Just got my copies of The Three Trials and Trouble in Tharbad in the mail (my personal reward for passing the 50% mark last month). Ever since I hit "purchase," I've been using some of the cards in my digital decks, but it is a lot better to have the cards in hand. Many people are noticing what an MVP Haldir of Lorien can be. Tonight I just wanted to sit back and have some fun putting together a few decks with him. There has been zero playtesting for these decks (I'm typing them up right after creating them at cardgamedb.com), so adjustments will be needed down the line.
First up is a solo Ranger deck.
Learned Rangers
Heroes
Haldir of Lorien (Trouble in Tharbad)
Pipin (The Black Riders)
Beravor
Allies
Anborn x2
Ithilien Tracker x3
Erebor Hammersmith x3
Master of the Forge x3
Gandalf (Core) x3
Galadhrim Minstrel x3
Henamarth Riversong x2
Attachment
Ranger Spikes x3
Forest Snare x2
Ranger Bow x3
Good Meal x3
Asfaloth x2
Lembas x3
Event
Noiseless Movement x3
Take No Notice x3
Advance Warning x3
Forest Patrol x3
Mithrandir's Advice x3
Sets Used
Core
The Redhorn Gate
Foundations of Stone
Shadow and Flame
Heirs of Numenor
The Steward's Fear
The Druadan Forest
Assault on Osgiliath
The Blood of Gondor
The Black Riders
The Three Trials
Trouble in Tharbad
The goal here is to avoid engaging enemies, allowing Haldir + Ranger Bows to take down anything that pops up. Henamarth Riversong is here to give you a good look at what's to come. Gandalf should not be needed for card draw (there is plenty of that built in) but for threat reduction and possible help with big baddies. This is designed to be a solo deck and might not fare well against scenarios that load up the staging area with multiple enemies at once (Massing at Osgiliath, for example).
Silvan Wingmen
Heroes
Haldir of Lorien (Trouble in Tharbad)
Legolas
Allies
Envoy of Pelargir x3
Galadhrim Minstrel x3
Gandalf (Core) x3
Master of the Forge x3
Vassal of the Windlord x3
Winged Guardian x3
Attachment
Song of Battle x2
Rohan Warhorse x3
Asfaloth x1
Rivendell Blade x3
Resourceful x3
Mighty Prowness x3
Elf-stone x3
Event
Noiseless Movement x3
Hands Upon the Bow x3
Feint x3
Risk Some Light x3
Unseen Strike x3
Sets Used
Core
The Hunt for Gollum
The Dead Marshes
The Redhorn Gate
Road to Rivendell
The Watcher in the Water
Foundations of Stone
Shadow and Flame
Heirs of Numenor
The Druadan Forest
The Black Riders
The Voice of Isengard
The Three Trials
Trouble in Tharbad
This is intended as a support deck, with a high-threat deck capable of pulling out the questing power on the other end. Get Song of Battle on Haldir and load both heroes up with: Rivendell Blade, Mighty Prowess, Rohan Warhorse.
Silvan Rainbow
Hero
Celeborn
Haldir of Lorien
Legolas
Ally
Defender of the Naith x3
Galadhirm Minstrel x3
Henamarth Riversong x2
Mirkwood Runner x2
Silvan Tracker x3
Naith Guide x3
Rumil x2
Silvan Refugee x3
Attachment
Lembas x3
Rivendell Blade x3
O Lorien! x3
Song of Travel x3
Light of Valinor x3
Event
Feigned Voices x3
Pursuing the Enemy x3
The Tree People x3
Children of the Sea x3
Sneak Attack x3
Sets Used
Core
The Hills of Emyn Muil
The Dead Marshes
Return to Mirkwood
Road to Rivendell
Foundations of Stone
The Druadan Forest
The Blood of Gondor
The Dunland Trap
The Three Trials
Trouble in Tharbad
Solo or multi-player, I'd have fun with this one. There is a bit much going on and not a fully clear strategy, so this one needs some work. Honestly, Mirlonde would work just as well in this deck as Haldir and would save two threat. I would love to fit in Rain of Arrows to combo with Pursuing the Enemy. Maybe if I didn't splash in Spirit? But I do really want to see how that goes at least once. Elves are my wife's favorite race in Middle-earth, so this is likely the deck I'll be modifying and refining for her use.
And there it is. What adjustments would you make and how are you using Haldir?
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Saga Quest 5: The Lonely Mountain (re-do)
Correction! My original interpretation of Secret Entrance (that you look at the top card of the Encounter Deck instead of adding it to the staging area) was the correct one. Thus, my previous post (victory on the fourth attempt) was valid!
The Recap
This is a swingy quest.
A good deck and a good strategy are a needed, but what good is that when you are dealt six shadow cards with burgle effects during Smaug's first attack in stage 3? And I though the 4+ burgle effect chain during the previous attempt was bad (the "+" is from running out of heroes before the chain stopped)!
But, with that said, those instances should be rare. I read recently (at Tales From the Cards or Hall of Beorn?) that Caleb and the team playtested this set and found they did not see a chain of more than 2-3 that often. If you go into the third stage fully prepared to handle that at least once, then attack and/or quest like crazy, you should be able to get out a measurable win percentage (25% maybe?). That needs to combine with your strategy for burgle attempts during stage 2. As I mentioned previously, my tactic was to pile up the cards and hope for the best. And maybe I could have upped my win percentage if more intentionality had gone into that aspect of the quest. But I honestly liked playing this deck and that is worth a lower win ratio to me.
The Deck
I tried to fine-tune the deck a little between attempts. While I feel (pretty?) confident that the original deck would have pulled out a victory during attempt #4, why not try to make it a little stronger?
For my first two attempts, I simply switched out Gaining Strength for Risk Some Light. Resource accumulation was going just fine and I hoped this addition would help control the encounter deck, especially Smaug the Magnificent's attacks, thus doubling the preventative power I have with Dawn Take You All. In reality, attempt #5 & 6 had me use the card to simply see the doom that was almost upon me (especially during attempt 6, where three cards with burgle text came up). So that got taken out and replaced with Daeron's Runes to help with card draw. A Very Good Tale is another (strong) contender for that spot.
For attempts 7 and 8, I ditched Narvi's belt in favor of Song of Travel. While I did use the belt to pull out some Lore cards at first, I really mainly wanted the belt for a Spirit icon. With a lot of high-cost leadership icons on the table, a neutral one-cost attachment was a better fit.
I also ditched King Under the Mountain. Great card, but I already had some good card draw going on and always wanted the Leadership resources for other uses. I increased Fast Hitch and Steward of Gondor up from x2 to x3, hopefully guaranteeing a draw during the game.
As for strategy: Putting the Steward on Dain instead of Bifur was the way to go. There are some great 2 & 3 cost leadership cards you want to get out as often as possible here. Then you want to slap on a Song of Travel and have him handle Untroubled by Darkness during stage 3.
Dain's Mountaineers, v.2.1
Heroes
Dain Ironfoot
Ori
Bifur (Khazad-dum)
Allies
Miner of the Iron Hills x3
Longbeard Map-Maker x3
Longbeard Elder x3
Kili x2
Fili x2
Gandalf x3
Erebor Hammersmith x3
Erebor Record Keeper x3
Attachements
Legacy of Durin x2
Steward of Gondor x3
Fast Hitch x3
Protector of Lorien x3
Song of Wisdom x3
Events
Dawn Take You All x3
Ancestral Knowledge x3
Lure of Moria x3
Untroubled by Darkness x3
Daeron's Runes x3
Treasure
Bilbo's Magic RingSting
Orcrist
Glamdring
Set starting threat to 26
Draw: Longbeard Map-Maker, Miner of the Iron Hills, Longbeard Map-Maker, Dawn Take You All,
Protector of Lorien, Fili
Encounter Setup
Add The Lonely Mountain and Smaug the Golden to the staging area
Place Erebor treasures under The Lonely Mountain
Set Smaug the Magnificent and A Bare Patch out of play
Pay 1 resource (Dain -1) to add 1 resource to Bifur's pool (2)
Play: Longbeard Map-Maker (Ori -1, Bifur -2)
Spend 1 Baggins resource (Bilbo -1) to search deck for Bilbo's Magic Ring and add it to my hand.
Play: Bilbo's Magic Ring. Attach to Bilbo.
Exhaust Bilbo's Magic Ring (raise threat to 27) to add 1 resource to Bilbo's pool.
Spend 1 Baggins resource (Bilbo -1) to search deck for Sting and add it to my hand.
Play: Sting. Attach to Bilbo.
Quest Phase, Travel Phase, Encounter Phase, Combat Phase
Skipped or irrelevant due to stage 1B's text
Refresh Phase
Ready none
Raise threat to 28
Round 2
Resource Phase
+1 Dain (1), +1 Ori (1), +1 Bifur (1) +1 Bilbo (1)
Draw: Erebor Hammersmith
Planning Phase
Play: Erebor Hammersmith (Ori -1, Bifur -1)
Quest Phase
Commit: Bilbo Baggins
Total willpower: 2
Reveal: Fighting Among Friends (no non-Baggins sphere committed; no effect)
Total threat:2
No progress placed
Travel Phase
No travel
Encounter Phase
No engagements
Combat Phase
No combat
Refresh Phase
Ready Bilbo
Raise threat to 29
Round 3
Resource Phase
+1 Dain (2), +1 Ori (1), +1 Bifur (1), +1 Bilbo (2)
Draw: Lure of Moria
Draw: Steward of Gondor
Planning Phase
Play: Steward of Gondor (Dain -2)
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Dain (2)
Quest Phase
Commit: Bilbo
Total willpower: 2
Reveal: Desolation of Smaug
Total threat: 5
Raise threat to 32
Travel Phase
Travel to Desolation of Smaug
Encounter Phase
No engagement
Combat Phase
No combat
Refresh Phase
Ready Bilbo
Raise threat to 33
Round 4
Resource Phase
+1 Dain (3), +1 Ori (2), +1 Bifur (2), +1 Bilbo (3)
Draw: Longbeard Elder
Draw: Lure of Moria
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Dain (5)
Planning Phase
Play: Fili (Dain -3). Search deck and put Kili into play. Shuffle.
Play: Longbeard Map-Maker (Ori -2, Bifur -1)
Quest Phase
Commit: Ori, Bifur, Bilbo, Erebor Hammersmith, Longbeard Map-Maker x2
Total willpower: 14
Reveal: Dark Bats
Total threat: 9
Place 3 progress on Desolation of Smaug, exploring it
Place 1 progress on Smaug the Golden (1/6).
Make a burgle attempt.
Discard: Pretending to Sleep (discard 2, matching type).
Shuffle player deck. Reveal: Daeron's Runes
Spend 2 Baggins resources to put Daeron's Runes in my hand.
Reveal: Untroubled by Darkness. Discard: Daeron's Runes, Lure of Moria
Take top treasure: Thror's Golden Cup
Travel Phase
No travel
Encounter Phase
Engage Dark Bats
Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Dark Bats
Dark Bats attack. Dain Ironfoot defends. Shadow: Hidden Path (no effect). No damage dealt.
Fili declares an attack on Dark Bats, destroying them.
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 34
Round 5
Resource Phase
+1 Dain (3), +1 Ori (1), +1 Bifur (2), +1 Bilbo (2)
Draw: Untroubled by Darkness
Draw: Fast Hitch
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Dain (5)
Planning Phase
Play: Thror's Golden Cup. Attach to Dain.
Add Thror's Golden Cup to the victory display (3).
Draw: Steward of Gondor, Song of Travel, Untroubled by Darkness
Play: Fast Hitch (Bifur -1). Attach to Bilbo.
Quest Phase
Commit: Bilbo, Bifur
Total willpower: 5
Reveal: Dark Bats
Total threat: 7
Raise threat to 36
Travel Phase
No Travel
Encounter Phase
Engage Dark Bats
Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Dark Bats
Dark Bats attack. Dain defends. Shadow: Known to an Ounce (no effect). No damage dealt.
Ori declares an attack on Dark Bats, destroying them.
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 37
Round 6
Resource Phase
+1 Dain (6), +1 Ori (2), +1 Bifur (2), +1 Bilbo (3)
Draw: Erebor Record Keeper
Draw: Legacy of Durin
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Dain (8).
Panning Phase
Play none
Quest Phase
Commit: Ori, Bifur, Bilbo, Erebor Hammersmith, Longbeard Map-Maker x2
Total willpower: 14
Reveal: Western Slopes
Total threat: 11
Place 1 progress on Smaug the Golden (2/6).
Make a burgle attempt.
Discard: Belching Fire (discard 1, matching type and cost).
Shuffle player deck. Reveal: Fili. Discard: Longbeard Elder.
Take top treasure: Mithril Shirt
Advance to stage 3A
Remove Smaug the Golden from play.
Add Smaug the Magnificent and A Bare Patch to the staging area.
Travel Phase
No travel
Encounter Phase
No engagements
Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Smaug the Magnificent
Play: Dawn Take You All (Dain -2). Discard shadow card.
Smaug the Magnificent attacks. Fili defends. Fili is destroyed.
Play: Lure of Moria (Dain -3). Ready all dwarf characters.
Exhaust Fast Hitch. Ready Bilbo.
Ori, Bifur, Bilbo, Kili, Erebor Hammersmith, Longbeard Map-Maker x2 declare an attack on Smaug.
