Quest 24: Encounter at Amon Din

Victory on the second attempt

The Decks

I really wanted to play around with the new Doomed mechanic, combining that with  the Lore Aragorn + Desperate Alliance combo to make it feasible to used Doomed frequently without causing my wife to threat out. These decks were first drafted before I attempted Conflict at the Carrock, so Eomer's ability was something I also wanted to explore.

Grima's Threat
Heroes
Aragorn (Watcher in the Water)
Grima
Eowyn

Allies
Harbor Master x3
Isengard Messenger x3
Gandalf (Core) x3
Escort from Edoras x3
Ithilien Tracker x3
Erebor Hammersmith x3
Warden of Healing x3

Attachments
Keys of Orthanc x3
A Burning Brand x3
Palantir x2
Unexpected Courage x2
Ranger Spikes x3
Ancient Mathom x2

Events
Desperate Alliance x3
A Test of Will x3
Deep Knowledge x3
The Galadhirm's Greeting x2
Radagast's Cunning x3

Sets Used
Core
Conflict at the Carrock
A Journey to Rhosgobel
The Watcher in the Water
The Long Dark
On the Doorstep
Heirs of Numenor
The Druadan Forest
Assault on Osgiliath
The Voice of Isengard

Eomer's Ride
Heroes
Beregond
Eomer
Merry

Allies
Westfold Outrider x3
White Tower Watchman x3
Gondorian Spearman x3
Knight of Minas Tirith x3
Gandalf (Core) x3
Envoy of Pelargir x3
Beorn x2

Attachments
Firefoot x3
Rohan Warhorse x3
Horn of Gondor x2
Gondorian Shield x2
Spear of the Citadel x2
Born Aloft x3

Events
Quick Strike x3
Feint x3
Halfling Determination x3
Behind Strong Walls x3
Close Call x3

Sets Used
Core
Conflict at the Carrock
Heirs of Numenor
The Druadan Forest
Assault on Osgiliath
The Steward's Fear
The Black Riders
The Voice of Isengard
The Dunland Trap


The Journey

My wife (W) sets her threat to 26 and I (M) set mine to 30.
After looking at our starting hands, I decide to take the mulligan (searching for desperate alliance, which I did not get).

Round 1
M is the first player

Resource Phase
+1 to everyone, we each draw a card

Planning Phase
M: Play Isengard Messanger
Play Deep Knowledge (M: threat 32, W: threat 28)
+1 willpower to Isengard Messenger
Play: Escort from Edoras (using Grima's ability. M: threat 33, W: threat 29)
+1 willpower to Isengard Messenger
W: Play Firefoot, attached to Eomer

Quest Phase
M: Commit Eowyn, Isengard Messanger, Escort from Edoras
W: Commit: Merry
Total willpower: 13
Reveal 1: Craven Eagle (I discard Burning Brand, Ranger Spikes, A Test of Will to cancel effect)
Reveal 2: Orc Rabble
Total threat: 5
W: Discard Behind Strong Walls to give Eowyn +1 willpower
M: Discard Ithilien Tracker to give Eowyn +1 willpower
Updated total willpower: 15
5 progress placed on Burning Farmhouse, exploring it and adding it to the victory display. 4 resource tokens placed on Rescued Villagers (4 total).
5 progress would be placed on Savagery of the Orcs. Instead, 5 resource tokens are moved onto Rescued Villagers (9 total) and the stage is cleared.
Advance to stage 2A, add Ghulat to the staging area, flip to stage 2B
Discard Escort from Edoras (Eomer's ability triggers)

Travel Phase
None

Encounter Phase
M: Engage Orc Rabble
W: Engage Ghulat
Craven Eagle left in staging area

Combat Phase
Shadow cards dealt. Orc Rabble gets +2 attack.
Orc Rabble attacks. Grima defends. Shadow: Secluded Farmhouse (no effect). One damage on Grima.
Ghulat attacks. +1 damage to Dead Villagers (1 total). Shadow: Scourge of Mordor (+1 attack, deal additional shadow card). Shadow: Panicked! (+1 attack). No damage on Bergond.
Aragorn + Lord Alcron attack Orc Rabble, destroying them.
Eomer attacks Ghulat, dealing 4 damage (4/7)

