One More Deck for Gen Con!

I will be flying to Indianapolis tomorrow, and the only thing I have packed thus far are my LOTR decks.  On top of that, we just got the spoilers for Escape from Mount Gram!  Looking through them, my head nearly exploded from some of the crazy combos that have opened up from these cards.  Because of this, I had to make another deck.  I originally thought this was going to be an Ent/Eagle deck, but there was so much cool stuff with the manipulating the victory display, I just leaned into it.  Let me know what you think, and if you see me at Gen Con, come over and say hi!

Hero: (3)
1x Mablung (The Nin-in-Eilph)
1x Rossiel (Escape from Mount Gram)
1x Gríma (The Voice of Isengard)

Ally: (23)
3x Derndingle Warrior (Escape from Mount Gram)
3x Wandering Ent (Celebrimbor's Secret)
3x Quickbeam (The Treason of Saruman)
3x Booming Ent (The Antlered Crown)
2x Treebeard (The Antlered Crown)
3x Defender of Rammas (Heirs of Numenor)
3x Envoy of Pelargir (Heirs of Numenor)
3x Gandalf (Core Set)

Attachment: (11)
3x Ent Draught (The Treason of Saruman)
2x Keys of Orthanc (The Voice of Isengard)
3x Lembas (Trouble in Tharbad)
2x Horn of Gondor (Core Set)
1x Wingfoot (The Nin-in-Eilph)

Event: (15)
3x Boomed and Trumpeted (Escape from Mount Gram)
3x Leave No Trace (Escape from Mount Gram)
3x Keen as Lances (Escape from Mount Gram)
3x Out of the Wild (Road to Rivendell)
3x Entmoot (The Treason of Saruman)

Side Quest: (1)
1 x Scout Ahead (The Wastes of Eriador)

Nightmare Run Episode 7 - Conflict at the Carrock (3p)

This time, Derek and Chris are joined by Matthew, also of the Grey Company.  Watch on and see how they fare against some nightmarish trolls.

Trapped in The Land of Shadow

A new preview has been released for the upcoming Saga Expansion, The Land of Shadow.  In the article, two new heroes are spoiled, a new Faramir and Damrod.

Faramir has the ability to ready an ally after engaging an enemy.  Immediately, I think of tactics Aragorn, which I have already shown an affinity for.  After Aragorn kills an enemy and pulls another over, Faramir can ready an ally to help with attacking.  Alternatively, if you have scout or ranger allies in play, engaging an enemy to trigger both Faramir and Expert Trackers allows you to exhaust and immediately ready the same ally.

Ally Damrod was never a card that I found a lot of utility, to the point where I don't think I have included him into any decks.  The new hero version has synergy with trap cards. Previously, there were only four different trap cards available to the card pool, with another one spoiled in this article.  His passive ability to lower the cost of the first trap played gives lore some much needed resource smoothing, and card draw is never a bad thing.  Unfortunately, with the exception of Forest Snare, all traps are added to the staging area unattached, so more than likely you'll be getting your card draw during staging rather than planning.  Damrod's ability also gives OG Anborn some added utility, as you can continue to recycle your traps and card draw.

Two new allies of familiar faces were introduced in this article, both of which deal with increasing engagement cost.  In Mablung's case, he gives you the opportunity to pull an enemy or send it back to the staging area.  For Anborn, his ability allows you to place some direct damage on an enemy, which could be helpful running alongside Thalin.  Recently, I was playing The Ring Goes South, and I would of loved to snipe some Crebain from Dunland as soon as it entered the staging area.  Combined with Faramir, Anborn could still be readied to take advantage of his three attack.  Speaking of attack, pair him up with Boromir and he's attacking for four!  In the case of either ally, their ability to increase engagement cost is very helpful for late game use of either Pippin or Dagger of Westernesse.