16 attack vs. 8 shield = 8 damage (8/20)
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 38
Round 7
Resource Phase
+1 Dain (4), +1 Ori (3), +1 Bifur (3), +1 Bilbo (4)
Draw: Fili
Draw; Fast Hitch
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Dain (6)
Planning Phase
Play: Gandalf (Dain -2, Bifur -1, Bilbo -2)
Play: Legacy of Durin (Bifur -1)
Play: Erebor Record Keeper (Bifur -1). Draw: Ancestral Knowledge
Play: Miner of the Iron Hills (Ori -2). Draw: Daeron's Runes
Play Daeron's Runes. Draw: Gandalf, Ancestral Knowledge. Discard: Ancestral Knowledge.
Play: Protector of Lorien (Ori -1). Attach to Bifur.
Play: Song of Travel (Bilbo -1). Attach to Dain.
Quest Phase
Commit: Ori, Bifur, Bilbo, Kili, Erebor Record Keeper, Erebor Hammersmith, Miner of the Iron Hills, Longbeard Map-Maker x2, Gandalf (does not exhaust).
Total willpower: 23
Exhaust Fast Hitch. Ready Bilbo Baggins.
Reveal: Belching Fire. Smaug attacks! Gandalf defends and is destroyed.
Updated willpower: 19
Play: Untroubled by Darkness (Dain -2)
Updated willpower: 27
Play: Untroubled by Darkness (Dain -2)
Updated willpower: 35
Total threat:14
Place 21 progress on stage 3B.
Smaug the Magnificent is removed from play and the game is won!
Final Score
6 Completed Rounds x10: 60
Ending Threat: 38
Total Damage on Heroes: 0
Threat of Destroyed Heroes: 0
Victory Display: -3
Total: 95
Treasure: Thror’s Golden Cup, Mithril Shirt
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Saga Quest 5: The Lonely Mountain
Victory on the fourth attempt!
Note: Due to a miss-interpretation of Secret Entrance during round 6 (see note), I've taken another crack at this quest.
Note 2: I was wrong! My original interpretation of Secret Entrance (looking at the top card of the Encounter deck and not revealing it) was correct and this fourth attempt will count!
My question to Caleb: Hi! I'm playing through "The Lonely Mountain." Is the intention of Secret Entrance (card 65) to add a card to the staging area or simply to see the top card of the encounter deck? Thanks!
Caleb's Reply: Hi James,
Secret Entrance should read: “Look at the top card of the encounter deck. If the looked at card…” There is no need to actually reveal and resolve the top card of the encounter deck when traveling to the Secret Entrance. Thanks for asking.
Hope you’re enjoying the On the Doorstep box!
Cheers,
Caleb
The Deck
Knowing that the designers tested this quest with just a single core set and the player cards from Over Hill and Under Hill and On the Doorstep, I really wanted to go for a thematic deck-build here. But I just got crushed my first few times attempting this one. Thrown into stage 4 on round 1 or 2, my heroes were torn apart by Smaug and a chain of shadow cards with burgle effects. Then I finally managed to get to stage 3 with my goal in hand (see below), but had no good plan to damage Smaug or quest over the staging area. I was stumped. Could I make a thematic deck with the willpower or attack strength to meet the demands of The Lonely Mountain? Probably. Eventually. But I was tired. Time to send in Dain! And it almost worked. Pairing Dain with Spirit, I got ten damage on Smaug the Magnificent and 10 progress on Stage 3B and then it all just kind of fell apart. Maybe Leadership-Lore is the key to this quest (for me).
So what are my needs? My goal going in was modest: steal two treasures and get out of Dodge. I didn't want to just breeze through the scenario, but I also didn't want to beat my head against a wall trying to get all five treasures out (average player, not expert, remember?). To that end, I needed the ability to quest massive, attack with some force (if needed and possible), and win a few burgle attempts. With those objectives in mind, here's what I ended up with.
Dain's Mountaineers
Heroes
Dain Ironfoot: Hopefully I can stack up a large a mount of dwarven allies, all boosted by Dains amazing effect. Dain and Spirit Glorfindel definitely fall into "It Kind of Feels Like Cheating But It's Fun" side of heroes.
Ori: Just here for the card draw, 2 willpower, and 2 attack (3 and 3 with Dain ready).
Bifur: The real reason? I want to go Lore heavy here and he's a better fit than Bombur.
Bilbo Baggins (On the Doorstep)
Allies (22)
Miner of the Iron Hills x3: While they're not going to bring much to the party in terms of willpower or attack (even boosted), they can help with any Dragon-Spells that appear.
Longbeard Map-Maker x3: With hopeful resource accumulation, the Map-Maker's ability is very useful for a quest where high willpower is needed.
Longbeard Elder x3: High willpower for a dwarf ally, even if it gets bumped down often.
Kili x2: Playing dwarf leadership or spirit? Need to include these two.
Fili x2: See above.
Gandalf (Over Hill and Under Hill) x3: Threat is not a massive problem in this scenario, but consistent high questing is. The addition of also having a ready defender is a big bonus.
Erebor Hammersmith x3: Great stats for his cost and perfect ability for a quest that has you discarding cards. Choose to discard an attachment whenever you can!
Erebor Record-Keeper x3: Helps get to the 5-dwarf threshold earlier, quests for 2 when Dain is around, or can be used to ready dwarf characters if needed.
Attachments (13)
Narvi's Belt x2: I honestly don't know if I've ever used this card. With the neutral Songs all released by the time dwarves made their power play, it just never seemed necessary for this solo player (who usually sticks to duel-sphere at the most). But it struck me that boosting Bifur up to a massive resource level and slapping a belt on him might give some great flexibility to this deck (and allow me to include Untroubled by Darkness, which I was sad to cut out after I steered away from Spirit this go-around).
Legacy of Durin x2 Part of the massive card draw I'm hoping for.
Steward of Gondor x2: Intended to be placed on Bifur, along with his shiny belt.
Fast Hitch x2: With Sting and Bilbo's Magic Ring attached, Bilbo Baggins is a force to be reckoned with...for one of three possible uses only. With a Fast Hitch or two on him, this burglar is ready to be unleashed.
King Under the Mountain x2: To serve the purpose of both card draw and trying to prepare my hand a little better for burgle attempts (by picking the card that fills a missing "spot" in my cost/sphere/trait spread).
Protector of Lorien x3: Here's the reason you see a lot of "x2" in the attachment second. I realized that I'll spend the first half of this game trying to build up a massive hand to deal with the burgle attempts, only to have a card draw engine in place during stage 3 that lacks the resources to pay for them all. But being able to quest for an extra 1-3 each round at this point would be quite handy!
Events (15)
Dawn Take You All x3: I went through a phase of loving this card, trying to squeeze it into every leadership build I could, and then set it aside. In-between plays, I was browsing over the playthrough at Tales of the Cards and it was brought to my attention how amazing this card is: you can stop Smaug's chain of attacks in stages 3 or 4 before they even begin! This is the card that needs to be mulliganed for in this deck.
Ancestral Knowledge x3: When I stepped away from Lore and tried Leadership/Spirit on the third attempt, I really missed this card. Specifically to help with Great Hall.
Lure of Moria x3: Why balance massive questing with massive attack when you can do both?
Gaining Strength x3: Combos well with the Steward to add some nice resource accumulation.
Untroubled by Darkness x3: If we're using Narvi's belt, then let's include a must-have event when needing a dwarven willpower boost.
Treasure (4): No specific notes on each treasure, just a note that you are only supposed to use them with the same heroes who discovered them. Consider them on loan...
Bilbo's Magic Ring
Sting
Orcrist
Glamdring
The goal is to set up a good amount of card draw and resource accumulation, then start pouring down the dwarves. The cost/type/trait was not tailored for burgler quests, but the hope is that you'll have enough cards in your hand to make most of the matches (but always try to have the 2 Baggins resources to go for a second attempt).
This ended up being a pretty fun deck to play. There are certainly other cards that could have been included (Daeron's Runes, for instance, or A Very Good Tale) but you have to pick and choose at some point, right?
The Journey
Player Setup
Set starting threat to 26
Draw: Dawn Take You All, Erebor Hammersmith, Sting, Gandalf, Gaining Strength, Lure of Moria
Now this is a fantastic opening hand! I have two of the key events I want to see in the late game (Dawn Take You All and Lure of Moria), a dwarf ally I can play during round 1 to get the party started, a treasure I don't have to use a Baggins resource to find, and Gandalf.
Encounter Setup
Add The Lonely Mountain and Smaug the Golden to the staging area.
Set Smaug the Magnificent and Bare Patch off to the side.
Flip to 1B
Round 1
Resource Phase
+1 Dain (1), +1 Head (1), +1 Bifur (1), +1 Bilbo (1)
Draw: Longbeard Elder
Nice. Two allies right off the bat. I was going to use Gaining Strength on Bifur this turn, but maybe I'll hold off and use it on Dain next round to get the Elder into play.
Planning Phase
Spend 1 Baggins resource to search deck for Bilbo's Magic Ring. Add to hand. Shuffle.
Play: Bilbo's Magic Ring. Attach to Bilbo.
Play: Sting. Attach to Bilbo.
Play: Erebor Hammersmith (Ori -1, Bifur -1)
Quest Phase
Skipped, due to stage 1B's effect
Travel Phase
No travel
Encounter Phase
No engagements
Combat Phase
No combat
Refresh Phase
Ready none
Raise threat to 27
Round 2
Resource Phase
+1 Dain (2), +1 Head (1), +1 Bifur (1), +1 Bilbo (1)
Draw: Fili
Well this might be a better option than Longbeard Elder for this round
Planning Phase
Play: Gaining Strength. -2 Dain (0), +3 Dain (3)
Play: Fili (Dain -3). Search deck and put Kili into play.
Quest Phase
Commit: Bilbo
Total willpower: 2
I want to see my card-draw engine kick in next turn before I start my burgle attempts, so I'm banking on a treachery or a low-threat enemy to come out here.
Reveal: Hidden Path
Ouch.
Total threat: 5
Raise threat to 30
Exhaust Bilbo's Magic Ring (raise threat to 31) to add 1 resource to Bilbo's pool (2)
Travel
Travel to Hidden Path (Bilbo -2)
Encounter Phase
No engagements
Combat Phase
No combat
Refresh Phase
Ready Bilbo
Raise threat to 32
Wow. Ended that round a bit higher than I wanted to be at this point. I need to save some good buffer room for Gandalf.
Round 3
Resource Phase
+1 Dain (1), +1 Head (2), +1 Bifur (2), +1 Bilbo (1)
Draw: Glamdring
Draw: Orcrist
Well, I certainly did not expect to see three treasures throw themselves into my hand. But I'll take it! Won't really help with my burgle attempts that much, though.
Planning Phase
Play: Orcrist. Attach to Bilbo.
Play: Glamdring. Attach to Ori.
I found myself wishing a few times during previous attempts that Bilbo had a bit more attack to him. With Fast-Hitch in this deck, I want to get him in the best shape possible.
Quest Phase
Commit: Bilbo
Total willpower: 2
Same gamble here, hoping for a low-threat item to pop out.
Reveal: Great Hall
Okay, that's painful. But at least it wasn't an enemy surging into a Great Hall, right?
Total threat: 4 (with The Lonely Mountain and Great Hall each getting -1 threat due to Hidden Path).
Raise threat to 34
Travel Phase
No travel
Encounter Phase
No engagement
Combat Phase
No combat
Refresh Phase
Ready Bilbo
Raise threat to 35
Round 4
Resource Phase
+1 Dain (2), +1 Hori (3), +1 Bifur (3), +1 Bilbo (2)
Draw: Longbeard Map-Maker
Draw: Legacy of Durin
Planning Phase
Play: Legacy of During (Ori -1). Attach to Ori.
Play: Longbeard Map-Maker (Ori -2, Bifur -1). Draw: Steward of Gondor.
The plan was to designate this for Ori. But with some high-cost leadership cards in my hand, maybe I should just play with what I've been dealt and slap it on Dain? In any case, I'll keep it around for now to help with Burgle attempts since there are a few more 2-cost Leadership attachments in this deck.
Quest Phase
Commit: Bifur, Ori, Erebor Hammersmith, Longbeard Map-Maker, Fili
Total willpower: 12
Time to move on with the burgle attempts. Because my Encounter Deck bluff attempts are failing.
Reveal: Belching Fire
And this is why I held back some people.
Smaug the Golden attacks. Bilbo defends. Exhaust Bilbo's Magic Ring to prevent all damage, raising threat to 38.
I could have sacrificed a dwarf, but I want to get a small army amassed if I can, in view of stage 3.
Total threat: 11
Successful questing!
Place 1 progress on Hidden Path, exploring it
Why place the progress before the burgle attempt? Because I realized during my last attempt that there are awkward ramifications if you do the burgle attempt first. Suppose you succeed in your burgle attempt and proceed to stage 3. The dynamics of the staging area have changed, with one (additional) treasure removed from The Lonely Mountain and Smaug the Golden switched out for Smaug the Magnificent. Do you use the old willpower vs. threat to place the progress, since a successful quest was declared? Do you use the new one, with the new dynamics likely causing no progress to be placed?
Place 1 progress on Smaug the Golden (1/5) and make a burgle attempt.
Discard: Known to an Ounce (discard 1 card, matching sphere and cost)
Shuffle player deck. Reveal: Erebor Record Keeper
Put Erebor Record Keeper into my hand (Bilbo -2) and reveal: Erebor Hammersmith
No match in hand. Failed attempt!
Deal shadow card to Smaug. Smaug attacks. Kili defends. Shadow: Croaking Crows (no effect). Kili is destroyed.
Travel Phase
Travel to Great Hall
Encounter Phase
No engagements
Combat Phase
No Combat
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 39
No treasure, one ally down, Gandalf not in play yet, and only 11 threat of buffer left. Maybe I picked the wrong Gandalf for this quest!
