LotR 159 - The Seventh Level (4)

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Trying this with Misty Mountains dwarf deck. I haven't played it in two and a half years, and at that time I play a Dain/Thorin/Ori deck, which swarms like crazy. This deck is a Gimli/Oin/Ori deck, which doesn't swarm as well, but we'll see how it works out.

Initial hand:

  1. Bofur
  2. Zigil Miner
  3. Veteran Axehand
  4. Heavy Stroke
  5. Quick Strike
  6. Thror's Map

I don't recall enough about this quest to know whether this is a good hand or not, so I'm playing it.

Encounter: Undisturbed Bones for no effect.

Round 1

  1. Resource: 3, draw Song of Wisdom
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Ori, Oin draw Goblin Spearman net +2 on Stage 1.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Goblin Spearman
  6. Combat: Gimli defends, shadow Goblin Scout for no effect.
  7. Refresh: Threat 28.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 6, draw Forest Snare.
  2. Planning: Zigil Miner, Veteran Axehand
  3. Quest: Ori, Oin draw Undisturbed Bones, which deals 2 damage to one ally, which kills them Veteran Axehand. That hurts. But 4 progress on quest. Spirit resources are harder than Tactics or Lore right now, so we save Zigil.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: Gimli defends, Goblin Swordsman, goes to staging area.
  7. Refresh: Threat 29

Round 3

  1. Resource: 5, A Test of Will.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Ori, Oin, draw Underhall, which is Doomed 2 for Threat 31, no progress.
  4. Travel: Underhall.
  5. Encounter: Goblin Swordsman.
  6. Combat: Gimli defends Goblin Sworsdman, shadow Cave Troll for no effect. Oin defends Goblin Spearman, shadow Goblin Spearman which goes to staging area. Dang. I'm going to have to snare one of these.
  7. Refresh: Threat 32.

Round 4

  1. Resource: 8, draw Erebor Record Keeper, helpful.
  2. Planning: Forest Snare on Goblin Swordsman. Feels like a waste, but I'm not getting ahead otherwise. Also play Erebor Record Keeper to get 5 out.
  3. Quest: Oin, Ori, Zigil, ERK, draw Upper Hall, net 1 progress. This is not good.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: Gimli defends Goblin Spearman, shadow Goblin Spearman which goes into Staging area. Dang. Oin defends Goblin Spearman, shadow Goblin Archer for no effect.
  7. Refresh: Threat 33.

Round 5

  1. Resource: 7, draw Erebor Hammersmith and Erebor Battle Master.
  2. Planning: Song of Wisdom on Oin, Erebor Hammersmith, Erebor Battlemaster.
  3. Quest: Ori, Oin, draw Goblin Swordsman. Dang. Threat 35.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Goblin Swordsman, Goblin Spearman.
  6. Combat: Gimli defend Goblin Swordsman, shadow Goblin Swordsman! Goes into staging area! WTF! Gimli takes another hit. Oin defends Goblin Spearman, shadow Goblin Spearman, to the staging area. This is ridiculuous, I must not have shuffled the Encounter deck well enough. Erebor Hammersmith defends Goblin Spearman, shadow Watchful Eyes for no effect takes 1 hit. Erebor Battlemaster defends Goblin Spearman, shadow Plundered Armory for no effect. Erebor RK exhausts spend 1 Lore to ready Gimli, 1 Goblin Swordsman down. Five to go.
  7. Refresh: Threat 36.

Round 6

  1. Resource: 3, draw Legacy of Durin and Dwarven Tomb.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Ori, Oin, draw Goblin Swordsman.

That's the game as I have 6 enemies in play, and only 5 defenders. All the goblins get +2 attack if undefended, so I'm guaranteed to lose a hero this round. Scoop.

AAR

Shuffle the Encounter deck better.

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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.