I love the art. It ends there.

Please help me love this card. To me it's only slightly better than The End Comes.

Can/has anybody put a deck together using this contract than can beat difficult quests?

Seastan called this deck consistently strong:

https://ringsdb.com/decklist/view/16230/consistentwisdom-1.0

In the comments he writes that he "tested it against Escape from Umbar, which it crushed. I could tell that it would be capable of beating harder quests as well."

Vilya decks tend to be full of 1x anyway, so the main thing is finding Vilya. This deck has Vilya, Word of Command, and Heed the Dream (with LeDenethor being one of the three heroes).

As an aside, I think there's a LOT of room between "can beat difficult quests" and The End Comes. A Council of Wise deck that *can't* beat the most difficult quests but can beat most quests could still be a ton of fun, and with no duplicates would experience a lot of variety in play. Meanwhile, The End Comes is one of the most coasterish coasters in all of coasterdom. I don't think a contract has to create a power deck to be worth playing.

Its a fun contract for sure, but its not very powerful. I really enjoyed never knowing how it would play or what I would draw. It was always different.

Problem is you can't count on anything from your deck. Its totally inconsistent. If I wanna powerhouse a quest, I am not playing this contract.

Im playin 3 hunters.

But it is not comparable to The End Comes. That card is so bad I wouldn't even include it in a Council deck. Even with the event benefit, that card is just bad. The contract however is not bad, just not that strong.

Great with Elrond Vilya or in secrecy decks with the events that you can recur for maximum triggering

I have a Silvan deck with this contract that is quite powerful. The main thing you look for is Nenya, but with so many different Silvan allies and events, you can draw through your deck quite quickly. Silver Harp and Mirror of Galadriel combo can find other important cards like O Lorien sooner, but even without those attachments, the deck is pretty consistent. I have beaten Escape from Umbar, Drowned Ruins, and Foundations of Stone with the deck this past weekend, and it did well in 2 of the three scenarios. The Drowned Ruins just punishes Silvans, but that wasn't the deck's fault.

Difficulty-wise, Escape from Umbar is roughly right next to Passage Through Mirkwood. Sorry, have to say that.

28 minutes ago, Flrbb said:

Difficulty-wise, Escape from Umbar is roughly right next to Passage Through Mirkwood. Sorry, have to say that.

This seems a little unfair. Sure Escape from Umbar might not be a difficult quest, but with the whole "remove tokens from the quest" mechanic and the swarm of enemies is most definitely harder the the super easy tutorial Passage Through Mirkwood.

31 minutes ago, Alonewolf87 said:

This seems a little unfair. Sure Escape from Umbar might not be a difficult quest, but with the whole "remove tokens from the quest" mechanic and the swarm of enemies is most definitely harder the the super easy tutorial Passage Through Mirkwood.

To be honest though Flrbb has a point. Escape from Umbar is certainly harder than PtM but its not a hard quest. Thats why its so popular as a testing quest.

A deck that can beat Escape from Umbar isn't necessarily a powerful deck.

If it takes down Crossing of Poros or Dread Realm its probably a strong deck.

6 hours ago, Flrbb said:

Difficulty-wise, Escape from Umbar is roughly right next to Passage Through Mirkwood. Sorry, have to say that.

Per the user ratings at the quest companion, it's right next to Journey Along the Anduin. It's rated 5.4, Journey is 5.3, and Passage is 2.2. There's really no comparison between starting with the Forest Spider/Old Forest Road combination (regardless of the number of players) and X unique locations, each player starting with an engaged enemy, and a quest you lose if you don't have progress on the first stage to remove, even on round one. Indeed the Umbar Sentries shows a good deal of enemy creep -- 1/2/1/3 is a bit heftier than first cycle surgers but not especially scary -- unless you can't afford to remove progress from the main quest, boosting their attack to 4. Ufthak (after the first turn) and Ungoliant's Spawn are the *only* enemies with attack over 3 in Passage. Oh and the Sentries have archery, because why not pile on the damage?