Round 5
Resource Phase
+1 Dain (3), +1 Head (1), +1 Bifur (3), +1 Bilbo (1)
Draw: Erebor Hammersmith
Draw: Gandalf
Planning Phase
Play: Erebor Record Keeper (Oin -1). Draw: Longbeard Map-Maker
Play: Steward of Gondor (Dain -2). Attach to Dain.
Touch choice, but I think Lore is holding its own and Leadership can use the boost right now
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Dain (3)
Quest Phase
Commit: Ori, Bifur, Erebor Hammersmith, Fili, Erebor Record Keeper, Longbeard Map-Maker
Total willpower: 14
Reveal: Hidden Path
Total threat: 11
Spend 1 lore resource (Bifur -1) to increase Longbeard Map-Maker's willpower by 1
Updated willpower: 15
Successful questing!
Place 4 progress on Great Hall, exploring it
Place 1 progress on Smaug the Golden (2/6) and make a burgle attempt.
Discard: Dark Bats (no burgle text)
Discard: Fighting Among Friends (no burgle text)
Discard: Desolation of Smaug (discard 2 cards, matching cost)
Shuffle player deck Reveal: Gaining Strength.
Exhaust Bilbo's Magic Ring (raise threat to 40) to add 1 resource to Bilbo's pool
Add Gaining Strength to hand (Bilbo -2) and reveal: Longbeard Elder
Discard: Longbeard Map-Maker and Longbeard Elder
Successful attempt!
Take the top treasure: Mithril Shirt
Nice! I'm sure this extra defense will come in handy for Bilbo down the line.
Travel Phase
No travel
Not enough Baggins resources left...zero, actually
Encounter Phase
No engagements
Combat Phase
No combat
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 41
Round 6
Resource Phase
+1 Dain (4), +1 Head (1), +1 Bifur (3), +1 Bilbo (1)
Draw: Longbeard Elder
Draw: Protector of Lorien
Nice. This is going to come in handy in just a few rounds. I'm going to hold onto it for now for possible burgle attempt use.
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Dain (6)
Planning Phase
Play: Gaining Strength. -2 Bifur (1), +3 Bifur (4)
A little something in reserve for my Map-Maker, just in case
Quest Phase
Commit: Ori, Bifur, Bilbo, Erebor Hammersmith, Erebor Record Keeper, Longbeard Map-Maker
Total willpower: 14
Reveal: Secret Entrance
Total threat: 13
Successful questing!
Add 1 progress to Smaug the Golden (3/6) and make a burgle attempt.
Discard: Weighed Down
Discard: Croaking Crows (discard 1 card, matching sphere and type)
Shuffle player deck. Reveal: Untroubled by Darkness
Exhaust Bilbo's Magic Ring (raise threat to 42) to add 1 resource to Bilbo's pool
Add Untroubled by Darkness to hand (Bilbo -2) and reveal: Protector of Lorien
Discard: Protector of Lorien
Successful attempt!
Take the top treasure: Thror's Hunting Bow
Well...that's not the best for my solo dwarf efforts...
Advance to stage 3A
Set Smaug the Golden aside, out of play
Add Smaug the Magnificent and A Bare Patch to the staging area
Advance to 3B
Travel Phase
Attempt to travel to Secret Entrance
Exhaust Dain and name: Treachery. Reveal: Hidden Path. Attempt failed.
Now here's the nice thing about this. I have one copy of Dawn Take You All in my hand. If my attempt succeeds, then I make questing easier the next turn. If my attempt fails, then I know Smaug's shadow card and whether I need to use Dawn Take You All or not. This turn the answer is: not.
Encounter Phase
No engagements
Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Smaug the Magnificent
The rulebook specifically states that shadow cards are dealt face down (even going so far as to bold the text). So even though Hidden Paths was revealed and is currently face-up, I now turn it face down and place it under Smaug. Which may possible prove important, because Dawn Take You All only affects face-down shadow effects.
Smaug attacks. Fili defends. Shadow: Hidden Path (no effect). Fili is destroyed.
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 43
Round 7
Resource Phase
+1 Dain (7), +1 Head (2), +1 Bifur (5), +1 Bilbo (1)
Draw: Protector of Lorien
Draw: Longbeard Map-Maker
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Dain (9)
Planning Phase
Play: Erebor Hammersmith (Ori -2). Draw: Long Beard Elder
Move Protector of Lorien from discard pile to hand.
Play: Protector of Lorien (Bifur -1). Attach to Bifur.
Play: Longbeard Elder (Dain -3). Draw: Legacy of Durin
Play: Gandalf (-4 Dain, Bifur -1)
Quest Phase
Commit: Ori, Bifur, Bilbo, Erebor Record Keper, Longbeard Map-Maker, Erebor Hammersmith #1, Longbeard Elder, Gandalf (does not exhaust).
Keep Erebor Hammersmith #2 and Dain ready
Look at: Belching Fire. Reduce Longbeard Elder's willpower by 1
Total willpower: 20
Reveal: Belching Fire. Smaug attacks! Erebor Hammersmith #2 defends and is destroyed.
Discard Mithril Shirt, Thror's Hunting Bow, and Protector of Lorien to trigger Protector of Lorien's ability and increase Bifur's willpower by 3.
Updated willpower: 23
Spend 3 Lore resources (Bifur -3) to boost Longbeard Map-Maker's willpower by 3.
Updated willpower: 26
Total threat: 16 (Smaug: 6, The Lonely Mountain: 6, Hidden Path: 3, Secret Entrance: 1)
Place 10 progress on stage 1B (10/20)
Exhaust Bilbo's Magic Ring (increase threat to 44) to add 1 resource to Bilbo's pool (2)
I could use this to move to the Hidden Path next turn, but I actually want to store up some resources to play my second Gandalf since I'm just about to loose the first one.
Travel Phase
Attempt to travel to Secret Entrance.
Exhaust Dain. Name: Treachery. Reveal: Desolation of Smaug. Failed attempt.
Encounter Phase
No engagements
Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Smaug the Magnificent
Play: Dawn Take You All (Dain -2) to discard the shadow card.
Smaug attacks. Gandalf defends and is destroyed.
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 45
Round 8
Resource Phase
+1 Dain (1), +1 Head (1), +1 Bifur (1), +1 Bilbo (3)
Draw: Kili
But no belt to put him in play with!Shame.
Draw: Miner of the Iron Hills
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Dain (3)
Planning Phase
Exhaust Bilbo's Magic Ring (increase threat to 46) to add 1 resource to Bilbo's pool (4)
Play: Gandalf (Bilbo -4, Ori -1)
Quest Phase
Commit: Ori, Bifur, Erebor Record Keeper, Longbeard Map-Maker, Longbeard Elder, Gandalf.
Look at: Pretending to Sleep. Lower Longbeard Elder's willpower by 1.
Total willpower: 16
Reveal: Pretending to Sleep. Surge.
Smaug the Golden is not in play, so I'm disregarding the rest of the cards text. Or, technically, I can't put one progress on him since he is not in play and thus need to spend 0 Baggins resources.
Reveal: Belching Fire. Smaug attacks! Erebor Hammersmith defends and is destroyed.
Spend 1 Lore resource (Bifur -1) to increase Longbeard Map-Maker's willpower by 1
Discard Legacy of Durin, Kili, Longbeard Map-Maker to trigger Protector of Lorien's ability and increase Bifur's willpower by 3
Updated willpower: 20
Total threat: 16
Place 4 progress on Inside Information (14/20)
Travel Phase
Attempt to travel to Secret Entrance.
Exhaust Dain. Name: Treachery. Reveal: Secret Entrance. Failed attempt.
Nice! No chain of Smaug attacks to worry about.
Encounter Phase
No engagements
Play: Lure of Moria (Dain -3). Ready all dwarf characters.
Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Smaug the Magnificent
Smaug attacks. Longbeard Elder defends. Shadow: Secret Entrance (no effect). Longbeard Elder is destroyed.
Declare an attack on Smaug with: Ori (5 attack), Bifur (2 attack), Bilbo (4 attack), Gandalf (4 attack), Longbeard Map-Maker (2 attack). 17 attack vs. 8 threat = 9 damage on Smaug.
Smaug has 11 remaining hit points; stage 3B has 14 progress on it. Discard Smaug the Magnificent from Play.
I see the light at the end of the tunnel! Now to put 6 progress stage 3B without threating out.
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 47
Raise threat to 49 to keep Gandalf in Play
Round 9
Resource Phase
+1 Dain (1), +1 Head (1), +1 Bifur (1), +1 Bilbo (1)
Draw: Ancestral Knowledge
Draw: Narvi's Belt
Nice to see you
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Dain (3)
Planning Phase
Play: Longbeard Elder (Dain -3). Neglect to draw my extra card.
Play: Miner of the Iron Hills (Dain -2). Neglect to draw my extra card.
Quest Phase
Commit: Ori, Bifur, Bilbo, Erebor Record Keeper, Longbeard Map-Maker, Longbeard Elder, Miner of the Iron Hills, Gandalf
Look at: Dragon-Spell. -1 willpower to Longbeard Elder
Total willpower: 19
Reveal: Dragon-Spell. Attach to Bilbo Baggins.
Updated willpower: 17
Total threat: 10
Place 7 progress on stage 3B, clearing it and winning the game!
Final Scoring
8 Completed Rounds x10: 80
Ending Threat: 49
Total Damage on Heroes: 0
Threat of Defeated Heroes: 0
Victory Display: 0
Total Score: 129
Treasure Claimed: Mithril Shirt, Thror's Hunting Bow
Psst! Here's two tips I thought about while playing my final game, but never actually used:
Note: Due to a miss-interpretation of Secret Entrance during round 6 (see note), I've taken another crack at this quest.
Note 2: I was wrong! My original interpretation of Secret Entrance (looking at the top card of the Encounter deck and not revealing it) was correct and this fourth attempt will count!
My question to Caleb: Hi! I'm playing through "The Lonely Mountain." Is the intention of Secret Entrance (card 65) to add a card to the staging area or simply to see the top card of the encounter deck? Thanks!
Caleb's Reply: Hi James,
Secret Entrance should read: “Look at the top card of the encounter deck. If the looked at card…” There is no need to actually reveal and resolve the top card of the encounter deck when traveling to the Secret Entrance. Thanks for asking.
Hope you’re enjoying the On the Doorstep box!
Cheers,
Caleb
The Deck
Knowing that the designers tested this quest with just a single core set and the player cards from Over Hill and Under Hill and On the Doorstep, I really wanted to go for a thematic deck-build here. But I just got crushed my first few times attempting this one. Thrown into stage 4 on round 1 or 2, my heroes were torn apart by Smaug and a chain of shadow cards with burgle effects. Then I finally managed to get to stage 3 with my goal in hand (see below), but had no good plan to damage Smaug or quest over the staging area. I was stumped. Could I make a thematic deck with the willpower or attack strength to meet the demands of The Lonely Mountain? Probably. Eventually. But I was tired. Time to send in Dain! And it almost worked. Pairing Dain with Spirit, I got ten damage on Smaug the Magnificent and 10 progress on Stage 3B and then it all just kind of fell apart. Maybe Leadership-Lore is the key to this quest (for me).
So what are my needs? My goal going in was modest: steal two treasures and get out of Dodge. I didn't want to just breeze through the scenario, but I also didn't want to beat my head against a wall trying to get all five treasures out (average player, not expert, remember?). To that end, I needed the ability to quest massive, attack with some force (if needed and possible), and win a few burgle attempts. With those objectives in mind, here's what I ended up with.
Dain's Mountaineers
Heroes
Dain Ironfoot: Hopefully I can stack up a large a mount of dwarven allies, all boosted by Dains amazing effect. Dain and Spirit Glorfindel definitely fall into "It Kind of Feels Like Cheating But It's Fun" side of heroes.
Ori: Just here for the card draw, 2 willpower, and 2 attack (3 and 3 with Dain ready).
Bifur: The real reason? I want to go Lore heavy here and he's a better fit than Bombur.
Bilbo Baggins (On the Doorstep)
Allies (22)
Miner of the Iron Hills x3: While they're not going to bring much to the party in terms of willpower or attack (even boosted), they can help with any Dragon-Spells that appear.
Longbeard Map-Maker x3: With hopeful resource accumulation, the Map-Maker's ability is very useful for a quest where high willpower is needed.
Longbeard Elder x3: High willpower for a dwarf ally, even if it gets bumped down often.
Kili x2: Playing dwarf leadership or spirit? Need to include these two.
Fili x2: See above.
Gandalf (Over Hill and Under Hill) x3: Threat is not a massive problem in this scenario, but consistent high questing is. The addition of also having a ready defender is a big bonus.
Erebor Hammersmith x3: Great stats for his cost and perfect ability for a quest that has you discarding cards. Choose to discard an attachment whenever you can!
Erebor Record-Keeper x3: Helps get to the 5-dwarf threshold earlier, quests for 2 when Dain is around, or can be used to ready dwarf characters if needed.
Attachments (13)
Narvi's Belt x2: I honestly don't know if I've ever used this card. With the neutral Songs all released by the time dwarves made their power play, it just never seemed necessary for this solo player (who usually sticks to duel-sphere at the most). But it struck me that boosting Bifur up to a massive resource level and slapping a belt on him might give some great flexibility to this deck (and allow me to include Untroubled by Darkness, which I was sad to cut out after I steered away from Spirit this go-around).
Legacy of Durin x2 Part of the massive card draw I'm hoping for.
Steward of Gondor x2: Intended to be placed on Bifur, along with his shiny belt.
Fast Hitch x2: With Sting and Bilbo's Magic Ring attached, Bilbo Baggins is a force to be reckoned with...for one of three possible uses only. With a Fast Hitch or two on him, this burglar is ready to be unleashed.
