Solo League 27 - Wilds of Rhovanion/Ered Mithrin with Shadows of Mirkwood player 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 Wilds of Rhovanion box and the Ered Mithrin cycle. The quests are:

1) Journey Up the Anduin
2) Fire in the Night
3) The Fate of Wilderland

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 Brand Son Bain, Bard Son of Brand, Thranduil, Radagast.

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.

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 Wilds of Rhovanion/Ered Mithrin, Shadows of Mirkwood 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 Wilds of Rhovanion/Ered Mithrin and Shadows of Mirkwood. More is better.

3rd) The number of heroes used from this list: Brand Son Bain, Bard Son of Brand, Thranduil, Radagast. More is better.

4th) The number of cards in the deck outside The Wilds of Rhovanion/Ered Mithrin and Shadows of Mirkwood. Less is better, and core cards are considered "outside" for this tiebreaker.

5th) The number of cards outside Journey Up the Anduin, Fire in the Night, and The Fate of Wilderland. Less is better, and core cards are considered "outside" for this tiebreaker.

6th) Performance in October'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 January'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 January'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.

Journey Up the Anduin: November 14th
Fire in the Night: November 21st
The Fate of Wilderland: November 28th

8 ) I've created a google spreadsheet for results here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1iZeehdX7jYtDpUmzpsY1TWAY_SGhR8XN6wugqogInx0/edit#gid=0

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.

Edited by Alonewolf87
Posted at

Thanks for posting this up! Only thing is I think you need to change the first paragraph in the post as it’s referring to last month. I’m looking forward to flying my Eagles against the dragons here.

Posted at
2 hours ago, General_Grievous said:

Thanks for posting this up! Only thing is I think you need to change the first paragraph in the post as it’s referring to last month. I’m looking forward to flying my Eagles against the dragons here.

Let me know if this time the spreadsheet works for you guys, I might have found out what was wrong last time

Posted at

I will go with a Dale deck, making the Guardian of Esgaroth the center piece of the deck (though this might make Fire in the Night a bit hard since I will start without a strong defender). I could have gone for the Spirit Beregond route, but I wanted to have all Dale heroes.

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Going to jump in this one with an Eagles deck! We'll see how it goes!

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The first game against Journey Up the Anduin went quite well, with a Guardian of Esgaroth coming into shape early on (with the usual Wild Stallion + Valiant Determination package) and leading me to a long and careful but still relatively easy win. 0 tokens

Here is the usual playthrough

Journey Up the Anduin

Opening Hand (after Mulligan): Map of Rhovanion, Squire's Helm, King of Dale, Wild Stallion, Guardian of Esgaroth, Long Lake Fisherman

Setup: create Evil Creatures deck, set aside Woodman Village and Old Fort, discard cards until I reveal 1 location (Misty Mountains Goblin, Gladden Fields), add Gladden Fields to the staging area

Turn 1 (28 Starting Threat)

Draw: Warrior of Dale

Planning Phase: play King of Dale on Bard (draw Black Arrow); play Black Arrow on Lanwyn (draw Round Shield); exhaust King of Dale to reduce by 1 the cost of the next Dale ally and play Guardian of Esgaroth for 1; play Round Shield on Guardian of Esgaroth (draw Descendant of Girion); resources left Bard (0), Brand (0), Lanwyn (0)

Quest Phase: send Bard and Lanwyn to the quest; reveal Dangerouns Crossing (no effect, Surge, ready Lanwyn); reveal Stray Goblin surges (I decide not to boost Lanwin, hoping to avoid placing resources on Stage 1) into Lonely Lands; 6 Willpower against 6 Threat; no progress and no resources (lucky)

Travel phase: travel to Lonely Lands

Engagement phase: no resource on Stage 1 to trigger its effect, I can't engage the Stray Goblin

Combat phase: nothing

Refresh Phase/End of Round: TD 29

Turn 2

Draw: Valiant Determination

Planning Phase: exhaust King of Dale to reduce by 1 the cost of the next Dale ally and play Long Lake Fisherman for 1 with Lanwyn resource (chose 1 with Fisherman Response and look at top 5 cards, put Traffic from Dale in hand); play Traffic from Dale to add 3 resources to Bard's pool; play Valiant Determination and Wild Stallion on Guardian of Esgaroth (which is now a 6 Willpower 5 Attack 5 Defense 5 Hit Points monster that does not exhaust to quest) ; resources left Bard (4), Brand (0), Lanwyn (0)

Quest Phase: send Bard, Lanwyn, Guardian and Fisherman to the quest; reveal Dangerous Crossing (2 damage, 1 to Fisherman, 1 to Lanwyn) surges (ready Lanwyn) into Ruined Supplies (Doomed 1 + 2 from 2 allies, TD 32); 13 Willpower against 4 Threat; 9 progress, 5 to clear Lonely Lands, 4 on Stage 1 (and 1 resource)

Travel phase: travel to Gladden Fields

Engagement phase: remove 1 resource and add Marsh Adder to the staging area; optionally engage Marsh Adder, Stray Goblin Forced effects triggers and it also engages

Combat phase: deal Shadow Cards; Guardian defends Marsh Adder (TD 33, shadow is Stray Goblin add it to the staging area, 4 Attack vs 5 Defense, no damage); Brand defends Stray Goblin (shadow is Wooded Riverbank, 1 damage to Brand, 2 Attack vs 2 Defense no damage); Lanwyn attacks Marsh Adder, triggers Black Arrow and destroys it (8 Attack vs 1 Defense, 7 damage)

