I'm sitting down with my fresh unlimited (2nd edition) starter deck for Middle-earth: The Wizards collectible card game by Iron Crown Enterprises (a big ol' I.C.E. logo on two sides of the box, which is just fantastic and totally comfortable to have as an American).
They're coming for your cards
The side of the box states that I.C.E. is "the exclusive worldwide license holder for game based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings". Then Peter Jackson came in, belched, bit a carrot, and told them to shove off.
To prep for this first attempt, I've piddled around a few videos and online resources. But I want to get to the core of the game. So I've re-read the rule booklet included with each starter deck. A typed copy of this booklet can be found here. Later in the game's life, I.C.E. released a two player starter that included two simplified decks, materials to play, and a rulebook that went step-by-step through a few turns of the game. It is excellent in helping to visualize how the game actually plays and a scan can be found here.
To start off the game, you need to divide your cards into piles:
- Sites
- Wizards
- Heroes
- Resources
- Hazards
Sites will remain in their own pile to the side. In a full game, your site pile can have one of every site in the game and multiple of the four sites marked as Havens: Rivendell, Lorien, Edhellond, and the Grey Havens. Playing with just a starter deck, I will restrict myself to only the sites provided in this deck (with the seeded pack providing each Haven).
Take your heroes and look at the white head-shaped logo on the left side. That is their mind. Select up to seven heroes that have a combined mind of twenty or less. Twenty is your General Influence, used to recruit heroes to your company(ies). To start the game, you can pick 1-5 heroes. Seven is the maximum size of a company. "But the Fellowship had nine members. How is that thematic?" Because Hobbits count as half a person, rounded up. Pretty racist, but it lets you have five non-hobbits and four hobbits to make a thematic company. I noticed that the heroes in my seeded pack added up to exactly 20 willpower. I'm going to guess that's a thing.
Oh, you can also use leftover general influence for the occasional test. This is not a common thing, so I wouldn't be concerned about sucking up all the influence space. Especially for a starter game.
In a competitive game, players put their ideal starting company face down and take turns flipping them up one at a time, alternating between players. This is because only one copy of each unique hero (actually any unique card) can be in play at time. Not an issue in a solo starter game.
Set any remaining heroes aside. These will be shuffled into your deck.
My starting company is going to be: Gimli, Beorn, Bard the Bowman, and Beretar. I switched out a few of the seeded heroes for Beretar who is a bit stronger (5/8 vs a 3/8 and a 4/8). Prowess/Body is in the bottom right of a hero card and corresponds to power/toughness or whatever system your game of choice uses.
90's sitcom dad
Take your heroes and look at the white head-shaped logo on the left side. That is their mind. Select up to seven heroes that have a combined mind of twenty or less. Twenty is your General Influence, used to recruit heroes to your company(ies). To start the game, you can pick 1-5 heroes. Seven is the maximum size of a company. "But the Fellowship had nine members. How is that thematic?" Because Hobbits count as half a person, rounded up. Pretty racist, but it lets you have five non-hobbits and four hobbits to make a thematic company. I noticed that the heroes in my seeded pack added up to exactly 20 willpower. I'm going to guess that's a thing.
Oh, you can also use leftover general influence for the occasional test. This is not a common thing, so I wouldn't be concerned about sucking up all the influence space. Especially for a starter game.
In a competitive game, players put their ideal starting company face down and take turns flipping them up one at a time, alternating between players. This is because only one copy of each unique hero (actually any unique card) can be in play at time. Not an issue in a solo starter game.
Set any remaining heroes aside. These will be shuffled into your deck.
My starting company is going to be: Gimli, Beorn, Bard the Bowman, and Beretar. I switched out a few of the seeded heroes for Beretar who is a bit stronger (5/8 vs a 3/8 and a 4/8). Prowess/Body is in the bottom right of a hero card and corresponds to power/toughness or whatever system your game of choice uses.
You can now decide if your heroes will form one company or multiple. And if any heroes will follow others. Following allows you to free up General Influence to play additional heroes. Aragorn has a black hand with a 3 in it, showing the direct influence he has. He can have followers totaling 3 willpower. For now, I'm going to keep my single company as-is.
A character's Direct Influence can also be added to attempts to
Now, look at you stack of resource cards and find any "Minor Item" cards. You can pick two of these to start the game with, attached to heroes in your starting party. I select "Shield of Iron-Bound Ash" and "Dagger of Westernesse". Both will help me in combat. Technically this is step optional. But it gives you two minor buffs to start with and extra cards overall. Why would you skip this?
Count your total number of resource and hazard cards. In a constructed deck, you should have 25-50 of each, in equal numbers. For starter decks, you use as man as you can. The two starting items do not count towards this number. This will often involve setting aside one or two resources or hazards. This deck has exactly 24 of each. Only one of each unique card can be in your deck. Usually not an issue with a starter deck.
Now shuffle up the following:
Round 1
Starting Hand: Beregond, Denethor II, Dreams of Lore, Reforging, Thorough Search
Starting Location: Rivendell (where everyone starts)
Skip the Untap Phase the first round
Organization Phase
This is where I can
A character's Direct Influence can also be added to attempts to
Now, look at you stack of resource cards and find any "Minor Item" cards. You can pick two of these to start the game with, attached to heroes in your starting party. I select "Shield of Iron-Bound Ash" and "Dagger of Westernesse". Both will help me in combat. Technically this is step optional. But it gives you two minor buffs to start with and extra cards overall. Why would you skip this?
