LotR 34 - A Journey to Rhosgobel (3)

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Another round of Rhosgobel, playing blind, would like to get to Stage 3 at least in this game.

Initial hand:

  1. Feint
  2. Radagast
  3. Mustering the Rohirrim
  4. Westfold Horse-Breaker
  5. Gandalf
  6. Citadel Plate

A decent hand, I'm keeping it.

Round 1

  1. Resource: 3, draw Feint.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Thalin, Eowyn, draw Hummerhorns. This is Threat 40 card, so there is time to figure out how to engage it, namely, put the Citadel Plate on Thalin. It only has 3 hits points, and no defense, so if the Hero can survive the initial swing, it's a dead bug. Net 3 P on Stage 1.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 28.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 6, draw The Eagles are Coming!
  2. Planning: play Radagast, need to start getting those Resources on him.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Thalin and Radagast, draw Exhaustion, not good, 2 D to all exhausted characters. Too early in the game for that. Net 5 P so stage 1 is cleared.
  4. Travel: Rhosgobel.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 29.

At least I'm through the first stage.

Round 3

  1. Resource: 4, draw Rain of Arrows. Could be useful.
  2. Planning: none, need to save another round.
  3. Quest: Thalin, Eowyn, Radagast, draw Mirkwood Flock, net 4 P on Rhosgobel, 1 P on stage 2. Rhosgobel cleared.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 30.

Round 4

  1. Resource: 7, draw Winged Guardian.
  2. Planning: Citadel Plate on Thalin. Play The Eagles are Coming! and draw no Eagles. Bummer. Scry deck with Wilyador, discard Great Forest Web and Caught in a Web to obtain Forest Grove.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Radagast, Wilyador, Thalin and Legolas for +5 net P on stage 2, which is now at 6 P.
  4. Travel: Forest Grove.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 31.

Round 5

  1. Resource: 6, draw Northern Tracker.
  2. Planning: play Northern Tracker. Scry Exhaustion, Caught in a Web and discard, Keep Black Forest Bats.
  3. Quest: Need 3 to overcome Threat in Staging, 3 to clear Forest Grove, and enough mojo to handle Black Forest Bats. Eowyn, Thalin and Radagast for Net 4, Forest Grove is cleared.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Black Forest Bats.
  6. Combat: Wilyador defends, Shadow Mirkwood Flock, no effect. Legoalas for the kill and 2 P on Stage 2.
  7. Refresh: Threat 32.

Next I'll found out if my plan for leaving Mirkwood flock in Staging was smart or stupid.

Round 6

  1. Resource: 8, draw Galadhrim's Greetings.
  2. Planning: Scry Necromancer's Reach x 2, Dol Goldur Orcs, keep Orcs. Play Gandalf, reduce Threat to 27.
  3. Quest: Eowyn and Gandalf, draw Dol Goldur Orcs for 2 D on Gandalf (womp womp), Stage 2 is cleared, exhaust Thalin for Athelas.

You Lose Now.

It turns out the last stage requires complete Wilyador healing for a win, otherwise, lose. The best I can do is all but 6 D, which is probably not very good.

I think this scenario really requires the Lore healing cards. I think it's possible, but possibly very difficult to beat this without playing Lore, at least with Progression cards. Time to watch some Mitch and Matthew to see how they did it.

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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.