It's a fair point that beating Umbar isn't a demonstration that a deck is powerful, unlike some other quests where beating it is impressive by itself (e.g. Black Serpent). But Seastan didn't make that claim -- he said he tested against Escape, it *crushed* that quest, *and* he could tell that it could beat more difficult quests also. I haven't tried the deck myself, but if Seastan calls a deck "consistently strong" I'm inclined to take that at face value.

After all, it *is* a Vilya deck, and we all know what that can do. All the unique cards being 1x is a common feature in Vilya decks under normal conditions, because that way they never whiff. The main handicap compared to a normal Vilya deck is being unable to include 3 copies of your key card, but with the hero choices allowing Heed the Dream and Word of Command to be played turn one -- and to play Vilya also, due to the contract -- that's somewhat mitigated.

On 8/1/2020 at 6:14 PM, asgardianphil said:

I love the art. It ends there.

You know what? I'm not even a fan of that much. First single sided contract of the bunch, not loving that fact either.

What if you "you may take one additional mulligan to start the game"

I have to admit that my upper comment was a bit harsh. So, let me re-phrase: in behalf of all the nightmare quests, EfU is quite close to PtM.

A little late to this thread, but as my deck was brought up I thought I'd comment.

Escape from Umbar was used to test the deck, but the mere fact that I won is not what I used to judge the strength of the deck. Rather, the gameplay experience is what I used, i.e. how quickly I found the key cards, how quickly I filled up my table, etc. The quest itself was just to provide some structure. I could do the same thing with no quest at all in front of me (goldfishing), but I happen to like that quest a lot.

And based on this experience (not the victory), I could tell it was a top tier deck, capable of beating much harder quests. I've played the game enough by now to be able to get an idea of deck's capabilities after a little bit of goldfishing. I'm sure many of you have as well.

But just in case you don't care about all that, and only care about wins, I took the deck up against Nightmare Carn Dum, and beat it on the first attempt in 7 rounds, with a final threat of just 30. In other words, crushed it. It's a top tier deck. But that should never have been in doubt. In case you've forgotten how good Vilya is, this was my board state at the beginning of the second quest phase.

And this was the final turn:

Thank you for all your input. I'm going to try that deck out for myself. Seeing as I'm on attempt number 7 of Land of Sorrow I'll try it out on that.

👍

Seastan I believe made a point that the deck is not good because its a Council of the wise deck.

Its good because its a Vilya deck. If you need a strong deck to beat LoS a Vilya deck with Elrond is a good idea since Elrond really helps with his healing. But if you want Elrond powerhouse to be consistent this probably isn't the deck for you, since Vilya is a 1 of, and so is the star gazer.

While Vilya is 1x, there are three cards that can get Vilya in play on turn one -- Vilya itself, Word of Command, and Heed the Dream. I think Stargazer is less important in a Gandalf/Vilya deck, but there are four cards that manipulate the top card in it.

Looking at the deck on ringsdb, I see some detail about the Carn Dum victory not shared here -- he didn't get one of the three Vilya-getting cards in his initial hand or mulligan, but drew into it with Daeron's Runes and Drinking Song.

It's true that it's good because it's a Vilya deck, and also true that it's not likely at all to be the optimal Vilya deck. But I doubt it's that inconsistent -- using card draw for all the cheap/free events will shrink the effective size of the deck significantly.

Yes, in that specific Carn Dum win, it was actually the card draw from the contract that enabled me get the turn 1 Vilya, which was kind of neat.

But this isn't a defense of CotW as a card, just a defense of this specific deck still being good, despite the CotW limitation. If you dropped CotW and built a deck with 3x Vilya and 3x of the fetching cards, it would be even more consistent, and a stronger deck overall. But the OP was just asking for a CotW deck that can beat difficult quests, so I think it qualifies.

I played a game using Seanstan's deck.

(Attempt 7 attempt 1 with this deck.)

I didn't draw vilya or searching cards. Mulligan: still no vilya or searching cards. I did draw some card draw cards and events. I used all the card draw effects and Gandalf's staff to draw cards as often as I could. When playing an event I reduced threat twice and drew cards about 3 other times. Still no vilya or card searchers. (Or threat reducers other than double back, which I successfully completed)

I lost the quest after about 4 or 5 turns. I couldn't reduce threat fast enough (4 threat increase each turn) and couldn't draw into vilya or fetching cards.