Count your total number of resource and hazard cards. In a constructed deck, you should have 25-50 of each, in equal numbers. For starter decks, you use as man as you can. The two starting items do not count towards this number. This will often involve setting aside one or two resources or hazards. This deck has exactly 24 of each. Only one of each unique card can be in your deck. Usually not an issue with a starter deck.
Now shuffle up the following:
- Two wizard cards (all you'll have in a starter)
- Any heroes not in your starting company (up to 10...you won't have that many in a starter)
- Your resource cards (besides the starting items)
Normally, you would also shuffle in your hazard decks. For a solo game, shuffle that pile by itself and keep it separate.
Draw your initial cards. This is usually 8, containing a mixture of all card types in your deck. For the solo game, draw 5 from your deck and draw 5 from the hazard deck. I am choosing to keep the hazard hand face down by its deck.
The Goal
Your goal is to gather as many Marshaling Points as you can, representing the influence you've gathered throughout Middle-earth. Looking back at the Aragorn card above, the upper-left of the card shows that Aragorn provides three marshaling points. My other heroes provide one each, giving me a total of 6 to start with. Aragorn's text shows he has a rare negative ability to remove three marshaling points if he is eliminated. Most heroes don't have this. Don't let Aragorn die.
You can also win if your opponent's wizard is eliminated or if you meet the conditions to destroy The One Ring. If your starter has everything you need to destroy The One Ring...wow. Just wow. You win, even if you lose the game.
There are several ways to trigger end-of-game in a 2+ player match. For solo, you trigger the end of the game when you complete the second cycle of your player deck. Then you see how high you can get your marshaling points. I personally like to have a specific number and have seen 25 listed for another solo variant, so we're going to try that and see how close we can get. The rulebook lowers the 2+ goal from 20 to 18 for starter decks, so I'll still be happy with a 23 in this solo starter game.
Draw your initial cards. This is usually 8, containing a mixture of all card types in your deck. For the solo game, draw 5 from your deck and draw 5 from the hazard deck. I am choosing to keep the hazard hand face down by its deck.
The Goal
Your goal is to gather as many Marshaling Points as you can, representing the influence you've gathered throughout Middle-earth. Looking back at the Aragorn card above, the upper-left of the card shows that Aragorn provides three marshaling points. My other heroes provide one each, giving me a total of 6 to start with. Aragorn's text shows he has a rare negative ability to remove three marshaling points if he is eliminated. Most heroes don't have this. Don't let Aragorn die.
You can also win if your opponent's wizard is eliminated or if you meet the conditions to destroy The One Ring. If your starter has everything you need to destroy The One Ring...wow. Just wow. You win, even if you lose the game.
There are several ways to trigger end-of-game in a 2+ player match. For solo, you trigger the end of the game when you complete the second cycle of your player deck. Then you see how high you can get your marshaling points. I personally like to have a specific number and have seen 25 listed for another solo variant, so we're going to try that and see how close we can get. The rulebook lowers the 2+ goal from 20 to 18 for starter decks, so I'll still be happy with a 23 in this solo starter game.
Round 1
Starting Hand: Beregond, Denethor II, Dreams of Lore, Reforging, Thorough Search
Starting Location: Rivendell (where everyone starts)
Skip the Untap Phase the first round
Organization Phase
This is where I can
- play 1 character or 1 wizard
- play applicable resource cards
- decide where (and if) I want to travel
- combine or split companies
- store cards at a haven (making them safe from being lost)
These actions can be taken in any order until I declare the phase is over.
My opening hand was actually pretty bad: two characters (one I can't play right now), two cards requiring a Sage (I only have Warriors right now) and a card allowing me to play an extra item at a site (I have no items in hand). While this doesn't give me clear guidance for my next move, it will challenge me to dig a bit deeper in strategy. this also shows me the importance of having a rounder roster of traits in my opening company. Maybe I should have included Denethor in my opening company? I'll be playing these starter decks as their own contained game for a while, so he'll likely make the cut next time.
First, I will play Beregond. I have no general influence left, but I have two characters (Beorn and Gimli) with two direct influence who can take on Beregond as a follower. I am going to place him under Gimli. Only one character or one Wizard can be played per turn. The character can either be played at a Haven or at their Home Site (Minas Tirith for Beregond).
Denethor II would be helpful in getting me a Sage to use, but he has a mind of 4 and I can only free up 2 general influence. I'll need to wait until I find a Wizard (all who have 10 direct influence) to get Denethor down.
I need cards. You get cards by traveling. My instinct is to split the party to get more card draw, but I look at the information I have available. Recruiting the Beorings or the Iron Hill Dwarves are possibilities I know this deck has. Looking at the sites, both Beorn's House and the Iron Hill Dwarf-Hold have Lorien as their nearest haven. In fact, most of my sites from this deck have Lorien as their nearest haven. Using the starter rules, you need to travel from the nearest haven to reach a site or you can travel from haven to one of two nearby havens. So my best option right now is to travel from Rivendell to Lorien as a single company. I place Lorien face down as my destination site and I end the phase.
Long Even Phase
I have no Long Event cards to play, but this is where I would do that. Skipping phase for now.
