LotR 54 - Journey Along the Anduin (7)

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Back to Basics core trisphere deck back in action for a seventh attempt at Journey Along the Anduin. This is the basic 44 card deck.

Initial hand:

  1. Northern Tracker
  2. Gandalf
  3. Guard of the Citadel
  4. Hasty Stroke
  5. Gandalf
  6. Lore of Imladris

Looks fine, I'll take it.

Encounter deck reveals Gladden fields. Pretty high threat, should probably travel there.

Round 1

  1. Resource: 3, draw Galadhrim's Greeting.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Theodred for 5 Will, draw Dol Guldur Orcs. Threat 28.
  4. Travel: Gladden Fields.
  5. Encounter: Dol Guldur Orcs.
  6. Combat: Beravor takes Dol Guldur undefended, draw Treacherous Fog with no Shadow effect. 2 D on Beravor. Beravor puts 2 hits on Dol Guldur Orcs.
  7. Refresh: Threat 30.

I think this game is in trouble already.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 7, draw Steward of Gondor.
  2. Planning: Steward of Gondor on Eowyn, Galadhrim's Greeting for Threat 24.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, draw Gladden Fields. Good to get these out of the way early I guess.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: Beravor defends, Shadow is Necromancer's Reach for no effect. Theodred swings for the kill.
  7. Refresh: Threat 26.

Round 3

  1. Resource: 9, draw Hasty Stroke.
  2. Planning: Northern Tracker. Lore of Imladris to heal Beravor.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Theodred, Northern Tracker for 6 Will, draw Eastern Crows, surge Wolf Riders, surge Evil Storm. No net progress.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Eastern Crows, Wolf Rider.
  6. Combat:
    • Eastern Crows on undefended Theodred, Shadow card is Dol Guldur Orcs which results in +4 Damage to Theodred, he's dead. But I can cancel that with Hasty Stroke!
    • Wolf Rider on Beravor undefended, Shadow is "Return exhausted ally to hand" which puts Northern Tracker back in hand, which hurts as I don't have enough Spirit Resource to get him out next round. Beravor takes 2 D and kills Wolf Rider.
  7. Refresh: Threat 28.

This is either going to be a pretty long game, or a pretty short game if Hill Troll comes out soon.

Round 4

  1. Resource: 8, draw Snowbourn Scout.
  2. Planning: play Snowbourn Scout.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Theodred, draw Evil Storm, net 1 P.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: Snowbourn defend against crows, Shadow is The Brown Lands for no effect. Beravor kills Eastern Crows.
  7. Refresh: Threat 30.

Round 5

  1. Resource: 12, draw A Test of Will.
  2. Planning: Play Gandalf for Threat 25.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Theodred, Gandalf for 9 Will, draw Misty Mountain Goblins.
  4. Travel: Gladden Fields.
  5. Encounter: Misty Mountain Goblins.
  6. Combat: Snowbourn Scout defends, draw The East Bight for no effect Shadow. Beravor puts 1 hit.
  7. Refresh: Threat 27.

Rounds 6

  1. Resource: 13, draw Guard of the Citadel.
  2. Planning: Northern Tracker, Guard of the Citadel.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Theodred, draw Despair to remove both Progress from Quest, but we're net +4 which gets rid of Gladden Fields finally.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: Nothern Tracker defends, Shadow is Dol Guldur Orcs for +1 hit, Northern Tracker takes 1 hit. Beravor and Guard of the Citadel kill Misty Mountain Goblins.
  7. Refresh: Threat 28.

Round 7

  1. Resource: 12, draw Steward of Gondor.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Theodred draw Hill Troll. Dang. Net +3 P.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 29. Beravor draws Stand and Fight and Miner of the Iron Hills.

Round 8

  1. Resource: 17, draw Faramir.
  2. Planning: Miner of the Iron Hills, Guard of the Citadel.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, draw Dol Guldur Beastmaster. Dang.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Engage Hill Troll #1.
  6. Combat: Hill Troll defended by Guard of Citadel, Shadow is Treacherous Fog, Threat now 33. Gandalf, Theodred, Beravor, Northern Tracker, Guard of the Citadel, Miner of the Iron Hills swing for 12, Hill Troll #1 is gone.
  7. Refresh: Threat 34.

Round 9

  1. Resource: 13, draw Galadhrim's Greeting.
  2. Planning: Galadhrim's Greeting, Threat 28. Play Stand and Fight to get Guard of the Citadel back.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, draw Chieftain Ufthak. Dang. That's pretty much all the enemies in this deck I think. If I can survive these clowns I should be able to win it. Threat 29.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Engage Hill Troll.
  6. Combat: Guard of the Citadel defends against Hill Troll #2, which already has 8 damage on it. Shadow is The East Bight for no effect. Theodred, Beravor, Northern Tracker, Miner of the Iron Hills and Guard of the Citadel swing for 8, Hill Troll #2 is dead. Threat 33.
  7. Refresh: Threat 34.

Round 10

  1. Resource: 13, draw Guard of the Citadel.
  2. Planning: Guard of the Citadel.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, draw Misty Mountain Goblins. Unreal.
  4. Travel: none. Beravor draws Sneak Attack and Stand and Fight. Too little too late.

I'm conceding here, with 5 Progress on To The River.

This is just an insane number of enemies to appear all in a row. It's like every enemy in the deck, one after another.

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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.