Refresh Phase/End of Round: TD 35 (due to Gladden Fields)

Turn 3

Draw: Galadhrim's Greeting (excellent timing)

Planning Phase: play Map of Rhovanion on Bard; exhaust King of Dale to reduce by 2 the cost of the next Dale ally and play Warrior of Dale for 1; resources left Bard (0), Brand (0), Lanwyn (1)

Quest Phase: send Brand (place 1 progress on Gladden Fields), Lanwyn, Guardian and Fisherman to the quest; reveal Wooded Riverbank; 12 Willpower against 4 threat; 8 progress, 2 to clear Gladden Fields and 6 on Stage 1 (and 1 resource) for a total of 10; advance to Stage 2 since there are no Evil Creatures enemies in play; add Woodmen Village to the staging area

Travel phase: travel to Woodmen Village, add Wargs to the staging area

Engagement phase: optionally engage Wargs, 2 nd Stray Goblin Forced effect triggers and it also engage me

Combat phase: deal Shadow Cards; Guardian defends Wargs (shadow is Misty Mountains Goblins, no effect since there are no progress tokens on the quest, 3 Attack vs 5 Defense no damage); Warrior of Dale defends 1 st Stray Goblin (shadow is Banks of the Anduin, 2 Attack vs 1 Defense, 1 damage); Brand defends 2 nd Stray Goblin (shadow is Lonely Lands, 2 Attack vs 2 Defense, no damage)

Refresh Phase/End of Round: TD 36

Turn 4

Draw: 2 nd Valiant Determination

Planning Phase: exhaust King of Dale to reduce by 2 the cost of the next Dale ally and play Descendant of Girion for 2; play Squire's Helm on Descendant of Girion for free (draw 2 nd King of Dale); resources left Bard (1), Brand (0), Lanwyn (1) [I could play the 2 nd Determination on Descendant, but I want to play the Greeting next turn]

Quest Phase: send Guardian to the quest; reveal Massing at Night that makes me reveal Banks of the Anduin; 6 Willpower against 4 Threat; 2 progress on Woodmen Village

Travel phase: nothing

Engagement phase: nothing

Combat phase: deal Shadow Cards; Guardian defends Wargs (shadow is Frenzied Creature, attach it to Wargs, 4 Attack vs 5 Defense no damage); Bard defends 1 st Stray Goblin (shadow is Weighted Down, 2 Attack vs 2 Defense, no damage), Descendant defends 2 nd Stray Goblin (shadow is Gladden Fields, 2 Attack vs 2 Defense, no damage); Brand destroys 1 st Stray Goblin (3 Attack vs 0 Defense 3 damage); Lanwyn and Warrior of Dale destroy Wargs (5 Attack vs 2 Defense, 3 damage), Long Lake Fisherman attacks 2 nd Stray Goblin (1 Attack vs 0 Defense 1 damage)

Refresh Phase/End of Round: TD 37

Turn 5

Draw: 2 nd Long Lake Fisherman

Planning Phase: exhaust King of Dale to reduce by 2 the cost of the next Dale ally and play 2 nd Fisherman for free (chose 1 with Fisherman Response, add Warden of Arnor to the hand); play Warden of Arnor on Lanwyn (draw 2 nd Guardian of Esgaroth); play Galadhrim's Greeting (TD 31) ; resources left Bard (0), Brand (1), Lanwyn (0)

Quest Phase: send Bard, Lanwyn, Guardian, both Fishermen and Descendant to the quest; reveal Lonely Lands (add 1 progress with Warden of Arnor); 16 Willpower against 6 Threat; 10 progress, 2 to clear Woodmen Village (add Goblin Sniper to the staging area and attach Haldan to it) and 8 on Stage 2

Travel phase: nothing

Engagement phase: optionally engage Goblin Sniper; Guardian defends Goblin Sniper (shadow is Weighted Down, 2 Attack against 5 Defense, no damage); Brand defends Stray Goblin (shadow is Lost in the Wild, 2 Attack against 2 Defense, no damage); Warrior of Dale destroys Goblin Sniper (2 Attack vs 0 Defense, 2 damage); I take control of Haldan and advance to Stage 3, add The Old Ford to the staging area; Haldan destroys Stray Goblin (3 Attack vs 0 Defense, 3 damage)

Combat phase: deal Shadow Cards;

Refresh Phase/End of Round: TD 38

Turn 6

Draw: North Realm Lookout

Planning Phase: play 2 nd Guardian of Esgaroth; exhaust King of Dale to reduce by 2 the cost of the next Dale ally and play North Realm Lookout for free; play Valiant Determination on 2 nd Guardian of Esgaroth (draw Bow of Yew); play Bow of Yew on 2 nd Guardian; resources left Bard (0), Brand (0), Lanwyn (0)

Quest Phase: add Goblin Sniper to the staging area; send Bard, Lanwyn, both Guardians, both Fishermen and Lookout to the quest; reveal Gladden Fields (sure more locations, add 1 progress with Warden of Arnor); 19 Willpower against 16 Threat; 3 progress on Stage 3