Movement / Hazard Phase
Here is where my company attempts their movement. First, I have to draw at least one card ("The Cock Crows"). When traveling to a haven, card draw is based off of my site of origin (Rivendell). I can draw up to the number listed in white in the bottom left (2), so I draw another ("Durin's Axe"). Durin's Axe is a major item that can give me 4 marshaling points when attached to a dwarf. Seems like a great goal for next round.
First, I will play Beregond. I have no general influence left, but I have two characters (Beorn and Gimli) with two direct influence who can take on Beregond as a follower. I am going to place him under Gimli. Only one character or one Wizard can be played per turn. The character can either be played at a Haven or at their Home Site (Minas Tirith for Beregond).
Denethor II would be helpful in getting me a Sage to use, but he has a mind of 4 and I can only free up 2 general influence. I'll need to wait until I find a Wizard (all who have 10 direct influence) to get Denethor down.
I need cards. You get cards by traveling. My instinct is to split the party to get more card draw, but I look at the information I have available. Recruiting the Beorings or the Iron Hill Dwarves are possibilities I know this deck has. Looking at the sites, both Beorn's House and the Iron Hill Dwarf-Hold have Lorien as their nearest haven. In fact, most of my sites from this deck have Lorien as their nearest haven. Using the starter rules, you need to travel from the nearest haven to reach a site or you can travel from haven to one of two nearby havens. So my best option right now is to travel from Rivendell to Lorien as a single company. I place Lorien face down as my destination site and I end the phase.
Long Even Phase
I have no Long Event cards to play, but this is where I would do that. Skipping phase for now.
Movement / Hazard Phase
Here is where my company attempts their movement. First, I have to draw at least one card ("The Cock Crows"). When traveling to a haven, card draw is based off of my site of origin (Rivendell). I can draw up to the number listed in white in the bottom left (2), so I draw another ("Durin's Axe"). Durin's Axe is a major item that can give me 4 marshaling points when attached to a dwarf. Seems like a great goal for next round.
The hazard deck also draws at least one card and up to the number in grey (2). With the solo rules, the hazard deck draws an additional two cards. I put four cards face down in the hazard hand.
The starter solo rules encourage you to play your hazard hand in the way that is least advantageous to the heroes. I feel capable of doing that, but I want to add a bit of hidden information to how I play this. So here are my additions. They may read a bit complicated, but it plays very intuitively for me:
- All drawn cards are dealt face-down to the hazard hand and the hand is shuffled when it is time to play hazards
- Cards are revealed and resolved one at a time
- If a creature can attack the company, it does.
- If a card can be played immediately, it is.
- Any cards that modify something about an attack are set aside and played if the relevant attack is revealed later
- Any creatures or cards that might benefit from being played later (at my discretion) are returned to the bottom of the hand-face up
- Once all cards have been played or turned face-up, I play out the rest of the hand to the best of my ability
During each movement / hazard phase, up to X hazard cards can be played where X is the number of characters in the company being targeted.
How are cards played? Many hazards, especially creatures, depend on the path the company is currently taking. Looking at Lorien, the path to Rivendell shows: Wilderness, Wilderness, Border-Lands, Wilderness and the site itself is Haven. When I play a creature, it must have at least one symbol that matches a symbol along that path. There does not need to be a complete match (a creature with one Wilderness and one Shadow-lands site symbol can still be played now). If a creature has two symbols repeated, then that is a single symbol (Wilderness + Wilderness needs two consecutive Wilderness icons in the path). The hazard player has to declare what symbol is being used, which is called "keyed." Certain hazard and resource cards care about what a card is keyed to, so the symbols match should be chosen with care based on the available information.
Flipping over the top hazard card reveals "Bert" (Burat). Looking at his symbols vs the site path, Burt can be keyed to Wilderness, so he is keyed and played. This is a great example of why I am adding in a hidden information element. Just wait.
Bert will hit with a single strike of 12 power. Looking at my company, Beorn is the strongest and will be assigned the strike. If I resolved the strike, I would roll 2d6 and add Beorn's prowess (7) plus any modifications already existing or played. A roll of 4 or lower would wound Beorn. A roll of 5 would tie and Bert would be put in the hazard discard pile. A roll of 6 or greater would defeat the strike and add Burt to my marshaling points pile.
Here's another cool thing this game does. While you are highly encouraged to use actual dice, you can instead flip the top card of your deck and look at the number in white on the right side (Burt here has a 9) and that will be your roll. So you truly only need a single starter deck to play this game.
But this strike isn't happening. I have "The Cock Crows" in my resource hand, which can cancel a troll attack. While this will put it in the hazard discard and not earn me any points, I want to use this very narrow card while i have the chance. The card is played and both cards are discarded.
The next card is Lure of Nature. This is going to add two corruption points to a character and cause them to make a corruption check for every Wilderness revealed in the company's site path. Knowing what I know, Gimli would be a great target since he might become very powerful next turn. But the card states it does not affect Hobbits or Dwarves. Beorn, the strongest character and a character who has a clear objective in the deck, is the next best target and the card goes on him. Only one hazard card that adds corruption points can be played on each hero per turn.
Next hazard card: River. This can be played on the destination site and the company would need to exhaust a Ranger to do anything at the site that turn. I know the company is just using Lorien as a waypoint, so I am going to return River face-up to the hazard hand and not utilize it for now.
Next hazard card: Lost in the Border-lands. I can use this to play one additional hazard card for each border-lands in the site path. Since the current site path only has one border-lands, this card just replaces it self and doesn't really do anything. I am going to save it for now.
