The Recap
My wife and I were driving across a few states of the USA years ago, listening to The Hobbit audio book as we drove. The countryside around us just came alive. Tolkien painted a rich physical world and had his characters observe it, make decisions based on it, and spend quite a lot of time traveling through it. The Hills of Emyn Muil is out to recapture that sense of travel through grandiose locations. Some players have remarked that this makes it a quest straight out of Tolkien's books.
And for many other players it simply falls flat.
For me, it was just kind of...there. Didn't hate it, didn't gush over it, but had an enjoyable time patting myself on the back for handling the encounter deck well (which is not to hard with this one). This is actually one of the few quests I may consider purchasing a Nightmare deck for in the future.
I do remember the original preview article for the quest and the excitement of seeing Rauros Falls included as a location. I had already chosen MightRauros as my handle for most games I played at that point. Notable in the movies as the location Dead Sean Bean Replica rode over, Rauros is spoken of throughout the novels and became a location that captured my attention every time I heard it.
"From the Gate of Kings the North Wind rides, and past the roaring falls;
And clear and cold about the tower its loud horn calls.
'What news from the North, O mighty wind, do you bring me today?
What news of Boromir the Bold? For he is long away.'
'Beneath Amon Hen I heard his cry. There many foes he fought.
His cloven shield, his broken sword, they to the water brought.
His head so proud, his face so fair, his limbs they laid to rest,
And Rauros, golden Rauros falls, bore him upon its breast.'
'Oh Boromir! The Tower of Guard shall ever northward gaze,
To Rauros, golden Rauros Falls, until the end of days.' "
- J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
(Fun fact: While working on this write-up, I paused to play a little of The Lord of the Rings: the Third Age with my wife on our PS2. What should be mentioned in a cut scene? The Falls of Rauros, of course)
The Deck
Remembering that questing and picking out locations was a major factor here made Spirit or Lore an easy choice. I decided to settle on another mono-Lore Doomed deck, which was almost my undoing...
Seekers of Lore
Heroes
Aragorn
Grima
Mirlonde
Allies
Gandalf (OHaUH) x3
Haldir of Lorien x1
Gildor Inglorn x1
Henamarth Riversong x2
Isengard Messenger x3
White Tower Watchman x3
Envoy of Pelargir x3
Warden of Healing x3
Attachments
Asfaloth x3
Protector of Lorien x3
Thror's Map x2
Palantir x2
Keys of Orthanc x3
Events
Secret Paths x3
Strider's Path x3
Daeron's Runes x3
Deep Knowledge x3
Mithrandir's Advice x3
Risk Some Light x3
Sets Used
Core
The Hunt for Gollum
A Journey to Rhosgobel
The Hills of Emyn Muil
The Watcher in the Water
The Long Dark
Foundations of Stone
Shadow and Flame
Over Hill and Under Hill
Heirs of Numenor
The Steward's Fear
The Druadan Forest
Assault on Osgiliath
The Voice of Isengard
The Journey
The staging area and encounter deck really never had me too worried. I was able to play Risk Some Light twice, to get foreknowledge and stack things in my favor. Henamarth Riversong more than pulled his weight in helping me keep one step ahead of the encounter deck.
I got my threat up to the mid-40s, using Grima's ability quite a bit and keeping Gandalf around for a few rounds, then shot it back down to 26 with Aragorn. Imagine my surprise when I shortly ended up back at 42 with two victory points left to find! Thankfully, The North Stair came long (with Strider's Path in my hands, allowing me to see and explore it all in one fell swoop).
Here are the locations my journey took me to:
- Rauros Falls (VP 3)
- The Highlands (VP 1)
- Amon Hen (VP 5)
- The Outer Ridge (VP 2)
- Ahon Lhaw (VP 5)
- The Shores of Nen Hithoel (VP 2)
- The North Stair (VP 3)
15 completed rounds x10: 140
Final threat: 42
Damage on heroes: 0
Threat cost of defeated hero: 0
Victory points: -21
Total: 161
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