This tournament is part of the Living Tournament system. You are welcome to read this, play the scenario, and post your results (in that order). Place well enough, and you may just end up with a Living Tournament World Ranking !

Scenario: Into the Pit
Deck Parameters: Open Build*
Number of Players: Solo Player

Tournament Parameters:

1) This is a Living Tournament. You may play and post results at your own pace.
2) *Open Build means you may use any legal LOTR LCG cards at your availability.
3) A valid result in this tournament consists of reporting your results (wins and losses) from 3 back-to-back games (may be spread out over as much time as you like), using the same deck for each of those 3 games. (Please observe the mulligan rule, and all other rules, from the LOTR LCG rulebook and subsequent official FAQ documents.)
4) After you post your results, the results from your 3 games will be calibrated using the RGun formula** to obtain your Weighted Result.
5) Weighted Results will then be ranked against other player’s Weighted Results, and the rankings will be updated over time as new results are posted to the thread.
6) You may play this tournament as many times as you would like (so you can try out different deck builds over time), but you can only hold one spot in the overall tournament rankings at a time (i.e. this gives you a chance to try and best your own result while only occupying one spot in the rankings).
7) Do not cheat. Just don’t. It destroys the fun and integrity of the tournament system. If you realize you have made a mistake at a later date that had serious implications for a result you had posted in the past, please make a new post in this thread drawing attention to that fact – that past result will be invalidated, and of course, you are welcome (and highly encouraged) to try again.

**The RGun formula has been designed to value both Final Score (per game) and overall Win Ratio (from your 3 games, cumulative). The formula is: (Average Score of Games Won) x (Total Games Played/Games Won). For an expanded discussion on how this formula was created, you can read the thread called Measuring Success .

Posting Your Results (Required Information):

When posting your results for this tournament you are encouraged to cut and paste from the following template and complete the requested information:

Heroes:

Game 1 Result: (Report Final Score or Loss)
Final Threat Level:
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero:
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes:
Victory Points Earned:
Number of Rounds Completed:

Game 2 Result: (Report Final Score or Loss)
Final Threat Level:
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero:
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes:
Victory Points Earned:
Number of Rounds Completed:

Game 3 Result: (Report Final Score or Loss)
Final Threat Level:
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero:
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes:
Victory Points Earned:
Number of Rounds Completed:

Posting Your Results (Optional Information):

After completing the above, you are welcome to include any other details you would like to add. Some suggested ideas are: your specific available card pool (number of Core Sets used, specific Adventure Packs used, etc…) and additional narrative to share epic tales of your adventures through Middle-earth.

Living Tournament Rankings:

1. muemakan ~ 64.66 (May 22, 2012)
2. masonos ~ 65 (September 21, 2012)
3. Robert McMutton ~ 80 (May 19, 2012)
4. jjeagle ~ 87.66 (May 18, 2012)
5. Fatty ~ 88.66 (October 25, 2012)
6. vandertramps ~ 98.66 (August 20, 2012)
7. leptokurt ~ 104 (April 29, 2012)
8. Angus Lee ~ 105 (September 29, 2012)
9. SiCK_Boy ~ 113.33 (March 31, 2012)
10. DevastazioneH88 ~ 129 (December 16, 2012)

Honorable Mentions:

11. juicebox ~ 147 (May 3, 2012)
12. Marael ~ 192 (July 5, 2012)

Last Updated:

January 26, 2013 (2:01am) [FFG Time - Forum Time Stamp]

Home Link:

Living Tournament Library & World Rankings

Heroes: Dunhere, Eleanor, Eowyn

Game 1 Result: 115
Final Threat Level: 29
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 0
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 0
Victory Points Earned: 4
Number of Rounds Completed: 9

Game 2 Result: 144
Final Threat Level: 38
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 7
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 3
Victory Points Earned: 4
Number of Rounds Completed: 10

Game 3 Result: 81
Final Threat Level: 38
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 0
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 0
Victory Points Earned: 7
Number of Rounds Completed: 5

Card pool: 3 x Core Set, All Shadows of Mirkwood AP, KD, TRG, RtR

Decklist

Solo - Under the radar

Hero (3)
Dunhere (Core) x1
Eleanor (Core) x1
Eowyn (Core) x1

Ally (20)
Bofur (TRG) x1
Elfhelm (TDM) x1
Eomund (CatC) x1
Escort from Edoras (AJtR) x2
Gandalf (Core) x3
Northern Tracker (Core) x3
Rider of the Mark (RtR) x3
The Riddermark's Finest (THoEM) x3
West Road Traveller (RtM) x3

Attachment (15)
Ancient Mathom (AJtR) x2
Dunedain Mark (THfG) x3
Dunedain Warning (CatC) x2
Song of Kings (THFG) x3
Steward of Gondor (Core) x2
Unexpected Courage (Core) x3

Event (15)
A Test of Will (Core) x3
Dwarven Tomb (Core) x2
Hasty Stroke (Core) x3
Shadow of the Past (RtM) x2
Sneak Attack (Core) x3
The Galadhrim's Greeting (Core) x2

The first two games went normal. The first one was acutally really great.

