Life has been fairly busy, but my sight is fixed upon recording new videos. The next Nightmare Run video will be A Journey to Rhosgobel. The deck I'm looking at is designed to be the questing side, while my partner is more focused on combat and healing. To this end, I have put together a deck that will hopefully give us a good idea of what to expect, particularly in regard to finding the precious athelas. The basic strategy is to get Palantir onto Galadriel as soon as possible, probably taking a mulligan for this over any other card. After getting it on her, Merry, the handmaiden, and Elrond's Council are there to negate the threat gain from using in. Wingfoot is used, with the use of the Palantir or Rumour from the Earth, to keep Haldir ready after questing, available to attack. I also include Light of Valinor in the deck, but this is simply to attach to my partner's side, who will be running Elrond. If I was playing solo, I would simply replace it with extra copies of other attachments already in the deck.
Galadriel's Seeing Stone
Hero: (3)
Haldir of Lórien (Trouble in Tharbad)
Galadriel (Celebrimbor's Secret)
Merry (The Wastes of Eriador)
Ally: (12)
2x Arwen Undomiel (The Watcher in the Water)
1x Curious Brandybuck (The Wastes of Eriador)
3x Ethir Swordsman (The Steward's Fear)
3x Galadriel’s Handmaiden (Celebrimbor's Secret)
3x Warden of Healing (The Long Dark)
Attachment: (20)
1x Mirror of Galadriel (Celebrimbor's Secret)
2x Nenya (Celebrimbor's Secret)
3x Palantir (Assault on Osgiliath)
2x Silver Harp (The Treachery of Rhudaur)
3x Unexpected Courage (Core Set)
2x Warden of Anor (The Three Trials)
3x Light of Valinor (Foundations of Stone)
3x Wingfoot (The Nin-in-Eilph)
1x Steed of Imladris (Across the Ettenmoors)
Event: (18)
3x Rumour from the Earth (Return to Mirkwood)
3x Shadow of the Past (Return to Mirkwood)
3x A Test of Will (Core Set)
3x Daeron's Runes (Foundations of Stone)
3x Elrond's Counsel (The Watcher in the Water)
3x Hasty Stroke (Core Set)
Monday, October 12, 2015
Saturday, October 3, 2015
Impressions - The Treachery of Rhudaur Player Cards
The Treachery of Rhudaur has been released, and with that, a new set of player cards. Now that we are past the halfway mark of the Angmar Awakened cycle, we are starting to see FFG make good on the promises of new Noldor synergy,
Heroes
Erestor's debut as a hero comes with standard lore flavor, but with a twist. As is no surprise, card draw is the main bullet point in his skill set. Similar to Bilbo, Erestor gives additional card draw, but this time, it is only for his controller and it's three extra cards! The draw back, however, is that all cards have to be discarded at the end of the round. To put that into perspective, that's 10 cards, one fifth of a standard deck, in your opening hand, and four cards every round there after. Obviously, quests such as Deadman's Dike, where you're punished for running through your deck, will not see much Erestor action. In solo games, Erestor could be included, replacing all other forms of card draw. That's pretty huge, as it could free up a significant amount of space in a deck. In multiplayer, I could see including Beravor, as a support hero, to give other players card draw. Erestor's extra card draw really shines with abilities which require card discard. Old staples such as Eowyn or Protector of Lorien going to see a lot of use, as the discard requirement is less rough when the card are going away anyway. All the benefits I see, however, are weighed against the potential downfalls. Certain cards, such as A Test of Will or Feint, are typically held in hand until they're needed. With Erestor, you have to think differently. The player board is where you have to put your reliance in, not your hand. Cards such as Scroll of Isildur will be very useful in recycling cards. Another auto-include might seem to be Will of the West, but this is one you definitely will want to mulligan out of your starting hand.
Allies
Silvan is one of my favorite archetypes, and Galadhrim Weaver continues the trait. For one cost, which is not reducible by O Lórien, it only provides one will power. However, its enters play ability allows you to shuffle the top card of your discard back into your deck. One of the keys to the Silvan trait is being able to return cards to hand, which are typically done through a number of event cards. By playing the Weaver, you can return these valuable cards back into the deck to be used again. Obviously, there are opportunities to use this card in any deck where you want to continuously recycle cards.
Galdor of the Havens is an appropriate pairing with hero Erestor. As soon as you discard a card, draw a card. Since it allows you to essentially replace the card you discard, it seems like an easy decision. I especially like him with Galadriel and her mirror. I don't typically like to run the mirror, since I don't like the chance of losing the card I just pulled, but with this ally, you can replace whatever card you lose.
Attachments
Elven Spear gives Silvan and Noldor a new weapon to run. For the cost of three cards, the hero wielding the spear can boost his attack by three. Since this is done in three separate occasions, Galdor would be triggered each time.
Silver Harp also helps the Noldor trait's new discard ability. After discarding a card, exhaust the Silver Harp to return it to the hand. This seems like a great card in general. Obviously, it requires Spirit, both to pay for, and to attach to. Oddly, it is a restricted attachment, which isn't usually an issue for Spirit heroes, with the exception of, perhaps, Glorfindel.
Elf-friend is a card I never expected to see. By attaching this card to a character, they become both Silvan and Noldor. This falls into the situational section of cards. I like strong combos that don't rely on drawing the right cards at the right time. In the case of this card, you have to pull it in, and then draw whatever card. This could cause some cool combos, such as equipping Tactics Aragorn with Rivendell Blade to reduce enemies' defense by three, but I would probably include it in a deck that has a target that wouldn't require Elf-friend as well, such as Legolas.
Events
Horn's Cry adds to the Valour trait in a way I can get behind. One less attack for each enemy until the end of the phase, or minus three attack for a single player's enemies. Beorn is a strong defender, but his one defense can sometimes be a burden, with no way of directly boosting it. By using this card, along with the bear's unexhausting sentinel defense, he can take a lot more slings and arrows. Similarly, Boromir could also benefit from being able to lessen the attack of his enemies, and with his readying action, his player will probably be consistently using this card's Valour ability.
