Quest 10: Into the Pit

Victory on the 8th attempt!

The Deck

I want eagles! I want horses! I want dead heroes! I want elves who are more efficient marksman due to the sword they are wielding! And I want them riding a horse! Because...

This Deck Is Unthematic

Heroes
Legolas
Eowyn
Bard the Bowman

Allies
Descendant of Thorondor x2
Eagles of the Misty Mountains x3
Lanroval x2
The Riddermark's Finest x3
Vassal of the Windlord x3
Winged Guardian x3
Radagast x3
Escort from Edoras x3

Attachments
Rohan Warhorse x3
Rivendell Blade x3
Black Arrow x1
Unexpected Courage x2

Events
The Eagles Are Coming! x3
Fortune or Fate x2
Elrond's Counsel x3
The White Counsel x3
Hands Upon the Bow x3
A Test of Will x3
Power of Orthancx3

Sets Used
Core
The Hunt for Gollum
A Journey to Rhosgobel
The Hills of Emyn Muil
The Dead Marshes
Return to Mirkwood
Road to Rivendell
The Watcher in the Water
Shadow and Flame
On the Doorstep
The Voice of Isengard
The Dunland Trap

This deck was purely to poke fun at the way eagles in Moria rile some people up (and it's nice to have a calm before the storm of dwarfs). The first version had Beorn and Frodo teaming up with Legolas. Having not done this quest for a while, and having it been a breeze the last time, I was a bit surprised by the questing and combat needs present here. Frodo was given three chances to prove his worth, but was swapped out for Eowyn. I didn't want to resort to her, having just used her in Return to Mirkwood, but massive questing is what I required. Beorn himself was seen as a weak link, so I went in search of a two willpower Tactics hero I haven't used before (and who might fit the "unthematic" theme). Bard the Bowman was chosen over Brand Son of Bain to get the extra hit point. Bard was only thrown in for the last attempt, so I would have liked to tweak the deck more if the attempt didn't quiet pan out (such as adding in Great Yew Bow). But he did his part just fine as is...


The Journey

I'll be honest: I was a bit nervous going into this quest. Not because the quest itself intimidated me (in fact, I underestimated it), but because of the recent history of mistakes on Conflict at the Carrock. Let's hope no glaring errors appear here!

Player Setup
Set starting threat to 29
Draw: A Test of Will x2, Winged Guardian, Power of Orthanc, Landroval, Vassal of the Windlord
Tough. I like this hand, especially with A Test of Will x2 and Power of Orthanc to help mitigate some of the nasty treachery surprises in this quest. But I would like to see some of my heavier questers here (Radagast, Eagles of the Misty Mountains, Escort from Edoras)
Mulligan: The Eagles Are Coming, Winged Guardian, Power of Orthanc, The White Council, A Test of Will, Eldrond's Counsel
Still no heavy quests, but The Eagles Are Coming may be able to pull something good. Nice to still have one A Test of Will and Power of Orthanc. The White Council should come in handy for helping Bard quest and attack once. I'm happy about the threat reduction and willpower boost of Eldrond's Counsel.

Encounter Setup
Make East-gate the active location
Attach Cave Torch to Eowyn
Advance to stage 1B
Reveal: Dark and Dreadful (no effect)
Happy to see a clear staging area. A clogged staging area has been part of my downfall the past few attempts.

Round 1
Resource Phase
+1 Legolas (1), +1 Eowyn (1), +1 Bard the Bowman (1)
Draw: Rohan Warhorse

Planning Phase
Play: The Eagles Are Coming!
Look at the top 5 cards of the player deck. Move Winged Guardian and Eagles of the Misty Mountains to hand
Fantastic! A good quester to work with

Quest Phase
Commit: Legolas, Eowyn, Bard the Bowman to the quest
Total willpower: 7
It's a bit risky leaving no one up to defend, but Goblin Follower should be the only thing posing a threat to me this round. I'll have to take his damage undefended if he comes up.
Reveal: Patrol Leader
Total threat: 3
Play: Elrond's Counsel. Lower threat to 26 and raise total willpower to 8
Place 5 progress on East-gate (5/7)

Travel Phase
None

Encounter Phase
None (due to East-gate's effect)

Combat Phase
None

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 27


Round 2
Resource Phase
+1 Legolas (2), +1 Eowyn (2), +1 Bard the Bowman (2)
Draw: Rivendell Blade

Planning Phase
Play: Winged Guardian (Legolas -1, Bard -1)
Play: Rivendell Blade (Legolas -1). Attach to Legolas.
Play: Rohan Warhorse (Bard -1). Attach to Legolas.
I know! After all that fuss about needing a good quested. But Legolas needs a Rivendell Blade if he and Bard are going to take out the Patrol Leader in one hit, which is what I hope to accomplish.

Quest Phase
Commit Eowyn and Bard to the quest.
Total willpower: 6
Reveal: Stairs of Nain
Total threat: 5
Discard Winged Guardian to trigger Eowyn's ability, raising total willpower to 7
Place 2 progress on East-gate, exploring it an adding it to my victory display
Place First Hall in the staging area

Travel Phase
Travel to First Hall, raising threat to 30

Encounter Phase
Engaged Patrol Leader
Play: The White Council (Eowyn -1). Ready Bard the Bowman

Combat Phase
Add shadow card to Patrol Leader
Patrol Leader attacks. Winged Guardian defends. Shadow: Goblin Tunnles (+3 attack to Patrol Leader). Winged Guardian is destroyed.
Legolas and Bard declare an attack on Patrol Leader. 6 attack vs. 1 shield (due to Rivendell Blade) = 5 damage. Discard: Cave In (no effect; damage is not removed from Patrol Leader). Patrol Leader is destroyed.
A shame I will just have to find and kill one of them again during stage 2B, but I'm too far away from there at this point to keep him around
Place 2 progress on First Hall, exploring it an adding it to the victory display
Place Bride of Khazad-dum in the staging area
Exhaust Cave Torch. Place 3 progress tokens on Stairs of Nain.
Discard: Goblin Swordsman. Move Goblin Swordsman to the staging area.

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 31


Round 3
Resource Phase
+1 Legolas (1), +1 Eowyn (2), +1 Bard the Bowman (1)
Draw: Rohan Warhorse

Planning Phase
Exhaust Cave Torch. Place 3 progress on Stairs of Nain, exploring it.
Discard: Branching Paths (not added to staging area)

Quest Phase
Commit Eowyn to the quest
Total willpower: 4
Reveal: Crumbling Ruin
Play: A Test of Will (Eowyn -1)
Total threat: 4
No progress placed

Travel Phase
Travel to Bridge of Kazad-dum

Encounter Phase
Encounter Goblin Swordsman

Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Goblin Swordsman
Goblin Swordsman attacks. Bard the Bowman defends. Shadow: Zigil Mineshaft (no effect). One damage placed on Bard the Bowman.
Legolas declares an attack on Goblin Swordsman. 3 attack vs 1 shield = 2 damage, destroying it.
Place 2 progress on Bridge of Khazad-dum (2/3)

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 32


Round 4
Resource Phase
+1 Legolas (2), +1 Eowyn (3), +1 Bard the Bowman (2)
Draw: Landroval

Planning Phase
Play none
Due to Bridge of Khazad-dum's effect

Quest Phase
Commit Eowyn, Bard the Bowman to the quest.
Total willpower: 6
Reveal: Many Roads (return Zigil Mineshaft, Stairs of Nain, Branching Paths, Goblin Tunnels to encounter deck and shuffle). Surge.
Reveal: Goblin Tunnels
Total threat: 2
Place 1 progress on Bridge of Khazad-dum, exploring it and adding it to the victory display
Place 3 progress on stage 1B

Travel Phase
Travel to Goblin Tunnels
Between the Cave Torch and questing, I should be able to get rid of this fairly quickly. I would like to have a clean staging area, if possible.

