Quest 20: Into Ithilien

Victory on the eleventh attempt!

Note: I forgot to take the additional threat of Southron Company into consideration for most of the game, when up against a Siege or Battle quest. Re-did it with the same deck and won a solid (I hope!) victory on the 13th attempt. Re-done quest log to come soon.

The Deck

I spent way too much time trying to make a Leadership Boromir deck work here. But my focus was on cheap, quick allies and Blocking Wargs just devastates those. With only three Blocking Wargs in a rather large encounter deck, I figured most times I would be able to make it work, but the card always came out during a crucial "please don't come out this time!" moment. I also spent some attempts experimenting with letting Celador live vs. letting Celador die (Blocking Wargs does not give you a choice, by the way). Eventually I realized that controlling the encounter deck would be really useful, which Denethor and Henamarth Riversong excel in. Going solo Lore allowed me to include the resource-heavy Risk Some Light (a card I love), which would also be useful. And this new deck proved much more effective then my Gondor attempt (which I think I could still pull off with different allies).

The Lore of Ithilien

Heroes
Haldir of Lorien (Trouble in Tharbad)
Aragorn (The Watcher in the Water)
Denethor (Core)

Allies
White Tower Watchman x3
Ithilien Tracker x3
Erebor Hammersmith x3
Dori x3
Henamarth Riversong x3
Saruman x3
Gandalf (Over Hill and Under Hill) x3

Attachments
Lembas x3
Protector of Lorien x3
Ranger Spikes x3
Ranger Bow x3
Poisoned Stakes x3

Events
Expecting Mischief x3
Forest Patrol x3
Mithrandir's Advice x3
Secret Paths x3
Risk Some Light x3

Sets Used 
Core
The Watcher in the Water
Shadow and Flame
Over Hill and Under Hill
Heirs of Numenor
The Steward's Fear
The Druadan Forest
Assault on Osgiliath 
The Blood of Gondor
The Voice of Isengard
Trouble in Tharbad


The Journey

Player Setup
Set starting threat to 29
Draw: Ranger Bow, Ithilien Tracker, Ranger Spikes, Risk Some Light x2, White Tower Watchman

Ecounter Setup
Add Celdor to the staging area.
Search encounter deck and add Ithilien road and make it the active location.
Search encounter deck and add Southron Company to the staging area. Shuffle.

Round 1
I keep Southron Company in the staging area, taking small bites at it with a Ranger Bow after clearing the active location.

Resoure Phase
+1 Haldir of Lorien (1), +1 Aragorn (1), +1 Denethor (1)
Draw: Forest Patrol

Planning Phase
Exhaust Denethor. Look at: Secluded Glade.
Play: Ithilien Tracker (Haldir -1, Aragonr -1)
Play: Ranger Bow (Denethor -1)
Exhaust Ithilen Tracker + Ranger Bow. Deal 1 damage to Southron Company (1/5).

Quest Phase
Commit: Aragorn, Haldir, Celador
Battle. Total strength: 8
Reveal: Secluded Glade
Total threat: 4
Place 4 progress on Ithilien Road, exploring it.

Travel Phase
Travel to Secluded Glade

Encounter Phase
No engagements

Combat Phase
No combat

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 30

Round 2
More location clearing, a little progress on the quest, and more sniping with the Ranger Bow. I use a combination of Poisoned Stakes + Forest Patrol to take out a Southron Mercenaries.

Resource Phase
+1 Haldir (1), +1 Aragorn (1), +1 Denethor (1)
Draw: Poisoned Stakes

Planning Phase
Exhaust Denethor. Look at: Southron Mercenaries
Play:  Poisoned Stakes (Aragonr -1, Denethor -1)


Quest Phase
Commit: Aragonr, Haldir, Celador
Battle. Total strength: 8
Exhaust Ithilien Tracker to lower threat of next enemy revealed to 0.
Reveal: Southron Mercenaries. Attach Poison Stakes.
Total threat: 1
Place 3 progress on Secluded Glade, exploring it.
Place 4 progress on stage 1B (4/15)
Play: Forest Patrol (Haldir -1). Deal 3 damage to Southron Mercenaries (3/4)

Travel Phase
No travel

Encounter Phase
No engagements

Combat Phase
Archery 1: Deal 1 damage to Haldir (1/3)
No combat

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 31
Poisoned Stakes deals two damage to Southron Mercenaries, destroying them.

Round 3
Risk Some Light allows me to avoid a Haradrim Elite and get an Overgrown Trail out, which is easy to dispatch with the high number of rangers I have available to me. A little more progress put on the quest. Haldir uses his ability, for the first time, to put some damage on the Southron Company in the staging area.


Resource Phase
+1 Haldir (1), +1 Aragorn (1), +1 Denethor (1)
Draw: Saruman

Planning Phase
Exhaust Denethor. Look at: Haradrim Elite.
Play: Risk Some Light (Haldir -1, Aragorn -1, Denethor -1). Look at: Hradrim Elite, Secluded Glade, Overgrown Trail. Move Haradrim Elite to the bottom of the deck. Put Overgrown Trail x2 on top. with Secluded Glade beneath.

