So here is a weird question I am not real sure how to frame. I got a couple core sets and a couple miscellaneous add ons. Played a bit, then went away from it for a few years. Recently got back into it. Enjoying it but I can tell that my skill level is not as high as it could be.
Part of it may be my approach. For example, on A Passage Through Mirkwood, I plan my first turn around having a clear board. I routinely quest for 4-5 progress tokens. I see other people who consistently add 1-2 tokens at most and who leave maybe the Spider alive or locations in the engagement field they could travel to. And as I watch their results, I know they are better players than I am but I have not yet put my finger on the why. What I am missing.
Clearly it has to do with making skilled plays. I don't mean the brutally obvious...Sneak Attack/Gandalf, for example. Others I think are a bit more subtle...people love to use Henamorth (sic) to see the next card off the deck, which is clearly more powerful than in two handed or more, but can still give good info. But that presumes you know how to use that info...has to be more than just "this is top card off the deck, quest for..."
What do you consider some of your most skilled plays? Do they primarily come in the deck building phase or the play phase?
Example, I am playing a too high starting threat Aragorn/Legolas/Bard the Bowman in one deck and Eowyn/Frodo/Bifur on the other. The plan was to either feint or, preferred, Forest Snare the troll. In five or six games, I have not drawn into the snare once. Fortunately, I have found other ways to beat the scenario almost every time (except once when after the game I started thinking I might have forgotten to add threat the next to last turn and if I did, I lost that one as my threat was 49) Taking an undefended troll attack using Frodo to bump threat and then unleash the Legolas /Bard with Black Arrow first turn was fun...but that seems like an unwise strategy to rely on. More skillful play would mean I would not need to lean on unlikely opening card draws.
I am considering swapping out Berevor for Bifur, but then I will be much more reliant on Song of Wisdom popping up sooner or I will not be able to play the cards anyway....unless I luck into a Steward of Gondor in the first couple turns. But those are clearly deck building problems.
What are some game play things you do along the lines of Henamorth to see the future to help you get through the scenarios? I suspect I tend to use too much brute force (quest with Eowyn/Frodo/Bifur/Aragorn, pop up Aragorn) and not enough finesse. I am looking for a head start on being a better finesse player essentially.