Yeah, it might benefit from scrying, although I think scrying will be best for a trap deck. That will be much more effective solo or 2 player than 3-4 player.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but... they need more cards like The End Comes that shuffle the discard pile into the deck.

Where is the release article so we can start ordering our copies......?

Where is the release article so we can start ordering our copies......?

They just posted an article. :-)

And confirming the text for the card None Return.

Okay, onto the quest. Spoilers ahead.

I played my already sleeved up Spirifindel, Loragorn, Boromir deck and chose Boromir to be the escaped prisoner. I did get some pretty good draws, but it was pretty much a cakewalk for that deck with Boromir. I do think that it could be a tough quest, but Boromir is its cryptonite.

Played it with my hobbit deck and had little difficulty. I've enjoyed the scenario but I doubt Mount Gram will be fun for those people who are interested in maximum challenge.

How do you do it with Boromir? He can't quest worth a flying flip!

Again, maybe I got lucky with the draws, but Boromir is great at killing and I saw a few enemies early on that enabled me to bulk him up and to rescue a second hero.

Hey guys we play this game for long time. . We know how to build up a decks so all that new standard quest most of the time will be peace of cake for us… just need wait for Nmode….

And that fact I dont like to be honest

Hey guys we play this game for long time. . We know how to build up a decks so all that new standard quest most of the time will be peace of cake for us… just need wait for Nmode….

And that fact I dont like to be honest

That's why odd, under powered, or heavily thematic decks can be so fun! Of course it's rewarding to beat the encounter deck, but much more so when you use interesting strategies and niche cards.

There's always the option to throw Boromir, Glorfindel, or Dain at a problem, but you can just as easily ignore such cards if you want to challenge yourself.

Playing theme is fun and I always play theme for the saga quests, but I like to play power decks too. The quest is rated a five for what it's worth which is not usually too hard. Honestly if I were to hand build a deck to beat this quest it wouldn't be too far off what I've been using somewhat by coincidence.

Low diff quests in new cycles need to exist. It lowers the entry point and enables people to, lets say, buy core + new cycle main box + a few APs and actually be able to beat something.

Yeah, I agree completely about the importance of low-difficulty quests. They are important for newer players with smaller card pools, and in my opinion often fun to play even with large card pools. Mount Gram, Trouble in Tharbad and Encounter at Amon Din all are fairly easy (ok, need to play Mount Gram a few more times but seems to be on the easier side) but all utilize unique quest mechanics that make the scenarios interesting to play. Moreover, I personally enjoy the ability to run a deck through a scenario and win without a lot of deck-building and/or power deck-building; not every scenario needs to be a grind. And for those who may differ, there's always Nightmare versions available.

I am a borderline power gamer and I personally love easy quests. My particular reason is because easy quests usually have a far greater replay value. Difficult quests are usually difficult because they require a certain type of emphasis (like lots of Healing or card dump for small hand size). Once you "solve the puzzle" there is really nothing else to play for. Easy quests can be defeated by many different strategies and deck types, so after you win you still have a lot to explore. In addition, it is fun to win with 0 threat, or on turn 1. Easy quests are a lot of fun.

Yes guys I agree with you. We need some easy quest to build up some experimental decks and have fun. Sure!

I just only wonna get Nmode straight away along with a standard

I think it's definitely a bit tougher in 4 player, which is how we played it at Gen Con, as the chances of hitting on the wrong cards to mess you up are greater. One of us for example was using Boromir as their starting hero, but kept drawing nothing but locations, which is a recipe for disaster.

Yes guys I agree with you. We need some easy quest to build up some experimental decks and have fun. Sure!

I just only wonna get Nmode straight away along with a standard

that would be ideal but at the very least it seems like the nightmare production cycle has really kicked into high gear over the last year or so; having the voice of isengard decks just released...i still feel like that expansion isnt that old (although it has been like year n a half...but it doesnt feel like it!)

I caught up on obtaining a lot of the nightmare sets I was missing this weekend at GenCon but still feel intimidated taking them on...its a lot of quests to try...in that same vein i'm sure its a lot of work on Caleb and Matt to A) work on current cycle B) work on saga expansions C) work on nightmare quests D) provide relatively consistent article updates E) everything else they have to do.

