LotR 237,8 - Shadow and Flame (7,8)

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Another round, with an updated Elrond/Vilya deck, version 0.10. Gildor Inglorion and a Northern Tracker were swapped out for Snowbourn Scout. Hopefully this game will get a little further than last game, although I didn't do too badly last game.

Initial Hand:

  1. Stand and Fight
  2. Northern Tracker
  3. Gandalf
  4. A Test of Will
  5. Daughter of the Nimrodel
  6. Vilya

Keeping it.

Game 7

Round 1

  1. Resource: 3, draw Sneak Attack.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Theodred, draw Second Deep, threat 3, which means Durin's Bane comes out. Hrm.
  4. Travel: Second Deep.
  5. Encounter: Durin's Bane.
  6. Combat: Elrond defends, shadow Inner Flame which gives Durin's Bane +3, killing Elrond and that's the game.

Ok, that was fast. I could have played Gandalf with Sneak Attack to keep the threat at 0, but I was going to do that next round.

One thing is clear: Henamarth is a huge help in this scenario, possibly the single most important card.

Game 8

Let's try again. I haven't done multiple tries like this in several years, which is probably why my progress has slowed. The last time I recall it was grinding through Into the Pit.

Initial hand:

  1. Henamarth Riversong
  2. A Test of Will
  3. Daughter of the Nimrodel
  4. Stand and Fight
  5. Imladris Stargazer
  6. Steward of Gondor

Excellent even without Vilya.

Round 1

  1. Resource: 3, draw Vilya.
  2. Planning: play Henamarth Riversong, scry Chance Encounter, which is going to surge.
  3. Quest: Elrond, Theodred, Eowyn, draw Chance Encounter, surge Mant Thonged Whip, cancel with A Test of Will. Awesome. Net 4 progress.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 1

Round 2

  1. Resource: 5, draw Miner of the Iron Hills
  2. Planning: play Steward of Gondor on Elrond, play Miner of the Iron Hills. Scry The Mountain's Roots.
  3. Quest: Elrond, Eowyn, Theodred, draw The Mountain's Roots, net +3 progress.
  4. Travel: The Mountain's Roots.
  5. Encounter: Durin's Bane.
  6. Combat: Miner of the Iron Hills defends, Inner Shadow for no effect.
  7. Refresh: Threat 2.

Round 3

  1. Resource: 7, draw Snowbourn Scout
  2. Planning: play Snowbourn Scout to clear The Mountain's Roots. Scry Ranging Goblin. Play Imladrid Stargazer and Daughter of the Nimrodel. Stargazer scry player deck Daughter of the Nimrodel on top. Play Vilya, exhaust Elrond/Vilya to put Daughter of the Nimrodel in play.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Theodred 2x Daughter of the Nimrodel, draw Ranging Goblin, toss Stand and Fight to Eowyn. Stage 1 cleared.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Durin's Bane.
  6. Combat: Snowbourn Scout defends, shadow Goblin Scout for no effect, Ranging Goblins and The Mountain's Root shuffle back in with a damage on Theodred.
  7. Refresh: Threat 3.

According to this playthrough, I could have put 4 progress on Stage 2 immediately.

Round 4

  1. Resource: 9, draw Gandalf.
  2. Planning: Scry Inner Flame. Elrond/Vilya draw Faramir into play.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Theodred, 1x Daughter, activate Faramir for 9 Will, draw Inner Flame for net 5 +4 progress. Excellent.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Durin's Bane.
  6. Combat: Daughter of Nimrodel defends, shadow Many Thonged Whip for no effect.
  7. Refresh: Threat 4.

Round 5

  1. Resource: 14, draw Sneak Attack.
  2. Planning: Scry Second Hall, nasty. Stargazer scrys Stand and Fight on top. Some fancy business coming up.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Theodred, Daughter, Sneak Attack Gandalf, Faramir activates for 14, Gandalf takes Threat to 0. Exhaust Elrond/Vilya to acquire Stand and Fight, play Snowbourn Scout to put 1 progress on Second Hall. Stage 2 cleared. Durin's Bane attacks, Snowbourn Scout defends, shadow Great Cave Troll for no effect.
  4. Travel: Dark Pit, let's go for it.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 1.

Round 6

  1. Resource: 17, draw Hasty Stroke.
  2. Planning: Scry The Mountain's Roots. Stargazer scry Unexpected Courage. Play Gandalf, draw Unexpected Courage, Henamarth, Steward of Gondor.
  3. Quest: Elrond, Eowyn, Gandalf, Faramir activates for 16, throw Steward of Gondor to Eowyn for 17, draw The Mountain's Roots. Net 17, need 20 to win. Next round.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Durin's Bane.
  6. Combat: Daughter defends, Counter Spell for no effect.
  7. Refresh: Threat 2.

It's not won yet, things could still go very sideways. Really depends on the next card draws.

Round 7

  1. Resource: 16, draw Vilya.
  2. Planning: Scry Ranging Goblin. Stargazer scry Gandalf, activate Elrond/Vilya to bring in Gandalf, threat 0.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Theodred, Gandalf, activate Faramir and pitch Vilya to Eowyn for 13 Will. Draw Ranging Goblin. Damage on Theodred. Need 15, so will be going another round.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 1. Ranging Goblin shuffles back in.

This is a slight retro as I blundered with putting UC on Faramir forgetting (conveniently) that Unexpected Courage only goes on heroes. Oops. I should have put Unexpected Courage on Elrond which would have given me the win in this round.

Round 8

  1. Resource: 18, draw Light of Valinor.
  2. Planning: Scry Second Deep. Stargazer Scry Snowbourn Scout, we're good now. Play Light of Valinor and Unexpected Courage on Elrond. Exhaust Elrond/Vilya to play Snowbourn Scout, clear Second Hall.
  3. Quest: Elrond, Eowyn, Theodred, Snowbourn Scout, activate Faramir and pitch Hasty Stroke to Eowyn for 13 Will, draw Second Deep for 8, and that's a win.

AAR

I made a big blunder not putting Unexpected Courage on Elrond in Round 7, it would have been a win. Also, had I been a little more observant, I might have been able to get through Stage 1 on 2 rounds instead of 3 rounds. I could see this quest playing out in 5 rounds with a bit of luck on the card draw.

Another blunder: When moving to Stage 2, apparently I could have put 4 progress on the quest immediately, which seems pretty wack to me.

Also, Stargazer is not unique, and I could have brought a second one in to chump.

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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.