Travel phase: travel to Gladden Fields

Engagement phase: optionally engage Goblin Sniper

Combat phase: deal Shadow Card; 1 st Guardian defends Sniper (shadow is Ruined Supplies, TD 39, 2 Attack vs 5 Defense, no damage), Brand destroys Sniper (3 Attack vs 0 Defense, 3 damage)

Refresh Phase/End of Round: TD 41 (due to Gladden Fields)

Turn 7

Draw: Redwater Sentry

Planning Phase: exhaust King of Dale to reduce by 2 the cost of the next Dale ally and play Redwater Sentry for 1 ; resources left Bard (1), Brand (0), Lanwyn (1)

Quest Phase: add Hill Troll to the staging area; send Bard (add 1 progress on Gladden Fields), Lanwyn, both Guardians, both Fishermen, Haldan (does not exhaust) and Lookout to the quest; reveal Goblin Troop; 21 Willpower against 15 Willpower; 6 progress, 1 to clear Gladden Fields and 5 on stage 3 (for a total of 😎

Travel phase: travel to Lonely Lands

Engagement phase: engage both Hill Troll and Goblin Troop

Combat phase: deal Shadow Cards; 1 st Guardian defends Hill Troll (shadow is Hills of Wilderland, 6 Attack against 5 Defense, 1 damage); Descendant of Girion defends Goblin Troop (shadow is another Goblin Troop, 7 Attack against 2 Defense, 5 damage, Descendant is destroyed, I take back Squire's Helm in hand with Bard Response); Brand, 2 nd Guardian, Haldan, Warrior of Dale and Redwater Sentry attack and destroy Hill Troll (12 Attack total against 3 Defense, 9 damage)

Refresh Phase/End of Round: TD 42

Turn 8

Draw: Traffic from Dale

Planning Phase: play Squire's Helm for free on Redwater Sentry (draw 2 nd Map of Rhovanion); play 2 nd Map of Rhovanion on North Realm Lookout (draw A Test of Will, finally!); resources left Bard (1), Brand (1), Lanwyn (2)

Quest Phase: add Goblin Sniper to the staging area; send Bard (add 1 progress on Lonely Lands), Lanwyn, both Guardians, both Fishermen, Haldan (does not exhaust) and Lookout (add 1 progress on Lonely Lands, does not exhaust) to the quest; reveal Lost in the Wild (cancel it with A Test of Will); 22 Willpower against 11 Threat; 11 progress, 2 to clear Lonely Lands, 9 on Stage 3 (for a total of 17)

Travel phase: travel to The Old Ford; Goblin Sniper makes an immediate attack, Redwater Sentry defends (shadow is Hills of Wilderland, 2 Attack against 3 Defense, no damage)

Engagement phase: optionally engage Goblin Sniper

Combat phase: deal Shadow Cards; 1 st Guardian defends Goblin Troop (shadow is Dangerous Crossing, +2 Attack, 7 Attack against 5 Defense, 2 damage for a total of 3); Warrior of Dale defends Goblin Sniper (shadow is Pack of Wargs, 3 Attack against 1 Defense, 2 damage, Warrior is destroyed, Sniper goes back to the staging area due to the shadow effect); Brand, 2 nd Guardian, Haldan and North Realm Lookout destroy Goblin Troop (10 Attack total against 4 Defense, 6 damage)

Refresh Phase/End of Round: TD 43

Turn 9

Draw: 3 rd Map of Rhovanion

Planning Phase: play 3 rd Map of Brand (draw Wiglaf); play Traffic from Dale to add 7 resources to Bard's pool; exhaust King of Dale to reduce by 2 the cost of the next Dale ally and play Wiglaf for 3; resources left Bard (5), Brand (1), Lanwyn (2)

Quest Phase: add Wargs to the staging area; send Bard, Brand, Lanwyn, both Guardians, both Fishermen, Haldan (does not exhaust), Wiglaf and Lookout (does not exhaust) to the quest; reveal Pack of Wargs; 27 Willpower against 12 Threat; 15 progress, 15 on Old Ford (right now it has 20 quest points)

Travel phase: nothing

Engagement phase: engage Wargs and Pack of Wargs

Combat phase: deal Shadow Cards; 1 st Guardian defends Pack of Wargs (shadow is Misty Mountains Goblins, remove 1 progress from Stage 3; 4 Attack vs 5 Defense, no damage); Redwater Sentry defends Wargs (shadow is Wooded Riverbank, 1 damage, 3 Attack vs 3 Defense, no damage); Haldan, 2 nd Guardian and Lookout destroy Wargs (7 Attack total vs 1 Defense 6 damage); since there are only 2 enemies in play Old Ford has 15 quest points so it's explored and I win the game

8 completed turns (x10) + 43 threat + 2 damage on heroes – 14 Victory points = 111 final score

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As Eagles are one of my favorite builds I had one readily available to run and with only 6 cards out of the cycles allotted. Here is the link:

https://ringsdb.com/decklist/view/18151/theyshallmountupwithwingsofeagles-1.0

Journey up the Anduin

I drew the location that made me count my number of characters and had to work around that initially. But thankfully I had Radagast’s Staff in my starting hand along with a shape changer and a giant bear and so I was able to get a strong force out fairly quickly. Threat finished at 42 and it went pretty smoothly with pumped up Eagles of the Misty Mountains being able to defend against and then devour both Trolls I encountered.

