Solo League 26 - The Lost Realm/Angmar Awakened with SoH/Haradrim cards

By Alonewolf87, in The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game

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Welcome to the LOTR Solo League. This month we'll be playing three quests from The Lost Realm and Angmar Awakened (well actually only from Angmar Awakened). The quests are:

1) Treachery of Rhudaur
2) The Battle of Carn-Dum
3) The Dread Realm

Here are the rules:

1) Each player will construct a 50+ card deck, then use that exact deck against all three quests. You may use that deck freely against any quests (include the three quests in the league) prior to the run for testing purposes, but you may not use any trial runs for your official results.

2) At least one of the heroes must be from a box with those quests. This means that you must have at least one of Erestor, Amarthiul, and Arwen.

3) Your score against each quest will be how much help you need to defeat it, based on the Grace of the Valar variant invented by Seastan. It works like this:

For each token you have, you can choose to draw a card or give a hero a resource. This happens one at a time, so if I use my first token to draw a card, I see the card before I decide whether to use my second token for a card or a resource. This can be done *anytime* during setup.

The original variant starts at zero tokens and gains two tokens if you lose quickly (first five turns) and one if you do not -- however, for the purposes of this league I will allow you to start a quest at any number of tokens, and adjust by as many as you want. The only rules for adding/reducing tokens are these:

Rule 1) If you lose a quest with X tokens, you cannot play that quest again with X or less tokens.
Rule 2) If you defeat a quest with Y tokens, you cannot play that quest again with Y or more tokens.

So for example, if I start with six tokens against Into the Pit and defeat it, I can play it again with 0-5 tokens. If I then try with three tokens and lose, I can play it again with 4 or 5 tokens. If I try with four and lose, I can play it again with 5 tokens. If I win, my final score for that quest is 5, and if I lose my final score for the quest is 6. (Alternatively, I could've decided that 6 was a good enough score the first time I played it, and just have my final score be 6 without playing again.)

Remember that tokens do not carry over between quests. When playing Foundations of Stone it does not matter how many tokens I needed to defeat Road to Rivendell.

4) You are not required to publish your deck, but providing a ringsdb link is encouraged (otherwise I may need to ask you for your decklist at the end of the month if required for a tiebreaker). You are required to reveal which Heroes you used, and how many cards in your deck came from outside The Lost Realm/Angmar Awakened, SoH/Haradrim and a single core. Do not include outside heroes in this count, only cards in the deck itself.

Note: Contracts (from the most recent cycle) are not part of the deck and should not be counted. A Loot Deck (from the Burglar's turn contract) is also not part of the deck and should not be counted. The One Ring or the Messenger of the King ally/hero should also not be counted *unless* your deck uses those cards to reach 50 -- the Master card fetched by the One Ring should be counted. You may follow contract/One Ring setup instructions at the same as hero setup, ignoring Caleb's ruling.

Note: Amarthiul conflicts with her enemy/ally versions in one of the quests -- for the purposes of this league, if you use the Amarthiul hero this should be considered his identical twin brother, coincidentally also named Amarthiul.

5) Tiebreakers have frequently mattered in this league. Here are the tiebreakers, in order:
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1st) The number of outside cards (i.e. not from The Lost Realm/Angmar Awakened, SoH/Haradrim or a single core) used in the deck. Do not count outside heroes in this count, only cards in the deck. Less cards is better.

2nd) The number of heroes specifically from The Lost Realm/Angmar Awakened and SoH/Haradrim. More is better.

3rd) The number of heroes used from this list: Erestor, Amarthiul, and Arwen. More is better.

4th) The number of cards in the deck outside The Lost Realm/Angmar Awakened and SoH/Haradrim. Less is better, and core cards are considered "outside" for this tiebreaker.

5th) The number of cards outside The Treachery of Rhudaur, The Battle of Carn-Dum and The Dread Realm. Less is better, and core cards are considered "outside" for this tiebreaker.

6th) Performance in September's Solo League (if you didn't play or finish September's League, a median performance will be assumed). Whoever did worst wins this tiebreaker.
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6) 1st place gets to choose the cycle for December's league, 2nd place gets to choose a quest from that cycle, and 3rd place gets to choose a quest *not* to be used from that cycle. In an effort to expand the diversity of decks used, the last place player will choose an additional cycle that may be used for deckbuilding in December's league. November's cycle will be chosen by the winner of August's league.

7) Weekly deadlines will at 11:59pm Eastern on the 14th, 21st, and 28th. Only the final deadline really matters for scoring and cannot be extended -- the first two deadlines are only to be included in intermediate standings.

The Treachery of Rhudaur: October 14th
The Battle of Carn-Dum: October 21st
The Dread Realm: October 28th

8 ) I've created a google spreadsheet for results here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1na4SYZ-jiDUxZrMRr5_96uTAxl8hD5BhVEumRGAJrQI/edit?usp=sharing

To join the league, merely add your name and information about your deck to the spreadsheet, then enter your results as you have them. Please give a link to your deck if you built or published it on ringsdb, but it is not required.

If you wish you may run additional decks against the quests and record your results, but only the first entry will be considered for the competition itself.

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Cannot open that spreadsheet (user authentification failed). Maybe there is a setting to make it publicly available?

Bye
Thanee

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Agreed can’t access it

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2 hours ago, General_Grievous said:

Agreed can’t access it

Try now

2 hours ago, General_Grievous said:

Agreed can’t access it

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Yes, it works now. 🙂

Bye
Thanee

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I think I will go for a Dunedain Noldor Bond of Friendship deck

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Treachery of Rhudaur went well with 0 tokens, but it also gives you a lot of time to setup so it doesn't mean much. The true test will start from next quest.