I didn't feel I could travel to a camp as I didn't have enough allies out to defend and quest successfully.

I had a new appreciation for the contract and deck though and I'll keep trying as luck of the starting draw was bad.

I just wish the contract was unique cards are limited to one per deck. As I wish burglars turn only prevents item and artifact attachments rather than all attachments. I feel these contracts have been designed by new staff and not the original designers. They are blunt rather than nuanced.

I wonder if switching Denethor for Thurundir might work as he can pull Gather Information in set up. And that would guarantee pulling Vilya or another card if you happen to grab Vilya some other way And then remove the leadership cards or put in song of kings etc

2 hours ago, asgardianphil said:

I wonder if switching Denethor for Thurundir might work as he can pull Gather Information in set up. And that would guarantee pulling Vilya or another card if you happen to grab Vilya some other way And then remove the leadership cards or put in song of kings etc

That can work, though completing Gather Info on turn 1 is not always possible, and may be less likely than getting a search card in your opening hand. It also requires committing everyone to the quest, leaving you vulnerable in the first combat phase. Lastly, this strategy results in your first Vilya use actually being on turn 2, rather than turn 1.

Attempt #8 (#2 Council of The Wise)

Heroes: Gandalf, Elrond and Thurindir

Contract: Council of The Wise.

Draw: Legolas, Gaining Strength, Soldier of Erebor, Jubayr, Defender of Cair Andros and Quickbeam.

Mulligan for: Wealth Of Gondor, Gaining Strength, A Test Of Will, Northern Tracker, Glorfindel and Arwen Undómiel.

Setup: sees Lorgan under Slave Quarters, Borlach under The Storehouse and Ulwarth under The Barracks. Ally objectives randomised but Hidden.

Thurindir pulls Gather Information from player deck.

Threat dial is 35.

Turn1:

Draw: The Galadhrim's Greeting.

Top card: Quickbeam

Planning: play Gather Information. Play Quickbeam. (Keep 1 resource on Elrond). Ready Qb with 1 damage.

Top card: Legolas

Quest: choose Gather Information as current quest.

Commit: Elrond, Gandalf, Thurindir and Quickbeam for 10WP. Gotta hope I don't draw an easterling.

Stages Painful Fatigue. (No effect as everyone already exhausted)

10wp vs 3 threat. 7 progress made on Gather information.

Search and add Vilya to my hand. Put Gathering Information in the Victory Display

(It was near the bottom of the deck.)

Top card: Warden of Healing

I could do with being aggressive and travel to the easiest camp but Lorgan would engage and attack me twice and Ulwarth would kill a hero undefended. My threat is too high.

So

Refresh: +4 threat TD 39

Turn 2:

Draw: Warden of Healing.

Top card: Ranger of Cardolan

Planning: play Vilya paying with Thurindir and Gandalf. Arwen Undómiel using resources from Elrond. Exhaust Elrond and Vilya to put Ranger of Cardolan into play.

Top card: Heed The Dream.

(I need either Narya or Denethor back to be able to play the 2 leadership events in my hand. I actually only changed Denethor for Thurindir and no other cards)

Quest: Thurindir, Arwen Undómiel and Ranger of Cardolan for 7WP. Gandalf +1 def.

Stages Rolling Plains. 4 threat.

7WP vs 7 threat. No changes.

Travel: make The Barracks the active location. Adds Ulwarth to staging.

Engagement: Ulwarth engages.

Combat: Gandalf defends with 4 def. Shadow is Recurve Bow. No effect.

Can't attack him with allies.

Refresh: +3 threat. TD 42.

Turn 3

Draw: Heed the Dream.

Top Card: A Good Harvest.

Planning: play Heed The Dream. (Thurindir pays)

Searched cards are: A Good Harvest, Soldier of Erebor, Anborn, Wizard Pipe and Haldir of Lorien.

Take Wizard Pipe into hand and shuffle deck.

Top card: Daeron's Runes.

COTW Adds a resouce to Elrond.

Play Wizard Pipe on Gandalf.