King Under the Mountain x2: To serve the purpose of both card draw and trying to prepare my hand a little better for burgle attempts (by picking the card that fills a missing "spot" in my cost/sphere/trait spread).
Protector of Lorien x3: Here's the reason you see a lot of "x2" in the attachment second. I realized that I'll spend the first half of this game trying to build up a massive hand to deal with the burgle attempts, only to have a card draw engine in place during stage 3 that lacks the resources to pay for them all. But being able to quest for an extra 1-3 each round at this point would be quite handy!
Events (15)
Dawn Take You All x3: I went through a phase of loving this card, trying to squeeze it into every leadership build I could, and then set it aside. In-between plays, I was browsing over the playthrough at Tales of the Cards and it was brought to my attention how amazing this card is: you can stop Smaug's chain of attacks in stages 3 or 4 before they even begin! This is the card that needs to be mulliganed for in this deck.
Ancestral Knowledge x3: When I stepped away from Lore and tried Leadership/Spirit on the third attempt, I really missed this card. Specifically to help with Great Hall.
Lure of Moria x3: Why balance massive questing with massive attack when you can do both?
Gaining Strength x3: Combos well with the Steward to add some nice resource accumulation.
Untroubled by Darkness x3: If we're using Narvi's belt, then let's include a must-have event when needing a dwarven willpower boost.
Treasure (4): No specific notes on each treasure, just a note that you are only supposed to use them with the same heroes who discovered them. Consider them on loan...
Bilbo's Magic Ring
Sting
Orcrist
Glamdring
The goal is to set up a good amount of card draw and resource accumulation, then start pouring down the dwarves. The cost/type/trait was not tailored for burgler quests, but the hope is that you'll have enough cards in your hand to make most of the matches (but always try to have the 2 Baggins resources to go for a second attempt).
This ended up being a pretty fun deck to play. There are certainly other cards that could have been included (Daeron's Runes, for instance, or A Very Good Tale) but you have to pick and choose at some point, right?
The Journey
Player Setup
Set starting threat to 26
Draw: Dawn Take You All, Erebor Hammersmith, Sting, Gandalf, Gaining Strength, Lure of Moria
Now this is a fantastic opening hand! I have two of the key events I want to see in the late game (Dawn Take You All and Lure of Moria), a dwarf ally I can play during round 1 to get the party started, a treasure I don't have to use a Baggins resource to find, and Gandalf.
Encounter Setup
Add The Lonely Mountain and Smaug the Golden to the staging area.
Set Smaug the Magnificent and Bare Patch off to the side.
Flip to 1B
Round 1
Resource Phase
+1 Dain (1), +1 Head (1), +1 Bifur (1), +1 Bilbo (1)
Draw: Longbeard Elder
Nice. Two allies right off the bat. I was going to use Gaining Strength on Bifur this turn, but maybe I'll hold off and use it on Dain next round to get the Elder into play.
Planning Phase
Spend 1 Baggins resource to search deck for Bilbo's Magic Ring. Add to hand. Shuffle.
Play: Bilbo's Magic Ring. Attach to Bilbo.
Play: Sting. Attach to Bilbo.
Play: Erebor Hammersmith (Ori -1, Bifur -1)
Quest Phase
Skipped, due to stage 1B's effect
Travel Phase
No travel
Encounter Phase
No engagements
Combat Phase
No combat
Refresh Phase
Ready none
Raise threat to 27
Round 2
Resource Phase
+1 Dain (2), +1 Head (1), +1 Bifur (1), +1 Bilbo (1)
Draw: Fili
Well this might be a better option than Longbeard Elder for this round
Planning Phase
Play: Gaining Strength. -2 Dain (0), +3 Dain (3)
Play: Fili (Dain -3). Search deck and put Kili into play.
Quest Phase
Commit: Bilbo
Total willpower: 2
I want to see my card-draw engine kick in next turn before I start my burgle attempts, so I'm banking on a treachery or a low-threat enemy to come out here.
Reveal: Hidden Path
Ouch.
Total threat: 5
Raise threat to 30
Exhaust Bilbo's Magic Ring (raise threat to 31) to add 1 resource to Bilbo's pool (2)
Travel
Travel to Hidden Path (Bilbo -2)
Encounter Phase
No engagements
Combat Phase
No combat
Refresh Phase
Ready Bilbo
Raise threat to 32
Wow. Ended that round a bit higher than I wanted to be at this point. I need to save some good buffer room for Gandalf.
Round 3
Resource Phase
+1 Dain (1), +1 Head (2), +1 Bifur (2), +1 Bilbo (1)
Draw: Glamdring
Draw: Orcrist
Well, I certainly did not expect to see three treasures throw themselves into my hand. But I'll take it! Won't really help with my burgle attempts that much, though.
Planning Phase
Play: Orcrist. Attach to Bilbo.
Play: Glamdring. Attach to Ori.
I found myself wishing a few times during previous attempts that Bilbo had a bit more attack to him. With Fast-Hitch in this deck, I want to get him in the best shape possible.
Quest Phase
Commit: Bilbo
Total willpower: 2
Same gamble here, hoping for a low-threat item to pop out.
Reveal: Great Hall
Okay, that's painful. But at least it wasn't an enemy surging into a Great Hall, right?
Total threat: 4 (with The Lonely Mountain and Great Hall each getting -1 threat due to Hidden Path).
Raise threat to 34
Travel Phase
No travel
Encounter Phase
No engagement
Combat Phase
No combat
Refresh Phase
Ready Bilbo
Raise threat to 35
Round 4
Resource Phase
+1 Dain (2), +1 Hori (3), +1 Bifur (3), +1 Bilbo (2)
Draw: Longbeard Map-Maker
Draw: Legacy of Durin
Planning Phase
Play: Legacy of During (Ori -1). Attach to Ori.
Play: Longbeard Map-Maker (Ori -2, Bifur -1). Draw: Steward of Gondor.
The plan was to designate this for Ori. But with some high-cost leadership cards in my hand, maybe I should just play with what I've been dealt and slap it on Dain? In any case, I'll keep it around for now to help with Burgle attempts since there are a few more 2-cost Leadership attachments in this deck.
Quest Phase
Commit: Bifur, Ori, Erebor Hammersmith, Longbeard Map-Maker, Fili
Total willpower: 12
Time to move on with the burgle attempts. Because my Encounter Deck bluff attempts are failing.
Reveal: Belching Fire
And this is why I held back some people.
Smaug the Golden attacks. Bilbo defends. Exhaust Bilbo's Magic Ring to prevent all damage, raising threat to 38.
I could have sacrificed a dwarf, but I want to get a small army amassed if I can, in view of stage 3.
Total threat: 11
Successful questing!
Place 1 progress on Hidden Path, exploring it
Why place the progress before the burgle attempt? Because I realized during my last attempt that there are awkward ramifications if you do the burgle attempt first. Suppose you succeed in your burgle attempt and proceed to stage 3. The dynamics of the staging area have changed, with one (additional) treasure removed from The Lonely Mountain and Smaug the Golden switched out for Smaug the Magnificent. Do you use the old willpower vs. threat to place the progress, since a successful quest was declared? Do you use the new one, with the new dynamics likely causing no progress to be placed?
Place 1 progress on Smaug the Golden (1/5) and make a burgle attempt.
Discard: Known to an Ounce (discard 1 card, matching sphere and cost)
Shuffle player deck. Reveal: Erebor Record Keeper
Put Erebor Record Keeper into my hand (Bilbo -2) and reveal: Erebor Hammersmith
No match in hand. Failed attempt!
Deal shadow card to Smaug. Smaug attacks. Kili defends. Shadow: Croaking Crows (no effect). Kili is destroyed.
Travel Phase
Travel to Great Hall
Encounter Phase
No engagements
Combat Phase
No Combat
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 39
No treasure, one ally down, Gandalf not in play yet, and only 11 threat of buffer left. Maybe I picked the wrong Gandalf for this quest!
Round 5
Resource Phase
+1 Dain (3), +1 Head (1), +1 Bifur (3), +1 Bilbo (1)
Draw: Erebor Hammersmith
Draw: Gandalf
Planning Phase
Play: Erebor Record Keeper (Oin -1). Draw: Longbeard Map-Maker
Play: Steward of Gondor (Dain -2). Attach to Dain.
Touch choice, but I think Lore is holding its own and Leadership can use the boost right now
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Dain (3)
Quest Phase
Commit: Ori, Bifur, Erebor Hammersmith, Fili, Erebor Record Keeper, Longbeard Map-Maker
Total willpower: 14
Reveal: Hidden Path
Total threat: 11
Spend 1 lore resource (Bifur -1) to increase Longbeard Map-Maker's willpower by 1
Updated willpower: 15
Successful questing!
Place 4 progress on Great Hall, exploring it
Place 1 progress on Smaug the Golden (2/6) and make a burgle attempt.
Discard: Dark Bats (no burgle text)
Discard: Fighting Among Friends (no burgle text)
Discard: Desolation of Smaug (discard 2 cards, matching cost)
Shuffle player deck Reveal: Gaining Strength.
Exhaust Bilbo's Magic Ring (raise threat to 40) to add 1 resource to Bilbo's pool
Add Gaining Strength to hand (Bilbo -2) and reveal: Longbeard Elder
Discard: Longbeard Map-Maker and Longbeard Elder
Successful attempt!
Take the top treasure: Mithril Shirt
Nice! I'm sure this extra defense will come in handy for Bilbo down the line.
Travel Phase
No travel
Not enough Baggins resources left...zero, actually
Encounter Phase
No engagements
Combat Phase
No combat
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 41
Round 6
Resource Phase
+1 Dain (4), +1 Head (1), +1 Bifur (3), +1 Bilbo (1)
Draw: Longbeard Elder
Draw: Protector of Lorien
Nice. This is going to come in handy in just a few rounds. I'm going to hold onto it for now for possible burgle attempt use.
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Dain (6)
Planning Phase
Play: Gaining Strength. -2 Bifur (1), +3 Bifur (4)
A little something in reserve for my Map-Maker, just in case
Quest Phase
Commit: Ori, Bifur, Bilbo, Erebor Hammersmith, Erebor Record Keeper, Longbeard Map-Maker
Total willpower: 14
Reveal: Secret Entrance
Total threat: 13
Successful questing!
Add 1 progress to Smaug the Golden (3/6) and make a burgle attempt.
Discard: Weighed Down
Discard: Croaking Crows (discard 1 card, matching sphere and type)
Shuffle player deck. Reveal: Untroubled by Darkness
Exhaust Bilbo's Magic Ring (raise threat to 42) to add 1 resource to Bilbo's pool
Add Untroubled by Darkness to hand (Bilbo -2) and reveal: Protector of Lorien
Discard: Protector of Lorien
Successful attempt!
Take the top treasure: Thror's Hunting Bow
Well...that's not the best for my solo dwarf efforts...
Advance to stage 3A
Set Smaug the Golden aside, out of play
Add Smaug the Magnificent and A Bare Patch to the staging area
Advance to 3B
Travel Phase
Attempt to travel to Secret Entrance
Exhaust Dain and name: Treachery. Reveal: Hidden Path. Attempt failed.
Now here's the nice thing about this. I have one copy of Dawn Take You All in my hand. If my attempt succeeds, then I make questing easier the next turn. If my attempt fails, then I know Smaug's shadow card and whether I need to use Dawn Take You All or not. This turn the answer is: not.
Encounter Phase
No engagements
Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Smaug the Magnificent
The rulebook specifically states that shadow cards are dealt face down (even going so far as to bold the text). So even though Hidden Paths was revealed and is currently face-up, I now turn it face down and place it under Smaug. Which may possible prove important, because Dawn Take You All only affects face-down shadow effects.
Smaug attacks. Fili defends. Shadow: Hidden Path (no effect). Fili is destroyed.
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 43
Round 7
Resource Phase
+1 Dain (7), +1 Head (2), +1 Bifur (5), +1 Bilbo (1)
Draw: Protector of Lorien
Draw: Longbeard Map-Maker
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Dain (9)
Planning Phase
Play: Erebor Hammersmith (Ori -2). Draw: Long Beard Elder
Move Protector of Lorien from discard pile to hand.
Play: Protector of Lorien (Bifur -1). Attach to Bifur.
Play: Longbeard Elder (Dain -3). Draw: Legacy of Durin
Play: Gandalf (-4 Dain, Bifur -1)
Quest Phase
Commit: Ori, Bifur, Bilbo, Erebor Record Keper, Longbeard Map-Maker, Erebor Hammersmith #1, Longbeard Elder, Gandalf (does not exhaust).
Keep Erebor Hammersmith #2 and Dain ready
Look at: Belching Fire. Reduce Longbeard Elder's willpower by 1
Total willpower: 20
Reveal: Belching Fire. Smaug attacks! Erebor Hammersmith #2 defends and is destroyed.
Discard Mithril Shirt, Thror's Hunting Bow, and Protector of Lorien to trigger Protector of Lorien's ability and increase Bifur's willpower by 3.
Updated willpower: 23
Spend 3 Lore resources (Bifur -3) to boost Longbeard Map-Maker's willpower by 3.
Updated willpower: 26
Total threat: 16 (Smaug: 6, The Lonely Mountain: 6, Hidden Path: 3, Secret Entrance: 1)
Place 10 progress on stage 1B (10/20)
Exhaust Bilbo's Magic Ring (increase threat to 44) to add 1 resource to Bilbo's pool (2)
I could use this to move to the Hidden Path next turn, but I actually want to store up some resources to play my second Gandalf since I'm just about to loose the first one.