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Fire in the Night was a first game win too, ending with 49 damage on Hrogar's Hill and a killing attack with a Black Arrow (quite the fitting defeat for a dragon putting a town to the torch). I was quite lucky with the side quest order and I was able to clear 6 of them in 7 rounds. 0 tokens

Here is the usual playthrough

Fire in the Night

Opening Hand (after mulligan): Redwater Sentry, Galadhrim's Greeting, Valiant Determination, Map of Rhovanion, North Realm Lookout, Guardian of Esgaroth

Setup: add Dagnir to the staging area

Turn 1 (28 Starting Threat)

Draw: King of Dale

Planning Phase: play King of Dale on Bard (draw Round Shield); exhaust King of Dale to reduce by 1 the cost of the next Dale ally and play Guardian of Esgaroth for 1; play Round Shield on Guardian of Esgaroth (draw Bow of Yew); play Bow of Yew on Lanwyin (draw Traffic from Dale); resources left Bard (0), Brand (0), Lanwyn (0); end of Planning Phase, reveal Rout the Goblins (put Stray Goblin in play engaged with me); Dagnir makes an attack against Hrogar's Hill, no defender, 7 damage

Quest Phase: choose Route the Goblins as the current quest; send Bard, Lanwyn and Guardian to the quest; reveal Wooden Palissade; 9 Willpower against 3 Threat; 6 progress on Rout the Goblins (that has 10 quest points for now)

Travel phase: travel to Wooden Palissade (ready Lanwyn)

Engagement phase: nothing

Combat phase: deal Shadow Card; Brand defends Stray Goblin (shadow is Gathering Gloom, +1 Attack, 3 Attack against 2 Defense, 1 damage); Lanwyn attacks and destroys Stray Goblin (1 damage from Bow of Yew 3 Attack vs 0 Defense, 3 damage more for a total of 4); having killed Stray Goblin Rout the Goblins quest points go down to 5 and it's cleared and added to the victory display

Refresh Phase/End of Round: TD 29

Turn 2

Draw: Squire's Helm

Planning Phase: exhaust King of Dale to reduce by 1 the cost of the next Dale ally and play North Realm Lookout for 1; play Map of Rhovanion on North Realm Lookout (draw Descendant of Girion) resources left; play Traffic from Dale to add 4 resources to Bard's pool; play Valiant Determination on Guardian of Esgaroth; resources left Bard (2), Brand (0), Lanwyn (0); end of Planning Phase, reveal Douse the Flames; Dagnir makes an attack against Hrogar's Hill, no defender, 5 damage for 12 total

Quest Phase: choose Douse the Flames as current quest; send Bard, Brand Lanwyn, North Realm Lookout (does not exhaust, place 1 progress on Wooden Palissade) and Guardian of Esgaroth (does not exhaust) to the quest; reveal The Dragon's Thrall; 15 Willpower against 5 threat; 10 progress, 2 to clear Wooden Palissade, 8 on Douse the Flames (so close), 5 damage on Hrogar's Hill from Douse the Flames for 17 total

Travel phase: nothing

Engagement phase: engage The Dragon's Thrall (3 damage on Hrogar's Hill for 20 total)

Combat phase: deal Shadow Card; Guardian of Esgaroth defends The Dragon's Thrall (shadow is Burning Watchtower, 3 Attack against 3 Defense, no damage)

Refresh Phase/End of Round: TD 30

Turn 3

Draw: Wild Stallion

Planning Phase: exhaust King of Dale to reduce by 1 the cost of the next Dale ally and play Redwater Sentry for 2; play Squire's Helm for free on Redwater Sentry (draw 2 nd Guardian of Esgaroth); play Wild Stallion and attach it to 1 st Guardian of Esgaroth; resources left Bard (1), Brand (0), Lanwyn (0); end of Planning Phase, reveal Draw Her Fire; Dagnir makes an attack against Hrogar's Hill, no defender, 7 damage for 27 total

Quest Phase: choose Douse the Flames as current quest; send Bard, Lanwyn, North Realm Lookout (does not exhaust) and Guardian of Esgaroth (does not exhaust) to the quest; reveal Burning Watchtower; 14 Willpower against 4 Threat; 10 progress to clear Douse The Flames (Hrogar's Hill damage goes down to 17) and add it to the victory display

Travel phase: travel to Burning Watchtower (3 damage to distribute, 1 on North Realm Lookout, 2 on Lanwyn)

Engagement phase: nothing

Combat phase: deal Shadow Card; Redwater Sentry defends The Dragon's Thrall (shadow is Orc of the Flame, +1 Attack, 4 Attack against 3 Defense, 1 damage); Brand and 1 st Guardian of Esgaroth attack and destroy The Dragon's Thrall (8 Attack Total against 3 Defense, 5 damage)

Refresh Phase/End of Round: TD 31

Turn 4

Draw: 2 nd Squire's Helm

Planning Phase: exhaust King of Dale to reduce by 1 the cost of the next Dale ally and play 2 nd Guardian of Esgaroth for 1; play Squire's Helm on 2 nd Guardian (draw Warrior of Dale) resources left Bard (1), Brand (1), Lanwyn (0); end of Planning Phase, reveal Fortify the Defense; Dagnir makes an attack against Hrogar's Hill, no defender, 7 damage for 24 total

