The final regular attempt at Steward's Fear also failed.

After planning in turn 3, I'd cleared two locations, had a scrap of history in the staging area, two Envoys of Pelargir, a Honor Guard, and a Vassal of the Windlord as allies (Bofur had sadly been discarded to a knife in the back. Empty staging area, Sewers the active location, 26 threat. The only fly in the ointment was that I had no defensive buff for Boromir yet, and I had a Lossarnach Bandit engaged -- I'd actually saved Dori the previous turn, but Dori + Boromir is only 5 attack and I needed six to kill him.

I reserved Dori again in turn 3, anticipating the sewers would spawn another enemy, and depending on who came out he could help with killing or defense while my new Vassal would help kill the bandit (I had Gwaihir, so I could get it back). Another Sewers came out, giving me a second underworld card for the active location -- and they turned out to be another bandit and the Umbar Assassin. So much for the resources I had saved for Gwaihir. Since I still had no defensive help for Boromir, I used Dori to help him defend the Assassin, and Honour Guard to take away damage from another defense, then Boromir + Vassal killed the assassin. Turn 4 starts with 31 threat, 3/4 progress, two enemies engaged that I can't easily kill.

In turn four I get a Winged Guardian out, hoping to relieve some defensive pressure on Boromir. I save Theoden instead of Dori so I have killing power for the bandit. This goes a little better, as Lost in the City allows me to pull the surging City Street and add it, better yet it's not an underworld card. Better yet, the Sewers cleared revealing a prisoner -- with two clues in staging, all I have to do is clear one more location to reach stage 3.

Combat phase I'm able to defend both and kill one of the bandit, but one defense, one attack, and two clue-claiming sends my threat up to 35.

Turn five: 36 threat, 3/4 progress. I'm able to clear the active location and get to the final phase (Telemnar's Bane), but he's joined by a dissident. A shadow returns Telemnar's Bane to staging, but Boromir still needs two defenses and helps kill a bandit.

Turn six: 40 threat, 0/15 progress, Telmnar's bane in staging, a Dissident engaged. I need to kill the bane, so I save Theoden, but that reduces my willpower to 8 (Dori/Boromir/two Envoys/newly played Eagle of Misty Mountains). Out come a pickpocket and a treachery forcing me to return the Dissident to staging, so I make no progress and my threat rises to 41. Three enemies, no progress, and I can't do without Boromir's readying. The pickpocket also discards the Gandalf in my hand that was the only hope of avoiding a threat loss. I go ahead and kill Telemnar's Bane for revenge and also clean up the pickpocket, but two attacks and two defenses by Boromir raise my threat to 45.

Turn seven: 46 threat, 0/15 progress, Dissident engaged. I finally draw my Gondorian Shield, but what I really need is the Gandalf the pickpocket discarded. I send everyone who can quest (11 wp), but the deck fights back with a Market Square, Dissident, and a Zealous Traitor, getting me only to 2/15 progress. The Zealous Traitor kills off both my envoys, and with three enemies and little progress I just use Boromir for defense and threat out.

After that pathetic performance, I decided to drop to semi-easy, starting with 3 extra resources. My starting hand of two Winged Guardians, an Honour Guard, a Sterner than Steel, Gandla,f and an Envoy didn't thrill me (though in retrospect it probably should've, since the WGs could save me a lot of threat), so I mulliganed and got a Support of the Eagles, a Gondorian Fire, two Gandalfs, Gwiahir, and an Eagles of the Misty Mountains. I like this, support + Misty can make Boromir very tough.

I draw a Vassal for turn one and am able to play Support of the Eagles, a Vassal of the Windlord, and a Gondorian Fire. In reaction my last loss, I'm setting up Boromir to kill things instead of just defend them.

I send my heroes (7 wp). The encounter deck strikes back with an Unwelcome Discovery revealing the Zealous Traitor, and surging into a Local Trouble on Theoden. That's not optimal, but it allows me to clear the starting location, allowing me to draw a Gathering Information side-quest and revealing another Zealous Traitor.

The two Zealous Traitors kill my Vassal -- probably the best possible time to get these guys with only one cheap ally out, but annoying to lose the +3 attack from support of the eagles. Using Gondorian Fire allows Boromir enough attack power to kill traitors, and four readies later a damaged Boromir has emptied the field. No enemies, nothing in staging -- no active location, local trouble on Theoden.

Turn 2: Threat 29, 1/4 progress, no active location. I draw and play an Eagle of the Misty Mountains, which lets me quest for six while leaving Theoden on the sidelines. I also played Gather Information, a beautiful thing in a quest where I progress by clearing active locations. What's not so beautiful is not having a location to clear.

False lead is revealed.

Turn 3: Threat 30, 1/4 progress, no active location. I draw a Book of Eldacar, I'm saving up for Gwaihir (I want to save Gandalf for the final stage, if possible).

I send the same 6 wp and get a dissident revealed. Still no location and only 3/4 progress on Gather Info. I decide to defend with Theoden and use Boromir/Support to kill it, but the Dissident's shadow discards the resources I was saving. The enemy costs me three threat, thanks to Local Trouble.

Turn 4: Threat 34, 1/4 progress, no active location. I draw Captain of Gondor and play it on Boromir.

I send the same 6 willpower, this time I get a City Street surging into another dissident. At last I have a location to clear, and I get Gather Information cleared. I grab a Gondorian Shield so I can use my Support for it's attack value, since Boromir is banged up. But with Captain of Gondor I don't need Support to kill this enemy, and Boromir takes it out for another 2 threat.

Turn 5: Threat 37, 1/4 progress, but finally an active location. I draw Grimbold, play him and the shield.

I can now quest for 8 without Theoden. Storehouse comes out, City street is cleared. Good turn.

Turn 6: Threat 38, 2/4 progress. Draw another shield.

I quest for 8 and a Lost in City allows me to add City Stree to staging. Storehouse is cleared, travel to city street, and the underworld card revealed is prisoner! Looking good, aside from my dangerously high threat.

Turn 7: Threat 39, 3/4 progress, active location, empty staging, prisoner in staging. I draw a Wait No Longer, going to save that for third staging.

I play Gwaihir, which returns my Vassal to play for the turn, then send everybody but Theoden and the vassal (10 wp) -- there's no underworld card, so I'm feeling reasonably safe. Knife in the back discards Eagles of the Misty Mountains, which is unfortunate, but I clear the final location and reveal the plot -- Poisoned Counsels, raising my threat by 2 every turn. This is exactly the plot I do not need. Boromir readies to interrogate the prisoner.

Turn 8: Threat 43, 2/4 progress. I draw Eagles are Coming and pull in another Eagles of the Misty Mountains -- I play Gandalf (threat 38) so that I can have the willpower I need to clear Mindoullin, sending Gwaihir, Gandalf, Grimbold, and Dori -- Boromir reserved for defense, Theoden unusable thanks to Local trouble. A Dissident comes out and the active location is cleared (3/4), but I have no new location to travel to and two enemies to deal with -- Mindoullin revealed a pickpocket. I take the pickpocket undefended, but Boromir defending against dissident and then killing both enemies sends threat to 40. And the plot kicks in...

Turn 9: Threat 43, 3/4 progress, no active location. I draw Sterner than Steel. I only send Gwaihir and Grimbold (4 willpower), since there's nothing to clear. False lead ends it.

Turn 10: Threat 46, 3/4 progress, no active location. I draw Feint, I play my other Gandalf to reduce my threat (41), though in retrospect I should've saved him for the next turn. I only send Gwaihir and Grimbold (4 willpower), and this time I finally get a location. I travel to the sewers.