Travel Phase
Attempt to travel to Secret Entrance.
Exhaust Dain. Name: Treachery. Reveal: Desolation of Smaug. Failed attempt.
Encounter Phase
No engagements
Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Smaug the Magnificent
Play: Dawn Take You All (Dain -2) to discard the shadow card.
Smaug attacks. Gandalf defends and is destroyed.
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 45
Round 8
Resource Phase
+1 Dain (1), +1 Head (1), +1 Bifur (1), +1 Bilbo (3)
Draw: Kili
But no belt to put him in play with!Shame.
Draw: Miner of the Iron Hills
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Dain (3)
Planning Phase
Exhaust Bilbo's Magic Ring (increase threat to 46) to add 1 resource to Bilbo's pool (4)
Play: Gandalf (Bilbo -4, Ori -1)
Quest Phase
Commit: Ori, Bifur, Erebor Record Keeper, Longbeard Map-Maker, Longbeard Elder, Gandalf.
Look at: Pretending to Sleep. Lower Longbeard Elder's willpower by 1.
Total willpower: 16
Reveal: Pretending to Sleep. Surge.
Smaug the Golden is not in play, so I'm disregarding the rest of the cards text. Or, technically, I can't put one progress on him since he is not in play and thus need to spend 0 Baggins resources.
Reveal: Belching Fire. Smaug attacks! Erebor Hammersmith defends and is destroyed.
Spend 1 Lore resource (Bifur -1) to increase Longbeard Map-Maker's willpower by 1
Discard Legacy of Durin, Kili, Longbeard Map-Maker to trigger Protector of Lorien's ability and increase Bifur's willpower by 3
Updated willpower: 20
Total threat: 16
Place 4 progress on Inside Information (14/20)
Travel Phase
Attempt to travel to Secret Entrance.
Exhaust Dain. Name: Treachery. Reveal: Secret Entrance. Failed attempt.
Nice! No chain of Smaug attacks to worry about.
Encounter Phase
No engagements
Play: Lure of Moria (Dain -3). Ready all dwarf characters.
Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Smaug the Magnificent
Smaug attacks. Longbeard Elder defends. Shadow: Secret Entrance (no effect). Longbeard Elder is destroyed.
Declare an attack on Smaug with: Ori (5 attack), Bifur (2 attack), Bilbo (4 attack), Gandalf (4 attack), Longbeard Map-Maker (2 attack). 17 attack vs. 8 threat = 9 damage on Smaug.
Smaug has 11 remaining hit points; stage 3B has 14 progress on it. Discard Smaug the Magnificent from Play.
I see the light at the end of the tunnel! Now to put 6 progress stage 3B without threating out.
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 47
Raise threat to 49 to keep Gandalf in Play
Round 9
Resource Phase
+1 Dain (1), +1 Head (1), +1 Bifur (1), +1 Bilbo (1)
Draw: Ancestral Knowledge
Draw: Narvi's Belt
Nice to see you
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Dain (3)
Planning Phase
Play: Longbeard Elder (Dain -3). Neglect to draw my extra card.
Play: Miner of the Iron Hills (Dain -2). Neglect to draw my extra card.
Quest Phase
Commit: Ori, Bifur, Bilbo, Erebor Record Keeper, Longbeard Map-Maker, Longbeard Elder, Miner of the Iron Hills, Gandalf
Look at: Dragon-Spell. -1 willpower to Longbeard Elder
Total willpower: 19
Reveal: Dragon-Spell. Attach to Bilbo Baggins.
Updated willpower: 17
Total threat: 10
Place 7 progress on stage 3B, clearing it and winning the game!
Final Scoring
8 Completed Rounds x10: 80
Ending Threat: 49
Total Damage on Heroes: 0
Threat of Defeated Heroes: 0
Victory Display: 0
Total Score: 129
Treasure Claimed: Mithril Shirt, Thror's Hunting Bow
Psst! Here's two tips I thought about while playing my final game, but never actually used:
- Don't be too hasty in searching for Glamdring or Orcrist (assuming you included them and also assuming they don't just throw themselves into you hand). Is the card revealed during you burgle attempt not one you want to draw next turn? Spend a Baggins resource to search for one of these legendary weapons then shuffle your deck for a mini-mulligan.
- Gaining Strength can help temporarily negate the effects of Dragon-Spell on Bilbo for you, at least as it concerns willpower. Bilbo can discard two of his resources, but he cannot add three resources to his pool, thus giving him zero resources and no willpower reduction.
The Recap
Will I be coming back here? You bet you. I have three more treasures to burgle! Most likely, I'll attempt to get 3 then 4 an then go for the whole deal (probably not with thematic or even dwarf decks necessarily).
But is this going down as a favorite quest? No. It's certainly thematic (to a point), with Bilbo's initial burgling leading to Smaug's wrath. But there is a swingyness to stage 3B and the battles with Smaug the Magnificent that I'm just not comfortable with. I showed one way to go at it (Dawn Take You All) and there are other possibilities to explore (Shadow of the Past, A Watchful Peace, Risk Some Light), but that dragon can just mess you up. And that make sense. He is a dragon after all. So when I want to fight a dragon, I'll be back. When I want to just kick back and enjoy a fun game, I'll pick another quest.
Will I be coming back here? You bet you. I have three more treasures to burgle! Most likely, I'll attempt to get 3 then 4 an then go for the whole deal (probably not with thematic or even dwarf decks necessarily).
But is this going down as a favorite quest? No. It's certainly thematic (to a point), with Bilbo's initial burgling leading to Smaug's wrath. But there is a swingyness to stage 3B and the battles with Smaug the Magnificent that I'm just not comfortable with. I showed one way to go at it (Dawn Take You All) and there are other possibilities to explore (Shadow of the Past, A Watchful Peace, Risk Some Light), but that dragon can just mess you up. And that make sense. He is a dragon after all. So when I want to fight a dragon, I'll be back. When I want to just kick back and enjoy a fun game, I'll pick another quest.
Friday, October 17, 2014
Saga Quest 4: Flies and Spiders
Victory on the fifth attempt!
The Recap
Wow, this quest was brutal at first! Really big enemies with a nasty side-effect, horrible treacheries, and mid-size locations that can do a pretty effective job of blocking you. And if that was not enough, you face the constant threat of loosing some heroes temporarily (only to lose all but one of them when you're only 1/3 of the way through the quest). Craziness! As you'll see below, I finally made a deck with a few things in place to target the quest but it really was a good encounter deck draw that won the day for me. And I would imagine that would be the case for most (not all) players. These spiders are vicious and tough and slowly eat away at you. Taking a steady stream of them on, even one at a time, would be tough. One day I will come back and see if I can make a deck specifically designed to take out a bunch of spiders. But I don't see myself returning to these woods for frequent visits.
The Deck
My hopes of going up against this with a thematic dwarf deck were almost crushed after my first few attempts. To say I lost is an understatement. But, for the most part, I've been sticking to my guns in trying to make a certain type of deck work for each quest and "Thematic Dwarf" is what I set my sights on here. But how to make it work?
Thorin, and getting him ready early, seemed like my best bet. Also some heavy reliance on Bilbo + Sting. Playing around with things, it struck me how well Ravens of the Mountains works with both Sting and Expecting Mischief, which can help take care of some of the smaller enemies in this deck.
So how to up Thorin and Bilbo's contribution? Some good old Dunedain attachments, namely the Warning for Bilbo and the Mark for Thorin. Fast-hitch for Bilbo and Erebor Record Keeper for Thorin seem like good fits. Why the Record Keeper and not cram? The flexibility to ready Thorin or quest is handy, whereas Cram only gives you one option (but it is a nice option and the 0 cost is easy on the resources). I also wanted Thorin able to get a lot out after his first resource phase, thus Steward of Gondor + Resourceful. And treasures. To truly use the treasures as intended, you should have used this same hero set to defeat We Must Away, Ere Break of Day. But I honestly would not want to go up against this quest without Sting at the very least, no matter what heroes I'm using. So take that inclusion with a grain of salt and adjust your own build as needed.
The key to this deck is really the strategy. Ideally, you're planing almost no allies during the first stage and instead holding them in reserve for later. It is enough effort to get your heroes ready after progressing past stage 1B, let alone needing to worry about allies. Resources during this first stage should be directed toward attachments that can reap some benefit as early as possible (thus Resourceful being included even though this deck is not likely to ever get below 20 threat).
Wake Up Call
Heroes
Thorin Oakenshield
Ori
Balin
Allies
Fili x3
Kili x2
Gandalf x3
Brok Ironfist x2
Gloin x2
Longbeard Elder x2
Miner of the Iron Hills x3
Erebor Record Keeper x3
Attachements
Dunedain Mark x3
Dunedain Warning x3
Fast Hitch x3
Resourceful x3
Steward of Gondor x3
Events
Durin's Song x3
Burglar Baggins x3
Expecting Mischief x3
Ever Onward x3
Ravens of the Mountain x3
Treasure
Sting x1
Orcrist x1
Glamdring x1
The Journey
Player Setup
Set starting threat to 29
Draw: Dunedain Warning, Steward of Gondor, Gloin, Brok Ironfist, Durin's Song, Fili
Bilbo joins the heroes
Encounter Setup
Reveal: Dark Bats
Round 1
Resource Phase
+1 Thorin Oakenshield (1), +1 Ori (1), +1 Balin (1), +1 Bilbo Baggins (1)
Draw: Erebor Record Keeper
Planning Phase
Spend 1 Baggins resource (Bilbo -1) to search deck and put Sting into hand
Play: Sting. Attach to Bilbo Baggins.
Play: Steward of Gondor (Thorin -1, Balin -1). Attach to Thorin.
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Thorin (2)
Quest Phase
Commit: Thorin, Ori, Balin
Total willpower:7
Reveal: Forest Stream
Much better than getting a spider on the encounter setup and during the first quest phase, which has happened a few times so far.
Total threat: 4
Place 3 progress on stage 1B (3/9)
Travel Phase
Travel to Forest Stream
Encounter Phase
Engage Dark Bats
Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Dark Bats
Dark Bats attack. Bilbo defends. Exhaust Sting. Discard: Fighting Among Friends (no damage dealt). Shadow: Old Tomnoddy (no effect). No damage dealt.
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 30
Round 2
Resource Phase
+1 Thorin (3), +1 Ori (2), +1 Balin (1), +1 Bilbo (1)
Draw: Gandalf
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Thorn (5).
Planning Phase
Spend 1 Baggins resource to search deck for Bilbo's Magic Ring and add it to my hand.
Play: Bilbo's Magic Ring. Attach to Bilbo.
Play: Dunadain Warning (Balin -1).
Play: Gandalf (Thorin -3, Ori -2). Reduce threat to 25.
Quest Phase
Commit: Thorin, Ori, Balin, Gandalf
Total willpower: 11
Reveal: Wicked Spider
Total threat: 1
Place 4 progress on Forest Stream, exploring it (no poison to remove)
Place 6 progress on stage 1B, clearing it
Advance to 2A, flip to 2B
Create separate staging area for stage 3A, flip to 3B
Remove all resources from heroes (Thorin -2)
Make Thorin, Ori, Balin, Gandalf unconcious
Discard stage 2B and its staging area (Wicked Spider)
Travel Phase
None
Exhaust Bilbo's Magic Ring (increase threat to 26) to add 1 Baggins resource to Bilbo's pool (Bilbo 1)
Encounter Phase
None
Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Dark Bats
Dark Bats attack. Bilbo defends. Exhaust Sting. Discard: Wicked Spider. Deal 1 damage to Dark Bats, destroying them.
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 27
Round 3
Resource Phase
Thorin (Unconscious), Ori (Unconscious), Balin (Unconscious), +1 Bilbo (2)
Draw: Steward of Gondor
Spend 2 Baggins resources to revive Thorin
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Thorin (2)
Planning Phase
Play none
Quest Phase
Commit: Thorin
Total willpower 3
Reveal: Giant Web
Total threat: 3
No progress placed
Travel Phase
Travel to Giant Web
Exhaust Bilbo's Magic Ring (raise threat to 28) to add one Baggins resource to Bilbo's pool (1)
Encounter Phase
None
Combat Phase
None
Refresh Phase
Ready Thorin
Raise threat to 29
Round 4
Resource Phase
+1 Thorin (3), Ori (Unconscious), Balin (Unconscious), +1 Bilbo (2)
Spend two Baggins resources to revive Ori
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Thorin (5)
Planning Phase
Play: Fili (Thorin -3). Search for Kili and put him into play.
Quest Phase
Commit: Thorin, Ori, Fili, Kili
Total willpower: 7
Reveal: Poisoned by Spiders. No effect; surge.
Reveal: Fighting Among Friends. Name: Leadership. Remove Ori and Kili from the quest.
Updated willpower: 4
Total threat: 0
Place 3 progress on Giant Web, exploring it. Revive Balin.
Place 1 progress on stage 3B (1/11)
Exhaust Bilbo's Magic Ring (raise threat to 30) to add one Baggins resource to Bilbo's pool (1)
Spend 1 Baggins resource to search deck and put Orcrist in my hand.
Travel Phase
None
Encounter Phase
None
Combat Phase
None
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 31
Round 5
Resource Phase
+1 Thorin (3), +1 Ori (1), +1 Balin (1), +1 Bilbo (1)
Draw: Longbeard Elder
Draw: Fast Hitch
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Thorin (5)
Planning Phase
Spend 1 Baggins resource to search deck and put Glamdring in my hand.
Play: Gloin (Thorin -3). Add 2 resources to Ori (3)
Play: Erebor Record Keeper (Ori -1)
Play: Fast Hitch (Ori -1). Attach to Bilbo.
