Minimum Purchase Journey in the Dark (#RCO) 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

"I cannot say," answered Gandalf. "It depends on many chances. But going straight, without mishap or losing our way, we shall take three or four marches, I expect."

This deck was originally conceived as a means of providing newer players with a deck that can take down Journey in the Dark (as well as The Ring Goes South and Breaking of the Fellowship) with only cards from the Revised Core Set and the Fellowship of the Ring saga box. These three quests are some of my absolute favorites in the entire game for their exquisite blend of theme, story, and mechanics, but they do present quite the challenge for a true solo player, particularly one with a limited card pool. This deck will give you a fighting chance of making it through the Mines of Moria undetected, even without access to staples like Fast Hitch and Sword that was Broken.

Questing

The hero lineup can quest for 9 right out of the gate, and there are multiple ways to boost this: Celebrían's Stone, Fellowship of the Ring, Frodo's Intuition, and eventually Faramir. In the meantime, allies like Gandalf, Galadriel, and Elrond can provide one-turn boosts as needed.

Combat

Sam Gamgee will serve as the primary defender (I recommend attaching Tireless Ranger to him after A Knife in the Dark), especially once he has his Cloak. Mr. Underhill is also a great way to dodge a strong enemy (like Orc-chieftain). When it comes to attacking, Aragorn and Sam Gamgee can do a decent job, especially with their weapons (Andúril and Sting), but the real key to taking out enemies is the tried and true Sneak Attack + Gandalf/Beorn combo. Once your board is set up, Northern Tracker can contribute 2 as well, but Gandalf is the key to getting through the requisite three enemies in stage 2. For Gondor! is included for moments when you need that extra few points of to kill an enemy. Note: Even with a large Bear, this deck is NOT designed to pack enough punch to take out the Balrog.

Condition Removal and Healing

While Overcome by Grief is more annoying than crippling, Grievous Wound will completely take a hero out of commission, and it is nearly impossible to avoid having your heroes take damage. Thus, the presence of Elrond and Miners of the Iron Hills to get rid of it when it comes out (as well as to counter Fallen Into Evil and Lust for the Ring). Bill the Pony and Daughter of the Nimrodel can also mitigate the effects of Grievous Wound while you wait for your removal to show up.

Opening Hand and Setting up your Board

Look for Steward of Gondor, Celebrían's Stone, an ally, and some form of card draw in your opening hand. Steward of Gondor goes on Aragorn to fuel his built-in readying (and to take advantage of his icon once Celebrían's Stone is attached). Elf-stone + an ally is also a nice opening hand combo (as is Sneak Attack + Gandalf).

Galadriel, Gléowine, and Frodo's Intuition help you dig through your deck (not to mention the card draw from Pippin). Elf-stone is a great way to get your big allies into play more quickly. If all goes to plan, you should slowly build up an army of allies, have extra readying (Unexpected Courage) on Aragorn and Sam, and have A Test of Will in hand for emergencies.

The Challenge of Journey in the Dark

The primary challenge of the second half of the Fellowship Saga (formerly The Road Darkens) is Journey in the Dark, which forces your deck(s) to quest hard, soak damage, and handle combat all at once. As mentioned above, this is hard enough with a complete card pool, but potentially frustrating with just the Revised Core Set and the Fellowship Saga box. So, this deck must have answers for:

• Nasty condition attachments (Overcome by Grief and Grievous Wound)
• Direct damage from archery and treacheries (especially nasty in conjunction with Grievous Wound)
• Stage 2's combat requirement (kill three enemies)
• Lots of threat build up at stage 3 (an additional 5 from The Great Bridge + the extra encounter reveal)
• The Balrog (Doom, Doom, Doom!)

"Let us hope that our presence may go unnoticed"

Best-case scenario is you escape across the bridge before the last token is removed from Doom, Doom, Doom and avoid the fire and shadow altogether. Thus, you should be questing all-out during stage 1 to get through during round 3. I recommend starting with Darkened Stairway in staging (Mines of Moria will likely be explored in staging before you get a chance to use Elf-stone and Ancient Guardroom is much more useful during stage 2). The main dangers are immediate attacks from Uruk from Mordor, and Fool of a Took! The former can be countered by holding a cheap ally back for chumping (looking at you, Snowbourn Scout), and the latter is what Frodo Baggins is for (you do NOT want damage coming off of Doom, Doom, Doom if you can do anything to prevent it). Snowbourn Scouts can also be sent on the quest to serve as easy targets for Deep Fissure (you won't miss their 0 if they are discarded). Don't engage enemies, b/c you want them present on stage 2.

"We will make them fear the Chamber of Mazarbul"

Once you advance, time your travel to Chamber of Mazarbul based on your readiness to handle Orc-chieftain. Mr. Underhill can stop its first attack, and you can sneak in the Grey Wizard to help finish it off. You are somewhat at the mercy of what comes off the encounter deck at this point as you try to advance in 3 rounds (with 4 damage left on Doom, Doom, Doom), but with a little luck you have a fighting chance of winning through to stage 3 and the Great Bridge. Do not hesitate to use For Gondor! even for a miniscule attack bonus if it means the difference between an enemy living or dying.

"Fly, you fools!"

At stage 3, you must quest hard (Faramir should be out by now) in order to place 5 progress each round. Save Frodo's resource and A Test of Will for Fool of a Took! unless another card would result in the loss of a hero. If you can manage without them, hold back characters with exhaust abilities (Daughter of the Nimrodel, Gléowine, Henamarth Riversong) until after staging to mitigate the damage from We Cannot Get Out.

If The Balrog does show up, you should have enough chumps out to block two attacks per round until you can quest to safety (and then it is up to you whether to accept all four burdens or to try again). As mentioned above, this deck is not designed with the firepower to trigger the Great Bridge and actually kill the demon.

Conclusion

I am happy to present this deck as a sequel of sorts to my Fellowship Hobbits deck (https://ringsdb.com/decklist/view/37683/minimumpurchasefellowshipsagahobbitsrco-2.0). I have enjoyed the challenge of tackling the puzzle of one of my favorite quests in a manner accessible to new and veteran players alike. And although most of my design focused around Journey in the Dark, I have successfully taken this deck against The Ring Goes South and Breaking of the Fellowship, and so it is capable of completing the second half of the Fellowship box in true solo. Hopefully, you find it to be helpful (and fun)!