Turn 11: Threat 44, 3/4 progress, finally have an active location, but no real hope of completing the third stage. I draw and play Book of Eldcar, send Dori/Grimbold/Gwaihir (6 wp), a Dissident is revealed and the Sewers are cleared -- Bandit to staging, and stage 3 brings out Hand of Castimir. Since I'm doomed anyway, I want to take the villain with me. I use Feint to keep Castimir from attacking, use the Book to replay Feint against the bandit, and take the dissident's attack undefended. Then Boromir and Theoden (45) kill Castimir, Boromir (46) kills the bandit, Boromir (47) kills the dissident, and then the plot, the end of round, and Local Trouble send me to 51 and I threat out again.

I might've been able to pull this out with a different plot, but all those turns with no active location to clear ultimately sent my threat to unsustainable levels. Local Trouble on Theoden really would've hurt in stage three, but as it turns out I never really got to that point.

And the final go against Steward's Fear, in semi-easy (extra resource) mode....

Initial hand was Sterner Than Steel, Gandalf, Treebeard, Vassal of the Windlord, Gondorian Shield, and Wait No Longer. With six resources, this hand is a a no brainer. I take it and draw a second Gondorian Shield, and play Treebeard and a Shield.

I send all three heroes (7 wp). A City street surges into a False lead, ending the quest phase

Turn 2: Threat 24, 0/4 progress stage one. I draw a Winged Guardian and play it. My achilles heel in previous games has been threat, but alternatives to Boromir for defense will help a lot with that -- as will having Treebeard around to help attack.

With extra threat in staging, I send Treebeard and all heroes for 9 willpower. A Dissident comes up, allowing me to place 4 progress on Fourth Star.

I engage the Dissident and defend with Winged Guardian, but the shadow returns it to staging.

Turn 3: Threat 25, 0/4 progress stage one. I draw and play an Eagle of the Misty Mountains.

Treebeard has two resources now and can self-ready, and my threat in staging is getting bigger. I send everybody but the WG for 11 willpower. A Storehouse is revealed, allowing the Fourth Star to be cleared (1/4). My notes don't mention the draw, maybe I forgot it, but it did reveal an Umbar Assassin. I travel to the City Street, engage the Assassin (damage on Theoden) and Dissident, and put one damage from archery on Treebeard and Misty. I defend the Assassin with WG, he's destroyed and buffs Misty to 3/3 attack/defense. Boromir readies (26) and defends against Dissident, using Stern as Steel to cancel a shadow that would've discarded my whole hand. Then Boromir (27) and Treebeard (self-ready) destroy the Assassin.

Turn 4: Threat 28, 1/4 progress stage one. I draw Wait no Longer, play Vassal of the Windlord.

Treebeard can't ready and is still more dangerous than Misty, so I send the heroes + Misty for 9 willpower. False lead is revealed and ends the quest phase.

I defend the Dissident with Vassal of the Windlord (destroyed), buffing Misty to 4/4 attack/defense. Treebeard then kills him.

Turn 5: Threat 29, 1/4 progress stage one. Draw and play Honour Guard.

I send the heroes + Treebeard for 9 willpower. An Unwelcome discovery discards a secret map and surges into a sewers (adding an underworld card to City Street). I clear City Street (2/4), revealing a zealous traitor. I travel to Sewers.

The Traitor damages Honour Guard and Treebeard, Honour Guard exhausts to avoid damaging Misty. Misty defends against the traitor, Treebeard self-readies and kills him.

Turn 6: Threat 30, 2/4 progress stage one. Draw and play Bofur.

With only storehouse in the staging area, I think the heroes + Bofur (9 willpower) can clear sewers, then Misty and Treebeard can take the underwolrd card down. Lurking in Shadows surges into an Underworld Dissident, the Sewers are cleared (3/4), and pickpocket is revealed. I travel to the Storehouse.

I take the pickpocket undefended, he discards my Wait No Longer and the Honour Guard exhausts to prevent his damage. Misty defends against the Dissident. Boromir readies (31) to kill the pickpocket, Treebeard kills the Dissident.

Turn 7: Threat 32, 3/4 progress stage one. Draw & play winged Guardian

With an empty staging area I send the heroes + Bofur (9 willpower). Out comes a Market Square, allowing the storehouse to be cleared (4/4) and revealing a pickpocket. The Plot is Up in Flames, the deck-discarding plot that poses little threat to this slow-drawing deck -- if I can encounter enough locations to get through the second stage in a timely fashion. Misty defends the pickpocket, again discarding a wait no Longer, then Treebeard kills him.

Turn 8: Threat 33, 0/4 progress stage two. Draw a Gondorian Shield.

I send the heroes, Bofur, and Treebeard for 11 willpower. Market square is revealed, allowing Roots to be cleared and revealing another pickpocket. I travel to one of the Market Squares. Winged Guardian defends against the pickpocket (Gondorian Shield discarded) and Misty kills him.

Turn 9: Threat 34, 1/4 progress stage two. Draw and play a Book of Eldacar -- if the plot discards a Feint from my deck, I can play it and put it on the bottom of my deck. I send the heroes, Bofur, and Treebeard for 11 willpower. Houses of the Dead comes out, I clear the market square (2/2), and travel to the Houses of the Dead exhausting my remaining characters-- with no enemies engaged or in staging, I don't have to either use Boromir or Treebeard's self-readying to cover me.

Turn 10: Threat 35, 2/4 progress stage two. Draw a Feint.

Wanting to be sure of clearing the stage, and with two Feint plays available and WG, I send Misty and Treebeard with Bofur and the heroes for 13 willpower. Out comes Local Trouble -- it just wouldn't be Steward's Fear without Local Trouble on Theoden. We clear houses of the dead (3/4), and the underworld cards are a Zealous Traitor and a scrap of history. I ready Boromir (36) and claim the Scrap of History to finish the second stage, revealed is the hand of Castimir. Sadly with Misty questing I can't kill him this turn. I travel to Market Square, engage the traitor (Honour Guard saves the Winged Guardian, all the other allies have hp remaining). WG defends against Castimir, Boromir readies (37) and defends against the Traitor. Treebeard readies and kills the traitor, Treebeard readies again, as does Boromir (38), and together they put 4 damage on Castimir.

Turn 11: Threat 40, 0/15 progress stage three. Castimir 4/6 damage. I draw and play a Vassal of the Windlord, also play Gandalf and use him for threat reduction (35 threat).

I send everybody -- all heroes (36), Gandalf, Bofur, Treebeard, and Misty, for 17 willpower. A storehouse comes out for 2 threat, but with Market Square taking one progress I only have 14/15 progress on the main quest. I travel to the Storehouse, Feint Castimir, then Treebeard does his final readying and finishes off Castimir with the help of the Vassal (Vassal discarded to Misty, buffing her to 5/5 attack/defense).

Turn 12: Threat 38, 14/15 progress, storehouse active location, empty staging area. Draw and play Honour Guard.

The game is now in the bag. I again send all heroes (39) plus Treebeard and Bofur for 11 wp. Misty stays back for defense, not that we'll get that far. The encounter deck strikes back by revealing -- a Prisoner. Victory! At last.

I'm glad not to have to go against Steward's Fear again. After taking six plays, and an easier mode to knock of the "medium" quest, next stop is the hard quest. The key to victory was minimizing Boromir readying, he only raised threat to defend twice and only raise threat to attack twice; the Eagles and Treebeard managed to take care of most of the combat. If it weren't for local trouble I would've ended the game at 36 threat. But it also helped that I finally got the plot that by far is the easiest for this deck to beat.

I Will do it soon, was waiting for my copy of the Mumakil to arrive (it arrived about a week ago).

The Wastes of Eriador -- the hard quest. I know from Steward's Fear that threat is likely to be a problem. I also need to be able to not just defend, but actually kill things.

Finally, Cold From Angmar can devastate me -- so I need to keep damage off Theoden and Boromir at all costs. My initial mulligan targets at Honour Guard and Gondorian Shield. On the plus side, Wait No Longer and Dunedain Hunter actually do work well in this quest.

But nothing ventured, nothing gained -- into the wastes we go -- and it might have worked if less wolves came out of the deck.

