After 17 turns that felt like an eternity also the first game against Raid on the Grey Havens ended in victory (for all those interested I kept a turn-by-turn playthrough). The deck could definitely be tweaked to be improved (especially with some of the events that play on other copies in the discard pile), but it's still quite playable. In the next days I will start the trio of quests again

Couple of questions.

How did you handle fight with the deck you've shown? There is not a lot, if any, fight related stuff in it, and raid on the havens is a very fight heavy quest if memory serves me well. I was often overwhelmed on initial turns. Yet you have almost no fight in the deck and somehow win.

Correct me if I wrong, but you don't have a way to play Sword-elf that is in your deck?

31 minutes ago, John Constantine said:

How did you handle fight with the deck you've shown? There is not a lot, if any, fight related stuff in it, and raid on the havens is a very fight heavy quest if memory serves me well. I was often overwhelmed on initial turns. Yet you have almost no fight in the deck and somehow win.

Correct me if I wrong, but you don't have a way to play Sword-elf that is in your deck?

Yeah it's definitely light on the combat side, but Narya helps a lot for that. Stand and Fight to play the Veteran, Guardian of Rivendell for defense and possibly attack (with Narya boost they have 4 Defense and 3 Attack), using lots of characters and chump blocking where needed, Glorfindel is always good of course. But yes it took me 9 rounds to get rid of Na'asiyah and Sahir so definitely not an easy job. If you want to read the playthrough I can send it to you. I also kept a couple of Raid Leaders in the staging area for a good part of the quest.

On 3/23/2020 at 4:23 AM, John Constantine said:

I stopped collecting and playing during the Dreamchasers era. My last box is Dreamchasers, and I don't think I've purchased any packs from that cycle. The last deck that I remember I've played was Arwen+Cirdan+Grima that the willpower part figure out on the table and specialized in cycling and resource acceleration to get heavy hitters out quickly. I remember Not being able to do much in any of the Dreamchaser quests with said deck.

Say aren't you the guy who made a "solemn promise" that if they released a Saruman hero you would buy every pack up to the pack with him in it?

Looks like you got some purchasing to do. If you think this game is hard, you sure are in for a treat once you try the Vengeance of Mordor stuff.

18 minutes ago, MikeGracey said:

Say aren't you the guy who made a "solemn promise" that if they released a Saruman hero you would buy every pack up to the pack with him in it?

Looks like you got some purchasing to do. If you think this game is hard, you sure are in for a treat once you try the Vengeance of Mordor stuff.

Did I? I was planning buying just the Saruman pack, and maybe Smeagol and Nya'shish ones. Regardless, my financial situation doesn't allow me to make such gargantuan purchases of something I'm not going to play.

7 hours ago, dalestephenson said:

Any number of trials to three wins would be a different distribution, could be 3-0, could be 3-300 against Escape From Dol Goldur. But the tendency to play to X wins rather than X number of tries is common, I think (for me, generally X is 1).

I got curious about exactly what distribution this would be, as well as how to calculate a confidence interval around it. It turns out it's described by a negative binomial distribution, and based on this paper (pp. 7–9), it looks like you can use a beta distribution to calculate a CI around the parameter corresponding to your win rate.

For example, say you predetermine your desired number of wins to be 3. When you run the "experiment", it takes you 8 tries to get to 3 wins. The naive point estimate of your true win rate is, of course, 3/8=0.375. If I did my math right, then the 90% CI ≈ [ .11 , .66 ].

(Interestingly, under the above conditions, the minimum variance unbiased estimator value for your win rate is not 3/8, but 2/7≈.286… It goes to show you that how you reach a 3 out of 8 ratio is crucial information—you didn't preset that you would play 8 times and count how many wins you'd get in those plays, you instead said you would play until you hit 3 wins, and the # of games happened to be 8. Note that a Bayesian statistician probably would disagree with this entire discussion, lol.)

Made some small adjustments to the deck (while keeping the theme) before going on with the second round of the quests.

https://ringsdb.com/decklist/view/15080/testingdeck20-2.0

Cool,

I'm going to put your deck together and go up against City Of Ulfast and that nasty turn 1/2 9 attack city

With 62 cards in the deck I have my reservations for resource gen and card draw in getting key cards out ( even with Grima and Cirdain)

I'll have some fun trying it and let you know how I get on but I'm thinking this deck won't even scratch city of ulfast on paper.

I hope I'm wrong. 😀

So, I've built the deck. Actually had a good feeling about this when constructing the deck and seeing each card and it's synergy with the Noldor theme.

I'll try and get it played tonight but it might be tomorrow now before I can give it a proper whirl.

49 minutes ago, asgardianphil said:

Cool,

I'm going to put your deck together and go up against City Of Ulfast and that nasty turn 1/2 9 attack city

With 62 cards in the deck I have my reservations for resource gen and card draw in getting key cards out ( even with Grima and Cirdain)

Well it's a sub-optimal deck I put together just for a proof of concept for John Constantine, not a strong deck (let alone an optimized one). But still between Cirdan and Elven Light it cycles fast (Cirdan decks often go over the usual 50 cards limit) and in my three games with it I often ended up having gone through like 2/3 of it. The resource cost (Gildor and Glorfindel aside) is also quite low and I didn't face too much resource problems (but Grima's Doomed should be used sparingly).

If you want to go against City of Ulfast (one of the hardest quest ever in my opinion) I feel this deck will fall short, unless you try to rework it. For example get rid of Grima and put in Galdor or Erestor and go even more strongly for the discard theme (To The Sea, To The Sea will be a must) and change a little the allies and attachment selection.

