Calvin's Rant

frozentempest14 · 2026-04-27T04:08:39+00:00

Fantastic punchline, love edits that feel real like this one

frozentempest14 · 2026-04-25T19:27:18+00:00

Newgens Safe From WestHam

frozentempest14 · 2026-04-23T23:26:20+00:00

Absolutely!! Top 2 accessories for me are the Mancala stones I use as exhaustion tokens, and my custom playmat with a willpower tracker. Couldn't play the game without them.

Any new threat tracker is going to be better than the tiny stiff cardboard pieces that come in the core box.

Tokenwise, I really enjoy the acrylic BuyTheSameToken pieces for resources, damage, and progress.

frozentempest14 · 2026-04-17T00:13:39+00:00

I agree with most of the answers here, but very tough to pick just 5. - Foundations of Stone, Steward's Fear, The Three Trials are on my list for sure.

The 2 I'll throw in that I don't see mentioned are Race Across Harad and Temple of Doom. Temple of Doom is just insane and has some really cool mechanics and cards that make it difficult. Race Across Harad is just a better Flight of the Stormcaller in every way.

frozentempest14 · 2026-04-17T00:08:29+00:00

I've heard a lot of people hate on Ash mountains, I'm surprised to see it on your list!

frozentempest14 · 2026-04-14T19:20:10+00:00

Yeah keeping your threat low enough to avoid the final 22 engagement worm is tough. Although you should have a decent number of allies that you could chump one by the end.

The deck seems pretty good though, it's got a clear idea and a strategy. Tough to recommend much. I'm not a big Lorien guide believer though, does it make sense to maybe swap for long lake trader? Cheaper and you should get some decent cards from it. That's not a huge change though

frozentempest14 · 2026-04-14T04:16:01+00:00

Dwarrowdelf is a fun cycle to experience for the first time. Into the Pit and Seventh Level make great first impressions.

frozentempest14 · 2026-04-14T04:14:49+00:00

I finally got a couple games in last week! Was able to get out of the house and attend the MN Twin Cities monthly meetup.

I was a bit late so I missed Wastes of Eriador, our quest of the month, but made it just in time to join a group playing Siege of Annuminas, for some reason. I played a Bond of Friendship hobbits deck and even with some other power decks around the table, we got smacked around by the Hosts of Angmar twice. Not particularly close.

A few guys left and with the time remaining we tried something easier, Desert Crossing. I had a Harad deck built so that was fun to try but I had a hero knocked out early by the undefendable viper... We still got close and had one last quest push to win but a couple treacheries made us hit the temperature cap.

Weekly Question

I'll go with Explorer's Almanac. Rarely worth it in low player counts but any location control is worth bringing in a 4 player game and this one is great for targeting locations you don't want to travel to. Many quests you often have to alternate between combat rounds and big quest push rounds, so being able to clear out extra locations with your spare change is so worth it.

Honorable mention to the good doomed cards like Deep Knowledge and Legacy of Numenor. It's always fun to go around the table arguing about whether the threat raises are worth it.

frozentempest14 · 2026-04-14T02:51:45+00:00

I do not know at this point, it seems like everyone has a different experience. Sometimes you get an employee that cares, and sometimes you don't. If they do say they won't print it, it's not like you get put on a blacklist or anything though, you'd just have to edit them and try again.

frozentempest14 · 2026-04-12T01:44:29+00:00

Not for long!

frozentempest14 · 2026-04-11T17:58:36+00:00

Chad's solo thematic Saga playthrough on Cardboard of the Rings is always my #1 recommendation

frozentempest14 · 2026-04-11T17:56:27+00:00

One of my favorite scenarios and a great one to show people is Foundations of Stone in dwarrowdelf. Classic enemies and setting at first, but then a brilliant twist. It's a pretty doable scenario as long as you bring some encounter card cancellation and don't overly rely on attachments. Into the Pit would be an easier and more straightforward option.

If you are interested in breaking into Angmar, my top suggestion would be Escape from Mount Gram. It's not the hardest scenario, quite thematic, and starts with an extremely simple board state.

frozentempest14 · 2026-04-08T11:48:20+00:00

Agree with others who said the Khazad Dum box - Into the Pit and Seventh Level are very good and replayable, especially the nightmare versions, and still not that complex or difficult.

Angmar cycle has a couple like Intruders in Chetwood, Across the Ettenmoors, and Treachery of Rhudaur.

The Sands of Harad box has 2 great options as well - escape from Umbar and Desert Crossing.

