LotR 28 - Conflict at the Carrock 1

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First play of Conflict at the Carrock using one Beorn's Path decks from RingsDB. It looks like a pretty good deck, and the write up shows how it can win. Perhaps after I manage to win at this scenario, I'll work on building my own deck for the next scenario. Or perhaps build a Tactics/Spirit deck for this one. There isn't much questing in this scenario, so having Eowyn control that along with major Tactics combat might work well. But I need to play through this deck first.

Time: 4:38 pm.

Initial hand:

  1. Valiant Sacrifice
  2. Erebor Hammersmith
  3. Rivendell Minstrel
  4. Faramir
  5. Dunedain Mark
  6. Son of Arnor

I don't think this is a very good starting hand, but I'll play it out anyway to see how it works.

Round 1

  1. Resource: 3, draw Song of Kings.
  2. Planning: none, need to accumulate resources.
  3. Quest: all, draw Muck Adder. Uh oh. Net 1 P.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Muck Added.
  6. Combat: undefended as all quested, Shadow is no defense allowed, Denethor takes the hit and is discarded from play. That's probably the game right there.
  7. Refresh: Threat 29.

Note: I could have readied Aragorn, but with the Shadow effect, he would have taken damage and left play. So there really wasn't any out of that one. For Muck Adders, really need to engage with Allies.

Time: 4:45 pm.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 5, draw Erebor Hammersmith.
  2. Planning: play Erebor Hammersmith.
  3. Quest: Aragorn only, draw Wargs. Threat 31.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Wargs.
  6. Combat: Theodred defends for Wargs, Shadow none, 2 D on Theodred. Erebor is killed from Muck Adder. Dang. Aragorn spends 1 R to ready and attack Muck Adders, they're gone.
  7. Refresh: Threat 32.

Note: I could have drawn 2 cards with Ever Vigilant when Erebor left.

Time: 4:51 pm.

Round 3

  1. Resource: 5, draw Dunedain Warning.
  2. Planning: Erebor Hammersmith, pay 2. Attach Dunedain Mark to Aragorn.
  3. Quest: Theodred and Aragorn, add 1 R to Aragorn, draw Sacked!, play on Theodred. Ready Aragorn for 1 R. No net progress or threat.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: Erebor defends against Wargs, Shadow none, 2 D on Erebor. Aragorn swings with 4 on Wargs, they're done.
  7. Refresh: Threat 33.

Time: 4:58 pm.

Round 4

  1. Resource: 3, draw Secret Paths, which I can't use, all of Lore is dead to me in this deck.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Aragorn, draw The East Bight. Threat 34.
  4. Travel: mandatory to East Bight.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none. All hell is about to break loose though.
  7. Refresh: Threat 35.

Time: 5:02 pm.

Round 5

  1. Resource: 3, draw Snowbourn Scout.
  2. Planning: play Snowbourn scout pay 1.
  3. Quest: Aragorn, draw Muck Adder. Ready Aragorn. Threat 36.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Muck Adder.
  6. Combat: Snowbourn Scout defends from Muck Adder, Shadow says deal X shadow cards to this attacker where X is the number of players. Fortunately, X = 1 in this game. I'm calling it no effect. Snowbourn Scout is dead, Ever Vigilant for 1 and draw Gandalf and For Gondor. Not useful. Aragorn kills Muck Adder.
  7. Refresh: Threat 37.

Time: 5:07 pm.

Round 6

  1. Resource: 2, draw Ever Vigilant.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Aragorn, draw Hill Troll. Threat 38. Ready Aragorn.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Hill Troll.
  6. Combat: Hill Troll against Erebor defending, Shadow -1 defense for Erebor, he's done. Spend 1 R Ever Vigilant to draw Guard of the Citadel x 2. Aragorn attacks with 4, net 1 D on Hill Troll.
  7. Refresh: Threat 39.

Time: 5:12 pm.

Round 7

  1. Resource: 2, draw Self Preservation.
  2. Planning: play Guard of the Citadel.
  3. Quest: none.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: Guard of the Citadel defends, Shadow none, Guard is dead. Aragorn puts 1 more D on Hill Troll.
  7. Refresh: Threat 40.

Time: 5:14 pm.

Round 8

  1. Resource: 1, draw Dunedain Mark.
  2. Planning: play Dunedain Mark on Aragorn.
  3. Quest: none, draw Banks of the Anduin, Threat 43.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: undefended, Theodred dead, Aragorn puts 2 D on Hill Troll.
  7. Refresh: Threat 44.

Round 9

  1. Resource: 1, draw Steward of Gondor.
  2. Planning: play Dunedain Warning on Aragorn.
  3. Quest: none, draw Gladden Fields, Threat 50. Game over.

Score:

  • Rounds: -90
  • Heroes: -20
  • Threat: -50
  • VP: 0

Total: -160.

Not too bad given I lost Denethor on the first turn, and didn't draw Steward of Gondor until Turn 9. Beorn's initial draws (I've noticed) seem to "unusually" good for his play throughs. I could probably figure out the odds.

Take home for this game: Don't go all in on questing on the first turn unless there is an ally or two already out.

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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.