Refresh Phase
Ready all
M: Threat 34
W: Threat 30

Round 2
W is the first player

Resource Phase
+1 to everyone, we each draw a card

Planning Phase
W: Envoy of Pelargir (add resource to Bergond's pool)
Play Westfold Outrider
M: Play Ranger Spikes (using Grima's ability. M: threat 35, W: threat 31)

Quest Phase
W: Commit Merry, Envoy
M: Commit Eowyn, Isengard Messenger, Grima, Aragorn
Total willpower: 13
Reveal 1: Orc Arsonist (attach Ranger Spikes)
Reveal 2: Burning Farmhouse (4 villager tokens placed on top)
Total threat: 5
M: Discard The Galadhrim's Greeting to give Eowyn +1 willpower
W: Discard Gondorian Spearman to give Eowyn +1 willpower
Updated total willpower: 15
Place 10 progress tokens on stage 1B (10/15)

Travel Phase
None
Burning Farmhouse is only contributing 1 threat. We'd rather have that in the staging area and have a good shot of placing the final 5 progress on stage 2B next turn, vs. needing to quest past that barrier.

Encounter Phase
W: Encounters Craven Eagle
Orc Arsonist, attached to Ranger Spikes, left in staging area with the Burning Farmhouse

Combat Phase
Shadow cards dealt
Craven Eagle attacks. Westfold Outrider defends. Shadow: Panicked! (+1 attack to eagle). Outrider is destroyed (Eomer's ability triggers).
Ghulat attacks. +1 damage on Dead Villagers (2 total). Bergond defends. Shadow: Gondorian Hamlet (no effect).
Eomer attcacks and destroys Ghulat, adding him to the victory display.

Refresh Phase
Ready all
M: Threat 36
W: Threat 32
One progress token removed from Burning Farmhouse (3 remaining). One damage added to Dead Villagers (3 total).

Round 3
M is the first player

Resource Phase
+1 to everyone, we each draw a card

Planning Phase
M: Play Deep Knowledge (M: Threat 38, W: Threat 34)
Play: Harbor Master (using Grima's ability. M: Theat 39, W: Threat 35)
W: Play none

Quest Phase
M: Commit Aragorn, Grima, Eowyn, Lord Alcron, Isengard Messanger, Harbor Master
W: Commit Merry, Envoy
Total willpower: 16
Reveal 1: Maurading Orcs
Reveal 2: Trapped Inside. Doomed 2 (M: Threat 41, W: Threat 37). No active location; surge.
Reveal 3: Orc Arsonist
Total threat: 7
Place 9 progress tokens on stage 2B, clearing the quest

Rescued Villagers: 9
Dead Villagers: 3

Victory!

Final Scoring
2 completed rounds x 10: 20
Total Threat: M 41, W: 37
Damage on Heroes: M: 1, W: 0
Victory Display: -3
M Total: 59
W Total: 54


The Recap

I had heard this one could be a bit of a push-over, but it certainly proved an easier quest that it seems it should be. Some nasty (seeming) enemies with nasty (seeming) shadows make you assume it is going to be quite a struggle. If we had not lost Aragorn due to a bad blocking decision on my part during the first attempt (Orc Rabble got a series of shadow cards added to them), it would likely have been a win at that point. As it was, coming back with a bit more tailoring on my part made it a very easy win (although my wife's deck could have benefited from Theoden instead of Merry). If you quest strongly and can take care of one big enemy you should be able to win handily.

Quest 23: The Druadan Forest

Victory on the first attempt

The Journey

A re-posting of my session report from May of this year (2014).

Tonight my wife and I set out to lead a band of ill-prepared elfs through the Druadan Forest.