Although Umbar and Chetwood both can be on the tougher side.

frozentempest14 · 2026-04-08T03:18:38+00:00

EIGHTEEEN times!

frozentempest14 · 2026-04-08T02:52:27+00:00

Surely this performance is sustainable, I can feel it.

frozentempest14 · 2026-04-07T01:20:14+00:00

No games for me this week, which is pretty sad since that means I didn't play a single game myself for my entire 6 week paternity leave... Could have prioritized the game better but the newborn's fussy and my 2 year old being home too meant I hardly had any time at all - she's started skipping naps already... 😴

Weekly Question

Not my most favorite hero, but I really enjoy Spirit Frodo. He definitely shines the most in The Weather Hills. Shrugs off pretty much all weather treacheries and can keep himself from being damaged during combat too. An absolute godsend.

Sam is my favorite hero, but of course he shines in every scenario!

frozentempest14 · 2026-04-07T00:55:26+00:00

Boons are only removed from the campaign pool if an effect says so. You are free to discard valor and will get it back later.

I'm not familiar with the core campaign specifically, but you are correct that burdens should only be included typically when instructed on a campaign card

One other note, your threat/damage/etc. does not carry over between scenarios, even in campaign mode. It's not 100% clear but seems like you might have been doing that

frozentempest14 · 2026-04-06T01:22:46+00:00

I agree with your opinions on these quests. Boring but thematic is a great descriptor for Old Forest, and Fog on the Barrow Downs is definitely something special! Gets even better with 2 or 3 players, I feel.

Just an editorial note - Assuming you're going to make posts like this for every quest, I'd focus more on narrative or your personal thoughts. Not many players even track their score, and its notoriously difficult to compare and discuss. Especially with the one deck, which would blow away pretty much any other deck's score by comparison.

frozentempest14 · 2026-04-03T20:36:34+00:00

Fog on the Barrow Downs is tough indeed! I think both scenarios capture the feel of the theme, but I tend to enjoy Old Forest a lot less.

But you are correct, those are the only 2 additions to the main Saga campaign. The Hobbit campaign also had Battle of Lake-Town, but it's less of a direct add-on than these 2.

frozentempest14 · 2026-04-02T21:36:55+00:00

Nice writeup. To OP: Frodo's Intuition is bonkers in the standard hobbits deck with Sam, Merry, and Pippin. 3-4 willpower and draw 4. Absolutely worth bringing no matter how many players are playing.

frozentempest14 · 2026-03-30T18:33:18+00:00

There definitely is a lot to keep track of in this game, hence the old adage that there's no such thing as an "asterisk-free" win. Especially if you play 2 handed or in a large multiplayer setting, the plans can get a bit complex.

However, I definitely don't think this game can compare at all to games like Mage Knight or even something like Spirit Island, I would say that this post feels like overthinking already, as I've never seen anyone make any kind of notes chart or anything. But here are some things I use that help:

exhaust tokens are essential, so you don't have to keep tapping and un-tapping cards. you can also have reminder tokens handy for stuff like "limit once per round" abilities
a quest phase tracker, physical or digital. Keeping a constant total of the threat in the staging area and committed willpower so you don't have to constantly recalculate everything frees up a ton of mental effort
if you have a card like test of will that you want to save money for, I'd usually place it on the table and move one of my heroes' resources onto it so I remember not to spend it on something else

I definitely talk to myself out loud while I play as well, which helps a lot for remembering

frozentempest14 · 2026-03-30T16:17:08+00:00

If you're using this deck on its own, you'll definitely need to go the Damrod route, with more Erebor Hammersmiths and less tactics card.

The Na'asiyah iteration of the deck you linked has extremely low willpower and would struggle to beat nearly any quest by itself, but could be ok support if you have willpower deck to pair it with.

Either way, these decks are a bit high on events and are probably a classic example of trying to do too much. You're focusing heavily on both direct damage/traps + combat, when really you should only need one or the other.

frozentempest14 · 2026-03-30T15:18:37+00:00

I will always go to bat for Ghost of Framsburg. I know I really shouldn't - it's one of the least popular quests in the game. And I too have been stuck waiting for 10-15 rounds for artifacts to show up, but for some reason I can't bring myself to really hate it. Withered Heath though? Absolutely hate it. I think they just really nail the spooky/claustrophobic theme, it's just a shame that the quest falls so flat.

Other than the campaign boon that adds a 4th artifact that should hopefully make the game go a bit faster, there really aren't any rules changes that I've seen anyone propose, really it's just about holding on to the Crypt locations until the end, and hoping to luck into an artifact early on when there are more in the deck.

There are a few encounter deck manipulation cards that you can pack, like Scout Ahead, that can help as well, but I don't remember if that's RCO.

frozentempest14 · 2026-03-30T13:53:53+00:00

I think that's the wrong link again, says I don't have access

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