Quest Phase: choose Fortify the Defense as current quest; send Bard, Brand, Lanwyn, North Realm Lookout (does not exhaust, add 1 progress on Burning Watchtower), 1 st Guardian of Esgaroth (does not exhaust), 2 nd Guardian of Esgaroth to the quest; reveal Powerful in Wrath (TD 32, discard Burning Watchtower, deal 3 damage to Hrogar's Hill for a total of 27); 20 Willpower against 3 Threat; 17 progress to clear Fortify the Defense (draw 2 nd North Realm Lookout, Black Arrow, 2 nd King of Dale); Dagnir is now considered engaged

Travel phase: nothing

Engagement phase: nothing

Combat phase: deal Shadow Card; 1 st North Realm Lookout defends against Dagnir (shadow is Bright Flames, +3 Attack, 10 Attack against 1 Defense, 9 damage; Lookout is destroyed, I take back the Map of Rhovanion with Bard's Response); 1 st Guardian and Redwater Sentry attack Dagnir (6 Attack total against 5 Defense, 1 damage)

Refresh Phase/End of Round: TD 33

Turn 5

Draw: Long Lake Fisherman

Planning Phase: play Black Arrow on Lanwyn; play North Realm Lookout; play Map of Rhovanion on North Realm Lookout (draw Bow of Yew); exhaust King of Dale to reduce by 1 the cost of the next Dale ally and play Warrior of Dale for 2; play Bow of Yew on Warrior of Dale (draw Hauberk of Mail); play Hauberk of Mail for free on Redwater Sentry; resources left Bard (0), Brand (0), Lanwyn (0); end of Planning Phase, reveal Hold the Door; Dagnir makes an attack against Hrogar's Hill, no defender, 7 damage for 34 total

Quest Phase: choose Hold the Door as current quest; send Bard, Brand, Lanwyn, North Realm Lookout (does not exhaust), 1 st Guardian of Esgaroth (does not exhaust), 2 nd Guardian of Esgaroth to the quest; reveal Goblin Troop; 20 Willpower against 7 Threat; 13 progress to clear Hold the Door (TD 30)

Travel phase: nothing

Engagement phase: nothing

Combat phase: deal Shadow Card; Redwater Sentry defends Dagnir (shadow is Accursed Forest, 7 Attack against 3 Defense, 4 damage for a total of 5); 1 st Guardian, Warrior of Dale and North Realm Lookout attack Dagnir (9 Attack total against 5 Defense, 4 damage for a total of 5)

Refresh Phase/End of Round: TD 31

Turn 6

Draw: Wiglaf

Planning Phase: exhaust King of Dale to reduce by 1 the cost of the next Dale ally and play Long Lake Fisherman (choose 1 for its ability, add A Test of Will to the hand); resources left Bard (1), Brand (1), Lanwyn (0); end of Planning Phase, reveal Rally the Woodmen; Dagnir makes an attack against Hrogar's Hill, declare Long Lake Fisherman as defender (shadow is Powerful in Wrath, Long Lake Fisherman is destroyed, 5 damage for 39 total)

Quest Phase: choose Rally the Woodmen as current quest; send Bard, Brand, Lanwyn, North Realm Lookout (does not exhaust), 1 st Guardian of Esgaroth (does not exhaust), 2 nd Guardian of Esgaroth to the quest; reveal Stray Goblin that surges (+2 Willpower to Lanwyn) into The Dragon's Fury (cancel it with A Test of Will); 22 Willpower against 9 Threat; 13 progress to clear Rally The Woodmen (put Rhovanion Outrider in play)

Travel phase: nothing

Engagement phase: nothing

Combat phase: deal Shadow Card; Redwater Sentry defends Dagnir (shadow is The Dragon's Thrall, 7 Attack against 3 Defense, 4 damage for a total of 9, Sentry is destroyed, 3 damage to Hrogar's Hill for a total of 42, take back in hand Squire's Helm and Hauber of Mail with Bard's Response); 1 st Guardian, Warrior of Dale, North Realm Lookout and Rhovanion Outrider attack Dagnir (11 Attack against 5 Defense, 6 damage, for a total of 11)

Refresh Phase/End of Round: TD 32

Turn 7

Draw: Warden of Arnor

Planning Phase: exhaust King of Dale to reduce by 1 the cost of the next Dale ally and play Wiglaf for 4 (play Squire's Helm on him for free, draw 2 nd Hauberk of Mail); resources left Bard (0), Brand (0), Lanwyn (0); end of Planning Phase, reveal Face the Dragon; Dagnir makes an attack against Hrogar's Hill, no defender, 7 damage for 49 total

Quest Phase: choose Face the Dragon as the current quest; send Bard, Brand; Lanwyn, North Realm Lookout (does not exhaust), 1 st Guardian of Esgaroth (does not exhaust), 2 nd Guardian of Esgaroth, Wiglaf (exhaust Squire's Helm to ready him) to the quest; reveal Gathering Gloom, choose to reveal another encounter card, Goblin Stray that surges (+2 Willpower to Lanwyn) into Wooden Palissade; 25 Willpower against 13 Threat; 12 progres to clear Face the Dragon (5 more damage to Dagnir for 16 total)

Travel phase: travel to Wooden Palissade (ready Lanwyn)

Engagement phase: nothing

Combat phase: deal Shadow Card; 1 st Guardian defends Dagnir (shadow is Bright Flames, +6 Attack, trigger Round Shield, 11 Attack (-2 Attack from Wooden Palissade, against 7 defense, 4 damage); Lanwyn (trigger Black Arrow), Warrior of Dale, North Realm Lookout, Wiglaf and Rhovanion Outrider attack Dagnir (16 Attack against 5 defense, 11 damage for 27 total), Dagnir has no hit points remaining so I win the game

6 completed turns (x10) + 33 threat + 3 damage on heroes – 60 Victory points = 36 final score

Edited by Alonewolf87
Posted at

The Radagast Eagles decks I have been playing have used either TEowyn or Hirgon, and thus had some decent questing. But since I only used in-cycle cards... well, let's just say that when I was building this deck I kind of forgot that the quest phase exists... Journey Up the Anduin finally came out in a victory at 12 tokens. On to face the Dragon! Y'all can thank me for guaranteeing none of you will be last place!