My opening hand was Treebeard, Dunedain Hunter, Winged Guardian, Envoy of Pelargir, Gandalf, and a Sterner than Steel. I love Treebeard, but he's slow to come on board and using him as a damage sink is less compelling when it nerfs his resource gathering and self-readying. I mulligan into Winged Guardian, Support of the Eagles, Gondorian Fire, Dunedain Hunter, Gwaihir, and Legolas. So I didn't get my key cards, but WG + Support turns Boromir into a 6-defense defender, so I like the potential here. Setup also reveals a Rugged Country in staging.

Turn 1: 23 threat, 0/20 progress 1B.

I draw Secret Vigil. I play Dunedain Hunter and find a White Warg, placing its when-engaged damage on the Hunter. I play the Vigil on the Warg, Winged Guardian, and Gondorian Fire. Facing one enemy already, I hope another doesn't come out so I can save my Winged Guardian for the Support of the Eagles. I send the three heroes and save Amarthiul, due to daytime that gives me 10 willpower. Out comes a Cold From Angmar, I attach it to stage 1B and damage Dori. This gives enough progress to clear the starting active location and place three progress on 1B. I travel to Rugged Country.

In the combat phase, Amarthiul defends, and then Boromir (24 threat) and Dunedain Hunter combine to finish it off, the Secret Vigil reducing my threat to 22. Night falls (23 threat), and a Northern Warg is revealed, fortunately it's "when revealed" threat enhancement will wear off for the next quest phase.

Turn 2: 25 threat, 3/20 progress 1B.

I draw another Secret Vigil, but use my resources to play Support of the Eagles on Boromir. If I can keep the WG alive, Boromir can defend for 6 now.

At night I can't make progress on the quest, but I can at least clear active locations. Still, I need to keep the wolves under control so I just send the three heroes (7 willpower) again. A Hunting Pack (4 threat) is revealed, so I'm one short of clearing Rugged Country. Neither wolf will automatically engage me, I optionally engage the Northern Warg, defend with Boromir (25 threat) and kill it with Amarthiul and the Hunter.

Turn 3: 26 threat, 3/20 progress 1 B.

I draw Wait no Longer, and decide to play it so I can be sure to clear the active location and make progress. It pulls a White Warg out of the deck, I place the damage on the Hunter.

I send the heroes and the Hunter (11 wp) to clear Rugged Country and get progress to 10/20. Boromir (27 threat) defends, then Boromir (28 threat) and Amarthiul kill the White Warg.

Night sends threat to 29 and reveals another Cold from Angmar -- I damage Dori again.

Turn 4: 30 threat, 10/20 progress 1B.

I draw Close Call (I put this back in my deck because I had to avoid damage on Boromir -- but given the threat situation am unlikely to use it). I play Legolas. I send only Theoden and Dori for 5 willpower. Predatory Wolves comes out and a White Warg comes out. I optionally engage the pack and put the White Warg's damage on poor Dori. Boromir defends the pack and then defends (threat 31) the Warg -- maybe I should've saved a resource to actually use the Winged Guardian. I want to finish the pack off, so Boromir (threat 32), Legolas, and Amarthiul kill it, Legolas' ability pulling up another Dunedain Hunter. Boromir (threat 33) and the existing Hunter polish off the Warg.

Turn 5: 34 threat, 10/20 progess 1B.

I draw Treebeard and play my new Dunedain Hunter, which finds a Wolf of Angmar. With only 1 threat I don't want to waste my Secret Vigil on him, so I send the heroes and both Hunters (12 willpower). Out comes Pressing Needs (36 threat) which forces me to choose a reveal a side quest. Make Camp doesn't hurt me, since I can't heal anyway, but it surges and if I pick Lost in the Wilderness I can finish off this stage. I decide to press forward, picking Lost in the Wilderness and losing my hand: Secret Vigil, Gwiahir, Close Call, Treebeard. Stage 2A is revealed, adding a Northern Warg. With the Hunters both questing, I need Boromir to kill both wolves, but the Winged Guardian should be able to take a defense. I ready Boromir (37 threat) and defend the Northern Warg; the shadow makes me exhaust a character, I choose the Winged Guardian to keep my killing intact, but Boromir (38 threat) has to defend it too. Boromir (39 threat) + Amarthiul kill the wolf, Boromir (40 threat) + Legolas kill the warg and I draw Bofur. (Note -- I screwed up updating my threat counter, so I *thought* I had 37 threat at this point -- I missed the "doomed 2" from the event and one of the Night increments.)

The good news is that Night no longer boosts my threat; the bad news is that it's now taking out my allies. I discard the damaged Dunedain Hunter.

Turn 6: 41 threat, 0/15 progress 2B

I draw the completely useless Close call, and play Bofur. With an empty stage but not being able to afford lack of progress, I send Dori, Theoden, and Bofur for 7 willpower. A Wolf of Angmar surges into a White Wolf -- just what I need, two more enemies.

Boromir defends the wolf, Winged Guardian defends the warg but the shadow forces me to exhaust the Hunter. Now I need Boromir for both killings and he obliges (42 threat, 43 threat), drawing Grimbold. Daybreak causes me to draw an Eagles are Coming.

Turn 7: 44 threat, 0/15 progress 2B

I draw a second Eagles are coming. I could really use some expendable Eagles right now, so I play both copies. One whiffs, the other pulls in another Winged Guardian. I play the Winged Guardian and Grimbold. Maybe Boromir won't have to defend. But I need to make progress, so I send all heroes with Grimbold and Bofur (11 willpower) against an empty staging. Biting wind comes out to place 5 damage, I make Grimbold, Bofur and Dori go within a point of death, clear the active location and make 8/15 progress. When night comes I discard the Winged Guardian (thinking I only needed one -- what was I thinking?), and night reveals a Northern Warg.

Turn 8: 45 threat, 8/15 progress 2B

I draw a Dunedain Hunter and play it to get a Blood Thirsty Warg. With just Northern Warg in stagingI, save Theoden for extra attacking and quest with Dori/Bofur/Grimbold (6 willpower). North Downs is revealed and I travel there.

I defend with Boromir against the Blood-Thirsty Warg -- would be nice to have two Winged Guardians about now! The shadow gets an Angmar wolf out of the stack, so I defend with Boromir (46 threat) against that as well. An additional attack (47 threat) is defended with Boromir. Winged Guardian takes the final wolf, but the shadow card kills it -- Boromir's Support of the Eagles is now worthless.

I think my threat is only 44, not 47, so I ready Boromir three times to finish off all three wolves with the help of Hunter/Amarthiul/Legolas, and draw Gandalf. Just what I need! Since it was night I couldn't really have saved 1 threat by taking an undefended attack, but I could've and should've used a Winged Guardian along the way to save a Boromir ready.

Turn 9: Think my threat is 48, draw an Honour Guard.

Play Gandalf, think my threat is 43. I need to clear this stage and get the boss out. I send Gandalf, Grimbold, Bofur and the heroes for 15 progress, I need 11 progress so 4 can come out of the encounter deck. A White Warg comes out, so I clear the North downs and finish the stage. The Pack Leader is added and it automatically flips to night, revealing a North Downs -- I don't travel to it because I need to get all 5 progress next turn. Both wolves are coming, I ready Boromir (44 threat) so I can exhaust him for the Pack Leaders effect with one of the hunters. Amarthiul defends the White Warg, the Hunter is the sacrificial victim and is destroyed by the Pack Leader. Legolas and Boromir (45 threat) kill the warg, drawing Eagles of the Misty Mountains.

Turn 10: Think my threat is 46, 0/5 progress stage 3B

I draw Book of Eldacar, and I play Eagles of the Misty Mountains. I can't afford to use Book/EAC to get another eagle. I *must* get 5 progress this time, and because it's daytime I have only 5 threat in staging. I send the heroes and Grimbold, Misty, Bofur for 13 willpower. I am saving Amarthiul and Legolas for attacking, despite the fact that I *cannot* attack the Pack Leader this turn and have no other wolves in play. Out comes a Northern Warg, which boosts the Pack Leader's threat as well as himself and I make ... 4 progress. I travel to the Northern Downs, but that's effectively game over....