I finally beat the quest using a modified deck that was in the release article. At first, I thought it was hard, but that was because I didn't read the rules for building the capture deck right, and was stuck with two heroes for the whole of the game. But it's not bad! I like the feeling of slowly getting your stuff back, and then building up for a big finish. Hope all of the cycle's quests have the cool feeling as these ones!

As to harder quests, I do prefer easier quests in that what I really don't like are "instant death unless you have test of will" cards, which are often what makes quests hard (although helm's deep was hard regardless).

Yes guys I agree with you. We need some easy quest to build up some experimental decks and have fun. Sure!

I just only wonna get Nmode straight away along with a standard

This is what I hate most about their distribution. Why not build the Nightmare mode into the standard version just as well as the Easy mode. I know this way they allow themselves more time to see new things but it is really expensive for someone who buys every pack. I don't think it had to be that different. I would think that taking away five or six cards from a standard 30+ card quest and replacing them with five or six tough nuts would be totally sufficient, maybe with a different quest stage, too.

First of all, it would take away their profit. Second, it's too late building in nightmare mode into the core products. Third, it would increase the design time of new expansions which is already long as it is.

Profit? Maybe, though if the original product costs more? I am not really seeing into it, obviously, I don't know what the sales of the PoD is, etc.

Too late? Of course not. They change things all the time, they have added the easy mode after about two years or so, have you not been around?

Increase design time? Of course not. They have light-age of time to come up with a few cards. The number does not even have to be greater. You just make another circle around the set number to indicate what is a nightmare card.

Just played the quest just now. It was great. And while it wasn't too hard, it was a lot of fun busting out your dudes and grabbing your gear to make a run for it at the end. I used a modified Gandalf Ally deck using Spirit Merry instead of Spirit Glorfy, and it was cool to free Gandalf, Treebeard, my heroes and more to victory!

Not just maybe - for certain. Increasing the value of base product decreases sales for people who are doubtful even with current prices. PoD enables a good price for base product + additional side profit from those who want to expand their gameplay with the new difficulty.

They changed nothing. You're speaking of introducing a whole new bunch of encounter cards into every existing set. What they did was released a buklet with a list of cards to remove for the easy mode, and added a golden ring to some of the existing encounter cards. The number of cards in the set remains the same, production value remains the same, final product price remains the same. Have you not been around?

Oh man, that last paragraph indicates how actually poor is your knowledge of the game design process. If it's so easy to just design a bunch of nigthmare cards and throw them at printer - I think you should apply to the FFG as a lead LCG designer, they need someone as productive as you.

It is a sign of a very naive mind that claims to know something for certain, especially when it is not within the area of expertise. I certainly did not do anything of the kind, I said I wasn't sure. Maybe you should apply if you think so highly of your knowledge, but I think you might find too few of the same opinion.

Some people might just stop buying the product if it won't bring enough difficulty to them. They will not want to invest into double packs -- with doubtful result. Some of the nightmare were not a great success, a few not even that much more difficult.

Yes, they did change for the easy mode -- in the very similar (if not the exact) way I would like them to change for the nightmare mode.

Funny, just the other day I saw you bashing someone for being negative, whilst in fact almost every post of yours is peppered with either negativity or scorn toward others. A sign of a very troubled soul.

It's not the matter of you agreeing with me or not, it's a simple matter of economics.

By the time people might stop buying the product if it won't bring them enough difficulty they will be so invested in the game that FFG wouldn't care less if they continue or not. It's the first and entry experience that matters and decides wheter the person continues to invest into the game. And that experience should be as accessible as possible.

So, you want a hard mode that has nothing to do with the new cards? Simple, remove any weak cards from the encounter deck, skip your first resource phase and BAM - you got the hard mode out of the box. You don't need to wait for FFG's official document to do that.

Funny how you percieve me not agreeing with you as something negative or scornful. That's where a sign of a very troubled soul indeed. And the most sad fact about all of it is that I myself would enjoy if all the boxes contained all the nightmare stuff by default as soon as they are released. I just got enough wits to understand why they don't.