The Drowned Ruins progression
HayashiM 95
Description
My progression fellowship to beat The Drowned Ruins. The quest is ideal to immediately try the new Argalad hero to basically shut down the encounter deck from combat combining trap and direct damage themes.
General gameplan: Build the board while turtling, reducing your threat and killing the enemies still in the staging area. As the Underwater locations get added by Ancient Depths, you can explore them in the staging area as well, or you can travel to them once you have enough characters.
Notable cards - the trap deck: Thalin always quests and puts direct damage on enemies. Damrod is also a quester and your card draw engine. Argalad holds back to reduce threat of incoming enemies, damaging them in the process, helped by cards that boost his attack.
Anborn, Bofur and Master of the Forge further deepen your card draw, while Gléowine usually helps out the other deck. Bombur shines in this quest as every location is Underground. Mirkwood Explorer is perfect to explore the Underwater locations still in the staging area, get those in play as soon as possible. Gondorian Spearman completes the direct damage theme, finishing off the occasional engaged enemy.
Entangling Nets, Poisoned Stakes and Ranger Spikes are your traps you can play cheaper with Damrod. Ideally you want to play one trap every turn at the beginning, so you can just keep drawing cards. Spear of the Mark goes on Dúnhere to help him take out the enemies from the staging area. Dagger of Westernesse can help boost Argalad's attack so he can damage even enemies with 3 . Wingfoot goes on Damrod. You might want to hold back from immediately dispatching an enemy so you can reduce your threat with Secret Vigil.
Mulligan for: Traps. It's also good to see Master of the Forge / Gléowine / Mirkwood Explorer.
Notable cards - the Spirit + Leadership deck: Sam Gamgee quests. Eleanor holds back to cancel the most hurtful treacheries, and Dúnhere holds back to finish off what Thalin and Argalad couldn't.
Northern Trackers shine once again so you don't actually have to travel Underwater. Lindir, Glorfindel and Arwen Undómiel enable you to play Elrond's Counsel.
Dúnedain Mark and Light of Valinor go on Argalad, while Ever My Heart Rises on Thalin, reducing the threat level of the trap deck. There are often going to be rounds where you won't play any card and can take advantage of Tighten Our Belts.
Mulligan if: your starting hand seems too costly or you have two Elrond's Counsels without a unique Noldor character. It's good to see a Dúnedain Mark and some two cost/two willpower ally, but neither is an absolute must.
The usual gameplay results in shutting down combat and turtling so you don't have to travel to the Underwater locations, but feel free to go faster is your board is good enough.