LotR 70 - Return to Mirkwood (13)

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Third play for: The Eagles Are Leaving!. This deck can beat the this quest, but it's going to take some lucky draws as well as very sharp play.

I'm actually really tired right now, but it's only 6 pm, too early to go to bed. We'll see how it plays out. If it goes long, may pick it up tomorrow morning.

Initial hand:

  1. The Galadhrim's Greetings.
  2. Unexpected Courage.
  3. Escort from Edoras
  4. Stand and Fight
  5. The Galadhrim's Greetings
  6. Vassal of the Windlord

Initial encounter: The Spider's Ring.

Round 1

  1. Resource: 3, draw Dwarven Tomb.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Thalin, draw Despair, no effect. Net +2 P on quest.
  4. Travel: The Spider's Ring.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 33.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 6, draw Stand and Fight.
  2. Planning: Unexpected Courage on Gimli.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Thalin, draw Attercop Attercop. No. Going to reshuffle this back into the deck, there is no way to win it. Trying again, Mirkwood Bats.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 37.

Round 3

  1. Resource: 7, draw Ancient Mathom.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Thalin, Gimli, draw King Spider, but all are exhausted, no effect. Net +5 on quest.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: King Spider.
  6. Combat: Gimli defends, Shadow Great Forest Web no effect. Gimli takes 1 hit.
  7. Refresh: Threat 41.

Round 4

  1. Resource: 10, draw Swift Strike.
  2. Planning: play Vassal of the Windlord.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Thalin, draw Mountains of Mirkwood. Clear Stage 1.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: Gimli defends, play Swift Strike for 2 hits on spider.
  7. Refresh: Threat 45.

Round 5

  1. Resource: 10, draw Dwarven Axe.
  2. Planning: The Galadhrim's Greetings, Threat 39.
  3. Quest: Thalin, Gimli, draw Goblin Sniper, Threat 40.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Goblin Sniper.
  6. Combat: Goblin Sniper, undefended Shadow Ungoliant's Spawn and that's the game with Threat 48.

I should have left the Goblin Sniper in the staging area I think. It would have left an extra 2 Threat in Staging, but I needed to soak up Will to get Escort for Edoras into play as soon as possible.

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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.