Reinforcements is a card I hadn't made up my mind about when I started analyzing it, but by the end, started to really like it. For three leadership resources, coming from three different heroes, the group can put two allies into play from their hand, but only for that phase. This is essentially a different version of Sneak Attack, but something that the whole group can utilize, rather than just the player playing the event. The old combo was to use Sneak Attack plus Gandalf, but it required that both cards be in one player's hand to pull off. Not only that, but you had to have access to Leadership. Though more expensive, and requiring either mono-Leadership, or the inclusion of songs, this event allows any player in the game to utilize this same combo. Not only that, but the allies may enter play under anyone's control. Perhaps one player has Gandalf in hand and needs some card draw, while another player needs a defender for the round. Simply play this card and both players get what they need. Taking the example further, perhaps that same player needs some help killing the engaged enemy, you still have another ally that can be put into play. Just like Sneak Attack, the allies return to their owners' hands at the end of the phase, which will trigger Horn of Gondor, leaving only a net usage of one resource and one card. As mentioned above, I wasn't sure how I felt about this card initially. Obviously, this won't see as much action in solo, and the three resources from three different resource pools can be rough. In both cases, the downsides aren't that bad. Even in solo play, getting two allies out could still be very strong, and mono-Leadership is one of the strongest mono-spheres in the game. I'm very excited to play around with this card.
The Door is Closed is a very interesting play on A Test of Will. For one Lore resource, you may discard any revealed encounter card. The stipulation is, however, that a card with the same title has to be in the victory display. Immediately, I think of this in a Rossiel deck. Whether the card already has victory points on it already, or you use cards such as Out of the Wild to put them in there, this card takes a little bit to setup. It seems like it could be OK, but at the same time, just like Rossiel, could whiff.
Side Quest
Send for Aid finishes the set of side quests for each sphere. When this is played, each player gets to search the top 10 cards for an ally and put it into play under their control. This ability is similar to other events such as The Eagles are Coming!, Mustering the Rohirrim, or Entmoot, where you get to search your deck for a certain trait, but in this case, you get to put them into play, albeit only one. I could see this working well in a Rohan deck. Mustering the Rohirrim is similar, but for only one player and they still have to pay to put it into play. When playing multiplayer, this also benefits all players around. You could also use hero Gandalf and Wizard Pipe to toss the ally you want on top of your deck to ensure you get a strong play out of playing this side quest. Strangely, this is the only side quest, thus far, that costs a resource, but Leadership is typically not stretched for resources. That said, more than likely you will get more than one resource's worth of allies out of this card, which makes it more than worth it.
Final Thoughts
With the release of this adventure pack, I finally feel that the promise of the new Noldor trait has been fleshed out. With Erestor's extra card draw, and the new benefits from discarding, I'm very excited to fully explore our new cards.
Heroes
Erestor's debut as a hero comes with standard lore flavor, but with a twist. As is no surprise, card draw is the main bullet point in his skill set. Similar to Bilbo, Erestor gives additional card draw, but this time, it is only for his controller and it's three extra cards! The draw back, however, is that all cards have to be discarded at the end of the round. To put that into perspective, that's 10 cards, one fifth of a standard deck, in your opening hand, and four cards every round there after. Obviously, quests such as Deadman's Dike, where you're punished for running through your deck, will not see much Erestor action. In solo games, Erestor could be included, replacing all other forms of card draw. That's pretty huge, as it could free up a significant amount of space in a deck. In multiplayer, I could see including Beravor, as a support hero, to give other players card draw. Erestor's extra card draw really shines with abilities which require card discard. Old staples such as Eowyn or Protector of Lorien going to see a lot of use, as the discard requirement is less rough when the card are going away anyway. All the benefits I see, however, are weighed against the potential downfalls. Certain cards, such as A Test of Will or Feint, are typically held in hand until they're needed. With Erestor, you have to think differently. The player board is where you have to put your reliance in, not your hand. Cards such as Scroll of Isildur will be very useful in recycling cards. Another auto-include might seem to be Will of the West, but this is one you definitely will want to mulligan out of your starting hand.
Allies
Silvan is one of my favorite archetypes, and Galadhrim Weaver continues the trait. For one cost, which is not reducible by O Lórien, it only provides one will power. However, its enters play ability allows you to shuffle the top card of your discard back into your deck. One of the keys to the Silvan trait is being able to return cards to hand, which are typically done through a number of event cards. By playing the Weaver, you can return these valuable cards back into the deck to be used again. Obviously, there are opportunities to use this card in any deck where you want to continuously recycle cards.
Galdor of the Havens is an appropriate pairing with hero Erestor. As soon as you discard a card, draw a card. Since it allows you to essentially replace the card you discard, it seems like an easy decision. I especially like him with Galadriel and her mirror. I don't typically like to run the mirror, since I don't like the chance of losing the card I just pulled, but with this ally, you can replace whatever card you lose.
Attachments
Elven Spear gives Silvan and Noldor a new weapon to run. For the cost of three cards, the hero wielding the spear can boost his attack by three. Since this is done in three separate occasions, Galdor would be triggered each time.
Silver Harp also helps the Noldor trait's new discard ability. After discarding a card, exhaust the Silver Harp to return it to the hand. This seems like a great card in general. Obviously, it requires Spirit, both to pay for, and to attach to. Oddly, it is a restricted attachment, which isn't usually an issue for Spirit heroes, with the exception of, perhaps, Glorfindel.
Elf-friend is a card I never expected to see. By attaching this card to a character, they become both Silvan and Noldor. This falls into the situational section of cards. I like strong combos that don't rely on drawing the right cards at the right time. In the case of this card, you have to pull it in, and then draw whatever card. This could cause some cool combos, such as equipping Tactics Aragorn with Rivendell Blade to reduce enemies' defense by three, but I would probably include it in a deck that has a target that wouldn't require Elf-friend as well, such as Legolas.
Events
Horn's Cry adds to the Valour trait in a way I can get behind. One less attack for each enemy until the end of the phase, or minus three attack for a single player's enemies. Beorn is a strong defender, but his one defense can sometimes be a burden, with no way of directly boosting it. By using this card, along with the bear's unexhausting sentinel defense, he can take a lot more slings and arrows. Similarly, Boromir could also benefit from being able to lessen the attack of his enemies, and with his readying action, his player will probably be consistently using this card's Valour ability.
