Heroes: Dain, Bifur, Dwalin

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

Game 2 Result: Loss

Game 3 Result: Loss

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

Robert McMutton said:

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

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

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

muemakan said:

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

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

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

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

Glaurung said:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

leptokurt said:

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

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

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

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

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

leptokurt said:

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

juicebox said:

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

Heroes: Eowyn, Frodo Baggins, Glorfindel

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

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

Game 3 Result: Loss

Total score: 120

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

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

Heroes: Thódred, Elrohir, Elladan

Game 1 Result: 167
Final Threat Level: 42
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 0
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 2
Victory Points Earned: 7
Number of Rounds Completed: 13

Game 2 Result: 133
Final Threat Level: 44
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 0
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 3
Victory Points Earned: 4
Number of Rounds Completed: 9

Game 3 Result: 126
Final Threat Level: 44
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 0
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 6
Victory Points Earned: 4
Number of Rounds Completed: 8

Total score: 142

I have to admit that I made a minor mistake all the time I was playing ItP - I never used Branching Path's effect on itself. Strangely, since I started doing this I kept loosing one game after the other, my win/loss ratio dropping from 75 to 30 percent. I used some Dwarven decks, but now I tried to use these new Elven twins. Unsurprisingly I didn't get any awesome results (in my first game I scored 97 though), but it's interesting to play with them and I keep winning more games than I loose.

I chose Thédored as my third hero as he seems to be the obvious choice. He can feed the twins with resources which they can use to trigger their ability. I had some nice battles in which the twins wiped out half a dozen enemies. Elladan equiped with a Rivendell Blade and some Dúnedain Marks gives you a killing machine while his brother can hold the ground.

The main problem is the lack of WP. Without Faramir your fellowship will likely loose its way through the black pit. Threat management is also sometimes a problem. I lost one game because of threatening out. That's why I'm still considering to replace Théodred with either Éowyn, Glorfindel (theme!) or Bifur. Lore could boost my WP and Burning Brand is something that Elrohir could make good use of. Spirit would also increase my WP and help me to keep my threat low.

leptokurt said:

I have a deck I named "Three Rangers" pairing the twins with Aragorn (the Leadership one I mean), and managed quite well. With 3 Celebrian's Stones in my deck, once I can attach one of them to Aragorn, he turns in so a good quester as Eowyn, and also assist the twins whem needed with attack or defense. And also let me a splash of Spirit to round my deck.

Greetings.

Robert McMutton said:

Great idea, Robert! Unfortunatly I play with only one core set, which makes Celebrían's Stone a rare visitor in my hand. But for those who own multiple core sets it's worth a shot.

My last game was awesome btw and I will soon post a much better result. The twins are extremely efficient when you draw no locations. Even when you do, you can use Cave Torch without any risks, because it won't really hurt if you draw an enemy (although there are some shadow effects that may kill Ellrohir when they happen more than once, which is why I'd like to have Glorfindel at his side). I wasn't too impressed about the twins when they were released, but they're doing a good job, way better than I thought.

Won six games in a row using the twins, the last three game being much better scorewise:

Heroes: Théodred, Elrohir, Elladan

Game 1 Result: 85
Final Threat Level: 36
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 0
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes:3
Victory Points Earned: 4
Number of Rounds Completed: 5

Game 2 Result: 125
Final Threat Level: 35
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 0
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 4
Victory Points Earned: 4
Number of Rounds Completed: 9

Game 3 Result: 102
Final Threat Level: 42
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 0
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes 4
Victory Points Earned: 4
Number of Rounds Completed: 6

Total score: 104

Cards used: 1 core set + all expansions until RtR

Like I said in my post before, in my first game I encountered mostly enemies and some treacheries, a game made for the (t)wins. I also had Steward of Gondor to pimp Elrohir with resources. In my second game I was able to play Beorn and had Faramir from the start (I always take a mulligan when he's not there) ans some Gandalfs.

The third game was the hardest, confronting my heroes with Fouled Well in the setup and a Goblin Follower in round 1. Fortunatly that guy didn't get a shadow effect. as everyone was questing. I applied three damage to Elladan and could play Faramir in round 2 who quested together with Théodred, while the twins and a Veteran Axehand eliminated the Follower. The following encounters weren't too bad (Zigil Mineshaft, Stairs of Náin, Goblin Follower, Zigil Mineshaft), and I could build up my WP by playing 2 Citadel Guards and, believe it or not, Keen-eyed Took. Two Snowbourn Scouts explored the First Hall whil it still was in the staging area. I used a Gandalf to eliminate another Goblin Pursuer that arrived after I torched out the second Zigil Mineshaft. Sneak/Gandalf killed the Patrol Leader while Elladan took care of a Goblin Swordman who entered the game the round before as a shadow effect. It took me two more rounds to complete stage 3B, Lightless Passage and Watchful Eyes being the encounters.

Note:

I mainly used Gandalf to draw some extra cards or to destroy enemies. Only once I used his ability to lower my threat.

Internet still on the fritz at home, but found a hot-spot at the moment to post:

Heroes: Eowyn, Dúnhere, Théodred

Game 1 Result: 153
Final Threat Level: 47
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 8
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 2
Victory Points Earned: 4
Number of Rounds Completed: 10

Game 2 Result: 43
Final Threat Level: 27
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 0
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 0
Victory Points Earned: 4
Number of Rounds Completed: 2

Game 3 Result: Loss

Weighted Average: 147

This was a fascinating attempt with a mostly Rohan deck. Game one was a challenging but successful struggle to the end. Game two was a thing of beauty and perfection - several perfectly times sneak Gandalfs made for what will likely be my one game record. Game three was the other extreme - disaster from the start. I hadn't played this scenario for a while. Good times.

Heroes: Aragorn (Lore), Beravor, Theodred

Game 1 Result: 99
Final Threat Level: 12
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 0
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 2
Victory Points Earned: 5
Number of Rounds Completed: 9

Game 2 Result: 90
Final Threat Level: 34
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 0
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 0
Victory Points Earned: 4
Number of Rounds Completed: 6

Game 3 Result: 74
Final Threat Level: 15
Threat Cost of Each Dead Hero: 0
Damage Tokens on Remaining Heroes: 3
Victory Points Earned: 4
Number of Rounds Completed: 6

Posting Your Results (Optional Information): Cards from 3 x core plus all other packs up to and including TWITW. Aragorn the Ranger seems incredibly strong against this quest (in fact, against most quests).