LotR 33 - A Journey to Rhosgobel (2)

Previous:
Next:
Tags

Second play of A Journey to Rhosgobel using this custom Decklist built and published on RingsDB. In the first game, Wilyador expired, I wasn't able to get any healing going, bummer. My intention is to play this deck again as-is, making note of cards which don't seem to work.

Initial draw, mulligan for Radagast:

  1. Radagast
  2. Radagast
  3. Gondorian Spearman
  4. The Eagles Are Coming!
  5. Blade Mastery
  6. Born Aloft

I decided to mulligan to get Radagast into my hand. Very hard to heal without Radagast.

Round 1

  1. Resource: 3, draw Quick Strike.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Thalin, draw Dol Goldur Orcs, 2 D to Thalin. Net 2 P on The Wounded Eagle.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Dol Goldur Orcs.
  6. Combat: Wilyador defends, Shadow Exhaustion deals 1 D to each exhausted character, not an auspicious start. Thalin is 3/4 D already. That sucks. Legolas swings for 3, DGO are dead and +2 P to quest.
  7. Refresh: Threat 28.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 6, draw Quick Strike.
  2. Planning: play Radagast now so he can start drawing resources.
  3. Quest: Thalin, Eowyn, draw Forest Grove, net +2 P.
  4. Travel: Forest Grove.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 29.

Round 3

  1. Resource: 4 + 1, draw Born Aloft.
  2. Planning: play Gondorian Spearman with Born Aloft.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Thalin and Wilyador, draw Swarming Insects to deal 1 Damage to each character without an attachment. This blows Thalin and Gondorian Spearman out of the game. That blows, real bad. It does clear Forest Grove and The Wounded Eagle, so I can grab an Athelas card now. Exhaust Legolas for Athelas.
  4. Travel: Rhosgobel.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 30.

Now I need to make a decision on whether to continue or not. Landroval could bring Thalin back into the game at a cost of 5, which could be borne in part by Radagast. This could work if Landroval comes up in the next couple of turns. If not, probably won't work.

Round 4

  1. Resource: 6, draw Favor of the Lady, which would go real well on Thalin.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Radagast, draw Festering Wounds which deals 2 D to each wounded character. That takes out Eowyn and Radagast.

You Lose Now.

Ok, that was a quick game. I could have played another 2 or 3 rounds I'm pretty sure, but there is no way I could win being down two heros and Radagast. I think this is fastest loss I've had in many games, possibly ever, although I usually play out the hopeless situations another couple of turns. Then again, those situations aren't usually this hopeless either.

Previous:
Next:
Tags

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.