Quest Phase
Commit: Celador
Battle. Total strength: 2
Reveal: Overgrown Trail
Exhaust Aragorn to place 3 progress on Overgrown Trail (3/6)
Exhaust Ithilien Tracker to place 3 progress on Overgrown Trail, exploring it.
Total threat: 1
Place 1 progress on stage 1B (5/15)

Travel Phase
No travel

Encounter Phase
No engagements

Combat Phase
Haldir declares an attack on Southron Company, dealing 2 damage (3/5)

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 32

Round 4
My progress on the quest doubles and the Southron Company in the staging area is finally destroyed (via Haldir).

Resource Phase
+1 Haldir (1), +1 Aragorn (1), +1 Denethor (1)
Draw: Henamarth Riverong

Planning Phase
Play: Henamarth Riversong (Denethor -1)

Quest Phase
Commit: Aragorn, Denethor, Ithilien Tracker, Henamarth Riversong, Celador
Battle. Total strength: 8
Reveal: Secluded Glade
Total threat: 3
Place 5 progress on stage 1B (10/15)

Travel Phase
Travel to Secluded Glade

Encounter Phase
No engagements

Combat Phase
Haldir declares an attack on Southron Company, destroying them.

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 33

Round 5
Ranger Spikes capture a Southron Mercenaries and I finally clear stage 1. No damage on Celador at all, so off to stage 3 we go!

Resource Phase
+1 Haldir (2), +1 Aragorn (2), +1 Denethor (1)
Draw: Henamarth Riversong
At least I have a backup in the case of Blocking Wargs showing up...

Planning Phase
Play: White Tower Watchman (Haldir -1, Aragorn -1, Denethor -1)
Play: Ranger Spikes (Haldir -1, Aragorn -1)

Quest Phase
Commit: Haldir, Aragorn, Denethor, Henamarth Riversong, Celador
Total willpower: 10
Reveal: Southron Mercenaries. Attach Ranger Spikes
Total threat: 0
Place 3 progress on Secluded Glade, exploring it.
Place 7 progress on stage 1B, clearing it.
Advance to stage 3 (skip stage 2), flip to side B.
Gain control of Celador.
Exhaust Ithilien Tracker + Ranger Bow. Deal 1 damage to Southron Mercenaries (1/4)

Travel Phase
No travel

Encounter Phase
No engagements

Combat Phase
Archery 1: Deal 1 damage to Ithilien Tracker (1/3).

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 34

Round 6
Another Risk Some Light allows me to dodge Blocking Wargs and put two Overgrown Trails on top of the deck. With all my rangers around (plus one more, now that I directly control Celador), this means a clear staging area for two rounds.

Resource Phase
+1 Haldir (1), +1 Aragorn (1) +1 Denethor (1)
Draw: Erebor Hammersmith

Planning Phase
Exhaust Henamarth Riversong. Look at: Blocking Wargs
Play: Risk Some Light (Haldir -1, Aragorn -1, Denethor -1). Look at: Blocking Wargs, Overgrown Trail, Overgrown Trail. Move Blocking Wargs to the bottom of the encounter deck. Put Overgrown Trail x2 on top.
Commit: Haldir, Denethor, White Tower Watchman
Total willpower: 4
Reveal: Overgrown Trail.
Exhaust Aragorn to place 3 progress on Overgrown Trail (3/6).
Exhaust Celador to place 3 progress on Overgrown Trail, exploring it.
Total threat: 0.
Place 4 progress on stage 3B (4/12)

Travel Phase
No travel

Encounter Phase
No engagement

Combat Phase
Archery 1: Deal 1 damage to White Tower Watchman (1/3)
Exhaust Ithilien Tracker + Ranger Bow. Deal 1 damage to Southron Mercenaries (2/4).

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 35

Round 7
Put all but three needed progress on stage 3. Decide to hold onto my resources for a big push during stage 4. The Ranger Bow finally finishes off the Southron Mercenaries trapped in the Ranger Spikes.

Resource Phase
+1 Haldir (1), +1 Aragorn (1), +1 Denathor (1)
Draw: Gandalf

Planning Phase
Play none

Quest Phase
Commit: Haldir, Denethor, Henamarth, White Tower Watchman
Total willpower: 5 
Reveal: Overgrown Trail
Exhaust Aragorn to place 3 progress on Overgrown Trail (3/6).
Exhaust Celador to place 3 progress on Overgrown Trail, exloring it.
Total threat: 0
Place 5 progress on stage 3B (9/12).

Travel Phase
No travel

Encounter Phase
No engagements

Combat Phase
Archery 1: Place 1 damage on White Tower Watchman (2/3)
Exhaust Itilien Tracker + Ranger Bow to place 1 progress on Southron Mercenaries (3/4).

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 36
Exhaust Itilien Tracker + Ranger Bow to place 1 progress on Southron Mercenaries, destroying them.

Round 8
Still hording resources, I clear stage 3 and move onto stage 4. Southron Company does take out my White Tower Watchman, adding my first damage to Celador.

