LotR 21 - Passage Through Mirkwood 15 (Tactics mono win)

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Back to Mirkwood with the Two Core Tactics mono deck.

I haven't yet won Mirkwood with Tactics, but I've come pretty close, and barring location lock, I think I now have the skill to handle it.

Being able to crank through these games is actually motivating me to learn how to touch type. Not that I've started learning yet, but it's on my mind to do it.

I'm going to start timing from setup now as well. This includes setting up the quest, shuffling all the decks and getting an initial hand.

Time: 11:05.

Initial draw:

  1. Feint
  2. Feint
  3. Stand Together
  4. Rain of Arrows
  5. Horn of Gondor
  6. Blade of Gondolin

No mulligan.

Time: 11:09.

Round 1

  1. Resource: 3, draw Blade of Gondolin.
  2. Planning: both Blades on Legolas.
  3. Quest: All. Draw Necromancer's Reach, I think we're off to a good start, +4 P on Flies and Spiders.
  4. Travel: Old Forest Road, ready Legolas.
  5. Encounter: Forest Spider.
  6. Combat: Feint, deal 2 D to Forest Spider.
  7. Refresh: Threat 30.

Time: 11:14.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 3, draw Dwarven Axe.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Gimli, Thalin, draw Enchanted Stream.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: Gimli takes Forest Spider undefended, cross fingers on Shadow…none, 2 D to Gimli, Legolas kills Forest Spider, +4 P to clear Old Forest Road and put 1 P on Flies and Spiders.
  7. Refresh: 31.

Time: 11:18.

Round 3

  1. Resource: 6, draw Feint. Hrm.
  2. Planning. none.
  3. Quest: Gimli, Thalin, draw Forest Spider, Threat 32.
  4. Travel: Enchanted Stream.
  5. Encounter: Forest Spider.
  6. Combat: Feint, Legolas deal 2 D. Dammit.
  7. Refresh: 33.

Time: 11:22

Round 4

  1. Resource: 8, no draw.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Thalin, draw Great Forest Web. Location locking…
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: Gimli defends, Shadow none, Legolas finishes off Forest Spider to clear Enchanted Stream an 2 P on Flies and Spiders.
  7. Refresh: Threat 34.

Time: 11:24.

Round 5

  1. Resource: 11, draw Thicket of Spears.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Thalin, draw Black Forest Bats, remove Thalin from quest, Threat 37.
  4. Travel: Great Forest Web, exhaust Gimli.
  5. Encounter: Black Forest Bats.
  6. Combat: play Thicket of Spears to prevent attack (expensive, but saves the Feint for later), attack with Legolas for 2 hits, 2 D kills Black forest Bats, clears Enchanted Stream and clears Flies and Spiders. On to Stage 2.
  7. Refresh: Threat 38. Need a Gandalf here.

Time: 11:30.

Round 6

  1. Resource: 11, draw Dwarven Axe.
  2. Planning: Dwarven Axe on Thalin.
  3. Quest: Thalin, draw Dol Golder Orcs, 2 Damage to Thalin, 1 D on Dol Goldur Orcs, Threat 39.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Dol Goldur Orcs.
  6. Combat: Gimli defends, Shadow +1 hit, net +1 D on Gimli. Legolas finishes Dol Goldur Orcs to clear "A Fork in the Road."
  7. Refresh: Threat 40.

Time: 11:34.

Round 7

  1. Resource: 12, draw Rain of Arrows.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: none, draw Driven by Shadow, Threat 44.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Ungoliant's Spawn.
  6. Combat: play feint on Ungoliant's Spawn, attack with with 12, need 11 to defeat Ungoliant's Spawn, this is a win!
  7. Refresh: 45.

Time: 11:39.

AAR

This felt like a "classic" Tactics win for Passage Through Mirkwood. Just enough location to make a bit tense, some decent luck on the player draw, and good fortune getting "Don't Leave the Path" as the Stage 3 and final Quest.

Score:

  • Rounds: 70
  • Threat 45
  • Damage: 5
  • Heros: 0
  • Victory Points: 0
  • (Resources: 12)

Total: 120. Not bad.

I think I'm done with this deck for a bit.

The final time includes logging and archiving this play.

Time: 11:46.

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What to play next?

Deciding what to play next is always a tough call when faced with a closet full of games, all of which were purchased with intent to play. Here's one I'm dealing with the decision.

  • Something New: this means both something new to me and a game which has been published recently, within the last two or three years.
  • Something Classic: I've acquired a number of games properly considered "classic" which haven't yet been played. The current example would be PanzerGruppe Guderian.
  • Something Again: mastery requires constant practice, which means playing games many, many times to allow nuance to appear.
  • Something Vietnam: as I'm on a Vietnam binge. I don't have all the Vietnam games ever published, but I can say that I have a lot of them, and probably more than most people.
  • Something Obscure: as it's fun to poke around in the dustier corners of game design.
  • Something Different: break away from the same old publishers and try a game from one of the new kids on the block. Or, conversely, dip into legacy with a classic tried and true.
  • Something Light: once in a while it's nice to actually finish a game all the way through in one sitting, in an hour or two.
  • Something Heavy: if possible, it's nice to set up something big and complicated which can be left out for days or weeks or even months, for a leisurely stroll through a very large or long game.

There are surely many more ways to choose, but the above method keeps me busy enough, helps me get both breadth and depth into my play, and provides me with a sense of progress.

The odd man out

When there is an odd man out:

  • Have a solo game ready to play.
  • Keep score or advise on a game in progress.
  • Referee a game in progress.