QOTW - The Siege of Gondor - Mildly Thematic

A Fellowship to tackle the quest The Siege of Gondor for the Cardboard of the Rings Quest of the Week.

My "Mildly Thematic" campaign means the only thematic condition for deckbuilding is that the key characters need to be present. That's it. The Fellowship for A Shadow of the Past can be found here and has a few more details on the campaign plans. The other campaign Fellowships can be found by searching for "Mildly Thematic" once they are published.

This time, Aragorn and his companions aid the set-upon people of Gondor, aided by the unstoppable Army of the Dead. Once again the heroes are joined by Legolas, Gimli, Halbarad, Elladan and Elrohir.

The heroes continue in the campaign from the previous quest: Éowyn, Gandalf and Glorfindel in one deck, Beravor, Denethor and Sam Gamgee in the other.

As with all Aragorn quests, it's required to use the version specific to the scenario.

This quest is race to the finish, so my decks are built to start fast and try to push to the end quickly. I attempted the quest twice - even though I won the first attempt, unlucky encounter draws meant the result was not as good as I wanted.

On the second attempt I had great draws from the encounter deck overall, and the decks performed at least well enough to get me through. This is in large part down to the very strong heroes who are able to carry much of the strategy by themselves. The other great help was that I was able to play and complete the Keep Watch side quest on turn 2, making the constant stream of Corsair enemies much more manageable. The Army of the Dead who came along for the ride was also excellent for keeping the board clear of enemies.

Questing is not a problem at all for these decks, so the real challenge was being able to keep up with the enemies and direct damage the quest throws at you. I travelled to a Ship location at every opportunity, coming away with 5 resources on the Corsair Fleet objective, which is as well as the decks can manage. The fewer resources, the better for the following quest.

On the other hand, after a very brief alliance, the Army of the Dead is removed from the campaign pool.

Results:

Boons/Burdens removed from the campaign pool: Army of the Dead

Score: 117

4 full turns (40)
39 + 42 threat (81)
10 damage on heroes (10)
14 Victory Points (-14)

Campaign Log:

Heroes - Éowyn, Gandalf, Glorfindel, Beravor, Denethor, Sam Gamgee

Boons - Old Bogey-stories, Ho! Tom Bombadil!, Noble Hero (Glorfindel), Tireless Ranger (Sam Gamgee), Andúril, Glamdring, Sting, Mithril Shirt, Leaf-wrapped Lembas, Three Golden Hairs, Beyond All Hope (Gandalf), Palantír of Orthanc, 2x Brace of Conies, Army of the Dead

Burdens - The Ring Draws Them, Panicked, Overcome by Grief, Ill Fate, 1x The Searching Eye, A Heavy Burden

+1 starting threat penalty (+2 additional penalty for one deck)

Enemies under the Black Gate: 2x Oliphaunt

Resources on the Corsair Fleet: 5