Quest 18: Shadow and Flame

Victory on the fourth attempt!

The Deck

In my first attempt with an new deck, I like to go in "blind." A four-sphere Dwarf deck (thanks to Oin) is something I'd been wanting to play with. So I did, and I lost. Next?

I wasn't quite ready to fully purse others decks yet, but (while looking up clarification on Counter-spell) I saw someone had said tactics + eagles was a sure thing. Alrighty! And that deck may have had promise, but an early hero death stalled out any forward momentum I had and I conceded the match.

Now it's time to look around. And there were a lot of great ideas out there. But before I found the deck I wanted, an idea hit me: Outlands! I've been wanting to run an Elrond Outlands deck and have not gotten around to it yet. So I got the deck together, intending on coming back in the afternoon and finishing the quest, when a I suddenly remembered that someone had mentioned how Secrecy was so great in this quest. Secrecy? Wait a minute...you reset your threat to zero at the start of stage 1B. This quest is perfect for Secrecy! When else can you play three regular-large threat heroes and all the Secrecy cards your heart desires?

So I mixed both ideas together and went for it. I was especially excited to try out Noiseless Movement, from my just-purchased The Three Trials. Until I drew the card. Then I realized it stopped engagement checks, which do not apply to Durin's Bane, and I thus had a useless card in my hand. It was worse when I drew a second one.

No bother, I'll press forward. But a bad blocking choice + a nasty shadow effect left me with Hirulin the Fair dead and the deck is a bit hard to work with if he's not around. I tried to make it work, but death came quickly.

Alright, what can serve the purpose that I intended for Noiseless Movement (namely, holding off the Balrog one more turn). A quick search for Secrecy brought Out of Sight to my attention, a card I have yet to use. Okay, let's switch them out and see how this goes...

Elrond's Outlandish Secret

Heroes
Hirluin the Fair
Eleanor
Elrond

Allies
Anfalas Herdsman x3
Ethir Swordsman x3
Forlong x1
Hunter of Lamedon x3
Knights of the Swan x3
Warrior of Lossarnach x3
Gandalf x3

Attachments
Steward of Gondor x2
Resourceful x3

Events
A Very Good Tale x3
A Test of Will x3
Elrond's Counsel x3
Dwarven Tomb x2
Peace, and Thought x3
Risk Some Light x3
Timely Aid x3
Men of the West x3
Out of Sight x3

Sets Used
Core
The Redhorn Gate
The Watcher in the Water
The Long Dark
Shadow and Flame
Over Hill and Under Hill
Heirs of Numenor
The Steward's Fear
The Druadan Forest
Assault on Osgiliath

An event-heavy deck for Shadow and Flame? "But what about counter-spell?" you might ask. Eleanor, my friend. Her whole purpose is to stand at the ready, uncommitted to the quest, prepared to cancel the When Revealed effects of Counter-spell and Watchful Eyes. A Test of Will x3 is also present to help her out.


The Journey

A slow, but steady start that built into a landside.

Player Setup
Set starting threat to 28
Draw: A Very Good Tale, Out of Sight, Risk Some Light, A Test of Will, Ethir Swordsman, Gandalf
I would like to see a few more Outlands allies and resource capability, but I'm happy to see A Test of Will and Out of Sight. And if I have to pick one Outlands ally to have, Ethir Swordsman is the guy.

Encounter Setup
Add Durin's Bane to the staging area
Flip to stage 1B
Reduce threat to 0
Reveal no cards (1 less than 1)

Round 1
Resource Phase
+1 Hirluin the Fair (1), +1 Eleanor (1), +1 Elrond (1)
Draw: Resourceful

Planning Phase
Play: Resourceful (Hirluin -1)
Play: Risk Some Light. Look at: Stray Goblin, Goblin Tunnels, Leaping Flame. Put Stray Goblin on the deck, with Goblin Tunnels beneath it. Place Leaping Flame on the bottom of the encounter deck.

Quest Phase
Commit: Hirluin the Fair, Eleanor, Elrond
Total willpower: 5
Reveal: Stray Goblin
Total threat: 5
No progress placed

Travel Phase
None

Encounter Phase
None

Combat Phase
None

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 1

Round 2
Resource Phase
+1 Hirluin (1), +1 Eleanor (2), +1 Elrond (2)
+1 Hirluin (2; Resourceful)
Draw: Timely Aid

Planning Phase
Play: Timely Aid (Hirluin -1). Reveal: Timely Aid, Peace and Thought, Knights of the Swan, A Very Good Tale, Elrond's Counsel, Warrior of Lossarnach.
Hmm...I want a few Knights in play eventually, but lets see if I can get the Outlands shields up
Put Warrior of Lossarnach into play, shuffling the other cards back into the player deck
Play: Ethir Swordsman (Elrond -2)
Play: A Very Good Tale. Exhaust Either Swordsman, Warrior of Lossarnach. Discard: Men of the West, Gandalf, Out of Sight, Forlong, Warriror of Lossarnach.
Put Warrior of Lossarnach into play
Not the best draw. I would have loved to see at least two allies get into play.