Exhaust Wizard Pipe to switch Glorfindel with Daeron's Runes.

Exhaust Vilya and Elrond to put Glorfindel into play.

Top card is Galdor of the Havens.

Play Daeron's Runes. Draws Galdor of the Havens and Gandalf's Staff. Discard Wealth of Gondor .

COTW reduces threat -1 TD 41

Top card: Steward of Gondor. (Damit just got rid of wealth of Gondor. )

Play Gandalf's Staff using Elrond's resources.

Exhaust Gandalf's Staff to add 1 resource to Elrond (for test of will)

Quest: Thurindir, Arwen Undómiel, Glorfindel, Ranger of Cardolan and Quickbeam for 12 WP. +1 def to Gandalf.

Stages: Cruelty of Mordor. (Not going to cancel as Warden of Healing in hand. ) +2 damage to Glorfindel and +1 damage to Quickbeam.

12WP vs 4 Threat. 8 progress. 5 explores The Barracks and 3 on stage 1. Gains control of Arador.

Travel: Rolling plains. (Can't travel to a camp while a warden is in play. +2 threat TD 43.

Combat:

Gandalf defends Ulwarth with 4 def. Shadow is Working Fields. No effect.

Refresh: +3 threat. TD 46.

Turn 4

Draw: Steward of Gondor.

Top card: Drinking Song

Planning: Exhaust Wizard Pipe to switch Steward of Gondor with Drinking Songs.

Exhaust Vilya and Elrond to put Steward of Gondor on Gandalf.

Top Card: Word of Command.

Exhaust Steward of Gondor to add 2 resources to Gandalf.

Exhaust Gandalf's Staff to add 1 resource to Elrond.

Play Galadhrim's Greeting -6 threat.TD 37

COTW add 1 resource to Thurindir.

Play Warden of Healing using Thurindir's resources.

Play Drinking Songs; shuffle 4 cards into deck and draws: Defender of Cair Andros, Soldier of Erebor, Flame of Arnor and Gimli.

Top card is Erestor. (Perfect for Flame of Arnor which will allow Gandalf to defend and kill Ulwarth.

COTW reduce threat. -1 TD 36.

Quest: Commit Thurindir, Arwen Undómiel, Glorfindel, Quickbeam for 10WP. +1 def to Gandalf.

Stages Broken Captives. (All damaged characters already exhausted) doomed 1 TD 37. Surges into Painful Fatigue. Exhaust Arador and deal him 1 damage.

10 WP vs 2 threat. 8 progress. 4 explores Rolling Plains. 4 on stage 1 (7 total)

Combat: Gandalf defends Ulwarth with 4 def. Shadow is Rolling Plains. No effect. No damage.

Play Flame of Arnor and add it to the victory Display. Ready Gandalf. Discard Erestor. +4 fight.

Top card is Treebeard.

COTW draw Treebeard. (No choice)

Top card: Elrond's Council.

Gandalf attacks Ulwarth for 7 killing it to Victory Display.

Warden of Healing exhausts and removes 2 damage from Quickbeam and Glorfindel. (Boosted by elrond)

Refresh: +3 threat. TD 40

Turn 5

Draws: Elrond's Council.

Top card: Shadowfax.

Exhaust Steward of Gondor +2 resources to Gandalf.

Gandalf plays Shadowfax on himself as if from hand.

Top card is Firyal.

Elrond exhausts with Vilya to put Firyal into play.

Top card: Word of Command.

Uses Wizard Pipe to switch Word of Command with Soldier of Erebor.

Gandalf exhausts to play Word of Command (Thurindir pays) to draw Narya.

Top Card: Giant Bear.

COTW -1 threat TD 39.

Play Narya on Gandalf. (His last 2 resources)

Shadowfax exhausts and readies Gandalf.

Quest: commit Thurindir, Arwen Undómiel, Firyal for 8 WP. +1 def to Gandalf. Peeks at top card: Overseer's Whip and discards.

Stages Working Fields.

8 WP vs 5 threat. 3 progress on stage 1. ( 10 total)

Travel: Slave Quaters. Puts Lorgan engaged with me and attacks. Arador defends with 3 def. And readies. Shadow is Watch Tower. No effect. 2 damage on him. +1 threat TD 40.