Next hazard card: Ghosts. There are no matching symbols between Ghosts and the current site path, so the card is saved.
Next hazard card: Brigands. The brigands have both a Border-lands and Wildnerness symbol. There is no revealed information that woul affect my decision on how to key the card, so I am going to pick Border-lands. This card has two strikes of 8. The defending player may choose which untapped characters can take a strike. After that, the hazard player would choose which tapped characters would face any remaining strikes. I have no tapped characters. Beorn and Gimli will be assigned the strikes.
I can keep Beorn up and give him -3 to his prowess for the strike or allow him to be tapped after the strike. There is no reason I need Beorn untapped this round, so he will tap. I roll 2d6 (7) and add Beorn's prowess (7), then any modifications (none) for a total of 14. The strike is defeated. I will need to defeat the next strike to add Brigands to my marshaling point pile.
Gimli will also exhaust for the strike. I roll 2d6 (7 again), add Gimli's prowess (6), and any modifications (+1 due to Gimli's sword) for a total of 14 again.
The brigands are defeated and added to my marshaling point pile. I now have 7 marshaling points.
Next hazard card: Weariness of the Heart. I can either give a character -1 prowess until end of turn or force a corruption check. This is the last hazard card I would plan on playing this turn and I don't see a benefit in either option yet, so the card is saved.
I have arrived at Lorien! Rivendell is returned to the site deck and Lorien becomes my loation
Both resource and hazard hands now discard or draw to equal 5. The resource hand is at 5. Hazard hand adds a face-down card.
Site Phase
There are no actions I wish to take here, so the phase is skipped.
End of Turn Phase
Both hands have the option of discarding a single card. Then cards are again drawn/discarded to equal five.
"Reforging" takes a character type I don't have and a lot of steps to get any value, so I am going to discard that and draw a new card: "Iron Hill Dwarves." Nice! Yet another goal to consider for next turn.
The face-up hazard cards seem fine to me for now, so I'll keep that hand as is.
Round 2
Untap Phase
Beorn and Gimli untap. Since I'm at a Haven, any wounded characters would move from wounded to untapped here. Fortunately my party is fully healthy.
Organization Phase
A few decisions to make here. First, Beorn is going to attempt to remove Lure of Nature. I tap Beorn and roll 2d6, discarding the card if the roll is higher than 4. There are no penalties and this is not a corruption check. Roll: 4. Shoot. Beorn keeps the card.
I can travel to the Iron Hill Dwarf-Hold to attempt recruiting the Iron Hill Dwarves or I can travel to a location where major items are playable and try to get Durin's Axe. If I split the party, I could do both. But splitting the party means the hazard hand will draw extra cards two separate times (since two companies will face hazards). Plus, I want Gimli to recruit the Iron Hill Dwarves and bear Durin's Axe. Another character could get the axe and transfer it to Gimli.
We're going for the Axe.
I'm transferring the Dagger of Westernesse from Gimli to Beretar. Technically this triggers a corruption check on Gimli. His corruption with the Dagger is 1 and it is not mathematically possible for a 2d6 to do that, so we'll just skip the test. If I waited to do this later, I would need to add the three corruption points of the axe to test, making Gimli roll a 5 or higher to pass.
There are 5 sites in this starter that have Lorien as their nearest haven and where a major item can be played. I want to find one with the shortest site-path, the least number of different region/site types, and the fewest automatic strikes. Moria feels doable and is set as my destination.
Long Even Phase
Nothing to play or discard. Skipped.
Movement / Hazard Phase
Moria is revealed as the destination site. There are two Wildneress icons, so Beorn must make two corruption checks and get over 2 each time. Snake eyes kill, folks. First check: 7. Second check: 5.
The resource hand draws two cards: Alatar (YES) and Test of Lore. The hazard hand draws 5 cards (3 for Moria and 2 for solo) and is shuffled face down. The hazard limit for the company is 5.
First hazard card: Wargs. Keying to Wilderness. Two strikes of nine. The resource player can only choose untapped characters to be assigned a strike and then the hazard player can assign any other strikes. I pick Beretor and Bard to take the strikes.
Beretor will tap after the strike.2d6 roll for 11 + Beretor's 5 prowess + 1 for the Dagger to equal 17. Bard will also tap after the strike. Shield of Iron-Bound Ash is tapped to give Bard +1 prowess. 2d6 is rolled for 3 + Bard's 3 prowess +1 for the Shield = 7. Bard is wounded! 2d6 are rolled again to see if Bard is eliminated. 2d6 are rolled for 7 vs Bard's body of 6 +1 body from the Shield.. Bard scrapes by! Only one of the Wargs' strikes was defeated, so the card is discarded.
Next hazard card: Lost in the Border-lands. This would have no effect currently and is saved.
Next hazard card: Huron. One strike of 10. Ugh. I do not want to tap Gimli, so we'll have Beregond attempt to face this strike. Beregond will tap after the strike. A roll of 2 + 4 for Beregond's Prowess is a very failed strike. Beregond is wounded. Body check: 8 vs Beregond's 8. Another close call! Huron is discarded.