Play Orcrist. Attach to Thorin.
Play: Glamdring. Attach to Thorin.
Play: Longbeard Elder (Thorin -2, Balin -1)
Quest Phase
Commit: Thorin, Ori, Balin, Fili, Kili, Gloin, Longbeard Elder
Total willpower: 13
Peek at: Caught in Webs. -1 willpower to Longbeard Elder.
Updated willpower: 12
Reveal: Caught in Webs. Make Balin unconscious.
Updated willpower: 10
Total threat: 0
Place 10 progress on stage 3B, clearing it.
Advance to stage 4A. Add The Spider's Glade to the staging area.
Flip to 4B
Travel Phase
Travel to The Spider's Glade. Exhaust Bilbo.
Exhaust Bilbo's Magic Ring (raise threat to 32) to add one Baggins resource to Bilbo's pool (1)
Encounter Phase
None
Combat Phase
None
Refresh Phase
Ready all (except Balin)
Raise threat to 33
Round 6
Resource Phase
+1 Thorin (1), +1 Ori (2), Balin (Unconscious), +1 Bilbo (1)
Draw: Gandalf
Draw: Expecting Mischief
Spend two Baggins resources to revive Balin
Planning Phase
Play: Gandalf (Thorin -3, Ori -2). Lower threat to 28.
Quest Phase
Search encounter deck for Wicked Spider and add it to the staging area. Shuffle.
Commit: Thorin, Ori, Balin, Bilbo, Gandalf, Fili, Kili, Goin, Erebor Record Keeper, Longbeard Elder
Total willpower: 20
Peek at: Old Tomnoddy. -1 willpower for Longbeard Elder
Updated willpower: 19
Reveal: Old Tomnoddy
Total threat: 4
Place 9 progress on The Spider's Glade, exploring it
Place 6 progress on stage 4B, clearing it and winning the game!
Final Scoring
5 Completed Round x10: 50
Final Threat: 28
Total Damage on Heroes: 0
Threat of Defeated Heroes: 0
Victory Display:0
Total Score: 78
The Recap
Wow, this quest was brutal at first! Really big enemies with a nasty side-effect, horrible treacheries, and mid-size locations that can do a pretty effective job of blocking you. And if that was not enough, you face the constant threat of loosing some heroes temporarily (only to lose all but one of them when you're only 1/3 of the way through the quest). Craziness! As you'll see below, I finally made a deck with a few things in place to target the quest but it really was a good encounter deck draw that won the day for me. And I would imagine that would be the case for most (not all) players. These spiders are vicious and tough and slowly eat away at you. Taking a steady stream of them on, even one at a time, would be tough. One day I will come back and see if I can make a deck specifically designed to take out a bunch of spiders. But I don't see myself returning to these woods for frequent visits.
The Deck
My hopes of going up against this with a thematic dwarf deck were almost crushed after my first few attempts. To say I lost is an understatement. But, for the most part, I've been sticking to my guns in trying to make a certain type of deck work for each quest and "Thematic Dwarf" is what I set my sights on here. But how to make it work?
Thorin, and getting him ready early, seemed like my best bet. Also some heavy reliance on Bilbo + Sting. Playing around with things, it struck me how well Ravens of the Mountains works with both Sting and Expecting Mischief, which can help take care of some of the smaller enemies in this deck.
So how to up Thorin and Bilbo's contribution? Some good old Dunedain attachments, namely the Warning for Bilbo and the Mark for Thorin. Fast-hitch for Bilbo and Erebor Record Keeper for Thorin seem like good fits. Why the Record Keeper and not cram? The flexibility to ready Thorin or quest is handy, whereas Cram only gives you one option (but it is a nice option and the 0 cost is easy on the resources). I also wanted Thorin able to get a lot out after his first resource phase, thus Steward of Gondor + Resourceful. And treasures. To truly use the treasures as intended, you should have used this same hero set to defeat We Must Away, Ere Break of Day. But I honestly would not want to go up against this quest without Sting at the very least, no matter what heroes I'm using. So take that inclusion with a grain of salt and adjust your own build as needed.
The key to this deck is really the strategy. Ideally, you're planing almost no allies during the first stage and instead holding them in reserve for later. It is enough effort to get your heroes ready after progressing past stage 1B, let alone needing to worry about allies. Resources during this first stage should be directed toward attachments that can reap some benefit as early as possible (thus Resourceful being included even though this deck is not likely to ever get below 20 threat).
Wake Up Call
Heroes
Thorin Oakenshield
Ori
Balin
Allies
Fili x3
Kili x2
Gandalf x3
Brok Ironfist x2
Gloin x2
Longbeard Elder x2
Miner of the Iron Hills x3
Erebor Record Keeper x3
Attachements
Dunedain Mark x3
Dunedain Warning x3
Fast Hitch x3
Resourceful x3
Steward of Gondor x3
Events
Durin's Song x3
Burglar Baggins x3
Expecting Mischief x3
Ever Onward x3
Ravens of the Mountain x3
Treasure
Sting x1
Orcrist x1
Glamdring x1
The Journey
Player Setup
Set starting threat to 29
Draw: Dunedain Warning, Steward of Gondor, Gloin, Brok Ironfist, Durin's Song, Fili
Bilbo joins the heroes
Encounter Setup
Reveal: Dark Bats
Round 1
Resource Phase
+1 Thorin Oakenshield (1), +1 Ori (1), +1 Balin (1), +1 Bilbo Baggins (1)
Draw: Erebor Record Keeper
Planning Phase
Spend 1 Baggins resource (Bilbo -1) to search deck and put Sting into hand
Play: Sting. Attach to Bilbo Baggins.
Play: Steward of Gondor (Thorin -1, Balin -1). Attach to Thorin.
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Thorin (2)
Quest Phase
Commit: Thorin, Ori, Balin
Total willpower:7
Reveal: Forest Stream
Much better than getting a spider on the encounter setup and during the first quest phase, which has happened a few times so far.
Total threat: 4
Place 3 progress on stage 1B (3/9)
Travel Phase
Travel to Forest Stream
Encounter Phase
Engage Dark Bats
Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Dark Bats
Dark Bats attack. Bilbo defends. Exhaust Sting. Discard: Fighting Among Friends (no damage dealt). Shadow: Old Tomnoddy (no effect). No damage dealt.
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 30
Round 2
Resource Phase
+1 Thorin (3), +1 Ori (2), +1 Balin (1), +1 Bilbo (1)
Draw: Gandalf
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Thorn (5).
Planning Phase
Spend 1 Baggins resource to search deck for Bilbo's Magic Ring and add it to my hand.
Play: Bilbo's Magic Ring. Attach to Bilbo.
Play: Dunadain Warning (Balin -1).
Play: Gandalf (Thorin -3, Ori -2). Reduce threat to 25.
Quest Phase
Commit: Thorin, Ori, Balin, Gandalf
Total willpower: 11
Reveal: Wicked Spider
Total threat: 1
Place 4 progress on Forest Stream, exploring it (no poison to remove)
Place 6 progress on stage 1B, clearing it
Advance to 2A, flip to 2B
Create separate staging area for stage 3A, flip to 3B
Remove all resources from heroes (Thorin -2)
Make Thorin, Ori, Balin, Gandalf unconcious
Discard stage 2B and its staging area (Wicked Spider)
Travel Phase
None
Exhaust Bilbo's Magic Ring (increase threat to 26) to add 1 Baggins resource to Bilbo's pool (Bilbo 1)
Encounter Phase
None
Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Dark Bats
Dark Bats attack. Bilbo defends. Exhaust Sting. Discard: Wicked Spider. Deal 1 damage to Dark Bats, destroying them.
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 27
Round 3
Resource Phase
Thorin (Unconscious), Ori (Unconscious), Balin (Unconscious), +1 Bilbo (2)
Draw: Steward of Gondor
Spend 2 Baggins resources to revive Thorin
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Thorin (2)
Planning Phase
Play none
Quest Phase
Commit: Thorin
Total willpower 3
Reveal: Giant Web
Total threat: 3
No progress placed
Travel Phase
Travel to Giant Web
Exhaust Bilbo's Magic Ring (raise threat to 28) to add one Baggins resource to Bilbo's pool (1)
Encounter Phase
None
Combat Phase
None
Refresh Phase
Ready Thorin
Raise threat to 29
Round 4
Resource Phase
+1 Thorin (3), Ori (Unconscious), Balin (Unconscious), +1 Bilbo (2)
Spend two Baggins resources to revive Ori
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Thorin (5)
Planning Phase
Play: Fili (Thorin -3). Search for Kili and put him into play.
Quest Phase
Commit: Thorin, Ori, Fili, Kili
Total willpower: 7
Reveal: Poisoned by Spiders. No effect; surge.
Reveal: Fighting Among Friends. Name: Leadership. Remove Ori and Kili from the quest.
Updated willpower: 4
Total threat: 0
Place 3 progress on Giant Web, exploring it. Revive Balin.
Place 1 progress on stage 3B (1/11)
Exhaust Bilbo's Magic Ring (raise threat to 30) to add one Baggins resource to Bilbo's pool (1)
Spend 1 Baggins resource to search deck and put Orcrist in my hand.
Travel Phase
None
Encounter Phase
None
Combat Phase
None
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 31
Round 5
Resource Phase
+1 Thorin (3), +1 Ori (1), +1 Balin (1), +1 Bilbo (1)
Draw: Longbeard Elder
Draw: Fast Hitch
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Thorin (5)
Planning Phase
Spend 1 Baggins resource to search deck and put Glamdring in my hand.
Play: Gloin (Thorin -3). Add 2 resources to Ori (3)
Play: Erebor Record Keeper (Ori -1)
Play: Fast Hitch (Ori -1). Attach to Bilbo.
Play Orcrist. Attach to Thorin.
Play: Glamdring. Attach to Thorin.
Play: Longbeard Elder (Thorin -2, Balin -1)
Quest Phase
Commit: Thorin, Ori, Balin, Fili, Kili, Gloin, Longbeard Elder
Total willpower: 13
Peek at: Caught in Webs. -1 willpower to Longbeard Elder.
Updated willpower: 12
Reveal: Caught in Webs. Make Balin unconscious.
Updated willpower: 10
Total threat: 0
Place 10 progress on stage 3B, clearing it.
Advance to stage 4A. Add The Spider's Glade to the staging area.
Flip to 4B
Travel Phase
Travel to The Spider's Glade. Exhaust Bilbo.
Exhaust Bilbo's Magic Ring (raise threat to 32) to add one Baggins resource to Bilbo's pool (1)
Encounter Phase
None
Combat Phase
None
Refresh Phase
Ready all (except Balin)
Raise threat to 33
Round 6
Resource Phase
+1 Thorin (1), +1 Ori (2), Balin (Unconscious), +1 Bilbo (1)
Draw: Gandalf
Draw: Expecting Mischief
Spend two Baggins resources to revive Balin
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Thorin (3).
Planning Phase
Play: Gandalf (Thorin -3, Ori -2). Lower threat to 28.
Quest Phase
Search encounter deck for Wicked Spider and add it to the staging area. Shuffle.
Commit: Thorin, Ori, Balin, Bilbo, Gandalf, Fili, Kili, Goin, Erebor Record Keeper, Longbeard Elder
Total willpower: 20
Peek at: Old Tomnoddy. -1 willpower for Longbeard Elder
Updated willpower: 19
Reveal: Old Tomnoddy
Total threat: 4
Place 9 progress on The Spider's Glade, exploring it
Place 6 progress on stage 4B, clearing it and winning the game!
Final Scoring
5 Completed Round x10: 50
Final Threat: 28
Total Damage on Heroes: 0
Threat of Defeated Heroes: 0
Victory Display:0
Total Score: 78
Monday, October 6, 2014
Saga Quest 3: Dungeons Deep and Caverns Dim
My second play-through was a mess: I forgot to reduce my threat when I played dwarves (Nori's ability), I thought Fili & Kili had three hit points instead of 2, and I continued staging two cards/quest phase during stage 3B. So that was an unredeemable mess. Is the third time a charm again? Apparently it is if I'm posting it below.
The Journey
Player Setup
Set threat to 30
Draw: Kili, Hasty Stroke, Gandalf, Son of Arnor, To me! O my Kinsfolk!, Gloin
I like seeing Kili, but would rather have Fili. Going to try again to see if I can get Fili and a Late Adventurer or A Test of Will
Mulligan: Gloin, Fili, Gloin, Ever Vigliant, Kili, Gandalf
That'll work!
Encounter Setup
Add Lake in the Cavern to the staging area
Create riddle area with Gollum and Bilbo
Attach Bilbo's Magic Ring to Bilbo
Round 1
Resource Phase
+1 Thorin Oakenshield (1), +1 Balin (1), +1 Nori (1), +1 Bilbo (1)
Draw: Steward of Gondor
Planning Phase
Play: Steward of Gondor (Thorin -1, Balin -1). Attach to...Nori
I know, I know. All that desire to find Fili and I'm going to play Kili instead
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Nori (3)
Play: Kili (Nori -3). Reduce threat to 29 (Nori's ability). Search deck and put Fili into play. Shuffle.
Quest Phase
Commit: Thorin, Balin, Nori, Kili
Total willpower: 8
Reveal 1: Goblin Miners
Reveal 2: Come Down Little Bird. Choose the riddle. Name: Ally, Cost 3. Shuffle. Discard: Hasty Stroke, Silverload Archer, Gandalf.
Spend 1 Bilbo resource to discard another card. Discard: To me! O my Kinsfolk!
Exhaust Bilbo's Magic Ring to give Bilbo an additional resource. Raise threat to 31.