Quest Phase
Commit: Elrond, Hirluin the Fair, Warrior of Lossarnach
I want to hang out in this stage for a little longer, building up my forces, and I know Goblin Tunnels is coming out next.
Total willpower: 7
Reveal: Goblin Tunnels
Total threat: 7
No progress placed

Travel Phase
Travel to Goblin Tunnels

Encounter Phase
None

Combat Phase
Neglected to give Durin's Bane a shadow card, since I played...
Play: Out of Sight (Eleanor -2)
...and then the shadow would have been discarded. Would have mattered if the second card I peeked at was not revealed already this turn.

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 2

Round 3
Resource Phase
+1 Hirluin (2), +1 Eleanor (1), +1 Elrond (1)
+1 Hirluin (3; resourceful)
Draw: A Very Good Tale

Planning Phase
Play: A Very Good Tale. Warrior of Lossarnach, Ethir Swordsman. Discard: Risk Some Light, Men of the West, Timely Aid, Out of Sight, Anfalas Herdsman
Anfalas Herdsman? These are not very good tales, in my opinion
Put Anfalas Herdsman into play
Play: Gandalf (Hirluin -3, Eleanor -1, Elrond -1). Draw 3 cards: Steward of Gondor, Peace and Thought, Elrond's Counsel
Nice! Elrond's Counsel will buy me a little bit more time to build up this army

Quest Phase
Commit: Hirluin, Elrond, Warrior of Lossarnach Anfalas Herdsman
Total willpower: 8
Reveal: Second Deep
Total threat: 8
Play:  Elrond's Counsel. Reduce threat to 0, increase total willpower to 9
Place 1 progress on Goblin Tunnels

Encounter Phase
Engage Stray Goblin
I have a defender and I want to try to keep this staging area free

Combat Phase
Add shadow card to Stray Goblin
Stray Goblin attacks. Eleanor defends. Shadow: The Mountain's Roots (+1 attack). No damage dealt.
Risky, since loosing a hero to a nasty shadow effect last game cost me the game itself, but this made it possible for...
Gandalf declares an attack on Stray Goblin, destroying it

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 1
Discard Gandalf from play

Round 4
Phew. Made it this far without a single attack from Durin's Bane and a small force building up. Good place to be!
Resource Phase
+1 Hirluin (1), +1 Eleanor (1), +1 Elrond (1)
+1 Hirluin (2; Resourceful)
Draw: Ethir Swordsman

Planning Phase
Play: Steward of Gondor (Hirluin -2). Attach to Hirluin.
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Hirluin (2)
Play: Ethir Swordsman (Hirluin -2)

Quest Phase
Commit: Elrond, Hirluin the Fair, Ethir Swordsman x2, Warrior of Lossarnach #1
Total willpower: 15
Reveal: Whip Lash
Exhaust Eleanor to cancel When Revealed effect. Reveal a new card.
Reveal: Massing in the Deep. Doomed 1 (Raise threat to 2). Reveal 1 additional card.
Reveal: Inner Flame (+3 attack to Durin's Bane)
Total threat: 7
Place 6 progress on Goblin Tunnels, exploring it
Place 2 progress on stage 1B (2/9)

Encounter Phase
None

Combat Phase
Deal a shadow card to Durin's Bane
Durin's Bane attacks. Anfalas Herdsman defends. Shadow: Ranging Goblins (no effect). Anfalas Herdsman is destroyed.

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Increase threat to 3
Play: Peace and Thought (Elrond -1). Exhaust Elrond, Eleanor. Draw: Elrond's Counsel, Knights of the Swan, Steward of Gondor, A Test of Will, Timely Aid, Peace and Thought
Another Elrond's Counsel! That is nice to see

Round 5
Resource  Phase
+1 Hirluin (1), +1 Eleanor (2), +1 Elrond (1)
+1 Hirluin (2; Resourceful)
Draw: Resourceful
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Hirluin (4)

Planning Phase
Play: Timely Aid (Hirluin -1). Look at: Hunter of Lamedon, Hunter of Lamedon, Resourceful, Knights of the Swan, Dwarven Tomb.
Not going to miss this opportunity again. Time to start working on my attach strength.
Put Knights of the Swan into play. Shuffle remainder into player deck.
Play: Knights of the Swan (Elrond -1)
Play: Resourceful (Hirluin -1). Attach to Hirluin.