Next hazard card: Ghosts. They will be keyed to the Shadow-holds. Three strikes of 9. Characters wounded by their attacks make a corruption check with a -1 modifier. I need to try to defend one with Gimli, who will tap (boo). The other two are assigned to Bard and Beregorn, who will both get -2 for being wounded. Gimli rolls an 8 + 5 prowess to defeat the strike. Bard rolls a 9 + 1 to defeat the strike. Beregond rolls 11 + 2 to defeat the strike. Wow. Did not expect that. Ghosts are addded to the MP pile (8 total MP).
Next hazard card: Weariness of Heart. We'll give Gimli -1 prowess until end of turn.
Next hazard card: New Moon. I can tap an elf, but there is no elf in the company (and no untapped character in the company).
Next hazard card: River. While it would stop the company from doing anything at the site this turn, the company is fully tapped and can't do anything. Saved.
Next hazard card: Arouse Denizens. Does nothing here. Saved.
Next hazard card: Call of Home. This is good. It can potentially remove Gimli to hand. I make a roll, then add the character's unused general influence (zero, since Gimli has Beregond following him) and any roll under 10 returns the character to my hand. So we need to see a 10 -12 for Gimli to stay around. Roll: 6. Gimli returns to hand and Beregond remains in the party. MP reduced to 6.
Hazard limit reached. The party is pretty devistated.
Hazard limit reached. The party is pretty devistated.
I now have 8 cards in hand and would love to keep most of them, but I need to discard 3. Keeping: Gimli, Denethor II, Altar, Iron Hill Dwarves, and Durin's Axe. Discarding: Dreams of Lore, Test of Lore, Thorough Search.
The hazard hand can look at the final unrevealed card: River. No discard or draw needed.
Site Phase
The company is in no condition to take automatic attacks and opts to do nothing.
End of Turn Phase
No discard for the resource hand. Hazard hand discards River and draws a card face-down.
Round 3
Untap Phase
Beorn, Beretar, and the Shield untap. Bard and Beregond are wounded and remain tapped.
Organization Phase
Beorn will not attempt his test to remove the corruption points. Beregond is moved under Beorn as a follower, to free up general influence.
Gimli is played at his home site, Iron Hill Dwarf-Hold.
No plans are made for travel.
Long Event Phase
Nothing to see here.
Movement / Hazard Phase
No movement made, no hazards played (that's how the cool kids say it in the MECCG circles). No drwas or discards needed.
Site Phase
Gimli is going to enter the Iron Hills and attempt to recruit the Iron Hills Dwaves. There are no automatic attacks here. He has 2 direct influence and a +2 for recruiting this faction. The faction has a +2 when an attempt is made by a dwarf. So, again, snake eyes kills and everything else wins here. Gimli taps for the attempt. Roll: 9. A rousing success! The faction is put into play, adding 4 MP (12 now).
Beorn's company attempts to enter Moria. 4 orc strikes of 7. Everyone needs to face one. Beorn does not tap. Roll: 9 + 7 prowess -3 = 13. Success! Beratar will tap. Roll: 11 + 5 prowess + 1 from the Sword. Success! Bard taps his shield for +1. Roll: 8 + 3 prowess -2 for the wound +1 from the shield = 10. Success! Beregond rolls: 6 + 4 prowess = 2 for the wound = 8. Success! Site entered. Beorn taps himself an Moria to claim Durin's Axe. this provides 2 MP when not attacked to a dwarf, bringing the current total to 14. It adds 2 corruption points to Beorn.
End of Turn Phase
Resource hand draws up three cards: "Horses", "Annalena," "Beorings." Well, new goals are being presented all the time now.
The hazard hand can look at the final unrevealed card: River. No discard or draw needed.
Site Phase
The company is in no condition to take automatic attacks and opts to do nothing.
End of Turn Phase
No discard for the resource hand. Hazard hand discards River and draws a card face-down.
Round 3
Untap Phase
Beorn, Beretar, and the Shield untap. Bard and Beregond are wounded and remain tapped.
Organization Phase
Beorn will not attempt his test to remove the corruption points. Beregond is moved under Beorn as a follower, to free up general influence.
Gimli is played at his home site, Iron Hill Dwarf-Hold.
No plans are made for travel.
Long Event Phase
Nothing to see here.
Movement / Hazard Phase
No movement made, no hazards played (that's how the cool kids say it in the MECCG circles). No drwas or discards needed.
Site Phase
Gimli is going to enter the Iron Hills and attempt to recruit the Iron Hills Dwaves. There are no automatic attacks here. He has 2 direct influence and a +2 for recruiting this faction. The faction has a +2 when an attempt is made by a dwarf. So, again, snake eyes kills and everything else wins here. Gimli taps for the attempt. Roll: 9. A rousing success! The faction is put into play, adding 4 MP (12 now).
Beorn's company attempts to enter Moria. 4 orc strikes of 7. Everyone needs to face one. Beorn does not tap. Roll: 9 + 7 prowess -3 = 13. Success! Beratar will tap. Roll: 11 + 5 prowess + 1 from the Sword. Success! Bard taps his shield for +1. Roll: 8 + 3 prowess -2 for the wound +1 from the shield = 10. Success! Beregond rolls: 6 + 4 prowess = 2 for the wound = 8. Success! Site entered. Beorn taps himself an Moria to claim Durin's Axe. this provides 2 MP when not attacked to a dwarf, bringing the current total to 14. It adds 2 corruption points to Beorn.
End of Turn Phase
Resource hand draws up three cards: "Horses", "Annalena," "Beorings." Well, new goals are being presented all the time now.