Reinforcements is a card I hadn't made up my mind about when I started analyzing it, but by the end, started to really like it. For three leadership resources, coming from three different heroes, the group can put two allies into play from their hand, but only for that phase. This is essentially a different version of Sneak Attack, but something that the whole group can utilize, rather than just the player playing the event. The old combo was to use Sneak Attack plus Gandalf, but it required that both cards be in one player's hand to pull off. Not only that, but you had to have access to Leadership. Though more expensive, and requiring either mono-Leadership, or the inclusion of songs, this event allows any player in the game to utilize this same combo. Not only that, but the allies may enter play under anyone's control. Perhaps one player has Gandalf in hand and needs some card draw, while another player needs a defender for the round. Simply play this card and both players get what they need. Taking the example further, perhaps that same player needs some help killing the engaged enemy, you still have another ally that can be put into play. Just like Sneak Attack, the allies return to their owners' hands at the end of the phase, which will trigger Horn of Gondor, leaving only a net usage of one resource and one card. As mentioned above, I wasn't sure how I felt about this card initially. Obviously, this won't see as much action in solo, and the three resources from three different resource pools can be rough. In both cases, the downsides aren't that bad. Even in solo play, getting two allies out could still be very strong, and mono-Leadership is one of the strongest mono-spheres in the game. I'm very excited to play around with this card.
The Door is Closed is a very interesting play on A Test of Will. For one Lore resource, you may discard any revealed encounter card. The stipulation is, however, that a card with the same title has to be in the victory display. Immediately, I think of this in a Rossiel deck. Whether the card already has victory points on it already, or you use cards such as Out of the Wild to put them in there, this card takes a little bit to setup. It seems like it could be OK, but at the same time, just like Rossiel, could whiff.
Side Quest
Send for Aid finishes the set of side quests for each sphere. When this is played, each player gets to search the top 10 cards for an ally and put it into play under their control. This ability is similar to other events such as The Eagles are Coming!, Mustering the Rohirrim, or Entmoot, where you get to search your deck for a certain trait, but in this case, you get to put them into play, albeit only one. I could see this working well in a Rohan deck. Mustering the Rohirrim is similar, but for only one player and they still have to pay to put it into play. When playing multiplayer, this also benefits all players around. You could also use hero Gandalf and Wizard Pipe to toss the ally you want on top of your deck to ensure you get a strong play out of playing this side quest. Strangely, this is the only side quest, thus far, that costs a resource, but Leadership is typically not stretched for resources. That said, more than likely you will get more than one resource's worth of allies out of this card, which makes it more than worth it.
Final Thoughts
With the release of this adventure pack, I finally feel that the promise of the new Noldor trait has been fleshed out. With Erestor's extra card draw, and the new benefits from discarding, I'm very excited to fully explore our new cards.
Saturday, September 5, 2015
Impressions - Across the Ettenmoors Player Cards
Across the Ettenmoors has been released to the public, and with it, we see a resurgence in some of the most classic archetypes of the game, as well as newer ones.
Heroes
Dori finally gets a proper hero. Like his ally version, he is focused on protecting his companions. In this case, he is a little less self-sacrificial. Adding his defense to the defense of another hero, essentially makes him a Gondorian Shield that gains resources. Unlike the shield, his ability is a one shot. The boost only lasts for the one attack, and even if the defending hero can ready for another defense, such as Boromir or Beorn, Dori is spent. Dori's ability is not limited, so if he could be readied, he could use it again. At that point, you either need to ready multiple heroes, or have multiple heroes to defend, which at that point you're probably limited in your attack, and on the downfall. The bigger issue is that you cannot use his ability reactively, and have to use his ability after declaring defenders, before resolving any shadow effects. This could mean that Dori's ability isn't needed, and thus his 2 attack (more likely 3 with Dain) is wasted.
More than likely, I see Dori finding a home in Dwarf decks, and less so in other decks. His ability definitely mitigates the weakness that Dwarves typically have. In addition, this is the third Tactics Dwarf hero, which means that you can make a mono-sphere dwarf deck for every sphere now.
Allies
Longbeard Sentry mitigates the Dwarves' defensive issues, just the same as Dori. At the cost of two cards from the top of your deck, this Dwarf gets additional defense and sentinel. This is a solid card, regardless of deck type. Obviously, in a Dwarf deck, especially paired with Dain, he's going to have better stats. If you include Imladris Stargazer to be able to have control over the top of your deck, then you're also be able to use his ability, while milling your deck for the cards you need. Hidden Cache also is a good one to throw in to gain a bit more resource generation with the ability.
Wellinghall Preserver was spoiled a while back in Spanish, here we see it in English. Though the name isn't quite the same as the translation, the ability translated exactly. After this character readies, you can heal 1 damage from an Ent. Though this could weaken your Booming Ents, this will allow abilities that trigger off of damage, such as Derndingle Warrior, to trigger multiple times. As well, Boomed and Trumpeted gains value by taking damage, readying, attacking, and then getting a heal. In addition, running hero Treebeard also means needing healing to utilize his willpower/attack boosts. Unlike a similar card, Silvan Tracker, the healing is triggered off of the Preserver's readying, rather than the healed character, so your healing is limited by comparison. That said, if you get three of these allies out, your healing capability will be in good shape.
Attachments
Ranger Provisions comes in as the leadership version of Ancient Mathom. Instead of drawing cards, you add a resource to each hero for the first player. Looking at other event cards that give resources, such as Legacy of Númenor or Gaining Strength, this card costs one resource, which is different. Based on this, I think this card is designed for multiplayer. Leadership has plenty of opportunities to gain resources, and I think the best use of this card is to smooth resources across players.
Steed of Imladris adds another mount attachment that gives Spirit additional location control. Attaching to either a Spirit or Noldor hero, this mount allows you to commit to the quest, and then discard a card to place two progress on the active location. A good effect, but I see some issues. For example, Spirit doesn't have great card draw, except for Ancient Mathom. Obviously, if you want to use the effect, you need cards that you can sacrifice. Additionally, since the effect is limited to the active location, it essentially plays like a Lorien Guide, cheaper but with an ongoing cost. If you pair this card with some Lore, I think you could make it work, especially as new Noldor effects come in to synergize with the discard pile.
Events
Fair and Perilous looks vicious, in both art and card effect. Similar to Herugrim, this event allows a Silvan or Noldor character to boost their attack by their willpower. The first target I can think of is Glorfindel. Combined with Light of Valinor, he gets to quest, and still be up for attacking. In addition, boost his willpower with Favor of the Lady, and his questing and attack is better.
Dúnedain Message is pretty straight forward. Search your deck for a side quest, draw it, and shuffle your deck. That's it. You need Gather Information? Grab it. The one weird thing about this card is that it's Leadership, and to this point, there isn't a Leadership side quest released. Otherwise, it's a fine card. It's also a signal card, which means Weather Hills Watchman can pull it, which can in turn pull whatever side quest you want.
