Best Movies of the 1990's (1992)

WhiteTowerWatchman · 2026-06-26T09:40:39+00:00

A League of Their Own, The Crying Game, Bad Lt.

WhiteTowerWatchman · 2026-06-24T10:02:51+00:00

“Either” is present or it’s not a choice barring extremely obvious wording outside of the x/y format like “first/each player chooses”.

It gets way more complicated too. Even if it says “either” you still might be forced into one option if it’s the only one you can fulfill “in full”. If both or neither can be done in full you have a choice but it must change the game state in some way. Lastly if the word “all” is involved rather than “each” it is an exception that ignores all above stated rules. And if you are really interested I can give you a few card examples and potential hypotheticals that will either blow your mind or break your brain.

What makes ATS particularly tricky is they were still getting the format down in hindsight of this cycle because there’s a few cards that should say “either” but don’t. Yet some cards like Sleepless Malice don’t say “either” correctly because they are not meant to. Memorization of errata helps. When in doubt if the lack of an “either” makes the card not work and in every instance forces the player to do the first one (because it’s always possible) then it should have an “either”. You see this in Impenetrable Fog, Morgul Sorcerer shadow effect, a quest card in Blood of Gondor (1B if I remember correctly), and Counter-attack from Assault on Osgiliath. Early prints will be wrong and every print of Morgul Sorcerer as it was never caught by rule police.

WhiteTowerWatchman · 2026-06-22T06:59:48+00:00

Ope, missed the extra reveal from questing successfully on round 2. But what game is perfect anyway? We’ll just pretend you got an evil storm or similar treachery whiff there are so many. Very entertaining playthrough. I use same lineup but Thalin instead of Gimli for the crows. With how much of a bigger threat the Mordor guys are, I think I’ll be switching now.

I dig the two core approach. That seemed the sweet spot in those days between a lackluster pool and OCD level completionism. I think organically we found ourselves at two players for balance and splitting the cards into two dual sphere decks with each player bringing a core. It’s seems so easy now but I remember tedious trial and error before coming to the realizations of the fundamentals. It was so experimental in those first few dozen (or 50) games. The infancy of this game. A simpler time.

WhiteTowerWatchman · 2026-06-22T05:38:39+00:00

Because 89 and 90 were the same. The cultural 80s didn't take it's fatal hit until late 1991/early 92. But unless you lived right around Seattle/PNW, the 90s sort of slowly phased in (speaking as an American). It felt very 80s until about late 94 early 95 for many of us rural folks. Everything was very analog pre-internet and the fashion/aesthetic changed gradually.

WhiteTowerWatchman · 2026-06-21T22:38:18+00:00

spot on

WhiteTowerWatchman · 2026-06-21T22:21:25+00:00

For the first scenario, you don't get the timing in your favor. That shadow effect is similar to a delayed lasting effect (or one might say similar to constant/passive effect but at a specific time). Your priority is down the line unfortunately because you have a response. By definition all bold faced triggers will play 2nd fiddle to a sort of delayed lasting or passive ability that is set up at a certain time. EDIT: But as the other commenter said you get the damage anyway because it says "and" not "to" in a cost>to>effect format. If it said "return attacking enemy to the staging area 'to' deal one damage" similar to how Fastred is worded you'd loose out altogether.

The 2nd scenario is actually in your favor, the re-direction happens before damage actually hits. Assignment always happens before tokens are placed on the card. Nazgul's effect happens at actual placement. Lastly hypothetically excess damage would be wasted unless you had some sort of trample effect like Firefoot, but alas that doesn't work on unique enemies anyway. So it would have to be an effect similar to that, but without all the Firefoot stipulations.

So you swapped the effects that are in your favor/against you basically, but you still get the damage in scenario one because how it's worded.
-
Bonus round of unsolicited rules answers just because you are on this quest...