The last two cards spoiled in the article are lore cards, continuing the ranger synergy.  In the Shadows is probably one of my favorite cards of the article.  As anyone who has watched my recent YouTube videos, I am a fan of my Aragorn/Pippin/Merry deck, and this card will definitely find a spot in the deck.  The deck attempts to stay low in threat, so that it can take advantage of Pippin and Dagger of Westernesse, and being able get addition utility by reducing enemies' attack and defense by one is clutch.  Combined with Aragorn, all enemies are at two less defense, and Straight Shot gets even better.
Ambush is an interesting attachment.  It basically works like Quick Strike but at one cost more, and less reliably.  Just like other traps, a bit of encounter deck scrying, such as Rumour from the Earth or Palantir, helps to determine if there is a good target for the trap.  Nothing hurts more than trapping a weak target such as Eastern Crows.  I suppose if you don't have access to the tactics sphere, this does give the opportunity to drop an enemy before it has a chance to attack you, so in that case, it also acts a bit like Haldir.

Overall, the cards in this article show a lot of promise and utility across a variety of decks.  The Land of Shadow is still listed as in development, so we more than likely still have a bit of a wait, but I can already tell it will be worth the wait.

Prison Food

Yesterday, FFG dropped a Second Breakfast regarding Escape from Mount Gram.  Instead of summarizing the article, I thought I'd talk about my thoughts on the capture mechanic.  I am excited!  Basically, each player is going to start with one hero, and all other heroes, allies, weapons, etc in a capture deck.  As the quest proceeds, the players will be able to rescue cards from the capture deck. Based on the rules listed on the article, I decided to put together a deck that I think would work well for this quest.

The basic idea of this deck is that Glorfindel would start out on his own, with 40 of the 50 card deck in the capture deck.  The remaining 10 cards (Resourceful, Light of Valinor, Unexpected Courage, A Test of Will, and Elrond's Counsel) would make up the draw deck for the beginning of the adventure.  There's about an 85% chance that Light of Valinor will be in the starting hand, even with just one copy, setting up to have action advantage from turn one.  Boromir should be put on top of the capture deck, with Beorn shuffled in.  After gaining the first capture card, Boromir gets put in play for even more action advantage.

Hero: (3)
1x Glorfindel (Foundations of Stone)
1x Boromir (The Dead Marshes)
1x Beorn (Over Hill and Under Hill)

Ally: (32)
3x Arwen Undomiel (The Watcher in the Water)
3x Bofur (The Redhorn Gate)
3x Curious Brandybuck (The Wastes of Eriador)
3x Defender of Rammas (Heirs of Numenor)
3x Dunedain Hunter (The Lost Realm)
3x Envoy of Pelargir (Heirs of Numenor)
3x Ethir Swordsman (The Steward's Fear)
3x Galadriel’s Handmaiden (Celebrimbor's Secret)
3x Honour Guard (The Wastes of Eriador)
1x Legolas (The Treason of Saruman)
3x Silvan Refugee (The Drúadan Forest)
1x Treebeard (The Antlered Crown)

Attachment: (12)
1x Resourceful (The Watcher in the Water)
1x Light of Valinor (Foundations of Stone)
2x Unexpected Courage (Core Set)
1x Arod (The Treason of Saruman)
3x Dagger of Westernesse (The Black Riders)
2x Gondorian Shield (The Steward's Fear)
2x Rohan Warhorse (The Voice of Isengard)

Event: (6)
3x A Test of Will (Core Set)
3x Elrond's Counsel (The Watcher in the Water)

Thoughts?  Escape from Mount Gram is currently shipping to stores right now, so we should have our hands on the AP soon.  Once it drops, I look forward to if this deck works, and what people are using to beat this unique quest.