I actually had quite a bit of success against City of Ulfast with a Forth The Three Hunters deck with Arwen, Elladan and Elrohir (Elladan with Inner Strenght, Ancestral Armor and Elven Mail can actually withstand some City Guard attacks) if you want to keep the Noldor theme.

Start of game.

Opening hand:

Sailor of Lune

Light of Valinor

Guardian of Rivendell

Silver Harp

Veteran Sword-Elf

A Test of Will

I decide to keep this hand- no mulligan

Set up- added Crowded Market to the staging area.

Turn1: drew elwings flight and imladris caregiver. Discarded the flight.

Played silver Harp on cirdan. Used arwen to discard veteran sword elf and give her a resource. Silver harp puts veteran sword elf back into my hand. Played light of valinor on cirdan, grima discounts it.

Quest 9 wp. Draws servant of sauron who engages me. Surge... catacombs 4 threat.

9 wp vs 7 threat. 2 progress on quest.

Combat: cirdan defends shadow (ulchors agent) +1 attack. 1 damage on cirdan.

Refresh

Threat increases by 1- servant of Mordor makes immediate attack. Grima defends... shadow (extra vigil, does nothing). No damage but grima exhausted.

1 resource on the quest.

End of turn (threat is 32)

Turn 2

Draws stand and fight and healing herbs. Discards healing herbs, silver Harp puts it back in my hand.

Arwen discards veteran sword elf to gain a resource

(Servant of Mordor has shut down grima discount action)

Play sailor of Lune for 2 play guardian of Rivendell for 3, discarding healing herbs first then stand and fight.

Quest 9 wp (Cirdain, arwen, sailor)

Stage: Cat and Mouse side quest (city guard now engagement 30)

9wp vs 8 threat -1 progress on quest (total 3 of 5)

Travel to crowded market. Travel effect 'adds' messenger from Mordor to the staging area. (Reveal effect doesn't trigger)

City guards engagement is now 50

Combat. guardian of Rivendell defends shadow (servant of mordor) has no effect.

Cirdan attacks- 1 damage on servant of Mordor

Refresh: threat 33 servant makes an immediate attack, guardian of Rivendell defends. Shadow (side street) no effect

1 resource on quest. City guard now engagement 45

Turn 3

Draws lembas and the Galadhrims greeting. Discard lembas but silver Harp saves it.

Plays lembas on Cirdain grima pays for it. He has no resources left now.

(Saving the greeting till the end of questing in case I need test of will paying for. )

Questing all in for 11 ( except guardian who is already exhausted)

Stages ulchors agent (3 threat and reveal effect to raise my threat by 3 to 36)

Plays a test of will to cancel the threat increase when revealed effect

12 threat vs 11 wp. Threat increases by 1 to 34. Servant of sauron makes an immediate attack.

Cirdan defends. Shadow (we've been seen) gives +1. Cirdain takes 1 damage.

Discards lembas to fully heal and ready Cirdain.

Arwen discards imladris caregiver to gain a resource (harp already exhausted so no save)

Plays Galadhrims greeting. Threat now 28. Also no cards left in hand)

Combat: Cirdain defends . Shadow (extra vigil) does nothing. No damage.

Refresh. Threat 29 servant makes an immediate attack. Guardian of Rivendell defends. Shadow (catacombs) does nothing.

1 resource added to stage 1 (3 now) city guard engagement is 40

Turn 4

Each hero now has 1 resource each.

Draws elronds council and elven jeweler. Discards jeweler but silver Harp saves.

Plays elven jeweler.

[At this point I'm feeling grima is locked out, I'm not drawing enough cards, arwen isn't getting used as the harp is saving the card from cirdain and I need more resources and will power for questing. ]

Saving the jeweler as chump I quest all in again without guardian for 11wp. (Greeting is on top of discard) and playing council to add 1 wp and reduce threat to 26

Stages guarded archway 2 threat (if engaged with city guard threat cannot be reduced)

12 quest vs 15 threat (game over? Quest will spiral out of control now).

Threat increases to 29, servant of Mordor makes an immediate attack. Cirdain defends. Shadow (crowded market) no effect

Cant engage either of the two staged enemies as they have attack 3 and 4 so will auto kill a hero. [Unless I risk ulchors agent not to get a +1 shadow and go undefended against cirdan. However, With servant attacking three times a round I can't risk it]

Combat: elven jeweler chumps servant of Mordor. Shadow (patrolling the streets) gives +1 for each resource on main quest- so +3 then. 5 damage to poor jeweler. She's destroyed.

Refresh: threat increases to 30. Servant makes an immediate attack. Guardian of Rivendell defends. Shadow (under guard) has no effect in this instance.

1 resource on stage 1 (now 4) makes city guard 5 threat and 35 engagement.

Turn 5

Draws sailor of Lune and guardian of Rivendell (which I cant play as have no other cards in my hand) discards guardian but have to save it with Harp to keep an event on top of the discard) plays sailor.

Quest all in for 13 wp.

Stages patrolling the streets (places 1 resource on stage 1 making 5 there now. I choose the restriction on putting progress on the quest as that ain't happening anyway)

13 quest vs 17 threat. Threat goes up 4 and servant makes an immediate attack. cirdain defends. Shadow (messenger from mordor) +1 attack. Cirdain takes 1 damage

Engagement.