None Return is great paired with the last expansion's hero, Rossiel. This is a mirror of the card, Leave No Trace, except instead of putting a location into the victory display, you can put enemies in. I think I like this better than Leave No Trace, because having Rossiel's defense boosted is great, especially when you're likely to have a bunch of the same type of enemy in a quest.
Hope Rekindled will get better. At this point, there's only one event that can be used with this card, Rallying Cry. It's nice to reduce the cost, but if FFG doesn't continue to put out Valour cards, it will go into obscurity. As it stands, it is basically a version of Good Meal, but more limited.
Side Quest
Delay the Enemy gives Tactics their own side quest. In this case, it includes the Battle keyword. Upon clearing the side quest, each player gets to discard a non-unique enemy engaged with them. I think this is definitely a side quest made for multiplayer. As a Tactics player, I don't seem them being as concerned about the engaged enemies.
Final Thoughts
It's interesting to see a return to the Dwarf archetype, as well as other newer archetypes continuing to see new cards. The big thing that I noticed in this pack is the cards which have potential, but obviously there are key components waiting to be released.
Heroes
Dori finally gets a proper hero. Like his ally version, he is focused on protecting his companions. In this case, he is a little less self-sacrificial. Adding his defense to the defense of another hero, essentially makes him a Gondorian Shield that gains resources. Unlike the shield, his ability is a one shot. The boost only lasts for the one attack, and even if the defending hero can ready for another defense, such as Boromir or Beorn, Dori is spent. Dori's ability is not limited, so if he could be readied, he could use it again. At that point, you either need to ready multiple heroes, or have multiple heroes to defend, which at that point you're probably limited in your attack, and on the downfall. The bigger issue is that you cannot use his ability reactively, and have to use his ability after declaring defenders, before resolving any shadow effects. This could mean that Dori's ability isn't needed, and thus his 2 attack (more likely 3 with Dain) is wasted.
More than likely, I see Dori finding a home in Dwarf decks, and less so in other decks. His ability definitely mitigates the weakness that Dwarves typically have. In addition, this is the third Tactics Dwarf hero, which means that you can make a mono-sphere dwarf deck for every sphere now.
Allies
Longbeard Sentry mitigates the Dwarves' defensive issues, just the same as Dori. At the cost of two cards from the top of your deck, this Dwarf gets additional defense and sentinel. This is a solid card, regardless of deck type. Obviously, in a Dwarf deck, especially paired with Dain, he's going to have better stats. If you include Imladris Stargazer to be able to have control over the top of your deck, then you're also be able to use his ability, while milling your deck for the cards you need. Hidden Cache also is a good one to throw in to gain a bit more resource generation with the ability.
Wellinghall Preserver was spoiled a while back in Spanish, here we see it in English. Though the name isn't quite the same as the translation, the ability translated exactly. After this character readies, you can heal 1 damage from an Ent. Though this could weaken your Booming Ents, this will allow abilities that trigger off of damage, such as Derndingle Warrior, to trigger multiple times. As well, Boomed and Trumpeted gains value by taking damage, readying, attacking, and then getting a heal. In addition, running hero Treebeard also means needing healing to utilize his willpower/attack boosts. Unlike a similar card, Silvan Tracker, the healing is triggered off of the Preserver's readying, rather than the healed character, so your healing is limited by comparison. That said, if you get three of these allies out, your healing capability will be in good shape.
Attachments
Ranger Provisions comes in as the leadership version of Ancient Mathom. Instead of drawing cards, you add a resource to each hero for the first player. Looking at other event cards that give resources, such as Legacy of Númenor or Gaining Strength, this card costs one resource, which is different. Based on this, I think this card is designed for multiplayer. Leadership has plenty of opportunities to gain resources, and I think the best use of this card is to smooth resources across players.
Steed of Imladris adds another mount attachment that gives Spirit additional location control. Attaching to either a Spirit or Noldor hero, this mount allows you to commit to the quest, and then discard a card to place two progress on the active location. A good effect, but I see some issues. For example, Spirit doesn't have great card draw, except for Ancient Mathom. Obviously, if you want to use the effect, you need cards that you can sacrifice. Additionally, since the effect is limited to the active location, it essentially plays like a Lorien Guide, cheaper but with an ongoing cost. If you pair this card with some Lore, I think you could make it work, especially as new Noldor effects come in to synergize with the discard pile.
Events
Fair and Perilous looks vicious, in both art and card effect. Similar to Herugrim, this event allows a Silvan or Noldor character to boost their attack by their willpower. The first target I can think of is Glorfindel. Combined with Light of Valinor, he gets to quest, and still be up for attacking. In addition, boost his willpower with Favor of the Lady, and his questing and attack is better.
Dúnedain Message is pretty straight forward. Search your deck for a side quest, draw it, and shuffle your deck. That's it. You need Gather Information? Grab it. The one weird thing about this card is that it's Leadership, and to this point, there isn't a Leadership side quest released. Otherwise, it's a fine card. It's also a signal card, which means Weather Hills Watchman can pull it, which can in turn pull whatever side quest you want.
None Return is great paired with the last expansion's hero, Rossiel. This is a mirror of the card, Leave No Trace, except instead of putting a location into the victory display, you can put enemies in. I think I like this better than Leave No Trace, because having Rossiel's defense boosted is great, especially when you're likely to have a bunch of the same type of enemy in a quest.
Hope Rekindled will get better. At this point, there's only one event that can be used with this card, Rallying Cry. It's nice to reduce the cost, but if FFG doesn't continue to put out Valour cards, it will go into obscurity. As it stands, it is basically a version of Good Meal, but more limited.
Side Quest
Delay the Enemy gives Tactics their own side quest. In this case, it includes the Battle keyword. Upon clearing the side quest, each player gets to discard a non-unique enemy engaged with them. I think this is definitely a side quest made for multiplayer. As a Tactics player, I don't seem them being as concerned about the engaged enemies.
Final Thoughts
It's interesting to see a return to the Dwarf archetype, as well as other newer archetypes continuing to see new cards. The big thing that I noticed in this pack is the cards which have potential, but obviously there are key components waiting to be released.
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Ruins of Belegost [2p]
Derek and I take on the latest Gen Con quest. We did make a major error. We forgot to add resources to "Stalking the Ruins," which would of had the dragon come into play sooner, causing us to lose sooner. Regardless, it was fun and I hope you enjoy.