Combat: Gandalf defends Lorgan with 4 def. Shadow is Watch Tower. No effect. 1 damage on Gandalf. +1 threat TD 41.

Ranger of Cardolan, Quickbeam, Glorfindel and Arador attack Lorgan with 9 fight. 6 damage on Lorgan.

Exhaust Gandalf's Staff to draw Giant Bear.

Top card: Gildor Inglorion.

Refresh: +2 threat. TD 43.

Turn 6

Draw Gildor Inglorion.

Top card: Captain's Widsom.

Steward of Gondor adds 2 resources

Use Wizard Pipe to switch Captain's Wisdom with Giant Bear.

Use Vilya and Elrond to put Giant Bear in play.

Top card is Double Back.

Gandalf plays Double Back into staging.

Top card: Dwarven Tomb.

(Just realised Gandalf is once per phase not once per turn).

Quest: Choose Double back as the current quest. commit Thurindir, Arwen Undómiel, Quickbeam, Glorfindel and Firyal for 13 WP. +1 def to Giant bear. Firyal peeks at Easterling Guard and discards it.

Play Elrond's Council. +1 WP to Thurindir. -3 threat. TD 40.

COTW 1 resource on Elrond.

Gandalf plays Dwarven Tomb as if from hand. Returns Galadhrim's Greeting to hand from discard pile.

Top card: Galdor of the Havens.

COTW -1 threat TD 39.

Elrond pays to play Galadhrim's Greeting. -6 threat. TD 33.

COTW draws Galdor of the Havens

Top card: Haldir of Lorien.

Stages Warrior of Rhún

14 WP vs 7 threat. 7 progress made. 3 explores Slave Quaters. Gain control of Edrahil. 4 on Double back. (Phew! Just enough) -5 threat. TD 28. Add Double Back to the Victory Display.

Travel: Working Fields. 1 damage on Elrond.

Engagement: optionally engage Warrior of Rhún.

Combat: Giant Bear defends Lorgan with 4 def. Shadow is Watch Tower. No effect. 1 damage on Giant Bear. +1 threat. TD 29.

Gandalf exhausts Gandalf's Staff to discard shadow card from Warrior of Rhún. (Which turns out to be another Warrior of Rhún.)

Ranger of Cardolan defends the Warrior of Rhún with 2 def. Warrior finds top easterling attachment discarded. Overseer's Whip. He deals 1 damage to Elrond. No shadow. 1 damage on Ranger of Cardolan.

Warden of healing exhausts to heal 2 damage from Elrond and 1 damage from Ranger of Cardolan.

Gandalf uses Narya exhausts to ready Giant Bear and Quickbeam. +1 fight and def each. Discard Captain's Wisdom to ready Glorfindel.

Quickbeam attacks Lorgan with 4 fight defeating it to the Victory Display.

Giant Bear and Glorfindel attack the Warrior of Rhún with 8 fight defeating him.

Refresh: +2 threat. TD 31.

Turn 7

Draw: Anborn.

Top card: A Very Good Tale.

Steward of Gondor adds 2 resources.

Wizard Pipe Exhausts to switch A Very Good Tale with Gildor Inglorion.

Elrond and Vilya exhaust to put Gildor Inglorion into play.

Top card: Jubayr.

Gandalf plays Jubayr as if from hand (he pays all 5 resources)

Top card: Faramir.

Quest: commit Thurindir (4 WP), Arwen Undómiel, Firyal and Edrahil for 12 WP. +1 def to Giant Bear. Firyal peeks at Weary Lands and returns to top.

Stages Weary Lands. Doomed 1. TD 32. -1 WP to each exhausted character.

8 WP vs 1 threat. 7 progress made 4 explores Working Field. 3 on stage 1 (13 total).

Travel: The Storehouse. Borlach added to staging +3 fight.

Engagement: Borlach engages.

Combat: Ranger of Cardolan chumps with 2 def. Shadow is Nurn Slaver. +2 fight. Total 11 fight. -2 def =9. Kills ranger so 6 danage to spread. 2 damage each on Gandalf, Elrond and Thurindir.

