LotR 280 - The Steward's Fear (7)

Previous:
Next:
Tags

Back to The Steward's Fear for a quick game on a nice Sunday afternoon. Chores are done enough, I'll try to get to the bank and post office tomorrow, but no big deal either way. I have not done well against this quest so far with the Outlonds deck I've built. It starts slow. From previous AARs, lessons learned:

  • Do not chump in this quest, the resource hits on a shadow are basically game ending. Alternatively, try to spend resources every turn.

  • 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.

Not that I'm doing anything about it this game, I don't feel like dealing with the deck right now. Let's just play and see what happens.

Initial hand:

  1. Knights of the Swan
  2. Unexpected Courage
  3. Anfalas Herdsman
  4. Steward of Gondor
  5. Snowbourn Scout
  6. Snowbourn Scout

Round 1

  1. Resource: 3, draw Knights of the Swan. I need to get through Round 1.
  2. Planning: Anfalas Herdsman.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, reveal Local Trouble and put it on Beravor. :( Progress +4 on The Fourth Star.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 29.

Beravor is essentially neutered. It costs a fortune to use her for anything, 2 or 3 Threat per round. Really need Condition removal.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 5, draw Snowbourn Scout.
  2. Planning: Play Steward of Gondor on Hirluin, Unexpected Courage on Hirluin, Knights of the Swan x2.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, reveal City Streets, surge City Streets, surge Sewers. I think this is going to ba a scoop unless I get some threat reduction. Threat 32.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none, Beravor draws Valiant Sacrifice and Sneak Attack. Threat 33.
  7. Refresh: Threat 34.

Round 3

  1. Resource: 6, draw Daeron's Runes.
  2. Planning: Daeron's Runes draw Hunter of Lamedon and Unexpected Courage, discard Unexpected Courage, play Hunter of Lamedon drawing Men of the West to hand.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Hunter, Hirluin, reveal Sewers. Dang. Threat 36.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 37.

Threat ramps up fast.

Round 4

  1. Resource: 7, draw Warrior of Lossarnach.
  2. Planning: Play Warrior of Lossarnach and Snowbourn Scout.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Hirluin, Hunter, reveal Local Trouble which is going to go on Eowyn. Threat 39.

Scooping here, I'm going to be locked. I think I need to clear The fourth Star immediately, then worry about a board state after that. The Underworld cards will stack up otherwise. I have 3 under it right now.

AAR

Really need to add Condition removal to this deck, and probably some location control.

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.