Quest 25: Assault on Osgiliath

Victory on the second attempt

The Deck

Continuing with our Against the Shadow journey, my wife and I took a crack at this with Gondor/Rohan combination. I played mono-Spirit and she played mono-Leadership. They did their parts and were able to get out some crazy questing power. Example: our final turn, we were able to use Mutual Accord + Astonishing Speed to get a whopping 26 willpower going (with Rear Guard on hand to get us to 31). Maybe we'll return to those decks some day, but massive willpower is not what is needed for this quest and we died an early death in round 4 with no locations still claimed (out of 6 in play).

So what type of deck would work well for this quest?

When trying out a new quest, I try to avoid any talks of strategy in the forums (only browsing for answers to tricky questions that come up), so the obvious answer did not come to me right away. I thought about how to clear locations quicker (Thror's Map + Asfaloth?), how to deal with the massive amount of large enemies that could come up (Defender of Ramas?), how to deal with Siege and Battle conditions popping up (Vassal of the Windlord + Winged Guardian?).

Then it suddenly clicked. The combination so many have found before me was: Boromir + Ancient Harbor + The Old Bridge. In a two player game, The Old Bridge can be explored in one, then Ancient Harbor behind it. You simply need to peek & control the top card of the encounter deck (which Denethor can do). Risk Some Light can help to control the deck more, simply delaying the victory until the Resource Phase of the following round.

With the pattern in play, my wife and I decided it would be best for me to just knock this one out solo (which takes out the need to add in The Old Bridge to the equation). Combining the mono-Tactics and mono-Lore deck ideas gave me:

The Tactical Assault of Learned Men

Heroes
Boromir
Grima
Denethor

Allies
Henemarth Riversong x2
Defender of Rammas x3
Winged Guardian x3
Vassal of the Windlord x3
Anfalas Herdsman x3
Erebor Record Keeper x3
Knights of the Swan x3

Attachments
Keys of Orthanc x3
Palantir x3

Events
Daeron's Runes x3
Deep Knowledge x3
Mithrandir's Advice x3
The Seeing-stone x3
Risk Some Light x3
Ravens of the Mountain x3
Behind Strong Walls x3
Feint x3

Sets Used
Core
The Hunt for Gollum
The Dead Marshes
Khazad-dum
Foundations of Stone
Shadow and Flame
On the Doorstep
Heirs of Numenor
Assault on Osgiliath
The Steward's Fear
The Voice of Isengard

The ultimate goal here is to get Risk Some Light in your hand on the draw, the mulligan, or through a combination of The Seeing Stone + Deep Knowledge. This doesn't guarantee an instant win, but makes it just about there. Another good combination would be drawing a Palantir to use in combination with Denethor's ability. Use the Palantir to see if it would be worth having Denethor move the top card or not.


The Journey

Player Setup
Set starting threat to 28
Draw: Keys of Orthanc, Winged Guardian, Behind Strong Walls, Palantir, Knights of the Swan, Henemarth Riversong
No Risk Some Light, Deep Knowledge, or The Seeing-stone, but I'm pretty sure Denethor can get me the win as is. I'll go for it.

Encounter Setup
Search the encounter deck. Add Ancient Harbor and Southron Phalanx to the staging area. Shuffle.

Round 1
Resource Phase
+1 Boromir (1), +1 Grima (1), +1 Denethor (1)
Draw: The Seeing-stone
Alright, let's see if we can get a good combination going here.

Planning Phase
Play: The Seeing-stone (raise threat to 29). Search deck and add Deep Knowledge to hand.
Play: Deep Knowledge (raise threat to 31). Draw: Risk Some Light, Mithrandir's Advice
Nice! Time to manipulate the Encounter Deck for the win
Play: Keys of Orthanc (Boromir -1)
Play: Risk Some Light (Grima -1, Denethor -1, use Grimas ability to lower the cost by one and raise my threat to 32)
Look at the top three cards of the encounter deck: West Quarter, Counter-attack, Southron Support.
So a location was on top! Good thing I'm peeking. And next is a surge card. I'll put the non-surge on top, even though it's Doomed 3 and will make me add an enemy to the staging area. I'll just find another low-threat Southron Phalanx to add.
Move West Quarter to the bottom of the encounter deck
Place Southron Support on top of the deck, with Counter-attack beneath

Quest Phase
Commit: Grima
Total willpower: 2
Reveal: Southron Support. Doomed 3 (raise threat to 35). Search encounter deck and add Southron Phalanx to the staging area
Total threat: 3
Raise threat by 1 (threat 36)
Alright, just need to survive these two attacks with Boromir still alive and we're home free.

Travel Phase
None

Encounter Phase
Engage Southron Phalanx x2

Combat Phase
Deal shadow cards to Southron Phalanx x2
Southron Phalanx #1 attacks. Denethor defends. Shadow: Uruk Soldier (no locations controlled; no effect). No damage dealt.
Play: Behind Strong Walls (Boromir -1). Ready Denethor (+1 shield).
Southron Phalanx #2 attacks. Denethor defends. Shadow: Southron Commander (no effect). No damage dealt.
And here we go. It's best to wait until after all combat to take control of Ancient Harbor, in case an undefended attack slips through and causes you to loose control of the location.
Exhaust Boromir to place 1 progress on Ancient Harbor (1/5)
Ready Boromir (raise threat to 37)
Exhaust Boromir to place 1 progress on Ancient Harbor (2/5)
Ready Boromir (raise threat to 38)
Exhaust Boromir to place 1 progress on Ancient Harbor (3/5)
Ready Boromir (raise threat to 39)
Exhaust Boromir to place 1 progress on Ancient Harbor (4/5)
Ready Boromir (raise threat to 40)
Exhaust Boromir to place 1 progress on Ancient Harbor (5/5), exploring it and taking control of it.

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 41

No locations left unclaimed; game won!

Final Score
1 Completed Round x10: 10
Final Threat: 41
Total Damage on Heroes: 0
Threat of Destroyed Heroes: 0
Victory Display: 0
Total: 51


The Recap

Without the Boromir + Ancient Harbor loop-hole, this quest definitely feels like the 8 it is rated. I really should return and give it a fair shake one day, but it was fun to get the "achievement" of a one-round victory in what seems like an incredibly complex quest at first glance.