Hirluin (Steward Fear), Elrond (Shadow and Flame), and Glorfindel (Foundations of Stone) make for a powerful deck with limited investment. (If you can find them for sale)
For Hill Troll: Feint + Forest Snare or Sneak Attack + Gandalf were the 'core' answers. Tactics Eowyn is a good option if you have her.
Well went through all those suggestions and only Flight of the Stormcaller and Heirs of Numenor are available...
I've decided to get The Wild of Rhovanion and maybe The Withered Heath as it has some decent player cards and I really like Grimbeorn the Old. It does have a tough enemy in Cold-Drake with 18 hit points though!!
Is Withered Heath tough, as I'm still starting out and not looking for anything too hard right now.
Then secondly, what is Khazad-dum like? Should I rather just concentrate on getting more APs for the Haradrim and Ered Mithrin cycles or would Khazad-dum be good on it's own?
Here's the possible strategies:
1) Low threat -- give you time to build up a troll-killing army.
2) Forest Snare -- Take one attack, put a snare on him, then stay in stage one until you're ready to steamroll stage two.
3) Attack in staging. If you can keep your threat low enough to keep him in staging, and have a staging area attacker with enough attack, you never have to engage him.
4) High defense -- there's lots of heroes that can get to six defense pretty easily, though none in the core set. Gandalf can survive a troll hit; with Sneak Attack and Gandalf you can get Gandalf in the combat phase two turns running for six resources, he can defend safely twice while delivering eight points of direct damage.
5) Chump block and reduce threat.
6) Use Feint
7) Take him down quickly. Put a Citadel Plate on Gimli and take the Troll undefended, that'll get him up to at least 8 attack on the counter attack. The following turn chump block or feint and finish him.
These can be combined of course. If you engage the troll, chump block him turn after turn and can't do much damage to him you won't last long. So you've got to have a plan from the beginning of the game. The details of what the plan is should depend on your deck.
29 minutes ago, Stewart777 said:I've decided to get The Wild of Rhovanion and maybe The Withered Heath as it has some decent player cards and I really like Grimbeorn the Old. It does have a tough enemy in Cold-Drake with 18 hit points though!!
Is Withered Heath tough, as I'm still starting out and not looking for anything too hard right now.
Then secondly, what is Khazad-dum like? Should I rather just concentrate on getting more APs for the Haradrim and Ered Mithrin cycles or would Khazad-dum be good on it's own?
The quests from Wilds and Withered Heath will be tough for someone with a limited card pool and just halfway through the Core set by way of experience. They should be beatable, though.
The quests in Khazad-dum are just challenging enough, and the first two are a huge upgrade in terms of fun from the first cycle + core. The player cards really only help the Dwarf deck.
It really depends on what your game plan is for LotR. If you plan on collecting it all at some point, you may as well start with Khazad-dum; it's a great first set after beating Journey down the Anduin and Escape from Dol Guldur (by the way, be prepared to be roadblocked for a while on that third quest. It's hard with a single core in solo, but possible). If you still aren't quite sure where you're heading, no need jumping into a new cycle.
19 minutes ago, dalestephenson said:Here's the possible strategies:
1) Low threat -- give you time to build up a troll-killing army.
2) Forest Snare -- Take one attack, put a snare on him, then stay in stage one until you're ready to steamroll stage two.
3) Attack in staging. If you can keep your threat low enough to keep him in staging, and have a staging area attacker with enough attack, you never have to engage him.
4) High defense -- there's lots of heroes that can get to six defense pretty easily, though none in the core set. Gandalf can survive a troll hit; with Sneak Attack and Gandalf you can get Gandalf in the combat phase two turns running for six resources, he can defend safely twice while delivering eight points of direct damage.
5) Chump block and reduce threat.
6) Use Feint
7) Take him down quickly. Put a Citadel Plate on Gimli and take the Troll undefended, that'll get him up to at least 8 attack on the counter attack. The following turn chump block or feint and finish him.
These can be combined of course. If you engage the troll, chump block him turn after turn and can't do much damage to him you won't last long. So you've got to have a plan from the beginning of the game. The details of what the plan is should depend on your deck.
Thanks for that, yeah I've been rather lucky in that in both tries I got a Forest Snare 
I still lost though, second time when Eowyn was killed by a treachery and my threat level went through the roof thereafter. You've given me some good advice there though. In case you were interested I was using (from the Core) Eowyn for questing, Denethor for blocking and Legolas for attacking, with a starting threat of 26 which I think is pretty low. It gives me some time to get some allies out.
17 minutes ago, Wandalf the Gizzard said:The quests from Wilds and Withered Heath will be tough for someone with a limited card pool and just halfway through the Core set by way of experience. They should be beatable, though.
The quests in Khazad-dum are just challenging enough, and the first two are a huge upgrade in terms of fun from the first cycle + core. The player cards really only help the Dwarf deck.