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
The Grey Havens
Two adventure packs into the current cycle, and FFG has announced the next deluxe expansion, The Grey Havens, as well as the next cycle, the Dream-chaser cycle. Having completed our journeys in Angmar, the players are now going to be taken to the ruins of Númenor.
As would be appropriate for the namesake of this expansion, sailing has been introduced as a new mechanism, Two ships are spoiled in this article, Dawn Star, and Silver Wing. It is stated that each player will select a ship for their heroes, or two in a solo game. Not much has been said about how this will interact, but it appears to be similar to another hero, affecting your starting threat, but also requiring to keep the ship from being destroyed, otherwise you'll be eliminated.
In addition, the promise of additional Noldor synergy has been mentioned to build on what is being introduced in the Angmar Awakened cycle. We see this in Cirdan the Shipwright, one of the two new heroes for the expansion. This new hero, boasting strong stats, also gives the ability to draw additional cards during the resource phase, at the cost of having to discard one. Though we haven't fully seen the Noldor's synergy with the discard pile, we are promised that cards will be introduced to increase in power based on other copies being in the discard, and others which will be effected by the top card of your discard pile.
The Grey Havens will be released in Q4 of 2015.
Friday, August 14, 2015
Nightmare Run Episode 8 - Conflict at the Carrock (2p, Take 2)
Matt H joins me this time as we take another stab at some Trolls.
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Impressions - The Land of Shadows Player Cards
According to the FFG website, The Land of Shadow is still at the printer. For those lucky enough to be at Gen Con, they were treated to the opportunity to purchase it early. As we explore the second half of The Two Towers, the player cards that accompany it do not disappoint.
Heroes
Faramir gets his second hero card, fourth card overall. With stats matching his lore version, his leadership version matches sphere with his original ally version. In this case, instead of being boosted by enemies in the staging area, Faramir is able to ready allies in response to engaging enemies. Just like hero Mablung, his ability is limited to once per phase, which keeps a player from getting all their allies back up in one go. The options to ready allies is fairly limited, such as Ever Vigilant, or Strength of Arms. Even though he's a Gondorian Ranger, his ability ties into Dúnedain's engagement tricks. One of my favorite recent heroes has been tactics Aragorn, and his engagement ability falls right in with Faramir. Engage an enemy during engagement, ready an ally, kill that enemy with Aragorn, engage a new enemy, ready that same ally or another. This also could give opportunity to get utility in the same turn you play an Ent.
Damrod is the other hero included in the saga expansion, and as I had mentioned in the preview article, I have never played with the ally version. Gone is the expensive, situational ability of his ally version, and replaced with a trap-focused ability. When Anborn was released in The Blood of Gondor, I began looking at a deck which was focused around traps. With Damrod, this idea has really taken shape. The cost reduction is limited to the first trap played per turn, but due to the nature of trap cards, any more than one per turn would more than likely be a waste. In addition, once the trap gets attached, you get to draw a card, which is always welcome.
Allies
Anborn provides a new version of the ally which is not tied to traps. This version works similar to an ally version of Thalin. Where as Thalin puts damage on all enemies as they are revealed during questing, Anborn allows you to place damage on an enemy any time an enemy is added to staging area. He also increases their engagement cost by 5 for the round, which combos with cards that improve when the enemy has a higher engagement than your threat, such as Boromir and Farmer Maggot. The downside of his ability is that Anborn has to exhaust to use said ability, which lets his three damage go to waste, without some readying effect such as the new Faramir hero.
Gamling really brings the Rohan trait to a new level. One of the weaknesses of Rohan has been the limited use of their allies. Their most valuable abilities were tied to discarding allies. Gamling takes this weakness and mitigates it by allowing you to take one card back to hand. If you can ready Gamling, then he can continue to do this. Some of these cards are unfortunately costly, so pairing this with Theoden helps significantly to pay to play cards back out. There are other allies in the Rohan trait that are cheap, such as Snowbourn Scout or Westfold Horse-breeder, that have great abilities when they come into play. With Gamling, the cards could be played, chump-blocked or otherwise discarded, and then returned to hand to be played again later and gain the ability once more. Just like Anborn before, he has to be ready to use his ability, but in this case, I think his stats are not as much of a waste as the Gondorian Ranger.
The final ally from the realm of Man is Mablung. Just like his hero version, the ally version interacts with engaging enemies. Like the new Anborn, he increases the engagement cost of an enemy already in play, plus it allows you to either engage the enemy, or return it to the staging area. I really like the utility in this ability, as his ability can be used at different times. Looking at my Aragorn and Hobbits deck, this would interact very well. By increasing the engagement cost, it increases the chance of Pippin triggering. Furthermore, it could hold enemies back for another round while setting up.
Moving away from Man, we see a new Ent in the form of Skinbark. The first Ent to be at three cost, his stats are good, but I wouldn't say great. His ability, however, boosts his utility significantly. Whenever attacking an Orc enemy alone, he ignores the enemy's defense. Similar to our namesake, the Mirkwood Runner, however specific to Orc enemies. Luckily, a vast majority of enemies in the game have been Orcs, and even in the case of non-Orcs, his four attack is still pretty significant.
Attachments
Ambush is the new trap for the expansion, and, as I had mentioned in my preview article, it seems ok, but unreliable. I had previously compared it to the Quick Strike, but more expensive and more restrictive. Obviously, if you don't have access to Tactics, then Ambush could be a replacement, but to get its full utility you need to employee encounter deck scrying.
Snowmane continues to add to Theoden's list of attachments. There had been various speculations to what a Snowmane card would look like, mostly humorous ones where the horse crushes Theoden. Like Herugrim, Snowmane can be attached to any Rohan hero, but gains additional benefit from being attached to Theoden. After questing successfully, Snowmane allows the hero attached to ready. Similar to Steed of the Mark, this allows for readying questing heroes, but doesn't require additional resource investment. Even though it's out of sphere, I think Snowmane is best with tactics Theoden. Tactics gets an extra willpower over the Spirit version, plus when paired with Herugrim, he gets to attack with six after questing. The combo can go further with additional readying, so Theoden could quest, defend, and attack, all in one turn.
