LotR 191 - The Battle of Five Armies (1)

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Deeds of Dwarves makes a run at The Battle of Five Armies. From what I could see from sleeving up the encounter cards, I don't think it's going to go very well, but we'll see.

Initial hand:

  1. Gloin
  2. Erebor Record Keeper
  3. Dwalin
  4. Gloin
  5. Gandalf
  6. Durin's Song

This was a mulligan, and not an improvement. There are probably worse initial hands, but this one is pretty bad. Let's see what happens.

Initial encounter: Gundabad Wolf Rider.

Round 1

  1. Resource: 4, draw Kili.
  2. Planning: Spend pipe to get Magic Ring, the repeat for Sting. Threat 32. Play Erebor Record Keeper.
  3. Quest: 4B, get some progress on this quest first, Thorin and Ori quest for 2 as this is a siege quest, net -2. Dang. Threat 34.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Gundabad Wolf Riders.
  6. Combat: Bilbo defends, deals 2 direct damage from Sting effect, shadow Vangaurd of Bolg for no effect, Bilbo takes 1 hit. Dain destroys Gundabad Wolf Riders.
  7. Refresh: Threat 35.

End of round effect: discard Durin's Song, Gundabad Wolf Rider comes back out, resources zeroed out. Dang.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 4, draw Ancestral Knowledge.
  2. Planning: Got nothing.
  3. Quest: 2B Ori and Thorin, start where we can, draw Ravenous Warg for net +1 Progress.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Ravenous Warg, Gundabad Warg Rider.
  6. Combat: Bilbo defends Ravenous Warg, deals no damage from Sting, shadow Misty Mountain Eagle which kills the Ravenous Warg. Sadly, I don't have the conditions for acquiring Misty Mountain Eagles, which really sucks. Dain defends Gundabad Wolf Rider, shadow Bodygaurd of Bolg for no effect, no hits on Dain. Progress on 2B is lost.
  7. Refresh: Threat 36.

End of round effect: discard Ancestral Knowledge, Bodygaurd of Bolg goes into play, resources zeroed.

Round 3

  1. Resource: 4, draw Untroubled by Darkness.
  2. Planning: Got nothing.
  3. Quest: Ori, Thorin on 2B, draw Bodyguard of Bolg, which is net -1 for Threat 37. Also, I have two Bodyguard of Bolg in play, and Gundabad Wolf Rider engaged, each of which are going to get 3 additional shadow cards. Also, I forgot, it surges for Northern Slopes, which is now net -4 for Threat 40. Scooping here.

AAR

I don't know if this deck will be able to handle this quest. Think I need to be able to do direct damage, and a lot of it, and fast. Thalin and Dunhere seem like a likely pair. Probably Beravor as she is well-balanced for willpower, attack and defense. Since I know Deeds of Dwarves will handle The Lonely Mountain, I'm inclined to go straight to a custom build for The Battle of Five Armies.

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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.