LotR 96 - Into the Pit (25)

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I have been stuck on this quest for a long time. Supposedly, I beat it with the Basic Trisphere on my first try, but I'm not convinced I played the scenario correctly in that game. I've been trying since then with Dwarf decks and having very little luck. However, a month or so ago I rebuilt a dwarf deck which should be able to swarm and beat this scenario.

Initial hand:

  1. Untroubled by Darkness
  2. Miner of the Iron Hills
  3. Durin's Song
  4. Gloin
  5. Gandalf
  6. Henamarth Riversong

Initial encounter: Zigil Mineshaft.

Round 1

  1. Resource: 3, draw Longbeard Mapmaker.
  2. Planning: Play Durin's Song and Henamarth.
  3. Quest: Ori, Thorin, Henamarth for 11 Will. Exhaust Cave torch for 3 P on Zigil draw Signs of Conflict for no effect. Spend 2 Threat to clear Zigil. Draw Goblin Tunnels, no effect because no P yet. Good draw, lucky. East Gate is cleared.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 34.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 4, draw Fili.
  2. Planning: Play Fili and Kili.
  3. Quest: Henamarth examine top card finds Goblin Swordsman. Ori, Thorin, File for 9, draw Goblin Swordsman for 5 Threat net 4 P. Cave Torch to clear First Hall draw Branching Paths for no effect, Bridge of Khazad Dum goes into staging.
  4. Travel: Goblin Tunnels.
  5. Encounter: Goblin Swordsman.
  6. Combat: Dain defends, shadow Watchful Eyes for no effect. Lucky again.
  7. Refresh: Threat 35.

Round 3

  1. Resource: 5, draw Unexpected Courage and Narvi's Belt.
  2. Planning: play Gloin add 2 R to Dain. Henamarth scries Goblin Swordsman. No big deal. Play Narvi's Belt on Thorin.
  3. Quest: Ori and Fili for 5 Will, draw Goblin Swordsman net 1 P on quest, which will clear it when Bridge of Khazad-dum leaves play. Actually, no, the Progress goes on Goblin Tunnels, no big deal.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Goblin Swordsman again.
  6. Combat: Gloin defends, draw Goblin Scout for no effect. Kili defends, shadow Fouled Well for no effect. Thorin and Dain attack and kill both Goblin Swordsman. Action Window: play Cave Torch and draw Branching Paths for no effect. Bridge of Khazad-dum is cleared. Now to finish off this quest.
  7. Refresh: Threat 36.

Round 4

  1. Resource: 6, draw Bifur and Durin's Song.
  2. Planning: play Bifur, draw Cram and Second Breakfast. Play Cram on Thorin. Play Unexpected Courage on Dain. Henamarth scries Goblin Swordsman.
  3. Quest: Ori, Fili, Kili and Gloin for 10 Will. Draw Goblin Swordsman as scried, clear Goblin Tunnels and advance Quest to Goblin Patrol. Patrol Leader added to staging area.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Goblin Swordsman and Patrol Leader come out to play. Dain plays Durin's Song.
  6. Combat: Dain defends against Patrol Leader, shadow Goblin Follower which is +2 for total +6 attack on 5 defense, Dain takes a hit. Bifur defends Goblin Swordsman, shadow Crumbling Ruin, 2 hits. Ready Dain with Unexpected Courage, Dain and Thorin is 7 attack and Patrol Leader is post toastee. Thorin discards Cram to attack and kill Goblin Swordsman. Last quest phase A Way Up. goes into play.
  7. Refresh: Threat 37.

Round 5

  1. Resource: 0! draw (not that it matters) Dori and Erebor Record Keeper.
  2. Planning: nothing needed.
  3. Quest: All the dwarves but Dain… 18 Will, draw Cave In, since no Progress, surge Dark and Dreadful which takes out Henamarth leaving 16 Progress and that's the game.

AAR

Finally, I beat this bad boy, and it was easy.

The key to this thing is using the Cave Torch to knock out First Hall and Bridge of Khazad-Dum without actually traveling there. Having Henamarth in play early on really helped out a lot. I did get lucky with the Cave Torch draws too, most were not enemies are got discarded.

So weird how long it took me to figure this one out.

Khazad-dum and the Deeds of Dwarves

Main Deck

Hero (3)

Ally (28)

Attachment (10)

Event (13)

3 Heroes, 51 Cards, Cards up to On the Doorstep.

Deck built on RingsDB.

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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.