Beating Under The Ash Mountains

By asgardianphil, in The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game

5 minutes ago, Alonewolf87 said:

The Great Hunt too.

Before the Dunhere deck I was seriously considering a Haldir deck. Mono lore. Great Hunt would work and also put off Pursuit; providing you got a location.

The plan would also be to Get The One Ring and Strength and Courage on Haldir giving him an attack 7 before any other weapon buffs but that would require a Tactics icon so Rivendell Minstrels and Songs of Battle to combo. Then he could also get a Rivendell Blade for more impact. Golden belt and Dagger of Westernesse thrown in too.

I think I'll build that deck next

Chuck in Galadhrim Minstrels and East Road Rangers and the Scroll of Isuldur too I think.

56 minutes ago, Alonewolf87 said:

The Great Hunt too.

Before the Dunhere deck I was seriously considering a Haldir deck. Mono lore. Great Hunt would work and also put off Pursuit; providing you got a location.

The plan would also be to Get The One Ring and Strength and Courage on Haldir giving him an attack 7 before any other weapon buffs but that would require a Tactics icon so Rivendell Minstrels and Songs of Battle to combo. Then he could also get a Rivendell Blade for more impact. Golden belt and Dagger of Westernesse thrown in too.

I think I'll build that deck next

5 hours ago, Alonewolf87 said:

The Great Hunt too.

Thats a great option too, if you can manage to play mono lore.

Asgardianphil played a deck with Sp legolas and Thorin and had the necessary traits to play hunting party from the start. Seems like a perfect addition for this quest patrol and trolls)

This might be too much janky but how about Revealed in Wrath + Hirgon + Knight of Minas Tirith to take care of the Patrol? It will have 0 Threat and won't limit the progress and you would also avoid the engagement forced attack.

Edited by Alonewolf87
42 minutes ago, Alonewolf87 said:

This might be too much janky but how about Revealed in Wrath + Hirgon + Knight of Minas Tirith to take care of the Patrol? It will have 0 Threat and won't limit the progress and you would also avoid the engagement forced attack.

Interesting... Hard to pull off for sure but would be nice

41 minutes ago, Alonewolf87 said:

This might be too much janky but how about Revealed in Wrath + Hirgon + Knight of Minas Tirith to take care of the Patrol? It will have 0 Threat and won't limit the progress and you would also avoid the engagement forced attack.

That's a really good combo but the Patrol has def 4 so knight of Minas Tirith would not damage it. However I guess you're just trying to get it out of staging at this point to avoid its threat hike and 2 attacks.

From there Forest Snare it or make sure you cancel its shadow effect as there are some that return enemies to staging.

10 minutes ago, MikeGracey said:

Interesting... Hard to pull off for sure but would be nice

Another slightly easier option would be Revelead in Wrath + Sneak Attack Son of Arnor/Mablung

I think Revealed In Wrath is not a bad shout in general as Namless Beast can really sting if you aren't using cards to track the top card of your deck, or even if you are and you know it's a high one like what happened to me. I revealed Gandalf adding +5 for an 8vatt + shadow effect. Cave Troll really hurts too as you cant chump block him. Revealed in Wrath will let you.

Game #7

Heroes: Haldir of Lorien, Mirlonde and Thurindir.

Threat Dial 22.

Draws Wingfoot, Galadhrim Minstrel, Warden of Healing, The Evening Star, Woodmen's Clearing and Gildor Inglorion.

Need to get a song or song grabber.

Mulligan: None Return, Warden of Healing, Song of Battle, None Return, Scroll of Isuldur and Woodmen's Clearing.

Set up: search for The One Ring and put it on Haldir.

Search for Strength and Courage and add it to hand.

Add Torech Gorgor Patrol and The Tunnels of Torech Gorgor side quest to staging. (Not the best but not the worst either.)

Discard 2 cards: The Houses Of Healing and The Great Hunt.

Turn 1

Draw Rivendell Minstrel.

Planning: play Song of Battle and Strength And Courage on Haldir. (Leaving 1 resource on Thurindir)

Quest: commit Mirlonde and Thurindir for 4 WP.

Stages Spawn Of Shelob which surges into Writhing Shadows. Assigns 1 damage to Haldir and 2 to Mirlonde. (Clap! Clap! Clap! The encounter deck has just pulled a blinder... I'll be engaged so Haldir can't attack the patrol and the treachery has damaged them up nicely. ) at this point it's as if the encounter deck is sentient and evil. The Dark Lord himself.

4 threat vs 4 WP. No progress made.

Engagement: Spawn of Shelob engages. Choose to discard 2 cards: Warden of Healing and Gildor Inglorion.

Combat: Spawn of Shelob attacks undefended for 2. (Shadow is Burning Reek. Either discard 2 cards or return to staging. Discards The Evening Star and Golden Belt). 2 damage to Thurindir.

Haldir attacks the spider for 4 att. Defeats it.

Refresh: TD 23.

Discard 3 cards: A Burning Brand, The Evening Star and Rivendell Minstrel.

Turn 2

Draws Mirkwood Explorer.

Planning: play Scroll of Isuldur on Haldir for 1 resource off Thurindir.

Use the scroll to play The Great Hunt from discard pile (1 resource from each hero) and put under the player deck. Discard Torech Gorgor Patrol.

Although that's super cool. I'm at risk due to the damage and no other questers.

Quest: commit Thurindir and Mirlonde for 4 WP.

Stages Burning Reek. Doomed 1. TD 24 discards 3 cards: Scroll of Isuldur, None Return, and Mirkwood Explorer.

0 threat vs 4 WP. Makes 4 progress on the main quest.

Refresh: TD 25

Discards 3 Cards: Galadhrim Minstrel, Rivendell Blade and Scroll Of Isuldur.

Turn 3

Draws A Burning Brand (for Gildor)

Planning: play Mirkwood Explorer

Quest: commit Mirlonde, Thurindir and Mirkwood Explorer for 6 WP.

Stages Spawn of Shelob. (Really!) Surges into Overwhelming Darkness side quest.

1 Threat vs 6 WP. 5 progress made on stage 1. And 1 progress on Mirkwood Explorer.

Engagement: Spawn of Shelob engages. Choose the 2 cards to discard: Gildor Inglorion and The Great Hunt.

Combat: Haldir defends the spider for 1 def. (Shadow is Crumbling Passage. No effect). 1 damage on Haldir.

Refresh: TD 26

Discards 4 Cards: Warden of Healing, Woodmen's Clearing, Rivendell Blade and Wingfoot.

Turn 4

Draws The Evening Star.

Planning: play Warden of Healing. Discards Bombur.

Exhaust him now to heal Haldir and Mirlonde. (There's a treachery that adds 1 direct damage soni had to do this now but it leaves the warden exposed)

Quest: Choose Overwhelming Darkness as the current quest.

commit Thurindir and Mirkwood Explorer for 4 WP.

Stages Fearful Shadows. Doomed 1. TD 27. Each Character has a blank text box. [NOT SURE IF THIS AFFECTS THE THREAT DIAL DUE TO MIRLONDE?]

0 threat vs 4 WP. Makes 4 progress on Overwhelming Darkness.

Combat: Mirlonde defends the spider for 1 def. (Shadow is Hideous Deeps. No effect. ) 1 damage on Mirlonde.

Haldir attacks and defeats the spider for 4 attack.

Play None return on it. Discard East Road Ranger.

Refresh: TD 28

Discard 4 cards: Golden Belt, The Houses Of Healing, Song of Battle and Song of Battle.

Turn 5

Draws Dagger Of Westernesse.

Planning: play Rivendell Minstrel. Discard Galadhrim Minstrel.

Use warden to heal Haldir and Mirlonde.

Quest: choose Overwhelming Darkness as the current quest.

Commit Thurindir, Mirkwood Explorer and Rivendell Minstrel for 6 WP.

