Quest 41: Escape from Mount Gram

Victory on the First Attempt!
 
The Deck

I had a little time for a quick OCTGN game today and decided I would netdeck my first attempt of Escape from Mount Gram (I'll probably netdeck the rest of this cycle, actually). I had heard there was some element of loosing all your stuff and rescuing it going on here, so I did a quick Google search for recommended decks to tackle this one. The first result was Escape From Mount Gram Nightmare Deck Fun by Lecitadin.  No hearts or stars, but it looked like it would be a blast to play for this one. The idea is to get Elrond loaded up ASAP with Strider & Resourceful, then start rescuing a capture deck full of allies.

Escape From Mount Gram Nightmare Deck Fun
by Lecitadin

Heroes
Aragorn (The Watcher in the Water)
Elrond (Shadow and Flame)
Treebeard (The Treason of Saruman)

Allies
Ithilien Archer x2
Ithilien Lookout x2
Mirkwood Explorer x2
Mirkwood Pioneer x3
Mirdwood Runner x2
Warden of Healing x2
Robin Smallburrow x1
Arwen Undomiel (The Watcher in the Water) x3
Escort from Edoras x2
Galadriel's Handmaiden x2
Silvan Refugee x2
West Road Traveler x3
Snowbourn Scout x3
Warden of Helm's Deep x3
Defender of Ramas x3
Galadhon Archer x2
Honour Guard x2

Attachments
Resourceful x3
Strider x3

Events
Daeron's Runes x3
The Evening Star x3

Sets Used
Core
A Journey to Rhosgobl
Return to Mirkwood
The Watcher in the Water
The Long Dark
Foundations of Stone
Shadow and Flame
Heirs of Numenor
The Druadan Forest
Encounter at Amon Din
The Dunland Trap
The Nin-in-Eilph
Celebrimbor's Secret
The Antlered Crown
The Treason of Saruman
The Wastes of Eriador
The Grey Havens
The Thing in the Depths
The Drowned Ruins

RingsDB Link


The Journey & Recap

And we've found another addition to my favorite quest collection. Escape has such a unique feel to it and opens up some very creative space for deck building. I had a blast, blew the deck away, and did that while seriously handicapping myself! The whole game I was waiting for the moment when I would get my out-of-play face-down hero back. Then I was thinking you only get 2 heroes the whole quest (which would be unique; not knowing which 2 you would be able to run). Then I re-read the rules and realized the hero not shuffled into my capture deck was supposed to be placed on top of it. Well I think we can safely say this deck is amazing for the quest when it can hold its own running one hero for four rounds and only two heroes for the remainder of the game.

With an early Strider and Resourceful x2 out on Elrond, I began slowly building up an army early on. The Evening Star was a great addition to help out in a pinch. Once I was down to only having two cards captured under stage 2, I began questing only for what was in the staging area and, once that was fully clear, not questing at all. The 1-3 threat per round was more than a fair trade for the opportunity to rescue a new ally. While I could have played this out a little more, I finally advanced to stage 3 and wrapped up the game in a few rounds with 12 allies living to tell the tale.

Final Scoring
7 Completed Rounds x11: 110
Ending Threat: 38
Total Damage on Heroes: 3 (Treebeard)
Threat of Defeated Heroes: 0
Victory Display: 0
Total Score: 161