Hello community,
As you all now by now, FFG forums will be shutting down. Thus, a lot of interesting information and official rulings given by designers in the rules section could be lost.
A community effort is undertaken, you can fill in that form, here with all the rulings you might find/know of in those forums:
http://lotr-lcg-quest-companion.gamersdungeon.net/ruling_archive.php
All of those rulings will be made available on the Quest Companion when this is over.
Thank you for your help.

The notice of the closure of the forums here on this website is quite the sad news, but I hope we will be able to carry on with these monthly leagues elsewhere...

The notice of the closure of the forums here on this website is quite the sad news, but I hope we will be able to carry on with these monthly leagues elsewhere...

If I were you I would simply start buying anything I can get a hold of (and you have the money to buy confortably) since reprinting and restocking for this game is very....random.
As a more general advice the latest cycles usually have better crafted quest and a more solid narrative. I could recommend starting from The Lost Realm and working from there. Otherwise Wilds of Rhovanion and the Ered Mitrhin cycle are another good place to start. Maybe wait going for Shadow in the East and Vengeance of Mordor until later
Springing for the LOTR saga could be good too.

The Dunland Trap required 2 Tokens for me. The first attempt was over in round 1, when I had three enemies engaged with my heroes, already. The second one took longer, but the start was not great either, and I was always behind, until it became too much. The third game, finally, worked fairly well, and even though I lost a couple allies and attachments to the trap (no real point to hold on to cards, when your hand gets discarded constantly), I was pretty well-prepared for the rest of the scenario, and quickly found a new healer, which was very good, as there was quite a lot of damage incoming. Not enough to kill my heroes, though, thanks to the healer and a number of resources spent to use him more than once per round.
Bye
Thanee

The Dunland Trap was a an edge-of—the-seat adventure which could have gone anyway at anytime. This was the quest I had tried to build around foolishly thinking To Catch an Orc would be easier. But my opening strategy worked here and I was able to use a Forest Snare to great advantage. Choosing the Boar Clan Stalkers whenever I got to pick a Dunland enemy and then disabling them with a snare. I the set up several traps in the staging area and when I progressed to the Ambush chose to keep Treebeard with a few resources on him as my only ally. The final round I was holding off against two Boar Clan Stalkers and Chief Turcot himself. Trapping one stalker I was able to use Treebeard to fend off against the other as my cheap rangers and ents boldly sacrificed themselves to protect the counsellor Grima safe from Turch’s attacks. Managed to win first try with no tokens required.
 
0 tokens used.
 
 

Well I decided to challenge myself this month with using just the restricted card pool (aside from the hero choices and MOTK contract that let me start with Anborn). But opening round I had the choice to play ranger spikes or treebeard and what were the odds that I would be overwhelmed with enemies round 1? So I went with Treebeard using Grima’s cost reduction and during the questing phase drew an enemy that revealed another card and summoned a second enemy and the shadow effect killed a hero. Pretty quick game loss after that. 
 
Tried again with 2 tokens and got the traps really flowing this time. Though it was really hard to quest when so many of my allies ended up in my out of play 20 cards and getting discarded. In the end I was questing with everyone and constantly recycling traps with Anborn. I managed to just scrape out a victory.
 
Tokens used: 2

The orc has been caught. Took a while to find the sneaky git, because he was hiding very deep inside the set-aside cards, but once the deck was set up with some allies and attachments, there wasn't really anything happening from the encounter deck, that caused me any trouble.
Bye
Thanee

We will be putting out a lot of details on the pros and cons of various printing options when we release, so stay tuned!

That's a really interesting card, I can see it work well in a generic Dunedain deck (maybe with Vigilant Dunadan and some of the other high cost Dunedain allies) with Outmatched and Followed or in a more straightforward trap deck (mabye a Gondor themed one). Another very good game design.

For anyone interested, a few other cards have been spoiled on a couple LOTR LCG related blogs and podcasts:
@Durins_Father's Vision of the Palantir spoils a new event for trap decks https://visionofthepalantir.com/2020/12/08/a-long-extended-party/ An extensive discussion of the Thengel hero on Card Talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDNch76uNaY A discussion on the as yet unreleased Cardboard of the Rings Episode 173 of ALeP as a whole https://cardboardoftherings.com/ 

Celebrimbor's Secret was a real breeze, I had only played it as a 4 players Fellowship before and I was expecting more problems, but since The Orc's Search basically never triggered and the only Scour Effect I saw was the mandatory one from passing from Stage 1 to Stage 2 it was all super easy, despite the fact that my deck performed slightly worse than usual.
I must say this Silvan combo deck is really something, I would not use it in a Fellowship (both for the Doomed and for the extremely long Planning Phases), but against lots of solo quests it really rocks.
Here is the usual Playthrough

About the new players Ships, in particular the one that allows one Hero to gain another one's traits, would you guys think that a Lothiriel - Treebeard/Skinbark deck to get around some of the ents usual limitations or a Lothiriel/Tactis Imrahil - Gwaihir deck to keep a steady supplies of Eagles be worhty a spin?