Encounter Phase
None

Combat Phase
Exhaust Cave Torch. Place 3 progress on Goblin Tunnels (3/7)
Discard: Branching Paths (not added to staging area)

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 33


Round 5
Resource Phase
+1 Legolas (3), +1 Eowyn (4), +1 Bard the Bowman (3)
Draw: Rohan Warhorse

Planing Phase
Play: Eagles of the Misty Mountains (Legolas -2, Bard -2)
Having the hero-saving ability of Landroval is tempting, but I really want to go for the extra questing power here. 

Questing Phase
Commit Eowyn and Bard to the quest
Total willpower: 6
Reveal: Signs of Conflict. Increase threat to 35. Surge.
Reveal: Burning Low (no effect)
Exhaust Cave Tourch to place 3 progress on Goblin Tunnels (6/7)
Discard: Crumbling Ruin (not added to staging area)
Place 1 progress on Goblin Tunnels, exploring it
Place 4 progress on stage 1B, exploring it
Proceed to stage 2A, flip to 2B
Search through encounter deck add Patrol Leader to the staging area

Travel Phase
None

Engagement Phase
Engage Patrol Leader

Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Patrol Leader
Patrol Leader attacks. Eagles of the Misty Mountains defend. Shadow: Goblin Scout (no effect). Two damage placed on Eagles of the Misty Mountains.
Legolas declares an attack on Patrol Leader. 3 attack vs. 1 shield (due to Rivendell Blade) = 2 damage (2/4). Discard: Zigil Mineshaft (no effect; damage is not removed from Patrol Leader).

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 36

Round 6
Resource Phase
+1 Legolas (2), +1 Eowyn (5), +1 Bard the Bowman (2)
Draw: Eagles of the Misty Mountains

Planning Phase
Play: Eagles of the Misty Mountains (Legolas -2, Bard -2)

Quest Phase
Commit Eowyn, Eagles of the Misty Mountains (damaged) to the quest
Total willpower: 6
Reveal: Goblin Follower. Discard Goblin Follower (due to stage 2B text)
Total threat: 0
Place 6 progress on stage 2B

Travel Phase
None

Encounter Phase
None

Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Patrol Leader.
Patrol Leader attacks. Eagles of the Misty Mountains defend. Shadow: Watchful Eyes (no effect). Two damage added to Eagles of the Misty Mountains.
Legolas and Bard the Bowman declare an attack on Patrol Leader. 6 attack vs. 1 shield (due to Rivendell Blade) = 5 damage. Discard: Dreadful Gap (no effect; damage is not removed from Patrol Leader). Patrol Leader is destroyed.
Advance to stage 3A, flip to 3B.

Refresh Phase
Read all
Raise threat to 37


Round 7
Resource Phase
No resources added to heroes (due to stage 3B text)
Draw: Radagast

Planning Phase
Play none
For some reason, which I can't figure out going back through my notes, I thought Eowyn only had four resources at this point. I totally would have played Radagast. But oh well!

Quest Phase
Commit Eowyn, Bard the Bowman, Eagles of the Misty Mountains to the quest
Total willpower: 8
Reveal: Goblin Follower. Goblin Follower engages me.
Discard Radagast to trigger Eowyn's effect, raising the total willpower to 9
Guess I'm not going to play him now...
Total threat: 0
Place 9 progress on stage 3B (9/12)

Travel Phase
None

Encounter Phase
None

Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Goblin Follower
Goblin Follower attacks. Eagles of the Misty Mountains defends. Shadow: Goblin Tunnels (+3 attack to Goblin Follower). Eagles of the Misty Mountains are destroyed. Place Eagles of the Misty Mountains face down under second Eagles of the Misty Mountains.
Legolas declares a attack on Goblin Follower. 3 attack vs. 0 shield = 3 damage (3/4)

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 38


Round 8
Resource Phase
No resources added to heroes (due to stage 3B text)
Draw: Eldrond's Counsel.

Planning Phase
Play none

Quest Phase
Commit: Legolas, Eowyn, Bard the Bowman, Eagles of the Misty Mountains to the quest
Play: Elrond's Counsel. Lower threat to 35. +1 willpower to Eowyn.
Discard Rohan Warhorse to trigger Eowyn's ability
Total willpower: 11
Reveal: Goblin Follower. Goblin Follower engages me.
Total threat: 0
Place 11 progress on stage 3B, clearing it and winning the quest.


Final Scoring

7 completed rounds x10: 70
Final threat: 35
Damage on heroes: 1
Threat cost of defeated heroes: 0
Victory Display: -4
Total Score: 102


The Recap

Eight tries. Wow. I did not expect that. Now, that was mainly because I chose to stick with this particular deck and make it work. Once I saw the questing and combat demands of the quest, I could have created a new deck for a much quicker win. But, as I said, the "unthematic" theme was fun to stick with.

For attempts 1-7, Watchful Eyes was my worst enemy. Having 1-2 cards (I often drew both) added to the staging area each turn really took the momentum out of my fight.

I like this quest. Good challenges for the solo player and a nice amount of variety in the stages. This is right around the difficulty level I like to play at.

Now, deeper into Moria we go...

Looking Back: Shadows of Mirkwood

Shadows of Mirkwood was the beginning of this ever-changing game. The designers were trying to figure out how they could aid the players (via new player cards) without breaking the game. They were wanting to give challenges that hit that sweet spot somewhere between too easy and impossible. There were hits (Conflict at the Carrock) and misses (Hills of Emyn Muil).

It was a nice stroll through memory lane for me. If I get an itch to play an old quest, the first cycle is rarely chosen to satisfy it. But I enjoyed the experience. Some quests (The Dead Marshes and Return to Mirkwood) were beaten fairly quickly the first time my wife and I played them and I've never taken the time to go back and really get to know the quests.

Here are my take-away thoughts from the six:

The Hunt for Gollum: Ranges from easy (no Hunters from Mordor) to deadly (several Hunters from Mordor). I'm not a big fan of such a fluctuation.

Conflict at the Carrock: Still a classic. Tough, but victory is often in sight (even if it's just your imagination). One I can see myself going back to often.

A Journey to Rhosgobel: Fairly easy with the right deck and near impossible (or just plain impossible) with most others. Tailoring decks for specific quests is part of the game, but this takes that to a very narrow level.

The Hills of Emyn Muil: I think I actually lost this quest once in the past (or had a struggle with it), but other than that vague memory the quest is a bit of a breeze.

