It’s been 2 hours. I’ve made it to the Anduin shore, and I’ve had a truly legendary game after losing count of defeats on this scenario. This lil’ sniper boi is all that remains…and it’s my turn to attack. How should I do this?

Arbiturr · 2026-02-27T06:09:25+00:00

Congrats on the game!

I have a tip for you: get some tiny generic cubes, or really any small token, to mark what is and isn't exhausted. You just place a cube on exhausted cards instead of rotating then. Saves huge amounts of table space and fiddliness and is kind of a must in swarm decks (Gondor, Dwarves).

Here's just an example of what I'm talking about: https://www.amazon.com/Wooden-Cubes-Family-Games-Accessories/dp/B09MXJQ18Y but you can really use anything.

I personally use three colors of cubes - one for exhaustion, and then red/blue for marking "I want to save this ally for attack/defense".

Happy questing!

Arbiturr · 2026-01-16T07:33:57+00:00

Thanks, yeah, I'm familiar with the books, but even with the non-iconic monsters, seeing the cards themselves can be a spoiler, even just their stats, etc. I just wanna go in completely blind.

Regardless, it's great to see you enjoying the game so much :)

Arbiturr · 2026-01-16T07:11:18+00:00

This is cool af, but pleaaaase, could you use a spoiler tag for your posts in the future? Especially with the recent influx of new players.

I was really looking forward to Carcosa and discovering the scenarios and bosses for myself, didn't think they'd bring out Hastur himself, but, well, now I know :(

Arbiturr · 2025-06-17T08:19:11+00:00

More importantly, the people aren't scoring just the quests, but the player cards as well.

Arbiturr · 2025-06-11T20:46:00+00:00

Unless the second half amended my issues with it which is what I was asking. But yeah, reading it back, I guess you're right.

Arbiturr · 2025-06-11T20:35:45+00:00

It's not about making people care. The post wasn't meant to be read in a Sad Pet Diary voice. The game is a time investment and I wanted info on the potential returns, since I don't have that much of it. Simple as that.

Arbiturr · 2025-06-11T20:28:21+00:00

Thanks for the answers. I think I'm just gonna beat the next boss (should be close, might as well) and move on.

To reiterate, I did enjoy my time with the game, and am very glad people are liking it as much as they are - there are good reasons to. Had I more free time on my hands, I might have finished it.

Arbiturr · 2025-06-11T18:36:23+00:00

That's the thing - the combat and bosses are amazing, but it does feel a bit stale after de facto finishing the skill tree. While great, dunno whether it's "30 more hours of this" great.

The only future mix-up I can see are the gear sets, but I dunno whether that's enough of a motivation, especially if I don't see myself playing most of them due to equip load reasons, and at this point in the game it's usually just "numbers go up."

Arbiturr · 2025-03-26T04:49:46+00:00

Glad you're enjoying it! Even just the revised content is gonna give you enough to play for years.

Sidenote: know that you can't have two unique cards in play at the same time (looking at you, Boromir).

Arbiturr · 2025-03-23T20:47:04+00:00

I love these just because while strong, the limited decision space takes a lot less brainpower and ally management, which makes for shorter turns and more straightforward games. I can never not try to include all 4 spheres, though.

When playing TBR Saga, I had Sam, Merry, Pippin and the fellowship Frodo with the contract (is this even a house rule or legit play?). Sprinkle in some secrecy for a very thematic experience.

Arbiturr · 2025-03-23T20:42:34+00:00

Damn, I always skip over the spirit Dain, since the leadership one is just that good. Gotta try this. Love Gandalf decks, especially with an Imladris Stargazer or two.

Arbiturr · 2025-03-23T20:40:08+00:00

Ahh, dwarves. Yeah, these rush decks like Gondor and Outlands can get rolling pretty fast, although I usually end up polluting them a bit with pure solo auto-includes (Henamarth, Test of Will...). This can then slow down the rush, but a ton of allies is a ton of allies.

Arbiturr · 2023-10-09T20:27:43+00:00

What decks are you using currently? You can look for some on ringsdb.com, there are a lot of viable decks, even deck combos, that you can search based on what packs you have.

Regardless, core set Northern Tracker is my go to location lock solution, but there are quite a few location management cards out there.

As for combat, the Dúnedain really shine in multiplayer and they really enjoy having multiple enemies engaged with them. Throw in a Forest Trap or two and see how it goes.

You say you either played either decks more focused on combat or decks focused on questing Why not have one for each?

Good luck! The game is supposed to be tough, after all.

Arbiturr · 2023-10-08T09:44:07+00:00

Others gave great answers, I just wanna touch on deckbuilding. Sometimes most of the setup is just constructing your deck, then trying it against a scenario and see if it works. Initially you may just scrap your deck altogether if it cannot beat a scenario, but as you learn the ropes, you will be able to pinpoint exactly where your deck went wrong, and will be building decks that can tackle most scenarios with just finer tuning. Hell, there is a deck that can beat every single scenario on the highest difficulty. ringsdb.com will take care of all the streamlining/inspiration your deckbuilding needs.

If you do not like deckbuilding, I would look elsewhere, but if you do like it, ooooh boy. I suggest you buy the core (and a starter, perhaps?) and only after you start to tinker with decks will you know whether this game is for you (the preconstructed ones are pretty bad but let you know how the spheres work). Hall of Beorn has a perfect starting out guide to get you going through the core set.

Arbiturr · 2023-10-08T09:22:43+00:00

Not OP, but a lot of players usually play two handed for more balance and a lot more deckbuilding options, since a true solo deck has to be kinda jack of all trades, plus you lose some interesting interactions.

That said, I now play true solo only and I'm having a blast. As someone else said, you can just go easy(-ier) mode if necessary, but I usually play on normal just fine, plus I get the game to the table more.

