QOTW - The Tower of Cirith Ungol - Mildly Thematic

A Fellowship to tackle the quest The Tower of Cirith Ungol 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 quest follows Sam Gamgee as he braves Cirith Ungol in search of Frodo Baggins. That's the full extent of the thematic requirements, so even though this quest gives the freedom to change the hero lineup, I decided to continue on with the heroes who so successfully overcame the previous quest. So the hero Sam is joined by Beravor and Denethor, with Éowyn, Gandalf and Glorfindel supporting in the other deck.

You don't get all that much use out of Frodo in this quest. I chose the Land of Shadow version on the off chance it might provide some value later on.

At the start you need to choose a Last of the Company to be temporary Ring-bearer. I decided that the Gandalf deck should be the first player, and therefore Éowyn was my best choice for Ring-bearer. If nothing else, she is very effective with the ability on the objective.

This quest puts a surprising amount of pressure on threat, and early on it was climbing pretty quickly. However, I also took the time to build up and deal with the Wraith on Wings ( Éowyn is gret for this) and I was able to stabilise and draw into some threat reduction.

After advancing to Stage 2 there were a couple of dicey looking turns where enemies were building up, but my high and judicious travelling to Winding Stairs got me through okay. Orc Disguise also came in handy.

After that I was able to take control of the quest and speed through the final Stage. Campaign resolution only comes into play if Shagrat is still in play, but he was no match for the combined might of Gandalf and Glorfindel wielding Glamdring. So the campaign continues to the next quest with no changes.

Results:

Boons/Burdens earned: None

Score: 149

10 full turns (100)
37 + 41 threat (78)
0 damage on heroes (0)
29 Victory Points (-29)

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, Esquire of Gondor (Glorfindel), Esquire of Rohan (Gandalf)

Burdens - The Ring Draws Them, Panicked, Overcome by Grief, Ill Fate, 1x The Searching Eye, A Heavy Burden, 2x Wraith on Wings

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

Enemies under the Black Gate: 2x Oliphaunt

Resources on the Corsair Fleet: 5