Spend 1 Bilbo resource to discard another card. Discard: Dwalin
Two Matches (Silverload Archer, Dwalin). Add 2 resources to stage 2B (2/9)
Total threat: 4
Place 4 progress on stage 1B (4/14)
Travel Phase
None
Encounter Phase
Engage Goblin Miners
Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Goblin Miners
Goblin Miners attack. Fili defends. Shadow: Grip, Grab! Pinch, Nab! (deal 1 damage to Kili). One damage dealt to Fili.
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 32
Round 2
Resource Phase
+2 Thorin (2), +1 Balin (1), +1 Nori (1), +1 Bilbo (1)
Draw: Snowborn Scout
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Nori (3)
Planning Phase
Play: Gloin (Thorin -2, Balin -1). Reduce threat to 31. Add two resources to Nori (5)
Play: Gandalf (Nori -5)
Quest Phase
Commit: Thorin, Balin, Nori, Gloin, Gandalf
Total willpower: 13
Reveal 1: It Likes Riddles? Name: Cost 3. Shuffle. Discard: Kili. Longbeard Orc Slayer. One match (Kili). Add 1 progress to stage 2B (3/9)
Discard from Encounter Deck: Goblin Runners
Discard from Encounter Deck: Goblin Miners
Discard from Encounter Deck: The Goblins' Caves
Discard from Encounter Deck: What's In My Pocket? Name: Spirit, Cost 1. Shuffle. Discard: Hasty Stroke. Longbeard Orc Slayer. One match. Add 1 progress to stage 2B (4/9).
Reveal 2: What's In My Pocket? Name: Leadership, Cost 1. Shuffle. Discard: Snowborn Scout, Gandalf. One match. Add 1 progress to stage 2B (5/9)
Total threat: 2
Add 11 progress to stage 1B (15/14)
Travel Phase
None
Encounter Phase
None
Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Goblin Miners
Fili defends. Shadow: Wild Wargs (no effect). Fili is destroyed.
Gandalf declares an attack on Goblin Miners, destroying them.
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 32
Raise threat to 34 to keep Gandalf in play
Round 3
Resource Phase
+2 Thorin (2), +1 Balin (1), +1 Nori (1), +1 Bilbo (2)
Draw: Steward of Gondor
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Nori (3)
Planning Phase
Play: Snowborn Scout (Thorin -1)
Quest Phase
Commit: Balin, Nori, Gandalf
Total willpower: 8
Reveal 1: Goblin Driver. Exhaust Snowborn Scout.
Reveal 2: Wild Wargs. Choose riddle. Name: Ally. Shuffle. Discard: Silverload Archer, Unexpected Courage
Spend 1 Bilbo resource to discard an additional card: Gloin
Spend 1 Bilbo resource to discard an additional card: Fili
Exhaust Bilbo's Magic Ring to add one Baggin's resource to Bilbo's pool (1). Raise threat to 36
Spend 1 Bilbo resource to discard an additional card: Sneak Attack
Shame! Could have cleared the stages this round.
Three matches (Silverload Archer, Gloin, Fili). Add 3 progress to stage 2B (3/9)
Total threat: 5
Add 3 progress to stage 1B (18/14)
Travel Phase
None
Encounter Phase
Engage Goblin Driver
Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Goblin Driver
Goblin Driver attacks. Kili defends. Shadow: The Goblins' Cave (raise threat to 37). Kili is destroyed.
Thorin, Gandalf declare an attack on Goblin Driver, destroying it
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 38
Raise threat to 40 to keep Gandalf in play
Round 4
Resource Phase
+1 Thorin(2), +1 Balin (2), +1 Nori (4), +1 Bilbo (1)
Draw: Sneak Attack
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Nori (6).
Planning Phase
Play: Fili (Thorin-2, Balin -1). Reduce threat to 39 (Nori's effect). Search deck and put Kili into play. Shuffle.
Also used this moment to see that my deck is predominantly Spirit at this point, with a spread of 0, 1, and 3 cost cards.
Quest Phase
Commit: Balin, Nori, Gandalf
Total willpower: 8
Reveal 1: Goblin Axeman
Reveal 2: Goblin Miners
Total threat: 6
Place 2 progress on stage 1B (20/14)
Travel Phase
None
Encounter Phase
Engage Goblin Axeman
Engage Goblin Miners
Combat Phase
Deal shadow cards to Goblin Axeman, Goblin Miners
Goblin Axeman attacks, Gloin defends. Shadow: The Wargs' Glade (no effect). Deal one damage to Gloin.
Goblin Miners attack. Snowborn Scout defends. Shadow: The Goblins' Cave. Spend 1 resource from Balin's pool to cancel the shadow and deal an new card. Shadow: Goblin Driver. Exhaust Fili. Snowborn Scout is destroyed.
Gandalf declares an attack on Goblin Axeman, destroying it.
Thorin declares an attack on Goblin Miners, destroying them.
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 41
Raise threat to 43 to keep Gandalf in play
Need to get a riddle & answer it right next round or I may need to say goodbye to Gandalf
Round 5
Resource Phase
+2 Thorin (2), +1 Balin (1), +1 Nori (7)
Draw: Ever Vigilant
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Nori (9)
Planning Phase
Play none
Quest Phase
Commit: Balin, Nori, Gandalf
Total willpower: 8
Reveal 1: It Likes Riddles? Name: 3. Discard: The Galadhrim's Greeting, Son of Arnor. Two matches. Add 2 progress to stage 2B, clearing the stage. Stage 1B cleared.
Discard Lake in the Cavern
Advance to stage 3B
Bilbo rejoins the heroes.
Gollum engages me
Okay, so here's a tough choice. I'm in the middle of resolving It Likes Riddles? I completed the first part and answered the riddle. Now, I need to search the encounter deck for a second card. But stage 3B states: "All riddle effects are ignored. Treachery cards gain surge." I also have not revealed a second card for stage 2B. Since I'm in stage 3B now, I"m not going to reveal that second card. Since I revealed the treachery prior to stage 3B, I'm also not surging this card. So, do I now discard the encounter deck until I find a riddle to ignore? Seems illogical and I'm moving on.
Reveal (for stage 3B): The Wargs' Glade
Total threat: 2
Now here's another fun decision. I just advanced quest stages in the midst of questing, before resolving. As far as I can tell, I'm good to go to place progress on this stage. Anyone aware of a ruling or threat that rules differently?
Place 6 progress on stage 3B (6/16)
Travel Phase
None
Encounter Phase
None
Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Gollum
Gollum attacks. Gloin defends. Shadow: Wild Wargs (no effect). Deal one damage to Gloin (2/3)
Thorin, Gandalf, Bibo declare an attack on Gollum, destroying him
I'm pretty sure that's how it happened in the books, actually
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 44
Raise threat to 46 to keep Gandalf in play
Round 6
Resource Phase
+2 Thorin (4), +1 Balin (2), +1 Nori (10)
Draw: Late Adventurer
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Nori (12)
Planning Phase
Play none
Quest Phase
Commit: Thorin, Balin, Nori, Fili, Kili, Gloin, Gandalf, Bilbo
Total willpower: 16
NOTE: I neglected to reveal an additional card during the stage 3B set-up, so backing up Gollum's shadow effect (The Warg's Glade) would have been revealed. For Gollum's attack, the card that was revealed during stage 6 (Wild Wargs) would have been the shadow. I went through and figured out everything I discarded. I'm shuffling the encounter deck and...
Reveal: The Wargs' Glade
Total threat: 4
Place 12 progress on stage 3B, exploring it and winning the game!
Final Scoring
5 Completed Rounds x10: 50
Final Threat: 46
Total Damage on Heroes: 0
Threat of Defeated Heroes: 0
Victory Display: 0
Total: 96
And there it is. So what do you think about the quest phase of round 5? Did I make the right decision?
The Journey
Player Setup
Set threat to 30
Draw: Kili, Hasty Stroke, Gandalf, Son of Arnor, To me! O my Kinsfolk!, Gloin
I like seeing Kili, but would rather have Fili. Going to try again to see if I can get Fili and a Late Adventurer or A Test of Will
Mulligan: Gloin, Fili, Gloin, Ever Vigliant, Kili, Gandalf
That'll work!
Encounter Setup
Add Lake in the Cavern to the staging area
Create riddle area with Gollum and Bilbo
Attach Bilbo's Magic Ring to Bilbo
Round 1
Resource Phase
+1 Thorin Oakenshield (1), +1 Balin (1), +1 Nori (1), +1 Bilbo (1)
Draw: Steward of Gondor
Planning Phase
Play: Steward of Gondor (Thorin -1, Balin -1). Attach to...Nori
I know, I know. All that desire to find Fili and I'm going to play Kili instead
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Nori (3)
Play: Kili (Nori -3). Reduce threat to 29 (Nori's ability). Search deck and put Fili into play. Shuffle.
Quest Phase
Commit: Thorin, Balin, Nori, Kili
Total willpower: 8
Reveal 1: Goblin Miners
Reveal 2: Come Down Little Bird. Choose the riddle. Name: Ally, Cost 3. Shuffle. Discard: Hasty Stroke, Silverload Archer, Gandalf.
Spend 1 Bilbo resource to discard another card. Discard: To me! O my Kinsfolk!
Exhaust Bilbo's Magic Ring to give Bilbo an additional resource. Raise threat to 31.
Spend 1 Bilbo resource to discard another card. Discard: Dwalin
Two Matches (Silverload Archer, Dwalin). Add 2 resources to stage 2B (2/9)
Total threat: 4
Place 4 progress on stage 1B (4/14)
Travel Phase
None
Encounter Phase
Engage Goblin Miners
Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Goblin Miners
Goblin Miners attack. Fili defends. Shadow: Grip, Grab! Pinch, Nab! (deal 1 damage to Kili). One damage dealt to Fili.
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 32
Round 2
Resource Phase
+2 Thorin (2), +1 Balin (1), +1 Nori (1), +1 Bilbo (1)
Draw: Snowborn Scout
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Nori (3)
Planning Phase
Play: Gloin (Thorin -2, Balin -1). Reduce threat to 31. Add two resources to Nori (5)
Play: Gandalf (Nori -5)
Quest Phase
Commit: Thorin, Balin, Nori, Gloin, Gandalf
Total willpower: 13
Reveal 1: It Likes Riddles? Name: Cost 3. Shuffle. Discard: Kili. Longbeard Orc Slayer. One match (Kili). Add 1 progress to stage 2B (3/9)
Discard from Encounter Deck: Goblin Runners
Discard from Encounter Deck: Goblin Miners
Discard from Encounter Deck: The Goblins' Caves
Discard from Encounter Deck: What's In My Pocket? Name: Spirit, Cost 1. Shuffle. Discard: Hasty Stroke. Longbeard Orc Slayer. One match. Add 1 progress to stage 2B (4/9).
Reveal 2: What's In My Pocket? Name: Leadership, Cost 1. Shuffle. Discard: Snowborn Scout, Gandalf. One match. Add 1 progress to stage 2B (5/9)
Total threat: 2
Add 11 progress to stage 1B (15/14)
Travel Phase
None
Encounter Phase
None
Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Goblin Miners
Fili defends. Shadow: Wild Wargs (no effect). Fili is destroyed.
Gandalf declares an attack on Goblin Miners, destroying them.
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 32
Raise threat to 34 to keep Gandalf in play
Round 3
Resource Phase
+2 Thorin (2), +1 Balin (1), +1 Nori (1), +1 Bilbo (2)
Draw: Steward of Gondor
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Nori (3)
Planning Phase
Play: Snowborn Scout (Thorin -1)
Quest Phase
Commit: Balin, Nori, Gandalf
Total willpower: 8
Reveal 1: Goblin Driver. Exhaust Snowborn Scout.
Reveal 2: Wild Wargs. Choose riddle. Name: Ally. Shuffle. Discard: Silverload Archer, Unexpected Courage
Spend 1 Bilbo resource to discard an additional card: Gloin
Spend 1 Bilbo resource to discard an additional card: Fili
Exhaust Bilbo's Magic Ring to add one Baggin's resource to Bilbo's pool (1). Raise threat to 36
Spend 1 Bilbo resource to discard an additional card: Sneak Attack
Shame! Could have cleared the stages this round.
Three matches (Silverload Archer, Gloin, Fili). Add 3 progress to stage 2B (3/9)
Total threat: 5
Add 3 progress to stage 1B (18/14)
Travel Phase
None
Encounter Phase
Engage Goblin Driver
Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Goblin Driver
Goblin Driver attacks. Kili defends. Shadow: The Goblins' Cave (raise threat to 37). Kili is destroyed.
Thorin, Gandalf declare an attack on Goblin Driver, destroying it
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 38
Raise threat to 40 to keep Gandalf in play
Round 4
Resource Phase
+1 Thorin(2), +1 Balin (2), +1 Nori (4), +1 Bilbo (1)
Draw: Sneak Attack
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Nori (6).
Planning Phase
Play: Fili (Thorin-2, Balin -1). Reduce threat to 39 (Nori's effect). Search deck and put Kili into play. Shuffle.
Also used this moment to see that my deck is predominantly Spirit at this point, with a spread of 0, 1, and 3 cost cards.
Quest Phase
Commit: Balin, Nori, Gandalf
Total willpower: 8
Reveal 1: Goblin Axeman
Reveal 2: Goblin Miners
Total threat: 6
Place 2 progress on stage 1B (20/14)
Travel Phase
None
Encounter Phase
Engage Goblin Axeman
Engage Goblin Miners
Combat Phase
Deal shadow cards to Goblin Axeman, Goblin Miners
Goblin Axeman attacks, Gloin defends. Shadow: The Wargs' Glade (no effect). Deal one damage to Gloin.