Here is the usual playthrough

The Treachery of Rhudaur

Opening Hand: Double Back (with Thurindir), Steed of the North, Elven-Light, Legacy Blade, Ranger of Cardolan, Treebeard, Northern Bowmaster

Setup: add the three side quests and Ancient Causeway to the staging area, Great Hall is the active location, 5 Time Tokens on Stage 1, set aside Thaurdir, take control of ally Amarthiul

Turn 1 (39 Starting Threat)

Draw: Dunedain Pipe

Planning Phase: discard Elven-Light on Arwen to add 1 resource to her pool; play Elven-Light from the discard pile and draw Silver Circlet; play Treebeard; play Legacy Blade on Aragorn; play Double Back in the staging area; resources left Amarthiul (0), Arwen (0), Aragorn (0), Thurindir (0)

Quest Phase: choose Double Back as current quest; send Arwen, Aragorn, Thurindir and ally Amarthiul to the quest; reveal Cursed Dead; 8 Willpower against 4 Threat; 4 progress on Great Hall

Travel phase: nothing

Engagement phase: engage Cursed Dead

Combat phase: deal Shadow Cards; Amarthiul defends Cursed Dead (shadow is Decrepit Remains, no damage no effect)

Refresh Phase/End of Round: TD 40, Time 4

Turn 2

Draw: Feint

Planning Phase: discard Elven-Light on Arwen to add 1 resource to her pool; play Silver Circlet on Arwen; play Steed of the North on Aragorn; play Dunedain Pipe on Thurindir; resources left Amarthiul (0), Arwen (0), Aragorn (1), Thurindir (0), Treebeard (1)

Quest Phase: choose Double Back as current quest; send Arwen, Thurindir, Aragorn, ally Amarthiul and Treebeard to the quest; reveal Curse of the Years (1 damage to Arwen, Thurindir, Aragorn, ally Amarthiul and Treebeard); 12 Willpower against 3 threat; 9 progress, 4 to clear Great Hall and add it to the victory display (discard Haunting Fog, Ghostly Ruins, Eerie Halls, Dead Lord, Search the Ruins; add Dead Lord to the staging area, 2 progress on Sift Through The Debris), 5 to clear Double Back and add it to the victory display (TD 35)

Travel phase: travel to Ancient Causeway

Engagement phase: engage Dead Lord (no Undead in the discard pile, ready Aragorn with Steed of the North)

Combat phase: deal Shadow Cards; play Feint on Dead Lord, Amarthiul defends Cursed Dead (shadow is Ghostly Ruins, no damage); Aragorn attacks and kills Dead Lord (2 progress on Quiet the Spirits)

Refresh Phase/End of Round: TD 36, Time 3

Turn 3

Draw: Light of Valinor

Planning Phase: play Ranger of Cardolan; resources left Amarthiul (0), Arwen (0), Aragorn (0), Thurindir (0), Treebeard (2)

Quest Phase: choose Sift Through the Debris as current quest; send Arwen, Thurindir, Aragorn, ally Amarthiul, Treebeard and Ranger of Cardolan to the quest; reveal Restless Evil (boosts all Undead); 15 Willpower against 0 Threat; 15 progress, 2 to clear Ancient Causeway (TD 38, 2 progress on Sift Through the Debris) and 13 on Sift Through the Debris (17 total)

Travel phase: nothing

Engagement phase: nothing

Combat phase: deal Shadow Cards, Amarthiul defends Cursed Dead (shadow is Dark Covenant, 1 damage); pay 1 resource from Treebeard to put 1 progress on Decipher Ancient Texts

Refresh Phase/End of Round: TD 39, Time 2

Turn 4

Draw: Outmatched

Planning Phase: play Elven-Light from the discard pile and draw 2 nd Steed of the North; play Outmatched; play 2 nd Steed of the North on Thurindir; play Light of Valinor on Arwen; resources left Amarthiul (0), Arwen (0), Aragorn (0), Thurindir (1), Treebeard (2)

Quest Phase: choose Decipher Ancient Texts as current quest; send Arwen, Thurindir, Aragorn, ally Amarthiul, Treebeard and Ranger of Cardolan to the quest; reveal Eerie Halls; 15 Willpower against 5 Threat; 10 progress on Decipher Ancient Texts + 1 paying Thurindir resource (12 total)

Travel phase: travel to Eerie Halls

Engagement phase: nothing

Combat phase: deal Shadow Cards; Amarthiul defends Cursed Dead (shadow is Forbidden Descent, no damage)

Refresh Phase/End of Round: TD 40, Time 1

Turn 5

Draw: Coney in a Trap

Planning Phase: play Elven-Light from the discard pile and draw Keep Watch; discard Elven-Light on Arwen to add 1 resource to her pool; play 1 resource from Treebeard and 1 resource from Amarthiul to put 2 progress on Decipher Ancient Texts and defeat it (exhaust hero Amarthiul to claim Orders from Angmar); play Keep Watch; resources left Amarthiul (0), Arwen (1), Aragorn (0), Thurindir (1), Treebeard (2)

Quest Phase: choose Keep Watch as current quest; send Arwen, Thurindir, Aragorn, ally Amarthiul and Ranger of Cardolan to the quest; reveal Traitorous Wight; 13 Willpower against 2 Threat, 11 progress, 4 to clear Eerie Halls (2 progress on Sift Trough the Debris for a total of 19 defeating it), 7 on Keep Watch defeating it and adding it to the victory display

Travel phase: nothing

Engagement phase: engage Traitorous Wight (remove 2 progress from Quiet the Spirits, attach Outmatched to Wight, ready Aragorn and Thurindir with Steeds)

Combat phase: deal Shadow Cards; Treebeard defends Wight (shadow is Cursed Dead, +1 attack (but also -1 from Keep Watch, 1 damage for a total of 2 on Treebeard, Treebeard readies with Outmatched), Treebeard defends Cursed Dead (shadow is Dead Lord; +1 attack (but also -1 from Keep Watch), no damage), Aragorn attacks and destroy Cursed Dead, Thurindir exhausts to claim Heirloom of Iarchon

Refresh Phase/End of Round: TD 41, Time 0, remove Quiet the Spirits from the game, advance to Stage 2, add Thaurdir to the staging area, get back Cursed Dead from the discard pile to the staging area

Turn 6

Draw: Steward of Gondor

Planning Phase: play Elven-Light from the discard pile and draw Favor of the Valar; discard Elven-Light on Arwen to add 1 resource to her pool; play Northern Bowmaster, play Favor of the Valar; resources left Amarthiul (1), Arwen (0), Aragorn (0), Thurindir (1), Treebeard (3)

Quest Phase: send Arwen, Thurindir, Aragorn, ally Amarthiul, Treebeard and Ranger of Cardolan to the quest; reveal Ruins of Arnor; 17 Willpower against 7 Threat; 10 progress on Stage 1

Travel phase: travel to Ruins of Arnor

Engagement phase: engage Cursed Dead and Thaurdir (ready Aragorn and Thurindir with Steeds; play Coney in a Trap on Thaurdir)

