LotR 65 - Return to Mirkwood (8)

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Will I get lucky this time with Beorn's Path 9 Return to Mirkwood deck? Who can say? Have to play. It's a pretty good deck for this scenario, and I think I've come close to winning it a couple of times. If it weren't a single core deck, I'd add another Galadhrim's Greetings, Citadel Plate, and more Unexpected Courage.

The initial hand, no mulligan:

  1. West Road Traveler
  2. Hasty Stroke
  3. Unexpected Courage
  4. Ancient Mathom
  5. Gondorian Spearman
  6. Citadel Plate

Not too bad I think.

I'm supposed to writing some code today with a friend, but not feeling up for it yet, and it's after 10 am already. I should get ready for company now.

Round 1

  1. Resource: 3, draw Feint.
  2. Planning: Ancient Mathom on The Brown Lands. This is a risk, as I would like to have Unexpected Courage soon, and this punts that to Round 3. The payoff would be getting a Gandalf, Song of Travel or Galadhrim's Greetings.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Thalin, draw Wargs, unfortunate. Threat 31.
  4. Travel: The Brown Lands, from Ancient Mathom draw Stand and Fight, Gondorian Spearman and The Eagles Are Coming!
  5. Encounter: Wargs.
  6. Combat: Wargs undefended, Shadow The Spider's Ring which becomes the active location. 3 D on Gimli. Gimli swings for 5 killing Wargs.
  7. Refresh: Threat 35.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 5, draw Northern Tracker.
  2. Planning: Citadel Plate on Gimli.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Thalin, draw Wargs again, net +3 clears The Spider's Lair with 1 Progress.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Wargs.
  6. Combat: undefended, Shadow Hummerhorns, damage to Gimli now with 8 hits. Wargs are dead though.
  7. Refresh: Threat 39.

Round 3

  1. Resource: 4, draw Gondorian Spearman.
  2. Planning: Unexpected Courage on Gimli.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Thalin, Gimli, draw Wood Elf Path for net +6 Progress on quest.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 43.

Two more rounds unless I can get the threat down.

Round 4

  1. Resource: 5, draw Ancient Mathom.
  2. Planning: Gondorian Spearman.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Thalin, Gimli, draw Wood Elf Path and we've cleared stage 1.
  4. Travel: Wood Elf Path. Time to build some allies if possible.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 47.

Next round is last round unless Gandalf show up.

Round 5

  1. Resource: 6, draw Song of Travel.

And that's the game.

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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.