i thought id try and make some mega threads for helping newcomers on these much asked about quests..lets start with the first major one

so please add your tips and thoughts so anyone struggling can come here and find help! and if this kicks off we can do the same for the others

rich

ps. add your thumbs up or down to this idea, so i or others know whether to make more

also im going to try and update this post with peoples tips as they post them, and as i find them lying around in other threads, so you dont have to go through all the others

The Troll

-keep your starting threat low- you need alot of time to deal with the troll. use galadhrims greeting and gandalfs (preferably sneak attacked) to lower your threat even more.

-using this time build up a large force of allies and attatchments. also if you are playing spirit, use dunhere as a hero choice and buff up his attack stats, and pick away at the troll by attacking it in the staging area

-when you are confident to take the troll down, either engage it and take 1 attack from it, then kill it within preferably 1 turn, or engage it and use forest snare next planning phase to render it useless, and you can kill it within your own timescale

-try to keep your threat below 35. Evil Storm can be absolutely devastating if you don't have a cancel effect handy.

-Try a Spirit/Leadership/Lore deck, using Eowyn, Theodred, and either Denethor or Beravor, which puts your starting threat at either 26 or 27. If you have the resources to pay for it, I've found the combo of a Son of Arnor and Forest Snare to be very effective. Force the Troll to engage during Planning and Snare it while you can play the attachment.

-try upping how many allies you include in your deck. Some people have suggested having up to half (25 cards) allies in a deck, and I've found that works really well. Another thing is, make sure you're choosing as many low-cost allies as possible. Beorn is a beast, but having to save up 6 resources is a pain and limits what you can do for six phases.

-If you don't want to rely on Forest Snare you could also use Song of Kings instead of Wisdom. This supplies you with Steward of Gondor, Celbrían's Stone, Sneak Attack and 3 Dunedain Marks. Give the latter to Dunhere, and the troll might be dead before he's able to engage you.

2B

-after the troll is gone, then next part is all about threat management. you need to have alot of questing power, so solo eowyn is a good bet here. also to buff up her willpower use the protector of lorien +1 buff- which can be used as many times as you have cards to discard.

-you need to prevent a build up of enemies in the staging area, so dunhere again is a good hero, and also try to engage an enemy per turn and get it out of the way

-thalin is a good hero choice as commited to a quest he can deal with eastern crows before they surge

-you could put in Longbeard map-maker. Lorien guide would also help. Try to key in on ur main cards and put as many in as you can up to the 3 limit. Also, favor of the lady. Finally, when you get to the stage where you're on the river, the middle stage, even though you don't have to engage, do it anyway, through dunhere if you want, so that the final stage will be easier.

The Troll

1.keep your starting threat low- you need alot of time to deal with the troll. use galadhrims greeting and gandalfs (preferably sneak attacked) to lower your threat even more.

2.using this time build up a large force of allies and attatchments. also if you are playing spirit, use dunhere as a hero choice and pick away at the troll by attacking it in the staging area

3.when you are confident to take the troll down, either engage it and take 1 attack from it, then kill it within preferably 1 turn, or engage it and use forest snare next planning phase to render it useless, and you can kill it within your own timescale

2B

1.after the troll is gone, then next part is all about threat management. you need to have alot of questing power, so solo eowyn is a good bet here. also to buff up her willpower use the protector of lorien +1 buff- which can be used as many times as you have cards to discard.

2.you need to prevent a build up of enemies in the staging area, so dunhere again is a good hero, and also try to engage an enemy per turn and get it out of the way

3.thalin is a good hero choice as commited to a quest he can deal with eastern crows before they surge

Maybe I'm off the mark here, but to me, the whole fun and point of this game is to learn this stuff on your own/with friends. If we all knew the best strategies for the quests going in is there any satisfaction in winning? The feeling of finally beating JdtA with that perfect deck after 50 attempts is sweet. If I knew all about how to beat it going in, it wouldn't be nearly as satisfying.