I like surprises, so I like to play my first run through an encounter blind (no knowledge of the specific hazards we will face). The LotR LCG has taught me the importance of being realistic, so I also expect to lose. Tonight was no exception. After finally squeezing out a narrow victory vs.The Steward's Fear, we were looking forward to moving on but wanted to enjoy ourselves. The plan was to pick a set of decks we wanted to play, lose terribly while learning the encounter deck, then come back better prepared. Thus, I asked my wife what deck she wanted to play and she said, "I like elfs." Elfs it is.

There are seven elf heroes available (including two iterations of Glorfindel). I went for a solid lore deck (Elroknd, Mirlonde, and Lorefindel) and a tactics/leadership deck (Legolas, Elrohir, and Elladan). The Second deck focused on building up already strong stats (with Dunedain Mark, Dunedain Warning, Gondorian Shield,Celebrain's Stone, Black Arrow, and Rivendell Blade). The Lore deck had no strong focus, but tried to be well-rounded. Protector of Lorien was included to play along with the stats game. I hesitated before putting in Vilya, but figured, "Hey, this is a deck to have fun and lose with). Vilya is a card that seems awesome, is fun to use, but has never really added much t m game (manly since it uses up Elrond's fantastic stats).
Alright, let's play!

On set-up, one of the cards flipped is "Leaves on Tree." Great. With one deck built around attachments, I now know there is a good chance I could lose all of them at any given time. During our first turn I played a bit cautiously knowing this, but then threw caution to the wind. Why? Because our first questing phase revealed "Stars in the Sky," removing all of our heroes from the quest and raising our threat by 9. Nine! N-I-N-E!

Well. We came to lose, right? At last we get to feel a sense of accomplishment earlier rather than later.

The first stage just slogs by. We keep getting "Secluded Glade" as a location, which is immune to player card effects and handicaps Legolas' ability to add progress. My wife is at 45 threat before we advance to stage two.

Our first crack at the stage is decent and we make a little progress. Then my wife decides to "Risk Some Light." A few rangers are held back to clear away the "Overgrown Trail" and almost everyone else jumps in to run past another "Secluded Glade" and advance to stage 3!

It take 30 minutes and a decoder ring to decipher the text on 3B, but it finally clicks. But the mental rest from solving that is short-lived: now there is Dru-buri-Dru to deal with. "I'm going to lose Legolas" is what I keep thinking. He was the "almost" in the "almost everyone" above, having been held back to take care of some other business. But now I need to block with him. And he is going to die.

Or is he?

We didn't reveal any cards that stole away our resources. Legolas has one. I have a "Feint" I drew in my opening hand. LEGOLAS IS GOING TO LIVE!

Next round. My wife is at 48 threat. We need to win Dru-buri-Dru over to our side and put 10 more progress on the quest (no longer needing to defend, Legolas took out his intended target which, combined with Legolas' own ability, placed 4 progress on stage 3). We break even on questing (a lot of people held back + the new questing conditions) and, at the Encounter phase, I gain a Drudan Drummer to deal with and, after "Men in the Dark" is revealed, every hero is damaged.

So Dru-buri-Dru. I plan on defending with Elrohir, who now has 6 defense (Shield of Gondor x1, Dunedain Warning x2 plus his own ability). This means I can attack with Legolas and Elladan, who have a combined willpower of 3. My wife has Haldir down, who can come to our aid and add two more. So two damage. We need four more. I pause. I think. I squint. I think some more.

Then it hits me: switching from attack power to willpower for attacks made me ignore the two Rivendell Blades on Legolas!

Strategy changed, I block Dru-buri-Dru with a chump blocker and we "persuade" with Legolas, Elladan, Haldir, and Elrohir. Dru-buri-Dru is persuaded and 8 progress are added to the quest.

This is it. Two progress to go, Drudan Drummer engaged with me, my wife at 49 threat and myself at 48. I draw "Defender of Ramas"! Wow, that four extra questing is going to be nice. Legloas is held back and everyone else goes in (if something happens and we break even, Legolas can take out the drummer to defeat the stage).

