LotR 138 - Passage Through Mirkwood (32)

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Using a new deck, The Gloinerator - Single Core Resource Engine. It's a clone from another deck, which I'm playing as-is to see how it works. I rarely use the Glorfindel, Gloin, Denethor lineup, and of the three, Denethor is the hero I've used the most in the past.

Initial hand:

  1. Henamarth Riversong
  2. Forest Snare
  3. Protector of Lorien
  4. Snowbourn Scout
  5. Gandalf
  6. Valiant Sacrifice

Round 1

  1. Resource: 3, draw Erebor Hammersmith
  2. Planning: Play Henamarth. Scry Chieftain Ufthak.
  3. Quest: Glorfindel for 3 Will, draw Ufthak net -2 for Threat 31.
  4. Travel: Old Forest Road, ready Glorfindel.
  5. Encounter: Forest Spider.
  6. Combat: Gloin defends, draw shadow Driven By Shadow for no effect as I have no attachments. Gloin takes 2 damage, gets 2 Resources. Glorfindel and Denethor kill Forest Spider.
  7. Refresh: Threat 32.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 7, draw Guard of the Citadel.
  2. Planning: Scry Denethor reveal The Necromancer's Reach. Put that on the bottom of the deck. Play Snowbourn Scout.
  3. Quest: Glorfindel draw Black Forest Bats which removes Glorfindel which results in Threat 35. Crap. Good thing I have a Forest Snare in hand.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Ufthak and Bats.
  6. Combat: Snowbourn defends Bats, shadow East Bight Patrol for +1 Snowbbourn is out! Henamarth defend Ufthak, shadow Forest Spider for no effect. Henamarth is out. Gloin kills Bats.
  7. Refresh: Threat 36.

I forgot to play Valiant Sacrifice to draw 2 cards.

Round 3

  1. Resource: 9, draw Lore of Imladris.
  2. Planning: Forest Snare on Ufthak. Play Guard of the Citadel. Scry Denethor for Dol Guldur Orcs, I'll keep it.
  3. Quest: Glorfindel Guard of the Citadel for 4, draw Dol Guldur Orcs, net 2 Progress clearing Old Forest Road.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Dol Guldur Orcs.
  6. Combat: Glorfindel pays 1 to heal 1 on Gloin, Gloin defends, shadow Dol Guldur Orcs for +1, Gloin takes 2 hits, good thing I healed 1! Denethor scries revealing The Necromancer's Reach, bottom of the deck with that thing.
  7. Refresh: Threat 37.

Round 4

  1. Resource: 6, draw Steward of Gondor.
  2. Planning: Play Steward of Gondor on Glorfindel. Scry Caught in a Web, bottom of deck!
  3. Quest: nobody, draw Hummerhorns for Threat 38.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: Guard of Citadel defends, shadow Enchanted Stream, no effect, Guard is dead play Valiant Sacrifice to draw Celebrian's Stone and Lore of Imladris. Glorfindel kills Dol Guldur Orcs. Heals 1 hit from Gloin.
  7. Refresh: Threat 39.

Round 5

  1. Resource: 9, draw Secret Paths.
  2. Planning: Play Erebor Hammersmith. Scry Ungoliant's Spawn, bottom of the deck! Play Gandalf to get rid of Hummerhorns.
  3. Quest: Glorfindel, Gandalf, Gloin for 9 Will, draw Forest Gate, which is getting Secret Paths which allows clearing Stage 1.
  4. Travel: Forest Gate draw Daughter of the Nimrodel and Radagast's Cunning. Could have been better to leave Forest Gate in Staging area, possibly easier to clear Stage 2. Might also be good to stall a bit here to get more allies out.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 40.

Round 6

  1. Resource: 8, draw Miner of the Iron Hills.
  2. Planning: Play Lore of Imladris to Heal Gloin.
  3. Quest: Glorfindel, Denethor draw Enchanted Stream for net +2 Progress.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none. Scry King Spider, bottom of deck.
  7. Refresh: Threat 41.

Round 7

  1. Resource: 11, draw Daughter of the Nimrodel.
  2. Planning: Play both Daughters.
  3. Quest: Glorfindel, Denethor, Daughter for 6 Will, draw King Spider exhaust other Daughter. Forest Gate is cleared.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: King Spider.
  6. Combat: Erebor Hammersmith defends…shadow Dol Guldur Beastmaster for no effect. Erebor takes 2 hits. Gloin puts a hit on King Spider.
  7. Refresh: Threat 42.

Round 8

  1. Resource: 14, draw For Gondor!
  2. Planning: Celebrian's Stone on Glorfindel, and Protector of Lorien. Lore of Imlodris to heal Erebor Hammersmith.
  3. Quest: Glorfindel and Daughter, draw Caught in a Web, attach to Glorfindel. This clears Stage 2. This is actually bad, as Ungoliant's Spawn just came out.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Ungoliant's Spawn.
  6. Combat: Daughter defends Ungoliant shadow Necromancer's Pass for no effect. Erebor defends King Spider shadow Great Forest Web for no effect. Gloin and Denethor kill King Spider.
  7. Refresh: Threat 43.

Round 9

  1. Resource: 13, draw Lore of Imladris.
  2. Planning: Scry Mountains of Mirkwood, keep it. Play Miner of the Iron Hills.
  3. Quest: none, draw Mountains of Mirkood, Threat 47.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: Daughter defends Ungoliant, shadow Forest Spider discard Protector of Lorien, Daughter is dead. Glorfindel, Gloin, Erebor, Miner for 7. Play For Gondor! to get +4 for total 11 attack, which kills Ungoliant's Spawn for the win.
  7. Refresh: Threat

AAR

Overall, not bad for a new deck, although I am pretty comfortable with the core cards. I have a nagging feeling I could have beaten in one or possibly even 2 fewers round, but to be honest, Denethor could never really get ahead of the scrying (almost every card went to the bottom of the deck), and losing Henamarth so early really hurt. I don't think this deck would do that well with Journey Along the Anduin, but I might try it anyway some time in the future. Of more interest is extending the Gloin/Healing mechanic.

Of note, I had been planning to discard For Gondor! to Protector of Lorien, really glad I didn't as it won the game for me. I think that's a pretty powerful card in a multiplayer gamer.

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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.