LotR 45 - Escape from Dol Guldur (3)

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Using the "Back to Basics" deck for the third play.

So far, I'm finding that this scenario doesn't really reward good play, but will brutally punish anything less than perfect play. There is no respite.

Initial hand:

  1. Snowbourn Scout
  2. Faramir
  3. Unexpected Courage
  4. Sneak Attack
  5. Sneak Attack
  6. Guard of the Citadel

Initial Encounter:

  1. Dungeon Torch has Dol Goldur Beastmaster.
  2. Shadow Key has King Spider.
  3. Gandalf's Map has Great Forest Web.

Round 1

  1. Resource: 2, draw Guard of the Citadel.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, draw Under the Shadow, raise Threat by 1 per player. Net -4 P for Threat 31.
  4. Travel: none, can't afford to lose Theodred next turn.
  5. Encounter: King Spider.
  6. Combat: Undefended so that Theodred can get in a lick. Draw Endless Caverns which has no Shadow effect. 3 D for Theodred, he returns 1 D to Spider.
  7. Refresh: Threat 32.

I think I should have played Snowbourn Scout, which would have allowed a chump block for the Kind Spider, as well as putting a P on Great Forest Web.

It also just occurred to me that I will not be able to attach Shadow Key to Theodred as he's already out of hit points.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 4, draw Steward of Gondor.
  2. Planning: play Steward of Gondor on Theodred, exhaust to get 2, then play Snowbourn Scout. Also play Unexpected Courage on Theodred now that Eowyn has the resources.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Theodred (put R on Eowyn), draw Eyes of the Forest which discards all the Event cards from my hand, which is to say, two copies of Sneak Attack. This is unfortunate, as I was going to use Sneak Attack to bring in Faramir to kill the King Spider, which will now survive another turn. This does net 1 P on Stage 1 The Necromancer's Tower, so I'm doing a little better than Games 1 and 2.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: Snowbourn Scout defends, Shadow for King Spider is Dol Goldur Beastmaster for no effect. Theodred deals 1 D to King Spider.
  7. Refresh: Threat 33.

Round 3

  1. Resource: 6, draw A Test of Will.
  2. Planning: play Faramir.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Theodred, draw Necromancer's Reach and cancel with A Test of Will. This would have been game ending as Theodred only has 1 hit point left. Net 1 P on Stage 1.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: Faramir defends, Shadow is Necromancer's Pass, for no effect. Faramir takes 1 D. Use Unexpected Courage to get Theodred back up to kill King Spider.
  7. Refresh: Threat 34.

I think this was first round played "perfectly" over all three games so far.

Round 4

  1. Resource: 5, draw Northern Tracker. I hope I can get this in play. If so, I may have a chance at getting to Stage 2. I should be able to deploy it next turn.
  2. Planning: play Guard of the Citadel.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Theodred (R to Eowyn), draw Caught in a Web. Attach this to Beravor. Net 1 P on Stage 1 for 3P total.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 35.

So far so good. Looks like the earliest a hero will go out now is going to be Round 6.

Round 5

  1. Resource: 8, draw Hasty Stroke.
  2. Planning: play Northern Tracker.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Theodred, Northern Tracker for 6 Will, draw Necromancer's Pass. Net +1 P.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Dol Goldur Orcs.
  6. Combat: Guard of the Citadel defends, first Shadow is Tower Gate, no effect, second Shadow is Great Forest Web for no effect. Guard of the Citadel is toast. Theodred and Faramir attack to pkce 2 D on Beastmaster.
  7. Refresh: Threat 36.

I need a Gandalf about right now.

Round 6

  1. Resource: 9, draw Guard of the Citadel.
  2. Planning: play Guard of the Citadel.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Theodred (R to Eowyn), Northern Tracker, draw Dol Goldur Orcs, deal 2 D to Northern Tracker. I think this is the beginning of the end. Net +1 P to Stage 1.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Dol Goldur Orcs.
  6. Combat: Faramir defends Dol Goldur Orcs, Shadow card is Cavern Guardian, discard Unexpected Courage. Fuck. No damage on Faramir. Guard of the Citadel defends Dol Goldur Beastmaster, Shadow Endless Caverns no effect, Guard is destroyed, since Theodred cannot refresh, there is no more which can be done. That's really bad.
  7. Refresh: Threat 37.

Round 7

  1. Resource: 11, draw Snowbourn Scout.
  2. Planning: play Snowbourn Scout to get rid of Necromancer's Pass. Small relief! This is bad though, 2 enemies engaged.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Theodred (R to Eowyn), draw Tower Gate. No problem! Net +3. If I could scry I'd be done with this Stage already.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: Faramir defends, Shadow is Dungeon Jailer, no effect and no damage on Faramir. Snowbourn Scout defends, first Shadow is Mountains of Mirkwood, no effect, second shadow is Dol Goldur Orcs, +1 attack, Snowbourn Scout is dead. Nothern Tracker deals 1 D to Dol Goldur Beastmaster.
  7. Refresh: Threat 38.

Round 8

  1. Resource: 15, draw Stand and Fight.
  2. Planning: play Guard of the Citadel.
  3. Quest: Eowyn and Northern Tracker, draw Necromancer's Reach, which destroys Northern Tracker. I'm taking Tower Gate out of play as the text on Northern Tracke says place the progress token when Northern Tracker commits, so Tower Gate is out of play before I draw. I'm bringing it back next turn with Stand and Fight. Net +2 P for 6/9 total Progress. I need to be able to scry, so badly.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: Faramir defends Dol Goldur Orcs, Shadow is Enchanted Stream for no effect and no damage. Dol Goldur Beastmaster on Guard of the Citadel, first Shadow is Under the Shadow which raise Theat by 2, which I'm canceling via Hasty Stroke. Second Shadow is Iron Shackles which resolves to its When Revealed. Unfortunate. Theodred deal 1 D to Beastmaster. I really need a Gandalf or Galadhrim to reduce threat right about now.
  7. Refresh: Threat 41.

Ungoliant's Spawn and Hummehorns are still in the deck.

Round 9

  1. Resource: 16, draw Iron Shackles.
  2. Planning: play Stand and Fight to bring Northern Tracker back into play.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, draw Dol Goldur Orcs, and that's the game. I'll play it out to dead hero, but there's no way to survive this now. Net +2 P on Stage 1 for 8/9. Really don't want any more progress until Threat is reduced.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Dol Goldur Orcs.
  6. Combat: Theodred defends against Dol Goldur Orcs, Shadow is Necromancer's Reach for no effect, Theodred is dead.

I think I'm getting a better grip on this scenario now. Getting the Staging area and Encounters cleared out as fast as possible, then getting through Stage 1 with as low a threat as possible.

In this game, with no Gandalfs and no Galadhrim's Greeting, there wasn't any way out. Even one Gandalf a couple of turns back to take out the Dol Goldur Beastmaster could have tipped it.

Another thing about this scenario is it doesn't make sense to reserve anything at the beginning. If an advantage can be taken it needs to be taken as soon as possible.

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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.