The Decks
Outlands was a strategy I felt had a lot of potential against this scenario (a strong hint given by the game designers in the fact that most Outlands cards came paired with this quest). I did a two-handed Leadership attempt that worked pretty well, then abandoned it for some reason and spent quite a lot of time bashing decks against this quest.
Looking at strategies that others had tried, I found very little information (at the time) on two-player or two-handed victories against The Steward's Fear. Then I came upon Tales from the Cards' Eleanor's Big Adventure and Outlands Gone Wild decks. Both looked promising, but I had a few ideas of my own I want to contribute. Below are two decks I had been working on. The decks I used to complete the quest were a mash-up of these, plus the Tales from the Cards decks. Sorry I did not keep the decklist at hand!
It is essential to mention that this quest was played through before I became aware of the errata on Thror's Map, limiting it to a Travel Phase action. Using the Map + Asfaloth or The Riddermark's Finest (or both) during the staging section of the Quest Phase was an essential strategy for me. One which I will have to fully re-think in the future!
Looking at strategies that others had tried, I found very little information (at the time) on two-player or two-handed victories against The Steward's Fear. Then I came upon Tales from the Cards' Eleanor's Big Adventure and Outlands Gone Wild decks. Both looked promising, but I had a few ideas of my own I want to contribute. Below are two decks I had been working on. The decks I used to complete the quest were a mash-up of these, plus the Tales from the Cards decks. Sorry I did not keep the decklist at hand!
It is essential to mention that this quest was played through before I became aware of the errata on Thror's Map, limiting it to a Travel Phase action. Using the Map + Asfaloth or The Riddermark's Finest (or both) during the staging section of the Quest Phase was an essential strategy for me. One which I will have to fully re-think in the future!
The Steward's Fear: Spirit/Tactics
Heroes
Glorfindel (Foundations of Stone)
Legolas
Dunhere
Allies
The Riddermark's Finest x3
Defender of Rammas x3
Northern Tracker x3
Escort from Edoras x3
Gandalf x3
Attachments
Rivendell Blade x3
Spear of the Mark x3
Light of Valinor x3
Unexpected Courage x2
Ancient Mathom x3
Rohan Warhorse x3
Events
A Test of Will x3
Hasty Stroke x3
Quick Strike x3
Hands Upon the Bow x3
Goblin-cleaver x3
Foe-hammer x3
Sets used
Core
A Journey to Rhosgobel
The Hills of Emyn Muil
Return to Rivendell
Foundations of Stone
Shadow and Flame
Over Hill and Under Hill
The Heirs of Numenor
The Morgul Vale
Voice of Isengard
The Steward's Fear: Lore
Heroes
Aragorn
Elrond
Denethor
Allies
Erebor Hammersmith x3
Gildor Inglorion x3
Miner of the Iron Hills x3
Warden of Healing x3
White Tower Watchman x3
Ithilien Tracker x3
Gandalf (Core) x2
Attachments
A Burning Brand x3
Asfaloth x3
Ranger Spikes x3
Thror's Map x3
Vilya x3
Elf-stone x3
Events
Secret Paths x3
Mithrandir's Advice x3
Ancestral Knowledge x3
Gildor's Counsel x3
Sets Used
Core
Conflict at the Carrock
The Hills of Emyn Muil
Khasad-Dum
The Watcher in the Water
The Long Dark
The Long Dark
Foundations of Stone
Shadow and Flame
Over Hill and Under Hill
Over Hill and Under Hill
Heirs of Numenor
The Steward's Fear
The Druadan Forest
The Druadan Forest
The Black Riders
The Journey
This one was a beast to win. I'm pretty sure we played at least three rounds together, plus three rounds solo, in addition to the attempts I logged below (thus the twelve attempts mentioned above). Even the solo rounds were two-player, so we'll count the final winning attempt my wife and I completed. I can't give even a slightly realistic picture of our final journey, but you might be able to glean something from my BoardGameGeek logs below.
| 2014-04-25 | 1 | IRL, with wife | Victory! Finally! But, actually, came to love the challenge in this AP. May come back to it solo, in the future. | Details | Edit | |
| 2014-04-20 | 1 | OCTGN, two-handed solo | Win! Think I'm ready for another IRL attempt with my wife. A mixture of my Spirit/Tactics deck + Lore deck with the Tales from the Cards Eleanor and Outlands decks. | Details | Edit | |
| 2014-03-21 | 1 | OCTGN, two-handed solo | VICTORY! Lore (Aragon, Denathor, Elrond) + Spirit/Tactics (Glorfindel, Dunhere, Legolas), for the win. The house fire for the plot and Bane for the villain. Close game! | Details | Edit | |
| 2014-03-17 | 1 | OCTGN, two-handed solo | Loss. Aragorn (L), Elrond, Denathor with Legolas, Glorfiendel (S) and Dunhere. Both decks functioned really well. During the final few rounds, had resources taken off of the quest a few times and then had the Plot card caused death by deck depletion. Maybe add 1 Will of the West to each deck? Also, Thror's Map and Ashaloth were essential cards. | Details | Edit | |
| 2014-03-17 | 1 | OCTGN, two-handed solo | Within reach of completing stage 2...when the computer died! Still feel a solid Lore + Spirit/Tactics deck is working well for this one. Keeping the computer plugged in and trying again! | Details | Edit | |
| 2014-03-17 | 1 | OCTGN, two-handed solo | Loss. Within eight progress points of the final victory this time (with the villan dead). |
The Recap
This is a fun quest. And a challenging one. Treacheries, locations, and enemies can all do their part to foil any strategy. Add in a random plot and villain and you have a mixed bag of challenge every time. And you know what? I loved it! It was overwhelming at times (and feels a lot harder than the 5 it is rated), but still felt solvable and beatable. Add this to the sweet spot of quests for me and sign me up for a return trip.
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