The Dunland Trap was another quest that worried me due to its particular mechanics. I rushed through Stage 1 to get ahead with my allies army's destruction so that I could rebuilt it again. This ended up having me hover over 45 Threat for a long time due to having to use again all the Doomed events but I was still able to score a first attempt victory, with Henamarth Riversong being a clear MVP. 0 Valar Tokens again.
Here is the usual playthrough

I had my worries about how the mechanics of To Catch An Orc might broke the combo of my Silvan Deck but luckily I had one copy of Host of Galadhrim in my hand at the start of the game, and another Host of Galahdrim with 2 copies of Galadhrim Weaver in what was left of my deck. My thinned down deck thus worked on my favor and soon the combo was firing off and I steamrolled the quest even though it took quite some time to find Mugash. 0 Valar Tokens
Here is the usual playthrough (quite long Planning Phases with this deck)

Welcome to the LOTR Solo League. This month we'll be playing three quests from The Voice of Isengard and The Ringmaker. The quests are:
1) To Catch an Orc
2) The Dunland Trap
3) Celebrimbor's Secret
Here are the rules:
1) Each player will construct a 50+ card deck, then use that exact deck against all three quests. You may use that deck freely against any quests (include the three quests in the league) prior to the run for testing purposes, but you may not use any trial runs for your official results.
2) At least one of the heroes must be from a box with those quests. This means that you must have at least one of Tactics Eomer, Grima, Celeborn and Galadriel
3) Your score against each quest will be how much help you need to defeat it, based on the Grace of the Valar variant invented by Seastan. It works like this:
For each token you have, you can choose to draw a card or give a hero a resource. This happens one at a time, so if I use my first token to draw a card, I see the card before I decide whether to use my second token for a card or a resource. This can be done *anytime* during setup.
The original variant starts at zero tokens and gains two tokens if you lose quickly (first five turns) and one if you do not -- however, for the purposes of this league I will allow you to start a quest at any number of tokens, and adjust by as many as you want. The only rules for adding/reducing tokens are these:
Rule 1) If you lose a quest with X tokens, you cannot play that quest again with X or less tokens.
Rule 2) If you defeat a quest with Y tokens, you cannot play that quest again with Y or more tokens.
So for example, if I start with six tokens against Into the Pit and defeat it, I can play it again with 0-5 tokens. If I then try with three tokens and lose, I can play it again with 4 or 5 tokens. If I try with four and lose, I can play it again with 5 tokens. If I win, my final score for that quest is 5, and if I lose my final score for the quest is 6. (Alternatively, I could've decided that 6 was a good enough score the first time I played it, and just have my final score be 6 without playing again.)
Remember that tokens do not carry over between quests. When playing Foundations of Stone it does not matter how many tokens I needed to defeat Road to Rivendell.
4) You are not required to publish your deck, but providing a ringsdb link is encouraged (otherwise I may need to ask you for your decklist at the end of the month if required for a tiebreaker). You are required to reveal which Heroes you used, and how many cards in your deck came from outside The Lost Realm/Angmar Awakened, SoH/Haradrim and a single core. Do not include outside heroes in this count, only cards in the deck itself.
Note: Contracts (from the most recent cycle) are not part of the deck and should not be counted. A Loot Deck (from the Burglar's turn contract) is also not part of the deck and should not be counted. The One Ring or the Messenger of the King ally/hero should also not be counted *unless* your deck uses those cards to reach 50 -- the Master card fetched by the One Ring should be counted. You may follow contract/One Ring setup instructions at the same as hero setup, ignoring Caleb's ruling.
5) Tiebreakers have frequently mattered in this league. Here are the tiebreakers, in order:
---
1st) The number of outside cards (i.e. not from The Voice of Isengard/The Ring-Maker, HoN/Against the Shadow or a single core) used in the deck. Do not count outside heroes in this count, only cards in the deck. Less cards is better.
2nd) The number of heroes specifically from The Voice of Isengard/The Ring-Maker and HoN/Against the Shadow. More is better.
3rd) The number of heroes used from this list: Tactics Eomer, Grima, Celeborn and Galadriel. More is better.
4th) The number of cards in the deck outside The Voice of Isengard/The Ring-Maker and HoN/Against the Shadow. Less is better, and core cards are considered "outside" for this tiebreaker.
5th) The number of cards outside The Voice of Isengard, The Dunland Trap and Celebrimbor's Secret. Less is better, and core cards are considered "outside" for this tiebreaker.
6th) Performance in November's Solo League (if you didn't play or finish Novemberr's League, a median performance will be assumed). Whoever did worst wins this tiebreaker.
---
6) 1st place gets to choose the cycle for February's league, 2nd place gets to choose a quest from that cycle, and 3rd place gets to choose a quest *not* to be used from that cycle. In an effort to expand the diversity of decks used, the last place player will choose an additional cycle that may be used for deckbuilding in February's league.
7) Weekly deadlines will at 11:59pm Eastern on the 14th, 21st, and 28th. Only the final deadline really matters for scoring and cannot be extended -- the first two deadlines are only to be included in intermediate standings.
To Catch an Orc: December 14th
The Dunland Trap: December 21st
Celebrimbor's Secret: December 28th
8 ) I've created a google spreadsheet for results here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zCBGP_y9pGYW6YHsfSoQM749xb1CFFdvlO3cNn_NcdM/edit#gid=0
To join the league, merely add your name and information about your deck to the spreadsheet, then enter your results as you have them. Please give a link to your deck if you built or published it on ringsdb, but it is not required.
If you wish you may run additional decks against the quests and record your results, but only the first entry will be considered for the competition itself.

