LotR 53 - Journey Along the Anduin (6)

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An attempt at Journey Along the Anduin play the Back to Basics core trisphere deck.

This was a Threat 50 loss. Basically, I got behind on enemies from the start, and wasn't able to stop cycling allies for blockers, while not getting enough mojo to kill enemies fast enough. I did make a couple of mistakes by spending on Faramir instead of Sneak Attacking with Gandalf. That keep Ufthak in play 1 round longer, and prevented me from using Gandalf as a regular play for reducing threat.

As usual, small details stack up either in one's favor or against.

Also, I think it's worth adding a couple more cards to this deck: Grim Resolve, Wandering Took and Valiant Sacrifice. While these reduce the odds of getting "better" cards, any of these can be pitched to Eowyn if necessary, and the case where resources are piling up with no allies coming out of the draw deck is tailor made for Grim Resolve. Possibly Ever Vigilant as well.

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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.