Reveal time: "Men in the Dark." Resources are paid, where possible, but most heroes have two damage on them.

Reveal: "Lost Companion." Trollshaw Scout and Glorfindel are removed from the quest. But who cares?

We don't even tally up the progress we make. The tokens look like a small hill. The quest card has to feel embarrassed for itself. And I even forgot about Dru-buri-Dru's victory display effect, which would have added eight ir so more tokens to the pile.

We won.

That wasn't supposed to happen.


The Decks

When going up against a new quest, I like to start of by starting with a deck that simply seems fun to play. Then I'll go back and make a more focused deck, wiser (hopefully) from my first attempt. This time around I asked my wife what type of deck she's been wanting to play: elves. Elves it is!

Elves: Leadership/Tactics

Heroes

Elladan

Elrohir

Legolas

Allies

Gandalf x3

Defender of Rammas x3

Errand-rider x3

Gondorian Spearman x3

Trollshaw Scout x3

Attachments
Rivendell Blade x3
Gondorian Shield x3
Dunedain Mark x3
Dunedain Warning x3
Celebrian's Stone x2
Cram x3
Steward of Gondor x3

Events

Feint x3

Hands Upon the Bow x3

Quick Strike x3

Sneak Attack x3

Foe-hammer x3

Sets Used

Core

The Hunt for Gollum

Conflict at the Carrock

The Redhorn Gate

Road to Rivendell

Foundations of Stone

Shadow and Flame

Over Hill and Under Hill

Heirs of Numenor

The Steward's Fear

Elves: Lore

Heroes

Elrond

Glorfindel (Core)

Mirlonde

Allies
Gildor Inglorion x2
Gandalf (Core) x3
Haldir of Lorien x2
Ithilien Tracker x3
Mirkwood Runner x3
White Tower Watchman x3
Erebor Hammersmith x2
Warden of Healing x2

Attachments
Asfaloth x3
Vilya x3
Thror's Map x3
A Burning Brand x3
Elf-stone x3
Ranger Spikes x3
Protector of Lorien x3

Events 
Daeron's Runes x3
Mithrandir's Advice x3
Risk Some Light x3

Sets Used
Core
Conflict at the Carrock
A Journey to Rhosgobel
The Hills of Emyn Muil
Return to Mirkwood
The Long Dark
Foundations of Stone
Shadow and Flame
Over Hill and Under Hill
Heirs of Numenor
The Steward's Fear
The Drunadan Forest
The Black Riders


The Recap

This was a fun little romp and quite a relief after the challenged posed by The Steward's Fear. Not having run through the Heirs of Numenor quests yet, I was not expecting the change in questing conditions at the end (although I had heard of those occurring in the Numenor set). And it was close (which I like). Once I pick up the rest of the Ringmaker Cycle after the challenge is complete, it would be fun to return here with a more streamlined set of elf decks to see if victory can be obtained yet again.

Quest 22: The Steward's Fear

Victory on the twelfth attempt

The Decks

Outlands was a strategy I felt had a lot of potential against this scenario (a strong hint given by the game designers in the fact that most Outlands cards came paired with this quest). I did a two-handed Leadership attempt that worked pretty well, then abandoned it for some reason and spent quite a lot of time bashing decks against this quest.

Looking at strategies that others had tried, I found very little information (at the time) on two-player or two-handed victories against The Steward's Fear. Then I came upon Tales from the Cards' Eleanor's Big Adventure and Outlands Gone Wild decks. Both looked promising, but I had a few ideas of my own I want to contribute. Below are two decks I had been working on. The decks I used to complete the quest were a mash-up of these, plus the Tales from the Cards decks. Sorry I did not keep the decklist at hand!

It is essential to mention that this quest was played through before I became aware of the errata on Thror's Map, limiting it to a Travel Phase action. Using the Map + Asfaloth or The Riddermark's Finest (or both) during the staging section of the Quest Phase was an essential strategy for me. One which I will have to fully re-think in the future!