Just me though.

dh098017 said:

i agree! but ive been here for a year and ive seen about 30 threads about these quests and people ask alot of the same questions

and this is the catagory for it after all .....but if they dont take off, ill let them be.......

richsabre said:

This only works if you've got some way to consistently give Dunhere + to his attack, right ? (spirit/tactics: dwarven axe, blade mastery. spirit/leadership: for gondor!. pure spirit or lore/spirit: not possible?) Attacking in the staging area, Dunhere is 3 attack, while the troll has 3 defense... no effect.

I only ask because both times I've seen you mention this strategy, you haven't mentioned needing to increase his attack for this to work. Am I missing something?

GrandSpleen said:

No, you're correct. Without some kind of attack bonus, Dunhere won't be able to crack the Troll's defense. Dunedain Mark is probably the best option here.

As to the thread idea, I think it's great! Players who want help will have a handy, consolidated guide; those who want to figure things out for themselves won't read it.

I'll add my submission:

-Try to keep your threat below 35. Evil Storm can be absolutely devastating if you don't have a cancel effect handy.

GrandSpleen said:

yes i forget to mention the need to increase his stats, when i state the strategy i am more stating that it is possible to attack it with dunhere

ive edited the original

these from the goldmine that is the drowning on the anduin thread.......this may take a while haha

-Try a Spirit/Leadership/Lore deck, using Eowyn, Theodred, and either Denethor or Beravor, which puts your starting threat at either 26 or 27. If you have the resources to pay for it, I've found the combo of a Son of Arnor and Forest Snare to be very effective. Force the Troll to engage during Planning and Snare it while you can play the attachment.

-you could put in Longbeard map-maker. Lorien guide would also help. Try to key in on ur main cards and put as many in as you can up to the 3 limit. Also, favor of the lady. Finally, when you get to the stage where you're on the river, the middle stage, even though you don't have to engage, do it anyway, through dunhere if you want, so that the final stage will be easier.

-try upping how many allies you include in your deck. Some people have suggested having up to half (25 cards) allies in a deck, and I've found that works really well. Another thing is, make sure you're choosing as many low-cost allies as possible. Beorn is a beast, but having to save up 6 resources is a pain and limits what you can do for six phases.

-If you don't want to rely on Forest Snare you could also use Song of Kings instead of Wisdom. This supplies you with Steward of Gondor, Celbrían's Stone, Sneak Attack and 3 Dunedain Marks. Give the latter to Dunhere, and the troll might be dead before he's able to engage you.

I have everything but the special box set and the Redhorn expansion, and I tried your advice regarding 3 colors (spheres, whatever). After 3 weeks with this game and picking up all of the first set of expansions, I can honestly say I hate the Hill Troll. Whomever thought this was a challenge level 4 adventure didn't seem to really know what he/she was doing, or changes were made to the game after the skill levels were determined, or they weren't really as focused on solo play as the box claims. I waste more time with set-up than I do actually playing this adventure. I have beat it, but it usually either comes down to I kill the troll and win or I don't clear the first stage.

Your strategies are sound. It's too bad that so many of the heroes are really not useable in a more general way.

Boris_the_Dwarf said:

I don't think the troll is the main problem in this scenario, but stage 2 in which you have to quest against 2 encounters. If you finish 1B too early you might get in deep problems there.

A hero combo that easly defeats this scenario is Éowyn, Frodo and Bilbo. Starting threat is 25, so you have enough time to prepare your fellowship for the battle with the troll. Bilbo supplies you with enough cards so you should have either the Sneak/Gandalf combo or Forest Snare to get rid of the troll. Play a Galadhrims's Greeting and you have even more time (and cards in your hand). Of course you should add Song of Kings and the cool leadership cards in your deck. Make sure you have 3 Rivendell Minstrels in your deck to increase the chance to get a song early.

Thanks for this post, I am new and lost to this scenario 4x tonight. Reading your info helps give me more insight on things to try - thanks!