Staff of Lebethron should pretty much be called Sam's staff. When defending against an enemy with an higher engagement than your threat, you can exhaust the staff to discard a shadow card. Combined with Hobbit Cloak and Sam Gamgee's ability, Sam is more than likely defending for four, but also without a shadow card to worry about. If running a standard Hobbit deck, you want to limit yourself to engaging one enemy per turn, so it's limitation shouldn't be too bad.
Events
In the Shadows adds to the Hobbit deck, similar to Take No Notice. Once again, looking at my Aragorn and Hobbit deck, In the Shadows allows for combat advantage. Tactics Aragorn already drops defense by one, playing this event adds an extra defense drop. The one thing I'm not sure about, however, is the timing of the defense drops. Is the event affecting your player area, or the enemies engaged with the player when the card is played. The reason I wonder is, going back to Tactics Aragorn, do new enemies pulled over by his attack get the debuff?
The final player card of the expansion is Taste it Again! Once again, this plays right into Sam. Sam has his cloak and staff, and he readies when an enemy engages, removes the shadow card, readies after defending, and then attacks for four, or six with a Dagger of Westernesse. That sounds like a pretty rad combo.
Final Thoughts
It was very appropriate for the saga expansion which revolved around the section of Lord of the Rings where it's focused on Sam and Frodo's struggles. The Hobbit archetype has been a great one since it was given a shot in the arm from The Black Riders. I look forward to see how the Hobbit deck changes. In addition, we've seen significant additions to the Rohan and Gondor/Ranger archetype that I think will also become staple cards. A great set of cards and I look forward to digging into the quests.
Heroes
Faramir gets his second hero card, fourth card overall. With stats matching his lore version, his leadership version matches sphere with his original ally version. In this case, instead of being boosted by enemies in the staging area, Faramir is able to ready allies in response to engaging enemies. Just like hero Mablung, his ability is limited to once per phase, which keeps a player from getting all their allies back up in one go. The options to ready allies is fairly limited, such as Ever Vigilant, or Strength of Arms. Even though he's a Gondorian Ranger, his ability ties into Dúnedain's engagement tricks. One of my favorite recent heroes has been tactics Aragorn, and his engagement ability falls right in with Faramir. Engage an enemy during engagement, ready an ally, kill that enemy with Aragorn, engage a new enemy, ready that same ally or another. This also could give opportunity to get utility in the same turn you play an Ent.
Damrod is the other hero included in the saga expansion, and as I had mentioned in the preview article, I have never played with the ally version. Gone is the expensive, situational ability of his ally version, and replaced with a trap-focused ability. When Anborn was released in The Blood of Gondor, I began looking at a deck which was focused around traps. With Damrod, this idea has really taken shape. The cost reduction is limited to the first trap played per turn, but due to the nature of trap cards, any more than one per turn would more than likely be a waste. In addition, once the trap gets attached, you get to draw a card, which is always welcome.
Allies
Anborn provides a new version of the ally which is not tied to traps. This version works similar to an ally version of Thalin. Where as Thalin puts damage on all enemies as they are revealed during questing, Anborn allows you to place damage on an enemy any time an enemy is added to staging area. He also increases their engagement cost by 5 for the round, which combos with cards that improve when the enemy has a higher engagement than your threat, such as Boromir and Farmer Maggot. The downside of his ability is that Anborn has to exhaust to use said ability, which lets his three damage go to waste, without some readying effect such as the new Faramir hero.
Gamling really brings the Rohan trait to a new level. One of the weaknesses of Rohan has been the limited use of their allies. Their most valuable abilities were tied to discarding allies. Gamling takes this weakness and mitigates it by allowing you to take one card back to hand. If you can ready Gamling, then he can continue to do this. Some of these cards are unfortunately costly, so pairing this with Theoden helps significantly to pay to play cards back out. There are other allies in the Rohan trait that are cheap, such as Snowbourn Scout or Westfold Horse-breeder, that have great abilities when they come into play. With Gamling, the cards could be played, chump-blocked or otherwise discarded, and then returned to hand to be played again later and gain the ability once more. Just like Anborn before, he has to be ready to use his ability, but in this case, I think his stats are not as much of a waste as the Gondorian Ranger.
The final ally from the realm of Man is Mablung. Just like his hero version, the ally version interacts with engaging enemies. Like the new Anborn, he increases the engagement cost of an enemy already in play, plus it allows you to either engage the enemy, or return it to the staging area. I really like the utility in this ability, as his ability can be used at different times. Looking at my Aragorn and Hobbits deck, this would interact very well. By increasing the engagement cost, it increases the chance of Pippin triggering. Furthermore, it could hold enemies back for another round while setting up.
Moving away from Man, we see a new Ent in the form of Skinbark. The first Ent to be at three cost, his stats are good, but I wouldn't say great. His ability, however, boosts his utility significantly. Whenever attacking an Orc enemy alone, he ignores the enemy's defense. Similar to our namesake, the Mirkwood Runner, however specific to Orc enemies. Luckily, a vast majority of enemies in the game have been Orcs, and even in the case of non-Orcs, his four attack is still pretty significant.
Attachments
Ambush is the new trap for the expansion, and, as I had mentioned in my preview article, it seems ok, but unreliable. I had previously compared it to the Quick Strike, but more expensive and more restrictive. Obviously, if you don't have access to Tactics, then Ambush could be a replacement, but to get its full utility you need to employee encounter deck scrying.
Snowmane continues to add to Theoden's list of attachments. There had been various speculations to what a Snowmane card would look like, mostly humorous ones where the horse crushes Theoden. Like Herugrim, Snowmane can be attached to any Rohan hero, but gains additional benefit from being attached to Theoden. After questing successfully, Snowmane allows the hero attached to ready. Similar to Steed of the Mark, this allows for readying questing heroes, but doesn't require additional resource investment. Even though it's out of sphere, I think Snowmane is best with tactics Theoden. Tactics gets an extra willpower over the Spirit version, plus when paired with Herugrim, he gets to attack with six after questing. The combo can go further with additional readying, so Theoden could quest, defend, and attack, all in one turn.
Staff of Lebethron should pretty much be called Sam's staff. When defending against an enemy with an higher engagement than your threat, you can exhaust the staff to discard a shadow card. Combined with Hobbit Cloak and Sam Gamgee's ability, Sam is more than likely defending for four, but also without a shadow card to worry about. If running a standard Hobbit deck, you want to limit yourself to engaging one enemy per turn, so it's limitation shouldn't be too bad.