Messenger from Mordor, ulchors agent and city guard all engage

Scoop.

All heroes exhausted, 1 card in my hand (guardian of Rivendell) only 2 resources left (lore) only 3 progress of 5 made on stage 1 and threat 34. facing 4 undefended attacks (3; 2; 4; 9)

8 minutes ago, asgardianphil said:

Draws stand and fight and healing herbs. Discards healing herbs, silver Harp puts it back in my hand.

Arwen discards veteran sword elf to gain a resource

(Servant of Mordor has shut down grima discount action)

Play sailor of Lune for 2 play guardian of Rivendell for 3, discarding healing herbs first then stand and fight.

Here I would have discarded the Healing Herbs in the Resource Phase and used the Harp to keep Stand and Fight in the Planning Phase for next turn.

13 minutes ago, asgardianphil said:

Scoop.

All heroes exhausted, 1 card in my hand (guardian of Rivendell) only 2 resources left (lore) only 3 progress of 5 made on stage 1 and threat 34. facing 4 undefended attacks (3; 2; 4; 9)

Not surprised (Grima is a really bad fit for this quest), but perhaps you could have risked it a bit more with some undefended attack from the Servant to kill it.

12 minutes ago, asgardianphil said:

(Reveal effect doesn't trigger)

Why not? No active location so you needed to chose the immediate attack option.

Anyway I think we are going quite off-topic. Do you want to split the topic or continue this somewhere else?

5 hours ago, Alonewolf87 said:

Anyway I think we are going quite off-topic. Do you want to split the topic or continue this somewhere else?

I've moved this and my messages to the how to beat the city of Ulfast thread I started previously.

Due to some bad luck in the first rounds my second run against Voyage Across Belegaer was much harder and it took me 6 turns to finally get a foothold against the encounter deck and start fighting seriously back. I was still able to squeeze out a win by turn 10.

How do you handle pirate ships boarding you with lots of pirates?

7 minutes ago, John Constantine said:

How do you handle pirate ships boarding you with lots of pirates?

Once again Guardian of Rivendell, Veteran and Narya (also I engaged only Scouting Ships, so 1 Corsair each, leaving the others I got in the staging area). If you want to read the details I can send you the playthrough of the games.

Sure.

On 3/26/2020 at 5:27 PM, John Constantine said:

Sure.

I wrote you a PM

Anyway played also the third game of Voyage Across Belegaer and got a third victory.

I would say making assessment like "it's impossible to build a random thematic deck that would be quite successful at beating a good portion of the game" is quite unfair considering the whole cardpool (still extending, not for long, but still), especially if you don't actually own the whole cardpool. But I'm somehow not too surprised here.

Now if the "what could have been better" assessment was "it took too long to be able to build a random thematic deck that would be quite successful at beating a good portion of the game" then I would tend to agree. That's probably why the release model (like Marvel with pre-constructed ready-to-play decks) or building model (Arkham limited to 30 cards roughly with 2 cards per title and only 2 scenarios per deluxe allowing for a quicker growth of the player cardpool) has changed.

Finished the 2nd and 3rd runs of The Fate of Numenor, both wins even though the 3rd one was a 16 turns slugfest where I ended up emptying my deck in the last couple of rounds (which I guess got in hand against most of the "discard the bottom card" effects).

Now onward to another couple of ***-whopping from Raid on the Grey Havens

The number one thing that could make this game better is having Angus McBride art.

I don't really see any problems with the OP's issues. An adventuring party moving to single locations as a group works thematically and avoids the additional abstraction of engaging enemies from the same pool while being at different locations. Doom... the whole of middle earth feels the encroaching shadow regardless of whether the three hunters, the dwarves of Erebor, or the ring-bearers held the first player token during the War of the Ring. The rest of the issues never struck me as bad design on the encounter/enemy side, but more of a resource issue on the side of the players.

Granted, I only originally played through the first two cycles, but I never liked how it sometimes felt that the next pack would really help solve the current pack's difficulties. I was mostly a solo player. Still, my biggest problems were always resource and deck related. 50 cards felt like too large a deck at the time, and the resource match rules seemed too draconian. Maybe it's easier to deal with now, or maybe I was always trash at the game. (No one can tell me single player mono faction Tactics decks are viable, at least not in the early days)

I think the game would be well served by a 2nd edition, drawing upon some of the strengths of AHLCG in terms of product release, deckbuilding, and resource management.. and the RPG elements. And fix the Icon Songs. No way should it cost a resource to get an additional icon while using deck slots and getting punched in the face by encounters.

White the 2nd run against Raid on the Grey Havens was a quite defeat (also due to a couple of strategic mistakes on my part) the 3rd run gave me of the most exciting and tight wins of my career with this game. An intense and breath-taking 19 turns which left my deck basically empty and my spirit elated for such an hard won victory (with definitely some luck on my part)

I will leave the playthrough below for those interested (and let's hope I have not made some mistakes):

Quote

Raid on the Grey Havens

Setup: Dream-Chaser, Sahir's Ravager, Elven Caravel in the staging area

Opening hand (after mulligan): Steed of Imladris, Silver Harp, 2 copies of Sailor of Lune, Elf-Stone, Healing Herbs

Turn 1

Draw 2 cards (Light of Valinor, 3 ^rd Sailor of Lune), discard Sailor of Lune

Planning Phase: play Silver Harp; exhaust Harp to get 1 resource on Arwen; play Sailor of Lune with Doomed (31 Threat); play Healing Herbs on Grima (1 resource left on Grima)