Boromir defends (47 threat), and without a WG in play takes one damge. Amarthiul and Legolas kill it, drawing a Support of the Eagles.

Night reveals a shrouded hills.

Turn 11: Think my threat is 48, 4/5 progress. If this had really been my threat, and I had put down one more progress last time, then I would be very close to winning -- only one wolf in play, so all my remaining attackers could take out the Pack Leader. I have two expendable heroes to take undefended attacks, even. I play Support of the Eagles so I can boost Boromir twice. I send Bofur, Misty, Grimbold and both non-Boromir heroes for 11 willpower. Out comes a Wolf of Angmar surging into a Predatory Wolves -- Game over. *If* I had 5/5 progress, and *if* I hadn't got yet more wolves from the encounter deck, I could've exhausted Boromir, took an undefended attack, then Boromir + 2 support Eagles + Legolas + Amarthiul could've combined for 13 attack and taken the Pack Leader down.

So close, or so I thought at the time. It's not nice of the stages to keep shuffling those defeated wolves back into the deck. I killed 14 wolves in ten turns, none of which could be killed by any one character, and while I pulled 4 of those out of the deck with Hunter/Wait No Longer, in an ordinary quest that would've kept them from being encountered during the quest stage. I really think this quest didn't need to make Wolf of Angmar a surger -- requiring 4 attack to kill and attacking for 4 at night, he's sufficiently tough without pulling yet another wolf out of the bag. Whatever happened to surge enemies that Thalin could one-shot?

Attempt #2 at Wastes of Eraidor was short and sweet. Well, short.

I kept my original hand: Gondorian Shield, Gandalf, Vassal of the Windlord, Support of the Eagles, Winged Guardian, Eagles of the Misty Mountains. I've got defense, offense, and a threat reducer -- all I need now is for the encounter deck to give me time to set it all up. A forlorn hope.

Setup for the encounter deck had two Weight of Responsibility (replacing themselves) bring out a Wolf of Angmar which surged into a Blood-Thirsty warg. So turn one starts with two wolves and 3 threat in staging.

Turn 1 (23 threat) 0/20 progress. I draw a second Eagle of the Misty Mountains and play my Winged Guardian, reserving a resource for him to defend. I can only take one wolf, and I'm going to take blood-thirsty warg to avoid his immediate attack from night. I'm trying to minimize defenses from Boromir to preserve threat, and since I didn't play the Shield he can't defend safely anyway.

I send my heroes for 10 willpower. The deck reveals a Hunting Pack, so I place 4 progress on shrouded hills. I engaged the blood-thirsty warg, defend with the winged guardian, and attack with Amarthiul -- it only does 1 damage, but that gets him to the point where he can be killed with 6 attack.

Night falls (24 threat) and reveals a Northern Downs.

Turn 2 (25 threat) 0/20 stage 1B, 6 threat in staging.

I draw Grimbold, but play Support of Eagles. Needing at least two defenses this turn, Boromir needs a higher defense. I probably should've played the Shield so that Winged Guardian could take a defense, since Support means I can't defend with WG without losing him.

I send my heroes (7 willpower), and out comes a Northern Warg, boosting the other two wolves threat and raising my threat to 29. No travel for me!

I engage two of the wolves, leaving the tough pack in staging. I exhaust support of eagles to boost Boromir's defense to 6.

Boromir (30 threat) defends the Blood-Thirsty Warg

Boromir (31 threat) defends the Northern Warg -- and the shadow gives me another Northern Warg engaged

Boromir (32 threat) defends the new Northern Warg

Boromir (33 threat) defends the Wolf of Angmar

Boromir (34 threat) and Amarthiul kill the Blood-Thirsty Warg.

Day comes and I forget to send the three remaining wolves back to staging, so I think I have only 4 threat there instead of 9 threat.

Turn 3: 35 threat, 0/20 progress 1B, 4 threat (should be 9) in staging.

I Draw Secret Vigil, play on a Northern Warg, then play Vassal of the Windlord and the Gondorian Shield. With 3 wolves engaged instead of the zero it should be, I plan to kill off all the wolves except the pack.

I send my heroes for 10 willpower, the deck counters with Wolf of Angmar, which surges into a Wolf's Den. I thought that gave me one progress (should've been threat raise of 4), clearing Shrouded Hills and traveling to North Downs. I optionally engage the Wolf of Angmar, wanting to clear the wolves out. Once again I have no resources for WG, but Vigil will buy me two Boromir readies. I exhaust Support of Eagles to use the Vassal's attack.

I take one Wolf of Angmar undefended since it's daytime, and put two damage on Dori.

Amarthiul blocks the second wolf of Angmar, the shadow exhausting my WG.

Boromir (36 threat) defends Northern Warg #1, the shadow puts a Blood-Thirsty Warg engaged with me.

Boromir (37 threat) defends Northern Warg #2, the shadow puts one damage on Boromir.

Boromir (38 threat) defends Blood-Thirsty, the shadow exhausts my Vassal.

Boromir (39-42 threat) readies to kill four wolves, all but Blood-Thirsty who needs 7 attack. The Vigil reduces threat to 40.

Night comes (41 threat) and reveals a Northern Warg.

So at the beginning of turn 4, I have 0/20 progress on the first stage, 42 threat, an engaged Blood-Thirsty Warg, two wolves (and 9 threat) in staging. With Gondorian Shield and Support/Vassal, Boromir can safely defend and kill the lesser wolves, but my threat is high enough I'll be seeing the pack this turn, and I have no real hope of questing successfully. I concede because it was still early enough to attempt try #3, or so I thought.

If I had followed the rules correctly turn 3 would've gone differently -- but the threat in staging would've been much larger and even with playing Grimbold I would've taken on more threat. The quest gave me seven wolves in three turns, and that was just too much to overcome. Wolf of Angmar is way too strong to be a surge card.

Having quickly lost one game, I tried to squeeze in another before going to bed. Naturally it turned out to be the longest attempt yet.

My Original hand was 2x Support of Eagles, 2 x Sterner than Steel, a Book of Eldacar, and an Honour Guard. Two Supports with no eagles isn't very useful, and the other four cards aren't immediately useful either. I mulligan.

Second hand is Gather Information, Sterner than Steel, two Gandalfs, Eagles are Coming, and a Support of the Eagles. Much better.

Setup reveals a Rugged Country, but I'm unlikely to play Gather Info anytime soon. Pity night doesn't just prevent main quest progress.

Turn 1: 23 threat, 0/20 progress 1B

I draw a Dunedain Hunter, and my EAC pulls in a Winged Guardian. I play Dunedain Hunter, pulling in a Blood-Thirsty Warg. I play the Winged Guardian.

I send the heroes questing (10 wp), it reveals the Make Camp sidequest (prevents me from healing) and surges into North Downs. With 3 threat versus 10 willpower I clear the starting location and get 2/20 progress, traveling to North Downs before night bumps its threat up.

In the combat phase I defend with Amarthiul, but the shadow damages him. Boromir (24 threat) and Hunter kill the warg -- the two combine for 7 attack, so I either made a mistake here or wrote down the wrong kind of warg for the Hunter. I prefer the Dunedain Hunter to grab Wolf of Angmar first (avoid the surge) and Northern Warg second (avoid threat increase) -- Blood-Thirsty is the next-to-last choice.

Night falls (25 threat), and Predatory Wolves I choose to reveal a Northern Warg (avoiding threat increase)

Turn 2: Threat 26, 2/20 progress 1B, 4 threat in staging.

I draw Legolas, and play Support of Eagles on Boromir. I can now defend for 6 with Boromir, and have a resource left to pay for WG or to save up for Legolas.