Stages Ash Mountain Werewolf. (28 encounter cost just as I reached 28 threat! Unbelievable Geoff!)

2 threat vs 6 WP. 4 progress made on side quest clearing it and put 1 progress on Mirkwood Explorer. Shuffles back top 3 cards.

Going to lose a Hero now. And both copies of the Houses of Healing and Scroll of Isuldur are deep in the discard pile I'm scooping.

Game over

Well this time the deck pulled everything out that would stop this deck dead in it's tracks. No locations, 2 side quests and the only 2 enemies that would cause it a problem.

The deck is like a glass house though no defense. However the idea was not to engage anything and destroy it in the staging.

I think I'll give it another go though.

23 minutes ago, asgardianphil said:

NOT SURE IF THIS AFFECTS THE THREAT DIAL DUE TO MIRLONDE?

No Mirlonde's effect came into play when you set the starting threat, it's not a passive effect so your threat will not change if her text box is blanked (or if she dies for that matter)

Edited by Alonewolf87
27 minutes ago, Alonewolf87 said:

No Mirlonde's effect came into play when you set the starting threat, it's not a passive effect so your threat will not change if her text box is blanked (or if she dies for that matter)

Cheers

I was 98% sure that it had no effect, but then I've been playing in my own bubble and may have got it wrong. I mainly play this solo.

It's really good for me to write out my moves for all to scrutinise so that any mistakes I've been making get picked up.

During this loss I had the feeling that no strategy is safe.. the discard effect tore threw my deck at unbelievable speed. All my combos were disappearing before my eyes.

If you have a strategy you have got to get it going within the first couple of turns.

Game #8

More tweaks. Thurindir has been switched for Treebeard for his defense. East Road Ranger has been switched for WellingHall Preserver. As I now have a higher threat i need to not engage enemies so i put in Ranger Spikes and Anbon (taking out Gildor who is too costly at 5).

I also took out Houses Of Healing in favour of more ally healing. Preservers, wardens and trackers.

Here goes

50 card deck

Heroes: Haldir Of Lorien, Mirlonde and Treebeard. Threat Dial is 27.

Draw: x2 Rivendell Minstrel, x2 Warden of Healing, Song of Battle and Ranger Spikes.

Keeping this hand.

Setup: search and put The One Ring on to Haldir.

Discard 2 cards: Woodmen's Clearing and Dagger of Westernesse.

Search and add Strength and Courage to my Hand.

Put Torech Gorgor Patrol into staging

Discard cards until Lost in the Dark side quest and put it in staging. Grabs the top 10 cards of my deck.

Turn 1

Draws: Silvan Tracker.

Planning: play Ranger Spikes to the staging area. Play Song Of Battle on Haldir.

Quest: chooses Los In The Dark as the current quest

Commit Haldir, Mirlonde and Treebeard for 6 WP.

Stages Firey Chasm.

Damage Treebeard 4 times to add 4 WP.

6 Threat vs 10WP. 4 progress made on LITD.

Travel: to Firey Chasm.

Refresh: TD 28 and discards Song of Battle from under it.

Discard 3 cards: Warden of Healing, Galadhrim Minstrel and Wellinghall Preserver.

Turn 2

Draws: The Evening Star.

Planning: play Warden of Healing.

Play Strength and Courage on Haldir.

Exhaust Warden of Healing to heal Treebeard.

Quest: choose Lost in the Dark as the current quest.

Commit Mirlonde and Treebeard for 4 WP.

Stages Ransacked Supplies. Discards Rivendell Blade. +1 to threat in staging area.

4 threat vs 4 WP. 0 progress made.

Combat: Haldir uses Strength and Courage to boost his attack. TD 29. Discards A Burning Brand from under it. Ring exhausts.

Haldir attacks the patrol in the staging area for 7 att. Deals 3 damage.

Refresh: TD 30 and discards Scroll of Isuldur from under it.

Discards 3 cards: Wellinghall Preserver, wingfoot and The Great Hunt.

Turn 3

Draws Song Of Battle.

Planning: play Rivendell Minstrel. No search needed.

Exhaust Warden of Healing to heal Treebeard.

Quest: choose Lost in the Dark as the current quest.

Commit Mirlonde, Treebeard and Rivendell Minstrel for 6 WP.

Stages Mordor Cave Troll. Ranger Spikes cannot trap it. (Doh!)

Threat 6 vs 6 WP. 0 progress made.

Combat: exhaust Strength and Courage to double Haldir's combat. Exhaust One Ring. TD 31 and discards Ranger Spikes from under it.

Haldir attacks the patrol for 7. Dealing 3 damage.

Refresh: TD 32 and discards A Burning Brand from under it.

Discard 3 cards: Wellinghall Preserver, Golden Belt and Woodmen's clearing.

Turn 4

Draws the Great Hunt.

Planning: the warden heals Treebeard.

Play Great Hunt to discard the troll.

Quest: choose Lost in the Dark as the current quest.

Commit Mirlonde, Treebeard and Rivendell Minstrel for 6WP.

Stages Fearful Shadows. Doomed 1 TD 33 and discards Woodmen's Clearing from under it. Text box of each character is blank. (F#^#%#%#%! Stops Haldir from killing the Patrol. F#%@%@%#^#%! F#^#%#%!)

3 Threat Vs 6 WP. 3 progress made on Fiery Chasm.

Haldir of course can do nothing.

Refresh: TD 34 and discards Mirkwood Explorer from under it.

Discards 3 cards: Silvan Tracker, Galadhrim Minstrel and Ranger Spikes.

Turn 5

Draws Mirkwood Explorer.

Planning: play Mirkwood Explorer.

Quest: choose Lost in the Dark as the current quest.

Commit: Mirlonde, Treebeard, Rivendell Minstrel and Mirkwood Explorer for 8WP.

Stages Ash Mountain Werewolf. Ranger Spikes trap it making it -2 threat and doesnt make engagement checks.

Deal 1 damage to Treebeard to increase his WP.

Ehaust warden to heal Treebeard.

3 Threat vs 9 WP. Makes 6 progress. 2 clears Firey Chasm. Discards 3 cards: Golden Belt, Scroll of Isuldur and Rivendell Blade. 4 progress on LITD clearing it. 3 cards left to shuffle back into deck. Add 1 progress to Mirkwood Explorer.

Combat: exhaust Strength and Courage and the One Ring. TD 35.

Haldir attacks the patrol defeating it.

Refresh: TD 36.

Discards 2 cards: Scroll Of Isuldur and Mirkwood Explorer.

Turn 6

Draws The Great Hunt. And realise I played the Great Hunt in the wrong phase during turn 4. Meaning the troll would have engaged me.

Scoop due to a mistake but to be honest I was going to loose this anyway. With 50 progress yet to make and at least 1 more guaranteed side quest I can't last with only 9 cards left. 😳

Back to the design board. I'm thinking I now need to prevent these locations from hurting the board state so that I can get the side quests even quicker. It's taking all game just to clear 1.

I just beat it twice with this deck: https://ringsdb.com/deck/view/169183

Originally, I was thinking Tactics Theoden + Tactics Eowyn to kill the Torech Gorgor Patrol on the first turn (with Inner Strength on Beregond, you can defend with impunity, and so all you need is a Feint or a chump blocker for the second attack). But I couldn't muster enough willpower to blow through the quest fast enough, so I decided to go for Spirit Eowyn for the sphere balance. I took inspiration from a Seastan deck with the same hero lineup, because it can get Tactics Theoden up to 6 attack on the first turn with Herugrim, which can be very valuable, and just added a few more questing allies and some stuff to interact with the discard mechanic of the quest.

I left it at 56 cards in hopes of seeding the discard pile with good cards for Stand and Fight or Reforged (or getting Hidden Cache/Ered Luin Miner into play) before the game even started, but you could pretty easily cut it down to 50 (I'd probably cut Open the Armory - it's normally an essential card for this kind of deck, but card draw can be a liability in this quest - and Hidden Cache - the extra resources are useful for getting set up but become pointless in the late game).