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Also, @General_Grievous I believe you have 7 out of cycle cards. 1 Legolas, 3 Emissary, 3 Wilyador. Not that it matters much. 😉

Posted at
4 hours ago, Bobbymcbobface said:

Also, @General_Grievous I believe you have 7 out of cycle cards. 1 Legolas, 3 Emissary, 3 Wilyador. Not that it matters much. 😉

Thanks Bobby appreciate the second check! I wasn’t sure how to record him I was just going off of rule 4 and so didn’t mention him as one of the cards:

” The One Ring or the Messenger of the King ally/hero sh ould also not be counted *unless* your deck uses those cards to reach 50”

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My intention in creating that rule was to exclude MotK-heroes as being part of the deck, unless they were used to reduce the effective deck size below 50. This followed from my opinon that the setup contract ruling is obviously contrary to their design, and a MotK-hero should be chosen and placed before the deck is ever shuffled.

Posted at
1 hour ago, dalestephenson said:

My intention in creating that rule was to exclude MotK-heroes as being part of the deck, unless they were used to reduce the effective deck size below 50. This followed from my opinon that the setup contract ruling is obviously contrary to their design, and a MotK-hero should be chosen and placed before the deck is ever shuffled.

This is the way hahaha. But that’s what I went for, added in the extra card to keep it legit for the rings DB but I started with him as the hero.

Also my first attempt at Fire in the Night was not successful. Lasted a decent while but in the end I just couldn’t generate the questing power to clear side quests and there was too much dragon fire. Time to take a token.

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Fire in the Night redux went better, but not by much. Such a long bloody close game, thankfully a super-powered Eagles of the Misty Mountains was able to hold off any and all attacks (except when allies couldn’t defend or characters didn’t count defense!! Such a hard quest!) but I managed to hold off and pass questing by having all three Eagles of the Misty Mountains, all three eagles of the north and Meneldor helping push trough the side quests. Combat wasn’t the problem, it was willpower. In the end I managed to defend Hrogar’s Hill with a total of 2 hit points remaining. Epic quest and super hard.

total tokens used 1 (to help pay for a round one Eagles of the Misty Mountains and Radagast’s staff)

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Fate of the Wilderland was a rough go too. First attempt I drew the strongest orc enemy in the deck and this trend continued as I just couldn’t get enough defenders into play to keep up. And not drawing Radagast’s staff also hurt me. With my general lack of defenders at the mid game it meant I was taken out and my heroes were wiped out by undefended attacks.

Next attempt with 1 token went much smoother as I also started with Radagast’s staff in play. I was able to get some solid Eagle flocks into play and win as soon as I got to the third phase.

Total tokens 1

Total tokens for all three quests: 2

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Fire in the night finally ended in a win at 12 tokens. On to a scenario I should know a thing or two about, seeing as I wrote the article for it on VotP, and also the first LOTR thing my girlfriend got for me: The Fate of Wilderland!

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Fate of Wilderland was a lot simpler with a three token win. What I learned from this month, is that it’s a really bad idea to not play test before starting the solo league. Every month before now I’ve playtested my deck multiple times against all scenarios before beginning. This time I just threw the deck together and figured it would work, because my eagle decks have done great lately. But what I forgot was, since I have made a commitment to only use in cycle cards I did not have a very good questing hero at all. That was my biggest downfall and the reason I took so many tokens. Great job everyone, and I look forward to choosing the supplementary cycle for next time!

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The Fate of Wilderland went well, once again a 0 tokens win. The Dale machine went online during the 2nd and 3rd turn and it was all downhill from there, even though the progress on The Goblins' Assault was climbing worringly

Here is the usual playthrough

The Fate of Wilderland

Opening Hand (after mulligan): Warden of Arnor, Black Arrow, Redwater Sentry, Round Shield, Hauberk of Mail, Traffic from Dale

Setup: add The Heroes' Defense, The Goblins' Assault and Urdug to the staging area, discard cards until I get 1 enemy (discard Fierce Attack, Urdug's Elite) add Urdug's Elite to the staging area

Turn 1 (28 Starting Threat)

Draw: Warrior of Dale

Planning Phase: play Black Arrow on Lanwyn (draw King of Dale); play Round Shield on Bard (draw North Realm Lookout); play King of Dale on Bard; exhaust King of Dale to reduce by 2 the cost of the next Dale ally and play Redwater Sentry for 1; play Hauberk of Mail for free on Redwater Sentry (draw A Test of Will) ; resources left Bard (0), Brand (0), Lanwyn (0)

Quest Phase: send Bard, Brand and Lanwyn to the quest; reveal Fierce Attack (TD 29, 1 progress on The Goblins' Assault); 8 Willpower against 4 Threat; 4 progress on Stage 1 (even though it doesn't matter)

