ARDA Play through

Goblin King · Sun Apr 14, 2019 2:19 pm

Hello everyone. Thought I would try posting something different.
We recently had a 4 person Arda game. Thought I would capture my adventure and share.
So here we go!
DRAFT Phase: Everyone was very happy with their draft options this time, including me. My two big characters were Cirdan and Thorin II. I had no small dwarfs, and no hobbits. The resources in my opening hand included An Unexpected Party (which makes all small dwarves free) and a copy of The Dwarves are Upon You. I also had a copy of Ringlore My treasure hand had the Palantir of Orthanc. That pretty much narrowed down my wizard choice.
So if I was going to go with Cirdan and Thornin, I wanted it to be a 4 mind character with as much force as I could muster. Boromir was the answer. He gets a Shield of Iron-Bound Ash. Thorin wanted the map, but someone drafted his father said no and gave him Cram instead.

My company started at Isengard.

Goblin King · Sun Apr 14, 2019 2:21 pm

TURN 1: I don’t move. Cirdan started going on his usual Emo rant of doom and gloom (Foolish Words) while Saruman started obsessing with rings (Lure of Creation). The wolves are sent away by Saruman and Cirdan grabbed the Palantir of Orthanc. Boromir picked up a Elf Cloak off the sales rack.

Goblin King · Sun Apr 14, 2019 2:22 pm

TURN 2: One strategy I’ve learned with ARDA involved forming 2-character parties who are pretty stout and roaming around the board collecting points. It reduces the number of hazards overall that can be played on you. So that was what I did. Cirdan with his follower Boromir headed to Lorien with Saruman’s Palantir. What Boromir failed to understand was that all of that doom talk from his boss was more than just talk. He figured it out just before a Cave Worm ate him. ☹ Meanwhile, Saruman was able to put aside his dreams of power. Thorin loaned him his Cram before showing the wizard a sneaky way into the Druadan Forest (Stealth). After refreshing himself with a little snack, Saruman convinced the Woses of the Druadan Forest that he is a righteous dude. Meanwhile, Cirdan showed up in Lorien with a shiny Palantir and a slightly bloodstained elven cloak.

Goblin King · Sun Apr 14, 2019 2:23 pm

TURN 3: This turn was a huge one for me! But it started off looking pretty difficult. I had an Align Palantir in my hand which I’d traded for at the beginning of the game. But I was worried about failing a corruption check with Cirden only having the support of one character I could bring in under his influence at Lorien. I figured I might have to wait a turn for my other party to make their way to Lorien. But then one of my opponents played Elf Song! This long event means that I cannot have a character discarded at a Haven for any reason! Now I had an amazing plan!
During the Organization Phase Cirdan recruited a new follower named Gildor Inglorion and the Palantir of Orthanc is aligned and stored without any effort. The two then prepare to hop on the freeway to the Dead Marshes (Great Road). But Saruman and Thorin headed there first. They run into Olog-Hai, but Thorin got all up in their grill! (The Dwarves Are Upon You) and Saruman got lucky (Lucky Strike). Gildor ignored the undead spirits under the water and dug a huge Palantir (Palantir of Osgiliath) out of the muck. The four of them carry it back to Lorien laughing all the way! (A 10 point turn including the new character!)

Goblin King · Sun Apr 14, 2019 2:25 pm

TURN 4: Things start to turn south when my plan turned north! I considered hanging out for a turn and cleaning up the board of permanent hazards using the Osgiliath Palantir. But none of the options were really troubling me and there was only one Nazgul permanent event sitting out. So I decide to just store it, tapping two big people in support and then head to The Wind Throne. A much safer and smarter option would have been Amon Hen, but I was a fool. I drafted Thranduil to help my party and I headed north. But the five hazard limit was now going to take its toll. My opponent played 2 or 3 Tribes Present and named orcs. He then dropped an early Uruk-Lieutenant in hopes of getting a party rolling. It was a total whiff and I bagged the easy kill point. Then the hazard limit passed and the next person dropped a Doors of Night and Baranax! I managed to escape without anyone getting wounded but I had nobody left to go inside and get the Dragon Lore.
Then came the real hit. A Diminish and Depart was placed on Saruman. Just like he did in the Fellowship of the Rings, Gildor Inglorion decided to bail on this fellowship at exactly the wrong time.

