LotR 67 - Return to Mirkwood (10)

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One last time with Beorn's Path 9 Return to Mirkwood deck. If this game doesn't go the distance, I'm relaxing the single core constraint and adding a bunch of useful core card, like another Galadhrim's Greetings, A Test of Will, etc. Will be removing Eagles, never use them, even though I would very much like to.

Initial hand lousy, mulligan for:

  1. A Test of Will
  2. Stand and Fight
  3. Vassal of the Windlord
  4. Escort from Edoras
  5. Quick Strike
  6. Gondorian Spearman

Initial Encounter: Attercop Attercop. Game over. Reset. Try again for Woodman's Glade. Much better.

Round 1

  1. Resource: 3, draw Winged Guardian
  2. Planning: play Vassal of the Windlord, let's fly some eagles.
  3. Quest: Eowy, Thalin, draw Great Forest Web net 1 Progress on quest.
  4. Travel: Woodman's Glade, exhaust Gimli.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 33.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 5, draw Citadel Plate.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Thalin, draw Woodman's Glade, 1 Progress on existing location.
  4. Travel: already at Woodnman's Glade.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 37.

Round 3

  1. Resource: 8, draw Stand and Fight.
  2. Planning: Citadel Plate on Gimli.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Thalin, draw Mirkwood Bats, bye bye bats. Woodman's Glade is cleared.
  4. Travel: back to Woodman's Glade, exhaust Gimli.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 41.

Round 4

  1. Resource: 7, draw Ancient Mathom.
  2. Planning: Ancient Mathom on Woodman's Glade.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Thalin, draw Hill Troll. This clears the second Woodman's Glade, draw Swift Strike, Ancient Mathom, A Test of Will.
  4. Travel: Great Forest Web, exhaust Gimli.
  5. Encounter: Hill Troll.
  6. Combat: Hill Troll undefended, Shadow card Mirkwood Bats no effect, 6 hits on Gimli.
  7. Refresh: Threat 45.

Actually, this was the game, as Hill Troll added 6 Threat from being undefended. Had Gimli not exhausted to travel, we would be at 49 threat, untenable unless drawing and playing some Threat reduction.

Actually, that's not true, as Gimli soaked up all 6 points of damage. Had the Hill Troll attacked, say, Vassal of the Windlord, it would have added 6 Threat.

Round 5

  1. Resource: 9, draw Song of Travel.
  2. Planning: Ancient Mathom on Great Forest Web, Song of Travel on Thalin, Gondorian Spearman.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Thalin, draw The Brown Lands.

This was the game in any case, no way to clear Great Forest Web and hopefully draw Galadhrim's Greetings.

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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.