So in January we will play against A Shadow in the East/ Vengeance of Mordor with the addition of cards from LOTR Saga.
Thanee has selected The River Running and RNG has selected The City of Ulfast and Under the Ash Mountains, so prepare yourselves for some great hardships.
The mandatory heroes list is Leadership Frodo, Smeagol, Lothiriel and Gildor Inglorion

The Dunland Trap was another quest that worried me due to its particular mechanics. I rushed through Stage 1 to get ahead with my allies army's destruction so that I could rebuilt it again. This ended up having me hover over 45 Threat for a long time due to having to use again all the Doomed events but I was still able to score a first attempt victory, with Henamarth Riversong being a clear MVP. 0 Valar Tokens again.
Here is the usual playthrough

I had my worries about how the mechanics of To Catch An Orc might broke the combo of my Silvan Deck but luckily I had one copy of Host of Galadhrim in my hand at the start of the game, and another Host of Galahdrim with 2 copies of Galadhrim Weaver in what was left of my deck. My thinned down deck thus worked on my favor and soon the combo was firing off and I steamrolled the quest even though it took quite some time to find Mugash. 0 Valar Tokens
Here is the usual playthrough (quite long Planning Phases with this deck)

Sorry, busy week.
I will just pick the first quest from the Deluxe Box (havn't played that cycle, yet).