Events
In the Shadows adds to the Hobbit deck, similar to Take No Notice. Once again, looking at my Aragorn and Hobbit deck, In the Shadows allows for combat advantage. Tactics Aragorn already drops defense by one, playing this event adds an extra defense drop. The one thing I'm not sure about, however, is the timing of the defense drops. Is the event affecting your player area, or the enemies engaged with the player when the card is played. The reason I wonder is, going back to Tactics Aragorn, do new enemies pulled over by his attack get the debuff?
The final player card of the expansion is Taste it Again! Once again, this plays right into Sam. Sam has his cloak and staff, and he readies when an enemy engages, removes the shadow card, readies after defending, and then attacks for four, or six with a Dagger of Westernesse. That sounds like a pretty rad combo.
Final Thoughts
It was very appropriate for the saga expansion which revolved around the section of Lord of the Rings where it's focused on Sam and Frodo's struggles. The Hobbit archetype has been a great one since it was given a shot in the arm from The Black Riders. I look forward to see how the Hobbit deck changes. In addition, we've seen significant additions to the Rohan and Gondor/Ranger archetype that I think will also become staple cards. A great set of cards and I look forward to digging into the quests.
Thursday, August 6, 2015
Impressions - Escape from Mount Gram Player Cards
I am back from Gen Con, and my body is still recovering. That said, with Escape from Mount Gram released slightly before Gen Con, and The Land of Shadows released at the convention, there is plenty to discuss.
Hero
Rossiel is an interesting card. She has fairly standard stats, with the 1 attack feeling like a bit of a waste for her. She introduces an interesting mechanic, in being able to interact with the victory display. Her stats get a nice boost when she is questing or defending, based on what has already made it into the victory display. If she is in a quest which already has a lot of cards which go into the victory display, such as Emyn Muil, then I can imagine her working out easily. In other quests, however, it will take some work to maximize her utility. During Gen Con, I played the deck I had posted previously, and it was a little slow to get moving. As it stands, I think she will be a very situational hero, that may have some cool decks built around her.
Allies
Derndingle Warrior adds to the Ent archtype, providing a strong defender to the deck. Like all other Ents to this point, it has strong stats for a two-cost ally. In addition, it has the ability to deal itself a damage while defending to gain 3 extra defense for that attack. I really like damage dealing effects in Ent decks, since it combos well with Booming Ent, to give you a strong attacker. Unfortunately, it only lasts for the attack, so if you are able to ready the warrior, such as using Treebeard, you have to deal another damage to get the defense boost. Since Ents, to this point, have been either Lore or Tactics, including healing, such as Warden of Healing allows for multiple rounds of strong defense.
Elven Jeweler adds to the promise of Noldor synergy in this cycle. For 2 cost, the stats are OK, but there is also the option to drop her out at any time by discarding two cards from hand. This ability essentially makes her a better version of Emery. Emery requires that three cards be discarded off the top of the deck, and if any Tactics/Lore/Leadership cards come up, she's discarded. This either required that you had some deck scrying, or play mono-Spirit to ensure that she doesn't get wasted. Here, you're able to choose the cards to discard, and you could even run this without any Spirit cards. The only downside is that it has one less defense than Emery, but it isn't unique, and costs one less. As we explore the Noldor trait, I think the value of this card will only go up.
Veteran of Osgiliath is this pack's addition to the Valour trait. Though not specifically calling out Valour, it's power is triggered by having a threat at 40 or higher. His stats are fairly standard, if not good, for three cost, but if playing with Valour, his stats become really good. Being Gondor, he can combo well with Boromir or Visionary Leadership. This guy is good, and just like the Jeweler, will only get better as we get more cards in the cycle.
Events
Boomed and Trumpeted is one of those cards that really solidifies the Ent archtype. Ents already have a lack of action advantage, considering they all come into play exhausted. By playing this event, Ents are able to be a little more hasty. Especially with our new Ent ally, this card allows for you to defend for five, and then get another defense (albeit for less defense) or get a solid attack. Additionally, in quests with Archery, you could place a damage on an Ent that was exhausted, either from entering play or questing, then have it ready. Finally, combine this with hero Treebeard and you can boost his attack by 1, or more, use the event to boost him further, then have ready for another attack, still boosted by his ability.
Descendants of Kings is a solid readying effect. For 1 resource, you can ready as many Dúnedain characters as you have enemies engaged with. If you are playing Dúnedain, then you're already conscious of keeping enemies engaged, whether it's for Heir of Valandil, or even just Halbarad's ability. The problem comes when you don't have those enemies engaged with you. This allows you a chance to setup. One card I think will get value out of this event is Northern Tracker. I feel safe in admitting that she is not placed in one's deck for her 1 willpower. Her location control has kept her around since the days of the core set. That said, she has great stats that aren't fully utilized. With this ability, she can still use her location ability, but be available for other uses.
Distant Stars is a form of location control, similar to the ability of West Road Traveller. Where as the traveller allows you to switch the active location with another location in the staging area, this card lets you search the encounter deck for any location, at the cost of exhausting either a Scout or Ranger character. There are plenty of characters that have that trait, especially in the Lore sphere. Since you have to have an active location, you have to travel to this location first. This could be something that has a mild travel effect or none at all. Then, the new location could be something that has a nasty travel, which this card allows you to avoid. It seems like a fairly straight forward card, for zero cost it's definitely something that can fit well in a location control deck.
Keen as Lances is sexy. Not only in Galadriel's piercing eyes on the artwork, but in its ability. It is essentially a Gandalf replacement. Granted, you don't get an ally out of the play, but the card does get cheaper as you play more of this card, or other cards that go into the victory display without victory points, such as using Out of the Wild, or the next card.
Leave No Trace plays right into location control, just like Distant Stars. In addition, it's allowing you to put two cards into the victory display without any victory points, so it immediately reduces the cost of playing Keen as Lances. In addition, if there is a location which you don't want to see again, then this would also allow you to get it out of play. This also plays into Rossiel, letting you put locations into the victory display, which could boost her willpower.
Side Quest
Double Back adds to the library of side quests that players have to include in their deck. In this case, clearing the location will reduce everyone's threat by 5. A strong effect, for sure, especially for zero cost. When looking at this card, I think about the same things I do for any side quest, and there are definitely good and bad times for the side quest. If you're on a timer, then it could be a hindrance to slow down the tempo of the game. On the other hand, there have been times where I can't progress, not due to making progress on the quest, but because of another factor, such as killing the Hill Troll in Journey Down the Anduin. In those cases, side quests are excellent ways to take advantage of the situation you're currently facing, and gain some benefit.