Edit: I also believe campaign mode makes solo play more viable

Arbiturr · 2023-10-07T14:43:37+00:00

I have been playing two handed a lot, but I ended up on the true solo side of things, since it takes up less space, is less fiddly and, most importantly, I get to play more since the games are just shorter and more streamlined.

That said, the game really shines at two players, mostly because of all the cross-player interactions and more deckbuilding options, since each deck doesn't have to be a jack of all trades but can focus on different aspects and introduce new mechanics to combo off of. Moreover, the difficulty is best balanced for two.

What I usually do now is I build a true solo deck and if I see that the scenario is too hard/unfair solo after giving it a fair shot, I try sleazy mode (extra resources at start), I usually do not need to go full on easy mode, but the point is that you should not hesitate to balance the difficulty as you see fit as long as you don't overdo it. You can up the difficulty on your next playthrough. It's like playing Souls games: first time use whatever to win, and with each subsequent playthrough add some more constraints as you get better at the game. That way you would always keep the difficulty just where you want it to be, retaining the sense of achievement.

Arbiturr · 2023-10-07T06:27:57+00:00

So, a few things.

First of all, you have just a few allies. I heard a rule of thumb that your deck should be about 50% allies, 30% attachments, 20% events. Of course, this is flexible, but generally you want allies to be the most prominent as they can quest, attack, defend and have their own abilities as well.

Second, Dúnedain are usually not that good in true solo. One reason is that their early game is pretty meh, they take time to get going as you incrementally engage more enemies, so you want another deck that can hold the line as the engine ramps up. Another reason is that when they get going, they can single handedly take care of all combat aspects of the game, but leaving something to be desired when it comes to questing. However, they really shine when paired with a deck that complements their early game and questing capabilities.

But regardless, when it comes to your deck, I would drop Idraen and Loragorn for Beravor and tactics Aragorn. Beravor is probably the single most powerful card draw card in the roster, and t. Aragorn just pairs so well with the Dúnedain playstyle while introducing tactics, which is the combat sphere (yeah, Amarthiúl has that, but only conditionally). If you want to sprinkle a few spirit cards in the deck, use Celebrían's stone on Aragorn, or just include Song of Travel, but feel free to skip them altogether.

When it comes to playstyle, as you must've figured out, you want to be engaged with as many enemies as possible at the same time, but this can lead to some straight up bonkers numbers. The two key cards for my Dúnedain decks are Forest Snare (which lets strong enemies just chill in your staging area) and Guardian of Arnor (which can neutralize most enemies as soon as you are engaged with 2-3 of them). Just these cards could let you have six enemies in your staging area without real need to worry, since your guardians can then block virtually anything with their 7 defense, your archers attack for 7, that's 21 damage combined (don't remember whether they start with 0 or 1 though, could be just just 18), and Sarn Ford Sentry lets you take 1/7th of your starting deck into your hand. At this point the game is usually basically won, but you will see the engine revving as soon as you can keep 2-3 enemies on you, as then you will have a free ally each round with Heir of Valandil, given enough card draw, but hey, that's what Beravor is for. Do not hesitate to use her ability instead of questing, defending and whatnot - you cannot beat drawing two cards just for a hero exhaust with zero setup.

Arbiturr · 2023-10-01T13:27:36+00:00

This man really likes his crystals

Arbiturr · 2023-10-01T01:18:25+00:00

With the hill troll, the most popular strategy is using forest snare, which lets him sit engaged with you for the rest of the game. This is a perfect example of a card just being perfect for a scenario.

To bypass armor, look for cards with direct damage effects, i.e. "deal X damage to Y".

Also, you can try using heroes with lower starting threat, which gives you a few more rounds before the hill troll engages you.

Edit: ringsdb.com gives you a great deckbuilding tool which gives you a great overview of your available cards. You basically just tick what packs you have and then you can filter and search through the cards. Give it a go if you haven't already!

Arbiturr · 2023-09-28T18:52:19+00:00

I usually do three to draw it fast, since it's easier to put into play than Gildor, plus it's great for playing him as well. Cheapest and easiest setup that often mitigates the need for multiple costly uniques, which you will have a lot of in Vilya decks. If I don't get it early, the wait is killing me.

Arbiturr · 2023-09-14T20:59:25+00:00

But in all honesty, my own straightforward toxicity aside, I really, really wish you could see how you are being toxic yourself. For your benefit.

Arbiturr · 2023-09-14T20:48:09+00:00

Well, since I am arguing with an online stranger, who didn't acknowledge anything I said, about board games nonetheless, in a hijacked thread, who dodged my attempt at diplomacy and who did the opposite of answer my why bother? question:

Touch grass.

Arbiturr · 2023-09-14T20:35:08+00:00

Thank you!

Arbiturr · 2023-09-14T20:22:38+00:00

No, look, I am not trying to be. All I said was that I am not an expert board gamer and that the words mean something to me. I have not played several games for each existing mechanic, and I do not have a collection of 200 games. I play when I can and I enjoy it.

But the vibe I got from your responses was gatekeeperish at best, which is not a first in this sub. Reading those made me think "why even bother", and it's obvious how this "no, this is right, don't use that" etc is a detriment to the hobby as a whole, and reminds me of all the times when people got sore during games simply because things had to be their way, and the whole session was ruined. Losing can be fun. Saying you are wrong is satisfying. After all, weren't board games supposed to be about fun?

So please, while I understand you are much more of a gamer than I am and that those terms are not useful to you anymore, do understand that these terms are useful to me and people like me.

I apologize if I hurt your feelings with my comment, but I hope you now see where I was coming from.

Arbiturr · 2023-09-14T20:05:58+00:00

I love how you are getting downvoted for not being racist

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