ranks of the Mountain Folk are their warriors, legendary for their might and prowess in battle, but behind these storied heroes, often with pencil and tablet in hand, stand the keys to their success: brilliant minds! Tacticians, engineers, artillerists and the finest architects in the land provide the technical support that makes the Mountain Folk so powerful on the field; and the strange Gnomish fluxmasters add a generous helping of magic to the mix, altering time and space in characteristically useful little ways to guarantee an advantage over any foe.

The Mountain Folk starter deck army is Defenders of Karkzor.

Strategy

The Mountain Folk emphasize a power strategy that involves strong defense, buildings, and teching toward powerful creatures. However, they can fulfill many other roles as well. Galom's Prospectors is arguably the most powerful card due to the fact it can easily control hexes that would normally require a construction site, allowing for fast building. Draknor's Chain is great for pulling struggling enemies right into your fortresses, who will normally have a ranged attack and therefore can turn the said creature into dead meat and prepare for the next one. Tamed Frost Wyrm serves as the aloft support and is best used where the ranged Gully Slingers and Blunderbuss Squads fail. Hadarck's Throne is the "quick domain source" for Mountain Folk, and they possess many terrain altering cards that often combine with manipulation and damage, like Geomantic Trickster, Volcano, and Uplifted Earth.

In the early game, Mountain Folk aren't as fast as Sylvan and Dark Legion, but they compensate with high health and powerful strikes. Manipulation can defeat the annoying scouts that try to run away, and Dwarven Warrior can be left as a sight beacon with infinitely gaining health. Home Guard is pretty much useless in many situations, so don't bother unless you really need defense. Galom's Prospectors and Brawn Oxen should explore the map, and when they find a good spot to build, drop a building there. Try to play an Ord Stone or two: it pays for itself quickly.

Mid Game is where you can step up on both offense and defense. With 2 domains, powerful buildings like Hadarck's Fort, Walled Outpost, and Steam Charge become available. On top of that, Geomantic Trickster can played to alter terrain and Blunderbuss Squad and Tamed Frost Wyrm can deal with ranged/flying opponents, or can be just used to bulldoze. Shield Warrior can provide an unbreakable defense provided your creatures stick together, and Dire Cave Cricket can wreck an unprepared opponent. Don't forget about one domain cards like Heart of the Mountain that might end up being much more useful here. Volcano makes a good splash of damage as well.

Late Game is where the Mountain Folk become truly dangerous. 3 domains allows Mountain Blessing to be played, which pretty much makes a healthy creature invincible. Many powerhouses like Bilgrin's First Prototype and Epic Veteran can be easily deployed to wreck enemies, especially if that little Ord Stone you played early on is still chugging up extra flux. Overall, keep on covering the map, and try to shut your opponent off to prevent a counterattack.

Counters

Try to overwhelm early game MF players. With more expert players, who will often spend only 1 turn in this stage and get to Mid game with Hardarck's Throne (or Vapor Mahal in a hybrid deck), this is ineffective. But against a less experienced player, limiting the domain they have can be quite annoying to them. Stay on your toes against a player who uses Prospectors and Brawn Oxen, he'll probably try to make a run for the other well on his side or turbo to the center to get an early advantage. Getting rid of the Ord Stone is a good idea as well. If the Earthworks and Hardarck's Forts manage to come out, try to stay out of their range while hitting them with cards like Tremor and The Coldstream Guard. Against faster MF players (who will most likely be running a faster domain to cover the slow side of MF), try to limit how much of the second domain can be played and force your opponent to concentrate on attacking you/defending himself rather than building up domain.