LotR 48 - Escape from Dol Guldur (6)

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Using the "Back to Basics" deck for a 6th attempt at the horribly difficult scenario.

Initial hand:

  1. Miner of the Iron Hills
  2. Snowbourn Scout
  3. A Test of Will
  4. Faramir
  5. Northern Tracker
  6. Lore of Imladris

Initial encounter:

  1. Dungeon Torch/Driven by Shadow
  2. Gandalf's Map/Dol Guldur Beastmaster
  3. Shadow Key/ Dungeon Jailer

Round 1

  1. Resource: 2, draw A Test of Will.
  2. Planning: play Snowbourn Scout.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Theodred draw Tower Gate for net 0.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 28.

This is ok, I'll have enough to get Northern Tracker out next turn to eliminate Tower Gate from the staging area. Actually that's wrong as I need 4 Spirit to get Northern Tracker into play, so it will be a couple of turns. Hope I can last that long.

I think I'll start knocking out a few chores along the way here.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 4, draw Stand and Fight.
  2. Planning: none, save resources.
  3. Quest: Eowyn and Theodred, draw Great Forest Road, and Eowyn now has 3 R, so Northern Tracker comes out next turn to deal with these locations. Net -2 for Threat 30. I'm going to need threat control very soon now.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 31.

Northern Tracker next round!

Laundry all folded now.

Round 3

  1. Resource: 6, draw Gandalf.
  2. Planning: play Northern Tracker.
  3. Quest: Northern Tracker, Eowyn draw King Spider and now the game starts to go pear shaped. Will exhaust Snowbourn in an attempt to save Snowbourn for the next round blocking. Threat 33.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: King Spider.
  6. Combat: Theodred defends, Shadow is Great Forest Web for no effect. Theodred takes 2 hits.
  7. Refresh: Threat 34.

This is looking ugly. Maybe should have played Gandalf to lower threat when I had the chance.

A Test of Will would have negated King Spider's "When Revealed" effect, if only I had a spare Resource to spend for it.

Round 4

  1. Resource: 5, draw Unexpected Courage.
  2. Planning: Play Gandalf to reduce Threat to 29.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Northern Tracker, Theodred draw Cavern Guardian, net 1 P on Stage 1. Threat 30. I think this game just went unwinnable.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Cavern Guardian.
  6. Combat: Snowbourn defends Cavern Guardian, Shadow is Caught in a Web, no effect but Snowbourn is toast. Gandalf defends King Spider, Shadow is Mountains of Mirkwood, no effect.
  7. Refresh: Threat 31.

Tense game now.

Got the Hinge Health tablet and sensors charging.

Round 5

  1. Resource: 3, draw Miner of the Iron Hills.
  2. Planning: Play Stand and fight to put Snowbourn back into play.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, draw Under the Shadow, Threat 32.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: Snowbourn defend King Spider Shadow Necromancer's Reach for no effect, Snowbourn back to discard. Northern Tracker defends Cavern Guardian, Shadow is Endless Caverns for no effect, and no damage on Northern Tracker. Theodred deals 1 D to King Spider.
  7. Refresh: Threat 32.

Unexpected Courage onto Theodred next round.

Round 6

  1. Resource: 4, draw Sneak Attack.
  2. Planning: Unexpected Courage on Theodred.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Theodred, draw Dol Guldur Orcs, since Eowyn has 1 R from Theodred, the 1 D When Revealed can be negated with A Test of Will. Net 0 progress and going into enemy lock.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Dol Guldur Orcs.
  6. Combat: Ready Theodred. Eowyn takes undefended from Dol Guldur Orcs, Shadow Dungeon Jailer for no effect, 2 D on Eowyn. Northern Tracker defends King Spider, Shadow is Chieftain Ufthak for no effect, 1 D on Northern Tracker. Theodred defends Cavern Guardian, Shadow is Enchanted Stream, no effect +1 D on Theodred.
  7. Refresh: Threat 33.

This game is basically unwinnable at this point, I've completely lost control of staging and encounter, and there is no way to deal with the number of enemies I have right now, much less what's coming. A bad Treachery could take out both Eowyn and Theodred.

Round 7

  1. Resource: 4, draw For Gondor.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Theodred, draw Dol Guldur Beastmaster.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: n/m, questing Eowyn lost a defender there, this is game over because she's out on this combat round.

AAR

The key to this quest is getting control of staging as fast as possible. If Treachery and Location cards come up for Objective guards, and Northern Tracker comes out early, this would be really helpful.

It's a pity the designers didn't handicap this scenario to be winnable with a solo hand.

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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.