LotR 324-327 - Into Fangorn

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Game 324/2

Used Vilya catches an orc for all of these plays.

This one didn't work, got 4 turns into it and realized I messed up by attaching Mugash to a damaged hero.

This quest is hard for solo, if you can't clear the stage 1 by the second turn, it's not going to go very well. I also forgot the time counters.

Went 4 turns.

Game 325/3

Need to go all in on questing for the first round. Might end up with an immediate scoop, but whatever.

I made a major, major mistake on Turn 2: I removed all of my Resource token, and shuffled my deck. This means I cannot play Vilya this round, and don't have the Daeron's Runes and Elrond's council at the top of my deck that Imladris Stargazer arranged. This may have cost me the game. That's really bad. This is why I started logging all my plays by turn.

I think I beat it in 5 turns. I got really confused about where I was at as the game progressed. Started losing focus. I might play it one more time and log it as I go on the next game.

Game 326/4

Let's log this one.

Initial hand:

  1. Dundain Watcher
  2. Vilya
  3. Elrond's Counsel
  4. MAster of the Forge
  5. Gandalf
  6. Daeron's Runes

Round 1

  1. Resource: 3, draw Erebor Hammersmith.
  2. Planning: Daeron's Runes for Vassal of the Windloard and Test of Will, pitch Dundeain Watcher.
  3. Quest: All in. Threat 28 from Glorfindel. Reveal Dark-hearted Huorn, pitch Vassal for 11 Will, net +7 Progress.
  4. Travel: Edge of Fangorn, bring out another Dark-hearted Huorn.
  5. Encounter: Both Dark-hearted Huorns.
  6. Combat: Remove 2 Progress, total now 5. :(
  7. Refresh: Threat 29. Time counters 3.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 6, draw Vassal of the Windlord. Threat 33 from two Dark-hearted Huorns.
  2. Planning: Erebor Hammersmith.
  3. Quest: All in. Reveal The Forest's Malice, which I'm going to cancel. Oups it can't be canceled. Fuck. Elrond is dead, Glorfindel takes 4 damage.

The lesson here is do not travel to Edge of Fangorn until there is a crapton of progress on Stage 1.

Game 327/5

  1. Vilya
  2. Dundain Watcher
  3. Light of Valinor
  4. Hasty Stroke
  5. Elrond's Counsel
  6. Zigil Miner

Round 1

  1. Resource: 3, draw Henamarth Riversong.
  2. Planning: Play Henamarth and Zigil Miner. Scry Tangled Woods.
  3. Quest: Elrond, Eowyn, Glorfindel, Zigil Miner for 11, Threat now 28, pitch Dunedain to Eowyn for 12, play Elrond's Counsel for 13 to place 9 progress on stage 1. Threat 25.
  4. Travel: Can't, no hero available.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 26, time 3.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 3, draw Vassal of the Windlord.
  2. Planning: Light of Valinor on Glorfindel. Scry Off Track which surges.
  3. Quest: Elrond, Glorfindel, Eowyn, Zigil Miner, reveal Off Track surging into Heart of Fangorn. Net +5 progress for 14 total. Attach Off Track to Edge of Fangorn.
  4. Travel: Exhaust Glorfindel to travel to Edge of Fangorn.
  5. Encounter: Dark-hearted Huorn.
  6. Combat: Dark-hearted Huorn removes 1 progress, now 13.
  7. Refresh: Threat 27. Time 1.

Round 3

  1. Resource: 5, draw Vilya. Dark-hearted Huorn raises threat to 29.
  2. Planning: Play Vassal of the Windlord in case I need to chump. Scry The Forest's Malice, and good thing I put out Vassal.
  3. Quest: Eowyn and Glorfindel, reveal The Forest's Malice, Dark-hearted Huorn attacks Vassal, shadow Ancient Forest, exhaust Zigil Miner. Exhaust Glorfindel to get Mugash. Advance to Stage 2, put Angry Huorn in the staging area. Now I need to quest like crazy.
  4. Travel: Exhaust Elrond to travel to Heart of Fangorn.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: Dark-hearted huorn, no effect.
  7. Refresh: Threat 30. Time 3.

Round 4

  1. Resource: 7, draw Master of the Forge. Threat 32.
  2. Planning: Play Vilya on Elrond. Scry Deadly Huorn. This is not looking very good. Vilya deck is not firing yet.
  3. Quest: Elrond, Eowyn, Glorfindel, Zigil for 11, pitch Vilya for 12, reveal Deadly Huorn. Net +2 progress.
  4. Travel: Exhaust Glorfindel to travel to Tangled Woods.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: Huorn removes 1 progress.
  7. Refresh: Threat 33. Time 2.

Round 5

  1. Resource: 8, draw Asfaloth. Threat 35.
  2. Planning: Play Asfaloth on Glorfindel. This is going to help. Scry Dark-hearted Huorn.
  3. Quest: Eowyn, Elrond, Glorfindel, Zigil Miner for 11, pitch Dundeain Watcher for 12, net +1 progress for 3 total.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Dark-hearted and Angry.
  6. Combat: Remove all progress.
  7. Refresh: Threat 36. Time 1.

I'm not going to win it. Too many Huorns, not enough questing. Might try the Mirlonde deck next. I maybe should have optionally engaged the Deadly Huorn to get it out of the Staging area.

Round 6

  1. Resource: 9, draw Erebor Hammersmith. Threat 40, 3 damage to Zigil Miner.
  2. Planning: Play Erebor HammerSmith. Scry Ancient Forest.
  3. Quest: Elrond, Eowyn, Glorfindel, Erebor for 11, pitch Master of the Forge for 12, reveal Ancient Forest, net +5 on the quest.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Angry Huorn.
  6. Combat: Remove 4 progess.
  7. Refresh: Threat 41.

Round 7

  1. Resource: 10, draw Hasty Stroke. 3 hits on Elrond. Threat 45. Erebor defends Angry Huorn, shadow Angry Huorn for no effect. Erebor is dead.
  2. Planning: Scry In need of Rest. That's the game.
  3. Quest: Elrond, Eowyn, Glorfindel, reveal In Need of Rest to remove Glorfindel, pitch Hasty Stroke for 8 Will, net +6 which is 4 short of what I need to win.

The first Stargazer was 6 cards down, then Daeron's Runes, Stargazer, and Stargazer. Bah. I'm calling this one here.

AAR

Imladris Stargazer is critical in this deck. Even more so than Vilya I think. With a Master of the Forge I can dig out Vilya at some point.

I think I played this one pretty well. The starting hand wasn't too bad, but the card draw after that was abominable, evidence being 10 resources left at the end of the game, and that's without running Steward of Gondor.

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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.