Round 4
Untap Phase
Beorn, Beretar, and the Shield untap for company 1. Gimli untaps for company 2.
Organization Phase
Alatar is played to his home site of Edhellond and makes Company 3.
Beorn will tap to attempt removing his corruption card: 6. Lure of Nature is discard (a fitting hazard for Beorn, though).
Now I'm going to play a little fast and loose with destination sites. Non-haven sites are unique and can only be traveled to by one company at a time and only used by one company throughout the entire game session. Havens can be traveled to by multiple companies but you need a card to represent that. This deck came with two Rivendell cards but only one Lorien. I want Company 1 and 2 to both return to Lorien this round, so we'll just fudge the card requirement and send them on their way.
Before the phase ends, I'm playing Horses on Company 1. This will lower their hazard limit to 2 but will also give hazard creatures played against them +2 prowest this turn.
Site Phase
Lorien is revealed as the destination for Company 2 (C2). Three resource cards are drawn: "Beautiful Gold Ring," "Ent-Draughts," "Fair Travels in Shadow-Lands." All a bit useless right now. The hazard deck draws 5 cards face down and shuffles. Hazard limit for C2: 2 (the minimum allowed).
C2 hazard card: New Moon. No elves to tap saved.
C2 hazard card: Arouse Denizens. Not applicable. Saved.
C2 hazard card: Weariness of the Heart. Gimli gest -1 prowess until end of turn.
Untap Phase
Beorn, Beretar, and the Shield untap for company 1. Gimli untaps for company 2.
Organization Phase
Alatar is played to his home site of Edhellond and makes Company 3.
Beorn will tap to attempt removing his corruption card: 6. Lure of Nature is discard (a fitting hazard for Beorn, though).
Now I'm going to play a little fast and loose with destination sites. Non-haven sites are unique and can only be traveled to by one company at a time and only used by one company throughout the entire game session. Havens can be traveled to by multiple companies but you need a card to represent that. This deck came with two Rivendell cards but only one Lorien. I want Company 1 and 2 to both return to Lorien this round, so we'll just fudge the card requirement and send them on their way.
Before the phase ends, I'm playing Horses on Company 1. This will lower their hazard limit to 2 but will also give hazard creatures played against them +2 prowest this turn.
Site Phase
Lorien is revealed as the destination for Company 2 (C2). Three resource cards are drawn: "Beautiful Gold Ring," "Ent-Draughts," "Fair Travels in Shadow-Lands." All a bit useless right now. The hazard deck draws 5 cards face down and shuffles. Hazard limit for C2: 2 (the minimum allowed).
C2 hazard card: New Moon. No elves to tap saved.
C2 hazard card: Arouse Denizens. Not applicable. Saved.
C2 hazard card: Weariness of the Heart. Gimli gest -1 prowess until end of turn.
C2 hazard card: River. Not applicable this turn. Saved.
C2 hazard card: Crebain. We'll key it to Border-holds. One strike against Gimli of 5. Gimli will tap after the strike. Roll: 6 + 5 prowess -1 from Weariness = 10. The strike is defeated and Crebain are added to the MP pile (15). Gimli arrives safely at Lorien. The Iron Hill Dwarf-Hold has been used and is discarded.
Lorien is revealed as the destination for C1. C1 draws two resource cards: "The Great Eagles" and "Dark Quarrels." The hazard hand draws 5 cards and shuffles. Hazard limit: 2 (thanks to Horses).
C1 hazard card: River. Not applicable. Saved.
C1 hazard card: New Moon. No elves to tap. Saved.
C1 hazard card: Assassin. Okay, this is the $45 rare opened in this deck and a very powerful attack. The hazard player chooses a hero to take three strikes of 11. The defending player can tap 1-2 heroes to remove 1-2 of these strikes. But it cannot be keyed to this path! Saved.
C1 hazard card: Wolves. Keyed to Wildnerness. Three strikes of 8. Time for a fancy move. If Alatar is at a Haven, he can jump over to a company facing a strike and take one. We're doing that. Another will be assigned to Beretar. The Hazard player assigns the final one to Bard. Beretar will tap and rolls 7 + 5 prowess. Success! Alatar will tap and rolls: 5 + 6 prowess. Success! Alatar then needs to make a corruption check, but he has zero corruption points and passes. Brand will tap his shield to get +1 prowess and rolls: 3 + 3 prowess - 2 for being wounded + 1 for the shield for total of 5. Failed! Body check: 8. Brand is eliminated! He is removed from play and his shield passes to Beregond. The wolves were not fully defeated and are discarded.
C1 hazard card: Doors of Night. Comes into play and stays there. This is a permanent event and will stay in play until removed by an effect. It will enhance certain hazard cards.
C1 makes it safely to Lorien! Moria has been utilized and is discarded.
There are 8 resource cards in hand. Kept: Denethor II, Annalena, Beorings, Dark Quarrels, Fair Travels in Border-lands . Discarded: . The Great Eagles, Ent-Draughts, Beautiful Golden Ring.
There are 11 hazard cards in hand. Kept: Assasin, Long Winter, Orc-Warriors, Orc-Raiders, Orc-Guard. Discarded: A ton of stuff. And the hazard discard pile is shuffled into a new deck (which was now empty).