I send the heroes (7 willpower), a shrouded hills is revealed, so I only place 1 progress on North Downs. I engage the Northern Warg.

Boromir (27 threat) defends, but the shadow tosses the support of Eagles. I think I screwed up here, I had already exhausted Support so Boromir's defense should have stayed at six. instead I give Boromir one damage from the attack.

Amarthiul and the Hunter kill the warg.

Turn 3: Threat 28, 2/20 progress 1B, 4 threat in staging.

I draw Beechbone and play him.

I send the heroes + Amarthiul (11 willpower). The deck counters with a Wolf of Angmar surging into a North downs, so with 5 progress I clear North Downs and get to 4/20 progress. I travel to the new North Downs.

I engage the Wolf of Angmar, and defend with Winged Guardian, using my last resource to retain him. Boromir (29 threat) and the Hunter kill it.

Night falls (30 threat) and a Hunting Pack comes out.

Turn 4: Threat 31, 4/20 progress 1B, 7 threat in staging.

I draw Eagles of Misty Mountains and send my heroes + Beechbone (9 willpower). Cold from Angmar comes out and attaches itself to the main quest -- Boromir's one damage (incorrectly applied) has just nerfed him. On the plus side, this should slow down my threat.... I give the Cold damage to Dori. Without Boromir's readying ability and the Support of Eagles, I can't defend and kill the pack so I leave it in staging. North Downs has 2/4 progress now.

Turn 5: Threat 32, 4/20 progress 1B, 7 threat in staging.

I draw Grimbold, and play Eagles of the Misty Mountains.

I send Misty, the heroes, and Beechbone for 14 willpower. A Biting Wind is reveal and I damage Beechbone and Dori. We clear the Downs and go to 7/20 progress, and Travel to Rugged Country.

Night falls (33 threat), and a Northern Warg comes out.

Turn 6: Threat 34, 7/20 progress 1B, 7 threat in staging.

I draw another Eagles of the Misty Mountains, and I play Grimbold.

I send my heroes, Beechbone, Misty, and Grimbold for 13 willpower. The deck reveals a Blood-Thirsty Warg, so we're able to clear Rugged Country and travel to Shrouded Hills. Lacking defensive options, I engage the Northern Warg and leave the other two in staging. Winged Guardian defends, but the shadow exhausts Amarthiul and I can't kill it; Hunter does 2 damage to it.

Turn 7: Threat 35, 7/20 progress 1B, and once again I forget to return my engage wolf to staging. So I think there's only 5 threat there instead of 7. (Of course, if it hadn't been for incorrectly damaging Boromir in the first place, the wolf would be dead.) I've got to get through 1B to discard the treachery and get Boromir healthy again. I draw EAC, get a Vassal and play it. I send 16 willpower (Heroes + Beechbone + Misty + Grimbold). The quest reveals Pressing Need (37 threat), which causes me to switch to Make Camp -- and with 11 progress I clear shrouded hills and also Make Camp, healing Boromir and making him ready-capable again. If only he had Support of the Eagles still!

I engage the Blood thirsty wargs and defend with Guardian Eagle -- the shadow boost attacks and killing it, boosting Misty to 3/3. Amarthiul defends the Northern Warg, but the shadow brings into play Wolf of Angmar. Boromir (38 threat) defends against the new wolf, since it's daytime he may come out unscathed and does. The Hunter finishes off the damaged Northern Warg, Boromir (39 threat) and the Vassal kill the Wolf of Angmar, the Vassal goes away making Misty 4/4.

Night falls (40 threat) and Weight of Responsibility causes another Hunting Pack to come out. Ugh.

Turn 8: 41 threat, 7/20 progress 1B, 6 threat (two Hunting Packs) in staging.

I draw Wait No Longer and play Gandalf, reducing threat to 36. I send Grimbold, the heroes, and Beechbone for 11 willpower; Gandalf will defend for me and hopefully get damaged to prevent him going away. A Warg Den comes out. I engage one of the Pack (I still can't safely defend with Boromir). Gandalf defends the Pack and takes 2 damage. Misty defends against Blood-Thirsty. Boromir (37 threat) + Hunter + Amarthiul destroy the pack.

Turn 9: 38 threat, 7/20 progress 1B. I think there's 7 threat (Wolf's Den + Hunting Pack) in staging, but the Blood-thirsty Warg should've been in staging. I'm again forgetting to return engaged enemies in daytime.

I draw a Book of Eldacar and play Legolas. I send the Heroes, Gandalf, Beechbone, and Grimbold for 18 willpower, the deck counters with Eriador Waste, limiting my progress placed to 5, 12/20 progress. I travel to the Wastes and engage the pack for its travel effect.

I discard Grimbold to prevent the pack from attacking, since I can't defend it without taking damage. Misty defends against Blood-Thirsty, but the shadow gives Misty 1 damage, blanking his attack/defense boost and causing 2 more damage to get through.

Boromir (39 threat) + Amarthiul + Hunter kill the pack, and Boromir (40 threat) + Legolas kill Blood-Thirsty, drawing another copy of Wait No Longer.

Night falls (41 threat), revealing a White Warg.

Turn 10: 42 threat, 12/20 progress 1B. There's 6 threat in staging. I draw Gwaihir but can't afford him.

I send the heroes, Misty, and Beechbone for 11 willpower. Freezing Blast (44 threat) counters by taking Dori and Misty and Beechbone off the quest, leaving me with only 5 willpower and increasing my threat to 45. I engage the White Warg, damaging Hunter, Gandalf defends and Legolas/Hunter kill it, drawing an Envoy of Pelrigir.

Turn 11: 46 threat, 12/20 progress, 4 threat in staging. Without the Gandalf on the field going away and the Gandalf in my hand coming in, I'll threat out soon. I draw another Sterner than Steel, useless without Gondorian Shield. I play the Envoy and another Eagle of the Misty Mountains -- I've screwed up my threat accounting and think I'm at 44, so I think I could potentially save enough for Gandalf play on Turn 13.

I send Gandalf, both Misties, Beechbone, Envoy and the heroes for 21 willpower, a Rugged Country comes out and I finally clear stage 1B. Cold from Angmar goes away, my Misty is 4/4 again and Gandalf is temporary again. A White Warg comes out for 2A's effect, I travel to Wolf's Den engaging a Northern Warg, then optionally engage the Northern Warg, damaging Gandalf.

Boromir (47 threat) defends Northern Warg, and Amarthiul defends the White Warg. Boromir (48 threat) and Legolas kill the White Warg, Boromir (49 threat) and Hunter kill the Northern Warg.

This ensures that I'll threat out, but I *thought* my threat was 2 lower than it really was, otherwise I wouldn't have traveled to Wolf's Den at all despite its 4 threat. Night makes me discard an ally (I choose Gandalf, of course), and a Wolf of Angmar surges into the harmless (right now) Biting Wind.

Thinking I had 48 threat, I just needed to avoid threat increase in Turn 12 and I could play Gandalf in Turn 13, lower threat, and quest hard. But the next encounter card was Freezing Blast, which raised my threat by two and caused me to threat out.

So a long fruitless quest marred by several rules mistakes. Having Boromir unavailable for readying saved my threat for a while, but the lack of Boromir readying meant trouble killing the wolves. In the end I was doomed yet again.

5 hours ago, dalestephenson said:

Do you plan on more attempts in standard mode, or are you thinking about moving to sleazy/easy?

I was going to move to semi-easy, but with all the rules mistakes I made in the last two attempts I think I'll take one more regular shot. I don't have high hopes, though. My thought when putting the deck together was that the lower starting threat would let me do Super-Boromir, and I just needed to tread water until Boromir was set up, for this quest that's definitely not the case -- and as awesome as Support the Eagles is once the eagles are up and running, Eagles and the attachment itself are expensive, and just can't come on line quickly -- at least until I start the scenario with 6 resources instead of 3! I think the deck would be better off with no eagles and more traditional tactics fighters and defenders, plus three copies of the new Steward of Orthanc.