Warden of healing removes 2 damage from Gandalf and Elrond.

Gandalf, Giant Bear, Quickbeam and Glorfindel attack Borlach with 13 fight and defeat him to the victory Display .

Exhaust Gandalf's staff to add a resource to Elrond.

Refresh: +1 threat. TD 33.

Turn 8

Draw: Faramir.

Top card: Beorn.

Elrond and Vilya exhaust to put Beorn into play.

Top card: Far-Sighted

Steward of Gondor adds 2 resources.

Play Faramir using Gandalfs leadership resources (Narya).

Play Haldir of lorien from hand Thurindir pays 3 Elrond 1.

Gandalf plays Far-Sighted as if from hand. Doomed 1. TD 34 Peeks at top 5 encounter cards ( in order- Sword of Rhún x2, Rolling Plains, Rocky Outcrop and Nurn Slaver)

Top card: Bilbo

COTW -1 Threat TD 33.

Quest: commit Thurindir, Firyal, Arwen Undómiel and Edrahil for 12 WP. +1 def to Giant Bear. Peek and Discard 1 Sword of Rhún.

Stages Sword of Rhún. No enemies so discarded. Surges into Rolling Plains 4 threat.

12 WP vs 4 threat. Makes 8 progress. 4 on The Storehouse, explores it to Victory Display and gains Fairn.

Edrahil draws Bilbo

Top card is Eagles Of the Misty Mountains

4 progress on stage 1 advances to stage 2.

3 wardens are staged again. Grrrrrr.

Engagenent:

As threat is only 33 (reason for not travelling to Rolling Plains) Borlach and Lorgan engage.

Combat: Beorn defends Borlach with 3 def. Shadow is Rocky Outcrop no effect. 3 damage on Beorn.

Giant Bear defends Lorgan with 4 def. Shadow is Nurn Slaver. +3 fight. Makes 8 att.

So I believe there's an action window at this point. Just checked and there is. So exhaust warden of healing to heal Giant bear and Thurindir.

Gandalf uses Narya to ready Beorn and Giant Bear. Gandalf exhausts but Shadowfax resdies him again.

Now Giant Bear is def 5. So he takes 3 damage.

Logan +1 threat. TD 34.

Each of the wardens need Fight of 11 to overcome them.

Logan: Farin ( also adds 1 damage to Logan.), Arador, Quickbeam and Glorfindel fight with 10 and defeat Lorganto the Victory Display.

Borlach: Beorn, Giant Bear and Jubayr fight with 11 and defeat Bolach to the Victory Display .

Gandalf's staff adds a resource to Gandalf.

Refresh: +1 Threat TD 35.

Turn 9

Draw: Eagles if the Misty Mountains.

Top card: Boromir.

Steward of Gondor adds 2 resources.

Play Bilbo Baggins. Elrond pays. (I know there's no pipe so I'm not searching. It would be advantageous to do so to change the top card. I'm not sure if doing that is legal though)

Play Gimli. Gandalf pays.

Quest: commit Arwen Undómiel, Haldir of Lorien, Gildor Inglorion, Glorfindel, firyal, Gimli, Bilbo, Edrahil and Quickbeam for 22 WP. +1 def to Gandalf. Peek at Cruelty of Mordor and return to top if deck. (I can take the threat increase instead of the damage. )

Faramir exhausts to add +1 wp to each character except Edrahil. +8 WP.

Stages Cruelty of Mordor. 1 damage on Beorn. And +3 threat TD 38. (That card was for not having a warden engaged)

Stages Rolling Plains

30 WP vs 11 threat. 19 progress made. Bummer.

No travel.

Engagement: Ulwarth engages.

Gandalf defends with 4 def. Shadow Easterling Guard. Cannot ready Gandalf this round. Bummer! No damage.

Elrond and Thurindir attack Ulwarth with 4 fight. 3 damage

Warden heals 2 damage each from Giant Bear and Beorn.

Gandalf's Staff adds a resource to Gandalf.

Refresh: +1 threat TD 39.

Turn 10

Draw: Boromir.

Top card Soldier of Erebor.