The Steward's Fear: Spirit/Tactics

Heroes
Glorfindel (Foundations of Stone)
Legolas
Dunhere

Allies
The Riddermark's Finest x3
Defender of Rammas x3
Northern Tracker x3
Escort from Edoras x3
Gandalf x3

Attachments
Rivendell Blade x3
Spear of the Mark x3
Light of Valinor x3
Unexpected Courage x2
Ancient Mathom x3
Rohan Warhorse x3

Events
A Test of Will x3
Hasty Stroke x3
Quick Strike x3
Hands Upon the Bow x3
Goblin-cleaver x3
Foe-hammer x3

Sets used
Core
A Journey to Rhosgobel
The Hills of Emyn Muil
Return to Rivendell
Foundations of Stone
Shadow and Flame
Over Hill and Under Hill
The Heirs of Numenor
The Morgul Vale
Voice of Isengard

The  Steward's Fear: Lore

Heroes

Aragorn

Elrond

Denethor

Allies

Erebor Hammersmith x3

Gildor Inglorion x3

Miner of the Iron Hills x3

Warden of Healing x3

White Tower Watchman x3

Ithilien Tracker x3

Gandalf (Core) x2

Attachments

A Burning Brand x3

Asfaloth x3

Ranger Spikes x3

Thror's Map x3

Vilya x3

Elf-stone x3

Events

Secret Paths x3

Mithrandir's Advice x3

Ancestral Knowledge x3

Gildor's Counsel x3

Sets Used

Core

Conflict at the Carrock

The Hills of Emyn Muil

Khasad-Dum

The Watcher in the Water
The Long Dark

Foundations of Stone

Shadow and Flame
Over Hill and Under Hill

Heirs of Numenor

The Steward's Fear
The Druadan Forest

The Black Riders

The Journey

This one was a beast to win. I'm pretty sure we played at least three rounds together, plus three rounds solo, in addition to the attempts I logged below (thus the twelve attempts mentioned above). Even the solo rounds were two-player, so we'll count the final winning attempt my wife and I completed. I can't give even a slightly realistic picture of our final journey, but you might be able to glean something from my BoardGameGeek logs below.

2014-04-25	1		IRL, with wife	Victory! Finally! But, actually, came to love the challenge in this AP. May come back to it solo, in the future.	Details | Edit
2014-04-20	1		OCTGN, two-handed solo	Win! Think I'm ready for another IRL attempt with my wife. A mixture of my Spirit/Tactics deck + Lore deck with the Tales from the Cards Eleanor and Outlands decks.	Details | Edit
2014-03-21	1		OCTGN, two-handed solo	VICTORY! Lore (Aragon, Denathor, Elrond) + Spirit/Tactics (Glorfindel, Dunhere, Legolas), for the win. The house fire for the plot and Bane for the villain. Close game!	Details | Edit
2014-03-17	1		OCTGN, two-handed solo	Loss. Aragorn (L), Elrond, Denathor with Legolas, Glorfiendel (S) and Dunhere. Both decks functioned really well. During the final few rounds, had resources taken off of the quest a few times and then had the Plot card caused death by deck depletion. Maybe add 1 Will of the West to each deck? Also, Thror's Map and Ashaloth were essential cards.	Details | Edit
2014-03-17	1		OCTGN, two-handed solo	Within reach of completing stage 2...when the computer died! Still feel a solid Lore + Spirit/Tactics deck is working well for this one. Keeping the computer plugged in and trying again!	Details | Edit
2014-03-17	1		OCTGN, two-handed solo	Loss. Within eight progress points of the final victory this time (with the villan dead).

The Recap

This is a fun quest. And a challenging one. Treacheries, locations, and enemies can all do their part to foil any strategy. Add in a random plot and villain and you have a mixed bag of challenge every time. And you know what? I loved it! It was overwhelming at times (and feels a lot harder than the 5 it is rated), but still felt solvable and beatable. Add this to the sweet spot of quests for me and sign me up for a return trip.