LotR 94 - Into the Pit (23)

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After taking a break for a couple of months, I'm back at Into the Pit, so far the most difficult scenario I've played given my own devices.

The deck I'm using is my own, new Dwarf deck, which focuses on getting through the East-gate on the first or second turn. No idea how it will perform after that.

Initial hand:

  1. Ancestral Knowledge
  2. Narvi's Belt
  3. Ancestral Knowledge
  4. King Under the Mountain
  5. Fili
  6. Erebor Record Keeper

Initial encounter draw: Goblin Swordsman.

Round 1

  1. Resource: 3, draw Durin's Song.
  2. Planning: play Erebor, and Durin's Song on Thorin.
  3. Quest: Thorin, Ori and Erebor, 11 Will, draw Fouled Well discard Fili. Net 7 Progress, clears East-gate.
  4. Travel: First Hall, Threat 34.
  5. Encounter: Goblin Swordsman.
  6. Combat: Dain defends, draw Dreadful Gap for no Shadow, Dain takes no hits.
  7. Refresh: Threat 35, exhaust Cave Torch, draw Dark and Dreadful for no effect.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 4, draw Durin's Song.
  2. Planning: none this round, save Resources.
  3. Quest: Thorin and Ori, draw Zigil Mineshaft. Play Cave Torch to add Progress to Zigi, draw Goblin Follower. Increase Threat to 37 for two more Progress on Zigil to clear it. Net 3 Progress clearing First Hall and putting Bridge of Khazad-Dum in Staging. Entering the Mines has 1 Progress.
  4. Travel: Bridge of Khazad Dum.
  5. Encounter: Goblin Swordsman and Goblin Follower.
  6. Combat: Exhaust Erebor to ready Ori, play Durin's Song on Ori to get extra defense. Draw Shadow Signs of Conflict, Threat 38, no hits on Ori. Dain defends Goblin Swordsman, shadow Many Roads for no effect.
  7. Refresh: Threat 39.

Round 3

  1. Resource: Resource 5, draw Longbeard Orc Slayer.
  2. Planning: Employ Cave Torch to clear Bridge of Khazad Dum, draw Goblin Scout. Play Longbeard.
  3. Quest: Thorin, draw Crumbling Ruin, exhaust Longbeard and draw Gandalf. That's tough, could be the game right here as I'm about to get hammered.
  4. Travel: Fouled Well.
  5. Encounter: All.
  6. Combat: Ori Defends Goblin Scout, shadow Goblin Scout for no effect and no damage to Ori. Thorin defends Goblin Swordsman, draw shadow Lightless Passage for no effect, Thorin takes 2 hits. Dain defends Goblin Follower, shadow Crumbling Ruin for no effect, Dain takes no hits.
  7. Refresh: Threat 40.

Once again I'm unable to get the Dwarf swarm running. I've never been able to get a Dwarf swarm. I always lose too many characters early on then threat out or something. This was really painful as well, because I never got any real benefit from Longbeard, almost the same as just throwing away 4 resources.

Round 4

  1. Resource: 3, draw Dunedain Quest.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Thorin, draw Branching Paths. Net +2, which clears Fouled Well.
  4. Travel: Fouled Well. Exhaust Erebor to ready Thorin.
  5. Encounter: all.
  6. Combat: Ori defend Goblin Scout, shadow Goblin Swordsman which is added to the Staging Area for no further effect. Looking grim though. Thorin defends Goblin Swordsman, shadow Watchful Eyes for no effect, Thorin gets two more hits. Dain defends Goblin Follower, shadow Goblin Tunnels for +3 attack, Dain take 2 hits.
  7. Refresh: Threat 41.

I don't see any way I can dig out of this hole, just don't have enough resources.

Round 5

  1. Resource: 5, draw Dwalin.
  2. Planning: Play King Under the Mountain on Dain draw Fili and Map-maker discard Map-maker.
  3. Quest: Thorin, draw Goblin Follower. No way to win now.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: 5 enemy, forget it.
  6. Combat:
  7. Refresh: Threat

The next play, I'm going to concentrate on digging dwarves out of the deck, then worry about clearing locations.

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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.