Though when the wolves come thick and fast, it's hard not to be overwhelmed. Even making the surging Wolf of Angmar require 3 attack instead of 4 to kill would help a lot.

The last try on regular against Wastes of Eriador -- will it go any better than the earlier tries?

My initial hand has Sterner than Steel, Secret Vigil, Feint, Honour Guard, Eagles of the Misty Mountains, and The Eagles are Coming. it's not bad, but I want something immediately useful for defense and don't want to gamble with EAC. So I mulligan.

The mulligan hand has Sterner than Steel, Secret Vigil, Feint, Dunedain Hunter, Vassal of the Windlord, and Winged Guardian. Much the same hand, but with the WG in hand I have a 4-defense option, albeit an expensive one.

The encounter deck reveals a Northern Warg for setup, so once again I will have to deal with enemies right away.

Turn 1: 23 threat, 0/20 1B, 2 threat in staging.

I play my Dunedain Hunter hoping to draw the surging wolf out of the deck, but it gets another Northern Warg -- that's my second favorite to pull since it avoids the "When revealed" effect. I could play my Winged Guardian here, but using it would leave me with no resources. I instead put a Secret Vigil on the Warg in staging, which will let me leave it there for a while (now 1 threat) and eventually lower my threat. Amarthiul can defend the existing wolf and Boromir + Hunter can kill it.

I send my heroes questing for 10 willpower. The encounter deck responds with Weight of Responsibility, which brings out White Warg. Two enemies after all, but I clear Shrouded Hills and place 2 progress on the main quest.

I engage the White Warg and place damage on Dori. I'm going to have to gamble and defend the White Warg with Boromir, hoping the shadow doesn't damage him and make him vulnerable to Cold from Angmar. Amarthiul and Boromir manage to defend without damage, then Boromir + Hunter kill the White Warg, and Boromir readies again to damage the Northern warg. I hate to run up threat like this in turn one, but it's the only wolf that can be killed with two 3-strength attacks. If I don't have more wolves come out, Amarthiul + Hunter can dispose of it next turn without Boromir's help.

Night comes and reveals Eriador Wastes.

Turn 2: 28 threat, 2/20 1B, 4 threat in staging.

I draw Bofur and play Bofur -- I want to travel to Eriador Wastes this turn but that means two wargs, and having Bofur available can free Boromir from questing duty.

I send Bofur/Theoden/Dori for 7 willpower. The deck counters with Biting Wind (damage to questers equal to number of questers) and I damage Bofur and poor Dori -- Theoden *must* be free of damage to survive Cold From Angmar. I quest successfully and travel to Wastes of Eriador, which causes me to engage the warg in staging and deal it a shadow card.

With two wargs to deal with, and one of them having two shadow cards, this seems a good time to use my Feint. I Feint the two-shadow wolf and Amarthiul successfully defends the other. Boromir and Hunter kill the Warg with secret Vigil, reducing my threat to 26. Then Boromir readies (threat 27) to finish off the other warg.

I'm feeling pretty good about this start -- no engaged wolves, nothing in staging, threat not out of control yet. Time to make some progress.

Turn 3: 28 threat, 2/20 1B, empty staging

I draw Honour Guard, but I play Winged Guardian and save my other two resources. Boromir can't safely defend, and if I can defend a new wolf with WG Amarthiul + Hunter can probably kill it. I need Boromir for questing.

I send the heroes + Bofur (12 willpower). The deck counters with Predatory wolves, which I convert into a Northern Warg rather than discard Bofur. That allows me to clear Eriador Wastes and place 4 more progress on the main quest.

In the combat phase, Winged Guardian successfully defends the warg, then Amarthiul + Hunter kill it.

Night falls (29 threat) and a Freezing Blast comes out -- it's a good time since it affects questing, though it does bump my threat to 31.

Turn 4: 32 threat, 6/20 1B, empty staging

I draw Wait No Longer and play my Honour Guard.

I send Bofur/Theoden/Dori for 7 willpower, with an empty staging that should be plenty to avoid threat increase. The deck counters with the obnoxious Cold From Angmar. I exhaust Honour Guard to prevent the hero damage, but now I certainly can't take risks with Boromir.

Turn 5: 33 threat, 6/20 1B, empty staging

I draw Wait no Longer, and play a second Winged Guardian and a Vassal of the Windlord. They don't serve an immediate need, but will be handy when stage 2 starts discarding my allies. Time to make some progress.

I send Bofur and the heroes for 12 willpower. Out comes a White Warg, and I make 10 progress for 16/20. I should finish the stage on Turn 7.

I engage the White Warg and put the damage on the Hunter. I could've prevented it with Honour Guard, but since I'm defending with WG I need him to prevent a White Warg shadow (1 damage to defender) that could kill my eagle and make the attack undefended. WG defends, Amrthiul and Hunter kill it.

Night falls (34 threat) and a Biting Wind whiffs (it damages questers). I'm having good luck with the night reveals so far.

Turn 6: 35 threat, 16/20 1B, empty staging

I draw and play Treebeard. Treebeard's self-readying and good stats should take pressure off Boromir. Cold From Angmar could nerf his self-readying, but I'm nearly done with 1B and that should go away soon.

I send Bofur/Dori/Theoden for 7 willpower, with empty staging and night that's more than enough. The deck counters with a Blood-Thirsty Warg. I defend with one of my Winged Guardians, the shadow boosts the attack to five, but Honour Guard exhausts to prevent the Eagle-killing damage. Boromir, Amarthiul, and the Hunter finish off Blood-Thirsty.

Turn 7: 36 threat, 16/20 1B, empty staging.

I draw a second Sterner than Steel. As useful as shadow cancellation can be in this cycle, the dependency on Gondorian Shield makes this card useless so far. I save my resources; I want to save Wait No Longer for a more pressing situation.

With only 4 progress needed, I send Bofur, Theoden, and Dori for 9 willpower. I know 2B is going to bring out a wolf, so I could be facing double combat again. The deck counters with a second copy of Cold from Angmar -- excellent timing! I exhaust Honour Guard to prevent the damage because I'm getting worried about Dori's health, then watch both Cold from Angmars go away with the completion of stage one. Stage two causes a White Warg to be added to staging.

I engage the White Warg, placing damage on the Hunter. Since my HG is exhausted, I don't want to risk defending with a WG for fear of the White Warg shadow (they've been shuffled back into the encounter deck). So I risk Treebeard instead -- wise choice, as it was a White Warg shadow and Treebeard takes one damage. However, defending with Amarthiul would've been a *better* choice. Let's hope Cold from Angmar doesn't reappear anytime soon. Boromir and Amarthiul kill the wolf.

Night falls and I discard my Vassal of the Windlord. Weight of Responsibility pulls out a Cold from Angmar and I put the damage on Dori. That could've gone better -- now Treebeard can't self-ready or collect resources for all of stage 2.

Turn 8: 37 threat, 0/15 2B, empty staging.

I draw and play an Envoy of Pelrigir. This is what I need, more expendable allies for stage 2's night effect.

I send my new Envoy with Bofur, Theoden and Dori for 8 willpower. The encounter deck counters with Shrouded Hills -- with only one quest card in play, this is a 1-threat location, so I decide not to travel to it. I want to complete 2B ASAP.

Day brings me a Support of the Eagles. Excellent.

Turn 9: 38 threat, 0/15 2B, 1 threat in staging

I draw and play another Envoy, and my new Support of the Eagles. Now Boromir can defend for six, though since I discarded my Vassal I can't use it for the attack instead.

With a chance to make serious progress, I decide to use my Wait No Longer, and I'm able to pluck a surging Wolf of Angmar out of the deck. Excellent! I send my heroes, Treebeard, both Envoys and Bofur for 13 willpower, placing 12 progress on the quest.