Bye
Thanee

Welcome to the LOTR Solo League. This month we'll be playing three quests from The Voice of Isengard and The Ringmaker. The quests are:
1) To Catch an Orc
2) The Dunland Trap
3) Celebrimbor's Secret
Here are the rules:
1) Each player will construct a 50+ card deck, then use that exact deck against all three quests. You may use that deck freely against any quests (include the three quests in the league) prior to the run for testing purposes, but you may not use any trial runs for your official results.
2) At least one of the heroes must be from a box with those quests. This means that you must have at least one of Tactics Eomer, Grima, Celeborn and Galadriel
3) Your score against each quest will be how much help you need to defeat it, based on the Grace of the Valar variant invented by Seastan. It works like this:
For each token you have, you can choose to draw a card or give a hero a resource. This happens one at a time, so if I use my first token to draw a card, I see the card before I decide whether to use my second token for a card or a resource. This can be done *anytime* during setup.
The original variant starts at zero tokens and gains two tokens if you lose quickly (first five turns) and one if you do not -- however, for the purposes of this league I will allow you to start a quest at any number of tokens, and adjust by as many as you want. The only rules for adding/reducing tokens are these:
Rule 1) If you lose a quest with X tokens, you cannot play that quest again with X or less tokens.
Rule 2) If you defeat a quest with Y tokens, you cannot play that quest again with Y or more tokens.
So for example, if I start with six tokens against Into the Pit and defeat it, I can play it again with 0-5 tokens. If I then try with three tokens and lose, I can play it again with 4 or 5 tokens. If I try with four and lose, I can play it again with 5 tokens. If I win, my final score for that quest is 5, and if I lose my final score for the quest is 6. (Alternatively, I could've decided that 6 was a good enough score the first time I played it, and just have my final score be 6 without playing again.)
Remember that tokens do not carry over between quests. When playing Foundations of Stone it does not matter how many tokens I needed to defeat Road to Rivendell.
4) You are not required to publish your deck, but providing a ringsdb link is encouraged (otherwise I may need to ask you for your decklist at the end of the month if required for a tiebreaker). You are required to reveal which Heroes you used, and how many cards in your deck came from outside The Lost Realm/Angmar Awakened, SoH/Haradrim and a single core. Do not include outside heroes in this count, only cards in the deck itself.
Note: Contracts (from the most recent cycle) are not part of the deck and should not be counted. A Loot Deck (from the Burglar's turn contract) is also not part of the deck and should not be counted. The One Ring or the Messenger of the King ally/hero should also not be counted *unless* your deck uses those cards to reach 50 -- the Master card fetched by the One Ring should be counted. You may follow contract/One Ring setup instructions at the same as hero setup, ignoring Caleb's ruling.
5) Tiebreakers have frequently mattered in this league. Here are the tiebreakers, in order:
---
1st) The number of outside cards (i.e. not from The Voice of Isengard/The Ring-Maker, HoN/Against the Shadow or a single core) used in the deck. Do not count outside heroes in this count, only cards in the deck. Less cards is better.
2nd) The number of heroes specifically from The Voice of Isengard/The Ring-Maker and HoN/Against the Shadow. More is better.
3rd) The number of heroes used from this list: Tactics Eomer, Grima, Celeborn and Galadriel. More is better.
4th) The number of cards in the deck outside The Voice of Isengard/The Ring-Maker and HoN/Against the Shadow. Less is better, and core cards are considered "outside" for this tiebreaker.
5th) The number of cards outside The Voice of Isengard, The Dunland Trap and Celebrimbor's Secret. Less is better, and core cards are considered "outside" for this tiebreaker.
6th) Performance in November's Solo League (if you didn't play or finish Novemberr's League, a median performance will be assumed). Whoever did worst wins this tiebreaker.
---
6) 1st place gets to choose the cycle for February's league, 2nd place gets to choose a quest from that cycle, and 3rd place gets to choose a quest *not* to be used from that cycle. In an effort to expand the diversity of decks used, the last place player will choose an additional cycle that may be used for deckbuilding in February's league.
7) Weekly deadlines will at 11:59pm Eastern on the 14th, 21st, and 28th. Only the final deadline really matters for scoring and cannot be extended -- the first two deadlines are only to be included in intermediate standings.
To Catch an Orc: December 14th
The Dunland Trap: December 21st
Celebrimbor's Secret: December 28th
8 ) I've created a google spreadsheet for results here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zCBGP_y9pGYW6YHsfSoQM749xb1CFFdvlO3cNn_NcdM/edit#gid=0
To join the league, merely add your name and information about your deck to the spreadsheet, then enter your results as you have them. Please give a link to your deck if you built or published it on ringsdb, but it is not required.
If you wish you may run additional decks against the quests and record your results, but only the first entry will be considered for the competition itself.

Final standings:
0 Alonewolf87 (4)
1 Thanee (33)
2 General_Grievous (6)
27 Bobbymcbobface (0)
I win the League and I will choose a cycle for January League. I will select A Shadow in The East / Vengeance of Mordor since the cycle is finally complete.
@Thanee is in second place and will choose a quest to play from that cycle. @General_Grievous is in third place and will choose a quest from that cycle to exclude. @Bobbymcbobface is in last place and gets to choose a supplemental cycle for player cards.
Join us in the next Solo League as we do Saruman's bidding and play To Catch an Orc, The Dunland Trap and Celebrimbor's Secret

I will choose LOTR saga as the supplemental cycle

I will exclude The Fortress of Nurn to help save on the spoilers (as I’m currently playing through that cycle with my wife and we are only halfway through it in our cooperative games)

Final standings:
0 Alonewolf87 (4)
1 Thanee (33)
2 General_Grievous (6)
27 Bobbymcbobface (0)
I win the League and I will choose a cycle for January League. I will select A Shadow in The East / Vengeance of Mordor since the cycle is finally complete.
@Thanee is in second place and will choose a quest to play from that cycle. @General_Grievous is in third place and will choose a quest from that cycle to exclude. @Bobbymcbobface is in last place and gets to choose a supplemental cycle for player cards.
Join us in the next Solo League as we do Saruman's bidding and play To Catch an Orc, The Dunland Trap and Celebrimbor's Secret