It really depends on what your game plan is for LotR. If you plan on collecting it all at some point, you may as well start with Khazad-dum; it's a great first set after beating Journey down the Anduin and Escape from Dol Guldur (by the way, be prepared to be roadblocked for a while on that third quest. It's hard with a single core in solo, but possible). If you still aren't quite sure where you're heading, no need jumping into a new cycle.
Yeah I've heard some good things about Khazad-dum in terms of fun factor, but in terms of player cards it really is quite dwarf-heavy. Yes I would like to collect all the sets from beginning to end but I have a feeling that that could take a while given the state of reprinting.
The one thing about the Dwarrowdelf cycle is that the APs have some really good player cards that have been suggested. But from what I have seen (correct me if I'm wrong) FFG seems to reprint the expansions far more often that the APs, which means I would be stuck with only Khazad-dum, whereas with Haradrim and Ered Mithrin I could flesh out those cycles pretty well with the APs available right now.
Edited by Stewart777I think they reprint APs about as often as they reprint Deluxes, and I think the Dwarrowdelf APs are the most likely to be reprinted next. However, that means it'll be months before the reprint actually hits stores, and by that time some of the stuff you could buy now will be unavailable.
Especially if you're mostly interested in the player cards, don't put off buying something now in order to wait for something yet to be reprinted. Get what you can when you can, and buy whatever you think has the most "cool cards" first. With that said, if you're interested in the quests at all, it's absolutely a good idea to get KD now, while available, if you can fit in your budget. That will let you play the Dwarrowdelf packs when they come out, and you'll absolutely want those packs for the player cards.
Ah! Decisions decisions, my budget only goes so far Think I'm gonna have to stretch it a bit...
So after reading this thread Journey UP the Anduin (WoR) help I'm having second thoughts about buying The Wilds of Rhovanion expansion. Is it just the one scenario that is tough or are they all hard? What about for solo play?
And what about the first 2 APs are they hard for solo play as well?
Edited by Stewart777Given a limited card pool it will be tough, but Wilds has some great player cards. Don't be afraid to use Easy mode. The second quest in Wilds is likely the easiest of the three. LOTR quest companion ranks the difficulty as follows:
7.0 King's Quest (Wilds #3)
6.7 Journey up the Anduin (Wilds #1)
6.7 Withered Heath
5.2 Lost in Mirkwood (Wilds #2)
But that's based on a *very* limited sample. I haven't got to the quests myself although I've used a Dale deck against a number of quests in Saga/Dreamchaser and found it very powerful (nearly knocking off Fields of Pellenor in normal mode and crushing it in easy -- that has an average user rating of 8.0). The newest quest (Roam Across Rhovanion) has no user ratings yet, but from examining the cards I don't think it will be that bad, and it looks like fun.
One consistent thing I've seen in JUtA reports is that side-quests are very handy. Harad cycle has some nice player side-quests and other player cards that like side-quests.
Hmm, easy mode might be something to consider. It feels a little like cheating though ... or not, I guess it's like video games as well, they also have an easy mode. I suppose if you're having a tough time against a particular scenario it might be the way to go, especially with a limited card pool.
Beating a quest with a limited card pool in easy mode may be considerably more difficult than beating the quest in normal mode with a full-card-pool Gandalf/Elrond/<anybody> deck. Another alternative to consider is Seastan's Grace of the Valar variant, which we use (slightly altered) in the solo league. That way you play against all the quest cards, but get steadily escalating help until you win.
Can you guys comment on this deck, bearing in mind that I am only starting out and have a limited pool of cards.
https://ringsdb.com/decklist/view/10159/core-starting-deck-1.0
Here's a blog post exploring how the quest holds up for someone who just has the core set. https://darklingdoor.wordpress.com/2018/07/31/path-less-traveled-journey-up-the-anduin/
28 minutes ago, Stewart777 said:Can you guys comment on this deck, bearing in mind that I am only starting out and have a limited pool of cards.
https://ringsdb.com/decklist/view/10159/core-starting-deck-1.0
I'll get back to you on this when I've had some time to go over it.
The best deck with the three heroes you used (IMHO, of course) I came up with using cards from one Core (and your three Great Yew Bows) is here: https://ringsdb.com/decklist/view/10160/new-lord-of-the-rings-lcg-deck-1.0
All I really did was cut some of the less useful cards and increase the number of some other cards. Also, feel free to try thirty-forty card decks until you have other expansions. It makes the game easier because you don't have to add in sub-par cards just to make fifty.
Here are my reasons for some of my choices:
-Great Yew Bow requires you to have very low threat and Legolas to have high attack. Both are not easy to do with this build.
-Fortune or Fate is not really worth it at five resources, especially in a deck that only has one Spirit hero. Plus, it's generally better to avoid letting heroes die than to provide a backup in case they do.