The Dead Marshes: I could see how the quest might have some challenges up its sleeve, but I didn't experience the worst of them and was glad to move on.

Return to Mirkwood: There were a few attempts where I didn't stand a chance, but I was usually able to hold my own until the very end. Really seems like a solid quest and one I would like to replay more in the future.

So, two out of six that I want to keep on my "play again" list. But, honestly, I could see myself going back to any of these quests if the right cards came along for me to test (healing cards for Rhosgobel, location snyping for Emyn Muil, and readying for Dead Marshes).

I mentioned the Nighmare decks as future possibilities for a few of the quests. If anyone has played through those, which Core + Shadows of Mirkwood Nightmare decks would you recommend?

Quest 9: Return to Mirkwood

Victory on the 7th attempt

The Deck

Some people feel this quest is impossible solo. It's nearly so.

Ways to manage threat and quest with force are what I was looking for here. While he's appeared twice in this blog so far, Spirit Glorfindel is a must (in my opinion). Also, welcome back the return of Lore Aragorn! Both are there to bring heroes with high stats to the battle, in both questing an attacking. Aragorn should also help with the threat of threat. Eowyn was brought in after I tried three rounds with Elanor. I only used Elanor's ability to cancel the treachery & reveal a new one once, so she wasn't missed that much. Browsing a few blogs to get tips for tweaking this deck (I wanted to stick with the basic idea, since it had come close to winning already), it seemed that Eowyn might be a perfect fit for a solo round in Mirkwood.

I put in Glorfindel's required equipment (Light of Valinor, Asfaloth), threat reduction (Elrond's Counsel, The Glandhrim's Greeting), and some allies with questing power behind them (Escort from Edoras, Silvan Refugee + Children of the Sea). And, of course, Gandalf.

It is in many ways a deck still in progress that happened to pull out a win. It might do so again occasionally, but I'm not confident it would do so regularly without more refining.

No Threat To You

Heroes
Aragorn (The Watcher in the Water)
Glorfindel (Foundations of Stone)
Eowyn

Allies
Henamarth Riversong x2
Silvan Tracker x3
Silvan Refugee x3
Gandalf x3
Escort from Edoras x3
Warden of Healing x2
Westfold Horse-Breaker x3

Attachments
Asfaloth x3
Light of the Valinor x3
Healing Herbs x3
Unexpected Courage x2
Protector of Lorien x3

Events
Children of the Sea x3
Elrond's Counsel x3
Dwarven Tomb x2
A Test of Will x3
Radagast's Cunning x3
The Galandhrim's Greeting x3

Sets Used
Core
The Hunt for Gollum
A Journey to Rhosgobel
The Dead Marshes
The Watcher in the Water
The Long Dark
Foundations of Stone
The Druadan Forest
The Blood of Gondor

Note: Tracker1's Mono-Spirit Caldara deck (the one I used for Escape from Dol Guldur) might work well again here, but I want to see if I can continue using different deck each time. Another option would be something to handle the large enemies and still progress on the stages (so Legolas seems like a likely option).

The Journey

Player setup
Threat set to 26
Draw: The Glandhrim's Greeting, Healing Herbs, Westfold Horse-Breaker, Light of Valinor, Elrond's Counsel, A Test of Will

Encounter setup
Gollum placed under control of first player
Reveal: Mountains of Mirkwood
Proceed to stage 1B

Round 1
Resource Phase
+1 Aragorn (1), +1 Glorfindel (1), +1 Eowyn (1)
Draw: Children of the Sea

Planning Phase
Play: Light of the Valinor (Glorfindel -1). Attach to Glorfindel.

Quest Phase
Commit: Aragorn, Glorfindel, Eowyn to the quest
Play: Elrond's Counsel (reduce threat to 23, +1 willpower to Glorfindel)
Total willpower: 10
Reveal: Hummerhorns
Total threat: 3
Discard Children of the Sea to trigger Eowyn's ability
Place 8 progress on stage 1B (7/12)

Travel Phase
Travel to Mountains of Mirkwood
Reveal: Hill Troll
I don't think this deal worked out in my favor

Engagement Phase
None

Refresh Phase
Read all
Raise threat to 27


Round 2
Resource Phase
+1 Aragorn (2), +1 Glorfindel (1), +1 Eowyn (2)
Draw: A Test of Will

Planning Phase
Play: Westfold Horse-Breaker (Glorfindel -1, Eowyn -1)

Quest Phase
Commit: Aragorn, Glorfindel, Eowyn, Westfold Horse-Breaker
Total willpower: 10
Reveal: Eyes of the Forest. Discard all events from hand (The Galandhirm's Greetings, A Test of Will x2)
Total threat: 2
Place 3 progress on Mountains of Mirkwood, exploring it. Search the top five cards of the player deck and add Gandalf to hand. Shuffle deck
Maybe I can avoid this Hill Troll for a bit...
Place 5 progress on stage 1B (13/12), exploring it

Encounter Phase
None

Combat Phase
None

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Increase threat to 31


Round 3
Resource Phase
+1 Aragorn (3), +1 Glorfindel (1), +1 Eowyn (2)
Draw: Silvan Refugee
Maybe getting rid of Children of the Sea will come back to haunt me

Planning Phase
Play: Gandalf (Aragorn -3, Eowyn -2). Reduce threat to 26.
Damaging the troll was an option,but keeping the threat low so I can avoid the Hummerhorns as long as possible is ideal. I'll probably still take the troll on.

Quest Phase
Commit: Glorfindel, Eowyn, Westfold Horse-Breaker
Total willpower: 7
Reveal: Gollum's Anguish (raise threat to 34)
Okay, I will definitely still take the trolls on.
Total threat: 2
Place 4 progress on stage 2B (4/3), clearing it.
Proceed to stage 3B

Travel Phase
None

Encounter Phase
Engaged by Hill Troll

Combat Phase
Deal a shadow card to Hill Troll
Hill troll attacks. Gandalf defends. Shadow: Mountains of Mirkwood (no effect). Two damage on Gandalf.
While more damage on the Hill Troll would be great, I would rather risk my ally than a hero right now
Glorfindel, Aragorn declare an attack on Hill Troll. 6 attacks vs. 3 shields = 3 damage.

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Increase threat to 38
Discard Gandalf


Round 4
Resource Phase
+1 Aragorn (1), +1 Glorfindel (2), +1 Eowyn (1)
Draw: Gandalf

Planning Phase
None (due to stage 3B's effect)

Quest Phase
Commit: Aragorn, Glorfindel, Eowyn to the quest
Total willpower: 9
Reveal: Wood Elf Path
Total threat: 2
Place 7 progress on stage 3B (7/7), clearing it.
Proceeding to stage 4B

Travel Phase
None

Encounter Phase
None

Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Hill Troll
Discard Westfold Horse-Breaker to ready Aragorn.
Hill Troll attacks. Aragorn defends. Shadow: Woodman's Glade (no effect0. Westfold Horse-Breaker is destroyed. Four damage on Aragorn.