I ready Boromir (39 threat) and defend for six against the new wolf, then kill it with Amarthiul and Hunter. I'm getting cocky here, with Honour Guard unexhausted I could've safely defended with a Winged Guardian, I think.

Night falls and I discard an Envoy, another copy of Shrouded Hills is revealed.

Turn 10: 40 threat, 12/15 2B, 2 threat in staging

I draw and play Gwaihir, which brings back my Vassal from the discard and into play. This leaves me with no resources to use Winged Guardian, but I'm thinking I have enough threat left to weather the final turns, and I want Gwaihir for additional willpower. I send Gwaihir/Bofur/Dori/Theoden for 9 willpower, and the deck counters with Rugged Country. I take no threat increase and travel to Rugged Country; at 2 threat and 3 progress needed I don't save much by leaving it in staging.

Day gives me another copy of The Eagles Are Coming. The revived eagle also returns to my hand.

Turn 11: 41 threat, 12/15 2B, 2 threat in staging

I draw a Gondorian Shield and play it. This is excellent because it allows me to use my shadow cancellation if Boromir defends. I'm anticipating clearing 2B this turn, so Boromir is the likely defender; the Winged Guardians would be destroyed by the Pack Leader.

I play my new Eagles Are Coming and it finds my final Eagles are Coming. I play that one and it brings in another Vassal. I play a Vassal to use for exhausting purposes.

I send my heroes, Bofur, Gwaihir, Envoy, and Treebeard for 14 wp. A Northern Warg is revealed and I clear stage 2B. Night immediately falls, revealing Warg's Den, and Pack Leader is added to staging. Given the exhaustion effect, I can't afford to travel to Warg's Den, so I travel nowhere.

Since the new warg engages first, I exhaust my Vassal and a Winged Guardian for the Pack Leader's effect. I defend against the Warg with the other WG, then defend Pack Leader with Boromir (42 threat), exhausting Support of the Eagles. Amarthiul and Hunter kill the Northern Warg, and Pack Leader returns to staging.

Turn 12: 43 threat, 0/5 3B, 10 threat in staging.

I draw a second support of the Eagles, but can't afford to play it yet. It's crucial that I finish this stage, so Wait No Longer is my only choice.

I play Wait No Longer and find a White Warg, I place the damage on Treebeard (he's already damaged, so one more won't hurt). With 10 threat in staging, I need to commit exactly 15 willpower to the quest. I send the heroes, the envoy, Bofur, Gwaihir, Treebeard, and the Hunter for exactly 15 willpower, placing 5 progress on stage 3B.

I travel to Warg's Den to get its massive threat out of staging for next turn, and pick a Northern Warg. I have two wargs to kill.

Amarthiul blocks the white warg, Winged Guardian blocks the Northern Warg. Boromir exhausts support of eagles for the attack, and readies twice (44/45 threat) to kill both wolves.

Night falls and reveals a North Downs.

Turn 13: 46 threat, 5/5 3B, 9 threat in staging.

I draw an Eagle of the Misty Mountains, but can't afford to play it. Instead I put Support of the Eagles on Boromir -- super Boromir!

I send the heroes, Treebeard, Bofur Gwaihir and Enovy for 14 willpower. A Northern Warg comes out, which allows me to clear Warg's Den and travel to North Downs.

I engage the two wolves, exhausting my Vassal and one of my Winged Guardians.

I defend the Warg with my other WG, that's successful but I can't afford to keep it, it gets discarded.

I ready Boromir (47 threat) and exhaust one of my supports for defense, no damage.

I ready Boromir (48 threat) and self-ready Treebeard, and exhaust my other support for attack. Boromir + Treebeard + Amarthiul + Hunter can provide 17 attack and I only need 12 -- the Pack Leader is destroyed and I win!

At last! Now I can return to testing my Dori fellowships -- the next test involves Dori in a mono-tactics deck going against Wastes of Eriador!

1 hour ago, dalestephenson said:

Awesome! Thanks for all your detailed write-ups!

I finally came around to play the first quest, and chose the Múmakil.

Setup: My starting hand consists of an Honour Guard, Gandalf, Dúnedain Remedy, King under the Mountain, feint and sneak attack. As this hand includes my key card, King under the Mountain, I will keep it. I choose a Múmak Trail as the starting location.

I start my first turn with drawing West Road Traveller. I will not play anything, as the cards I would want to play costs two resources.

I commit Balin and Pippin to the quest (4wp), revealing a strangling python, surging into stampeding oliphaut. I raise my threat by one (doomed) and search the encounter deck for another múmak trail. I lose the quest, raising my threat by one. I travel to a trail, raising my threat by a third (!) point during a single quest phase. The strangling python engages me.

Beorn defends the attack. The shadow card has no effect, and Beorn takes two damage. I’m glad that Beorn can’t have attachments, as the python otherwise would attach to him. Beorn destroys the python. Refresh.

I draw another honour guard and play an honour guard, west road traveller and king under the mountain (KutM). I exhaust KutM, adding an honour guard to my hand and discarding another copy of KutM.

I commit Balin, Pippin and West Road Traveller to the quest (6wp). The encounter deck reveals Guardians of the Jungle. The active trail is explored, and a mumak is shuffled in to the encounter deck. I choose not to travel. Refresh.

I draw close call and KutM adds a handmaiden to hand, discarding a Defender of Rammas.

I must ignore Guardians of the Jungle, I have too little willpower to explore it. Balin, Pippin and West Road Traveller quests (6wp). I reveal a stampeding oliphaunt, raise my threat and search for another trail. No progress is made. I travel to a trail, raising my threat. Refresh.

I draw a Raiment of War. KutM gives me Arwen, discarding a Handmaiden. Honour Guard and Arwen is played.

Balin, Pippin, West Road Traveller and Arwen quests. A jungle trail is revealed. No progress is made. Refresh.

I draw Ancient Mathom. KutM add Westfold Outrider, discarding Double Back. Nothing is played. This deck needs more resource generation!

Balin, Pippin, West Road Traveller and Arwen quests (6wp). I reveal another Mumak trail. I fail the quest, raising my threat by three. This “easy” quest is killing me! Refresh.

I draw dwarven tomb. KutM adds Defender of Rammas, discards Westfold Outrider. Westfold Outrider and Galadriel’s Handmaiden is played. I need to make progress.

I sneak in a Gandalf to make progress, drawing 2 Dunedain hunters and a dwarven sellsword. Balin, Pippin, West Road Traveller, Arwen, Gandalf and Galadriel’s Handmaiden quests (14wp). I reveal a strangling phyton, surging into the savage south. The savage south whiffs, but discards both Stewards. I really needed those resources. The active trail is explored, shuffling another wild mumak into the encounter deck. Gandalf returns to my hand. I travel to the jungle trail, revealing Biting insects. It randomly discards close call, dealing no damage.

The python engages me and is defended by Beorn (shadow +2atk). Both the honour guards cancel a damage, but the shadow means that Beorn still is wounded (2 damage). Beorn kills the strangling python. Refresh in a little bit better board position.

I draw a useless copy of KutM. KutM adds a dunedain remedy to hand, discarding gather information. I play a Dwarven Sellsword, two dunedain hunters, a defender of Rammas and attach an ancient mathom to the active Jungle Trail. The hunters brings med a territorial ape and a giant centipede.

I commit Pippin, Balin, Galadriel’s Handmaiden, West road traveller, Arwen, the sellsword and one of the hunters to the quest (13 wp). I reveal a Harad Tiger. The Jungle Trail is explored and one progress is added to the current quest. A third mumak is shuffled in. The mathom draws me another sellsword, west road traveller and a test of will. I travel to a mumak trail, raising my threat by one.

