Hi deck builders!

I'm new to the game and have been absolutely loving it. I tend to okay with a friend, and have a coreset, Khazad Dum, Black Riders and OHaUH.

The issue I'm discovering is how necessary spirit seems; namely, how (at least with the cards I have) Lorien Guide, Northern Tracker and Eowyn seem absolutely necessary for survival in the quest phase and location clearing. The lore cards allowing 2 progress tokens on location (4 for dark locations) have also been helpful.

Are there better ways to go about this (or expansion cards that make it easier) or do I just need to make sure these cards come with me wherever I go? Threat on locations is kicking my butt.

Thanks!

Hi deck builders!

I'm new to the game and have been absolutely loving it. I tend to okay with a friend, and have a coreset, Khazad Dum, Black Riders and OHaUH.

The issue I'm discovering is how necessary spirit seems; namely, how (at least with the cards I have) Lorien Guide, Northern Tracker and Eowyn seem absolutely necessary for survival in the quest phase and location clearing. The lore cards allowing 2 progress tokens on location (4 for dark locations) have also been helpful.

Are there better ways to go about this (or expansion cards that make it easier) or do I just need to make sure these cards come with me wherever I go? Threat on locations is kicking my butt.

Thanks!

Radagast's Cunning and Secret Paths help with threat management. For locations, Thror's Key and Thror's Map are OK but not super powerful. Ravens of the Mountains is also decent. But Lore's greatest ability for questing is scrying: the ability to look at the encounter deck and see what's coming. Henamarth Riversong is unparalleled in solo, but there's also Lore Denethor hero, Risk Some Light, Needful to Know, and Rumour from the Earth.

Hi deck builders!

I'm new to the game and have been absolutely loving it. I tend to okay with a friend, and have a coreset, Khazad Dum, Black Riders and OHaUH.

The issue I'm discovering is how necessary spirit seems; namely, how (at least with the cards I have) Lorien Guide, Northern Tracker and Eowyn seem absolutely necessary for survival in the quest phase and location clearing. The lore cards allowing 2 progress tokens on location (4 for dark locations) have also been helpful.

Are there better ways to go about this (or expansion cards that make it easier) or do I just need to make sure these cards come with me wherever I go? Threat on locations is kicking my butt.

Thanks!

Mirkwood Explorer (The Thing in the Depths) may be a Lore option looking into. He won't help a lot with numerous, small locations (apart from contributing two willpower), but he's got some potential in helping clear away bigger locations when they crop up (assuming they're not immune to player card effects!)

If locations are the main problem that keeps you from winning, then I strongly recommend the Foundations of Stone set. It contains the player card Asfaloth, which is widely considered to be the most powerful location control card ever printed.

The quest is fun too

If locations are the main problem that keeps you from winning, then I strongly recommend the Foundations of Stone set. It contains the player card Asfaloth, which is widely considered to be the most powerful location control card ever printed.

The quest is fun too

Also, whenever Seastan speaks, listen to him. I think he had every single card and FAQ memorized.

In 2 player, you typically want to be clearing the active location every turn and travelling to a new one so that they don't start to build up. To do that, you'll have to figure out how to build up enough willpower to outstrip the encounter deck--and Spirit is the sphere that does that best. Eowyn is by no means required, but she definitely helps.

Usually I pay close attention to how many resources I'm spending per point of willpower. With your current cardpool, you don't have many good ally options for cheap willpower--Bofur (tactics) is pretty good value, but everyone else is either temporary or two-for-one cost to willpower. You can offset this somewhat with Faramir (leadership), but otherwise you'll probably be relying on high-willpower heroes to get you through.

I think you've got the right idea, given your current cardpool. Definitely give Radagast's Cunning and Secret Paths a try if you haven't yet, they're another great way to gain some ground in the quest phase.

After giving it a little more thought, you might consider picking up The Watcher in the Water. You get one of the best questing allies in the game (Arwen), a great willpower engine (Sword that was Broken) and a great quest you can play with your current cardpool. The rest of the player cards in that pack are great too.

All great advice above and i also have to say, Eowyn is still my most valued hero, i cant seem to get away from her.

Authraw, recommending Watcher in the Water, i found that quest quite brutal but lots of fun, **** you tentacles!!

http://hallofbeorn.com/Cards/Search?CardType=Ally&Willpower=2&WillpowerOp=gteq

In this link you will have every ally with 2 or more W.

Hall of Beorn is a great tool when you want to look up card text, if you haven't tried it yet you should definitely check it out. I like to use RingsDB for more complex queries, since it has a textual search bar that becomes quite powerful once you learn how to use it.

Here's a query of allies with cost 3 or less and willpower 2 or greater--these are the ones I would consider to be solid questing allies. You'll note that the greatest density of them is in Celebrimbor's Secret (after eliminating the temporary allies from The Road Darkens). I didn't mention it before for a few reasons:

* You'll need the Voice of Isengard deluxe pack before you can play the quest

* Starting with Heirs of Numenor, the quests become a little more narrative, and if you are interested in the story it's probably better to play a cycle in order rather than jumping in in the middle of one

But if you're okay with just using the player cards, Celebrimbor's Secret would also be an excellent choice to jumpstart your questing power.

Hall of Beorn is a great tool when you want to look up card text, if you haven't tried it yet you should definitely check it out. I like to use RingsDB for more complex queries, since it has a textual search bar that becomes quite powerful once you learn how to use it.

Here's a query of allies with cost 3 or less and willpower 2 or greater--these are the ones I would consider to be solid questing allies. You'll note that the greatest density of them is in Celebrimbor's Secret (after eliminating the temporary allies from The Road Darkens). I didn't mention it before for a few reasons:

* You'll need the Voice of Isengard deluxe pack before you can play the quest

* Starting with Heirs of Numenor, the quests become a little more narrative, and if you are interested in the story it's probably better to play a cycle in order rather than jumping in in the middle of one

But if you're okay with just using the player cards, Celebrimbor's Secret would also be an excellent choice to jumpstart your questing power.

Thanks for the help. I'm trying to do cycles but I also want to maximize the enjoyment of my playing time, and from what I've heard the first cycle is hit or miss. I got the saga expansions for the player cards/theme/excellent reviews (the buyer's guide has TBR as one of the best expacs in the whole game, looking forward to it) and also because I'm the only one bankrolling the whole thing. I'll probably try to do all of the Dwarrowdelf cycle and get Return to Mirkwood for Dain Ironfoot.

The Northern Trackers, Elf Stones and Ancestral Knowledge have been saving our bacon in Moria. Here's hoping that good luck holds out.