LotR 169 - Flies and Spiders (6)

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Probably the last play for this deck before I tech against the quest. The strategy is to rush Stage 1 as fast as possible, then get the allies out. Clearing Stage 1 means staging area is also cleared.

Note: this could have, and should, have been a clean albeit long win. Even in Round 14 when I figured out that I played it wrong, had I plowed through and just kept playing correctly, I am pretty sure it would have been a win. The way to have done that would have been to just remove all the progress from Spider's Glade, and plow through it from there. The threat would have made it a close call, but I think it was doable and I wish I had thought of it.

Initial hand:

  • Quick Strike
  • A Test of Will
  • Unexpected Courage
  • The Galadhrim's Greetings
  • Fast Hitch
  • Erebor Hammersmith

Encounter: Dark Bats

Round 1

  1. Resource: 4, draw Veteran Axehand.
  2. Planning: Bilbo dig for Magic Ring and play it, exhaust to find and play Sting. Threat 28.
  3. Quest: Ori, Oin, draw Old Tomnoddy. Threat 29.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Dark Bats.
  6. Combat: Gimli plays Quick Strike to take out Dark Bats.
  7. Refresh: Threat 30, poison on Oin.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 6, draw Stand and Fight.
  2. Planning: Unexpected Courage on Gimli.
  3. Quest: Ori, Oin, draw Fat Spider, Threat 31.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Fat Spider.
  6. Combat: Gimli takes it undefended, shadow Weighed Down, won't have any effect, Gimli takes 4 hits and poison, swings back with Frodo to destroy Fat Spider.
  7. Refresh: Threat 32.

Round 3

  1. Resource: 8, draw Feint.
  2. Planning: Erebor Hammersmith.
  3. Quest: Ori, Oin, Bilbo for 6 Will, draw Old Tomnoddy, how annoying. No net progress.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: engaging Old Tomnoddy.
  6. Combat: Gimli plays Feint to destroy Old Tomnoddy.
  7. Refresh: Threat 33. Poison on Oin.

Round 4

  1. Resource: 9, draw Zigil Miner.
  2. Planning: Play Zigil Miner.
  3. Quest: Gimli, Ori, Oin, Zigil, draw Giant Web, net +1 progress.
  4. Travel: Giant Web.
  5. Encounter: Old Tomnoddy.
  6. Combat: Erebor Hammersmith defends, shadow Giant Web for no effect, Erebor is dead. Gimli readies and kills Old Tomnoddy.
  7. Refresh: Threat 34.

Round 5

  1. Resource: 10, draw Fast Hitch. I should have played the one in my hand to get Bilbo questing as well.
  2. Planning: Fast Hitch on Bilbo.
  3. Quest: Gimli, Ori, Oin, Bilbo, Zigil, draw Lazy Lob, play A Test of Will to cancel the When Revealed. Net +2 because Giant Web effects. Bummer.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Lazy Lob.
  6. Combat: Bilbo defends, draw Pursued by Shadow for Sting (close call!), cancel damage and raise threat to 37. Gimli destroys Lazy Lob.
  7. Refresh: Threat 38.

Round 6

  1. Resource: 13, draw Zigil Miner.
  2. Planning: play Veteran Axehand.
  3. Quest: Gimli, Ori, Oin, Bilbo, Zigil, draw Caught in a Web, play it on Ori. Net +4 Giant Web cleared, might be able to clear Stage 1 next turn.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 39.

Round 7

  1. Resource: 14, draw Boots from Erebor and Heavy Stroke.
  2. Planning: Boot from Erebor on Gimli.
  3. Quest: Gimli, Oin, Bilbo, Zigil, draw Wicked Spider. Net +6 and Stage 1 is cleared. Clear the staging area.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 40.

Round 8

  1. Resource: 1, draw Citadel Plate.
  2. Planning: Exhaust Magic Ring for 1 Resource, ready Gimli.
  3. Quest: Gimli, Bilbo, draw Fighting Among Friends, remove Gimli, net +2 progress.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 42.

Round 9

  1. Resource: 2, draw Erebor Hammersmith.
  2. Planning: Magic Ring to get Oin back.
  3. Quest: Gimli, Oin, Bilbo, draw Crazy Cob which attacks Bilbo, Sting draws Giant Web which kills Crazy Cob. I'm going to play that this removes Crazy Cob from the quest as that would be consistent.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 43.

Round 10

  1. Resource: 3, draw Dwarven Tomb.
  2. Planning: Magic Ring for Ori, Threat 44.
  3. Quest: Gimli, Ori, Oin, Bilbo, draw Crazy Cob, attacks Bilbo again, Sting draws Wicked Spider for 1 damage, shadow Crazy Cob for 1 poison on Bilbo, who takes 1 hit and another poison. Net enough to clear Stage 3.
  4. Travel:
  5. Encounter: Crazy Cob, which attacks again, going to have to go undefended on Ori. Bummer. I should have held Bilbo back from the quest. Probably going to threat out anyway.
  6. Combat: Crazy Cob, shadow Fighting Among Friends, Ori is out of the game. Gimli readies and kills Crazy Cob.
  7. Refresh: Threat 44.

Round 11

  1. Resource: 7, draw the Galadhrim's Greetings.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Gimli, Oin, draw Wicked Spider, net +1 Progress.
  4. Travel: Spider's Glade, Bilbo exhausts.
  5. Encounter: Wicked Spider.
  6. Combat: Bilbo plays Fast Hitch, defends, Sting draws Poisoned By Spiders for no effect, shadow Forest Stream for no effect. Cancel damage for Threat 47. Gimli readies and kills Wicked Spider.
  7. Refresh: Threat 48.

Round 12

  1. Resource: 10, draw Erebor Record Keeper.
  2. Planning: The Galadhrim's Greetings, Threat 42. Bilbo readies Zigil Miner.
  3. Quest: Gimli, Oin, Bilbo, Zigil, draw Weighed Down for net +3 progress. I need a Gandalf.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 43.

Round 13

  1. Resource: 8, draw Legacy of Durin.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Gimli, Oin, Bilbo, Zigil, draw Dark Bats, net +5 which is 1 shy of clearing the location. Two more rounds if I'm a little bit lucky.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Dark Bats.
  6. Combat: Bilbo defends, Sting draws Fat Spider which kills Dark Bats.
  7. Refresh: Threat 44.

Round 14

  1. Resource: 11, draw Bofur, which I think will win it this round as max threat is 3, and all I need to worry about is a Treachery which removes characters from quest.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Gimli, Oin, Bilbo, Zigil, draw Giant Web for net +4 which… is not a win as I did not add spiders to the staging area at the start of the quest phase once Spider's Glade was in play. Dammit!

I'm calling the game here as I'm too far along to attempt to retcon it accurately.

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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.