The tiger engages me, and everyone receives a brand new shadow card, made in Dol Guldur (or maybe in Minas Morgul). Defender of Rammas defends against the tiger (no damage). Beorn defends the centipede, the shadow randomly discards a remedy from my hand. Beorn is aided by the honour guards and take no damage. Beorn defends the ape, which deals him four damage. Beorn and the Outrider kills the ape, a dunedain hunter kills the centipede. Refresh. I pay one to keep the sellsword.

I draw a test of will and KutM gives me a west road traveller, discarding a sellsword. I play a traveller.

I commit Balin, Pippin, Arwen, two travellers, the handmaiden, the sellsword and a hunter to the quest (15 wp). I reveal a forest clearing. With 15 willpower against 7 threat, I explore the trail, shuffling another mumak into the encounter deck. Five progress is made on the quest. I travel to the remaining mumak trail, as I want to find a mumak to tame. I raise my threat by one.

Defender of Rammas defends the tiger, and the shadow discards KutM. I guess that second copy of KutM I drew wasen’t useless. Beorn and a hunter kills the tiger. Refresh. I keep the sellsword.

I draw a copy of ancient mathom and play an outrider and a sellsword. I want to be able to play a test of will this turn.

I quest with Balin, Pippin, the two travellers, the handmaiden, Arwen (boosting the defender of Rammas) and the sellswords. (16 wp) I should make sufficient progress to complete the stage. Biting insects is revealed, discarding West Road Traveller. I deal two damage to a sellsword. They are only mercenaries. I explore the mumak trail and complete the quest stage. I choose to trigger the ability of the mumak trail, searching for a mumak. I advance to the next quest stage. The random capture objective is noose of veins (defence). I travel to the forest clearing and engage the mumak. Time to fight!

The Wild Mumak is defenden by the defender of Rammas. One honour guard and Arwen’s boost ensures that the defender survives. Beorn and a dunedaain hunter deals the mumak three damage. Refresh. My threat is quite high, 41. I need to win soon. I pay for the sellswords and return the mumak to staging.

I draw an outrider.

Balin, Pippin, the sellwords, the travellers, the handmaiden and Arwen (bossting defendr of Rammas) quests (16 wp). The encounter deck reveals another mumak. I make eight progress on the quest and explores the forest clearing, which whiffs. Both mumaks engage me.

One mumak is chumped by an outrider and the defender of Rammas defend the other one. A shadow prevents the defender to ready until the end of the round. The outrider dies a noble death, the defender is saved by one of the honour guards. Beorn and an outrider attacks the wounded mumak, dealing another three damage. Refresh. I discard the damaged sellsword and keep the other. The mumaks return to the staging area.

I draw a dunedain hunter and play Gandalf, lowering my threat by five.

I quest with Pippin, Arwen (boosting the remaining sellsword), Galadriel’s Handmaiden and two West Road Travellers (10 wp). I reveal dense jungle and make one useless progress on the current quest.

The Wild Mumaks engage me. Gandalf defends one and the sellswords the other one. Both defenders take two damage (after cancelling with the honour guards). Beorn and a dunedain hunter deals three damage to the damaged mumak, bringing it down to zero hit points. Refresh. I return the undamaged mumak to the staging area, discard the sellsword and defend the damaged mumak with Gandalf. The shadow preents Gandalf from readying, and the honour Guards keep him alive. The two remaining hit points of Gandalf is more than the zero remaining hit points of the mumak, and it’s captured! Victory!

This was a long game. Score is 38 (threat) + 8 (damage) + 100 (rounds) + zero (dead heroes) – 4 (victory points) =142. I made some mistakes, like forgetting about Balin’s ability the whole game. I need to play more dwarves. As a final thematic note, I don’t think Beorn (in bear form) would ride a Mumak. Someone should ask him.

21 minutes ago, DurinVoronwe said:

Awesome! Halfway through reading I was sure you were going to get location locked.

17 hours ago, Seastan said:

Awesome! Halfway through reading I was sure you were going to get location locked.

I was sure that I would lose. Gandalf turned the tide (a wizard is never late).

At last, after receiving a couple of new adventure packs (race across the Harad and beneath the sands), I returned to this challenge. This is my second try at beating the first quest, the Mumakil.

My starting hand consists of Honour Guard, Honour Guard, Dwarven Sellsword, Raiment of War, Steward of Gondor and Sneak Attack. Even though this hand includes the powerful combo of Steward and Sellsword, I choose to mulligan for my key card, King under the Mountain. My new hand consists of Dunedain Hunter, Honour Guard (they keep appearing…), Defender of Rammas, Dwarven Sellsword, West Road Traveller and KutM. I like this hand, as an attacking ally, two defending allies, a questing ally and KutM, all in one go. I choose Mumak Trail as my starting location.

I start with drawing Raiment of war. Now I have my full defensive combo (Defender, Guard and Raiment). I play my dunedain Hunter, which gives me a strangling Python. I like this enemy, as Beorn can defend it and kill it without any help, and at the same time bypassing the ability of the python.

I quest with Balin, Merry and the hunter (5 wp), as I don’t want to end up nearly location-locked as the last time. The encounter deck reveals a territorial ape, and I make one progress. I travel to the mumak trail, raising my threat by one. At this time, I realize that I have Merry instead of Pippin… (I play with physical cards). Some part of me wants to keep the better hobbit, but that’s not allowed. I change Merry (s) for Pippin (s). I choose to leave the ape in the staging area, I can kill him next turn.

Beorn defends, and the shadow card gives the enemy +1 atk. Beorn takes three damage before he swings back and kills the python. Refresh.

I start with drawing a Westfold Outrider. I play KutM, which gives me ancient Mathom, discarding feint. I play defender of Rammas and West Road Traveller. The allies are mustering.

I commit Balin, Pippin and West Road Traveller to the quest (6 wp). The encounter deck reveals another Mumak Trail. I make no progress, as the ape gets +2 threat from its ability. I engage the ape.

I defend the attack with Defender of Rammas. The shadow card has no effect, and the defender survives. Beorn and the hunter kills the ape. Refresh.

I draw a honour Guard. KutM adds close call to my hand, discarding dunedain Remedy. Iplay ancient mathom on the active trail.

I commit Balin, Pippin, West road traveller and dunedain hunter to the quest (7 wp). I reveal jungle trail, and make one progress. Now I will need willpower. Refresh.

I draw Gandalf. KutM gives me a test of will and discards Galadriel’s Handmaiden. I really wanted both those cards, but the savage south is my biggest threat. If it discards my allies… I play dwarven sellsword and Honour Guard.

I commit Balin, Pippin, West road traveller, dwarven sellsword and dunedain Hunter to the quest (9 wp). I reveal stampeding oliphaunt, which raises my threat by one and adds another mumak trail to the staging area. I make one progress. This looks more and more like my last game. This deck needs location control, but it’s so expensive. Refresh. I pay to keep the sellsword.

I draw Steward! Sadly, I will need to discard my sellsword to play it. KutM gives me close call, discarding KutM. May I please ask for willpower?

I quest with Balin, Pippin, West road Traveller, dunedain hunter and dwarven sellsword (9 wp). I reveal a forest clearing and raise my threat by two for questing unsuccessfully. Refresh. I discard the sellsword.

I draw defender of Rammas, KutM adds feint and discards Steward. I play steward on Balin. Now I can pay for more sellswords. Beorn pays for another honour Guard.

I quest with everyone (7 wp). The encounter deck reveals jungle trail. I raise my threat bu eight for questing unsuccessfully. Refresh. Please give me a miracle…

I draw… dunedain remedy. I asked for a miracle, not a zero cost healing attachment! KutM adds a defender of Rammas to my hand and discards double back. I play Gandalf, drawing three cards. The drawn cards are westfold outrider, ancient mathom and Gandalf. Not what I needed…

I commit everyone with willpower to the quest again (11 wp). The encounter deck clearly wants to see me suffer, and reveal a harad tiger. I threat out.

I made a couple of mistakes, like not playing Gandalf when I drew him, and choosing a test of will before Galadriel’s Handmaiden. It maybe was possible to win.