It's not a guaranteed win, to be sure. I lost once on the last turn of the game. Questing for 19 against 0 threat in staging, and only needed to make progress. Then Burning Reek came out and I only had 6 cards left in the deck but 13 characters out. I lost a couple other times, less memorably - this quest is unforgiving. But this deck can do it. The first time I won, I got out 2 Ered Luin Miners and a Hidden Cache in the opening discard (8 cards), and I had 2 Ethir Swordsmen in the opening hand. That 4 willpower let me clear the opening side quest (can't remember what it was), and it was pretty smooth sailing after that. The second quest was much harder-fought. At one point, I ended up with all 3 Patrols out and I couldn't find Herugrim, Veteran Axehands, or Stand and Fight to pull the ones out of my discard pile. I didn't discard an Ered Luin Miner until the late game, and I ended up playing 2 from my hand just to play the Dwarf Pipes on them. But I consistently handled willpower, and I eventually whittled down the Patrols. (I finally did find Herugrim with an Open the Armory). The win took 14 rounds, and I only had 5 cards left, so Burning Reek or Lost in the Dark would have sunk me if it came out.

The priority of the deck is getting out willpower - I mulliganned for Ethir Swordsmen or Galadriel's Handmaidens. Both wins, I had 2 or more willpower allies in hand on turn 1. Second priority is readying on Beregond - that's the guaranteed way to engage a patrol, and you can afford to let it sit there for a while, even if you get a second enemy. Third priority is Herugrim on Theoden or - failing that - Veteran Axehands/Ered Luin Miners. On multiple occasions, I actually left the Ethir Swordsmen ready so they could contribute their attack to kill a patrol. Reforged gets you Dwarf Pipes out of the discard pile, Stand and Fight gets you whatever you need. I always quest with Theoden turn 1 (and often 2 and 3 as well) because I found clearing the side quests to be the most important thing.

I think there might be a variant of this that uses a 3-attack Spirit hero (Lanwyn or Idraen) and Tactics Eowyn to kill the Patrol turn 1 and still have the willpower mustering you need. Perhaps it uses Eowyn + herugrim as a primary attacker?

The beacons are lit...

Beregond calls for aid

... And Rohan shall answer!

Thanks for sharing your deck and victories.

I'll give it a go, although I might not get to play it now until Thursday. Wednesday night is my boadgaming group night but due to lock down we still all meet up every Wednesday; but on the Division 2 to play and chat.

I'm excited for this. I thought a Rohan deck would be the way to go.

And those 4 retrieval staples: miner, cache, reforged and Stands with Fists... err stand and fight they are the key to mitigating the damage of the unending discarding effect of the quest.

Bravo sir! Bravo!

Edited by asgardianphil
Couple of typos

Just found out that my wins are tainted. Apparently, the new Setup rulings mean that you do the Ash Mountain's discard from your deck effect before your resolve player setup cards. Which means that the One Ring and it's Mastery card could potentially get discarded before the ring comes into play.

Which is a ruling that I'm not a fan of, but apparently it exists. So there's no way to reduce the number of cards you discard from your deck by using player setup effects (unless Caleb revisits the ruling in the future and reverses it).

Thanks for the heads up.

Game 9

Heroes: Beregond spirit, Éowyn spirit and Theoden tactics. Threat Dial 31

56 card deck.

Draw: Westfold Horse-Breeder, Feint, Galadriel's Handmaiden, Gondorian Shield, Eithir Swordsman and The One Ring.

The ring aside, this is a really good starting hand. Ok soni don't have Herugrim yet but I have the Ring and it can't now be discarded. I have a way to get Snowmane. I have combat cancelation and questers.

Set up:

Discard 10 cards:

Honour Guard

Ethir Swordsman

Hidden Cache (2 res to Éowyn)

Veteran Axehand

Snowmane

Westfold Horse-Breeder

Galadriel's Handmaiden

Feint

Feint

Reforged

All in all not too bad. And importantly no Inner Strength.

Setup:

Add Torech Gorgor Patrol to staging.

Discards cards and adds A Haunt for Beasts to staging. Shuffle encounter deck.

Attach The One Ring to Beregond. Search and put Inner Strength in to hand

Turn 1

Draws Galadhrim Weaver.

Planning: play Gondorian Shield on Beregond.

Play Galadriel's Handmaiden. TD 30.

Play Westfold Horse-Breeder. Search and (fingers crossed) find Snowmane. (Both remaining copies were in the top 10 cards.)

Play Snowmane on Theoden.

Quest: can't choose the side quest.

Commit everyone except Beregond for 10 WP.

Stages Lost In The Dark. Put top 10 cards under threat dial.

4 Threat vs 10 WP. Made 5 progress on stage 1. (Limited to 5 by the patrol) Ready Theoden.

Refresh: TD 31 and discards Reforged.

Discard 4 cards: Galadhrim Weaver, The Master Ring, Dwarf Pipe and Unexpected Courage.

Turn 2

Draws: Herugrim.

Planning: play Galadhrim Weaver and shuffle Unexpected Courage back into deck.

Play Inner Strength on Beregond.

Quest: choose Lost in the Dark as the current quest.

Commit everyone except Beregond for 11 WP.

Stages Spawn of Shelob which surges into Fearful Shadows. Doomed 1. TD 32 and discards Dwarf Pipe from under it. All characters now have blank text boxes.

5 Threat vs 11 WP. 6 progress made on side quest. Ready Theoden.

Engagement: Spawn of Shelob engages. (Was hoping to engage and feint the Patrol this turn but spiders and shadows say otherwise). I'll accept the +2 attack.

Beregond defends the spider for 7 def. (Shadow is Fiery Chasm. No effect.) No damage.

Theoden attacks and defeats the spider.

Refresh: TD 33 and discards Ered Luin Miner. (Alas, as it is not off the too of my deck it stays discarded.)

Discards 4 Cards: Open the Armory, Hidden Cache (2 res on Éowyn), Gondorian Shield and Ethir Swordsman.

Turn 3 (and only 19 cards left in my deck. What a brutal quest this is)

Draws Snowmane. (Either Éowyn discard fodder or insurance against Ransacked Supplies)

Planning: play Herugrim on Theoden (discounted).

Play Ethir Swordsman.

Quest: choose Lost in the Dark as the current quest. Commit Éowyn, Theoden, Galadriel's Handmaiden and Galadhrim Weaver for 10 WP. ( the only thing to ruin me here is another spider surging into a 4 threat location or patrol.)

Stages Twisted Tunnel. (Oh ****, I forgot about that) puts an Ash Mountain Werewolf in staging.

Threat 8 vs 10 WP. Makes 2 progress on the side quest clearing it to the Victory Display. Shuffles 7 cards back into deck.

Phew did it... but how evil is this quest.

Ready Theoden.

Travel: to Twisted Tunnel.

Engagement: Ash Mountain Werewolf engages.

Combat: Beregond defends the Werewolf for 7 def. (Shadow is Ransacked Supplies. Saving my threat by not using Inner Strength I'll discard Snowmane) no damage so TD reduced to 32. Werewolf discards Stand and Fight.

Theoden uses Herugrim and attacks the Werewolf for 6 att. Due to damage limit from side quest deals 4 damage to the Werewolf.

Refresh: TD 33.

Discards 3 cards Open the Armory, Galadriel's Handmaiden and Westfold Horse-Breeder.

Turn 4

Draws Ered Luin Miner.

Planning: play Snowmane on Theoden

Play Ered Luin Miner (leaving 1 res each on Theoden and Beregond.)

Quest: still can't choose A Haunt for Beasts.

Commit Éowyn, Theoden, Galadriel's Handmaiden, Galadhrim Weaver and Westfold Horse-Breeder for 11 WP.

