Scouring of the Shire has a very low chance of being in the sixth box now, because of The Tower of Cirith Ungol, Mount Doom, and The Black Gate being the probable quests for the final box. At least we can hope for a fellowship quest.

Scouring of the Shire has a very low chance of being in the sixth box now, because of The Tower of Cirith Ungol, Mount Doom, and The Black Gate being the probable quests for the final box...

Plus, you'd have Fellowship hero for a Saga quest that needs to use The One Ring that you just dumped back into Mount Doom.

I suppose it's possible they won't have The Black Gates as a quest in the final saga box, as quests that focus on the hobbits tend to not mix with others in a saga.

They could then throw in the gates as a fellowship or GenCon quest, like they did with Fog on the Barrow-downs and The Old Forest.

But as Kakita notes, that would leave us with a fellowship sphere hero without a One Ring. Personally, I don't think that would matter much. Fellowship Aragorn didn't need the Ring to be useful.

I suppose it's possible they won't have The Black Gates as a quest in the final saga box, as quests that focus on the hobbits tend to not mix with others in a saga.

They could then throw in the gates as a fellowship or GenCon quest, like they did with Fog on the Barrow-downs and The Old Forest.

That's also what I think is gonna happen, lthough it'd be really weird in solo.

Agreed that this would be likely. I guess I meant I wouldn't be surprised if the Black Gates were not a whole quest unto themselves.

Yeah, having to simultaneously fight off an overwhelming avalanche of foes just long enough for the Ringbearer to do the deed would be tense! Also to hurry as the Ringbearer, before your friends get slaughtered. Looking forward to it!

Yes, it is bound to be Cirith Ungol, Land of Shadow and Mount Doom/Black Gate as the final quest. The Land of Shadow could be a real slow burning bore of a quest, haha.

Hm. I could see some equipment objectives to keep your threat down. Could make for an interesting secrecy quest.

Yes, the threat should certainly be of an essence then and there.

I could see a timer-type mechanc, where you play Black Gate first, There, you can reveal additional cards (to simulate drawing Sauron's armies out of Mordor), until you get overwhelmed, You note the number of extra reveals and the rounds survived. The latter gives you the time you have to destroy the ring in the final quest, the former affects how many enemies you see.

I could see a timer-type mechanc, where you play Black Gate first, There, you can reveal additional cards (to simulate drawing Sauron's armies out of Mordor), until you get overwhelmed, You note the number of extra reveals and the rounds survived. The latter gives you the time you have to destroy the ring in the final quest, the former affects how many enemies you see.

This is sort of how they describe the last two quests in this box.

I could see a timer-type mechanc, where you play Black Gate first, There, you can reveal additional cards (to simulate drawing Sauron's armies out of Mordor), until you get overwhelmed, You note the number of extra reveals and the rounds survived. The latter gives you the time you have to destroy the ring in the final quest, the former affects how many enemies you see.

This is sort of how they describe the last two quests in this box.

True. What I like about that approach is that it mirrors the sequene in the books. The Black Gate chapter ends with the troll dropping on Pippin and him falling unconscious, and we don't really know if it was enough until we've followed Frodo and Sam through Mordor.

Slightly off topic, but the box quality on the latest deluxe box for Thrones was a significant step down and I expect we will see the same on this expansion.

Slightly off topic, but the box quality on the latest deluxe box for Thrones was a significant step down and I expect we will see the same on this expansion.

Explain.

Slightly off topic, but the box quality on the latest deluxe box for Thrones was a significant step down and I expect we will see the same on this expansion.

Explain.

Please

Were there defects on the box, did they use a different material for the box, Cards?

So the current deluxe boxes are a thick cardboard with a slight texture and the entire kid comes off. I think they are really nice. The new ones are a thin smooth shell over a corrugated cardboard and only the end opens up. Much cheaper.

I don't KNOW for certain that all the boxes are changing, but I would bet on it.

So the current deluxe boxes are a thick cardboard with a slight texture and the entire kid comes off. I think they are really nice. The new ones are a thin smooth shell over a corrugated cardboard and only the end opens up. Much cheaper.

I don't KNOW for certain that all the boxes are changing, but I would bet on it.

So you mean the literal box, nothing about the card quality itself? That's OK with me, I put everything in card sheets in binders anyways. The boxes serve no purpose for me.

Least thing I care about is the cardboard box itself

Cards are the same. I know most don't care about the boxes, but I do. It's not a big thing, but it's still a thing.

What about a Gandalf the White attachment like they did with Strider?

What about a Gandalf the White attachment like they did with Strider?

That attachment is called "Beyond All Hope".

So the current deluxe boxes are a thick cardboard with a slight texture and the entire kid comes off. I think they are really nice. The new ones are a thin smooth shell over a corrugated cardboard and only the end opens up. Much cheaper.

I don't KNOW for certain that all the boxes are changing, but I would bet on it.

Really? That's very lame. Normally I wouldn't care about a box, but with all the BS surrounding the controversial decision from Asmode (and therefore FFG) to curb online sales, increasing prices across the board for everyone, I'm annoyed they're cutting corners. They want to label themselves as a luxury brand, not some generic store brand product. Cool, I get that. But why am I paying more than before and getting less? You can't just cut corners and charge a premium price. That's like a luxury car manufacturer slapping on their hood ornaments on cheap used cars they acquired and charging you the full premium price.

I don't know the decision making, but it really smacked of Asmodee to me.

Cards are the same. I know most don't care about the boxes, but I do. It's not a big thing, but it's still a thing.

Agreed. I like the boxes and it will annoy me. It's not a good sign, either.

Unless they actually start making the deluxe boxes functionally deck box shaped, a dip in quality doesn't bother me at all. In fact, I might even prefer lower quality so I feel less bad about throwing them away after I get the precious new cards out of them.