Quest Phase: send Arwen, Grima and Cirdan (does not exhaust) to the quest; reveal Put to The Torch (3 damage on Cirdan); 2 progress on Stage 1

Travel Phase: travel to Elven Caravel

Engagement phase: nothing

Combat phase: nothing; End of Combat Phase 1 damage on Elven Caravel

Refresh Phase: 32 Threat

End of Round: 1 damage on Dream-Chaser

Turn 2

Draw 2 cards (Narya, The Evening Star), discard The Evening Star

Planning Phase: play Narya with Grima's resources; play Sailor of Lune; play Steed of Imladris with Doomed (33 Threat) (no resources left)

Quest Phase: send Arwen, Cirdan and both Sailors (2 Willpower each) to the quest; exhaust Harp on Steed to put 2 progress on the active location; reveal Raid Leader; 3 progress, enough to clear the active location; exhaust Grima and discard Healing Herbs to heal 3 damage from Cirdan

Travel Phase, Engagement phase and Combat phase: nothing; End of Combat Phase 2 damage on Dream-Chaser (total of 3)

Refresh Phase: 34 Threat

End of Round: 1 damage on Dream-Chaser (total of 4)

Turn 3

Draw 2 cards (Guardian of Rivendell, Elven-Light), discard Elven-Light

Planning Phase: play Elven-Light from discard pile, draw Lindon Navigator; discard Navigator to get back resource on Arwen; play Light of Valinor with Doomed (35 Threat); play Guardian of Rivendell (discard Elven-Light and Elf-Stone, exhaust Harp to keep Elf-Stone) (no resources left)

Quest Phase: send Arwen, Grima, Cirdan (does not exhaust) and both Sailors (2 Willpower each) to the quest; reveal Mithlond Harbor which surges into Corsair Infiltrator; 2 progress on Stage 1 (for a total of 4)

Travel Phase: travel to Mithlond Harbor

Engagement phase; engage Corsair Infiltrator

Combat phase: Rivendell Guardian defends Corsair Infiltrator (shadow is Corsair Arsonist, no damage); exhaust Cirdan and Narya to ready Guardian and 1 ^st Sailor; Guardian and Sailor attack and destroy Infiltrator; End of Combat Phase 2 damage on Dream-Chaser (for a total of 6)

Refresh Phase: 36 Threat

End of Round: 1 damage on Dream-Chaser (for a total of 7)

Turn 4

Draw 2 cards (Galadhrim's Greeting, Lords of the Eldar), discard Lords of the Eldar

Planning Phase: play Elven-Light from the discard pile, draw Veteran Sword-Elf; discard Elven-Light to get back 1 resource on Arwen; play Greeting with Doomed (31 Threat); play Elf-Stone on Mithlond Harbor (no resources left)

Quest Phase: send Arwen, Grima, Cirdan (does not exhaust) and both Sailors (2 Willpower) to the quest; exhaust Harp on Steed to put 2 progress on the active location; reveal The Fires Spread (Doomed 2 to 33 Threat, 1 damage on Dream-Chaser for a total of 8, then surge) surges into Pillaged Ship (3 damage on Pillage Ship); 3 progess, 1 to clear the active location (put Veteran Sword-Elf in play), 2 progress on Stage 1 (to a total of 6)

Travel Phase: travel to Pillaged Ship

Engagement phase: engage Raid Leader (no effect)

Combat phase: Guardian defends Raid Leader (shadow is Umbar Raider, exhaust Cirdan and Narya to ready Guardian and 1 ^st Sailor, 1 damage); Guardian, Veteran and 1 ^st Sailor attack and destroy Raid Leader; End of Combat Phase 1 damage on Pillaged Ship

Refresh Phase: 34 Threat

End of Round: 1 damage on Dream-Chaser (for a total of 9)

Turn 5

Draw 2 cards (Stand and Fight, Gildor Inglorion), exhaust Silver Harp to keep both

Planning Phase: play Elven-Light from the discard pile, draw Keys of Orthanc, discard Elven-Light to get back 1 resource on Arwen; play Keys of Orthanc on Grima with Cirdan resource; play Stand and Fight with Doomed (35 Threat, exhaust Keys to get a resource on Grima) to get back 3 ^rd Sailor from the discard pile (2 resources left on Grima)

Quest Phase: send Arwen, Grima, Cirdan (does not exhaust) and 1st Sailor (2 Willpower to the quest); reveal Battle-Hardened (1 resource on Ravager, then Surge) surges into Mithlond Harbor surges into Elven Wave Rider; 2 progress on the active location

Travel Phase: nothing

Engagement phase: engage Sahir's Ravager

Combat phase: Guardian defends Sahir's Ravager (shadow is Battle-Hardened, 3 resources total on Ravager, exhaust Cirdan and Narya to ready Guardian and 1st Sailor, no damage on Guardian, 4 damage on Elven Wave-Rider, put under The Havens Burn, reveal White Ship); 3 Sailors, Guardian and Veteran attack and destroy Ravager; End of Combat Phase no Corsair in play

Refresh Phase: 36 Threat

End of Round: 1 damage on Dream-Chaser (for a total of 10. I guess I will lose due to the Dream-Chaser), 1 damage on White Ship

Turn 6

Draw 2 cards (Lembas, Elven-Light), discard Elven-Light

Planning Phase: play Lembas on Cirdan with Doomed (37 Threat, exhaust Keys to add 1 resource on Grima); exhaust Harp to get 1 resource on Arwen; play Lords of the Eldar from the discard pile and put it on the bottom of the deck and get the bonuses (4 resources on Grima)