Steward of Gondor adds 2 resources.

Gildor Inglorion exhaust to look at top 3 cards of deck. Switches A Test Of Will for Eagles of the Misty Mountains.

Top card: Imladris Stargazer.

Gandalf plays Imladris Stargazer as if from hand and pays.

Top card: Eagles of Misty Mountains.

Imladris Stargazer exhaust to look at top 5 cards ( well i was hoping for Unexpected Courage but it wasn't there. Reorders Gaining Strength, A Good Harvest, Soldier of Erebor, Eagles of the Misty Mountains and Elfhelm)

Top card: Gaining Strength

Play A Very Good Tale. Shuffle deck. Exhaust Beorn and Giant Bear (11 cost.) Discards Soldier of Erebor, Elfhelm, Northern Tracker, Eagles of the Misty Mountains and A Good Harvest. Put Northern Tracker and Eagles of the Misty Mountains in to play.

COTW -1 threat. TD 38.

Shadowfax readies Gandalf.

Quest: commit Arwen Undómiel, Haldir of Lorien, Northern Tracker, Glorfindel, firyal, Gimli, Bilbo and Edrahil for 18 WP. +1 def to Gandalf. Peek at Recurve Bow and discard. 1 progress on each of the two Rolling Plains.

Faramir exhausts to add +1 wp to each character except Edrahil. +7 WP.

Stages Warrior of Rhún.

25 WP vs 7 threat. 18 progress on stage 2 (37 total).

Engagement: Warrior of Rhún engages.

Elrond defends Ulwarth with 3 def. Shadow is Easterling Raider. +1 att. 2 damage on Elrond.

Jubayr defends the Warrior of Rhún with 3 def. Discards the Warriors face down shadow card. (Was Easterling Guard). Warrior attaches the top easterling discarded attachment. Recurve Bow. No damage to Jubayr.

Gandalf and Thurindir attack Ulwarth with 5 fight. 4 damage defeats Ulwarth to the Victory Display.

Council of the Wise wins the game.

I'm shocked, surprised and elated all at once.

I started playing at 6pm and it's now 10.55 pm. But that's mainly because I typed as I played.

So Land of Sorrow took me 8 attempts and 2 of those attempts were with Council of the Wise.

Thanks to Seanstan for his amazing deck.

I only changed 1 card. Thurindir for leadership Denethor.

I'm so glad I whinged about this card. 🤣

It is a lot of hard work. I could have made a better deck without the contract and put in more threat reduction. The only benefit is for those who want to explore different types of deck building or make the game harder still. I still wouldn't think of Council of the wise as a quest beating tool as it would say Elrond and Vilya.

I feel it would have been better if only unique cards were limited to 1 copy and non unique to 2 even. Or maybe just don't limit events. The choosing only 1 option per round is annoying too. There were a few times I was forced to draw a card but didn't really need to I'd rather have the threat reduction. Having free choice is still limited by the number of events you can actually play.

So I'm my game what benefits did I get out of Council Of The Wise over the 10 turns i played?

Threat reduction: -6

Resources: 3

Cards drawn: 2

No benefit until turn 3.

Turn 3: 1 resouce, -1 threat

Turn 4: 1 resource, -1 threat, +1 card

Turn 5: -1 threat.

Turn 6: 1 resource, -1 threat, +1 card

Turn 7: nothing

Turn 8: -1 threat

Turn 9: nothing

Turn 10: -1 threat.

Thoughts.?

Actually yes I do have a thought.

You mention some alternatives to CoTW, and while I can say it certainly isn't a very strong contract, I actually like it the way it is. The 1 copy of each card just makes every game so different in a really fun way.

I will say that your comment about Burglars Turn is exactly what I felt about that contract. It would have been really sweet if your deck only couldn't include item and artifact attachments, but was open for mounts, skills, etc. The no attachments rule makes it really tough to play. Too many decks rely on at least 1 or 2 attachments.

Also nice playthrough. Elrond + Vilya is crazy, just plain crazy.

14 hours ago, MikeGracey said:

Elrond + Vilya is crazy, just plain crazy.

Throw in a wizard pipe and it's down right crazy. 🤣