Combat phase: deal Shadow Cards; Amarthiul defends Wight (shadow is Ruins of Arnor, + 1 Attack but also -1 Attack from Keep Watch and +1 Defense for Amarthiul for Orders from Angmar, no damage, Amarthiul readies with Outmatched); Amarthiul defends Cursed Dead (shadow is Wight of Rhudaur no damage); spend 2 resources to ready Treebeard; Treebeard, Northern Bowmaster, Aragorn and Arwen attack Thaurdir (12 Attack against 3 Defense thanks to the -1 Defense from Aragorn, 9 damage); Thurindir attacks and destroy Cursed Dead (2 Attack against 0 Defense thanks to the -1 Defense from Aragorn, 2 damage)

Refresh Phase/End of Round: TD 42

Turn 7

Draw: Gandalf

Planning Phase: play Steward of Gondor on Amarthiul, exhaust Steward of Gondor to give Amarthiul 2 resource; play Gandalf (4 damage on Thaurdir just in case a Sorcery shows up); resources left Amarthiul (0), Arwen (0), Aragorn (0), Thurindir (0), Treebeard (2)

Quest Phase: send Arwen, Thurindir, Aragorn, ally Amarthiul, Treebeard, Ranger of Cardolan and Gandalf to the quest; reveal Hunting Fog (and here it is! Exhaust hero Amarthiul, heal 3 damage from Thaurdir down to 10, immediate attack defended by Northern Bowmaster ,shadow is Centuries of Sorrow no effect, Bowmaster destroyed, Hunting Fog attaches to the quest; 21 Willpower against 0 Threat; 21 progress, 3 to clear Ruins of Arnor, 18 on Stage 2 for a total of 28, I needed 30 – 10 for 2 Clues +6 from Hunting Fog to clear it, Thaurdir has at least 9 damage so I win the game

6 completed turns (x10) + 42 threat +4 damage on heroes – 4 Victory points = 102 final score

Edited by Alonewolf87
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So Alonewolf, your name is now dalestephenson on the google spreadsheet ?

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2 hours ago, Miceldars said:

So Alonewolf, your name is now dalestephenson on the google spreadsheet ?

🤣 🤣 🤣 right I copied the cells and totally forgot to change the name

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Thanks for getting this going, I've been away longer than anticipated with a house move and new job.

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1 hour ago, dalestephenson said:

Thanks for getting this going, I've been away longer than anticipated with a house move and new job.

I hope everything is going well, and thanks to you for getting all this started.

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As predictable The Battle of Carn-Dum was a much harder challenge and I needed 5 Valar Tokens to finally overcome it. An early Thalion was key in the winning game, as well as a bit of luck in the second stage with Sorcery cards.

Here is the usual playthrough

The Battle of Carn-Dum

Opening Hand: Keep Watch (from Thurindir's ability), Celebrian's Stone, Steed of the North, Misty Mountains Journeyman, Silver Harp, Ranger of Cardolan, Dunedain Lookout, Thalion and Steward of Gondor (2 Valar Tokens)

Setup: add Thaurdir and 1 copy of Carn Dum Garrison to the staging area, make Accursed Battlefield the active location, add 1 resource to Amarthiul, Arwen and Thurindir's pool (3 Valar Tokens)

Turn 1 (39 Starting Threat)

Draw: Favor of the Valar

Planning Phase: play Steward of Gondor on Amarthiul; exhaust Steward of Gondor to add 2 resources to Amarthiul's pool; play Steed of the North on Amarthiul; play Dunedain Lookout; play Silver Harp on Arwen; play Keep Watch on the staging area; resources left Amarthiul (1), Arwen (0), Aragorn (0), Thurindir (0)

Quest Phase: chose Keep Watch as the current quest; send Amarthiul, Thurindir, Aragorn and Dunedain Lookout to the quest; reveal the Power of Angmar that surges into Vile Affliction (no direct effect since I have no cards in the discard pile, triggers Thaurdir, deal one shadow card to each enemy in play); 9 Attack against 6 threat; 3 progress just enough to clear Accursed Battlefield

Travel phase: nothing

Engagement phase: engage Carn-Dum Garrison (ready Amarthiul with Steed of the North; play Ranger of Cardolan with Amarthiul's resource)

Combat phase: Ranger of Cardolan defends Garrison (shadow is The Sky Darkens, I exhaust Silver Harp to get back Thalion as the random card discarded, 2 damage); Amarthiul and Arwen attack Garrison (4 Attack against 2 Defense due to Aragorn's passive ability, 2 damage)

Refresh Phase/End of Round: 40 TD, shuffle Ranger of Cardolan back in the deck

Turn 2

Draw: Silver Circlet

Planning Phase: exhaust Steward of Gondor to add 2 resources to Amarthiul's pool; discard Silver Circlet (and exhaust Silver Harp to get it back) on Arwen's Action to add 1 resource to her pool; play Silver Circlet on Arwen, play Celebrian's Stone on Aragorn; play Misty Mountains Journeyman; resources left Amarthiul (1), Arwen (0), Aragorn (0), Thurindir (1)

Quest Phase: choose Keep Watch as current quest; send Arwen, Thurindir, Aragorn, Misty Mountains Journeyman and Dunedain Lookout to the quest; reveal Heavy Curse (triggers Thaurdir, deal one shadow card to each enemy in play, Thaurdir has 2 shadows) that attaches to Keep Watch and surges into Angmar Captain; 14 Willpower against 7 threat; 7 progress, 6 to clear Keep Watch and add it to the victory display (discard Heavy Curse)

Travel phase: nothing

Engagement phase: nothing

Combat phase: deal shadow cards; Amarthiul defends Garrison (shadows are Mountains of Angmar 42 TD, Angmar orc, +1 Attack from the shadow card -1 Attack from Keep Watch, 1 damage);

Refresh Phase/End of Round: 43 TD

Turn 3

Draw: Sarn Ford Sentry

Planning Phase: exhaust Steward of Gondor to add 2 resources to Amarthiul's pool; discard Sarn Ford Sentry (and exhaust Silver Harp to get it back) on Arwen's Action to add 1 resource to her pool; play Caleb...I mean...Thalion; play Favor of the Valar; resources left Amarthiul (0), Arwen (0), Aragorn (0), Thurindir (2)