Travel phase: nothing

Engagement phase: engage Urdug's Elite (1 progress on The Goblins' Assault, 2 total)

Combat phase: deal Shadow Card; Redwater Sentry defends Urdug's Elite (shadow is Goblin Troop, +2 Attack, 5 Attack against 4 Defense, 1 damage)

Refresh Phase/End of Round: TD 30, 1 progress on the Goblins' Assault (3 total)

Turn 2

Draw: Map of Rhovanion

Planning Phase: exhaust King of Dale to reduce by 2 the cost of the next Dale ally and play North Realm Lookout for free; play Map of Rhovanion on Lookout (draw Wild Stallion); play Warden of Arnor on Lanwyn; play Traffic from Dale on Bard (add 4 resource); play Wild Stallion; resources left Bard (2), Brand (0), Lanwyn (0)

Quest Phase: send Bard, North Realm Lookout and Wild Stallion to the quest; reveal Hilltop Battlements (add 1 progress with Warden of Arnor); 7 Willpower against 5 Threat; 2 progress for 6 total

Travel phase: travel to Hilltop Battlements

Engagement phase: nothing

Combat phase: deal Shadow Card; Redwater Sentry defends Urdug's Elite (shadow is Dark Clouds, discard Warden of Arnor, 3 Attack against 4 Defense, no damage); Lanwyn, Bard and North Realm Lookout attack (3+3+1 Attack against 2 Defense, 5 damage) and destroy Urdug's Elite; add1 resource to The Heroes' Defense

Refresh Phase/End of Round: TD 31, 1 progress on The Goblins' Assault (4 total), advance to Stage 2, shuffle discard pile into encounter deck, discard until I discard 1 enemy (discard Hilltop Battlements, Gate of Gundabad, Worg Rider) add Warg-Rider to the staging area

Turn 3

Draw: Guardian of Esgaroth

Planning Phase: exhaust King of Dale to reduce by 2 the cost of the next Dale ally and play Warrior of Dale for 1 ; resources left Bard (2), Brand (1), Lanwyn (1)

Quest Phase: send Bard, Brand, North Realm Lookout (add 1 progress to Battlements) and Wild Stallion to the quest; reveal Swarm of Bats (cancel it with A Test of Will); 9 Willpower against 5 Threat; 4 progress, 1 to explore Hilltop Battlements (discard Lonely Lands), 3 on Stage 2 (even though it doesn't matter)

Travel phase: nothing

Engagement phase: engage Warg-Rider

Combat phase: deal Shadow Card; Redwater Sentry defends Warg-Rider (shadow is Dwarven Watchtower, place 1 progress on the Goblins' Assault for 5 total, 4 Attack against 4 Defense, no damage); add 1 more progress on the Goblins' Assault due to Stage 2 effect for 6 total; Lanwyn, Warrior of Dale and North Realm Lookout attack and destroy Warg-Rider (3+2+1 Attack against 1 Defense, 5 damage); add 1 resource to The Heroes's Defense for a total of 2

Refresh Phase/End of Round: TD 32,

Turn 4

Draw: Squire's Helm

Planning Phase: exhaust King of Dale to reduce by 2 the cost of the next Dale ally and play Guardian of Esgaroth for free; play Squire's Helm on Guardian (draw Bow of Yew); play Bow of Yew on Warrior of Dale (draw 2 nd North Realm Lookout); attach Wild Stallion to Guardian of Esgaroth; play 2 nd Lookout ; resources left Bard (1), Brand (1), Lanwyn (1)

Quest Phase: send Bard, Brand and both Lookouts to the quest (1 st do not exhausts); reveal Fierce Vanguard; 9 Willpower against 4 Threat; 5 progress on Stage 2 for 8 total

Travel phase: nothing

Engagement phase: engage Fierce Vanguard (+2 Attack)

Combat phase: deal Shadow Card; Redwater Sentry defends Fierce Vanguard (shadow is Dwarven Watchtower, 4 Attack against 4 Defense, no damage), add 1 more progress on the Goblins' Assault due to Stage 2 effect for 7 total; Lanwyn, Warrior of Dale, 1 st Lookout and Guardian of Esgaroth attack (3+3+4+1 against 2 Defense, 9 damage) and destroy Fierce Vanguard, add 1 resource to The Heroes's Defense for a total of 3

Refresh Phase/End of Round: TD 33

Turn 5

Draw: Long Lake Fisherman

Planning Phase: exhaust King of Dale to reduce by 2 the cost of the next Dale ally and play Long Lake Fisherman for free (declare 2, find 2 nd Fisherman); play 2 nd Fisherman (declare 2, find 2 nd Guardian of Esgaroth); play 2 nd Guardian of Esgaroth ; resources left Bard (2), Brand (0), Lanwyn (0)

Quest Phase: send Bard, both Lookouts (1 st does not exhaust), both Fisherman and 2 nd Guardian to the quest; reveal Stray Goblin, that surges into Urdug's Command, Urdug makes an Immediate Attack, Redwater Sentry defends Urdug (discard Hills of Wilderland, so +0 Attack, shadow is another Urdug's Command so +1 Attack, 4 Attack vs 4 Defense, no damage) add 1 progress on the Goblins' Assault due to Stage 2 effect for 8 total; 10 Willpower against 3 Threat, 7 progress on Stage 2 (15 total)