Resource Phase
+1 Haldir (2), +1 Aragorn (2), +1 Denethor (2)
Draw: Forest Patrol

Planning Phase
Exhaust Denethor. Look at: Southron Support. Move to bottom of encounter deck.

Quest Phase
Commit: Haldir, Aragorn, Celador, Henamarth
Total willpower: 7
Reveal: Southron Support. Doomed 3 (raise threat to 39). Search encounter deck and put Southron Company into play.
Highly questionable to see all these cards stacked together, but in my defense this was an OCTGN game so I'm assuming it was digitally shuffled properly.
Total threat 1
Place 6 progress on stage 3B, clearing it.
Advance to stage 4, flip to side B.

Travel Phase
No travel

Encounter Phase
Engage Southron Company

Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Southron Company.
Southron Company attacks. Undefended. Shadow: Blocking Wargs (deal 1 damage to defending character; no defending character). Place 5 damage on White Tower Watchman, destroying it. Deal 1 damage to Celador (1/3).
My plan was to sacrifice White Tower Watchman to Southron Company. Initially, I just defended, then saw the Blocking Wargs and thought "man, now this damage needs to be undefended on someone else." Then I remembered: White Tower Watchman can take undefended damage for me. I backed up and had the attack be undefended. Not a tournament-legal move.

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 40
Trigger Aragorn's ability. Lower threat to 29. 
Raise threat to 31 (stage 4 effect).

Round 9
Still within the threat range to quest with willpower on stage 4, I play Saruman and Gandalf in the same round and quest for a total of 14 with zero threat added to the staging area. I loose the Ithilien Tracker to Southron Company (who returns to the staging area due to an Ithilien Road shadow), but no worries since I only need 1 progress point to make it to the quest card next round.

Resource Phase
+1 Haldir (3), Aragorn (3), Denethor (3)
Draw: Gandalf

Planning Phase
Exhaust Henamarth Riversong. Look at: Watcher in the Wood.
Play: Saruman (Haldir -3). Raise threat to 34. No enemy in the staging area.
Play: Gandalf (Aragorn -3, Denethor -2). Lower threat to 29.
Initially, I figured Watcher in the Wood was gong to raise my threat past the 37 threshold anyway and I might as well draw cards. Then I re-read the card, realized it surged only if there was a battle or seige keyword, and figured out if Gandalf lowered my threat I would be able to avoid the surge and hve a clear staging area. I shuffled the cards back into my deck and went for the threat reduction. Once again, glad this isn't a tournament...

Quest Phase
Commit: Haldir, Aragorn, Denethor, Celador, Saruman, Gandalf
Total willpower: 14
Reveal: Watcher in the Woods (+1 threat for each questing character). Raise threat to 35.
Place 14 progress on stage 4B (14/15).

Travel Phase
No travel

Encounter Phase
No engagements

Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Southron Company.
Southron Company attacks. Ithilien Tracker defends. Shadow: Ithilien Road (return enemy to the staging area after it attacks). Ithilien Tracker is destroyed. Place 1 damage on Celador (2/3). Return Southron Company to the staging area.

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 36
Discard Gandalf and Saruman from play.
Raise threat to 38 (stage 4 effect).

Round 10
With only one progress point needed, but now questing with defense, I add in an Erebor Hammersmith and quest for 9, putting 8 of that onto the quest and winning.

Resource Phase
+1 Haldir (1), +1 Aragorn (1), +1 Denethor (2)
Draw: White Tower Watchman

Planning Phase
Play: Erebor Hammersmith (Denethor -2). Return Ranger Bow to hand.

Quest Phase
Exhaust Hennamarth Riversong. Look at: Lost Companion. 
Commit: Haldir, Aragorn, Denethor, Celador, Erebor Hammersmith
Siege. Total defense: 9
Reveal: Lost Companion. Remove Erebor Hammersmith from play.
Updated defense: 8
Total threat: 1
Place 7 progress on stage 4B, clearing it and winning the game!

Final Scoring

9 Completed Rounds x10: 90

Ending Threat: 38

Total Damage on Heroes: 1 (Haldir)

Threat of Defeated Heroes: 0

Victory Display: 0

Total Score: 129

The Recap

Time for me to be a bit hypocritical again: I like this scenario. In fact, a lot about it makes me want to group it into the "favorite quests" category. It has variety, unique paths you can choose between, allies hidden in the encounter deck..it's just fun!

And then there's Blocking Wargs. What. In. The. World. On one hand, it's just Necromancer's Reach with surge. On the other hand, it ends up being really nasty when it sees play (almost always on that one "please anything but Blocking Wargs" quest phase). Maybe it was my heavy reliance on low-cost allies the first chunk of my attempts that embittered me. And really, the simple solution is to include allies with 2+ hp (but those are typically a bit slower to get out). The fact that it's shadow effect is also deals that deadly direct damage does not help. I'm not much for playing easy mode, but I may come back here with that card removed in the future (or at least with 1-2 copies fewer).

Still, despite the difficulty of the scenario, I actually enjoyed myself (but maybe that's just Haldir speaking) and will look forward to making this journey again.