Into the Pit - Progression Series #11

TheHiveTyrant 2559

Description

A pair of decks intended to be played against Into the Pit, for use in the Lord of the Rings: The Card Game Progression Series.

At the beginning of this scenario, enemies can neither engage with, nor be optionally engaged by, the players - this affords each three-sphere deck some breathing room to establish its board state. Very few enemies in the encounter deck means a focus on willpower-oriented allies, and each deck has events such as Secret Paths to handle high-threat locations. Northern Tracker is a priority for either deck, and a huge number of card draw effects are available. Dain Ironfoot is a great target for Watchful Eyes, and both decks can remove that Condition attachment. When necessary, Untroubled by Darkness should allow a large number of Dwarves to devastate an active location and/or the current quest card.

Steward of Gondor is best played on Eowyn, and Dain Ironfoot can send most of his resources to Bifur. Cancellation effects are allotted to each deck, and the Quest Deck should likely begin the game as the First Player - only Goblin Followers will pose an early game threat, and shadow effects aren't too painful to stomach, even if they cannot be cancelled. Combat is light, so use Cave Torch often, where prudent; do not allow locations and Goblin Scouts to accumulate while East-gate remains active! Song of Travel is best suited for Bifur and Beravor, and consider questing with allies such as Vassal of the Windlord to insure against Sudden Pitfall. Good luck!

4 comments

Mar 17, 2017 Fingolfin 1

Nice decks and I am looking forward to the next installment of your Progression Series. They are excellent!

With Steward of Gondor earmarked for Eowyn there looks to be a considerable risk of the Combat Deck stalling for resources. Have you considered adding Narvi's Belt to the Quest Deck to aid resource smoothing? It could go on Dain or GImli and then a hero of the other player becomes the Steward of Gondor.

Mar 18, 2017 TheHiveTyrant 2559

Thank you for your kind words, @Fingolfin! I'm pleased to hear that you're enjoying the series.

I did consider Narvi's Belt, though with these decks, it feels a little too expensive to easily get into play - and once out, it may not be of that much use. There's a lot of reliance upon "Response" speed events in either deck, costs are overall kept reasonably low, and Song of Wisdom - being neutral - has the added flexibility of "more than just Dain Ironfoot" being able to pay for it. Plus, its cheaper, and his resources are presumably going to be tied up in playing Steward of Gondor and/or Sneak Attack as soon as possible. Not that it couldn't work, by any means (after all, these decks are normally built for one attempt and then not refined), but that was my thought process, anyhow.

Mar 19, 2017 Fingolfin 1

@TheHiveTyrant - The Progression Series is excellent and I love the time you both take to explain your thinking before and during play and the impact of the Quest and Encounter deck cards.

I still think Narvi's Belt would be a useful addition, but I understand your thinking and I look forward to seeing how the scenario pans out when you upload the video.

Keep up the great work!

Mar 22, 2017 TheHiveTyrant 2559

Thank you for the feedback! We certainly try to strike a nice balance between entertainment and "learning tool," as often as we can manage it. Be assured that even if it takes a while to get its time in the spotlight, Narvi's Belt is eventually going to be invaluable in getting some the Thorin Oakenshied, Dain Ironfoot, and Balin three-Leadership-Hero Dwarf deck to perform smoothly. So much to look forward to!