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Increase threat to 42


Round 5
Resource Phase
+1 Aragorn (2), +1 Glorfindel (3), +1 Eowyn (2)
Draw: Asfaloth

Planning Phase
Play: Silvan Refugee (Eowyn -1)
Play: Gandalf (Aragorn -2, Glofindel -2, Eowyn -1)

Brief pause for a whole lot of thinking (to the point where I had notes written out on little scraps of paper).

I had four options I could choose for Gandalf here. We'll call drawing cards Option #0, since it would not make sense to do that now. The other three options were:

Option #1: Lower threat to 37. Quest with Silvan Refugee and Eowyn. Block troll with Eown (killing her and raising my threat to 39). Kill troll with Gandalf, Aragorn, Glorfindel. Plan on engaging hummerhorns the following round, killing Aragorn, and destroying them with Glorfindel. Hopefully Aragorn + Glorfindel (+an ally, hopefully?) could quest enough to put two progress on stage 4B and hopefully no more enemies would come out in the two staging phases I would have to go through.

Option #2: Place four damage on the troll. Quest with Eowyn and the Refugee. Engage Hummerhorns, killing Eowyn. Gandalf would block the troll's attack, while Aragorn and Glorfindel would kill the troll. The next round, Hummerhorns would need to be destroyed and two progress would need to be placed on stage 4B. Once again, this would require no enemies revealed from the encounter deck during either staging phase.

Option #3: Destroy the Hummerhorns. Quest with Eowyn. Block the troll with the Refugees, raising my threat to 47. Aragorn, Glorfindel, and Gandalf kill the troll.

No matter what, I'm at the mercy of the encounter deck. For Options 1&2, I have at least two rounds where any enemy (large or small) could be revealed to mess me up. For Option #3, I only have one round to worry about. No use playing it safe...

Deal 4 damage to Hummerhorns, destroying them

Quest Phase
Commit Glorfindel, Eowyn to the quest
Total willpower: 7
Reveal: The East Bight
Place 5 progress on stage 4B (5/2). Cleared once all enemies are destroyed

Travel Phase
Travel to The East Bight
Bam. If I had tried one of the other options, this card alone would have cost me the game (since I would not have been able to quest past it in time).

Encounter Phase
None

Combat Phase
Deal shadow card Hill Troll
Hill troll attacks. Silvan Refugee defends.
A Ungoliant's Spawn here could raise my threat by 4 and end the game. I think I'm safe with everything else.
Shadow: Attercop, Attercop (no effect). Silvan Refugee is destroyed. Threat raised to 47.
Declare an attack on Hill Troll with Aragorn, Glorfindel, Gandalf. 10 attack vs. 3 shield = 7 additional damage, destroying Hill Troll and adding it to the victory display.

VICTORY!

Final Scoring
4 completed rounds x10: 40
Final threat: 47
Damage on heroes: 4
Total threat of defeated heroes: 0
Victory display: -4
Total: 87

The Recap

I assumed that going up against this quest solo was going to be a miserable, grueling experience. But it was actually fun! Sure, the encounter deck beat me to a pulp a few times, but for the most part I made some good progress and had a fighting chance.

This quest is tough. No doubt about it. But, if I have a great deck I want to test with a real challenge, I might return to Mirkwood some day.

Quest 5: Conflict at the Carrock (re-do)

Victory on the 9th attempt

My re-do of this epic quest final ends in a solid victory.

The Journey

Player Set-up
Set threat to 28
Draw: Feint, Firefoot x3, Book of Eldacar, Vassal of the Windlord
I like Firefoot, but having this unique card take up half of my starting hand is overdoing it. I only hope I can draw him again early on.
Mulligan: White Tower Watchman, Evoy of Pelargir, Good Meal, Book of Eldacar, Thicket of Spears, Quick Strike

Encounter Set-up
Place The Carrock in the staging area
Shuffle one copy of Sacked! into the Encounter Deck
Proceed to stage 1B

Round 1
Resource Phase
+1 Theoden (1), +1 Eomer (1), +1 Merry (1)
Draw: Vassal of the Windlord

Planning Phase
Play: White Tower Watchman (Theoden -1, Eomer -1, Merry -1)
I love the Watchman's ability to quest and take an undefended attack, or defend and take a second attack undefended. Good to have out early in case the Encounter deck has a surprise for me.

Quest Phase
Commit Merry, White Tower Watchman to quest
Total willpower: 4
I'm hoping to progress slowly here so I can build up some good allies and needed events.
Reveal: Banks of the Anduin
Total threat: 3
1 progress placed on stage 1B (1/7)

Travel Phase
Travel to Banks of the Anduin
This will help me quest a little higher to anticipate high-threat cards in the staging area, yet stop me from progressing too quickly through the stage.

Encounter Phase
None

Combat Phase
None

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 29


Round 2
Resource Phase
+1 Theoden (1), +1 Eomer (1), +1 Merry (1)
Draw: Rohan Warhorse
Nice. Very much a needed card if I hope to handle multiple trolls in one turn. One of my favorite moments during the "Epic Fail" game was having one of these on Eomer and on Merry each, which combine great with Merry's own ability to allow for multiple attacks (assuming the enemy is destroyed).

Planning Phase
Play: Envoy of Pelagir (Theoden -1, Merry -1). +1 resource to Eomer (2)
Play: Good Meal. Attach to Merry.
Play: Rohan Warhorse (Eomer -1)
Play: Vassal of the Windlord (Eomer -1)

Quest Phase
Commit Theoden, Merry, Envoy of Pelagir to the quest.
Total willpower: 7
Reveal: Hill Troll
Total threat: 3
Place 3 progress on Banks of the Anduin, exhausting it and moving it to the top of the encounter deck
Place 1 progress on stage 1B

Travel Phase
None

Quest Phase
None

Encounter Phase
None
I want to give myself one more round to build up a strategy for this first troll

Combat Phase
None

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 30


Round 3
Resource Phase
+1 Theoden (1), +1 Eomer (1), +1 Merry (1)
Draw: Firefoot
Fantastic. Probably this decks' top card. Glad to see it pop up after the mulligan I took.

Planning Phase
Play: Firefoot (Theoden -1, Merry -1)

Quest Phase
Commit Merry to the quest
Total willpower: 3
Since it went on top of the deck last round, I know to expect Banks of the Anduin and I want to reserve everything else I can for the troll
Reveal: Banks of the Anduin
Surprise!
Total threat: 3
No progress placed

Travel Phase
Travel to Banks of the Anduin

Encounter Phase
Encounter the Hill Troll

Combat Phase
Deal a shadow card to Hill Troll
Hill Troll attacks. White Tower Watchman defends. Shadow: Bee Pastures (no effect). White Tower Watchman is destroyed. Raise threat to 31, due to Hill Troll's effect
Sad to see that Bee Pastures discarded as a shadow card. Would love to have had the option to recruit Grimbeorn this game
Declare an attack on Hill Troll with Eomer, Theoden, Vassal of the Windlord. 13 attack vs. 3 shield = 10 damage, destroying Hill Troll and adding him to the victory display (+4 VP)
Discard Vassal of the Windlordcar

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Increase threat to 32

Round 4
Resource Phase
+1 Theoden (1), +1 Eomer (2), +1 Merry (1)
Draw: Horn of Gondor

Quest Phase
Commit Theoden, Merry, Eomer to the quest.
Total willpower: 8
Reveal: Grimbeorn the Old
Well, that was pleasantly unexpected. Now to hope for an Oak-wood Grove to show up, allowing me to spend my Tactics resources as Leadership to recruit Grimbeorn
Total threat: 2
Place 3 progress on Banks of the Anduin, exploring it and placing it on the top of the encounter deck
Place 3 progress on stage 1B (4/7)

Travel Phase
None

Encounter Phase
None

Combat Phase
None

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 33


Round 5
Resource Phase
+1 Theoden (2), +1 Eomer (3), +1 Merry (2)
Draw: Horn of Gondor
I guess I should play one of these eventually...

