LotR 49 - Escape from Dol Guldur (7)

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Using the "Back to Basics" deck for a 7th attempt.

Initial hand:

  1. Northern Tracker
  2. Henamarth Riversong
  3. Sneak Attack
  4. Gandalf
  5. For Gondor
  6. Snowbourn Scout

Initial Encounter:

  1. Dungeon Torch/Dungeon Jailor
  2. Gandalf's Map/Necromancer's Pass
  3. Shadow Key/Mountains of Mirkwood

If I can get Northern Tracker out fast, I might have a shot at this one.

Round 1

  1. Resource: 2, draw Dwarven Tomb.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, draw Caught in a Web, put that on Beravor. Threat 29.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 30.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 4, draw The Galadhrim's Greeting.
  2. Planning: Play Snowbourn Scout, 1 P on Necromancer's Pass.
  3. Quest: Eowyn & Theodred, draw Chieftain Ufthak threat 33.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 34.

Round 3

  1. Resource: 6, draw Snowbourn Scout, useful!
  2. Planning: Snowbourn Scout to clear Necromancer's Pass. Galadhrim's Greeting to reduce threat to 28.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Theodred draw King Spider, exhaust Snowbourn Scout. Threat 30.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: King Spider.
  6. Combat: Snowbourn Scout defends, Shadow Great Forest Web, no effect. Snowbourn is dead.
  7. Refresh: Threat 31.

Round 4

  1. Resource: 5, draw Guard of the Citadel.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, draw Dol Guldur Beastmaster, Threat 34.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: Snowbourn Scout defends, Shadow is Great Forest Web for no effect. Sneak Attack Gandalf to kill King Spider, Threat 29.
  7. Refresh: Threat 30.

Round 5

  1. Resource: 6, draw Miner of the Iron Hills.
  2. Planning: Play Northern Tracker.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Northern Tracker draw Endless Caverns which is Doomed 1 and surge Iron Shackles. Threat 32.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 33.

Can't get a grip on the staging. I'm gaining extra threat every turn because I can't quest enough to beat the staging area. This is all going to collapse when the enemies pour out at threat 35.

Round 6

  1. Resource: 4, draw Iron Shackles.
  2. Planning: play Guard of the Citadel.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Theodred, Northern Tracker draw Dungeon Jailor. Threat 35.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Chieftain Ufthak, Dol Guldur Beastmaster.
  6. Combat: Guard of Citadel defends Chieftain Ufthak, dies. Shadow card was Dol Guldur Orcs. Theodred takes undefended Dol Guldur Beastmaster, Shadow cards Driven by Shadow and The Necromancer's Reach both for no effect, takes 3 D.
  7. Refresh: Threat 36.

Round 7

  1. Resource: 6, draw Northern Tracker.
  2. Planning: play Dwarven Tomb to fetch The Galadhrim's Greeting, play to reduce threat to 30.
  3. Quest: Northern Tracker, draw Ungoliant's Spawn. Mountains of Mirkwood is clear, but Threat is 34, which will bring Ungoliant's Spawn into play. Bummer.

AAR

I called it because it was obvious I was about to lose all my heroes. Would rather save a few minutes and do something else.

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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.