Gen Con Decks

In two weeks, I will be in Indianapolis for my first Gen Con!  Plans have already been made; between working with Stronghold Games, meetups and other gaming, I will be quite busy.  I'm putting together my decks for the trip and here's what I'm looking at:

Gondor Deck:

Hero: (3)

1x Prince Imrahil (A Journey to Rhosgobel)
1x Aragorn (Core Set)
1x Boromir (Heirs of Numenor)

Ally: (25)
2x Denethor (Encounter at Amon Dîn)
2x Errand-rider (Heirs of Numenor)
2x Faramir (Core Set)
2x Ingold (The Wastes of Eriador)
3x Pelargir Ship Captain (The Morgul Vale)
3x Squire of the Citadel (The Blood of Gondor)
3x Envoy of Pelargir (Heirs of Numenor)
3x White Tower Watchman (The Drúadan Forest)
2x Gandalf (Core Set)
3x Ranger of Cardolan (The Wastes of Eriador)

Attachment: (12)
3x Steward of Gondor (Core Set)
3x Visionary Leadership (The Morgul Vale)
3x Sword that was Broken (The Watcher in the Water)
3x Tome of Atanatar (The Blood of Gondor)

Event: (13)
3x For Gondor! (Core Set)
3x Campfire Tales (The Hunt for Gollum)
1x A Very Good Tale (Over Hill and Under Hill)
3x Sneak Attack (Core Set)
3x Strength of Arms (The Drúadan Forest)

Sneaky Hobbitses:
Hero: (3)

1x Pippin (Encounter at Amon Dîn)

1x Merry (The Wastes of Eriador)

1x Fatty Bolger (The Black Riders)

Ally: (18)

3x Bilbo Baggins (The Road Darkens)

3x Curious Brandybuck (The Wastes of Eriador)

2x Wandering Took (Core Set)

3x Galadriel’s Handmaiden (Celebrimbor's Secret)

3x Pelargir Shipwright (Assault on Osgiliath)

2x Arwen Undomiel (The Watcher in the Water)

1x Bofur (The Redhorn Gate)

1x Emery (The Blood of Gondor)

Attachment: (14)

3x Hobbit Pipe (The Black Riders)

3x Hobbit Pony (The Wastes of Eriador)

2x Resourceful (The Watcher in the Water)

3x Unexpected Courage (Core Set)

3x Map of Earnil (Assault on Osgiliath)

Event: (18)

3x Hobbit-sense (Encounter at Amon Dîn)

3x Free to Choose (Trouble in Tharbad)

3x Smoke Rings (The Black Riders)

3x The Galadhrim's Greeting (Core Set)

3x Elrond's Counsel (The Watcher in the Water)

3x A Test of Will (Core Set)

Boromir Deck:

Hero: (3)

Boromir (The Dead Marshes)

Galadriel (Celebrimbor's Secret)

Merry (The Wastes of Eriador)

Ally: (15)

2x Arwen Undomiel (The Watcher in the Water)

2x Bofur (The Redhorn Gate)

3x Curious Brandybuck (The Wastes of Eriador)

3x Galadriel’s Handmaiden (Celebrimbor's Secret)

2x Imladris Stargazer (Foundations of Stone)

1x Silvan Refugee (The Drúadan Forest)

2x Zigil Miner (Khazad-dum)

Attachment: (22)

3x Gondorian Fire (Assault on Osgiliath)

3x Gondorian Shield (The Steward's Fear)

3x Horn of Gondor (Core Set)

3x Blood of Numenor (Heirs of Numenor)

3x Captain of Gondor (The Antlered Crown)

3x Nenya (Celebrimbor's Secret)

2x Arod (The Treason of Saruman)

2x Hobbit Pony (The Wastes of Eriador)

Event: (13)

3x A Test of Will (Core Set)

3x Elrond's Counsel (The Watcher in the Water)

3x Hasty Stroke (Core Set)

1x Will of the West (Core Set)

3x Hidden Cache (The Morgul Vale)

Ents & Eagles:
Hero: (3)
1x Treebeard (The Treason of Saruman)
1x Elrond (Shadow and Flame)
1x Mablung (The Nin-in-Eilph)

Ally: (23)
3x Booming Ent (The Antlered Crown)
3x Quickbeam (The Treason of Saruman)
3x Wandering Ent (Celebrimbor's Secret)
3x Descendant of Thorondor (The Hills of Emyn Muil)
3x Eagles of the Misty Mountains (Return to Mirkwood)
1x Gwaihir (Trouble in Tharbad)
1x Landroval (A Journey to Rhosgobel)
3x Vassal of the Windlord (The Dead Marshes)
3x Winged Guardian (The Hunt for Gollum)