Planning Phase
None

Quest Phase
Commit Merry to the quest
Total willpower: 3
Once again, Banks of the Anduin is on top. I don't want to advance quite yet.
Reveal: Banks of the Anduin
Total threat: 3
No progress placed

Travel Phase
Travel to Banks of the Anduin

Encounter Phase
None

Combat Phase
None

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 34


Round 6
Resource Phase
+1 Theoden (3), +1 Eomer (4), +1 Merry (3)
Draw: Saruman

Planning Phase
None

Quest Phase
Commit Merry, Theoden to the quest
Total willpower: 6
Reveal: Oak-wood Grove
Hey! Prepare to see Grimbeorn recruited soon!
Total threat: 4
Place 2 progress on Banks of the Anduin

Travel Phase
None

Encounter Phase
None

Combat Phase
None

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 35


Round 7
Resource Phase
+1 Theoden (4), +1 Eomer (5), +1 Merry (4)
Draw: Quick Strike

Planning Phase
None

Quest Phase
Commit Merry, Theoden, Envoy of Pelagir to the quest.
Total willpower: 7
Reveal: Oak-wood Grove
Be careful what you wish for, eh?
Total threat: 6
Place 1 progress on Banks of the Anduin, exploring it and placing it on the top of the encounter deck

Travel Phase
Travel to Oak-wood Grove
Place 8 resources on Grimbeorn (Theoden -4, Merry -4), recruiting him as an ally

Encounter Phase
None

Combat Phase
None

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 36


Round 8
Resource Phase
+1 Theoden (1), +1 Eomer (6), +1 Merry (1)
Draw: Unseen Strike
No good at this point, unless a Gandalf hops in quick-like

Planning Phase
None

Quest Phase
Commit Theoden, Merry to the quest
Total willpower: 6
Not fully ready to move on, but I'd like to see Oak-wood Grove #1 explored
Reveal: Banks of the Anduin
Total threat: 5
Place 1 progress on Oak-wood Grove, exploring it

Travel Phase
Travel to Oak-wood Grove

Encounter Phase
None

Combat Phase
None

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 37


Round 9
Resource Phase
+1 Theoden (2), +1 Eomer (7), +1 Merry (2)
Draw: Gandalf
Alright, that may be the last little bit of power I need to make this happen. Time to go for it.

Planning Phase
Play: Book of Eldacar (Theoden -1)
Play: Horn of Gondor (Theoden -1)
Play: Gandalf (Eomer -5). Lower threat to 32.
Maybe Unseen Strike will see some action this game

Quest Phase
Commit Theoden, Merry to the quest
Total willpower: 6
Reveal: A Frightened Beast (+1 threat for all three cards in the staging area). Threat raised to 35.
Maybe Unseen Strike will remain unseen, then...
Total threat: 3
Place 1 progress on Oak-wood Grove, exploring it
Place 2 progress on stage 1B, completing it
Make The Carrock the active location
Proceed to stage 2B
Add Stuart, Rupert, Morris, and Louis to the staging area

Travel Phase
None

Encounter Phase
Engaged by Stuart, Rupert, Morris, Louis

Combat Phase
Deal shadow cards to Stuart, Rupert, Morris, Louis
Play: Thicket of Spears (Eomer -2, Merry -1)
Declare an attack on Louis with Eomer, Grimbeorn the Old, Gandalf, Envoy of Pelargir. 14 attack vs. 4 shield = 10 damage, destroying Louis
Exhaust Rohan Warhorse to ready Eomer
Declare an attack on Morris with Eomer. 5 attack vs. 4 shield = 1 damage.

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Increase threat to 36
Discard Gandalf. +1 resource to Theoden (1), due to Horn of Gondor


Round 10
Resource Phase
+1 Theoden (2), +1 Eomer (1), +1 Merry (2)
Draw: Halfling Determination

Planning Phase
Play Saruman (Theoden -1, Eomer -1, Merry -1). Increase threat to 39.

Quest Phase
Commit none
Total willpower: 0
I would be surprised to see a large increase here (although it's possible) and I would rather have all hands on deck to try and dispatch two trolls this round.
Reveal: Muck Adder
Total threat: 2
Increase threat to 41

Travel Phase
None

Encounter Phase
Engaged by Muck Adder

Combat Phase
Deal shadow cards to Stuart, Rupert, Morris, and Much Adder
Morris attacks. Envoy of Pelargir defends. Shadow: Despair (Envoy of Pelargir does not count her shield). Envoy of Pelagir is destroyed. +1 resource to Theoden (2), due to Horn of Gondor
The goal here is to engage Eomer's attack boost. Now to shut everyone else down...
Discard Book of Eldacar. Choose to play Thicket of Spears. Discard Good Meal to lower the cost by 2 (Merry -1).
Place Thicket of Spears on the bottom of the player deck.
Play: Halfling Determination (Theoden -1)
Now here is where it gets fun, with a Rohan Warhorse and Merry's ability in play
Declare an attack on Rupert with Eomer, Merry, and Saruman. 15 attack vs. 4 shields = 11 damage, destroying Rupert.
Use Merry's ability to ready Eomer
Declare an attack on Stuart with Eomer, Theoden, and Grimbeorn the old. 14 attack vs. 4 shields = 10 damage, destroying Stuart.
Exhaust Rohan Warhorse to ready Eomer
Eomer declares an attack on Muck Adder. 7 attack vs. 0 shields = 7 damage, destroying it.

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 42
Discard Saruman. +1 resource to Theoden, due to Horn of Gondor

Round 11
Resource Phase
+1 Theoden (2), +1 Eomer (1), +1 Merry (1)
Draw: Saruman
Time to end this

Planning Phase
Play Saruman (Theoden -1, Eomer -1, Merry -1). Raise threat to 45.

Quest Phase
Commit Theoden, Merry to the quest
Total willpower: 6
Reveal: Roasted Slowly (no effect). Shuffle into encounter deck
Total threat: 1
Place 5 progress on The Carrock

Travel Phase
None

Encounter Phase
None

Combat Phase
Deal a shadow card to Morris
Morris declares an attack. Grimberon the Old defends (without exhausting). Shadow: Despair (Grimbeorn the Old does not count his shield).  Place 5 damage on Grimbeorn the Old.
Declare an attack on Morris with Eomer, Saruman, Grimbeorn the Old. 13 attack vs. 13 shield = 10 damage, destroying Morris.
And there go the trolls. One more progress on The Carrock + one more progress on the quest and we're home free. 

