LotR 283 - The Druadan Forest (2)

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Lazy Sunday morning with lots of caffeine. Most of the relevant chores are done, lacking mostly front table and outside plant watering. Let's get a Lord of the Rings card game squeezed in.

Taking Outland up against the Wose. Outlands has been not that easy for me to pilot and I'm not sure why not. Let's see how this goes.

Initial hand, failed mulligan for Steward of Gondor:

  1. A Test of Will
  2. Henamarth Riversong
  3. Snowbourn Scout
  4. Ethir Swordsman
  5. Unexpected Courage
  6. Warrior of Lossarnach

Round 1

  1. Resource: 3, draw Lost Companion for no effect.
  2. Planning: none, will save the resources.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, reveal Ancestral Clearing which increases the cost of any player card by 1. Need to clear this thing.
  4. Travel: Ancestral Clearing.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none. Beravor draws A Test of Will and Gandalf.
  7. Refresh: Threat 28.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 6, draw Daeron's Runes.
  2. Planning: Daeron's Runes drawing Sneak Attack and Ethir Swordsman, Discard Snowbourn Scout.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Beravor, reveal Secluded Glade and clear Ancestral Clearing.
  4. Travel: Secluded Glade.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 29.

Round 3

  1. Resource: 8, draw Unexpected Courage.
  2. Planning: Unexpected Courage on Beravor. Play Warrior of Lossarnach, Henamarth. Scry Henamarth to show Druadan Thief which has surge.
  3. Quest: Eowyn and Beravor, reveal Glade of cleansing. Net +2 progress
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Druadan Thief.,
  6. Combat: Archery 1 on Hirluin. Beravor defends, shadow Garden of Poisons with no effect. Hirluin and Warrior kill Druadan Thief.
  7. Refresh: Threat 30.

Round 4

  1. Resource: 5, draw Gandalf.
  2. Planning: Unexpected Courage on Beravor.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Beravor, reveal Stars in Sky, which removes Eowyn from the quest, which is no big deal. Clear Secluded Glade.
  4. Travel: Glade of Cleansing.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none. Scry Druadan Hunter. Beravor draws Anfalas Herdsman and Daeron's Runes. Daeron's Runes draws Sneak Attack and Knights of the Swan.
  7. Refresh: Threat 31.

I made a mistake with Druadan Thief, I should not have been able to kill it that round with Warrior of Lossarnach. I confused it with Knights of the Swan. I'm taking the asterisk. Where is the frigging Steward of Gondor?

Round 5

  1. Resource: 6, draw Hasty Stroke.
  2. Planning: Ethir Swordsman.
  3. Quest: Hirluin, Eowyn, Beravor, Warrior and Ethir for 12 Will, reveal Druadan Hunter, play Sneak Attack Gandalf for 16 Will and deal 4 hits to Druadan Hunter. Glade of Cleansing and Stage 1 cleared.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none. Scry Druadan Thief. Beravor draws Knights of the Swan and Miner of the Iron Hills.
  7. Refresh: Threat 32.

Round 6

  1. Resource: 6, draw Warrior of Lossarnach.
  2. Planning: Anfalas Herdsman and Ethir Swordsman.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Beravor, Ethir x2, reveal Druadan Thief, surge Leaves on Tree, surge Secluded Glade. Whew. Lost all resources on Beravor, but I can deal with that for now. Net +7 progress.
  4. Travel: Secluded Glade.
  5. Encounter: Druadan Thief.
  6. Combat: Hurluin defends, shadow Garden of Poisons for no effect. Beravor and Lossarnach kill Thief. Scry Men in the Dark. Beravor draws Parting Gifts and Snowbourn Scout.
  7. Refresh: Threat 33.

Round 7

  1. Resource: 3, draw Snowbourn Scout.
  2. Planning: Play Knights of the Swan.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Beravor, Ethir x2 for 12 Will, reveal Men in the Dark for one hit on each hero. Clear Secluded Glade, net +9 on Stage 2.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none. Scry Lost Companion. Beravor draws Gandalf and Warden of Healing.
  7. Refresh: Threat 34.

Round 8

  1. Resource: 5, draw Hasty Stroke.
  2. Planning: Play Knights of the Swan.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Anfalas Herdsman for 6 Will, reveal Lost Companion and remove Anfalas Herdsman from the quest. Clear Stage 2.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Dru-buri-Dru.
  6. Combat: Hurluin defends Dur-buri-Dru, shadow Druadan Drummer, Hurluin takes 4 more hits for 5 total with 6 hit points. Ethir x2 and Warrior attack with 9 Will to put Dru in the Victory Display. Scry Druadan Thief. Beravor draws Henamarth and Men of the West.
  7. Refresh: Threat 35.

Round 9

  1. Resource: 7, draw Warden of Healing.
  2. Planning: Play Warden of Healing and exhaust. Play Warrior of Lossarnach. I think I have it. The YOLO would go all in, but I think I'm going to go half in just in case. I have 2 Test of Wills and 2 Hasty Strokes, with 3 resoures on Eowyn. I also have a Parting Gifts which would let me play the Sneak Attach Gandalf in an emergency.
  3. Quest: Hirluin, Warrior x2, Knights x2, Ethir x2 for 19 Will, reveal Druadan Thief surge Druadan Hunter for net 4 Threat and that's the win.

AAR

Outlands crushed Druadan Forest. It actually feels pretty good to just stomp a quest once in a while. It's been taking a lot of multiple plays lately to get through quests so I don't feel bad about stomping one every now and again. Even if it's with Outlands.

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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.