Site Phase
No actions
End of Turn Phase
No actions
C2 hazard card: Crebain. We'll key it to Border-holds. One strike against Gimli of 5. Gimli will tap after the strike. Roll: 6 + 5 prowess -1 from Weariness = 10. The strike is defeated and Crebain are added to the MP pile (15). Gimli arrives safely at Lorien. The Iron Hill Dwarf-Hold has been used and is discarded.
Lorien is revealed as the destination for C1. C1 draws two resource cards: "The Great Eagles" and "Dark Quarrels." The hazard hand draws 5 cards and shuffles. Hazard limit: 2 (thanks to Horses).
C1 hazard card: River. Not applicable. Saved.
C1 hazard card: New Moon. No elves to tap. Saved.
C1 hazard card: Assassin. Okay, this is the $45 rare opened in this deck and a very powerful attack. The hazard player chooses a hero to take three strikes of 11. The defending player can tap 1-2 heroes to remove 1-2 of these strikes. But it cannot be keyed to this path! Saved.
C1 hazard card: Wolves. Keyed to Wildnerness. Three strikes of 8. Time for a fancy move. If Alatar is at a Haven, he can jump over to a company facing a strike and take one. We're doing that. Another will be assigned to Beretar. The Hazard player assigns the final one to Bard. Beretar will tap and rolls 7 + 5 prowess. Success! Alatar will tap and rolls: 5 + 6 prowess. Success! Alatar then needs to make a corruption check, but he has zero corruption points and passes. Brand will tap his shield to get +1 prowess and rolls: 3 + 3 prowess - 2 for being wounded + 1 for the shield for total of 5. Failed! Body check: 8. Brand is eliminated! He is removed from play and his shield passes to Beregond. The wolves were not fully defeated and are discarded.
C1 hazard card: Doors of Night. Comes into play and stays there. This is a permanent event and will stay in play until removed by an effect. It will enhance certain hazard cards.
C1 makes it safely to Lorien! Moria has been utilized and is discarded.
There are 8 resource cards in hand. Kept: Denethor II, Annalena, Beorings, Dark Quarrels, Fair Travels in Border-lands . Discarded: . The Great Eagles, Ent-Draughts, Beautiful Golden Ring.
There are 11 hazard cards in hand. Kept: Assasin, Long Winter, Orc-Warriors, Orc-Raiders, Orc-Guard. Discarded: A ton of stuff. And the hazard discard pile is shuffled into a new deck (which was now empty).
Site Phase
No actions
End of Turn Phase
No actions
Round 5
Untap Phase
Untap Phase
Beregond heals to a tapped positoin. Everyone (and everything) else untaps.
Organization Phase
Annalena is brought into play following Alatar, bringing the MP total to 16.
Beorn rolls a corruption check to pass Durin's Axe to Gimli: 9. Success! This raises the MP to 18.
Beregond makes a corruption check to pass his Shield to Beorn. He gets -1 to corruption checks so a roll is needed. Snake eyes kills: 8. Success!
Beregond is removed from following Beorn and brought under general influence. Beorn and Gimli form their own company (C1) and everyone else forms a second one (C2).
Beorn's House is set as the destination site for C1. C2 will remain at the haven for the present.
Long Event Phase
nope.
Movement / Hazard Phase
Beorn's House is revealed. Resource hand draws one card: "Fair Travels in Border-lands". The hazard deck draws three cards. Hazard Limit: 2.
C1 hazard card: "Bert" Burat. Troll with one strike of 12. I could cancel this with Dark Quarrels, but I think I can handle it and I'd like the extra experience. Gimli is assigned the strike and rolls, choosing to tap after the strike: 6 + 5 prowess + 4 prowess from the Axe = 15. Bert is defeated and added to the MP pile (19).
C1 hazard card: Call of Home, targeting Beorn. Beorn does have 2 direct influence, but let's see how this goes. Roll: 8 + 2 direct influence. Beorn stays around!
The resource hand is at 5 cards and will stay as is.
The hazard hand discards Wargs to return to 5 cards.
C1 successfully reaches Beorn's House!
Site Phase
Beorn taps himself and his home to attempt to recruit the Beorings. Roll: 6 + 2 direct influence + 2 bonus from Beorn + 1 bonus from Beorings = 11 v 7. Success! Beorings are put into play, raising the MP to 21.
End of Turn Phase
Resource hand draws one card: Athelas.
Round 6
Untap Phase
Beorn and Gimli untap for C1. Beregond untaps for C2.
Organization Phase
Denethor II is played unter Alatar in C2, bringing the MP total to 22.
C1 sets Lorien as it's destination site.
Long Even Phase
nada.
Movement / Hazard Phase
Resource hand draws one card: "Great Road". The Hazard hand draws three cards. Hazard limit: 2.
C1 hazard card: Orc-Guard. Cannot be keyed. Saved.
C1 hazard card: Assassin. Hmm. I do have the card to cancel it, but defeating enemies might be my best way of getting the final MPs I need. Sure. I'll take it. As a hazard player, I target Beorn (who is weaker than Gimli). Gimli taps to cancel one strike. Beorn faces the first strike, choosing to tap afterwards. Roll: 7 + 7 prowess for 14. Success! Beorn taps his Shield for +1 prowess against the second strike. Roll: 7 + 7 prowess -1 for being tapped + 1 from the shield = 14. Success! Assassin is added to the MP pile (23 total MP).