Attachment: (15)
2x Ent Draught (The Treason of Saruman)
2x Gondorian Shield (The Steward's Fear)
3x Self Preservation (Core Set)
2x Wingfoot (The Nin-in-Eilph)
1x Horn of Gondor (Core Set)
1x Asfaloth (Foundations of Stone)
1x Arod (The Treason of Saruman)
3x Secret Vigil (The Lost Realm)

Event: (12)
3x The Eagles Are Coming! (The Hunt for Gollum)
3x Entmoot (The Treason of Saruman)
3x Daeron's Runes (Foundations of Stone)
3x Feint (Core Set)

The Dread Realm

The final expansion in the Angmar Awakened cycle has been announced.  The Dread Realm concludes the heroes' journey in the north,

The big news of this expansion seems to be the neutral attachment, Sword-thain.  This attachment allows an ally of any sphere to become a hero.  In the article, they line out many different options for using a fourth hero.  I'm especially interested in using it in a Hobbit deck to boost up Merry and Pippin.  

Get ready to finish the fight with the undead in the fourth quarter of 2015.

Derp.

Nightmare Run Episode 6 - The Hunt for Gollum (2p)

Derek joins me once again, this time to hunt the creature Gollum.  This was actually our second time recording this quest.  The first time, we had a really rough start, but made it out by the skin of our teeth.  Unfortunately, technical difficulties caused the video to corrupt.

Deck List: Sneaky Hobbitses

I am currently listening to the latest Cardboard of the Rings podcast, where they talk about how great the new Spirit Merry hero is.  That made me think: could I make a monospirit Hobbit deck that had some value?

Hero: (3)

1x Pippin (Encounter at Amon Dîn)

1x Merry (The Wastes of Eriador)

1x Fatty Bolger (The Black Riders)

Ally: (18)

3x Bilbo Baggins (The Road Darkens)

3x Curious Brandybuck (The Wastes of Eriador)

2x Wandering Took (Core Set)

3x Galadriel’s Handmaiden (Celebrimbor's Secret)

3x Pelargir Shipwright (Assault on Osgiliath)

2x Arwen Undomiel (The Watcher in the Water)

1x Bofur (The Redhorn Gate)

1x Emery (The Blood of Gondor)

Attachment: (14)

3x Hobbit Pipe (The Black Riders)

3x Hobbit Pony (The Wastes of Eriador)

2x Resourceful (The Watcher in the Water)

3x Unexpected Courage (Core Set)

3x Map of Earnil (Assault on Osgiliath)

Event: (18)

3x Hobbit-sense (Encounter at Amon Dîn)

3x Free to Choose (Trouble in Tharbad)

3x Smoke Rings (The Black Riders)

3x The Galadhrim's Greeting (Core Set)

3x Elrond's Counsel (The Watcher in the Water)

3x A Test of Will (Core Set)

The idea is for the deck to be a support deck.  It has some questing, but it's main role is to stay low in threat, so that another player (definitely not a solo deck) can manage enemies.  Each hero has a reactive ability to manage enemies in the staging area, and if not needed, Hobbit Pony can commit them to the quest.

This deck has not been tested yet, but I'd like to hear comments on this deck, which is definitely out of the norm.

Impressions - The Wastes of Eriador Player Cards

We are so close to getting our hands on The Wastes of Eriador.  Thanks to FFG-owned website, cardgamedb, we have access to all of the cards, in anticipation of physical receipt.  This is my first impressions of the cards, and possible utility and combos.