Quest Phase: send Arwen, Grima, Cirdan (does not exhaust), 3 Sailors, Guardian and Veteran to the quest; reveal Elven Caravel (24 Willpower against 10 Threat); 14 progress, 2 on the active location, exploring it, 12 on Stage 1 just enough to clear it, advance to Stage 2, add Na'asiyah and Sahir (10 resources each) to the staging area, they both engage me (no events in hand so no effect from Na'asiyah), reveal Burning Piers

Travel Phase: travel to Elven Caravel

Engagement phase: nothing

Combat phase: Cirdan defends Sahir (I have to risk it, shadow is Umbar Raider, 3 damage on Cirdan, 12 resources on Sahir); discard Lembas to ready Cirdan and heal 3 damage; exhaus Cirdan and Narya to ready 1 ^st Sailor and Guardian; 1 ^st Sailor defends against Na'asiyah (shadow is Sahir's Ravager, Sailor destroyed, 9 resources on Na'asiyah); Guardian attacks Na'asiyah (no damage, 8 resources on Na'asiyah)

Refresh Phase: 38 Threat

End of Round: 1 damage on Dream-Chaser (11 total), 1 damage on White Ship (2 total), 1 damage on Burning Piers

Turn 7

Draw 2 cards (Narya, Veteran Sword-Elf), discard Veteran

Planning Phase: play Gildor Inglorion; play Elven-Light from the discard pile, draw Elrond's Counsel; discard Elven-Light to get back 1 resource on Arwen; play Elven-Light again from the discard pile, draw 3 ^rd Elven-Light (!) (1 resource on Cirdan)

Quest Phase: send Arwen, Grima, Cirdan (does not exhaust), both Sailors and Gildor to the quest; discard Elven-Light on Steed to put 2 progress on the active location; reveal 2 ^nd Burning Piers; play Elrond's Counsel (35 Threat) 7 progress, 3 on the active location, 4 to heal damage from locations (3 from Dream-Chaser down to 8, 1 from 1 ^st Burning Piers)

Travel Phase: travel to 1 ^st Burning Piers

Engagement phase: nothing

Combat phase: Veteran defends Na'asiyah (shadow is Pillaged Ship, no effect, Veteran is destroyed, 7 resources on Na'asiyah); exhaust Cirdan and Narya to read 1 ^st Sailor and Gildor; Gildor defends Sahir (shadow is Corsair Arsonist, 2 damage on Gildor, 14 resources on Sahir); Sailor and Guardian attack Na'asiyah (no damage, 6 resources in Na'asiyah); play Elven-Light from discard pile, draw Elwing's Flight (no resources left)

Refresh Phase: 36 Threat

End of Round: 1 damage on Dream-Chaser (for a total of 9), 1 damage on White Ship (for a total of 3), 1 damage on 2 ^nd Burning Piers

Turn 8

Draw 2 cards (Lindon Navigator, Radagast Cunning), exhaust Harp to keep both

Planning Phase: play 2 ^nd Elven-Light from discard pile, draw Elven Jeweler; discard Narya to get back 1 resource on Arwen; play Lindon Navigator with Doomed (37 Threat, exhaust Keys of Orthanc to get 1 resource on Grima) (1 resource on Arwen, 1 resource on Cirdan, 1 resource on Grima)

Quest Phase: send Arwen, Grima, Cirdan (does not exhaust), both Sailors, Gildor and Guardian to the quest; discard 1 ^st Elven-Light on Steed to put 2 progress on the active location; reveal Raid Leader; play Radagast Cunning on Raid Leader; 6 progress, 1 to clear the active location, 5 to heal damage from locations (3 from White Ship down to 0, 2 from Dream-Chaser down to 7); play 1 ^st Elven-Light from discard pile, draw Test of Will; discard both Elven-Lights to put Elven Jeweler in play

Travel Phase: travel to Burning Piers

Engagement phase: nothing

Combat phase: Navigator defends Na'asiyah (shadow is The Fires Spread, Navigator is destroyed, 1 damage on Dream-Chaser for a total of 8, 1 damage on White Ship, 1 damage on Burning Piers for a total of 2, 5 resources on Na'asiyah); Jeweler defends Sahir (shadow is White Ship, Jeweler is destroyed, 18 resources on Sahir); play 1 ^st Elven-Light from discard pile, draw Light of Valinor; exhaust Cirdan and Narya to ready Gildor and Guardian; Gildor attacks Na'asiyah (no damage 4 reources on Na'asiyah); Guardian attacks Sahir (1 damage down to 17 resources)

Refresh Phase: 38 Threat

End of Round: 1 damage on Dream-Chaser (for a total of 9), 1 damage on White Ship (for a total of 2)

Turn 9

Draw 2 cards (Narya, Lords of the Eldar), discard Lords of the Eldar (30 cards left in the deck)

Planning Phase: play 2 ^nd Elven-Light from the discard pile, draw Imladris Caregiver (finally!); discard Light of Valinor to get back 1 resource on Arwen; play Imladris Caregiver with Doomed (39 Threat, I don't exhaust the Keys in case I have to engage the Raid Leader); discard Narya and 1 ^st Elven-Light on Caregiver to heal 1 damage from Guardian and 1 damage from Gildor (1 resource on Arwen, 1 resource on Cirdan)