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 46
Discard Saruman. +1 resource to Theoden (2), due to Horn of Gondor


Round 12
Resource Phase
+1 Theoden (3), +1 Eomer (1), +1 Merry (1)
Draw: Saruman

Planning Phase
None

Quest Phase
Commit Theoden, Eomer, Merry to the quest
Total willpower: 8
I'm tempted to commit Grimbeorn also, but what if I draw the remaining Hill Troll (like I did at this point in attempt #7, costing me the game) and need to defend?
Reveal: Goblin Sniper
Total threat: 3
Place 1 progress on The Carrock, exploring it
Place 4 progress on stage 2B, completing it.
Sweet victory!

Final Scoring
11 completed rounds x10: 110
Final threat: 46
Damage on heroes: 0
Thread cost of defeated heroes: 0
Victory display: -4
Total: 152

And there it is. 

I was tempted to switch out Unseen Strike, since it never came out early enough to be of use for me, but decided the deck was doing pretty good so far and to just let it be. I would recommend other players switch that out for something, though. 

Saruman still proved his weight. Beorn might have been just as effective, though, and that may be a fair switch (especially if you have access to three core sets). 

Still love this quest. Hardly ever beats me to the point where it seems hopeless to even try (looking at you, Escape from Dol Guldur) and it's beatable with a wide range of player card draws and encounter reveals, which is a factor that matters a whole lot to me.

Now to move on and finish the Mirkwood Cycle...

Epic Fail at the Carrock

I'm still working at rectifying my mistake at The Carrock a few days ago. The first two attempts were a loss, but the second was a loss worth writing about. Since I took detailed notes this time around, here they are! The ending is a real doozy. 

The Journey

Player Set Up
Set threat to 28
Draw: Firefoot, Envoy of Pelagir, Rohan Warhorse, Defender of Rammas, Feint, Halfling Determination

Encounter Set Up
Shuffle one copy of Sacked into Encounter Deck
Place The Carrock in the staging area
Proceed to stage 1B

Round 1
Resource Phase
+1 Theoden (1), +1 Eomer (1), +1 Merry (1)
Draw: Horn of Gondor

Planning Phase
Play: Envoy of Pelargir (Merry -1, Eomer -1). Add 1 resource to Eomer (1)
Play: Firefoot (Theoden -1, Eomer -1). Attach to Eomer

Quest Phase
Commit Merry, Envoy of Pelagir to the quest.
Total willpower: 4
Reveal: Oak-wood Grove
Total threat: 4
No progress placed

Travel Phase
No travel made
I'm hoping to reveal Bee Pastures soon and combo that with Oak-wood Grove to get Grimbeorn the Old as an ally

Encounter Phase
None

Combat Phase
None

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 29

Round 2
Resource Phase
+1 Theoden (1), +1 Eomer (1), +1 Merry (1)
Draw: Saruman

Planning Phase
Play: Defender of Rammas (Merry -1, Eomer -1)

Quest Phase
Commit Theoden, Merry to the quest
Total willpower: 6
Reveal: Despair (no effect)
Total threat: 4
Place 2 progress on stage 1B (2/7)

Travel Phase
No travel

Encounter Phase
None

Combat Phase 
None

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 30


Round 3
Resource Phase
+1 Theoden (2), +1 Eomer (1), +1 Merry (1)
Draw: Firefoot

Planning Phase
Play: Rohan Warhorse (Theoden -1). Attach to Eomer

Quest Phase
Commit Merry, Theoden to the quest.
Total willpower: 6
Reveal: Wolf Rider (surge)
Reveal: Muck Adder
Total threat: 6
No progress placed on quest

Travel Phase
No travel

Encounter Phase
Engaged by Muck Adder
Engaged by Wolf Rider

Combat Phase
Deal shadow cards to Muck Adder, Wolf Rider
Muck Adder attacks. Envoy of Pelargir defends. Shadow: Grimbeorn the Old (no effect). Envoy of Pelagir is destroyed.
Wolf Rider attacks. Defender of Rammas defends. Shadow: Muck Adder (-1 shield to Defender of Rammas). No damage to Defender of Rammas.
Eomer declares an attack on Muck Adder and destroys it.
Exhaust Rohan Warehorse to ready Eomer.
Eomer declares an attack on Wolf Rider and destroys it.
I could have use Firefoot here just as well, with Eomer boosted due to the Envoy's destruction

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 31

Round 4
Resource Phase
+1 Theoden (2), +1 Eomer (2), +1 Merry (2)
Draw: Halfling Determination

Planning Phase
Play: Horn of Gondor (Theoden -1). Attach to Theoden

Quest Phase
Commit Merry, Theoden to the quest.
Total willpower: 6
Reveal: Bank of the Anduin
Total threat: 5
Place 1 progress on stage 2B (3/7)

Travel Phase
Travel to Banks of the Anduin

Encounter Phase
None

Combat Phase
None

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 32

Round 5
Resource Phase
+1 Theoden (2), +1 Eomer (3), +1 Merry (3)
Draw: Thicket of Spears

Planning Phase
None played

Quest Phase
Commit Theoden, Merry to the quest
Total willpower: 6
Reveal: Misty Mountain Goblins
Total threat: 6
No progress placed on quest

Travel Phase
None

Encounter Phase
Engaged by Misty Mountain Goblins

Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Misty Mountain Goblins
Misty Mountain Goblins attack. Defender of Rammas defends. Shadow: Roasted Slowly (no effecta). Remove one progress from stage 1B (2/7). No damage on Defender of Rammas.
Eomer declares an attack on Misty Mountain Goblins, destroying them.

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Increase threat to 22

Round 6
Resource Phase
+1 Theoden (3), +1 Eomer (4), +1 Merry (4)
Draw: Gandalf

Planning Phase
None played

Quest Phase
Commit Theoden, Eomer, Merry to the quest.
Total willpower: 8
Reveal: Massing at Night (add 1 card to the staging area)
Reveal: River Langflood
Total threat: 6
Place 2 progress on Banks of the Anduin

Travel Phase
None

Encounter Phase
None

Combat Phase
None

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Increase threat to 34

Round 7
Resource Phase
+1 Theoden (4), +1 Eomer (5), +1 Merry (5)
Draw: Quick Strike

Planning Phase
Play: Gandalf (Theoden -2, Eomer -1, Merry -2). Reduce threat to 29.

Quest Phase
Commit Theoden, Merry, Gandalf to the quest.
Total willpower: 10
Reveal: Misty Mountain Goblins
Total threat: 10
Place 1 progress on Banks of the Anduin, exploring it and placing it on top of the Encounter Deck.
Place 1 progress on stage 1B (3/7)

Travel Phase
Travel to River Langflood

Encounter Phase
Engaged by Misty Mountain Goblins

Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Misty Mountain Goblins
Misty Mountain Goblins attack. Defender of Rammas defends. Shadow: Banks of the Anduin (no effect). Remove 1 progress from stage 1B (2/7). No damage on Defender of Rammas.
Eomer declares an attack on Misty Mountain Goblins, destroying them.