Stages Firey Chasm.

Threat 6 vs 11 WP makes 5 progress. 2 explores Twisted Tunnel and 3 on Stage 1.

Ready Theoden.

Combat: Beregond defends the Werewolf for 7 def. (Shadow is Fiery Chasm. No effect.) No damage. Discards Honour Guard. Reduces threat to 31. Theoden uses Herugrim to attack the Werewolf and defeats it.

Refresh: TD 32

Discards 3 cards: The Master Ring, The Master Ring and Galadhrim Weaver.

Turn 5

Draws Honour Guard. (Can't afford him as I need to feint this round)

Quest: commit Éowyn, Theoden, Galadriel's Handmaiden, Westfold Horse-Breeder and Galadhrim Weaver for 11 WP.

Stages Ash Mountain Werewolf (situations not improved)

8 threat vs 11 WP. Makes 3 progress on stage 1. Ready Theoden.

Engagement: (Whatever! Can't wait any longer... I have to get rid of that side quest.) Optionally engage the Patrol.

Ered Luin Miner defends the Patrol for 1 def. (Shadow is Namless Beast. (Galadhrim Weaver is top of the discard pile. +1 att)). Miner is defeated.

Ash Mountain Werewolf engages.

Combat: play Feint on the Werewolf (to save a card from being discarded) good job as it's shadow was going to discard an attachment.

Beregond defends the Patrol for 7. (Shadow is Ash Mountain Werewolf. No effect). Reduce TD to 31.

Theoden uses Herugrim and attacks the Werewolf for 4 damage.

Refresh: TD 32

Discards 3 cards: Unexpected Courage, Herugrim and Unexpected Courage.

Turn 6

Draws Dwarf Pipe.

Planning: play Honour Guard.

Quest: choose A Haunt for Beasts as the current quest.

Commit Éowyn, Theoden, Galadriel's Handmaiden, Westfold Horse-Breeder and Galadhrim Weaver for 11 WP.

Stages Crumbling Passage. Becomes the active location.

2 threat vs 11 WP. Quested successfully so I'm sure I can use Snowmane here to prevent the damage. Ready Theoden.

9 progress made. 3 on Crumbling Passage. Deals 1 damage to each exhausted character. Defeats Galadriel's Handmaiden, Westfold Horse-Breeder and Galadhrim Weaver (completely destroying my quest power.)

6 progress on A Haunt for Beasts clearing it to the Victory Display.

Combat: Beregond defends the Werewolf for 7 def. (Shadow is Namless Beast. Top card of discard is Galadhrim Weaver so +1 att.) No damage. Reduce threat to 31. Discards Open The Armory.

Honour Guard defends the Patrol. (Shadow is Narrow Opening. No effect.

Theoden uses Herugrim to attack and defeat the Werewolf.

Refresh: TD 32

Discard 2 cards: Herugrim and Veteran Axehand.

Turn 7

Draws Reforged.

Planning: play Reforged to play Unexpected Courage on Beregond.

Quest: commit Éowyn , Theoden and the Ethir Swordsman for 9 WP. (I'd forgotten the swordsman quest for 2. Good job though as he'd be in the discard pile now. I was saving him for his 1 att though.)

Stages Torech Gorgor Patrol. (Situations not improved!)

4 threat vs 9 WP. Makes 5 progress on stage 1. (Total 16. I've got no chance of winning this now) ready Theoden.

Engagement: optionally engage the Patrol. He makes an immediate attack. Honour Guard defends. (Shadow is Spawn of Shelob. Exhaust Theoden.) Defeats the guard.

Combat. Beregond defends the Patrol #1 (shadow is Ransacked Supplies. Use Inner Strength and the Ring. TD 33. Cancel shadow. No damage reduces threat to 32.

Ready Beregond.

Beregond defends the Patrol #2. (Shadow is Orc Passage. No effect.) No damage.

Refresh: TD 33

Discards 2 cards: Stand and Fight and Gondorian Shield.

5 cards left in the deck gives me 1 more turn.

Scooped

Lost again.

Feels hopeless. The encounter deck's just too crippling to the player deck. Each side quest comes with built in protection.

Good deck though.

Edited by asgardianphil

Game 10

New deck. 55 cards.

A lore deck designed to avoid enemies.

Heroes: Aragorn, Denethor and Rossiel.

TD 28

Draws: Woodmen's Clearing, Firyal, Bombur, Out of The Wild, Wellinghall Preserver and The Evening Star.

I really need a Great Hunt.

Mulligan: Put Off Pursuit, Woodland Sentry, Bombur, Mirkwood Explorer and The Great Hunt x2.

Setup:

Discards 9 cards:

Firyal

The Evening Star

Ithillien Lookout

Wellinghall Preserver

Galadhrim Minstrel

Ioreth

Woodmen's Path

Woodland Sentry

Mirkwood Explorer

put Torech Gorgor Patrol in staging.

Discards cards and puts Overwhelming Darkness in staging. After playing a card discard a card.

Turn 1

Draws Wellinghall Preserver.

Quest: choose Overwhelming Darkness as the current quest.

Denethor peeks at Narrow Opening and puts it on top.

Commit Aragorn and Rossiel for 4 WP.

Stages Narrow 3

6 Threat vs 4 WP. TD 30.

Combat: play The Great Hunt to discard Torech Gorgor Patrol. Discards Out Of The Wild.

Refresh: TD 31

Discards 3 cards: Put Off Pursuit, Galadhrim Minstrel and Scroll Of Isuldur.

Turn 2

Draws Scout Ahead

Planning: Denethor peeks at Ransacked Supplies and puts it on top.

Play Bombur. Discards The Door is Closed!

Quest: choose Overwhelming Darkness as the current quest.

Bombur exhausts to reduce Narrow Opening to 0 threat.

Commit Aragorn and Rossiel for 4 WP.

Stages Ransacked Supplies. Discards The Great Hunt. Adds 3 to Staging.

3 Threat vs 4 WP. Makes 1 progress on Overwhelming Darkness.

Refresh: TD 32

Discard 3 cards: Ithillien Lookout, Scroll Of Isuldur and The Door is Closed!

Turn 3

Draws The Evening Star.

Planning: play Mirkwood Explorer. Discards Out Of The Wild.

Denethor peeks at Ransacked Supplies and puts it back on top.

Quest: choose Overwhelming Darkness as the current quest

Bombur makes Narrow Opening 0 threat.

Commit Aragorn, Rossiel and Mirkwood Explorer for 6 WP.

Stages Ransacked Supplies. Discards The Hidden Way. Adds 2 threat.

2 threat vs 6 WP. Puts 1 progress on Mirkwood Explorer. Makes 4 Progress on Overwhelming Darkness.

Refresh: TD 33

Discards 3 cards: Woodmen's Path, Woodland Sentry and Woodmen's Clearing.

Turn 4

Draws Ithillien Lookout.

Planning: Denethor peeks at Writhing Shadows and puts it on top.

Plays Wellinghall Preserver. Discards Firyal.

Quest: choose Overwhelming Darkness as the current quest.

Bombur makes Narrow Opening 0 threat.

commit Aragorn, Rossiel and Mirkwood Explorer for 6 WP.

Stages Writhing Shadows. Assigns 3 damage to characters and exhaust them. Deals 2 to Wellinghall Preserver and 1 to Bombur. Characters were already exhausted.

0 threat vs 6WP. Add 1 progress to Mirkwood Explorer. 6 progress to Overwhelming Darkness clearing it to the Victory Display. Shuffles back top 3 discarded cards.

Refresh: TD 34. Heal 1 damage from the ent.

Discards 2 cards: Woodland Sentry and Out of The Wild.

Turn 5

Draws Wellinghall Preserver.

Planning: Denethor peeks at Fiery Chasm and puts it on top.

Play Scout Ahead.

Play Wellinghall Preserver.

Quest: choose Scout Ahead as the current quest.

