LotR 124 - Passage Through Mirkwood (29)

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First play of an Elrond Vilya deck (v0.3). I've been wanting to try out some different styles of play, rather than leaning on dwarf swarms. Given Elrond's ability to pull allies, I may still swarm, but at least not only dwarves for this deck.

I don't have the confidence to start with Journey Along the Anduin, so another spin through Mirkwood seems appropriate.

Initial hand (mulligan):

  • Light of Valinor
  • Steward of Gondor
  • Light of Valinor
  • Hasty Stroke
  • Gandalf
  • Northern Tracker

Round 1

  1. Resource: 3, draw Sneak Attack.
  2. Planning: play Light of Valinor on Elrond.
  3. Quest: Elrond, Eowyn, draw Mountains of Mirkwood for net +2 Progress.
  4. Travel: Old Forest Road and ready Eowyn.
  5. Encounter: Forest Spider.
  6. Combat: Elrond defends, shadow King Spider exhaust Eowyn. Theodred attacks for 1 damage.
  7. Refresh: Threat 31.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 5, draw Self Preservation.
  2. Planning: play Steward of Gondor on Elrond, play Northern Tracker.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Elrond, Northern Tracker, draw Caught in a Web, net 5 clears Old Forest Road.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: already engaged.
  6. Combat: Undefended, shadow Dol Guldur Orcs, cancel shadow with Hasty Stroke. Theodred and Elrond kill Forest Spider.
  7. Refresh: Threat 32.

Note: I forgot to add 2 Damage to a character committed to a quest.

Round 3

  1. Resource: 3, draw Sneak Attack.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Elrond, Northern Tracker, Eowyn, draw Mountains of Mirkwood for net +4 clearing stage 1.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 33.

Round 4

  1. Resource: 10, draw Imladris Stargazer.
  2. Planning: play Imladris StarGazer; exhaust Imladris Stargazer to order Vilya, A Test of Will, Unexpected Courage, Stand and Fight, Sneak Attack. Would have liked some allies, but whatever.
  3. Quest: Elrond, Eowyn, Northern Tracker, draw Dol Guldur Beastmaster. Stage 2 cleared, Beorn's Path drawn for Stage 3.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 34.

I should have put Unexpected Courage as second, instead of A Test of Will. That way I could have played it immediately on Elrond, then refreshed him for the quest phase. Next time.

Round 5

  1. Resource: 11, draw Vilya.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Elrond, Eowyn, Northern Tracker, draw Chieftain Ufthak for net +2 Progess. I need threat reduction.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Dol Guldur Beastmaster.
  6. Combat: Elrond defends, shadow Necromancer's Reach for no effect and no damage on Elrond. Sneak Attack Gandalf for 4 damage, then Gandalf attacks to kill.
  7. Refresh: Threat 35.

Retcon: Dol Guldur Beastmaster draws two shadow cards, the second of which would have been Necromancer's Reach. Let's play it through.

Round 6

  1. Resource: 13, draw A Test of Will
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Elrond, Eowyn, Northern Tracker, draw Necromancer's Reach. I'll take the damage and save the A Test of Will for later. But let's work the retcon above, and actually draw Great Forest Web, for net +4 Progress.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Chieftain Ufthak.
  6. Combat: Elrond defends, shadow Old Forest Road for no effect, no hits on Elrond. Sneak Attack Gandalf to do 4 damage, Gandalf and Theodred attack to kill Chieftain Ufthak.
  7. Refresh: Threat 35.

Round 7

  1. Resource: 17, draw Unexpected Courage.
  2. Planning: play Unexpected Courage on Elrond.
  3. Quest: Elrond, Eowyn, Northern Tracker, draw Dol Guldur Orcs; deal 2 Damage to Elrond. Net +4 Progress to win the game here.
  4. Travel:
  5. Encounter:
  6. Combat:
  7. Refresh: Threat

AAR

  • Need to add The Galadhrim's Greetings to the sideboard.
  • I forgot the 2 Damage dealt on the first draw of Dol Guldur Orcs. It would not have mattered much as I had Self Preservation in my hand, and plenty of resources to play it on Elrond.
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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.