Quest Phase
Commit: Hirluin the Fair, Ethir Swordsman x2, Warrior of Lossarnach x2, Knights of the Swan x2
Total willpower: 19
Reveal: Leaping Flame
Play: A Test of Will (Eleanor -1)
Total threat: 7
Play: Elronds Counsel. Decrease threat to 0, increase total willpower to 20
Place 13 progress on stage 1B, clearing it
Advance to stage 2A, flip to 2B
Place 4 progress on stage 2B (4/16, 2B's effect)

Travel Phase
None

Encounter Phase
None

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 1

Round 6
Resource Phase
+1 Hirluin (3), +1 Eleanor (2), +1 Elrond (1)
+2 Hirluin (5; Resourceful x2)
Draw: Dwarven Tomb
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Hirluin (7)

Planning Phase
None

Quest Phase
Commit: Elrond, Either Swordsman x2
Total willpower: 9
Reveal: Orc Drummer
Total threat: 10
Increase threat to 2
Place 4 progress on stage 2B (8/16)

Travel Phase
Travel to Second Deep

Encounter Phase
Engage Orc Drummer

Combat Phase
Deal shadow cards to Orc Drummer, Durin's Bane
Orc Drummer attacks. Eleanor defends. Shadow: Massing in the Deep (+1 attack). No damage dealt.
Durin's Bane attacks. Warrior of Lossarnach attacks. Shadow: Inner Shadow (no effect). Warrior of Lossarnach is destroyed.
Hirluin the Fair, Warrior of Lossarnach, Elrond, Knights of the Swan #2 the Swan x2 declare an attack on Durin's Bane. 10 attack vs. 3 shields = 7 damage dealt (7/27).

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Increase threat to 3
Regenerate: Remove 3 damage from Durin's Bane (4/27)

Round 7
Resource Phase
+1 Hirluin (8), +1 Eleanor (3), +1 Elrond (2)
+2 Hirluin (10; Resourceful x2)
Draw: Peace and Thought
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Hirluin (12)
These resource numbers are based on what they should have been, looking at my notes. As you can see from how I play cards later on, I missed adding some of the extras on Hirluin for this around and probably next. If I realized I could have laid all of my allies out this turn, I would have and would have tried to go for the win one round earlier). 

Planning Phase

None

Quest Phase

Commit: Either Swordsman x2, Knights of the Swan x2

Total willpower: 10

Reveal: Watchful Eyes

Play: A Test of Will (Eleanor -1)

Play: Dwarven Tomb (Eleanor -1)

Play: Elrond's Counsel. Decrease threat to 0, increase willpower to 11.

Total threat: 4

Place 3 progress on Second Deep, exploring it

Place 4 progress on stage 2B (12/16)

Combat Phase

Deal shadow card to Orc Drummer

Orc Drummer attacks. Warrior of Lossarnach defends. Shadow: Many Thronged Whip (no effect). No damage dealt. 

Elrond, Hirluin the Fair declare an attack on Orc Drummer, destroying it

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 1
Play: Peace and Thought. Exhaust Elrond, Eleanor.
Draw: Warrior of Lossarnach, Anfalas Herdsman, Men of the West, Elrond's Counsel.
Regenerate: Remove 3 damage from Durin's Bane (1/27)

Round 8
Resource Phase
+1 Hirluin (13), +1 Eleanor (4), +1 Elrond (2)
+2 Hirluin (15; Resourceful x2)
Draw: Hunter of Lamedon
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Hirluin (17)

Planning Phase
Play: Anfalas Herdsman (Elrond -1)
Play: Hunter of Lamedon (Elrond -1, Hirluin -1)
Reveal: Gandalf. Discard.
Play: Men of the West (Hirluin -3). Move: Forlong, Anfalas Herdsman, Warrior of Lossarnach to hand
Play: Forlong (Hirluin -3)
Play: Anfalas Herdsman (Hirluin -1)

Quest Phase
Commit: Either Swordsman #1, Knights of the Swan #1
Total willpower: 5
Reveal: Goblin Swordsman
Total threat: 5
Play: Elrond's Counsel. Reduce threat to 0, increase total willpower to 6
Place 1 progress on stage 2B (13/16)

Encounter Phase
Engage Goblin Swordsman

Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Goblin Swordsman
Goblin Swordsman attacks. Forlong defends. Shadow: Chance Encounter +3 attack. Goblin Swordsman deals 4 damage (4/5, due to two Anfalas Herdsmen in play)
Knights of the Swan, Hunter of Lamedon declare an attack on Goblin Swordsman, destroying it.