Bombur makes Narrow Opening 0 threat.

Commit Aragorn, Rossiel, Mirkwood Explorer and Wellinghall Preserver for 9 WP.

Stages Firey Chasm.

3 threat Vs 9 WP. Put 1 progress on Mirkwood Explorer. Makes 6 progress on Scout Ahead clearing it to the Victory Display.

Searches and puts Orc Passage into the Victory Display.

Reorders: The Tunnels Of Torech Gorgor, Ash Mountain Werewolf, Lost in the Dark and Twisted Tunnel.

Refresh: TD 35. Heal 1 damage from ent #1

Discards 2 cards: The Door is Closed! And Scroll of Isuldur.

Turn 6

Draws Ioreth.

Planning: Denethor peeks at The Tunnels of Torech Gorgor and puts it on the bottom.

Play Ioreth.

Plays Ithillien Lookout and discards Ash Mountain Werewolf off the top.

Quest: Bombur Makes Narrow Opening 0 threat.

commit Aragorn, Rossiel, Mirkwood Explorer, ×2 Wellinghall Preservers and Ithillien Lookout for 13 WP.

Stages Lost In The Dark. Puts 10 cards under threat dial.

3 Threat vs 13 WP. Add 1 resource to Mirkwood Explorer. Makes 10 progress on stage 1.

Travel: to Narrow Opening.

Refresh: TD 36 and discards Woodmen's Clearing. Aragorn reduces threat dial to 28.

Discards 3 card: The Hidden Way, Leave No Trace and Bombur.

Turn 7

Draws Woodmen's Clearing.

Planning: play Woodmen's Clearing on active location.

Denethor peeks at Twisted Tunnel and puts it on the bottom.

Quest: choose Lost in the Dark as the current quest.

Bombur makes Fiery Chasm 0 threat.

Commit Rossiel (4wp), Mirkwood Explorer, x2 Wellinghall Preservers and Ithillien Lookout for 13 WP. (Not Aragorn incase I draw an enemy. )

Stages Twisted Tunnel... (heh, the one card I didn't want.) It puts Spawn of Shelob into staging. (Surge doesn't trigger in this case.)

Play The Evening Star. There is one other copy in the discard pile so put 2 progress on Twisted Tunnel exploring it and 2 progress on the active location.

4 Threat vs 13 Wp. Put 1 progress on Mirkwood Explorer.

9 progress made. 1 on active location exploring it. Discards The Great Hunt Randomly from my hand. Woodmen's Clearing reduces threat to 25. 8 progress on Lost in the Dark clearing it to the Victory Display.

Shuffles cards from under threat dial back into deck.

Engagement: Spawn of Shelob engages. Choose the +2 attack.

Combat: Aragorn defends the spider for 2 def. (Shadow is Crumbling Passage. No effect). 2 damage on Aragorn.

Iroreth heals Aragorn.

Refresh: TD 26.

Discards 2 cards: Hidden Cache (adds 2 resources to Denethor. And Hidden Cache again. Adds 2 resources to Rossiel.

Turn 8

Draws Woodmen's Path.

Planning: Denethor peeks at Hideous Deeps and puts it on top. Pay Woodland Sentry.

Quest: commit Rossiel, Mirkwood Explorer, ×2 Wellinghall Preservers, Ithillien Lookout and Woodland Sentry for 12 WP

Stages Hideous Deeps. It grabs 3 cards from my deck. Bombur makes it threat 0.

2 threat vs 12 WP. Put 1 resource on Mirkwood Explorer. 10 progress made on stage 1. (Total 20).

Travel: to Hideous Deeps.

Combat: Aragorn defends Spawn of Shelob for 2 def. (Shadow is Ash Mountain Werewolf. No effect). No damage

Refresh: TD 27.

Discards 2 cards Leave No Trace and Woodmen's Clearing.

Turn 9

Draws The Evening Star.

Planning: Denethor peeks at Spawn of Shelob and puts it on the Bottom.

Play Woodmen's Path on the active location.

Quest: commit Rossiel and Wellinghall Preserver x2 for 10WP.

Stages Orc Passage. Bombur makes it Threat 0.

2 threat vs 10 WP. Makes 8 progress. 1 on active location exploring it. Shuffles 3 cards back into deck. 7 progress on stage 1 clearing it.

Stage 2: searches and pulls A Haunt for Beasts. Discards and stages an Ash Mountain Werewolf.

Well as good as this looks I'm about 3 or 4 turns short.

Its 2:55 am and I've got 7 cards left in my deck and 29 progress to make.

Scooped this game.

Game 11

I've put a questing deck together with 3 of e very card I need. I've deliberately gone way over in order to get Viligant Dunedain intobthe discard pile.

The idea of buffing up vigilant Dunedain came from a deck I saw on Rungs DB.

I also realise I just need to quest hard and use Thrors Key where I can to negate some of the locations text.

60 card deck.

Play Círdan The Shipwright, Galadriel and Éowyn spirit.

Threat 30

Draw: Ethir Swordsman, Galadriel's Handmaiden, Thrór's Key, Tale Of Tinúvuel, Map Of Earnil and Silvan Refugee.

Mulligan: Elrond's Council, Light Of Valinor, Ethir Swordsman, Nenya, Ered Luin Miner and Galadriel's Handmaiden.

Apart from the miner in hand a great start with the attachments.

Setup.

Discard 14 cards:

Stand and Fight

Elrond's Council

Map of Earnil

Pelargir Shipwright

Map of Earnil

Vigilant Dúnadan

Thrór's Key

Silvan Refugee

Reforged

Vigilant Dúnadan

Stand and Fight

Tale of Tinúvuel

Thrór's Key

Dwarf Pipe.

Add Torech Gorgor Patrol to staging.

Discard and add The Tunnels of Torech Gorgor.

Search and put the One Ring on Círdan.

Search and add Inner Strength to hand

Turn 1

Draws Silver Harp and Thrór's Key (discard)

Planning: play Nenya and Silver Harp on Galadriel.

Quest: commit Círdan and Éowyn for 8 WP.

Galadriel uses Nenya to add 4 WP to Círdan.

Stages Twisted Tunnel. Puts Spawn Of Shelob into play.

Play Elrond's Council on Círdan. TD 27

6 threat vs 13 WP. 7 progres made. Limited to 5 on stage 1.

Travel: forced to travel to Twisted Tunnel.

Engagement: Spawn of Shelob engages. Choose to discard Narya.

Combat: spider attacks undefended for 2. (Shadow is Ransacked Supplies. Discards Silver Harp.) 2 damage on Galadriel.

Refresh: TD 28

Discards 3 cards: Ethir Swordsman, Nenya and Galadriel's Handmaiden.

Turn 2

Draws Arwen Undómiel and Pelargir Shipwright (discard)

Planning: play Arwen Undómiel. Play Light of Valinor on Círdan.

Quest: commit Círdan, Éowyn and Arwen (doesn't exhaust) for 10 WP.

Galadriel uses Nenya and buffs Círdan.

Stages Burning Reek. Doomed 1 TD 28. Discards 4 cards: Silver Harp, Light Of Valinor, Dwarven Tomb and Silvan Refugee.

3 threat vs 14 WP. 11 progress made. 2 explores Twisted Tunnel and puts a resource on TTOTG. 5 progress made on stage 1

Combat: Arwen Undómiel defends the spider. +1 def to herself. (Shadow is Hideous Deeps. No Effect.) No damage.

Círdan attacks the spider and deals 1 damage.

Refresh: TD 29.

Discards 3 cards: Silvan Refugee, Tale of Tinúvuel and Galadriel's Handmaiden.

Turn 3

Draws Dwarven Tomb and Vigilant Dúnadan (discard)

Planning: play Inner Strength on Círdan.

Play Dwarven Tomb to pull Silver Harp from the discard pile.

