I made this blog to record my adventures while playing Lord of the Rings the Living Card Game (LOTR LCG). I do not consider myself good at this game, but I am getting better! I will summarize my relationship with this game so far.
I received LOTR LCG as a Christmas gift in 2018. I was so excited, I played it right away! I tried starting with my own customized deck with Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli as heroes, because those are my favorite characters. I lost miserably on the first "easy quest." I then tried playing in Easy Mode, where some difficult Encounter Cards are removed from the game and heroes start with one extra resource each. I lost miserably again.
I took a break from the game, but I LOVED the theme and game mechanics, so I eventually came back to it. This time I took the game's advice and began with a pre-constructed deck, which is basically like training wheels. They allow you to start with 40 cards instead of the minimum required of 50, which makes it easier to get the good cards in your deck available to play. Each pre-constructed deck is mono-sphere, which means all cards only contain one sphere of influence (it limits the cards you are able to play). I chose the Tactics sphere (I wanted Legolas and Gimli in my party at least!), which if you have done any kind of preliminary research into this game, you probably know was a bad choice. I lost miserably... a lot.
I took a longer break from the game this time, but still the Ring, err, I mean the game, drew me back in. I wanted to win so freaking badly! I chose a different pre-constructed deck, using the Leadership sphere of influence (at least I could use Aragorn). I finally won Passage Through Mirkwood (the easiest quest)! I tried the next quest, Journey Along the Anduin. I lost a couple times, but learned from my mistakes, and eventually beat that too! I felt like hot stuff. Then I tried Escape from Dol Guldur (the hardest quest in the Core Set) and lost MISERABLY. I tried it again, and I did even worse.
I took another small break from the game, but after some internet browsing I realized virtually everyone agrees that Escape from Dol Guldur is way too hard, especially with only Core Set cards to build a deck with. I decided to extend my collection, so bought the Black Riders expansion, which is the first part of the LOTR Saga set (it retells the events of the LOTR trilogy). I made a thematic Hobbit deck with Merry, Pippin, Sam, and Frodo (the Saga expansions have you work with 4 heroes instead of 3), using a custom deck. I lost, but made progress. I fine-tuned my deck, and won!
The theme was so beautifully done I was on a LOTR LCG high, and bought a few adventure packets (mostly chosen for the hero the packs included). I played the remaining scenarios, and lost the first game of each, but won on my second attempts. I then purchased the next Saga Expansion, The Road Darkens. I made a custom deck with Gandalf, Pippin, Legolas (of course), and Frodo, and I beat each scenario on my first try (on Easy Mode, mind you). I then purchased the next Saga Expansion, Treason of Saruman, but have not played it yet.
And that brings me up-to-date on my Middle Earth adventures (Midgard is Old Norse for Middle Earth, in case you were wondering on my blog name). Where do I go from here?
The Saga Expansions have an optional Campaign Mode, that include additional cards and rules, as well as effects that carry on from one quest to another. I was scared to try this at first, because the game is hard enough as it is, but I want to give it a try now that I have more wins under my belt. I will begin documenting my journeys on this blog.
Like I said, I am not a good player. I've lost a lot. It's taken me 3 years-ish of owning the game (with rage breaks, of course) to begin winning. Admittedly, I tend to make my games harder by wanting to be thematic, or by picking heroes I have an affinity toward (LEGOLAS!!!). But the experience of the game and the puzzle-like mechanics continue to resonate with me, and I am willing to share my successes and failures with the internet. Perhaps some prospective or new players will find this blog helpful for getting a taste for the game, or learn from my mistakes (and maybe even my strategy!).
No comments:
Post a Comment