Goblin King · Sun Apr 14, 2019 2:27 pm

TURN 5: I decided to stick around The Windy Throne for one more turn believing that the payout of two big items at a dragon’s lair will be worth it. I don’t recall exactly what hazards were faced, other than a Nazgul. It might have been two of them. Saruman managed to get wounded but my third sage, Thranduil finally managed to get the Dragon Lore.

Goblin King · Sun Apr 14, 2019 2:29 pm

TURN 6: Here came the hardest choice. Do I head towards a dragon’s lair with only three unwounded characters? The Dragon Lore I fought so hard for is probably useless with such a small party. Because I have a copy of Dark Quarrels in my hand, I decided to head towards Mount Gundabad instead. Even more Nazgul were waiting there to greet me. Both Thranduil and Thorin were wounded but Cirden used the Dark Quarrels to sneak deep into the fortress and pull out Orcrist.
With that I called council.

Goblin King · Sun Apr 14, 2019 2:29 pm

I have 28 points with a faction and kill points but no ally. I think my opponents totals at that point were 11, 20 and 21. The two closest have only Hail Mary plays to tie or beat me and they both failed. My only corruption check was a 3 for Cirden, which he passed.

Vastor Peredhil · Sun Apr 14, 2019 7:56 pm

Turn 3 Saruman uses Lucky Strike, but he is no warrior

CDavis7M · Mon Apr 15, 2019 3:16 am

Sounds like a great game! Thanks for the write up.

We also had a 4 player Arda last Friday in San Diego. I think we were all within 4 points of each other at the Council. We had Lure of Power + Traitor trigger.

And at one point we had 2 Scimitars, 4 other hazard permanent events, Will of Sauron, and maybe 4 or 5 hazard long events. It was nuts. Such a blast!

Sent from my F5321 using Tapatalk

Goblin King · Tue Apr 16, 2019 1:31 am

Vastor Peredhil wrote: ↑Sun Apr 14, 2019 7:56 pm Turn 3 Saruman uses Lucky Strike, but he is no warrior

Goblin King · Tue Apr 16, 2019 1:38 am

CDavis7M wrote: ↑Mon Apr 15, 2019 3:16 am Sounds like a great game! Thanks for the write up.

We also had a 4 player Arda last Friday in San Diego. I think we were all within 4 points of each other at the Council. We had Lure of Power + Traitor trigger.

And at one point we had 2 Scimitars, 4 other hazard permanent events, Will of Sauron, and maybe 4 or 5 hazard long events. It was nuts. Such a blast!

Sent from my F5321 using Tapatalk

Yeah, I've been in those games. That's when nobody wants to travel anywhere or they are all heading to the Free Domains. In our game, nobody was going anywhere near dragon country. The closest I went was The Wind Throne and I got hammered.
The Nazgul were super vicious in our game. I hit a guy twice with a Khamul that started as a permanent event. After the second attack, I drew Pale Sword.

CCG Collector · Tue Apr 16, 2019 4:36 pm

Vastor Peredhil wrote: ↑Sun Apr 14, 2019 7:56 pm Turn 3 Saruman uses Lucky Strike, but he is no warrior

Heh, that at least seems like a minor mistake. The last time I played Arda, we had a four-person group including two new players. The other player (besides me) who had a little experience still managed to misread Assassin's free-hold icon as a free-domain instead, and killed one of the new players with it on the second turn. I didn't realize the mistake either until a few turns later, and of course by then it was too late. Oh well.