But in the last game I got Bormir killed. This was the end. Next attack killed Eowyn and then Theodred got killed too. And I was sitting there with 2 Sneak Attacks in hand but no Gandalf.

Heroes: Eowyn, Frodo Baggins, Glorfindel

Game 1 Result: 69
Final Threat Level: 32
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 0
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 1
Victory Points Earned: 4
Number of Rounds Completed: 4

Game 2 Result: 91
Final Threat Level: 42
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 0
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 3
Victory Points Earned: 4
Number of Rounds Completed: 5

Game 3 Result: 49
Final Threat Level: 13
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 0
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 0
Victory Points Earned: 4
Number of Rounds Completed: 4

Total score: 69,667

Card Pool: Core x3, KD, all AP including RtR.

This deck feels easy to play. I have a big threat control, I try to avoid engaging enemies, or although engaged, I don't mind eating the damage sometimes transforming it with Frodo into threat and quest heavily (Eowyn, Glorfindel, Protector of Lorien) in order to pass the steps quickly.

Robert McMutton said:

muemakan said:

Mirkwood runner made the work a couple of times... with Frodo defending meanwhile. And the other one was the best, because I found a good use for a card that I don't usually use much: Out of the Wild. With two of them, I put both Patrol Leaders in my victory display. So when I had to search for a Patrol Leader in both the encounter deck, and encounter discard pile, they weren't there, so I chose a Goblin Swordman or something easy to deal with like him .

Robert McMutton said:

Man how did you manage so much resources. 2 Out of the Wild means 6 resources. Or you lower your threat....but then again you need 6 resources to lower your threat under 21. I tend to sit around getting overwhelmed with threat and no resources.
In my best game so far, I could get clear stage 1 in 3 rounds. Than the leader came up and it took me rounds to kill him with a lucky Gadalf and then 2 more rounds......Once I got a Leader just before finishing stage 1 so I had 2 Leaders to deal with. And not really somebody to kill them with. Even if I had a Mirkwood Runner it would take me 2 rounds if I am lucky. ( most of the time I am not).

muemakan said:

A great combination I have used is Good Meal with Frodo and Galadhrim's Greeting. You get your threat 6 lower with 1 spirit resource. Just great.

Anyway I had a lot of luck this game... I had my threat very low, and 2 Out of the Wild in my hand (which I usually use with Protector of Lorien because I were regretting including them in this deck), and realized I could get rid of both Patrol Leaders with them for only 2 Lore resources.

And got luck having only a few annoying enemies this game. The first game I tried (which was previous to this 3 wins reported) I was overwhelmed by a great number of goblins that didn't stop coming out of the encounter deck, and lost heavily.

Robert McMutton said:

Ok, played 5 more games. Total waste.

If you take 4 rounds to finish with a threat of 13……how do you get so low? You got only 12 resources in the 5 rounds and you draw a total of 11 cards……

I always lack ether card draw for PoL of the resources to play my cards ( depending if I use the Glorfindel or the Theodred deck)

Do you kill off the victory point locations in the staging area or do you travel to every one of the two?

Also I tend to get awful setup and first encounter cards. Once I started with 6 threat ( patrol leader and the 37th orc)

Never mind, I am getting closer.

Also I noticed you beat me in Dol Guldur by 0.16 points.....funny.

muemakan said:

Actually they are 15 resources, you know, 4 completed rounds are 5 played...

And about the threat level... I'm going to try elaborating it:

- First round (28) I played Good Meal for free to Frodo, and Galadhrim's Greeting (22) for 1 spirit, and a Hennamarth for 1 lore.

- Second round (23) West road traveller for 2 spirit... not sure if something more. I think here came the Protector of Lórien for 1 lore.

- Third round (24) Dwarven Tomb for 1 spirit in order to bring back GG, another Good Meal to Frodo for free, and GG (18) for 1 spirit. Then, I think that came the 2 Out of the Wild, with secrecy for 1 lore each that jailed the Patrol Leaders.

- Fourth round (19) was Needful to Know (20) with secrecy for free, having used Hennamarth to see a Zigil mineshaft, it lowered my threat to (15). Later I had a treachery that raised it to (17)... maybe Signs of Conflict?

-Fifth round (18) and final, I played a Gandalf that brought me to (13) and ended the game in the quest phase.

And about locations, I think that nearly all of them were Dark locations, that were dealt with Cave Torch.

Not sure how accurate it is, but more or less. I know it was a very lucky game.

muemakan said:

I was so slow to write the previous reply, and you wrote again. Sorry.

About Dol Guldur.... I haven't noticed. Wow, it has been tight .

Robert McMutton said:

But you don´t collect resources in stage 3B .

Sorry I didn´t mean the normal locations. I was interested if you traveled to the Bridge and the Frist Hall or if you got rid of them while still in the staging area.

muemakan said:

Yes, you're right about the resources. And the locations, I travelled to the Bridge and the First Hall. And this means that the round sequence above isn't quite accurate because of not playing cards while the Bridge is the active location. So, no sure then how it was.

In any case, I hope this serves you to want improve your results in this quest .

Greetings.

Robert McMutton said:

Sorry to b so picky, but you got some things I still don´t understand.