Final Thoughts
We see some themes repeat from previous packs. More side quests, more Dúnedain, and a lot of location control. In practice, some of these cards take some setup, so don't expect a deck that comes out swinging, but there is plenty of interesting combos that can occur. I continue to be intrigued by the Ent trait, and we're getting to the point, where it isn't feasible to put every Ent card into your deck. This will lead to more variety in the archetype, which I welcome.
Hero
Rossiel is an interesting card. She has fairly standard stats, with the 1 attack feeling like a bit of a waste for her. She introduces an interesting mechanic, in being able to interact with the victory display. Her stats get a nice boost when she is questing or defending, based on what has already made it into the victory display. If she is in a quest which already has a lot of cards which go into the victory display, such as Emyn Muil, then I can imagine her working out easily. In other quests, however, it will take some work to maximize her utility. During Gen Con, I played the deck I had posted previously, and it was a little slow to get moving. As it stands, I think she will be a very situational hero, that may have some cool decks built around her.
Allies
Derndingle Warrior adds to the Ent archtype, providing a strong defender to the deck. Like all other Ents to this point, it has strong stats for a two-cost ally. In addition, it has the ability to deal itself a damage while defending to gain 3 extra defense for that attack. I really like damage dealing effects in Ent decks, since it combos well with Booming Ent, to give you a strong attacker. Unfortunately, it only lasts for the attack, so if you are able to ready the warrior, such as using Treebeard, you have to deal another damage to get the defense boost. Since Ents, to this point, have been either Lore or Tactics, including healing, such as Warden of Healing allows for multiple rounds of strong defense.
Elven Jeweler adds to the promise of Noldor synergy in this cycle. For 2 cost, the stats are OK, but there is also the option to drop her out at any time by discarding two cards from hand. This ability essentially makes her a better version of Emery. Emery requires that three cards be discarded off the top of the deck, and if any Tactics/Lore/Leadership cards come up, she's discarded. This either required that you had some deck scrying, or play mono-Spirit to ensure that she doesn't get wasted. Here, you're able to choose the cards to discard, and you could even run this without any Spirit cards. The only downside is that it has one less defense than Emery, but it isn't unique, and costs one less. As we explore the Noldor trait, I think the value of this card will only go up.
Veteran of Osgiliath is this pack's addition to the Valour trait. Though not specifically calling out Valour, it's power is triggered by having a threat at 40 or higher. His stats are fairly standard, if not good, for three cost, but if playing with Valour, his stats become really good. Being Gondor, he can combo well with Boromir or Visionary Leadership. This guy is good, and just like the Jeweler, will only get better as we get more cards in the cycle.
Events
Boomed and Trumpeted is one of those cards that really solidifies the Ent archtype. Ents already have a lack of action advantage, considering they all come into play exhausted. By playing this event, Ents are able to be a little more hasty. Especially with our new Ent ally, this card allows for you to defend for five, and then get another defense (albeit for less defense) or get a solid attack. Additionally, in quests with Archery, you could place a damage on an Ent that was exhausted, either from entering play or questing, then have it ready. Finally, combine this with hero Treebeard and you can boost his attack by 1, or more, use the event to boost him further, then have ready for another attack, still boosted by his ability.
Descendants of Kings is a solid readying effect. For 1 resource, you can ready as many Dúnedain characters as you have enemies engaged with. If you are playing Dúnedain, then you're already conscious of keeping enemies engaged, whether it's for Heir of Valandil, or even just Halbarad's ability. The problem comes when you don't have those enemies engaged with you. This allows you a chance to setup. One card I think will get value out of this event is Northern Tracker. I feel safe in admitting that she is not placed in one's deck for her 1 willpower. Her location control has kept her around since the days of the core set. That said, she has great stats that aren't fully utilized. With this ability, she can still use her location ability, but be available for other uses.
Distant Stars is a form of location control, similar to the ability of West Road Traveller. Where as the traveller allows you to switch the active location with another location in the staging area, this card lets you search the encounter deck for any location, at the cost of exhausting either a Scout or Ranger character. There are plenty of characters that have that trait, especially in the Lore sphere. Since you have to have an active location, you have to travel to this location first. This could be something that has a mild travel effect or none at all. Then, the new location could be something that has a nasty travel, which this card allows you to avoid. It seems like a fairly straight forward card, for zero cost it's definitely something that can fit well in a location control deck.
Keen as Lances is sexy. Not only in Galadriel's piercing eyes on the artwork, but in its ability. It is essentially a Gandalf replacement. Granted, you don't get an ally out of the play, but the card does get cheaper as you play more of this card, or other cards that go into the victory display without victory points, such as using Out of the Wild, or the next card.
Leave No Trace plays right into location control, just like Distant Stars. In addition, it's allowing you to put two cards into the victory display without any victory points, so it immediately reduces the cost of playing Keen as Lances. In addition, if there is a location which you don't want to see again, then this would also allow you to get it out of play. This also plays into Rossiel, letting you put locations into the victory display, which could boost her willpower.
Side Quest
Double Back adds to the library of side quests that players have to include in their deck. In this case, clearing the location will reduce everyone's threat by 5. A strong effect, for sure, especially for zero cost. When looking at this card, I think about the same things I do for any side quest, and there are definitely good and bad times for the side quest. If you're on a timer, then it could be a hindrance to slow down the tempo of the game. On the other hand, there have been times where I can't progress, not due to making progress on the quest, but because of another factor, such as killing the Hill Troll in Journey Down the Anduin. In those cases, side quests are excellent ways to take advantage of the situation you're currently facing, and gain some benefit.
Final Thoughts
We see some themes repeat from previous packs. More side quests, more Dúnedain, and a lot of location control. In practice, some of these cards take some setup, so don't expect a deck that comes out swinging, but there is plenty of interesting combos that can occur. I continue to be intrigued by the Ent trait, and we're getting to the point, where it isn't feasible to put every Ent card into your deck. This will lead to more variety in the archetype, which I welcome.
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
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)
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)
Saturday, July 25, 2015
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.
Friday, July 24, 2015
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.
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.
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
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.
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.
Thursday, July 16, 2015
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:
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
Saturday, July 11, 2015
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. |
Thursday, July 9, 2015
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.
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
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.
Thursday, July 2, 2015
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.
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.
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)
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)
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