LotR 150 - Journey Along the Anduin (15)

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I'm taking a Gloin - Glorfindel deck for a Journey Along the Anduin. I don't think it will do super well as it has a really high starting threat, and no threat reduction other than Gandalf. On the other hand, it's liable to be pretty easy to stall it along until getting a nice tableau for blasting Stage 2.

Starting hand:

  1. Protector of Lorien
  2. Henamarth Riversong
  3. Lorien's Wealth
  4. Gandalf.
  5. Grim Resolve
  6. Gleowine

Encounter: The Brown Lands. That might be game over…

Round 1

  1. Resource: 3, draw Miner of the Iron Hills.
  2. Planning: Scry with Denethor, Treacherous Fog, I'll take it. Play Protector of Lorien on GLorfindel.
  3. Quest: Glorfindel, Gloin, draw Treacherous Fog, discard Lorien's Wealth for +1 Will to match, no net gain or loss, perfect.
  4. Travel: The Brown Lands.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 30.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 5, draw Forest Snare, perfect.
  2. Planning: Scry Misty Mountain Goblins. I need to drop threat with Gandalf this round. It sucks from a reource perspective, but necessary because I just don't have enough resources to pull the Troll down and snare him next turn. Gandalf can take care of the bats. Threat 25.
  3. Quest: Glorfindel, net 0 with Misty Mpuntain Giblins.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Misty Mountain Goblins.
  6. Combat: Gloin defends, shadow Despair, Gloin gets 2 hits and 2 resources. Gandalf swings for 4 to kill the Goblins.
  7. Refresh: Threat 26.

We're in much better shape now.

Round 3

  1. Resource: 5, draw Stewrd of Gondor. Excellent.
  2. Planning: Play Steward of Gondor on Glorfindel. Exhaust to play Henamarth. Scry with Denethor to find Dol Guldur Orcs. Do I want to keep this in play? Yes, and deal the damage to Glorfindel, who will be the only quester. Pay 1 to heal 1 damage from Gloin. Play Gleowine.
  3. Quest: Glorfindel, draw Dol Guldur Orc and put 2 damage on Glorfindel.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Dol Guldur Orcs.
  6. Combat: Gloin defends, shadow Chieftain Ufthak for a big whiff on the Encounter deck! Gloin takes another damage, gets another resource. Sadly, the orcs stay engaged for now. But, I can scry with Henamarth to find Gladden Fields, and I can draw a card with Gleowine for Sneak Attack.
  7. Refresh: Threat 27.

Round 4

  1. Resource: 8, draw Gleowine.
  2. Planning: Heal 1 on Gloin.
  3. Quest: Glorfindel, draw Gladden Fields for net -1 Will, Threat 28.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: optional engage Hill Troll.
  6. Combat: Gleowine defending Hill Troll, shodow Wargs for +1, Threat goes to 33. I'll snare it next round. Denethor defending Dol Guldur Orcs, shadow Hill Troll for no effect. Lucky! Gloin and Henamarth kill the orcs.
  7. Refresh: Threat 34.

Round 5

  1. Resource: 12, draw Radagast's Cunning.
  2. Planning: Gleowine and Forest Snare.
  3. Quest: Glorfindel, draw Pursued by Shadow, Threat raised to 38.
  4. Travel: Gladden Fields.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none. Scry Necromancer's Reach. Draw Brok Ironfist. (!)
  7. Refresh: Threat 40.

Round 6

  1. Resource: 12, draw Longbeard Orc Slayer.
  2. Planning: none, don't even need to quest next round.
  3. Quest: nobody. Draw Necromancer's Reach for a "Who cares?"
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none. Scry Dol Guldur Beastmaster, draw Longbeard Orc Slayer.
  7. Refresh: Threat 42.

I should have quested to clear Gladden Fields.

Round 7

  1. Resource: 17, draw Self-Preservation.
  2. Planning: play Self-preservation on Gloin. Heal Glordindel.
  3. Quest: Glorfindel, draw Dol Guldur Beastmaster. Play Radagast's Cunning to negate the threat, +3 Will and Gladden Fields is clear.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Dol Guldur Beastmaster.
  6. Combat: Denethor defends, shadow Enchanted Stream and The East Bight for no effect. Gloin swings for 2 puts 1 point of damage. I need six hits to kill it. Scry Dol Guldur Orcs, draw Self-preservaton.
  7. Refresh: Threat 43.

Need to find some threat reduction fast.