Travel phase: nothing

Engagement phase: nothing

Combat phase: deal Shadow Cards; nothing

Refresh Phase/End of Round: TD 34, advance to Stage 3, shuffle discard pile into encounter deck, discard until I discard 1 enemy (discard Warg-Rider), add Warg-Rider to the staging area

Turn 6

Draw: The Galadhrim's Greeting

Planning Phase: play The Galadhrim's Greeting (TD 28) ; resources left Bard (0), Brand (1), Lanwyn (1)

Quest Phase: send Bard, Brand, both Lookouts (1 st does not exhaust), both Fishermen, 2 nd Guardian to the quest; reveal Dark Clouds; 12 Willpower against 9 Threat; 3 progress on stage 3 (even though it doesn't matter

Travel phase: nothing

Engagement phase: engage Warg-Rider (Stray Goblin Forced effect makes it engage too)

Combat phase: deal Shadow Cards; Redwater Sentry defends Warg-Rider (shadow is Gathering Gloom, +1 Attack, 5 Attack against 4 Defense, 1 damage for 2 total); 1 st Guardian defends Stray Goblin (shadow is Stray Goblin, add it to the staging area; 2 Attack against 4 Defense, no damage); Lanwyn attacks (3 Attack against 0 Defense, 3 damage) and destroys engaged Stray Goblin; add 1 resource to The Heroes' Defense for 4 total; Warrior of Dale and 1 st Lookout attack Warg Rider (3+1 Attack against 1 Defense 3 damage, plus 1 damage from Bow of Yew, 4 damage total) and destroy Warg-Rider; add 1 resource to The Heroesì Defense for 5 total (now Urdug is considered to be engaged with me)

Refresh Phase/End of Round: TD 29, add 2 progress to The Goblins' Assault for 10 total

Turn 7

Draw: 2 nd Galadhrim's Greeting (ok wow)

Planning Phase:play 2 nd Galadhrim's Greeting (TD 23) ; resources left Bard (0), Brand (2), Lanwyn (0)

Quest Phase: send Bard, both Lookouts (1 st does not exhaust), both Fishermen, 2 nd Guardian to the quest; reveal Slopes of Gundabad (add 1 progress to the Goblins' Assault for 11 total); 10 Willpower against 5 Threat; 5 progress on stage 3, for 8 total

Travel phase: travel to Slopes of Gundabad

Engagement phase: nothing

Combat phase: deal Shadow Card; Redwater Sentry defends Urdug (shadow is Dark Clouds, discard Round Shield from Bard, discard Fierce Vanguard so +2 Attack, 5 Attack Against 4 Defense, 1 damage for 3 total); Brand, Lanwyn (triggers Black Arrow), 1 st Lookout, Warrior of Dale and 1 st Guardian attack (3+8+1+3+4 19 Attack against 4 Defense, 15 damage) and destroy Urdug, winning the game

6 completed turns (x10) + 23 threat -1 Victory points = 82 final score

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My Silvans are doing a great job, so far. The Journey was smooth. Fire in the Night took a while, and I am glad I decided to leave the first side quest (the one that does damage to the city every round according to enemies in staging), which gave me more time to build up (I needed to get rid of the two nastiest side quests quickly, the one that removes defense and the one where the city burns), and only remove the third side quest, when I was ready (I had a bunch of the other side quests already with 6-8 progress by then, with Galadriel+Nenya and Henamarth there was a good amount of control over the quest phase, so they would easily fall one by one, once the real battle begun). I had three Silvan Trackers before finding any defense buff (other than Inner Strength) for Thranduil, but at least that was enough to defend his one attack at the end of the planning phase. Once he was properly equipped, though, there was little the dragon and minions could do, anymore. Fate might be more difficult, though, especially the early phase. We'll see. 🙂

Bye
Thanee

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The Fate of Wilderland has been decided. 1 token was needed (as expected, since the scenario is very random in solo), as the first attempt was stopped abruptly after I lost all my resources to that treachery (otherwise, a Sneak Attack Gandalf and an extra Silvan could have helped out) and got two new enemies (the one with surge and one from location exploration, which happened to be the big goblin troop). The second attempt was better, though, and I managed to get to Urdug early in the third stage (naturally, once there, he didn't really stand a chance).

Bye
Thanee

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Final standings:

0 Alonewolf87 (4)
1 Thanee (33)
2 General_Grievous (6)
27 Bobbymcbobface (0)

I win the League and I will choose a cycle for January League. I will select A Shadow in The East / Vengeance of Mordor since the cycle is finally complete.

@Thanee is in second place and will choose a quest to play from that cycle. @General_Grievous is in third place and will choose a quest from that cycle to exclude. @Bobbymcbobface is in last place and gets to choose a supplemental cycle for player cards.

Join us in the next Solo League as we do Saruman's bidding and play To Catch an Orc, The Dunland Trap and Celebrimbor's Secret

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@dalestephenson how are things going? Is not trouble for me to keep the League going, just wanted to know if everything is okay.

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Another move is impending, so I've been busy and not able to do last month's quests. Press forward, hopefully I'll have some time in December!

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I will exclude The Fortress of Nurn to help save on the spoilers (as I’m currently playing through that cycle with my wife and we are only halfway through it in our cooperative games)

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I will choose LOTR saga as the supplemental cycle