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 30
Gandalf leaves play. +1 resource to Theoden (4), due to Horn of Gondor

Round 8
Resource Phase
+1 Theoden (5), +1 Eomer (4), +1 Merry (4)
Draw: Vassal of the Windlord

Planning Phase
Play: Vassal of the Windlord (Theoden -1)

Quest Phase
Commit Theoden, Eomer, Merry to the quest.
Total willpower: 8
Reveal: A Frightened Beast. Discard Vassal of the Windlord to cancel the effect.
+1 resource to Theoden (5), due to Horn of Gondor
Total threat: 4
Place 3 progress on River Langflood, exploring it
Place 1 progress on stage 1B (3/7)

Travel Phase
Travel to Oak-wood grove
About time to stop waiting and start moving forward. Shame since I have so many resources to spare!

Encounter Phase
None

Combat Phase
None

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 31

Round 9
Resource Phase
+1 Theoden (6), +1 Eomer (5), +1 Merry (5)
Draw: White Tower Watchman

Planning Phase
Play White Tower Watchman (Theoden -1, Eomer -1, Merry -1)

Quest Phase
Commit Theoden, Eomer, Merry to the quest.
Total willpower: 8
Reveal: Wargs
Total threat: 4
Place 1 progress on Oak-wood Grove, exploring it
Place 3 progress on stage 1B (6/7)

Travel Phase
None

Encounter Phase
Encountered by Wargs

Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Wargs
Wargs attack. White Tower Watchman defends. Shadow: A Frightened Beast (no effect). One damage on White Tower Watchman. Wargs return to the staging area.

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Increase threat to 32

Round 10
Resource Phase
+1 Theoden (6), +1 Eomer (5), +1 Merry (5)
Draw: Rohan Warhorse

Planning Phase
Play Rohan Warhrse (Theoden -1). Attach to Merry.

Quest Phase
Commit Merry, Theoden, White Tower Watchman to quest.
Total willpower: 7
Reveal: Goblin Sniper
Total threat: 6
Place 1 progress on stage 1B, completing quest.
Make The Carrock the active location
Proceed to stage 2, flip to 2B
Add Louis, Stuart, Rupert, Morris to the staging area

Travel Phase
None

Encounter Phase
Optionally engage Stuart
Engaged by Wargs

Combat Phase
Deal shadow cards to Stuart, Wargs
Stuart attacks. White Tower Watchman defends. Shadow: Bee Pastures (no effect). White Tower Watchman is destroyed.
Play: Quick strike (Eomer -1), declaring Eomer as an attacker against the Wargs, destroying them
Exhaust Rohan Warhorse to ready Eomer
Declare an attack on Stuart. 7 attack vs. 4 shield for 3 damage.
Goblin Sniper deals one damage to Theoden

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 33

Round 11
Resource Phase
+1 Theoden (6), +1 Eomer (5), +1 Merry (6)
Draw: Feint

Planning Phase
Play: Saruman (Theoden -1, Eomer -1, Merry -1). Increase threat to 36. Remove Goblin Sniper from play.

Quest Phase
Commit Theoden to the quest
Total willpower: 3
Reveal: The East Bight
Total threat: 7
Raise threat to 40

Travel Phase
None

Encounter Phase
Engaged by Rupert, Morris, Louis

Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Stuart, Rupert, Morris, Louis
Stuart attacks. Defender of Rammas defends. Shadow: Bee Pastures (no effect). Raise threat to 43. Defender of Rammas is destroyed.
Play: Thicket of Spears (Theoden -1, Eomer -1, Merry -1)
Play: Halfing Determination (Merry -1)
Play: Halfing Determination (Merry -1)
Merry and Eomer declare an attack on Stuart. 12 attack vs. 4 shield, placing 8 more damage an destroying him.
Eomer readies due to Merry's effect
Merry exhausts Rohan Warhorse to ready
Merry, Eomer, Saruman declare an attack on Louis. 17 attack vs. 3 shield, placing 14 damage and destroying him.
Saruman readies due to Merry's effect.
Eomer exhausts Rohan Warhorse to ready.
Eomer and Saruman declare an attack on Rupert. 12 attack vs. 3 shield, placing 9 damage

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 44
Discard Saruman
Return Goblin Sniper to staging area

Round 12
Resource Phase
+1 Theoden (5), +1 Eomer (4), +1 Merry (5)
Draw: Quick Strike

Planning Phase
Play: Quick Strike (Merry -1). Declare Eomer as an attacker against Rupert, destroying him.
Eomer exhausts Rohan Warhorse to ready

Quest Phase
Commit Merry to the quest
Total willpower: 3
Reveal: Sacked! Attack to Merry
Total threat: 4
No progress placed on quest

Encounter Phase
Optionally engage Goblin Sniper

Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Goblin Sniper, Morris
Play: Feint (Eomer -1). Morris is chosen not to attack.
Goblin Sniper attacks (undefended). Shadow: Banks of the Anduin (no effect). Place two damage on Theoden.
Eomer and Theoden declare an attack on Morris. 8 attack vs. 3 shield for 5 damage.

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 45

Round 13
Resource Phase
+1 Theoden (6), +1 Eomer (5), Merry (4, does not collect resources, due to Sacked!)
Draw: Halfling Determination

Planning Phase
None

Quest Phase
Commit no one to the quest
Reveal: Dispair (no effect).
Total threat: 1
Raise threat to 46

Travel Phase
None

Encounter Phase
None

Combat Phase
Deal shadow cards to Goblin Sniper, Morris
Play: Feint (Eomer -1). Morris is chosen not to attack.
Goblin Sniper attacks. Undefended. Shadow: Bee Pastures (no effect). Place two damage on Eomer.
Theoden and Eomer declare an attack on Morros. 8 attack vs. 3 shield for 5 more damage, destroying him.
Remove Sacked! card from Merry

Refresh Phase
Ready all
Raise threat to 47

Round 14
Resource Phase
+1 Theoden (7), +1 Eomer (5), +1 Merry (5)
Draw: Book of Eldacar

Planning Phase
Play: Book of Eldacar, attaching to Eomer

Quest Phase
Commit: Theoden, Eomer, Merry to the quest.
Total willpower: 8
Reveal: Hill Troll
This is the only card left in the encounter deck that I could have drawn that could cost me the game.
Total threat: 2
Place 6 progress on The Carrock, exploring it.

Travel Phase
Travel to The East Bight

Encounter Phase
Encountered by Hill Troll

Combat Phase
Deal shadow card to Goblin Snipe, Hill Troll
Hill Troll attacks, undefended. Shadow: Slowly Roasted (no effect). Damage placed on Eomer, destroying him. Threat raised to 51.

Game over.

Quest 8: The Dead Marshes

Victory on the first attempt

The Deck

I made my first attempt at this deck with only a vague recollection of the quest. I knew you had to quest, then make an escape check using your willpower again (while still defending an attacking as usual). With that in mind, I pulled a list of every Leadership and Spirit card that can help general characters ready (by that I mean not Dwarf-only cards or cards that are only useful in mono-sphere decks), then trimmed and adjusted to come up with...