Quest Phase: choose Power of Angmar as the current quest; send Arwen, Thurindir, Lookout, Journeyman and Thalion to the quest; reveal Fortress Walls; 13 Willpower against 11 Threat; 2 progress on Power of Angmar

Travel phase: travel to Fortress Walls

Engagement phase: nothing

Combat phase: ready Thalion; deal shadow card; Amarthiul defends Garrison (shadow is Werewolf of Angmar, -1 Attack from Keep Watch, no damage); Aragorn and Thalion attack and kill Garrison (5 Attack against 2 Defense thanks to Aragorn's ability, 3 damage); engage Angmar Captain with Aragorn's Response (ready Amarthiul with Steed of the North); Amarthiul attacks Angmar Captain (3 Attack against 1 Defense thanks to Aragorn's passive ability, 2 damage)

Refresh Phase/End of Round: 44 TD

Turn 4

Draw: Double Back

Planning Phase: exhaust Steward of Gondor to add 2 resources to Amarthiul's pool; play Double Back; resources left Amarthiul (3), Arwen (1), Aragorn (1), Thurindir (3);

Quest Phase: choose Double Back as the current quest; send Arwen, Thurindir, Lookout, Journeyman and Thalion to the quest; reveal Carn Dum Garrison; 13 Willpower against 5 Threat; 8 progress, 3 to clear Fortress Walls, 4 to clear Double Back and add it to the victory display (39 TD)

Travel phase: nothing

Engagement phase: nothing (due to Thaurdir's Captain side passive ability that increases by 10 the engagement cost of all other enemies)

Combat phase: ready Thalion, deal shadow card; Aragorn defends Angmar Captain (shadow is Furious Charge, -1 Attack from Keep Watch, 2 damage) Thalion and Amarthiul attack and destroy Angmar Captain (5 Attack against 1 Defense due to Aragorn's passive ability, 4 damage); discard Sarn Ford Sentry (and exhaust Silver Harp to get it back) on Arwen's Action to add 1 resource to Aragorn's pool

Refresh Phase/End of Round: 40 TD

Turn 5

Draw: Elven-Light

Planning Phase: exhaust Steward of Gondor to add 2 resource to Amarthiul's pool; discard Elven-Light on Arwen's Action to add 1 resource to her pool; play Elven-Light from the discard pile, take it back in hand and draw Gandalf; play Gandalf (4 resources from Amarthiul and 1 from Thurindir; draw Coney in a Trap, Armored Destrier and Vigilant Dunanan); play Armored Destrier on Amarthiul; play Sarn Ford Sentry; resources left Amarthiul (0), Arwen (2), Aragorn (3), Thurindir (0)

Quest Phase: choose Power of Angmar as current quest; send Arwen, Thurindir, Lookout, Journeyman, Thalion and Sarn Ford Sentry to the quest; reveal Orc Grunts (41 TD) that surges into Blight of Carn-Dum; 16 Willpower against 9 Threat; 6 progress (due to Orc Grunts effect), just enough to clear Power of Angmar and add it to the victory display (there are 3 side quests now so Thalion becomes a Spirit/Tactics hero)

Travel phase: travel to Blight of Carn-Dum (deal 1 shadow to each enemy in play); Thaurdir has now 3 shadows so it's flipped by the Forced effect of Stage 1 to Champion side and this trigger an immediate attack, Gandalf defends, shadows are Dark Sorcery, Carn-Dum Garrison and Angmar Marauder (respectively no effect, +3 Attack and +4 Attack; 13 Attack total against 4 Defense, 9 damage, Gandalf is destroyed)

Engagement phase: engage Orc Grunts and Carn-Dum Garrison

Combat phase: ready Thalion, deal shadow cards; Amarthiul defend Orc Grunts (ready Amarthiul with Armored Destrier and discard 1 shadow card from Garrison; shadows are Werewolf of Angmar and Angmar Marauder, respectively no shadow effect and +3 Attack, -1 Attack from Keep Watch, 1 damage on Amarthiul for a total of 2); Thalion defend Carn-Dum Garrison (shadow is Mountains of Angmar, 43 TD, -1 Attack from Keep Watch, 1 damage); Amarthiul attacks and destroys Orc Grunts (3 Attack against 0 Defense thanks to Aragorn's passive ability, 3 damage); Aragons attacks Carn-Dum Garrison (3 attack against 2 Defense thanks to his own passive ability, 1 damage)

Refresh Phase/End of Round: 44 TD, Thaurdir flips back to Captain side (triggers itself from the flip, deal one shadow card to each enemy in play)

Turn 6

Draw: Thorongil

Planning Phase: exhaust Steward of Gondor to add 2 resources to Amarthiul's pool; play Thorongil on Aragorn choosing Leadership Aragorn; discard Elven-Light on Arwen's Action to give 1 resource to Aragorn; play Elven-Light from the discard pile, take it back in hand and draw Northern Bowmaster; play Northern Bowmaster (with Thalion's resource); play Vigilant Dunanan; resources left Amarthiul (0), Arwen (2), Aragorn (1), Thurindir (1); Thalion (0);

Quest Phase: send Arwen, Thurindir, Aragorn (readies himself spending 1 resource with Leadership Aragorn's Response), Thalion, Lookout, Journeyman and Sentry; reveal Angmar Orc (discard Dunedain Lookout); 20 Willpower against 6 Threat; 14 progress, 3 to clear Blight of Carn-Dum, 11 on Stage 1

Travel phase: nothing

Engagement phase: engage Angmar Orc

Combat phase: ready Thalion, deal shadow cards; Vigilant Dunanan defends (without exhausting) Angmar Orc (shadow is Orc Ambush, -1 Attack from Keep Watch, no damage); Vigilant Dunanan defends Carn-Dum Garrison (shadows are Dark Sorcery and Daechanar's Will, respectively no effect and it will flip Thaurdir after the attack, -1 Attack from Keep Watch, 1 damage); Thaurdir is flipped to Captain side, trigger an immediate attack, Northern Bowmaster defends (shadow is Terror of the North, discard Feint, Dunedain Lookout and Ranger of Cardolan, +2 Attack from shadow card -1 Attack from Keep Watch, 7 Attack, Bowmaster is destroyed); Thalion and Vigilant Dunanan attack and destroy Angmar Orc (5 Attack against 2 Defense thanks to Aragorn's passive ability, 3 damage); Amarthiul and Aragorn attack and destroy Carn-Dum Garrison (6 Attack against 2 Defense thanks to Aragorn's passive ability, 4 damage)

