LotR 234 - Ungoliant's Lair (1)

Previous:
Next:
Tags

Continuing my play through Nonjadorg's quests, now coming into the fifth, Ungoliant's Lair. I'm using my Ninjadorg 3 Forgotten Ruins deck.

I wasn't going to log this play, but my initial turn looked so good I figured I'd be really mad if I didn't. As will be shawn, I have Beorn, Stand and Fight, and Steward of Gondor in hand first turn, which is slightly ridiculous.

Initial hand:

  1. Snowbourn Scout
  2. Northern Tracker
  3. A Test of Will
  4. Gleowine
  5. Stand and Fight
  6. Beorn

Play Gandalf's Map on Eowyn.

Round 1

  1. Resource: 3, draw Snowbourn Scout.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Theodred, draw Old Forest Road.
  4. Travel: Old Forest Road
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none. Beravor draws Lore of Imladris, Steward of Gondor.
  7. Refresh: Threat 28.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 7, draw Sneak Attack.
  2. Planning: play Steward of Gondor on Eowyn, exhaust to collect then play Nothern Tracker, play Gleowine. I need to get a chump out.
  3. Quest: Theodred, draw Great Forest Web.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none. Exhaust Beravor to draw Faramir and Stand and Fight, Gleowine draws For Gondor!
  7. Refresh: Threat 29.

Round 3

  1. Resource: 7, draw Gandalf.
  2. Planning: play Snowbourn Scout.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, draw Under The Shadow, net +1 Progress on location.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none. Beravor draws Steward of Gondor and Hasty Stroke, Gelowin draws Unexpected Courage.
  7. Refresh: Threat 30.

I think I should have gotten Ungoliant into the staging area this turn, hard to say. Probably should have pitched Beorn to Eowyn regardless.

Round 4

  1. Resource: 11, draw Hasty Stroke.
  2. Planning: Unexpeted Courage to Theodred, Snowbourn Scout.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Theodred, Northern Tracker draw Old Forest Road. The deck is softballing me. Toss Beorn to discard. Net +4 Progress, Ungoliant's Spawn comes out.
  4. Travel: Old Forest Road, ready Northern Tracker.
  5. Encounter: Ungoliant's Spawn.
  6. Combat: Sneak Attack Gandalf for 4 direct damage, Snowbourn Scout defedns, shadow Necromancer's Reach for no effect. Gandalf, Northern Tracker, Theodred swing for 8 killing Ungoliant's Spawn. Beravor draws Gandalf, Unexpected Courage; Gleowine draws Henamarth Riversong.
  7. Refresh: Threat 31.

Round 5

  1. Resource: 13, draw A Test of Will.
  2. Planning: play Henamarth Riversong.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Theodred, Northern Tracker, draw Dungeon Jailor, net +5, toss Faramir for +6. Old Foest Road cleared.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none. Beravor draws Gleowine, Miner of the Iron Hills, Gleowine draws Sneak Attack. Henamarth scries Iron Shackles, don't care.
  7. Refresh: Threat 32.

Round 6

  1. Resource: 17, draw Sneak Attack.
  2. Planning: Unexpected Courage on Beravor. Stand and Fight to get Beorn in as I have no idea what's coming on the next quest card.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, draw Iron Shackles, clear Stage 1 reveal Twisted Caverns which prevents allies from being played or put into play! Good call with Beorn.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none. Beravor draws Iron Shackles and Unexpected Courage, Gleowinw draws Snowbourn Scout. Scry Dol Guldur Orcs.
  7. Refresh: Threat 33.

Pity I didn't play Faramir as well. This next turn will be a holding pattern.

Round 7

  1. Resource: 14, draw Miner of the Iron Hills.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Theodred, Northern Tracker, draw Dol Guldur Orcs, net +4, toss Steward of Gondor to make it +5 and bring out Ungoliant's Spawn again. Better to take it down now as I have no idea what's coming next. 2 hits on Theodred.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Dol Guldur Orcs, Ungoliant's Spawn.
  6. Combat: Snowbourn Scout defends against Ungoliant, shadow Forest Gate for no effect. Beorn defends Dol Guldur Orcs, shadow Eyes of the Forest for no effect. Sneak Attack Gandalf for 4 damage on Ungoliant Spawn. Ready Theodred, Beravor, with Gandalf kill Ungoliant's Spawn. Ever Vigilant so Beorn can kill Dol Guldur Orcs. Gleowin draws The Galadhrim's Greetings. Scry Hummerhorns, whatever.
  7. Refresh: Threat 34.

Encounter deck is definitely softballing me.

Round 8

  1. Resource: 18, draw Steward of Gondor
  2. Planning: The Galadhrim's Greetings, Threat 28.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Theodred, Northern Tracker, draw Hummerhorns, toss Steward of Gondor net +5, cleared Stage 2. Ok, can't put allies or attachments in play. I'm good though, I've got this in 2 turns no problem.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none. Beravor draws Erebor Hammersmith and Northern Tracker, Gleowine draws The Galadrhim's Greetings. Scry King Spider, which is going to come out.
  7. Refresh: Threat 29.

Round 9

  1. Resource: 20, draw Guard of the Citadel.
  2. Planning: The Galadhrim's Greetings. Threat 23.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Theodred, Northern Tracker, draw King Spider exhaust Beravor. Net +3 Progress.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: King Spider.
  6. Combat: Beorn defends, shadow Mountains of Mirkwood for no effect. Theodred and Beravor ready and kill King Spider. Gleowine draws Guard of the Citadel, scry Enchanted Stream.
  7. Refresh: Threat 24.

This just turned into a slog.

Round 10

  1. Resource: 20, draw Forest Snare. This will be helpful.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Theodred, Norther Tracker, draw Enchanted Stream for net +3 tossing Steward to Eowyn.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Ungoliant's Spawn.
  6. Combat: Beorn defends, shadow Forest Gate for no effect. Theodred readies, with Beravor put 2 hits on the nasty spider. Beravor readies, draws Guard of the Citadel and Henamarth Riversong. Scry Necromancer's Reach, which I'll cancel.
  7. Refresh: Threat 25.

Round 11

  1. Resource: More than I can spend.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Eowyn (toss Gandalf), Theodred, Beravor, Northen Tracker, draw Necromancer's Reach, cancel with A Test of Will, net +6, just 1 short of clearing, dang.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: Gleowine defends, shadow Forest Gate for no effect. Beravor and Theodred ready, play For Gondor! with Beorn deal 10 hits to Ungoliant, she's dead. Scry Forest Spider, doesn't matter.
  7. Refresh: Threat 26.

Round 12

  1. Resource: load of resources, draw Faramir.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Theodred, Beravor, etc. and we're done.

AAR

I got lucky on the draw, the encounter deck softballed me, and I got really lucky putting Beorn into play in Stage 1. I would not have been able to win it otherwise.

Previous:
Next:
Tags

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.