So I'm playing through my first ever campaign of the Shadow Rune, so far the heroes are up 3/9 quests having won First Blood, A Fat Goblin and Death on a Wing.

We've got the 'Masquerade Ball' coming up now first but I feel fairly confident that I can pull off a win there, I already have a good grasp of the quest and the strategy.

But my impression of this game so far is that, if I want to win as the OL, I have to stay one or two steps ahead of the heroes constantly in terms of planning and strategizing, I would probably go as far as saying that they can rely solely on tactics and not strategy to win, unlike the OL.

Anyhow, the group I'm up against is playing: Jain(Wildlander), Avric(Disciple) and Leoric(Necromancer). They're all new to the game but I think they're certainly putting their team work to good use.

As for me, I'm playing with the "Goblin Uprising" plot deck however I have only bought one plot card, "Dive into Cover", aside from that I have bought 2x Web Trap and 1x Plan Ahead and I'll get 1 more XP to spend before the interlude.

Right now I have a rough outline of the strategy I will utilize by I want to run it by you guys that are more experienced so I could get some feedback and pointers.

First of all, knowing the players, I'm about 80% sure that Jain will hold the casket, she's by far the most mobile of them and she also holds the "Shield of the Dark God" relic so she's farily durable with that + her heroic ability. My idea here is to always save up one Web Trap card to stop her when she uses her heroic feat to try and sprint away.

I only have access to the base game, so as far as my monster choices go, I think I will go with Ettins, Elementals and Merriods. My rationale is that these monsters all have large bases so they can cover a lot of ground and are excellent for blocking spaces, 2/3 have immobilize, the Merriods can easily immobilize 2/3 heroes with flail, the Ettin can grab the heroes to keep them pushed back, they all come with only 1 monster against 3 players so they can be reinforced quickly and last but not least neither of these heroes are particularly squishy -- I feel like these probably are the optimal monsters given what I have access to and what I am up against, reducing the heroes mobility will be key especially for the strategy I'm planning on employing.

Now I'm not sure which monsters I'll start with, as I have interpreted the rules 2/3 monster groups are placed initially while the third will be "reinforced" at the entrance by the end of the first OL turn?

These heroes are all low on might so I doubt they'll try and force the door between the caravan and the river's edge, my idea is "fall back" with Zachareth and my 1 monster group not engaging the heroes initially instead I want to form a "kill zone" at tile 12A, moving my 2nd and 3rd monster group there as well as soon as they are activated, with their large bases I should be able to move them around the water spaces w/o movement penalties and I am certain that the search token in the tile will prove too tempting to ignore, I am hoping I can force the heroes to remain here and slowly grind them down, blocking the passageway with 1 large monster and continiously reinforcing my monsters as they fall.

So could this work? Or should I revise my strategy?

Just a question for you.

Jain is a wildlander, and she has the shield of the dark god?

What weapon is she using, then?

Because there's no bow that's not two handed. And I'm pretty sure the wildlander is at it's best when using a ranged weapon, specifically bows.

She starts with the Yew short bow, so unless she's got no weapon equipped, or she traded in her bow, she's fighting empty handed Blue Attack die only.

Your monsters are all big, but they are also all slow. Suppose the heroes just book it. Can you really catch them if you don't have your webtrap? Personally, I would swap out the ettins for something small, fast, and preferably ranged.

Your monsters are all big, but they are also all slow. Suppose the heroes just book it. Can you really catch them if you don't have your webtrap? Personally, I would swap out the ettins for something small, fast, and preferably ranged.

Maybe some Goblins or Goblin Archers with their Scamper ability, in case the heroes try to blockade you away from Jain?

Last time I played this, the OL used Barghests to keep us occupied and exhausted while his other monsters ran for it. ( I don't remember what the monster that actually won it for him was but the heroes failed because of a missed attack roll).

A 4 player game is so much better than a 3 player.if you play with this group again, you should let them have a fourth hero that perhaps they play as a group.

Just a question for you.

Jain is a wildlander, and she has the shield of the dark god?

What weapon is she using, then?

Because there's no bow that's not two handed. And I'm pretty sure the wildlander is at it's best when using a ranged weapon, specifically bows.

She starts with the Yew short bow, so unless she's got no weapon equipped, or she traded in her bow, she's fighting empty handed Blue Attack die only.

She bought a 1H crossbow, I don't remember the name but it's BY, Pierce 1, Move Monster 1 space on Surge I think.

Your monsters are all big, but they are also all slow. Suppose the heroes just book it. Can you really catch them if you don't have your webtrap? Personally, I would swap out the ettins for something small, fast, and preferably ranged.

Hmm, I guess but the problem with this would be the relatively weak reinforcements.. Perhaps I should get Razorwings though.. ?