Refresh Phase/End of Round: TD 45; Thaurdir flips back to Captain side (triggers itself from the flip, deal one shadow card to each enemy in play)

Turn 7

Draw: Send for Aid

Planning Phase: exhaust Steward of Gondor to add 2 resources to Amarthiul's pool; discard Elven-Light on Arwen's Action to add 1 resource to Aragorn's pool; play Elven-Light from the discard pile, take it back in hand and draw Test of Will; play Send for Aid in the staging area; resources left Amarthiul (2), Arwen (2), Aragorn (2), Thurindir (2); Thalion (1);

Quest Phase: send Arwen, Thurindir, Aragorn (readies himself spending 1 resource with Leadership Aragorn's Response), Journeyman and Thalion to the quest; reveal Vile Affliction (5 damage of which 1 to Sarn Ford Sentry, 1 to Arwen, 3 to Thurindir, triggers Thaurdir, deal one shadow card to each enemy in play, Thaurdir has 2 shadow cards); 18 Willpower against 4 threat; 14 progress, 4 to clear Stage 1; advance to Stage 2, raise TD by 2 to 47, Thaurdir flips to Champion side and triggers an immediate attack, Sarn Ford Sentry defends (shadows are Terror of the North discards Outmatched, Northern Bowmaster and Outmatched for +2 Attack and Angmar Orc, for another +1 Attack, 9 Attack total) Sentry is destroyed

Travel phase: nothing

Engagement phase: nothing

Combat phase: ready Thalion; deal shadow card; Vigilant Dunadan defends Thaurdir (shadow is Angmar Marauder for +2 Attack, -1 Attack from Keep Watch, 7 Attack total) Dunadan is destroyed; Amarthiul, Aragorn and Thalion attack Thaurdir (8 Attack against 3 Defense thanks to Aragorn's passive ability, 5 damage)

Refresh Phase/End of Round: TD 48

Turn 8

Draw: 2 nd Steward of Gondor

Planning Phase: exhaust Steward of Gondor to add 2 resources to Amarthiul pool; discard Elven-Light on Arwen's Action to add 1 resource to Aragorn's pool; play Elven-Light from the discard pile, take it back in hand and draw Legacy Blade; play Legacy Blade on Aragorn; resources left Amarthiul (5), Arwen (2), Aragorn (3), Thurindir (3); Thalion (2);

Quest Phase: send Arwen, Thurindir, Aragorn (readies himself spending 1 resource with Leadership Aragorn's Response), Journeyman and Thalion to the quest; reveal Accursed Battlefield; 18 Willpower against 6 threat; 12 progress on Stage 2

Travel phase: nothing

Engagement phase: nothing

Combat phase: ready Thalion, deal shadow card; Thalion defends Thaurdir (shadow is Angmar Captain, -1 Attack from Keep Watch, 5 Attack total, 3 damage) Thalion is destroyed; Aragorn and Amarthiul attack Thaurdir (9 Attack against 3 Defense thanks to Aragorn passive ability, 6 damage for a total of 11

Refresh Phase/End of Round: TD 49

Turn 9

Draw: 2 nd Coney in a Trap

Planning Phase: exhaust Steward of Gondor to add 2 resources to Amarthiul pool; discard Elven-Light on Arwen's Action to add 1 resource to Aragorn's pool; play Elven-Light from the discard pile, take it back in hand and draw Sneak Attack; resources left Amarthiul (8), Arwen (2), Aragorn (4), Thurindir (4)

Quest Phase: send Arwen, Thurindir, Aragorn (readies himself spending 1 resource with Leadership Aragorn's Response) and Journeyman to the quest; reveal Carn-Dum Garrison; 16 Willpower against 7 threat; 9 progress on Stage 2 for a total of 20, Thaurdir loses indestructible, has more damage than hit points and it's destroyed, winning the game

8 completed turns (x10) + 49 threat + 7 damage on heroes – 12 Victory points = 124 final score

Edited by Alonewolf87
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By the way I am the only one participating in this month's League?

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I plan too! Probably get my games in this weekend, just been a busy month for work/teaching for me.

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The Dread Realm too went quite well (much better than in my 4 players run thanks to the lower number of Sorceries lying around) and I was able to finish it with 0 tokens. Once again being able to take the first few rounds to set up made all the difference.

Here is the usual playthrough

The Dread Realm

Opening Hand: Double Back (with Thurindir), Coney in a Trap, Outmatched, Elven-Light, Steed of the North, Ranger of Cardolan, Misty Mountains Journeyman

Setup: set Daechanar and Altar of Midwinter outside of play; reveal Dark Halls, reanimate Gandalf (ouch!)

Turn 1 (39 Starting Threat)

Draw: Keep Watch

Planning Phase: play Double Back in the staging area; play Steed of the North on Aragorn; play Outmatched in my play area; play Misty Mountain Journeyman (since I am engaged by Reanimated Gandalf); discard Elven-Light on Arwen's Action to add 1 resource to her pool; play Elven-Light from the discard pile, take it back in hand and draw Silver Circlet; resources left Amarthiul (0), Arwen (0), Thurindir (1), Aragorn (0)

Quest Phase: choose Double Back as current quest; send Arwen, Thurindir, Aragorn and Misty Mountains Journeyman to the quest; reveal Seal the Tomb that surges into Wraith of Carn-Dum; 9 Willpower against 4 threat; 5 progress, 4 to clear Double Back and add it to the victory display (34 TD)

Travel phase: travel to Dark Halls

Engagement phase: engage Wraith of Carn-Dum (ready Aragorn with Steed of the North; play Coney in a Trap on Wraith; attach Outmatched to Wraith)

Combat phase: deal shadow cards; Wraith does not attack due to Coney in a Trap; Amarthiul defends Reanimated Gandalf (shadow is Dark Sorcery, no effect, no damage); Aragorn attacks and destroys Reanimated Gandalf (3 Attack against 1 Defense due to Aragorn's own passive ability, 2 damage)

Refresh Phase/End of Round: 35 TD; due to Seal the Tomb Forced effect discard Death and Calamity, Cursed Dead and Possession; add Cursed Dead to the staging area