-Horseback Archer is a little too little bang for your buck at three resources. You can probably see a trend developing here. In a tri-sphere deck, most of your cards should be less than three resources; as a rule of thumb. Gandalf is an exception, because any hero can pay for him. Citadel Plate and Beorn made it in for a lack of other good Tactics cards for Legolas to splurge on (although Dwarven Axe is a fine choice, too).
-Swift Strike, while a fun concept, isn't going to be doing much for you. Most enemies have over two health, in which case two resources for two damage isn't the best you could wish for. Veteran Axehand does the same, but each round. Any enemy you could kill with Swift Strike probably isn't worth spending a card on.
Hope that helps!
13 hours ago, Stewart777 said:So after reading this thread Journey UP the Anduin (WoR) help I'm having second thoughts about buying The Wilds of Rhovanion expansion. Is it just the one scenario that is tough or are they all hard? What about for solo play?
And what about the first 2 APs are they hard for solo play as well?
A few LotR quests are hard because everything in the encounter deck has high stats, and they demand a lot from your decks in all quarters--this is especially true of the GenCon quests, but you'll find examples here and there throughout the cycles too (The Battle of Carn Dum comes to mind). The quests from Wilds of Rhovanion do not fall under this category.
Most of the time, LotR quests are hard because they're a puzzle to be solved--and usually they have mutliple solutions. The game designers have done a great job growing the game outwards rather than upwards--there are lots of different challenges to be faced, but most of them aren't "you don't have the cards required to beat this quest".
I haven't actually looked at the numbers, but I suspect that there has been a little bit of power creep from the early game in the prevalence of higher-attack enemies, so the one puzzle piece you may need that the Core Set doesn't provide you directly is a way to set up a strong defender who can take multiple attacks and survive. (Denethor + Protector of Lorien is the closest you're going to get to a super-defender out of the Core, but that can be really card-hungry so as to not always be practical).
Not all deluxe boxes fill this hole, but some do. Wilds of Rhovannion, for instance, gives you access to Redwater Sentry + Hauberk of Mail, for a 4 def / 4 HP ally. Throw in a little healing (like Lore Glorfindel) and that should usually be sufficient for any quests that require a strong defender.
Journey Up the Anduin has a couple of tricksy combos that require some thinking to be able to work around, but you definitely have the tools required in just the Core + Wilds boxes to be able to solve it. If you get even more cards, you may find even more solutions to the puzzle.
For the most part, I haven't found it necessary to worry too much about the difficulty of quests with a reduced card pool. That doesn't mean that the game will be easy, by any means--you still have to learn what the quest is demanding of you and figure out how to build a deck that can meet those demands, and that takes several tries sometimes--but the Core Set cards get you off to a remarkably solid start, even against modern quests.
Wow, just read the setup for Escape From Dol Guldur! Brutal. Don't even know how such a quest is possible. Only 2 heroes and you are limited to 1 ally card per round and then have the objectives which put certain conditions on you. The designers are cruel.
Use two decks for Escape from Dol Goldur. While it's *possible* to beat it single deck (for example, treachery whiffs on setup), it's very low probability and I'm unconvinced the exercise of repeatedly hitting your head against the wall is useful for new players. I beat it with the two decks from Beorn's Path, which I followed through the entire first cycle.
48 minutes ago, dalestephenson said:Use two decks for Escape from Dol Goldur. While it's *possible* to beat it single deck (for example, treachery whiffs on setup), it's very low probability and I'm unconvinced the exercise of repeatedly hitting your head against the wall is useful for new players. I beat it with the two decks from Beorn's Path, which I followed through the entire first cycle.
Yeah, that does sound like a better idea. Will be my first attempt at playing 2-handed. Might also wait until I have some better cards from some additional expansions/APs which are on the way.
My suggestion for EfDG is just use an objective ally (like Brok) to be kidnapped, keeping all 3 heroes. It's still a challenging mission, but doesn't require a focused deck. (Come back later when your carpool supports a good monocolor deck.)
I would suggest this variant only as a back-up plan. Once you've tried the quest purely and still can't pull off a win, then consider something like this.
On 10/25/2018 at 1:57 PM, Wandalf the Gizzard said:I would suggest this variant only as a back-up plan. Once you've tried the quest purely and still can't pull off a win, then consider something like this.
Being able to win regardless of which hero is captured IS a fun solo challenge that will really push your deck building skills, but it's honestly not something you will come back to often.
When learning it, or as part of a normal game night, EfDG really isn't very fun. We have gotten a lot of replay out of it using captive Brok, as part of our regular rotation (with the nightmare cards.)
A lot of that is how most people build decks: if you a testing a deck, you typically will want to see some core strategy working. Waiting until the mission is nearly over until you get your hero back, so your deck can work, isn't something you will want to repeat much.
What do you guys think of getting The Steward's Fear just for the Gondorian Shield so that I can attach it to Lore Denethor. That would make him a 5 defence. Pretty decent!