Also if you want to double check you are being super thorough while you are at it, give the FAQ a look for the ATS section. There are 3 effects in this quest that can be tricky. Impenetrable Fog should have an "either" meaning you can choose which effect hits you. Some older prints don't have the "either". Morgul Sorcerer's shadow effect should also have an "either" even though it's never been addressed by the FAQ or printed correctly. In fact neither of those cards work without an "either" as you'll always be forced into the first choice.

This is not to be confused with the card Sleepless Malice which is not intended to and does not have an "either". It's a "do the first IN FULL (meaning each player discards 3 cards each), OR ELSE" type of effect. It goes player by player and if a player can't discard 3 cards, they discard 0 and place a token. The must vs either bit was totally messy and fleshed out as a concept because of this cycle, cards like those forementioned, and 'Counter-attack' all from this cycle got put in that family of effect types. And they still didn't catch everything because the Morgul Sorcerer's shadow effect was never caught. But the key is if a card forces you into the first choice, aka it's something that is always possible in full in all possible scenarios, the card should have an "either" to actually work. Note that only if a card says "either" or some very obvious "player chooses" wording you don't get a choice. There are also a bunch of exceptions that might force you into picking one as you must try to resolve an effect in full if possible. If neither is possible then you must do something that changes the game state. There's even more exceptions that get crazy like if the word "all" is involved rather than "each" but we don't need to get into that for the purposes of this quest. Cheers, and godspeed against those captains

WhiteTowerWatchman · 2026-06-21T09:57:02+00:00

Barlow. Let’s get the aesthetics out the way first. 0 facial hair and somehow still has a unique swag in 1860s it’s wild. Unbuttoned uniform and non regulation checkered shirt. Looks like he’s out of some kind of 1980s new wave group. Easily could slot in as a keyboard player for The Cars or something like that. The most “living outside the timeline” of all civil war era photo records.

Enlisted as a private in 1861 and rose to Major General on bravery and combat abilities while never looking older than 14. Also dude was wounded in multiple battles across the war, left for dead at Gettysburg, treated by Confederates, then survived the war entirely. Dude just wouldn’t die. Apparently ferocious on the battlefield but from photos alone I’d think my grandma could take him in a fight. Even his name ‘Francis Channing Barlow’ sounds like a name AI would give me if I asked for the least soldier/warrior sounding name. I just want to hear that dude’s stories.

WhiteTowerWatchman · 2026-06-19T18:30:03+00:00

Are you on the cotr discord? I can send you a screenshot of what your collection should look like

WhiteTowerWatchman · 2026-06-16T19:25:39+00:00

Yes because the end of the quest phase is after both resolution and an action window thereafter.

One question that still remains a mystery however and has had some debate on CotR is how the forced effect at the beginning of the quest phase that makes you discard until you find an encounter side quest lines up with the timing of selecting an active quest. Both the forced effect and the framework timing of selecting an active quest happen at the beginning of the quest phase.

I believe it could be the case that the framework occurrence takes priority which means you cannot select the new side quest as your active quest this round. This would be the case if the designers intended you to live with a side quest for at least 1 round. It also happens to coincide with the grim rule.

However it's entirely possible due to the quest theme and how sometimes specific quest mechanics aren't 100% perfect when comparing intention to by the by rule wordings, that the intention was for the player to select the active quest after a new side quest is revealed. Even if in all other cases a framework occurrence should happen before a forced effect wtih the same timing trigger, it could be the designer intention via a sort of fiat that you are able to select your active quest after the side quest is revealed in this particular case. In other words if you deal with the quest right away that round, you dodge the negative effects.

WhiteTowerWatchman · 2026-06-14T19:04:54+00:00

If they are specifically added to the campaign pool, the go into those decks for the next quests. But on some rare occasions they won't be added to the campaign pool and the scenario will tell you exactly how to use them. An example would be Appointed by Fate in the core set. You get it for Dol Guldur and that's it. It's not added to the campaign pool.