Quest: commit Círdan, Éowyn and Arwen for 10 WP. Arwen buffs Cirdan's defence

Galadriel uses Nenya to buff Círdan.

Stages Mordor Cave Troll.

6 Threat vs 14 WP. Makes 8 progress. Limited to 5 progress on stage 1.

Combat: Círdan defends the spider for 4 def. (Shadow is Ash Mountain Werewolf. No effect.) No damage.

Refresh: TD 30

Discard 3 cards: Ethir Swordsman, Dwarf Pipe and Hidden Cache (add 2 resource to Círdan).

Turn 4

Draws Arwen and Silver Harp (discard)

Planning: play Silver Harp on Galadriel.

Play Galadriel's Handmaiden. TD 29

Quest: commit Círdan, Éowyn and Galadriel's Handmaiden (doesn't exhaust) for 10 WP.

Galadriel uses Nenya to buff Círdan.

Stages Ransacked Supplies. Discards Pelargir Shipwright. +3 threat to staging.

9 threat vs 14 WP. 5 progress made on stage 1

Combat: Arwen defends the spider for 2 def(buffs herself). (Shadow is Crumbling Passage. No effect.) No damage.

Círdan attacks and defeats the spider.

Refresh: TD 30

Discards 3 cards: Reforged, Stand and Fight and Light of Valinor.

Turn 5

Draws Hidden Cache and Map of Earnil (harp saves)

Planning: play Ethir Swordsman.

Quest: commit Círdan, Éowyn, and Ethir Swordsman (doesn't exhaust) and Galadriel's Handmaiden for 12WP

Galadriel uses Nenya to buff Círdan.

Stages Twisted Tunnel. Pulls Ash Mountain Werewolf.

10 threat vs 16 WP. 5 progress made on stage 1 clearing it.

Searches and takes A Haunt for Beasts. Adds Namless Beast to staging.

Travel: forced to travel to Twisted Tunnel.

Engagement: Ash Mountain Werewolf and Namless Beast engages.

I really needed to engage the Patrol this round in order to race through the quest uninhibited in 2 turns but I've got too many enemies now. I really need the Vigilant Dúnadan.

I think making this deck 60 cards was a mistake. Most of my cards I needed were discarded.

I'll trim it down and try again.

Scooped.

Game 12.

Same deck but trimmed to 50 cards with a couple of tweaks.

Heroes Círdan The Shipwright, Éowyn and Galadriel.

TD 30

Draws: Ethir Swordsman, Thrór's Key, Light of Valinor, Elrond's Council, Dwarf Pipe and Ioreth.

Mulligan I need Silver Harp and Nenya.

Draws: Nenya, Light of Valinor, Nenya, Map of Earnil, Stand and Fight and Elrond's Council.

Setup.

Discards 4 cards

Erebor Toymaker

Erebor Toymaker

Tale of Tinúvuel

Galadriel's Handmaiden.

Put Torech Gorgor Patrol in staging.

Discard cards and put The Tunnels Of Torech Gorgor in staging.

Search for the One Ring and put it on Círdan.

Search and add Inner Strength to hand.

Turn 1

Draws Elrond's Council (discard) and Arwen Undómiel.

Planning: play Nenya on Galadriel. Play Light of Valinor and Inner Strength on Círdan.

Quest: commit Círdan and Éowyn. And Galadriel uses Nenya to boost Círdan. 12WP

Stages Firey Chasm.

6 threat vs 12 WP. 6 progress made. 5 on Stage 1.

Travel: forced to travel to Firey Chasm.

Refresh: TD 31

Dicards 3 Cards: Narya, Arwen Undómiel and Nenya.

Turn 2

Draws Reforged (discard) and Stand And Fight.

Planning: play Arwen Undómiel.

Quest: commit Círdan, Éowyn and Arwen Undómiel (doesn't exhaust). Galadriel uses Nenya to buff Círdan. 14 WP.

Stages A Haunt for Beasts.

4 Threat vs 14 WP. 10 progress made. 5 on Firey Chasm explores it. Dicards 4 cards: Dwarf Pipe, The Galadhrims Greeting, Silver Harp and Reforged. 1 resource on TTOTG and 5 progress on stage 1

Engagement: engage Torech Gorgor Patrol. Immediate attack. Arwen defends for 1. (Adds 1 def to Círdan). Shadow is Ash Mountain Werewolf. (Discrds 2 cards if destroys a character). Arwen is destroyed. Dicards Dwarf Pipe and Ethir Swordsman.

Combat: Círdan defends the Patrol for 4 def. (Shadow is Orc Passage. No effect). 1 damage on Círdan.

Refresh: TD 32

Discards 4 cards: Ioreth, Map of Earnil, Vigilant Dúnadan and Light of Valinor.

Turn 3

Draws Pelargir Shipwright and Galadriel's Handmaiden (discard).

Planning: play Stand and Fight to play Arwen Undómiel. Play Stand and Fight to play Ioreth. Play Map of Earnil on Éowyn. Leaves 1 resource on Galadriel.

Quest: choose a Haunt for Beasts as the current quest.

Commit Círdan, Éowyn and Arwen Undómiel (doesn't exhaust). Galadriel uses Nenya to buff Círdan. 14 WP.

Stages Lost in the Dark. Puts 10 cards under threat dial. 14 progress made clears A Haunt for Beasts side quest.

Combat: Círdan defends the Patrol for 3 def. (Shadow is Spawn of Shelob. Exhaust Arwen. She buffs Cirdan's def.) 5 att vs 4 def. 1 damage.

Refresh:TD 33 and discards Erebor Toymaker from under it.

Discards 3 cards: Reforged, Pelargir Shipwright and Narya.

Turn 4

Draws Silver Harp and Thrór's Key (discard)

Planning: play Silver Harp on Círdan. Leaves 2 resources on Galadriel

Quest: choose Lost in the Dark as the current quest. Commit Círdan, Éowyn and Arwen. She buffs Cirdan's defence. Galadriel uses Nenya to buff Círdan. 14 WP

Stages Torech Gorgor Patrol.

4 threat vs 14 WP. 10 progress made on Lost in the Dark clearing it. Shuffles 9 cards back into deck.

Combat: Círdan defends the Patrol for 4 def. (Shadow is Crumbling Passage. No effect). 1 damage to Círdan. Ioreth heals Círdan.

Refresh: TD 34.

Discards 3 cards: Silver Harp, Dwarf Pipe and Tale of Tinúvuel.

Turn 5

Draws Thrór's Key and Map of Earnil ( Harp saves)

planning: use Map of Earnil to play Stand and Fight from discard to play Vigilant Dúnadan. Cost 4 spirit resource.

Quest: commit Círdan, Éowyn and Arwen Undómiel. Arwen buffs the Vigilant Dúnadan. Galadriel uses Nenya to buff Círdan.

Play Elrond's Council to buff Círdan. TD 31

15 WP

Stages Mordor Cave Troll. (Wow. Lowered threat just in time)

6 threat vs 15 WP. 9 progress made. Limited to 5 on stage 1. (15 total)

Looking at the board state now. I can't win with only 9 cards left in my deck. And loosing 3 a turn. I have to make 10 more progress on stage 1 and 25 on stage 2.

I really like the idea of questing hard like this deck does bit it also has to be able to pull the Patrol out and be able to deal with it every round. The Vigilant Dúnadan is a great idea to defending everything but I need to seriously buff it's defense. Maybe switching to tactics Éowyn might help to get some defense. And she can also deal with 1 Patrol or Troll.

I think I Have an idea. Scrap the Vigilant Dúnadan part of the deck. Put in 3 Unexpected courages for Círdan. Boost his defense with Lords of The Eldar which is playable only from the dicard pile. And put in 3 copies of Ride Them Down. Which will allow the quest points to take out the Patrol.

Game 13.

Heroes Círdan The Shipwright, Éowyn and Galadriel.

TD 30 55 card deck.