The cards you played cost 14 resources with only 12 two spend. You already mentioned that you cannot play cards while the bridge is active although I think thats not really a problem. You said you traveled to all locations, so there would still be 3 threat form the first hall missing. And if you saw a Zigil Mineshaft didn´t you get that as an encounter, or could you use the torch on another location already in the staging area and therefor discarding the mineshaft?. Who did fight the one enemy you choose from the deck? How did you manage to quest with enough willp

I played around 20 games so far in the last 2 days and never got no enemy to deal with or the crapy watchful eyes.

And how did you get enough willpower to quest through the stages so quickly without the ability to discard cards for willpower??

As I said before, now I am not sure how it was. And as you are pushing so much, it''s possible I made a mistake, of course (I usually do). Maybe I forgot not collecting resources the last round, or it was 1 round more than those I counted…. I don''t know.

When I could, I will try to recreate this game in order to see what actually happened. Meanwhile, let''s do the following:

juicebox, please, erase my records for this quest… or treat this last third game of the row as a loss. As you prefer.

Hope that this would be ok for you.

Heroes: Dain, Bifur, Dwalin

Game 1 Result: 169
Final Threat Level: 29
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 0
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 4
Victory Points Earned: 4
Number of Rounds Completed: 14

Game 2 Result: Loss

Game 3 Result: Loss

Posting Your Results (Optional Information): Not exactly a great score, but better than nothing!

Robert McMutton said:

No, you don´t have to do that. I just want to know the moves as I obviously want to beat the score. After all you were´t forced to present us with details.

I remember back in the days of the first tournaments we listed the encounters and so on……but that was when only one game need to play. 3 games and writing down encounters…..meh

If you think you did make a mistake its very fair to count the last as a loss, if not then don´t count it as such.

muemakan said:

Robert M, I haven''t made a change yet, but if you want me to, just let me know exactly what you want me to change.

No pressure either way. I consider myself more of a host in this setting than a judge. We''ll all do our best.

The reason why i dont want to participate to this online tournaments is : Many players do what they want home, sometimes dont even know rules well.

So this tournaments is not really honest. With all my respect better i wait for official ones. If they will have place to be………..►

Glaurung said:

I know what you mean, even I make some mistakes from time to time. However, as Juicy''s tournaments are only half serious I have no problem with that, as long as no one is cheating. It keeps me motivated to increase my score or to beat the scores of others, to try new hero combos and to compare my decks with those from other players.

I had a look at Robert''s result, and I agree with muemakan that something must have gone wrong. Robert, just to avoid any possible future mistakes:

1) If the card you discard after using Cave Torch is an enemy, do you place him in the staging area (also in stage 2B)?

2) Do you use CaveTorch only once per round (it gets exhausted after you use it)?

3) Do you use Cave Torch only against locations with the Dark trait?

4) It''s very unlikely to catch both Patrol Leaders by using Out of the Wild 2-3 times. Do you really only reveal the top 5 cards of the encounter deck?

5) Do you raise your threat by 3 when travelling to First Hall? According to your description you travelled there, so your threat when playing Out of the WIld should have been 28 + 2 (rounds) + 3 (First Hall) - 12 ( 2x GG) = 21.

leptokurt said:

Glaurung, the "purist" in me totally gets where you are coming from. However, we don't know if there ever will be formal tournaments, and even if there are, I feel this game can be enjoyed on so many different levels.

Personally, I've had a lot of fun playing in this "casual" tournament type of setting. Sure, it's all based on gentlemen's agreements, but it is a cooperative game after all. Why can't we have a cooperative casual tournament setting? Well, I think we can and do - right here and now. No one is obligated to play, but I've sure been grateful for everyone that has been participating.

Participating in these casual online tournaments has deepened my enjoyment around each scenario and given me a new layer of motivation to continue returning to old scenarios. I've become a better player as a result of interacting with others who participate in these tournaments, and I'm having fun.

For me, it's been quite satisfying. But, we all play games for different reasons.

If you ever do decide to join in the fray (yes, it's messier and more casual than a "proper" tournament) I imagine I'd enjoy your participation immensely. No pressure, but you are certainly invited. Are there limitations? You bet. However, it's been an enjoyable and creative process. Everyone is welcome.

leptokurt said:

I'm quite sure I know how all of these function, but after some tries, I couldn't provide a reasonable explanation for my result, so it is obvious that there is some mistake, but I'm not sure where exactly is the error. Possibly I had an extra round or the final threat is wrong. Anyway, it is not right, at that point, that is clear.

juicebox said:

After the discussion with muemakan and leptokurt, I would like you to change my result in this quest to the following:

Heroes: Eowyn, Frodo Baggins, Glorfindel

Game 1 Result: 69
Final Threat Level: 32
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 0
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 1
Victory Points Earned: 4
Number of Rounds Completed: 4

Game 2 Result: 91
Final Threat Level: 42
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 0
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 3
Victory Points Earned: 4
Number of Rounds Completed: 5

Game 3 Result: Loss

Total score: 120

Card Pool: Core x3, KD, all AP including RtR.

Of course I would try again this quest in order to provide a better result that this.