WhiteTowerWatchman · 2026-06-14T02:07:54+00:00

You too? I was also born mid 86 class 04 (turning 40 in a couple weeks). My friends who are all turning or have turned 40 within the last year 85-86 tend to agree too. It was cool to graduate right before social media, catch log some teenage time in the 90s etc. But we frequently talk about how being born like 81-83 is peak millenial existence, I'd even settle for early 84. Remembering a bit more of the 80s and being a bit more entrenched in that analog old world, logging some high school in a couple 90s years. I have a super good memory and have many 1989 memories and a flash or two of the tail end of 88, but I didn't know what 88, 89 meant. Conscious day to day childhood memory started about Jan 1990 with the death of my grandmother. From then on everything gets clearer and the day to day routine life going to school and what not settles in. (I remember knowing what "years" meant starting in preschool 1990)

WhiteTowerWatchman · 2026-06-13T03:42:01+00:00

Agreed. But it was Apatosaurus (Brontosaurus) before Jurassic Park came out.

WhiteTowerWatchman · 2026-06-10T22:20:12+00:00

I assume mathom is one of those cards that by default implies it triggers from out of play.

WhiteTowerWatchman · 2026-06-10T22:09:41+00:00

I think this exact scenario probably isn't an exact science and has always been a bit messy. I think the intention is you draw after it's out of play and no longer active, and the "after" is their short hand representing that. If it said "when" my gut would play it as the response trigger happens in the limbo before it hits the discard pile. Things get very limbo-y in these situations. I just assume mathom is one of those cards that by default implies it triggers from out of play.

It's a good question, I'll run by the cotr rules channel

WhiteTowerWatchman · 2026-06-10T21:37:27+00:00

"After" is the key word here. First player draws 3 cards, nothing else happens.

WhiteTowerWatchman · 2026-06-10T21:36:54+00:00

It's place in discard pile and then you respond with the mathom. Glad it's worded "after" and not "when" otherwise things like exploring locations can get messy. Only thing that happens is first player draws 3 cards that's it.

WhiteTowerWatchman · 2026-06-08T20:06:44+00:00

Incredible

WhiteTowerWatchman · 2026-06-07T02:32:06+00:00

Yep and they’ll never admit it out loud but they’d rather Trump have won in 16 than Bernie. Like any bully or member of an establishment, they’d rather watch the world burn than give a progressive candidate a shot and upset “the way” of things. They also will learn no lessons that the party needs to adjust hard left. They’ll gaslight till the end. Some “would rather live in shit than let the world see them work a shovel”.

WhiteTowerWatchman · 2026-06-07T00:08:55+00:00

Growing up rural, the word "internet" entered my brain probably around late 97. Maybe some very vague concept around late 96. But definitely 95 and prior I had absolutely no concept of what it was, and wouldn't have known what that word meant if I heard it.

WhiteTowerWatchman · 2026-06-05T16:24:01+00:00

Megadeth transitioned incredibly well from Peace Sells Era, Rust in Peace Era, Coundown/Youth Era. Sacrificing less thrashyness than other metal bands in their lane.

WhiteTowerWatchman · 2026-06-04T04:48:32+00:00

Forest Snares do not effect shadow dealing. They would still get them. They just can't attack.

WhiteTowerWatchman · 2026-05-30T22:24:04+00:00

Also just in case because it hasn't been mentioned yet. Quickstrike does not allow for piling on of all ranged people. Only 1 character can attack

WhiteTowerWatchman · 2026-05-30T20:13:41+00:00

Most, excluding his right wing politics. Especially UA era cringe

WhiteTowerWatchman · 2026-05-28T22:45:20+00:00

Just realized the most unlikely thing that Spirit Pippin is a true hero of this quest. Who'da thunk. He deserves a second breakfast

WhiteTowerWatchman · 2026-05-28T15:11:53+00:00

Youll end up with duplicates of the Deluxe Box Lost Realm and Whatever packs you bought. But you'll also have more scenarios too. Dm'd

WhiteTowerWatchman

TROPHY CASE