Looking Back: The Sands of Harad

Like The Grey Havens before it, Sands of Harad took the core fundamentals of the game and accentuated them with just enough thematic elements to place the player in the heart of the theme. Also like the last cycle, the new mechanic (temperature) was featured in the deluxe box but not excessively so.

Another feature I appreciated was the tendency of the encounter deck to have just the right answers for me, but not to the level where any style of deck was full prohibited (well, maybe a low will power, low ally deck for the final quest). I felt like I was playing against a competent player who new the meta and adjusted accordingly.

From a purely scenario mindset, The Sands of Harad is where I would point players to as the second box to attempt after the core. 

Pro-tip: Make Dune references on your blog and the next day you'll find a motherload of Dune books at your local thrift store. Works for me 100% of the time!