Turn 2

Draw: Legacy Blade

Planning Phase: play Keep Watch in the staging area; discard Elven-Light on Arwen's Action to add 1 resource to her pool; play Silver Circlet on Arwen; play Legacy Blade on Aragorn; resources left Amarthiul (1), Arwen (0), Thurindir (1), Aragorn (0)

Quest Phase: choose Seal the Tomb as current quest; send Arwen, Thurindir, Aragorn and Journeyman to the quest; reveal Dark Sorcery (37 TD, no other effects since the only ally in my discard pile is a Gandalf); 12 Willpower against 1 threat; 11 progress, 4 to clear Dark Halls, 7 to clear Seal the Tomb and add it to the victory display

Travel phase: nothing

Engagement phase: engage Cursed Dead (ready Aragorn with Steed of the North)

Combat phase: deal shadow cards; Amarthiul defends Wraith of Carn-Dum (shadow is Dwimmerlaik, 1 damage, no effect, ready Amarthiul with Outmatched); Amarthiul defends Cursed Dead (shadow is Sinister Dungeon, discard Cursed Dead and Terror of the North, resolve Terror of the North effect, discard Sarn Ford Sentry, Silver Harp and Favor of the Valar, add 4 to the Threat of the staging area until end of round, no damage); Aragorn attacks and destroys Cursed Dead (3 Attack +2 Attack from Legacy Blade, against 0 Defense due to Aragorn's own passive ability, 5 damage)

Refresh Phase/End of Round: 38 TD

Turn 3

Draw: Dunedain Lookout

Planning Phase: play Elven-Light from the discard pile, take it back in hand and draw Dunedain Pipe; discard Elven-Light on Arwen's Action to add 1 resource to her pool; play Dunedain Lookout; play Ranger of Cardolan; resources left Amarthiul (0), Arwen (0), Thurindir (0), Aragorn (0)

Quest Phase: choose Keep Watch as current quest; send Arwen, Thurindir, Journeyman and Lookout to the quest; reveal Tombs of Carn-Dum; 12 Willpower against 3 threat; 9 progress, 6 to clear Keep Watch and add it to the victory display

Travel phase: travel to Tombs of Carn-Dum (deal 1 shadow card to Wraith of Carn-Dum)

Engagement phase: nothing

Combat phase: deal shadow cards; Ranger of Cardolan defends Wraith of Carn-Dum (shadows are Wraith of Carn-Dum and Power of Angmar, no effect, 4 Attack -1 from Keep Watch, 1 damage; Amarhiul attacks Wraith (3 Attack against 0 Defense, 3 damage)

Refresh Phase/End of Round: 39 TD; discard top card of my deck (Light of Valinor) due to Tombs Forced effect

Turn 4

Draw: Wait No Longer

Planning Phase: play Elven-Light from the discard pile, take it back in hand and draw Treebeard; discard Elven-Light on Arwen's Action to add 1 resource to her pool; play Treebeard; resources left Amarthiul (0), Arwen (0), Thurindir (0), Aragorn (0)

Quest Phase: send Arwen, Thurindir, Aragorn, Journeyman, Lookout and Ranger of Cardolan to the quest; reveal Cursed Dead (discard Lookout to cancel its When Revealed effect); 16 Willpower against 1 Threat; 15 progress, 3 to clear Tombs of Carn-Dum, 12 on Stage 1

Travel phase: nothing

Engagement phase: engage Cursed Dead (ready Aragorn with Steed of the North)

Combat phase: deal shadow cards; Amarthiul defens Wraith (shadow is Possession, no effect, 4 Attack -1 from Keep Watch, no damage, ready Amarthiul with Outmatched); Amarthiul defends Cursed Dead (shadow is Tombs of Carn Dum, no effect, 3 Attack -1 from Keep Watch, no damage); Aragorn attacks and destroys Cursed Dead (3 Attack +3 Attack from Legacy Blade, against 0 Defense due to Aragorn's own passive ability, 6 damage)

Refresh Phase/End of Round: 40 TD

Turn 5

Draw: Northern Bowmaster

Planning Phase: play Elven-Light from the discard pile, take it back in hand and draw Steward of Gondor; discard Elven-Light on Arwen's Action to add 1 resource to Aragorn's pool; play Dunedain Pipe on Thurindir; play Northern Bowmaster; resources left Amarthiul (1), Arwen (0), Thurindir (0), Aragorn (1)

Quest Phase: send Arwen, Thurindir, Aragorn and Journeyman to the quest; reveal Heavy Curse (it attaches to Stage 1) that surges into Unholy Cript; 14 Willpower against 1 Threat; 13 progress on Stage 1 for 25 total; advance to Stage 2: Heavy Curse is attached to Stage 2, Daechanar is added to the staging area, Altar of Midwinter becomes the active location, I Reanimate the top card of my deck (2 nd Elven-Light, ready Aragorn with Steed of the North)

Travel phase: nothing

Engagement phase: engage Daechanar

Combat phase: deal shadow cards; Amarthiul defends Wraith (shadow is A Fell Dread, no effect, 4 Attack – 1 from Keep Watch, no damage, ready Amarthiul with Outmatched); Ranger of Cardolan defends Reanimated Elven-Light (shadow is Death and Calamity, 2 Attack – 1 from Keep Watch +1 from shadow, no damage); Treebeard defends Daechanar (shadow is Tombs of Carn-Dum, no effect, 4 Attack +1 from 1 Sorcery in play, 2 damage); Amarthiul attacks and destroy Reanimated Elven-Light (3 Attack against 1 Defense due to Aragorn's passive ability, 2 damage); Aragorn and Bowmaster attack Daechanar (2 +3 Attack + 3 from Legacy Blade against 4 Defense due to Aragorns' passive ability, this would be 4 damage but instead cancel the damage and remove 1 Sorcery, that is Heavy Curse attached to Stage 2, from the game)

Refresh Phase/End of Round: 41 TD

Turn 6

Draw: A Test of Will

Planning Phase: play Elven-Light from the discard pile, take it back in hand and draw Thorongil; discard Elven-Light on Arwen's Action to add 1 resource to her pool; play Steward of Gondor on Aragorn; exhaust Steward of Gondor to add 2 resources to Aragorn's pool; play Thorongil on Aragorn, choosing Leadership Aragorn; resources left Amarthiul (0), Arwen (1), Thurindir (1), Aragorn (1)