Hero

Merry had been spoiled long ago in a magazine, and now here he is.  The first comparison is obviously to Merry's Tactics version.  Where as Tactics Merry (Terry?) is all about combat and providing action advantage to other combat characters, Spirit Merry (Sperry?) is about hiding from enemies as they arrive.  Thematically, I'm impressed by the how the two cards both so accurately represent the character of Meriadoc Brandybuck.  Sperry represents the hobbit we meet in the Shire, where as Terry is his character after he has gone through a transformation and turned into a warrior, as seen in the Battle of Pelennor Fields and Battle of Bywater.  Spirit Merry will fit very well into a secrecy deck, obviously, where the window to use secrecy is much wider than using traditional card effects.  The downside to Merry's ability is the requirement to exhaust him to trigger it.  Also, since it's not an event, it does not combo with Hobbit Pipe. That all said, I think that the ability outshines any negatives.  Merry could also find a home in decks that have previously struggled with threat management, such as Boromir decks, where his readying effect can potentially get out of hand if threat management isn't drawn.

Allies

Curious Brandybuck is an interesting card for any location control deck.  At two cost, the stats are ok, but with its response, you probably will rarely be spending resources on him.  When a location is travelled to, CB can be put into play from hand for free.  Not only that, but he can be placed under any players' control.  This can be an easy way to reactively add a chump blocker based on the board state after staging.  The catch for this great ability, however, is that once a location is explored, the character is placed on the bottom of its owner's deck.  I find myself wondering if that is better than if it had been discarded, and I could argue both ways.  On one hand, it's still in your deck, so it's possible to draw it again, either shuffling the deck to hopefully pull it closer to the top, or drawing through your deck.  On the other hand, unless you have some ability to shuffle your deck, you're more than likely not to get back to it.  In such a case, it's as good as discarded, but without the ability to fetch it from the discard, a la Stand and Fight.  Regardless, to get a free ally that can either quest for 2 willpower, or chump block, is worth a spot in my deck.

East Road Ranger is built for this cycle, but need not be included in decks for earlier decks.  At 3 cost, her stats are close to other lore cards of the same cost, but the ability listed is much more circumstantial than other.  Getting 2 extra willpower when committed to a side quest is great, but the opportunity to trigger this will be less often, than other abilities.  Obviously, if a lot of side quests are included, the more her ability will get used, but the balancing act will continue to be between side quests that give a benefit/remove hardship, versus progressing the actual quest.  For quests, such as those in The Lost Realm, he will have some utility, but beyond that, I will have to wait and see.

Honour Guard is our first look at the valour trait in action.  At any time, exhaust the Honour Guard to cancel a damage off any character, or, if your threat is 40 or higher, exhaust and discard the Honour Guard to cancel up to five damage off any character.  Significant, yes, but I wonder how many times would it just be better to chump block with the Honour Guard?  I suppose that there are times when you may be caught off guard by a bad shadow effect, but it seems very situational to have all the pieces line up.  That said, his standard ability is good enough, and his valour ability is just a bonus.  This could be an easy way to work around not having lore to provide healing.  Since it doesn't specify combat, this could be used to avoid damage by treachery, archery, or any other way our designers can think up.

Ingold feeds into the Gondor trait that was visited during the Against the Shadow cycle.  Similar to Pelargir Shipwright, Ingold boosts his willpower based on the number of heroes with resources.  Being the leadership sphere, it's not uncommon to have resources on heroes, especially when running Leadership Boromir or Visionary Leadership.  That said, it's more likely that Ingold's willpower will fluctuate more than his maritime counterpart, whether it's paying for events during the quest phase, or encounter deck effects, such as Old Wives' Tales.  Furthermore, it's a unique card, where as the Shipwright could have three in play under a single player.  If access to spirit isn't an option, than this card is fine, but it seems like a reskin of an older card that doesn't pack the same punch.

Ranger of Cardolan rounds out the allies, and fits right into the Dúnedain trait that has been introduced in The Lost Realm.  It reminds me of Bofur, where you are able to pay one resource to bring him into play, but in this case, only when you engage any enemy.  Different from Bofur, the ranger remains in play for the whole round and not a single phase, but the catch is that he has to be shuffled into the owner's deck, as opposed to Bofur returning to hand.  It feels very thematic, with the rangers of the north coming in to help, but the disappearing in the shadows, until they are needed again.

