LotR 106 - The Watcher in the Water (3)

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After a hiatus of several months, it's time to return to Middle Earth. I'm playing the Deeds of Dwarves deck which has gotten me up until this point in Dwarrowdelf. From what I recall the last time I played, I may need to get a bit more healing on the deck to deal with tentacles. Let's see how this game works out.

Starting hand:

  1. Fili
  2. Sneak Attack
  3. Longbeard Orc Slayer
  4. Durin's Song
  5. Longbeard Map-Maker
  6. Erebor Record Keeper

Initial encounter: Stagnant Creek, which draws Warg Lair.

Round 1

  1. Resource: 3, draw Untroubled By Darkness
  2. Planning: play Erebr RK
  3. Quest: Ori, ERK, draw Ill Purpose for now effect, net +2 on quest. Ill Purpose is nasty.
  4. Travel: Stagnant Creek.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 32.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 5, draw Ancestral Knowledge
  2. Planning: play Fili get Kili.
  3. Quest: ERK and Ori, draw Wrapped! Net +5 Progress and Stagnant Creek is cleared.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: Exhaust Thorin to clear Wrapped!
  7. Refresh: Threat 33.

Round 3

  1. Resource: 6, draw Forest Snare and Bifur.
  2. Planning: play Longbeard OS, expensive, but might save the day with big defense.
  3. Quest: Thorin, Ori, ERK for 9 Will, draw Grasping Tentacle.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Grasping Tentacle.
  6. Combat: Longbeard OS defends Grasping Tentacle, shadow Makeshift Passage for no effect. Fili and Kili attack to kill Grasping Tentacle.
  7. Refresh: Threat 34.

Round 4

  1. Resource: 6, draw Second Breakfast and Cram.
  2. Planning: Cram on Dain.
  3. Quest: Thorin and Fili for 6 Will, draw Thrashing Tentacle, net 4 Progress and off to Stage 2.
  4. Travel: none, Doors of Durin in play.
  5. Encounter: Thrashing Tentacle.
  6. Combat: Longbread Orc Slayer defends, shadow Perilous Swamp for no effect, but kills Longbeard OS. Since there is a Shadow card, all the attacking damage would be dealt to an attacker, so just leave it engaged and hope for the best.
  7. Refresh: Threat 35.

Round 5

  1. Resource: 10, draw Narvi's Belt and Forest Snare.
  2. Planning: Forest Snare on Thrashing Tentacle, Narvi's on Thorin.
  3. Quest: Thorin, Ori, Fili for 9 Will, draw Mountain Warg net +3 Progress.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Mountain Warg.
  6. Combat: Kili defends shadow Striking Tentacle for no effect, Kili is dead. ERK readies Thorin, play Durin's song for +2 attack on Dain to kill Mountain Warg.
  7. Refresh: Threat 36.

Round 6

  1. Resource: 8, draw Longbeard Map-Maker, Miner of the Iron Hills.
  2. Planning: play Miner of the Iron Hills. Discard Longbeard MapMaker, Second Breakfast, Ancestral Knowledge to draw Black Uruks and claim Doors of Durin for 3 VP.
  3. Quest: Going for gold, questing all but Dain, playing Untroubled by Darkness for 7 + 5 + 5 for 17 Will, draw Black Uruks and discard Cram, whoopity doop.

That is a win.

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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.