Quest Phase: send Arwen, Grima, Cirdan (does not exhaust), both Sailors, Caregiver and Gildor to the quest; discard 2 ^nd Elven-Light on Steed to put 2 progress on the active location; reveal Sahir' Ravager; play Elwing's Flight (no resources left) to ready Gildor and give him +1 Willpower (19 Willpower against 13 Threat); 6 progress 1 to clear the active location, 5 to heal damage from locations (2 from White Ship, 3 from Dream-Chaser down to 6)

Travel Phase: travel to Mithlond Harbor

Engagement phase: engage Sahir's Ravager

Combat phase: Gildor defends Ravager (shadow is Corsair Arsonist, 1 damage, 1 resource on Ravager, 1 damage on White Ship), Guardian of Rivendell defends Na'asiyah (shadow is Corsair Infiltrator (exhaust Cirdan and Narya to ready Guardian and 2 ^nd Sailor, 2 damage on Guardian, 3 resources on Na'asiyah); 2 ^nd Sailor defends Sahir (shadow is Put to the Torch, no effect, Sailor is destroyed, 21 resources on Sahir); Guardian attack Na'asiyah (no damage 2 resources on Na'asiyah)

Refresh Phase: 40 Threat

End of Round: 1 damage on Dream-Chaser (for a total of 7), 1 damage on White Ship (for a total of 2)

Turn 10

Draw 2 cards (Guardian of Rivendell, Imladris Caregiver), exhaust Harp to keep both

Planning Phase: play 1 ^st Elven-Light from discard pile, draw Elrond's Counsel; play 2 ^nd Elven-Light from discard pile, draw Glorfindel (26 cards left in the deck); discard Glorfindel to get back 1 resource on Arwen; play 2 ^nd Guardian with Doomed (41 Threat, exhaust Keys of Orthanc to get 1 resource on Grima, discard both Elven-Lights); play 2 ^nd Caregiver (no resources left)

Quest Phase: send Arwen, Cirdan (does not exhaust), Grima, Gildor and 1 ^st Caregiver to the quest; reveal Elven Wave-Runner; play Elrond's Counsel (38 threat); 2 progress, 2 to clear the active location,

Travel Phase: travel to Elven Wave-Runner

Engagement phase: nothing

Combat phase: only shadow card on Sahir's Ravager; 2 ^nd Caregiver defends Sahir (destroyed 25 resources on Sahir); 2 ^nd Guardian defends Na'asiyah (1 damage, 1 resource on Na'asiyah); 1 ^st Guardian defends Ravager (shadow is Umbar Raider, exhaust Cirdan and Narya to ready both Guardians, no damage on Guardian, 2 resources on Ravager, 2 damage on Elven Wave-Runner); both Guardians and Sailor attack and destroy Na'asiyah (goes to Victory Display)

Refresh Phase: 39 Threat

End of Round: 1 damage on Dream-Chaser (for a total of 8), 1 damage on White Ship (for a total of 3)

Turn 11

Draw 2 cards (Silver Harp, Stand and Fight), exhaust 1 ^st Harp to keep both

Planning Phase: play Elven-Light from discard pile, draw Lords of the Eldar (23 cards left in the deck); discard Lords of the Eldar to get back 1 resource on Arwen; play 2 ^nd Harp on Cirdan; discard Elven-Light on Caregiver to heal 1 damage from 2 ^nd Guardian (1 resource left on Grima)

Quest Phase: pre-emptive use of Grima's ability; send Arwen, Grima, Cirdan (does not exhaust), Sailor, Gildor and Caregiver to the quest; reveal Burning Piers; 5 progress, 1 to clear the active location (add to victory display, draw Light of Valinor), 4 to heal damage from locations (3 from White Ship down to 0, 1 from Dream-Chaser down to 7)

Travel Phase: travel to White Ship (search encounter deck for 2 ^nd Raid Leader, add it to the staging area)

Engagement phase: nothing

Combat phase: 1 ^st Guardian defends Sahir (shadow is Mithlonde Harbor, discard Light of Valinor to heal 1 damage from 1 ^st Guardian, 2 damage on 1st Guardian, 27 resources on Sahir); 2 ^nd Guardian defends Ravager (shadow is Burning Piers, add it to the staging area, exhaust Cirdan and Narya to ready both Guardians, 3 resources on Ravager, 3 damage on White Ship, no damage on 2 ^nd Guardian)

Refresh Phase: 40 Threat

End of Round: 1 damage on Dream-Chaser (for a total of 8), 1 damage both Burning Piers

Turn 12

Draw 2 cards (The Evening Star, Elrond's Counsel), exhaust 1 ^st Harp to keep both

Planning Phase: play The Evening Star to put 4 progress on White Ship; play 1 ^st Elven-Light from discard pile, draw Elwing's Flight (19 cards left in the deck); discard Elven-Light to get back 1 resource on Arwen (1 resource on Arwen, 1 resource on Cirdan)

Quest Phase: send Arwen, Grima, Cirdan (does not exhaust), Sailor, Gildor, 1 ^st Guardian and Caregiver to the quest; exhaust 2 ^nd Harp on Steed to put 2 progress on White Ship and explore it; reveal Umbar Raider; play Elrond's Counsel (37 Threat); play Elwing's Flight (no resources left) readying Arwen and 1 ^st Guardian and giving them both +1 Willpower (19 Willpower against 14 Threat), 5 progress, no active location, heal 5 damage, 1 from each Burning Piers, down to 0, 3 from Dream-Chaser, down to 5