Ready, Set, Go

Heroes
Aragorn (Core)
Sam Gamgee
Eowyn

Allies
Westfold Horse-Breaker x3
Gandalf (OHaUH) x3
Naith Guide x3
Envoy of Pelargir x3
Faramir x2
Eitheir Swordsman x3
Warrior of Lossarnach x3

Attachments
Cram x3
Miruvor x2
Unexpected Courage x2
Dunedain Quest x3
Stewards of Gondor x2
Ancient Mathom x3

Events
Ever Vigilant x3
Strength of Will x3
A Test of Will x3
Hasty Stroke x3
The White Council x3

Sets Used
Core
The Hunt for Gollum
A Journey to Rhosgobel
Shadow and Flame
Over Hill and Under Hill
Heirs of Numenor
The Steward's Fear
The Black Riders
The Dunland Trap

The biggest conflict I had in designing this deck was a three way tie between Hasty Stroke, A Late Adventurer, and Strength of Will. One of them was going to be cut and, not firmly remembering the quest, I could not recall which would be the most useful. I figured there might be some shadow effects that would effect some fundamental aspect of the quest, so Hasty Stroke was in. Realizing the final choice was between needing to exhaust another character (A Late Adventurer) or take advantage of a character still exhausted after the escape test had been made (Strength of Will) made the cut easier.

The Journey

I've been playing all the quests up to this point in the challenge using the physical cards, but I've actually logged a lot of time using OCTGN's online implementation of the game in the past. Since the last four quests worth of decks have yet to be disassembled and re-sorted, this seemed like a good opportunity to use the program again. And then I revealed A Knife in the Back...

Attempt #0: First attempt was an incomplete game (thus "Attempt #0"). Disconnected from the OCTGN server during the planning phase of Round 2. Shame. Despite facing a hill troll and having already failed two escape tests in Round 1 (due to The Lights of the Dead), I was still doing pretty decent with eight progress on stage 1B.

Attempt #1: The completed first attempt was much easier. Got a few blocking locations early on (The East Bight and The Heart of the Marshes). No huge enemies. Instead of the Hill Troll right off the bat, I had a Goblin Sniper come up in Round 3 (and I took his damage undefended, knowing I was likely going to end the game the next round). Out of the four escape tests I made, two of them had no escape value. My game-ending escape check, after questing through stage 2B, had me revealing four cards only to have a total escape value of 2 (vs. my 14). Nothing to write home about here. Sorry, all.

Final Scoring
4 completed rounds x10: 40
Final threat: 34
Damage on heroes: 3
Threat cost of defeated hero: 0
Victory points: 0
Total: 77

The Recap

This is only the second time I remember playing this quest. My wife and I beat it pretty handily our first time out and never returned to it. Maybe we had one failed "tester" round, but I can't quite recall and I just remember it being a breeze back then (with the limited cardpool available). As nasty as some of the treacheries are (causing you to quest, hold an escape check with a twist, then do you regular escape check), there was not a moment of "This is going out of hand!" this time around. Or even a moment really close to that. For my final round, I did have to consider if I had enough willpower to beat a 4 card escape check. Potentially, you can get in the range of 16-20 with that and I could only must 14 willpower (being able to ready every character I committed to the quest through the effects of four different cards).

The trick is that this quest seems handily beatable (for me) with the type of deck I designed, yet I could see just a few tweaks making it near impossible (like a treachery that prevents all exhausted characters from readying that round). I'll have to read up on how others are fairing with the Nightmare version.

Quest 7: The Hills of Emyn Muil

Victory on the first attempt

The Recap

My wife and I were driving across a few states of the USA years ago, listening to The Hobbit audio book as we drove. The countryside around us just came alive. Tolkien painted a rich physical world and had his characters observe it, make decisions based on it, and spend quite a lot of time traveling through it. The Hills of Emyn Muil is out to recapture that sense of travel through grandiose locations. Some players have remarked that this makes it a quest straight out of Tolkien's books.

And for many other players it simply falls flat.

For me, it was just kind of...there. Didn't hate it, didn't gush over it, but had an enjoyable time patting myself on the back for handling the encounter deck well (which is not to hard with this one). This is actually one of the few quests I may consider purchasing a Nightmare deck for in the future.

I do remember the original preview article for the quest and the excitement of seeing Rauros Falls included as a location. I had already chosen MightRauros as my handle for most games I played at that point. Notable in the movies as the location Dead Sean Bean Replica rode over, Rauros is spoken of throughout the novels and became a location that captured my attention every time I heard it.

"From the Gate of Kings the North Wind rides, and past the roaring falls;

And clear and cold about the tower its loud horn calls.

'What news from the North, O mighty wind, do you bring me today?

What news of Boromir the Bold? For he is long away.'

'Beneath Amon Hen I heard his cry. There many foes he fought.

His cloven shield, his broken sword, they to the water brought.

His head so proud, his face so fair, his limbs they laid to rest,

And Rauros, golden Rauros falls, bore him upon its breast.'

'Oh Boromir! The Tower of Guard shall ever northward gaze,

To Rauros, golden Rauros Falls, until the end of days.' "

- J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

 (Fun fact: While working on this write-up, I paused to play a little of The Lord of the Rings: the Third Age with my wife on our PS2. What should be mentioned in a cut scene? The Falls of Rauros, of course)

The Deck

Remembering that questing and picking out locations was a major factor here made Spirit or Lore an easy choice. I decided to settle on another mono-Lore Doomed deck, which was almost my undoing...

Seekers of Lore

Heroes
Aragorn
Grima
Mirlonde

Allies
Gandalf (OHaUH) x3
Haldir of Lorien x1
Gildor Inglorn x1
Henamarth Riversong x2
Isengard Messenger x3
White Tower Watchman x3
Envoy of Pelargir x3
Warden of Healing x3

Attachments
Asfaloth x3
Protector of Lorien x3
Thror's Map x2
Palantir x2
Keys of Orthanc x3

Events
Secret Paths x3
Strider's Path x3
Daeron's Runes x3
Deep Knowledge x3
Mithrandir's Advice x3
Risk Some Light x3

Sets Used
Core
The Hunt for Gollum
A Journey to Rhosgobel
The Hills of Emyn Muil
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
Assault on Osgiliath
The Voice of Isengard

The Journey

The staging area and encounter deck really never had me too worried. I was able to play Risk Some Light twice, to get foreknowledge and stack things in my favor. Henamarth Riversong more than pulled his weight in helping me keep one step ahead of the encounter deck.

I got my threat up to the mid-40s, using Grima's ability quite a bit and keeping Gandalf around for a few rounds, then shot it back down to 26 with Aragorn. Imagine my surprise when I shortly ended up back at 42 with two victory points left to find! Thankfully, The North Stair came long (with Strider's Path in my hands, allowing me to see and explore it all in one fell swoop).

Here are the locations my journey took me to:

• Rauros Falls (VP 3)
• The Highlands (VP 1)
• Amon Hen (VP 5)
• The Outer Ridge (VP 2)
• Ahon Lhaw (VP 5)
• The Shores of Nen Hithoel (VP 2)
• The North Stair (VP 3)

Final Scoring
15 completed rounds x10: 140
Final threat: 42
Damage on heroes: 0
Threat cost of defeated hero: 0
Victory points: -21
Total: 161