LotR 261 - Peril in Pelargir (6)

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I'm going to try a different approach this time by not questing on the first round, and just eating whatever comes out of the encounter deck threat-wise. No idea how it will turn out. This deck has a lot of threat control, so I'm more worried about surviving than threat at the moment. Still using the unmodified Lake Town Progress Deck from Chad G.

Initial hand:

  1. Vilya
  2. Elrond's Counsel
  3. Snowbourn Scout
  4. Daeron's Runes
  5. Elrond's Counsel
  6. Zigil Miner

This is one of the first times I've ever drawn Vilya in an opening hand. It's startling how unlucky I've been with that even with mulligans.

Round 1

  1. Resource: 3, draw Gandalf.
  2. Planning: Play Daeron's Runes drawing A Test of Will and Henamarth RIversong. Play Elrond's Counsel twice for Threat 21. Play Snowbourn Scout to get a chump for insurance.
  3. Quest: Alcaron's Scroll discards Zealous Traitor. None to quest, reveal Collateral Damage discarding Collateral Damage and Pickpocket, which is a whiff. Threat 25.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Zealous Traitor, which kills Snowbourn Scout; Harbor Thug.
  6. Combat: Elrond defends, shadow Market Square and remove all resources. No damage on Elrond. Glorfindel defends, shadow Collateral Damage for 2 hits on Glorfindel.
  7. Refresh: Threat 26.

This is rough. I was going to play Gandalf next turn, won't have the resources for it.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 3, draw Vilya.
  2. Planning: Henamarth and Zigil Miner. Can't see how I'm going to survive this. But I can use Henamarth now, scry Zealous Traitor, which sucks as it's going to kill Zigil Miner.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, reveal Zealous Traitor. Threat 27.
  4. Travel: none
  5. Encounter: Zealous Traitor, Zigil is killed.
  6. Combat: Elrond defends Zealous Traitor, shadow Harbor Storehouse triggers another shadow Harbor Thug which whiffs. No damage from this attack, undefended from Harbor Thug, shadow Lost in the City which discards my hand and I'm scooping here as this is no fun.

This deck needs to be modified to add shadow management, more Hasty Stroke, Burning Brand, etc. I can take out some allies.

I did not play Vilya due to the shadow effect which discards attachments, and without Imladris Stargazer in play, seemed a bit pointless.

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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.