Draw: Pelargir Shipwright, Silver Harp, Lords of The Eldar, Erebor Toymaker, Elrond's Council and Ioreth.

Keep this Hand due to Silver Harp.

Serup

Disards 9 cards

Elrond's Council

Arwen Undómiel

Galadriel's Handmaiden

Nenya

Reforged

Ethir Swordsman

Silver Harp

Unexpected Courage

Stand and Fight.

Add Torech Gorgor Patrol to staging

Add Overwhelming Darkness to staging.

Search and put One Ring on Círdan.

Search and add Inner Strength to hand.

Turn 1

Draws Lords of the Eldar (discard) and Ride Them Down.

Planning: play Erebor Toymaker. Discards Thrór's Key. Play Silver Harp discounted by the toymaker on Galadriel.

Exhaust Galadriel. TD 29. Draws Map of Earnil.

Quest: choose Overwhelming Darkness as the current quest.

Commit Éowyn, Círdan and Erebor Toymaker (doesn't exhaust) for 10 WP.

Stages Twisted Tunnel. Puts Spawn of Shelob in staging.

Play Elrond's Council. TD 26 discards Silver Harp.

Discards Lords of The Eldar to buff Éowyn. Silver Harp returns it.

6 threat vs 12 WP. 6 progress made on Overwhelming Darkness clearing it. Shuffles 3 cards back into deck.

Travel: to Twisted Tunnel.

Engagement: Spawn of Shelob engages. Choose to discard Nenya.

Combat: Spider attacks undefended. (Shadow is Narrow Opening. No effect). 2 damage on Galadriel.

Refresh:TD 27.

Discards 2 cards Erebor Toymaker and Elrond's Council.

Turn 2

Draws Nenya and Pelargir Shipwright (harp returns)

Planning: play Nenya on Galadriel. (Paid by Círdan)

Play Ioreth.

Quest: commit Círdan, Éowyn and Erebor Toymaker. Galadriel uses Nenya to buff Círdan. 14 WP.

Stages Nameless Beast.

5 Threat vs 14 WP. 9 progress made. 2 on Twisted Tunnel explores it. 5 progress made on stage 1.

Combat: spider attacks undefended. ( shadow is Spawn of Shelob. Exhaust Ioreth). 2 damage on Éowyn.

Refresh: TD 28.

Discards 2 cards Lords of the Eldar and Map of Earnil.

Turn 3

Draws Stand And Fight and Ride Them Down (Harp returns to hand)

Planning: play Pelargir Shipwright.

Quest: commit Círdan, Éowyn, Erebor Toymaker and Pelargir Shipwright (doesn't exhaust). Galadriel uses Nenya to buff Círdan.

Stages Mordor Cave Troll.

Play Ride Them Down and Choose Torech Gorgor Patrol.

8 threat vs 17 WP. 9 progress. Puts 9 damage on the Patrol defeating it.

Combat: Spider attacks undefended. (Shadow is Ash Mountain Werewolf. No effect). 2 damage on Círdan.

Refresh: TD 29

Discards Arwen Undómiel and Ethir Swordsman.

Turn 4

Draws Ethir Swordsman and Galadriel's Handmaiden (Harp returns to hand).

Planning: play Stand and Fight to play Arwen Undómiel from discard pile.

Quest: commit Éowyn, Arwen Undómiel (doesn't exhaust), Pelargir Shipwright and Erebor Toymaker. Galadriel uses Nenya to buff Éowyn. 15 WP.

Stages Firey Chasm.

8 Threat vs 15 WP. 7 progress made on stage 1.

Combat: Arwen defends the spider. +1 def to herself. (Shadow is Torech Gorgor Patrol. No effect). No damage. Círdan attacks the spider and deals 1 damage.

Refresh: TD 30.

Discard 2 cards Ride Them Down and Thrór's Key.

Turn 5

Draws Silver Harp and Light of Valinor (Harp returns to hand).

Planning: play Light of Valinor on Círdan.

Quest: commit Círdan, Éowyn, Pelargir Shipwright and Erebor Toymaker. Galadriel uses Nenya to buff Éowyn. 17WP.

Stages Hideous Deeps. It grabs 3 cards from too of player deck.

Play Ride Them Down. Choose Namless Beast.

Threat 11 vs 17 WP. 6 progress made. 6 damage on Namless Beast defeating it.

Travel: to Hideous Deeps.

Combat: Arwen defends the spider. +1 def to herself. (Shadow is Twisted Tunnel. Discards The Tunnels of Torech Gorgor side quest. No effect) no damage.

Círdan attacks and defeats the spider.

Refresh: TD 31

Discards 2 cards Unexpected Courage and Galadriel's Handmaiden.

Turn 6

Draws Light of Valinor and Arwen Undómiel (harp returns to hand)

Planning: play Galadriel's Handmaiden. TD 30.

Play Inner Strength on Círdan.

Quest: commit Círdan, Éowyn Galadriel's Handmaiden (doesn't exhaust), Arwen, Pelargir Shipwright and Erebor Toymaker. (Arwen buffs Cirdan's defence). Galadriel uses Nenya to buff Círdan. 21 WP.

Stages Writhing Shadows. Assigns 2 damage. 1 to Éowyn and 1 to Pelargir Shipwright.

Threat 5 vs 21 WP. 16 progress made. 6 on Hideous Deeps exploring it and shuffles the 3 cards back into deck 10 progress on stage 1 (22 total).

Refresh: TD 31

Discards 2 Cards: Stand And Fight and Thrór's Key.

Turn 7

Draws Dwarf Pipe and Map of Earnil (harp returns to hand.)

Planning: play map of Earnil on Éowyn.

Play Dwarf Pipe on Erebor Toymaker.

Quest: commit Círdan, Éowyn Pelargir Shipwright Arwen and Erebor Toymaker for 15 WP. Arwen buffs Círdan.

Stages Crumbling Passage. Becomes active location. (Wow... this is exactly why I didn't commit everything this time as i only need to make 3 progress).

Threat 5 Vs 15 WP 10 progress made. 3 on Crumbling Passage explores it. Damages each exhausted character. 7 progress on stage 1 clearing it.

Advances to stage 2.

Searches and puts A Haunt for Beasts in stageing. Shuffle and discard until Spawn of Shelob. Add it to staging.

Engagement: Spawn of Shelob engages. Choose its attack buff. Círdan defends for 4 def. (Shadow is Burning Reek. Would return to staging or discard 2 cards. Use Inner Strength to cancel. TD 32. ) no damage.

Ioreth heals Éowyn.

Galadriel exhausts to reduce threat TD 31 and draws Unexpected courage.

Refresh: TD 32

Discard 3 cards: Pelargir Shipwright, Erebor Toymaker and The Galhadrims Greeting (pipe saves)

Turn 8

Draws Dwarf Pipe and Lught of Valinor (harp returns)

Planning: play Pelargir Shipwright.

Quest: commit Círdan, Éowyn, x2 Pelargir Shipwright (1 doesn't exhaust), Galadriel's Handmaiden, Arwen, and Erebor Toymaker.

Arwen buffs Cirdan's defence.

Galadriel uses Nenya to buff Círdan.

Discard Lords of the Eldar to buff Éowyn.

Total WP. 25.

Stages Spawn of Shelob. Surges into Fiery Chasm.

10 threat vs 25 WP. 15 progress made on stage 2

Engagement: Spawn of Shelob engages. Chooses the attack buff.

Combat: Círdan defends the 4 attack spider with 4 def. (Shadow is Fiery Chasm. No effect.) No damage.

Spawn of Shelob attacks for 2 undefended. (Shadow is Ransacked Supplies. Discard Map of Earnil. ) 2 damage on Éowyn.

Refresh: TD 33

Discards 3 cards: dwarf Pipe, Elrond's Council (pipe saves) and Reforged.