Quest Phase: send Arwen, Aragorn (readies himself spending 1 resource with Leadership Aragorn's Response) and Journeyman to the quest; reveal Witch of Angmar; choose to reveal an additional card with Altar of Midwinter Forced effect, reveal Dark Halls; 9 Willpower against 6 Threat; 3 progress but I cannot place it on Altar since Daechanar is still in play

Travel phase: nothing

Engagement phase: engage Witch of Angmar

Combat phase: deal shadow cards; Treebeard defends Daechanar (shadow is Unholy Cript, 4 Attack, 1 damage for 3 total); Amarthiul defends Wraith (shadow is Sinister Dungeon, discard Dread Lord and Unholy Cript, no effect, 4 Attack -1 from Keep Watch, no damage, Amarhtiul readies with Outmatched); Witch of Angmar goes undefended (shadow is another Witch of Angmar, no effect, 2 Attack -1 from Keep Watch, 1 damage on Thurindir); ready Treebeard spending 2 of his resources; Amarthiul attacks Witch of Angmar (3 Attack agains 1 Defense due to Aragorn's passive ability); Aragorn, Treebeard, Thurindir, Bowmaster, Ranger of Cardolan attack and destroy Daechanar (3 Attack +3 from Legacy Blade + 4 +2 +2 +2 for 16 Attack total against 4 Defense due to Aragorn's passive ability, 12 damage); since Daechanar was destroyed advance to Stage 3, there are 2 locations in the staging area so the When Revelead effect of side 3A does not trigger

Refresh Phase/End of Round: 42 TD

Turn 7

Draw: Sneak Attack

Planning Phase: play Elven-Light from the discard pile, take it back in hand and draw 2 nd Outmatched; discard Elven-Light on Arwen's Action to add 1 resource to Aragorn's pool; exhaust Steward of Gondor to add 2 resources to Aragorn's pool; play Outmatched; resources left Amarthiul (1), Arwen (1), Thurindir (2), Aragorn (3)

Quest Phase: play Wait No Longer (search top 5 cards, put Cursed Dead in play engaged with me, attach Outmatched to it); send Arwen, Thurindir, Aragorn, Journeyman and Ranger of Cardolan to the quest; I don't reveal any card due to Wait No Longer; choose to Reanimate the top card of my deck (Celebrian's Stone) with Altar of Midwinter Forced effect; put Reanimated Celebrian's Stone in play engaged with me (read Aragorn with Steed of the North); 16 Willpower against 4 Threat; 12 progress, 9 to clear Altar of Midwinter (add it to victory display), 3 on Unholy Cript in the staging area; 1 damage to all characters in play (Journeyman and Bowmaster are destroyed, 2 damage on Amarthiul, 1 on Arwen, 2 on Thurindir, 1 on Aragorn, 2 on Ranger of Cardolan, 4 on Treebeard)

Travel phase: travel to Dark Halls

Engagement phase: nothing

Combat phase: deal shadow cards; Witch of Angmar goes undefended (shadow is Heavy Curse, resolve Heavy Curse when revealed effect, attach it to Stage 3, 2 Attack – 1 from Keep Watch, 1 damage on Thurindir for 2 total); Aragorn defends Wraith (shadow is Dead Lord, 4 Attack -1 from Keep Watch +1 from shadow effect, 2 damage for a total of 3, ready Aragorn with Outmatched); Treebeard defends Cursed Dead (shadow is Terror of the North, discard Ranger of Cardolan, Vigilant Dunadan and Steed of the North; 3 Attack – 1 from Keep Watch + 2 from shadow effect, 4 total, 1 damage for a total of 5, Treebeard is destroyed); Amarthiul defends Reanimated Celebrian's Stone (shadow is Death and Calamity, 2 Attack -1 from Keep Watch +1 from shadow effect, no damage); Aragorn attacks and destroys Cursed Dead (3 Attack + 3 from Legacy Blade against 0 Defense due to Aragorn's own passive ability, 6 damage)

Refresh Phase/End of Round: 43 TD

Turn 8

Draw: Misty Mountains Journeyman

Planning Phase: discard Sneak Attack on Arwen's Action to add 1 resource to her pool; exhaust Steward of Gondor to add 2 resource to Aragorn's pool; play Journeyman (costing 2 due to Heavy Curse effect); resources left Amarthiul (2), Arwen (1), Thurindir (3), Aragorn (4)

Quest Phase: send Arwen, Thurindir, Aragorn (readies himself spending 1 resource with Leadership Aragorn's Response), Ranger of Cardolan and Misty Mountains Journeyman to the quest; reveal 2 nd Heavy Curse (it attaches to Stage 3) that surges into Dwimmerlaik; 16 Willpower against 6 threat; 10 progress, 4 on Dark Halls clearing it, 4 on Unholy Cript in the staging area clearing it, there are no locations in play so I win the game

7 completed turns (x10) + 43 threat + 9 damage on heroes – 27 Victory points = 95 final score

Posted at

I hope I will find the time for it... maybe on the weekend. But these are some tough quests, which need a bit of planning. 🙂

Bye
Thanee

Posted at

So, I started this month’s league resorting to an Elrond deck. I will fill out details later when I get the chance, but Treachery of Rhudaur was completed with 0 valar tokens. There was some tension before the Vilya wall of allies was set into motion. Glorfindel and Elrond had 4 and 3 damage respectively and I had six enemies in my threat arra, but a round of almost no questing set me up to start decimating the undead army. MVP was my last addition to the deck, Gather Information, which I played when stage 2 kicked in to get to Vilya.

Now I am about to enter a world of pain.

Edited by Fredmans74
Posted at

I just managed to finish this as well. Having recently completed the Angmar Awakened cycle for the first time, I also had to go with a Vilya deck as that was the only deck I was able to get a win against Carn Dum with! I built the deck a while ago before I had a larger card pool so I probably should have optimized it a bit, but time got away from me this month. I was able to get through the quests with 6 total tokens which I was pretty happy with. I posted over on BGG, but I am the only one over there so I will post here as well. Also, I am not able to get access to the spreadsheet aside from "View Only".