C1 hazard card: Orc-Raiders. 4 strikes of 6. Since there are more strikes than characters, first each character is assigned a strike. Then, the two remaining strikes can be used as -1 penalties. Even with those penalties, Beorn is still a 5 if he took both and Gimli would be a 6 if he took both, so the strikes would be defeated. Orc-Raiders added to the MP pile (24 total).
Lorien is reached and Beorn's house is discarded!
5 resource cards in hand, so no changes.
Hazard hand discards: Orc-Guard.
Site phase
No actions to take
End of Turn Phase
Resource hand will discard Fair Travels in Shadow-lands, just to filter through the deck more. Draws: Saruman. Only one Wizard can be played, so this is a dead card in hand and will be discarded next turn (if able).
Untap Phase
Beorn and Gimli untap for C1. Beregond untaps for C2.
Organization Phase
Denethor II is played unter Alatar in C2, bringing the MP total to 22.
C1 sets Lorien as it's destination site.
Long Even Phase
nada.
Movement / Hazard Phase
Resource hand draws one card: "Great Road". The Hazard hand draws three cards. Hazard limit: 2.
C1 hazard card: Orc-Guard. Cannot be keyed. Saved.
C1 hazard card: Assassin. Hmm. I do have the card to cancel it, but defeating enemies might be my best way of getting the final MPs I need. Sure. I'll take it. As a hazard player, I target Beorn (who is weaker than Gimli). Gimli taps to cancel one strike. Beorn faces the first strike, choosing to tap afterwards. Roll: 7 + 7 prowess for 14. Success! Beorn taps his Shield for +1 prowess against the second strike. Roll: 7 + 7 prowess -1 for being tapped + 1 from the shield = 14. Success! Assassin is added to the MP pile (23 total MP).
C1 hazard card: Orc-Raiders. 4 strikes of 6. Since there are more strikes than characters, first each character is assigned a strike. Then, the two remaining strikes can be used as -1 penalties. Even with those penalties, Beorn is still a 5 if he took both and Gimli would be a 6 if he took both, so the strikes would be defeated. Orc-Raiders added to the MP pile (24 total).
Lorien is reached and Beorn's house is discarded!
5 resource cards in hand, so no changes.
Hazard hand discards: Orc-Guard.
Site phase
No actions to take
End of Turn Phase
Resource hand will discard Fair Travels in Shadow-lands, just to filter through the deck more. Draws: Saruman. Only one Wizard can be played, so this is a dead card in hand and will be discarded next turn (if able).
Round 7
Untap Phase
Everyone and everything untaps.
Organization Phase
24 MP already. I basically just need to draw out and defeat one more enemy to hit my goal. Beletar is going to move from C1 to C2. C1 will then set Rivendell as its destination site.
Fair Travels in Border-lands is played, reducing the hazard limit by 1 (to a minimum of 2) for this company.
Long Event Phase
some games this is relevant.
Movement / Hazard Phase
The resource hand draws two cards: Precious Golden Ring and Gates of Morning. The hazard deck draws four cards. Hazard limit: 2.
C1 hazard card: Lure of Nature, played on Beorn.
C1 hazard card: Long Winter, which would not affect this company. Saved.
C1 hazard card: River, which would not affect this round. Saved.
C1 hazard card: River #2. Saved.
C1 hazard card: Orc-Warriors. 3 strikes of 7. Keyed to Border-holds. All three heroes are assigned a strike and choose to tap, granting automatic victory. Orc-warriors are added to the MP pile.
The resource deci discards Saruman.
The hazard deck discards both Rivers.
C1 reaches Rivendell!
Site Phase
No actions to take here.
End of Turn Phase
In a 2+ player game, you can choose to call the Free Council once you amaass 20 Marshalling Points. For a solo starter game, you are supposed to exhaust your player deck twice to trigger the end of the game. I'm having fun, but I'm at 25 MP with5 cards left in the first run of my deck. Let's just call a council!
The Free Council
To start with, each character must make a corruption check.
Alatar, Annalena, and Denethor II have no corruption points and automatically pass. Beregond gets a -1 but has no other points and automatically passes. Beretar has 1 from Dagger of Westernesses and automatically passes. Gimli has 3 from Durin's Axe and must roll: 7. Success! Beorn has two from Lure of Nature and one from Shield of Iron-Bound Ash and must roll: 7. Success!
Characters: 8 MP
Items: 4 MP
Factions and Allies: 6 MP
Defeated Enemies: 7 MP
Total MP: 25
Sweet, sweet victory!
Closing Thoughts
Yeah, I'm hooked. The gameplay was fun and engaging. I love the sandbox-like feel of picking what you want to accomplish. So many choices are not "right" or "wrong," but up to how you want to proceed and how much you want to press your luck. A lot of these decisions have pros and cons either way (such as splitting a company to pursue different objectives). And the game still looks beautiful.
More cards have come in and I've brought the game up in most of my gaming discussions lately. Turns out a regular gaming buddy of mine played MECCG regularly in the past and has an extensive collection still. He dug it out and we're going to try getting some 'real' games in soon. Starting off, we're going to use the Challenge Decks that came out near the end of the game's lifecycle. These are preconstructed decks that only have three rares, like starter decks, but are focused around specific strategies for resources and hazards. Then we'll move onto other formats down the line.
This blog is staying dedicated to The Lord of the Rings: the Card Game and not switching over to MECCG all the time! But it has been fun to share my re-discovery of this predecessor.
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