LotR 279 - The Steward's Fear (6)

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It's been almost two months since I last played The Steward's Fear. It's harder than I thought it would, but I'm also playing an Outlands deck for the first time, and don't really know how well to pilot it yet. For example, I don't know what constitutes a good hand versus one I should mulligan, nor what to mulligan for.

Initial hand:

  1. Men of the West
  2. Snowbourn Scout
  3. Henamarth Riversong
  4. Men of the West
  5. Ever Vigilant
  6. Sneak Attack

Round 1

  1. Resource: 3, draw Knights of the Swan.
  2. Planning: Henamarth and Snowbourn Scout. Scry Henamarth for Storehouse.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, reveal Storehouse. Net +2 progress.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none, Beravor draws Hunter of Lamedon, Warden of Healing.
  7. Refresh: Threat 28.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 4, draw Warden of Healing.
  2. Planning: Play Hunter of Lamedon, discard Steward of Gondor :(. Scry Market Square.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Hunter of Lamedon, reveal Market Square for no progress.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none, Beravor draws Knights of the Swan and Sneak Attack.
  7. Refresh: Threat 29.

Round 3

  1. Resource: 5, draw Anfalas Herdsman.
  2. Planning: Play Knights of the Swan and Anfalas Herdsman. Scry Local Trouble.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Beravor, Hunter of Lamedon, reveal Local Trouble and clear The Fourth Star to reveal Umbas Assassin, which is going to be challenging.
  4. Travel: Storehouse.
  5. Encounter: optionally engage Umbar Assissin.
  6. Combat: Snowbourn Scout defends, shadow City Street. Hirluin, Knights of the Swan, and Anfalas Herdsman attack with 4 dealing 3 hits to Umbar.
  7. Refresh: Beravor readies, +1 threar, Threat 31.

Round 4

  1. Resource: 6, draw Warrior of Lossarnach.
  2. Planning: Knights of the Swan. Scry Unwelcome Discovery.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, reveal Unwelcome Discovery which reveals Lossarnach Bandit, surge Lost in the City and dig out City Street. Total threat is 8, Threat 35.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Lossarnach Bandit.
  6. Combat: Hunter of Lamedon defends Umbar, shadow False Lead which removes the single token, whatever. Knights of the Swan defends Lossarnach Bandit, shadow Market Square which discards all resoures. That's kind of bullshit, and probably the game. Knights of the Swan is dead. I don't see any reason to use Beravor as it would a 3 threat cost to draw two cards,, not worth it. Attack Umbar Assassin with Hirluin, Anfalas, Knights to destroy.
  7. Refresh: Threat 36.

Round 5

  1. Resource: 3, draw Gleowine.
  2. Planning: Scry A Knife in the Dark.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, reveal A Knife in the Dark, discard Gleowine as I don't have any resoures to play him, net 0 threat. 1 hit on Eowyn and discard Henamarth.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: Knights of the Swan defends, shadow A Knife in the Dark which has no effect. Very close to scooping.
  7. Refresh: Threat 37.

Round 6

  1. Resource: 6, draw Gandalf.
  2. Planning: Play Warden of Healing, exhaust to heal Eowyn and Anfalas.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Hirluin, reveal A Knife in the Dark dealing 0 damage to damage with Anfalas Herdsman.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: Sneak Attack Gandalf in to defend, drawing Warrior of Lossarnach, Sownbourn Scout, and Stand and Fight, shadow City Street.
  7. Refresh: Threat 38.

This isn't all that much fun. Outlands is supposed to absurdly overpowered, but at the end of Round 6, I have no progress, no Outlands in the tableau, almost no resources, Beravor out of the game for now with a condition attachment, and a hand full of cards I can't afford to play. I'm not seeing the overpowered part yet. I must be playing it wrong. I think I need mulligan for Steward of Gondor, otherwise it's just too hard to get the cards out.

Round 7

  1. Resource: 6, draw Gandalf.
  2. Planning: Play Stand and Fight for Snowbourn Scout.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Hirluin, reveal Houses of the Dead discard Peace and Thought for Threat 40.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: Snowbourn defends, shadow False Lead and I'm scooping here.

AAR

Lessons:

  • Do not chump in this quest, the resource hits on a shadow are basically game ending.
  • Have shadow cancellation with Hasty Stroke, and use it. The shadows in this quest won't kill immediately, but more than a couple and the game becomes unwinnable.
  • Consider not using Outlands. The Encounter deck moves faster than Outlands can get going. Outlands really needs a few turns to ramp up.
  • Mulligan for Steward of Gondor to put on Hirluin. He's going to have very difficult time keeping up with the Encounter deck otherwise.
  • Condition removal or threat control seems important, looking at a 3 to 4 threat increase per turn with Local Trouble otherwise.
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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.