LotR 217 - Forgotten Ruins from Ninjadorg

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Quest 3 in Ninjadorg's 6 quest core cycle. I'm playing it with the same deck which beat The Old Forest, which I'm calling Ninjadorg 2 - The Old Forest. I'll probably fork that deck to build for this quest, depending on how this first play goes. It would be cool to beat the whole cycle with a single deck, but that's a task to accomplish once I've played through everything.

Initial hand after mulligan:

  1. Faramir
  2. Guard of the Citadel
  3. Sneak Attack
  4. Unexpected Courage
  5. Gandalf
  6. Celebrian's Stone

Nothing is revealed from the encounter deck on setup.

Round 1

  1. Resource: 3, draw Stand and Fight.
  2. Planning: Celebrian's Stone on Aragorn.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Theodred, draw Cavern Guardian, Threat 30. Net 3 progress.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Cavern Guardian.
  6. Combat: Aragorn defends, shadow Goblin Sniper for no effect.
  7. Refresh: Threat 31.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 5, draw For Gondor!
  2. Planning: Unexpected Courage on Aragorn, Guard of the Citadel.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, draw Hill Troll. Dang. Net +3 progress.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Hill Troll.
  6. Combat: Guard of the Citadel defends Cavern Guardian, shadow Dungeon Jailer for no effect. Aragorn defends Hill Troll, shadow The East Bight for no effect, Aragorn takes 4 damage. Sneak Attack Gandalf put 4 damage on Hill Troll, Aragorn, Gandald, Theodred swing for net 6 hits to kill hill troll.
  7. Refresh: Threat 32.

Round 3

  1. Resource: 5, draw Hasty Stroke.
  2. Planning: None.
  3. Quest: Theodred, draw Dol Guldur Orcs, 2 damage to Theodred, Threat 33.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Dol Guldur Orcs.
  6. Combat: Eowyn defends Dol Guldur Orcs, shadow Enchanted Stream for no effect. Aragorn defends Cavern Guardian, shadow Necromancer's Pass for no effect. Aragorn kills Cavern Guardian.
  7. Refresh: Threat 34.

Round 4

  1. Resource: 10, draw Faramir.
  2. Planning: Play Faramir.
  3. Quest: Theodred, draw Despair, which is excellent as the quest only has 3 progress on it now, postponing when Ungoliant's Spawn comes out.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: Faramir defends Dol Guldur Orcs, shadow Hummerhorns! This would be game end but Eowyn plays Hasty Stroke to cancel it and Faramir takes no damage. Aragorn kills Dol Guldur Orcs.
  7. Refresh: Threat 35.

We're in danger land now, as several enemies come out on threat 35.

Round 5

  1. Resource: 7, draw Hasty Stroke.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Theodred, draw Enchanted Stream, Threat 36.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 37.

Round 6

  1. Resource: 11, draw Ever Vigilant.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, draw Under the Shadow for +1 Threat, net +1 Progress.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 38.

Round 7

  1. Resource: 14, draw Son of Arnor.
  2. Planning: Play Son of Arnor.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, draw Misty Mountain Goblins for net 0 progress.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Misty Mountain Goblins.
  6. Combat: Faramir defends, shadow Tower Gate for no effect. Aragorn and Son of Arnor kill Misty Mountain Goblins.
  7. Refresh: Threat 39.

Round 8

  1. Resource: 14, draw Snowbourn Scout.
  2. Planning: Play Snowbourn Scout putting progress on Enchanted Stream.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, draw Dol Guldur Orcs which deals 2 hits to Eowyn which kills her.

I'm calling the game here due to Threat, lack of progress, and losing Eowyn too early. I do have a pretty decent board state, but it's a little too late to matter.

This deck may need tuning for card draw and threat reduction.

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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.