Attachments

Only one attachment this time around, and Hobbit Pony looks to be a key attachment for either Spirit Merry or often panned hero, Fatty Bolger.  Both heroes have abilities that would require them to be held back, in case enemies come out.  If no enemies are revealed to trigger their abilities, it is wasted.  This could also work with Frodo Baggins, in all three flavors. Previously, Late Adventurer allowed them to add someone later to the quest, but the pony will allow turn after turn of utility.  It does take a restricted slot, which I find interesting how some mounts are restricted and others aren't, but unless running Tactics Merry, most Hobbit heroes aren't using up both restricted slots.  Granted, it is limited to Hobbit heroes, but if running a predominantly hobbit deck, this could be a very useful attachment.  

Events

Rallying Cry is our second example of using the valour trait.  What's interesting is that the standard and valour use are done in different windows.  The basic action is a response to an ally leaving play, where as the valour action has to be done preemptively.  Obviously, if you have to do some chump blocking, you could play it and have confidence it won't whiff.  On the other hand, it's those times that you are surprised by a shadow effect which takes out a key ally, and at least it still has its response.  At two cost, it feels expensive to bring an ally back to hand, which you will in turn have to pay to bring back out.  Being in leadership, resource generation is less of an issue, so it could still fit into decks.  Perhaps it could be used as a way to bring Silvan allies back into hand.  In that case, it could combo with Defender of the Naith to ready him for addition defense.

Side Quest

Scout Ahead is the second player side quest available to the card pool.  In this case, it is in the lore sphere, where as Gather Information, which is neutral.  Still zero cost to play, this quest allows the players to scry the top of the encounter deck, remove a card from play, and organize the remaining card.  What's especially bonkers is that it could be anywhere from 5-8, depending on the number of players.  In a solo game, knowing the next five cards off the top of the deck could be huge.  In the case of Watcher in the Water's Doors of Durin, this allow for a much faster victory.  When reviewing the East Road Ranger, I had mentioned the balancing act of side quests vs making progress in the main quest, but these player side quests definitely make you consider whether it is worth the delay in tempo.

Final Thoughts

This adventure pack feels light on player cards.  I'm used to one hero, two cards per sphere and a neutral card.  That said, most of the cards in this pack are winners.  Surprising to me, I think my favorite card of the pack is Curious Brandybuck, with East Road Ranger being found wanting.  I'm very curious to find out what kind of combos you all find when you get your hands on the cards and start building decks.

EDIT - When writing my impressions, I some how missed the Raven-winged Helm.  That's why it felt light on cards to me.  Apologies.  I think it looks like a good card for defenders, and should combo well with The Day's Rising.

Bonus

While writing the section on Spirit Merry, I decided to throw together a deck with Merry, Boromir, and Galadriel.  Enjoy, and let me know what kind of adjustments you would make to the deck:

Hero: (3)

Boromir (The Dead Marshes)

Galadriel (Celebrimbor's Secret)

Merry (The Wastes of Eriador)

Ally: (15)

2x Arwen Undomiel (The Watcher in the Water)

2x Bofur (The Redhorn Gate)

3x Curious Brandybuck (The Wastes of Eriador)

3x Galadriel’s Handmaiden (Celebrimbor's Secret)

2x Imladris Stargazer (Foundations of Stone)

1x Silvan Refugee (The Drúadan Forest)

2x Zigil Miner (Khazad-dum)

Attachment: (22)

3x Gondorian Fire (Assault on Osgiliath)

3x Gondorian Shield (The Steward's Fear)

3x Horn of Gondor (Core Set)

3x Blood of Numenor (Heirs of Numenor)

3x Captain of Gondor (The Antlered Crown)

3x Nenya (Celebrimbor's Secret)

2x Arod (The Treason of Saruman)
2x Hobbit Pony (The Wastes of Eriador)

Event: (13)

3x A Test of Will (Core Set)

3x Elrond's Counsel (The Watcher in the Water)

3x Hasty Stroke (Core Set)

1x Will of the West (Core Set)

3x Hidden Cache (The Morgul Vale)