LotR 292 - Blood of Gondor (7)

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After that previous debacle where I played Blood of Gondor completely wrong from the setup, this time I am reading the set up cards really carefully. In that game, I neglected to add The Cross-Roads to the staging area, which forces Siege questing while it's active, which sucks in this deck.

Initially hand:

  • Snowbourn Scout
  • Knights of the Swan
  • Snowbourn Scout
  • Warrior of Lossarnach
  • Anfalas Herdsman
  • Gandalf

I'd like to have Steward of Gondor, which would be thematic here (for a change), but the Snowbourn Scouts can clear The Cross-Roads for free. So I'm keeping the hand.

Setup: reveal Mordor Looms, surge Orc Arsonist and take a hidden card.

Round 1

  1. Resource: 3, draw Ethir Swordsman.
  2. Planning: Play Snowbourn Scout.
  3. Quest: Lord Alcaron, Eowyn, Beravor, draw hidden card and reveal Southern Road for net +3 Threat for 30 which means Orc Arsonist is coming out and this could be the game.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Orc Arsonist.
  6. Combat: Faramir exhausts to find Orc Rabble which is killed by 3 hits. Other hidden card is The Dark Woods, got some luck here. Snowbourn Scout defends, shadow Orc Ambusher.
  7. Refresh: Threat 31.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 5, draw Daeron's Runes.
  2. Planning: Daeron's Runes draw Gandalf and Sneak Attack, discard Gandalf. Play Snowbourn Scout to clear The Cross-Roads. Play Ethir Swordsman.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Hirluin, Ethir Swordsman for 8 Will, draw hidden card, reveal Lying in Wait, reveal Mordor Looms and take another hidden card. This is a net zero except it clears some nasty treacheries, so kind of a win for me. Net +5 Progress.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: Faramir flips Orc Ambusher and discards. Flip The Dark Woods. Snowbourn Scout defends Orc Arsonist, shadow Conflict at the Crossroads for an additional hidden card. defends Orc Arsonist. Beravor draws A Test of Will and Unexpected Courage.
  7. Refresh: Threat 32.

Round 3

  1. Resource: 5, draw Forling. I need Steward really badly. Will save up for it.
  2. Planning: Play Anfalas Herdsman.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Hirluin, Ethir Swordsman, draw Orc Ambusher. Net +2 Will, throw Forlong to Eowyn for +3. I'm tempted to Sneak Attack Gandalf in to finish the quest stage, but it would put me in a really bad position for Stage 2.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Orc Arsonist, discard Anfalas Herdsman.
  6. Combat: hidden card draw, Faramir flips Evil Crow, flip Orc Arsonist and The Dark Woods. Beravor defends Orc Arsonist, shadow Mordor Looms and Brutal Uruk for 1 hit. Beravor takes next Orc Arsonist undefended shadow The Dark Woods and Brutal Uruk, dies. Lord Alcaron defends Orc Ambusher, shadow Brutal Uruk and Ithilien Road, takes 1 hit.
  7. Refresh: Threat 33.

Round 4

  1. Resource: 4, draw Forlong.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Hirluin, Ethir Swordsman for Will 8, reveal Brutal Uruk.

Calling it here, too many enemies.

AAR

The general strategy here is:

  1. Build the board state in Stage 1, either clearing all the hidden cards or having the capacity to clear them. Then
  2. Power quest through Stage 2.

Outlands should be really good for this quest, provided it gets going. Card it the usual thing, need to get as many of them out as possible as fast as possible. In this game, Steward of Gondor would have really helped. I think I should rebuild the deck with Beregond, Defended of Rammas, and Winged Guardian and leave The Cross-Roads in staging as it's only 1 threat.

Also, I forgot (again) to raise my threat by the number of hidden cards in the play area resulting from the Black Numenorean.

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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.