Travel Phase: travel to 1 ^st Burning Piers

Engagement phase: engage Umbar Raider

Combat phase: Arwen defends Umbar Raider (no effect since I don't have resources left, shadow is Corsair Arsonist, 1 damage), 2 ^nd Guardian defends Sahir (shadow is Ravager, discard Test Will on Caregiver to heal 1 damage from 2 ^nd Guardian, 2 damage on 2 ^nd Guardian, 29 resources on Sahir); 1 ^st Guardian defends Ravager (shadow is Umbar Raider, exhaust Cirdan and Narya to ready both Guardians, no damage on 1 ^st Guardian, 4 resources on Ravager, 4 damage on 1 ^st Burning Piers); both Guardians attack and destroy Ravager

Refresh Phase: 38 Threat

End of Round: 1 damage on Dream-Chaser (for a total of 6), 1 damage on Burning Piers

Turn 13

Draw 2 cards (Radagast Cunning, Veteran Sword-Elf), discard Veteran (17 cards left in the deck)

Planning Phase: exhaust 1 ^st Harp to give 1 resource to Arwen; play Stand and Figth to get back Veteran-Sword Elf from the discard pile, exhaust 2 ^nd Harp to heal 1 damage from 1 ^st Guardian (1 resource left on Grima)

Quest Phase: send Arwen, Grima, Cirdan (does not exhaust), Sailor, Caregiver and Gildor to the quest; reveal Elven Caravel; play Radagast Cunning (no resources left); 5 progress, 3 to clear the active location, 2 to heal damage from locations (1 from Burning Piers, 1 from Dream-Chaser down to 5)

Travel Phase: travel to Elven Caravel

Engagement phase: nothing

Combat phase: Veteran Sword- Elf defends Umbar Raider (shadow is Corsair Arsonist, no damage, no effect since I don't have resources left); 1 ^st Guardian defends Sahir (shadow is Corsair Infiltrator, exhaust Cirdan and Narya to ready 1 ^st Guardian and Veteran, 2 damage on 1 ^st Guardian, 31 resources on Sahir); Veteran and 2 ^nd Guardian attack and destroy Raider; 1 ^st Guardian attack Sahir (1 damage, down to “only” 30 resources)

Refresh Phase: 39 Threat

End of Round: 1 damage on Dream-Chaser (for a total of 7), 1 damage on Burning Piers

Turn 14

Draw 2 cards (Test of Will, Silver Harp), exhaust 1 ^st Harp to keep both

Planning Phase: play Elven-Light from discard pile, draw Lembas (14 cards left in the deck); play Lembas on Grima; discard Elven-Light on Caregiver to heal 1 damage from 1 ^st Guardian (1 resource left on Cirdan)

Quest Phase: send Arwen, Grima, Cirdan (does not exhaust), Gildor, Sailor, 2 ^nd Guardian and Caregiver to the quest; exhaust 2 ^nd Harp on Steed to put 2 progress on the active location; reveal Mithlond Harbor surges into Battle-Hardened (cancel it with Test of Will, no resources left); 5 progress, 3 to clear the active location, 2 to heal damage (1 from Burning Piers, 1 from Dream-Chaser, down to 6); discard Lembas to ready Grima and heal 2 damage

Travel Phase: travel to Burning Piers

Engagement phase: nothing

Combat phase: Veteran defens Sahir (shadow is Pillaged Ship, no effect, exhaust Cirdan and Narya to ready Veteran and 2 ^nd Guardian, 2 damage on Veteran, 32 resources on Sahir); Veteran, both Guardians and Grima attack Sahir (10 attack, 8 damage down to 24 resources); discard Harp to heal 1 damage from 1 ^st Guardian

Refresh Phase: 40 Threat

End of Round: 1 damage on Dream-Chaser (for a total of 7)

Turn 15

Draw 2 cards (Elwing's Flight, Elven Jeweler), exhaust 1 ^st Harp to keep both

Planning Phase: play Elven-Light from discard pile to draw, Galadhrim's Greeting (11 cards left in the deck); discard Elven-Light to get back 1 resource on Arwen; play Greeting with Doomed (35 Threat, exhaust Keys of Orthanc to get 1 resource on Grima) (2 resources left on Grima)

Quest Phase: send Arwen, Grima, Cirdan (does not exhaust), Sailor, Gildor and Caregiver to the quest; exhaust 2 ^nd Harp on Steed to put 2 progress on the active location; reveal Corsair Infiltrator; 4 progress, 1 to clear the active location, 3 to heal damage from Dream-Chaser, down to 4

Travel Phase: travel to Mithlond Harbor

Engagement phase: engage Corsair Infiltrator

Combat phase: 2 ^nd Guardian defends Infiltrator (shadow is The Fires Spread, no effect, no damage);1 ^st Guardian defends Sahir (shadow is Pillaged Ship, no effect, exhaust Cirdan and Narya to ready both Guardians, 2 damage on 1 ^st Guardian, 26 resources on Sahir); Veteran and 1 ^st Guardian attack and destroy Infiltrator; 2n Guardian attacks Sahir (1 damage, down to 25 resources)

Refresh Phase: 36 Threat

End of Round: 1 damage on Dream-Chaser (for a total of 5)

Turn 16

Draw 2 cards (Test of Will, Stand and Fight), exhaust 1 ^st Harp to keep both

Planning Phase: play Elven-Light, draw Caregiver (8 cards left in the deck); play Caregiver; discard Elven-Light to heal 1 damage from 1 ^st Guardian (1 resource on Cirdan, 1 resource on Grima)