Goblin Miners attack. Snowborn Scout defends. Shadow: The Goblins' Cave. Spend 1 resource from Balin's pool to cancel the shadow and deal an new card. Shadow: Goblin Driver. Exhaust Fili. Snowborn Scout is destroyed.
Gandalf declares an attack on Goblin Axeman, destroying it.
Thorin declares an attack on Goblin Miners, destroying them.
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 41
Raise threat to 43 to keep Gandalf in play
Need to get a riddle & answer it right next round or I may need to say goodbye to Gandalf
Round 5
Resource Phase
+2 Thorin (2), +1 Balin (1), +1 Nori (7)
Draw: Ever Vigilant
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Nori (9)
Planning Phase
Play none
Quest Phase
Commit: Balin, Nori, Gandalf
Total willpower: 8
Reveal 1: It Likes Riddles? Name: 3. Discard: The Galadhrim's Greeting, Son of Arnor. Two matches. Add 2 progress to stage 2B, clearing the stage. Stage 1B cleared.
Discard Lake in the Cavern
Advance to stage 3B
Bilbo rejoins the heroes.
Gollum engages me
Okay, so here's a tough choice. I'm in the middle of resolving It Likes Riddles? I completed the first part and answered the riddle. Now, I need to search the encounter deck for a second card. But stage 3B states: "All riddle effects are ignored. Treachery cards gain surge." I also have not revealed a second card for stage 2B. Since I'm in stage 3B now, I"m not going to reveal that second card. Since I revealed the treachery prior to stage 3B, I'm also not surging this card. So, do I now discard the encounter deck until I find a riddle to ignore? Seems illogical and I'm moving on.
Reveal (for stage 3B): The Wargs' Glade
Total threat: 2
Now here's another fun decision. I just advanced quest stages in the midst of questing, before resolving. As far as I can tell, I'm good to go to place progress on this stage. Anyone aware of a ruling or threat that rules differently?
Place 6 progress on stage 3B (6/16)
Travel Phase
None
Encounter Phase
None
Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Gollum
Gollum attacks. Gloin defends. Shadow: Wild Wargs (no effect). Deal one damage to Gloin (2/3)
Thorin, Gandalf, Bibo declare an attack on Gollum, destroying him
I'm pretty sure that's how it happened in the books, actually
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 44
Raise threat to 46 to keep Gandalf in play
Round 6
Resource Phase
+2 Thorin (4), +1 Balin (2), +1 Nori (10)
Draw: Late Adventurer
Exhaust Steward of Gondor. +2 Nori (12)
Planning Phase
Play none
Quest Phase
Commit: Thorin, Balin, Nori, Fili, Kili, Gloin, Gandalf, Bilbo
Total willpower: 16
NOTE: I neglected to reveal an additional card during the stage 3B set-up, so backing up Gollum's shadow effect (The Warg's Glade) would have been revealed. For Gollum's attack, the card that was revealed during stage 6 (Wild Wargs) would have been the shadow. I went through and figured out everything I discarded. I'm shuffling the encounter deck and...
Reveal: The Wargs' Glade
Total threat: 4
Place 12 progress on stage 3B, exploring it and winning the game!
Final Scoring
5 Completed Rounds x10: 50
Final Threat: 46
Total Damage on Heroes: 0
Threat of Defeated Heroes: 0
Victory Display: 0
Total: 96
And there it is. So what do you think about the quest phase of round 5? Did I make the right decision?
Saturday, October 4, 2014
Saga Quest 2: Over the Misty Mountains Grim
Victory on the third attempt!
The Recap
The Deck
Despite failing my duplicate tournament run-through, I want to
stick with the same deck. After all, most of the participants (all the others?)
were able to pull out a victory with it, so (eventually) I should be able to as
well, right?
Duplicate Tournament 3 Deck
Heroes
Thorin Oakenshield
Ori
Bombur
Bilbo Baggins (Over Hill and Under Hill)
Allies
Bifur (On the Doorstep) x3
Brok Ironfist x1
Dori x3
Erebor Hammersmith x2
Fili x3
Gandalf (Core) x3
Kili x1
Longbeard Orc Slayer x2
Miner of the Iron HIlls x2
Attachments
Cram x3
Forest Snare x2
Protector of Lorien x2
Self Preservation x2
Steward of Gondor x2
Events
A Very Good Tale x3
Burglar Baggins x3
Expecting Mischief x3
Radagast's Cunning x2
Sneak Attack x2
To Me! O My Kinsfolk! x3
Treasure
Glamdring x1
Orcrist x1
Sting x1
Sets Used
Core
Over Hill and Under Hill
On the Doorstep
The Journey
Two attempts down, during both of which I threated out, also
during both of which I lost a hero (coincidence?). Third time is a charm...
Player Setup
Set starting threat to 28
Draw: Miner of the Iron Hills, A Very Good Tale, Forest Snare,
Radagast's Cunning, Gloin, Sting
In all three attempts, I have had at least one treasure in my
starting hand. It's a nice way to start, I must say. Two allies + A Very Good
Tale is also nice to see.
Encounter Setup
Set out stage 1A, flip to stage 1B
Search player deck, add Glamdring to hand, and shuffle deck
I'll take the card draw over the extra resource, upon killing an
orc
Proceed to stage 2A, flip to stage 2B
Add Stone-Giant to the staging area
Reveal: A Suspicous Crow (no encounter discard yet)
Round 1
Resource Phase
+1 Thorin Oakenshield (1), +1 Ori (1), +1 Bombur (1), +1 Bilbo
Baggins (1)
Draw: Orcrist
Wow! Starting off with all three treasures! I like those odds.
Planning Phase
Play: Sting. Attach to Bilbo.
Play: Glamdring. Attach to Thorin.
Play: Orcrist. Attach to Thorin.
Play: Miner of the Iron Hill (Ori -1, Bombur -1)
Quest Phase
Commit: Thorin, Ori, Bilbo
Total willpower: 7
Reveal: Lone-Lands
Total threat: 7
No progress placed
Travel Phase
Travel to Lone-Lands
Encounter Phase
Engage A Suspicious Crow
Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to A Suspicious Crow
A Suspicious Crow attacks. Miner of the Iron Hills defends.
Shadow: Wind-whipped Rain (-1 shield). Miner of the Iron Hills takes 1 damage.
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 29
Round 2
Resource Phase
+2 Thorin (3), +1 Ori (1), +1 Bombur (1), +1 Bilbo (2)
Draw: Fili
Draw: Radagast’s Cunning
Planning Phase
Play: Fili (Thorin -3). Search deck and put Kili into play.
Shuffle.
Play: A Very Good Tale. Exhaust Fili and Kili.
Discard: Gandalf, Dori, Fili, Bifur, A Very Good Tale
Man, I hate to miss Gandalf, but I want the allies.
Put Dori and Bifur into play.
Quest Phase
Commit: None
Reveal: A Suspicious Crow
Move Wind-whipped Rain to the table (no attachments to discard)
Play: Radagast’s Cunning (Ori -1)
Total threat: 1
Raise threat to 29
Travel Phase
None
Encounter Phase
Optionally engage Stone-Giant. Discard Fili from play.
Engaged by A Suspicious Crow
Combat Phase
Deal shadow cards to Stone-Giant, A Suspicious Crow x2
Stone-Giant attacks. Miner of the Iron Hills defends. Shadow: No
Campfire (raise threat to 32). Miner of the Iron Hills is destroyed.
A Suspicious Crow #1 attacks. Undefended. Shadow: Lone-Lands (No
effect). Deal one damage to Ori.
A Suspicious Crow #2 attacks. Undefended. Shadow: Galloping
Boulders (place on top of Encounter Deck). Deal one damage to Bilbo.
Thorin, Ori, Bombur, Bilbo declare an attack on Stone-Giant. 12
attack vs. 3 shields = 9 damage, destroying it.
Dori declares an attack on A Suspicious Crow #1, destroying it.
Bifur declares an attack on A Suspicious Crows #2, destroying it.
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 33
Round 3
Resource Phase
+2 Thorin (2), +1 Ori (1), +1 Bobur (2), +1 Bilbo (3)
Draw: Dori, Fili
Planning Phase
Play none
Quest Phase
Commit: None
Total willpower: 0
Reveal: Galloping boulders (no questing characters to damage)
Total threat: 0
No progress placed
Travel Phase
None
Encounter Phase
None
Combat Phase
None
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 34
Round 4
Resource Phase
+2 Thorin (4), +1 Ori (2), +1 Bombur (3), +1 Bilbo (4)
Draw: Gandalf
Draw: Burglar Baggins
Planning Phase
Play: Gloin (Thorin -3). Add two resources to Thorin’s resource
pool (3).
Play: Fili (Thorin -3). Kili already in play.
Quest Phase
Commit: Thorin, Ori, Bilbo, Kili, Dori, Bifur, Fili, Gloin
Total willpower: 13
Reveal: Stone Giant
Play: Radagast’s Cunning (Ori -1). Choose Stone-Giant to not count
its threat.
Total threat: 0
Place 3 progress on the Lone-Lands (Bilbo -1), exploring it (Bilbo
+1)
Place 10 progress on stage 2B (10/16)
Place 10 progress on stage 2B (10/16)
Travel Phase
None
Encounter Phase
Engage Stone-Giant. Discard Dori from play.
Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Stone-Giant.
Stone-Giant attacks. Bombur defends. Shadow: More Like a Grocer
(remove all Baggins resources). Deal four damage to Bombur.
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 35
Round 5
Resource Phase
+2 Thorin (2), +1 Ori (2), +1 Bombur (4), +1 Bilbo (1)
Draw: Sneak Attack
Draw: Gandalf
Planning Phase
Play: Dori (Bombur -3)
Play: Forest Snare (Ori -2, Bombur -1). Attach to Stone-Giant.
Quest Phase
Commit: Ori, Bilbo, Kili, Gloin
Total willpower: 7
If there’s nothing in the staging area, I want to move forward in
take on The Great Goblin. If a Stone Giant comes out, this will stop me from
advancing and give me time to deal with him. I can stop one encounter card from
being revealed during stage 3’s set-up with my Baggins resource. I’ll leave a
few defenders and attackers up to help from there.
Reveal: Galloping Boulders. Place three damage on Kili, destroying
him.
Updated willpower: 6
Total threat: 0
Place 6 progress on stage 2B, clearing it.
Advance to stage 3B
Switch out the Encounter Decks
Add The Great Goblin to the staging area
Spend one Baggin’s resource to reveal 1 less card.
Reveal 1: Grip, grab! Pinch, nab! (no encounter discard to search)
Reveal 2: Goblin Miners
Travel Phase
None
Encounter Phase
Optionally engage The Great Goblin
Engaged by Goblin Miners
Combat Phase
Deal shadow cards to The Great Goblin, Goblin Miners
Play: Sneak Attack (Thorin -1). Put Gandalf into play. Deal four
damage to The Great Goblin.
The Great Goblin attacks. Discard: Chaos in the Cavern (not added
to the staging area). Gandalf defends. Shadow: Goblin Axeman (shield -1). Place
2 damage on Gandalf (2/4).
Goblin Miners attacks. Shadow: Goblin Bent-Swords (+1 attack).
Place two damage on Bifur.
Thorin Oakenshield declares an attack on The Great Goblin,
destroying it and adding it to the Victory Display (3)
Dori declares an attack on Goblin Miners, destroying them.
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 36
Round 6
Resource Phase
+2 Thorin (3), +1 Ori (1), +1 Bombur (1), +1 Bilbo (1)
Draw: Dori
Draw: To me! O my kinsfolk!
Planning Phase
Play: Gandalf (Thorin -3, Ori -1, Bombur -1). Draw: To me! O my
Kinsfolk!, Cram, Erebor Hammersmith
Quest Phase
Commit: Thorin, Ori, Bilbo, Gandalf, Gloin, Dori, Bifur, Fili
Total willpower: 16
Reveal: Great Cavern Room
Play: Burglar Baggins (Bilbo -1)
Updated willpower: 18
Total threat: 2
Place 16 progress on stage 3B (16/20)
Travel Phase
None
Encounter Phase
None
Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 37
Round 7
Resource Phase
+2 Thorin (2), +1 Ori (1), +1 Bombur (1), +1 Bilbo (1)
Draw: Forest Snare
Draw: Steward of Gondor
Planning Phase
Play: Gandalf (Thorin -2, Ori -1, Bombur -1, Bilbo -1). Reduce
threat to 32.
Play: Cram. Attach to Thorin.
Play: Cram. Attach to Thorin.
Quest Phase
Commit: Thorin, Ori, Bilbo, Gandalf, Gloin, Fili, Bifur, Dori
Total willpower: 16
Reveal: Goblin Bent-swords. Surge.
Reveal: Goblin Axemen
Total threat: 6
Place 10 progress on stage 3B, clearing it
Victory!
Final Scoring
6 completed rounds x10: 60
Ending Threat: 32
Total damage on heroes: 6 (Ori 1, Bombur 4, Bilbo 1)
Threat of Destroyed Heroes: 0
Victory Display: -3
Total: 95
The Recap
My loss in the duplicate tournament was unexpected and
discouraging. My loss during a second attempt didn’t help! But all-in-all, I do
like this quest. You need a nice, well-balanced plan for this one (which are
the type of decks I favor anyone). The third stage is best handled when you
have a large force built up, but the second stage is going to do everything it
can to make that force difficult to build. That is a nice challenge. You also
have these Giants who you want to avoid, but their boulders are best avoided by
not questing (which is going to likely increase your threat, bringing the
Giants closer to attacking). This scenario tries to challenge your likely
strategies towards combating it. I look forward to crossing these mountains
again!
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