She bought a 1H crossbow, I don't remember the name but it's BY, Pierce 1, Move Monster 1 space on Surge I think.

Oh, well. Look at the bright side.. She won't do so well with that weapon in Act II.

Crossbow is pretty much the best weapon in act 1 (along with the bearded axe). Fortunately it's not as strong for act 2. Just be glad she isn't Logan Lashley as the treasure hunter with it getting automatic piercing 3 and move a space when you attack.

As a general rule, if you're careful with your unit control, large groups of small monsters are better unless you're trying specifically to clog a location on the map.

Consider: 4 goblin archers get 4 attacks, whereas if you go with the ettin you get 1 attack. Yeah the ettin is tougher, but the archers are much more mobile and have range.

Crossbow is pretty much the best weapon in act 1 (along with the bearded axe). Fortunately it's not as strong for act 2. Just be glad she isn't Logan Lashley as the treasure hunter with it getting automatic piercing 3 and move a space when you attack.

As a general rule, if you're careful with your unit control, large groups of small monsters are better unless you're trying specifically to clog a location on the map.

Consider: 4 goblin archers get 4 attacks, whereas if you go with the ettin you get 1 attack. Yeah the ettin is tougher, but the archers are much more mobile and have range.

Generally I'd agree, but the Goblin Archers are very squishy and with Leoric's heroic feat they can easily take a few of them down. But I suppose I might replace one of the large monsters with smaller ones, at this moment I am considering flesh moulders over the goblin archers though, they are also ranged and are slightly tougher. Zombies would be another choice if I am allowed to pick those but I have bad experiences with them because of their poor mobility and squishyness.

Crossbow is pretty much the best weapon in act 1 (along with the bearded axe). Fortunately it's not as strong for act 2. Just be glad she isn't Logan Lashley as the treasure hunter with it getting automatic piercing 3 and move a space when you attack.

As a general rule, if you're careful with your unit control, large groups of small monsters are better unless you're trying specifically to clog a location on the map.

Consider: 4 goblin archers get 4 attacks, whereas if you go with the ettin you get 1 attack. Yeah the ettin is tougher, but the archers are much more mobile and have range.

Generally I'd agree, but the Goblin Archers are very squishy and with Leoric's heroic feat they can easily take a few of them down. But I suppose I might replace one of the large monsters with smaller ones, at this moment I am considering flesh moulders over the goblin archers though, they are also ranged and are slightly tougher. Zombies would be another choice if I am allowed to pick those but I have bad experiences with them because of their poor mobility and squishyness.

No, zombies are just bad, avoid choosing those. Goblin archers are literally always better.

Leoric's heroic feat shouldn't be able to get several of the archers if you're careful, just keep them spread out and stay away from him. If he manages it, it should cost him a bunch of resources just to get into the correct position.

Barghests are also a good choice in the base game.

I support goblin archers as well. They can really put down the damage, as anyone who has played the opening quest of labyrinth of ruin has seen. Also remember goblins move fast AND you can interrupt your movement to attack. So try and shoot with them then split them up or hide them around corners when possible. This will force the heroes to split up or get into an uncomfortable position to kill them all. Also try to use the master goblin last. interrupt movement to attack with the minion archers while they are near the master goblin (or any master monster, if available) then move them away.

Barghests are my personal bread and butter if they are available. Their max possible damage is insane, and if they survive at close range attack+howl on a turn is incredibly efficient.

Also, if you have the expansion, Hybrid sentinels have done work for me. I think they have the civilized trait, which I believe is allowed in Masquerade Ball. Strong stats + fire breath on the master can just tear up a hero group, and Masquerade Ball is for sure a mission where the heroes will have to clump up.

Edit: Also... WIN ENCOUNTER 1!
I've never seen the heroes win that quest when Eliza has the riddles answered... and **** the "sometimes draw an extra overlord card" is a good relic...

Barghests are a great choice with their mobility and the fact you can block a corridor with just one by positioning it sideways. When I did that Interlude, I used barghests and merriods. The master merriod's flail ability combined with a frenzy card and its ability to immobilize can be quite deadly.

Barghests are a great choice with their mobility and the fact you can block a corridor with just one by positioning it sideways. When I did that Interlude, I used barghests and merriods. The master merriod's flail ability combined with a frenzy card and its ability to immobilize can be quite deadly.

Merriods plus volucrux reavers is a spectacular combo. Park the reavers behind the merriod. Immobilize them with reach and flail, move the reavers forward and attack with skirmish, then just move them back behind the merriod. The merriod tanks all the ranged damage and protects the reavers, and the reavers plus the merriod just ANNIHILATE them.