Quest Phase: send Arwen, Grima, Cirdan (does not exhaust), Gildor, Sailor and 1 ^st Caregiver to the quest; reveal Put to the Torch (3 damage to Dream-Chaser (to a total of 8); play Elven-Light from the discard pile, draw Lindon Navigator (7 cards left in the deck); discard Elven-Light to heal 1 damage from 1 ^st Guardian; exhaust 2 ^nd Harp to heal 1 damage from Arwen with 2 ^nd Caregiver; 7 progress, 2 to clear the active location, 5 to heal damage from Dream-Chaser (down to 3);

Travel Phase: nothing

Engagement phase: nothing

Combat phase: 2 ^nd Caregiver defends Sahir (shadow is White Ship, Caregiver is destroyed, 29 resources on Sahir); exhaust Cirdan and Narya to ready Gildor and Sailor; both Guardians, Gildor, Sailor and Veteran attack Sahir, 12 attack, 10 damage down to 19 resources)

Refresh Phase: 37 Threat

End of Round: 1 damage on Dream-Chaser (for a total of 4)

Turn 17

Draw 2 cards (Healing Herbs, Steed of Imladris), discard Steed (5 cards left in the deck)

Planning Phase: play Lindon Navigator; discard Healing Herbs to get 1 resource on Arwen; play Lords of the Eldar from the discard pile, putting it on the bottom of the deck (6 cards left in the deck) and getting all the bonuses (no resources left)

Quest Phase: pre-emptive use of Grima's ability; send Arwen, Grima, Cirdan (does not exhaust), Sailor, Caregiver and Gildor to the quest; reveal Elven Caravel; 8 progress, heal all damage from Dream-Chaser

Travel Phase: travel to Elven Caravel

Engagement phase: nothing

Combat phase; 1 ^st Guardian defend Sahir (shadow is The Fires Spread, exhaust Cirdan to ready 1 ^st Guardian and Gildor, 1 damage on 1 ^st Guardian, 21 resources on Sahir); both Guardians, Gildor, Veteran and Navigator attack Sahir (17 attack, 15 damage, down to 6 resources); exhaust both Harps on Caregiver to heal 2 damage from 2 ^nd Guardian

Refresh Phase: 38 Threat

End of Round: 1 damage on Dream-Chaser

Turn 18

Draw 2 cards (The Evening Star, Elven Jeweler), exhaust 1 ^st Harp to keep both (4 cards left in the deck)

Planning Phase: play Stand and Fight with Doomed (39 Threat, exhaust Keys of Orthanc to get 1 resource on Grima) to get back 1 Sailor of Lune from the discard pile; play The Evening Star, putting 6 progress on the active location clearing it; exhaust 2 ^nd Harp to get 1 resource on Arwen (2 resources left on Arwen)

Quest Phase: send Arwen, Grima, Cirdan (does not exhaust), Gildor, Caregiver and 1 ^st Sailor to the quest; reveal Battle-Hardened (cancel it with Test of Will); 7 progress, clear 1 damage from Dream-Chaser; play Elven-Light from discard pile, drawing Lembas (3 cards left in the deck); discard Elven-Light to heal 1 damage from 1 ^st Guardian; discard Lembas and 2 ^nd Jeweler to put in play 2 ^nd Jeweler

Travel Phase: nothing

Engagement phase: nothing

Combat phase: Jeweler defends Sahir (shadow is Ravager, Jeweler is destroyed, 10 resources on Sahir); exhaust Cirdan and Narya to ready Gildor and 1 ^st Sailor; both Sailors, both Guardians, Gildor, Navigator, Veteran attack Sahir (14 attack, 12 damage down to 0 resources and 2 damage

Refresh Phase: 40 Threat

End of Round: 1 damage on Dream-Chaser

Turn 19

Draw 2 cards (Guardian of Rivendell, Lords of the Eldar), discard Lord of the Eldar (1 card in the deck, which is another Lords of the Eldard)

Planning Phase: exhaust 1 ^st Harp to play Lords of the Eldar putting it on the bottom of the deck (which is now 2 copies of Lords of the Eldar) and getting the bonuses (1 resource left on Grima)

Quest Phase: send Arwen, Cirdan (does not exhaust), 1 ^st Sailor, Caregiver and Gildor to the quest (17 Willpower); reveal Put to the Torch (3 damage to Dream-Chaser for a total of 4); 9 progress, clear the Dream-Chaser from all the damage

Travel Phase: nothing

Engagement phase: both Raid Leaders engage (the 1 ^st steals 1 resource from Grima)

Combat phase: no shadow on Sahir; discard Elwing's Flight and Guardian to put Jeweler into play; 1 ^st Guardian defend Sahir (2 damage, 2 resources on Sahir); Jeweler defend 1 ^st Raid Leader (shadow is Corsair Arsonist, Jeweler is destroyed); 2 ^nd Sailor of Lune defend 2 ^nd Raid Leader (shadow is Umbar Raider, Sailor is destroyed); exhaust Cirdan and Narya to ready Gildor and 1 ^st Guardian; Navigator and Veteran attack and kill 2 ^nd Raid Leader; both Guardians, Gildor and Grima attack Sahir (12 attack, 10 damage, 2 resources and 8 effective damage, Sahir goes to the Victory Display and I win the game

Final Threat: 40