Round 8

  1. Resource: 17, draw Steward of Gondor.
  2. Planning: Brok Ironfist! Brok Ironfist!
  3. Quest: Bork, draw Dol Guldur Orcs, 2 damage to Brok.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Dol Guldur Orcs.
  6. Combat: Denethor defends Dol Guldur Beastmaster, shadow Evil Storm and The Brown Lands for no effect. Gloin defends Dol Guldur Orcs, shadow Misty Mountain Goblins for no effect, Gloin takes 1 hit. Glofindel puts 2 hits on Beastmaster. Scry Eastern Crows, draw Snowbourn Scout.
  7. Refresh: Threat 44.

Round 9

  1. Resource: 17, Snowbourn Scout.
  2. Planning: Longbeard Orc Slayer.
  3. Quest: Brok. Draw Eastern Crows and Misty Montain Goblins. Threat 45.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Eastern Crows, Misty Mountain Goblins.
  6. Combat: Denethor defends Dol Guldur Beastmaster, shadow Marsh Adder and Evil Storm for no effect. Gloin takes Evil Crows undefended, shadow Banks of the Anduin for 1 hit. Glorfindel takes Dol Guldur Orcs undefended, shadow Wargs for +2 which net 4 damage and that's the game. Crap. I coulda shoulda healed Glorfindel… oh wait! I did.*** Glorfindel takes 4 damage. Longbeard defends Misty Mountain Goblins, shadow Massing at Night, second shadow Banks of the Anduin for no effect. Glorfindel kills Dol Guldur Orcs. Gloin kills Eastern Crows. Scry Enchancted Stream, draw Daughter of the Nimrodel.
  7. Refresh: Threat 45.

Round 10

  1. Resource: 18, draw Guard of the Citadel.
  2. Planning: Daughter of the Nimrodel, self preservation on Glorfindel, Guard of the Citadel.
  3. Quest: Brok, draw Enchanted Stream for net 0.
  4. Travel: Enchanted Stream.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: Denethor defends Dol Guldur Beastmaster, shadow Driven By Shadow which is no effect, and Wolf Rider which attacks Guard of the Citadel with shadow Gladden Fields for no effect, kill Guard of the Citadel. Gloin takes Misty Mountain Goblins undefended shadow Gladden Fields for no effect, 2 hits, 2 resources. Glofindel and Henamarth take out Dol Gulder Beastmaster, Gloin and Longbeard take out Misty Mountain Goblins.
  7. Refresh: Threat 46.

Round 11

  1. Resource: 22
  2. Planning: Snowbourn Scout x 2, clearing Enchanted Stream. Gleowine to draw Erebor Hammersmith, play him. Play Miner of the Iron Hills.
  3. Quest: Glorfindel, draw Wolf Riders, Dol Guldur Beastmaster.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Wolf Rider and Dol Guldur Beastmaster.
  6. Combat: Snowborn Scout defends Dol Guldur Beastmaster, shadow Pursued By Shadow, Glewine back to hand; other shadow Eastern Crows for +1 Snowbourn Scout is dead. Gloin taks Wolf Rider undefended, shadow Goblin Sniper for no effect. Gloin kills Wolf Rider. Everyone else kills Dol Guldur Beastmaster. Scry Eastern Crows. Crap.
  7. Refresh: Threat 47.

Round 12

  1. Resource: lots, draw Guard of the Citadel.
  2. Planning: play Longbeard Orc Slayer, Gleowine.
  3. Quest: Glorfindel, draw Eastern Crows and Necromancer's Pass. Discard Steward of Gondor to net 0 threat.
  4. Travel: Discard Lore of Imladris and Grim Resolve to travel to Necromancer's Pass.
  5. Encounter: Eastern Crows.
  6. Combat: Gloins takes Eastern Crows undefended, shadow Evil Storm for no effect, 1 hit and 1 resource. Erebor Hammersmith kills crows. Sneak Attack Guard of the Citadel to get the Troll killed. Cannot scry, draw Daughter of the Nimrodel. Going to do a giant round next turn.
  7. Refresh: Threat 48.

Round 13

  1. Resource: loads, draw Valiant Sacrifice.
  2. Planning: Play Daughter and Guard.
  3. Quest: Almost everyone…draw Despair for no effect. Clear Necromancer's Pass and Stage 1.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none. Scry Necromancer's Reach. Bummer. Draw Valiant Sacrifice.
  7. Refresh: Threat 49.

Round 14

  1. Resource: loads, draw Faramir, too little too late. Had I drawn him even 1 turn before, I'd have this game in the bag. Just don't have enough mojo. Wait…I can use Gleowine in planning… but I have to draw a Gandalf… draw Sbowborn Scout. That's the game.

AAR

I think this deck can beat this quest. I stalled just a little too long and should have been chewing away at the Hill Troll all along, which would have given me a bit more slack a little earlier. That said, I lucked out getting Gandalf and Forest Snare so early. The next Gandalf was two cards down, in other words, I would have drawn it next turn.

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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.