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 1
\Regenerate: Remove 1 damage from Durin's Bane (0/27)

Round 9
Resource Phase
+1 Hirluin (10), +1 Eleanor (4), +1 Elrond (1)
+2 Hirluin (12; Resourceful x2)
Draw: Anfalas Herdsman
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Hirluin (14)

Planning Phase
Play: Anfalas Herdsman (Elrond -1)
Play: Warrior of Lossarnach (Hirluin -2)
Play: Warrior of Lossarnach (Hirluin -2)
Let's take stock of what we have down, in terms of Outlands allies: Forlong, Hunter of Lamedon x1, Ethir Swordsman x2, Knights of the Swan x2, Warrior of Lossarnach x3, Anfalas Herdsman x3. I don't believe a single thing I hear about Outlands being overpowered. 

Quest Phase
Commit: Eleanor, Forlong
Total willpower: 4
Reveal: Second Deep
Total threat: 7
Raise threat to 4
Place 4 progress on stage 2B (2B's effect), clearing it
Advance to stage 3A, flip to 3B
Durin's Bane attacks. Forlong defends. Shadow: Stray Goblin (+1 attack). Forlong is destroyed.
Move Dark Pit to the staging area

Travel Phase
Ready Forlong
Second Deep

Encounter Phase
None

Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Durin's Bane
Durin's Bane attacks. Anfalas Herdsman #1 defends. Shadow: Second Hall (no effect). Anfalas Herdsman takes 2 damage and survives (2/4, due to Warrior of Lossarnach's effect and Anfalas Herdsman's effect)
Declare an attack on Durin's Bane with: Elrond, Hirluin the Fair, Ethir Swordsman x2, Warrior of Lossarnach x3, Hunter of Lamedon, Anfalas Herdsman x2, Knights of the Swan x2.
31 damage vs. 3 shields = 28 (28/27)

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 5
Regenerate: Heal 3 damage from Durin's Bain (25/27)

Round 10
Resource Phase
+1 Hirluin (11), +1 Eleanor (5), +1 Elrond (1)
+2 Hirluin (13; Resourceful x2)
Draw: A Very Good Tale
I have just about everyone out, so no reason to use this and lose potential questing/fighting power
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Hirluin (15)

Planning Phase
Play none

Quest Phase
I need to quest just enough to get through the Second Deep, while keeping the firepower around to kill Durin's Bane. I want the ability o deal a minimum of 10 damage to him, in case Inner Shadow comes up.
Commit: Eleanor, Elrond, Anfalas Herdsman x2, Knights of the Swan x2
Total willpower: 12
Reveal: Goblin Scout
Total threat: 7
Place 3 progress on Second Deep, exploring it
Place 2 progress on stage 3B

Travel Phase
Travel to Dark Pit

Encounter Phase
None

Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Durin's Bane
Durin's Bane attacks. Anfalas Herdsman #1 defends. Shadow: Goblin Swordsman (add to staging area). Anfalas Herdsman is destroyed.
Either Swordsman x2 declare an attack on Durin's Bane, dealing 3 damage (28/27)

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 6
Exhaust Warrior of Lossarnach x3 to trigger Dark Pit's effect. Discard: Hunter of Lamedon, A Test of Will, Hunter of Lamedon.
Durin's Bane is banished into the Pit. Game over!

Final Scoring

9 Completed Rounds x10: 90

Final Threat: 6

Total Damage on Heroes: 0

Total Threat of Destroyed Heroes: 0

Victory Display: 0

Total: 96


The Recap

Let's admit it: I got some great draws from the player deck (the ability to use Elrond's Counsel four times when it was early enough to matter?) and nothing too terrible from the encounter deck. That had nothing to do with me. I did, however, learn my lesson from Attempt #3 and kept the staging area as clear as I possible could.

But, even with the luck I had, I saw that this quest is beatable. This deck idea (which I'm sure I'm not the first one to bring to the table) came about while looking at quite a few other decks (dwarves, tactics, secrecy, dwarves) that other people had success with. I even think the tactics/eagle deck I tried on Attempt #2 could have seen a victory after some polishing.

And this quest felt more fun than just purely tough. I love the element of a life & death struggle with the Balrog, where you're only hope is to banish him somehow. I know Hero Gandalf will have his own chance to go up against this ancient foe soon, but wouldn't it be great to bring him back here as well? Or how about some of those amazing Silvan decks that are possible now?

End the end, I found that this is definitely one challenge I want to go up against again.