LotR 117, 118 - Shadow and Flame (4, 5)

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Another round with The Balrog Brigade. The previous Shadow and Flame attempt saw 6 rounds with no progress on the quest.

Initial hand:

  1. Citadel Plate
  2. Resourceful
  3. Stand and Fight
  4. Hasty Stroke
  5. Quick Strike
  6. Fili

Round 1

  1. Resource: 3, draw Fili. This is a bummer, because Fili needs to be played from the draw deck, not from the hand.
  2. Planning: Resourceful on Nori.
  3. Quest: Nori, Thalin, draw Great Cave Troll, Threat 3.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: balrog
  6. Combat: Gimli defends, shadow Counter-Spell for no effect, Gimli takes 4 hits.
  7. Refresh: Threat 4.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 6, draw Foe-Hammer.
  2. Planning: Citadel Plate on Gimli.
  3. Quest: Nori and Thalin, draw Goblin Scout Threat 10.
  4. Travel: none
  5. Encounter: none
  6. Combat: Durin's Bane kill Gimli and that's the game.

AAR

Basically need to get an ally out every turn starting from first turn. There just aren't that many cheap Dwarf allies though.

Game 118, Shadow and Flame again!

Let's try Game 5 of Shadow and Flame. I just remembered I need to get a battery for the car, which is going to take a chunk out of the afternoon.

Initial hand:

  1. Heavy Stroke
  2. Feint
  3. A Test of Will
  4. Citadel Plate
  5. Veteran of Nanduhirion
  6. Stand and Fight

Round 1

  1. Resource: 3, draw Hasty Stroke.
  2. Planning: none, wait for next round for Citadel plate.
  3. Quest: Nori, Thalin, draw Fires in the Deep, with no allies gains surge: Inner Shadow which is surge for Goblin Swordsman, Threat 2.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Durin's Bane.
  6. Combat: Gimli defends, shadow Many Thonged Whip for no effect, Gimli takes 4 hits.
  7. Refresh: Threat 3.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 6, draw Citadel Plate.
  2. Planning: Citadel Plate on Gimli.
  3. Quest: Nori, Thalin, draw Many Thonged Whip which is getting canceled by A Test of Will. Threat 5.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Balrog.
  6. Combat: Gimli defends shadow Goblin Swordsman. Gimli takes 4 more hits.
  7. Refresh: Threat 6.

Round 3

  1. Resource: 4, draw A Test of Will.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Nori, Thalin draw Leading Flame which I'm going to cancel with A Test of Will. Threat 9.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Durin's Bane.
  6. Combat: Play Feint to prevent attack of Durin's Bane.
  7. Refresh: Threat 10.

Round 4

  1. Resource: 6, draw Bofur. This is somewhat helpful, but I don't think quite helpful enough. I need to be able to get Citadel Plate and Bofur out on the next two turns, and I'm not going to be able to do that, I can do one or the other.
  2. Planning: Let's go with Citadel Plate on Gimli, and see if we turn up a Fili next turn.
  3. Quest: Nori, Thalin, draw Counter-Spell. Threat 13.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Durin's Bane.
  6. Combat: Gimli defends, shadow Watchful Eyes for no effect. Gimli with 12 hits.
  7. Refresh: Threat 14.

Round 5

  1. Resource: 5, draw Dwarven Tomb.
  2. Planning: none.

That's the game as I'll lose a hero on this round.

AAR

Only drew 2 allies in the first 5 rounds, which isn't going to work. This quest requires much better threat control than I can muster, or loads of chumps to soak up Durin's Bane. I may try it as-is for a couple more games, but I'm thinking I'll be back to the deckbuilding sooner than later.

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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.