The Dread Realm - I started in reverse order since I know this deck beat Carn Dum at least once but lost to Dread Realm in its one attempt in my cycle playthrough. My first game was awful. I drew Heavy Curse in setup which surged into another Heavy Curse so I had two sorceries attached to the quest before I even started!! I just decided to scoop and take a token on that one. Then, on my first token game, I completely forgot to take it. Probably because I lost the first game so quickly lol This run did not go much better anyway as I could not draw into any allies. It was not long until I had a host of enemies engaged with me and nothing I could do. Finally on my two token run I had a breakthrough. I got Treebeard and Beorn out quickly and got very lucky with the encounter draws being locations I could travel to and clear so I had some time to get set up. It still took me a few rounds but thankfully no treacheries came out and when I finally got to Daechanar I was able to take him out quickly with Beorn's action and a few other heroes/allies. Then I drew into Faramir at the perfect time to make one last huge quest push for the win.

The Battle of Carn Dum - Well this went about as good as I could have hoped with me getting out of it with 4 tokens. The first couple of games I could not draw into Vilya or any allies. The encounter deck was throwing loads of enemies out at me too so it did not give me any time either. In my 4 token game I was able to get Quickbeam out to start helping with questing as well as Light of Valinor and a Shadowfax so I was able to quest and ready with both Glorfindel and Gandalf. A combination of Lembas and Miruvor on Elrond allowed me to defend multiple times with him as well once a lot of enemies started coming out. Treebeard and some 2 willpower allies sealed the deal and I was able to quest through Stage 2 quickly and then take care of Thaurdir.

The Treachery of Rhudaur - I did not think this one would give me trouble, but it was actually a bit of a challenge. I did not get Vilya right away and had to tread water for a little bit. I did not get any clue cards which made the next stage last another round longer than I would have liked since it required the full 30 quest points. Thankfully allies became plentiful and I got enough questing. I had some enemies engaged with me I had to defend before I could get to Thaurdir though and one of the shadows was an undefended attack which took out Glorfindel but I still had enough to kill him in the end and get through with 0 tokens for a grand total of 6. Definitely a tough trio of quests!

Posted at

I seem to have problems accessing the spread sheet. So, this is my deck:

https://ringsdb.com/deck/view/242178

Elrond, Arwen Undómiel, Spirit Glorfindel.

33 cards outside Single Core/The Lost Realms/Angmar Awakens/Sands of Harad/Haradrim

Treachery of Rhudaur: 0 Tokens

Posted at
8 minutes ago, Fredmans74 said:

I seem to have problems accessing the spread sheet. So, this is my deck:

https://ringsdb.com/deck/view/242178

Elrond, Arwen Undómiel, Spirit Glorfindel.

33 cards outside Single Core/The Lost Realms/Angmar Awakens/Sands of Harad/Haradrim

Treachery of Rhudaur: 0 Tokens

Strange, this time I am quite sure that anyone who has the link should be able to make changes to the spreadsheet. Just in case I wrote down the info you provided

Posted at

I still cannot enter anything into the spread sheet, so I will continue using this thread.

So, the Battle is fought and was won at 5 Valar tokens.

I felt I was making progress at 3, but the 4 token run was botched by me only drawing events with Vilya and werewolves and whatnot. Slogged through the side quest that stopped Elven Light for 4 turns while never drawing Light of Valinor to threat myself to death. The 5 token run was epic. I was at threat 46 when flipping to stage 2 with only one threat added. Refreshed into threat 48. Cleared the quest stage 2 in two quest phases. Thaurdir, the 30-threat orc and a grunt stood in the way of victory. I had Fair and Perilous on Glorfindel with Unexpected Courage, Treebeard readied for 2 resources and a Booming Ent with 1 added strength for the needed 13 strength attack at threat 49. I have saved a Northern Tracker for Thaurdir who draws the shadow card for another attack. I take it undefended. Down goes Arwen. The 3 strength orc attacks Glorfindel who will use Unexpected Courage to attack to inflict two damage. Grunt attacks undefended, gets the shadow effect for another attack. Damage goes to Glorfindel who now is at 4 damage. Elrond at 3 damage from a sorcery attack from Thaurdir during the quest phase. Grunt attacks undefended, kills Elrond. Fair and Perilous Glorfindel, Treebeard and Booming ent kills Thaurdir. 49 threat, 2 heroes dead, Glorfindel at 1/5 left. Whew!

Now, those Power of Orthanc cards which I kept drawing into during Battle of Carn Dum to clog up my hand will of course turn invisible throughout The Dread Realms.

Edited by Fredmans74
Posted at
15 hours ago, rlogan4 said:

I was able to get through the quests with 6 total tokens which I was pretty happy with. I posted over on BGG, but I am the only one over there so I will post here as well. Also, I am not able to get access to the spreadsheet aside from "View Only".

I must have done something wrong at the very beginning. I have input your results, do you also have a tally of the cards outside The Lost Realm/Angmar Awakened, SoH/Haradrim, and a single core?And possibly a link to a ringsdb version of your deck.

Posted at
1 hour ago, Fredmans74 said:

I still cannot enter anything into the spread sheet, so I will continue using this thread.

So, the Battle is fought and was won at 5 Valar tokens.

I added this part too

Posted at

Deck: http://ringsdb.com/deck/view/242144

Cards outside AA/Core/Haradrim = a whopping 47!! When I built this deck originally I did not have AA and I still have not opened Haradrim so I was in trouble lol!

Thanks for running it this month!

Posted at

Made it just in time. I stand by my original assessment that The Dread Realms is almost just as tough as Battle of Carn Dûm, albeit in a more sly and cunning manner. I found Power of Orthancs eventually, but Vilya was sorely missing for the first three runs. The third run I was killed by two Dimmerlaiks who swept into combat by the Doomed 2 treachery. In the fourth run, I drew into the side quest that churns out enemies every turn with no means to shift it because of the active location. And then there was the small matter of four sorceries to whittle off and then the reanimated dead soon flooded my threat area. Being engaged by 7 reanimated dead, the villain and two Dimmerlaiks was the last thing my heroes saw. In the fifth run, I felt like cheating. I had Imladris Stargazer, Elven-light, Treebeard and Vilya from start, played Vilya to attach Steward of Gondor and then built a forest to go into the ruins of Angmar. There were no treacheries in play when I completed Stage 1, and stage 3 was swiftly dealt with, questing for 26.

So, 5 tokens for The Dread Realms, 10 in total. A few more than I expected, but my respect for The Dread Realms increased exponentially. It has so many ways to get to you. Oh, you have a strong army? I hope you do not have any of those ents in the discard pile... Oh, Treebeard is an expensive ally, I mean zombie...