To Catch An Orc with a Minimum Purchase Deck 6 – January 20, 2020

Introduction

A little break in reviews due to other obligations. Also, hopefully the podcast review of Sarn Ford Sentry that I reviewed already will be coming out this week. In the meant time here is another To Catch an Orc Minimum Purchase playthrough!

Decklist

Attempt 6

Setup: Methedras in the staging area. Threat is 28 and time is 2.

Starting Hand: Gandalf, Keys of Orthanc Westfold Horse-breeder, Westfold Outrider x2, and Secret Paths

Turn 1: A Test of Will drawn. Play keys on Eowyn. Play Westfold Outrider with Doomed 1, threat is 29, and Eowyn gains a resource. Play Westfold Horse-breeder and find Rohan Warhorse to add to hand. Eowyn and Grima quest for 6. Staging adds Orc Hound. Surge reveals Take Cover dealing a damage to Eowyn and Grima. Orc Hunter added to the staging area for 5 threat and removes a time. Time is 2. Travel to Methedras. Hound engages and attacks. Outrider defends, shadow adds an attack, and he dies. Eomer attacks and kills hound. Refresh, threat is 30, and time is 1.

Turn 2: Northern Tracker drawn. Play Outrider 2 with Doomed 1 and Eowyn gets a resource. Threat is 31. Eowyn and Grima quest for 6. Staging adds second Methedras and play secret paths to ignore its threat. Active location explored, search 3, no enemies, add Lórien Guide to my hand, and time is 2. Optionally engage hunter and defend with breeder, shadow removes a time, and breeder dies. Eomer attacks and kills the hunter. Refresh, threat is 32, Methedras Orc and Orc Cave added to staging area, and time is 2 again.

Turn 3: Gondorian Spearman drawn and played with Doomed 1, threat s 33, and Eowyn gets a resource. Play Gandalf dealing 4 damage to Orc. Eowyn, Grima, and Gandalf quest for 10. Prowling Wolf added to the staging area for 10 threat. Discard warhorse for a willpower. Time is 3. Enemies engage. Wolf defended by Outrider, no shadow, and no damage dealt. Orc defended by Spearman which deals a damage killing the Orc. Test of Will shuffled into out of play deck. Eomer attacks and kills the wolf. Refresh, threat is 34, Gandalf discarded, and time is 2.

Turn 4: Westfold Outrider drawn. Play guide with Doomed 1, threat is 35, and Eowyn gets a resource. Eowyn, Grima, and guide quest for 7 and a progress on active location. Methedras Orc added for 6 threat. 1 progress on active location and time is 3. Orc attacks and tracker shuffled in. Spearman defends, deals a damage, shadow discards keys, and Spearman dies. Eomer and Outrider attack for 7 killing the orc. Refresh, threat is 36, and time is 2.

Turn 5: Westfold Horse-breeder drawn and played. No mount found. Play Outrider #3. Quest for 7 with same people and active location explored. Search 3, no enemies, and Erebor Hammersmith added to hand. Staging adds Orc Hunter, Orc Hound, and Orc Skirmisher. Plus take cover deals a damage to questers.

Postmortem

I sciop because I keep just falling behind in board state. I’m thinking the deck can beat the quest, but it’s going to take several plays to get the right draws to build up a stable board similar to one of my earlier games and get Mugash out. I’m probably going to have to either play a power deck against this or come back to it. I just don’t have the time to play this a dozen or so times for the right draws, and get to play all the other quests in the cycle.