Turn 9

Draws Thrór's Key and Reforged (harp returns to hand)

Planning: nothing. Saving resources to play Lords of the Eldar as I have 3 Noldor in play.

2 cards left in my deck, I have to make 10 progress to win this turn.

Quest: commit Círdan, Éowyn, x2 Pelargir Shipwrights, Galadriel's Handmaiden, Arwen Undómiel and Erebor Toymaker. 20 WP. Arwen buffs Cirdan's defence.

Play Lords of the Eldar from discard pile. +1 stats to Galadriel, Círdan and Arwen.

Galadriel uses Nenya to buff Círdan 5 WP

Discard Light of Valinor from hand to buff Éowyn.

Total WP 28.

Stages Torech Gorgor Patrol (#%#%@%@!) Limits progress to 5.

Game over.

6 hours ago, asgardianphil said:

Stages Torech Gorgor Patrol (#%#%@%@!) Limits progress to 5.

Game over.

Dang so close, sorry

Cheers. It definitely teaches respect for the game. It's a difficult lesson.

I've trimmed some cards out that weren't getting a lot of use to get to 50 cards again.

( took out x2 Lords of the Eldar. I only need one in the deck. 1 copy each of the pipe, map and key.)

Game 13

50 cards

Heroes Círdan the Shipwright, Éowyn and Galadriel.

TD 30

Draws Stand And Fight, Nenya, Galadriel's Handmaiden, Thrór's Key, Pelargir Shipwright and Erebor Toymaker.

No silver Harp or light of valinor.

Need to mulligan.

Draws: Ride Them Down x2, Map of Earnil The Galadhrims Greeting, Arwen Undómiel and Pelargir Shipwright.

Setup.

Discards 4 cards:

Unexpected Courage, Ioreth, Nenya and Arwen Undómiel.

Put Torech Gorgor Patrol in staging.

Put The Tunnels of Torech Gorgor in staging.

Search for the One Ring and put it on Círdan. Search for Inner Strength and put in hand.

Turn 1

Draws Unexpected Courage and Elrond's Council (discards).

Planning: exhaust Galadriel. TD 29 draws Dwarf Pipe.

Planning: play Arwen Undómiel. Play Inner Strength on Círdan.

Quest: commit Círdan, Éowyn and Arwen Undómiel (doesn't exhaust). 10 WP

Stages Hideous Deeps. Grabs 3 cards.

Threat 6 vs 10 WP. 4 progress made on stage 1

Travel: forced to travel to Hideous Deeps.

Refresh: TD 30

Discards 3 cards: Nenya, Erebor Toymaker and Silver Harp.

Turn 2

Draws Ethir Swordsman (discard) and Silver Harp.

Planning: play Silver Harp on Galadriel.

Exhaust Galadriel. TD 29 draws Arwen Undómiel.

Quest: commit Círdan, Éowyn and Arwen. 10 WP.

Arwen buffs Cirdan's defence.

Stages Writhing Shadows. Assigns 3 damage and exhausts character. (2 on Galadriel and 1 on Éowyn).

Threat 3 vs 10 WP. Makes 6 progress on Hideous Deeps exploring it. Shuffles 3 cards back into deck. Put 1 resource on TToTG.

Refresh: TD 30

Discards 3 cards: Stand And Fight, Light of Valinor and Ride Them Down.

Turn 3

Draws Reforged and Stand And Fight (harp returns).

Planning: play Reforged to play Light of Valinor on Círdan. (AS FAR AS I UNDERSTAND IT REFORGED AND STAND AND FIGHT WONT WORK ON NEUTRAL CARDS. HAVE I GOT THAT RIGHT?)

Play Stand And Fight to play Ioreth.

Exhuast Galadriel. TD 29. Draws Ethir Swordsman.

Play Unexpected Courage on Círdan.

Quest: commit Círdan, Éowyn and Arwen. 10 WP. Arwen buffs Cirdan's defence.

Stages Spawn of Shelob which surges into Burning Reek. Doomed 1. TD 30 discards 5 cards: Nenya, Elrond's Council, Map of Earnil, Reforged and Silver Harp.

Spider turned up just in time to stop me engaging the Patrol.

That's it, no more Nenya in this game.

Threat 4 vs 10 WP. 6 progress made. 5 on stage 1.

Engagement: Spawn of Shelob engages. Choose the +2 attack.

Círdan defends the spider for 4 def. (Shadow is Crumbling Passage. No effect). No damage.

Círdan readies with Unexpected Courage.

Círdan attacks the spider for 2. Deals 1 damage

Refresh: TD 31

Discards 3 cards: Galadriel's Handmaiden, Erebor Toymaker and Light of Valinor.

Turn 4

Draws Unexpected Courage and Pelargir Shipwright (harp returns)

Planning: play Ethir Swordsman. Play Unexpected Courage on Círdan.

Quest: commit Círdan, Éowyn Arwen Undómiel and Ethir Swordsman (doesn't exhaust) 12 WP

Arwen buffs Cirdan's defence.

Stages Narrow Opening.

6 threat vs 12 WP. 5 progress on stage 1.

Travel: forced to travel to Narrow Opening.

Engagement: engage Torech Gorgor Patrol. Makes an immediate attack. Círdan defends for 4. (Shadow is Narrow Opening. No effect) 1 damage on Círdan.

Círdan readies with Unexpected Courage.

Combat: Círdan defends the spider for 4 def. (Shadow is Ash Mountain Werewolf. No effect.) No damage.

Círdan readies with Unexpected Courage.

Círdan defends the Patrol for 4 def. (Shadow is Fiery Chasm. No effect) 1 damage on Círdan.

Refresh: TD 32

Discards 3 cards: Light Of Valinor, Lords of the Eldar and Erebor Toymaker.

Turn 5

Draws Galadriel's Handmaiden and Thrór's Key (harp returns)

Planning: play Galadriel's Handmaiden. TD 31.

I want to play Thrór's Key on Éowyn but Narrow Passage prohibits me.

Quest: commit Círdan, Éowyn, Arwen, Ethir Swordsman and Galadriel's Handmaiden (doesn't exhaust) 14 WP. Arwen buffs Cirdan's defence.

Stages Crumbling Passage. It becomes the active location.

3 Threat vs 14 WP. 11 progress. 3 explores Crumbling Passage. Deals 1 damage to each exhausted character. Defeats Ethir Swordsman. Puts 1 resource on TToTG. 8 progress on stage 1. (Total 22)

Travel: forced to travel to Narrow Opening.

Combat: Círdan defends the spider for 4 def. (Shadow is Namless Beast. +2 att.) No damage. Círdan readies with Unexpected Courage.

Círdan defends the Patrol for 4 def. (Shadow is Fiery Chasm. No effect.) 1 damage on Círdan. Círdan readies with Unexpected Courage.

Círdan attacks the spider and defeats it.

Ioreth heals Círdan.

Refresh: TD 32

Discards 3 cards Pelargir Shipwright, Reforged and Galadriel's Handmaiden.

Turn 6

Draws Stand And Fight and Ethir Swordsman (harp returns)

Planning: play Pelargir Shipwright.

Quest: commit Círdan, Éowyn, Arwen, Galadriel's Handmaiden and Pelargir Shipwright (doesn't exhaust). 15 WP Arwen buffs Cirdan's defence.

Stages Ransacked Supplies. Discards Elrond's Council adding 0 threat.

Threat 0 vs 15 WP. 15 progress made. 3 on Narrow Passage exploring it. Discard Dwarf Pipe from hand. Put 1 resource on TToTG. 12 progress on stage 1 clearing it

Advance to stage 2. However only 2 cards left in my deck.

Game over. Círdan is great and his card draw is welcome but ultimately he's helping the encounter deck by drawing an extra card each round.

The Dwarf Pipes are useless without a dwarf and the Ered Luin Miners whiff in your hand more than getting out for free.

I think I'm almost there but I need to tweak some more.