Encounter Set Review: Spiders of the Mirkwood

Webs, hanging ominously from the old trees, indicate something about the treacherous inhabitants of Mirkwood forests. Many small, hungry eyes eagerly watch the walking characters, which are nervously looking around. Each step causes the shudder of webs, which more and more attract the attention of Mirkwood’s inhabitants. Which step will be the last one, after which one of the oldest embodiments of fear reveal themselves? My dear friends… you have entered the realm of Ungoliant’s Spawn and its youngs. Nobody will be more pleased from your visitation than these Spiders…

Enemies

King Spider

From the dense webs is coming something more dangerous and malicious than Forest Spider. King Spider doesn’t belong among “spider workers”. Actually, they are its children.

Despite its size, this enemy can move very quietly and surprise almost any Player – it shows 20 Engagement cost. King Spider owns 2 Threat Strength, 3 Attack, 1 Defense and 3 Hit Points. It is maybe a bit more fragile than Forest Spider, but 3 Attack commands respect at unprepared Players. On the contrary of Forest Spider, King Spider attacks for 3 all the time, not only once. So Players shouldn’t underrate the strength of this arachnid.

The greatest disaster and chaos King Spider is caused when this Spider is revealed – each Player must exhaust 1 additional character. We must rejoice, when We see disconcerted Players, how they are making unpleasant decisions. One less character means a bigger deficit in Player’s defense. The best thing that can happen during revealing is when some Player must exhaust his only ready character, therefore he can’t defend or attack anymore one round. But even in common situations, when Players have ready more characters, exhausting anyone is always a considerable complication. Well, a complication for Players, luck for Us.

What happens, when King Spider appears and exhausts a hero with attached Caught in a Web? It’s double bad luck for the Player. The exhausted hero then is not able to ready again unless the Player pays 2 resources from his resource pool.

Shadow effect

The better is, when the Player reveals King Spider as the shadow card. The basic effect remains the same as its When revealed effect: the defending Player must exhaust 1 additional character. What does it mean? One less character, who is able to defend or attack. Such an effect always somehow upsets the plans of the Player. But if the Player is even more naive and careless and the attack of an enemy is undefended, he will be shocked: King Spider’s shadow effect exhausts not 1, but 2! characters of the defending Player. Any invented battle plan will be ruined. Practically, the Player won’t be able to adequately react during the rest of the Combat phase, because he will miss the armed defending/attacking forces. Thus, We will have an easier way to decimate the lives of characters, which Players attempt to protect.

Passage Through Mirkwood

King Spider belongs among the worst (for Players) enemies, which can be revealed. Not only due to its exhausting ability but also because of its Attack, which can be simply boosted by the shadow effect of Dol Guldur Orcs or East Bight Patrol. Still, King Spider’s ability comes in handy at most, when Player is going to engage some strong enemy, like Chieftan Ufthak or Ungoliant’s Spawn. Players will then miss the character, which could be used for defending or attacking.

Escape from Dol Guldur

Players try to keep ready as many characters as possible because they can’t play more than one ally per group per round. And when We keep one hero as the prisoner at the same time, the appearance of King Spider will hurt Players considerably. Actually, King Spider can belong to the main reasons, why Players lose this scenario.

A Journey to Rhosgobel

This scenario can become the witness of very nice combo King Spider-Exhaustion. This treachery haunts every Player, who sends his characters to the quest. King Spider may amplify the effect of Exhaustion, thus it may deal 2 damage to more characters. The great cooperation continues if Exhaustion is revealed as the shadow effect. Revealing both shadow effects simultaneously will deal damage to more characters.

Return to Mirkwood

The significance and importance of King Spider are reduced by the absence of any combo and the presence of much stronger enemies like Attercop, Attercop. King Spider’s ability and shadow effect then serve only as commonly beneficial effects.

Lost in Mirkwood

King Spider is here only as of the common enemy, “the worker” like Forest Spider in Passage Through Mirkwood. Ravenous Spider poses here far greater danger for Players. However, during stage 2B (Spiders of Mirkwood) when King Spider deals damage to the character, it forces that character to stay exhausted until the end of the round.

Danger level

Shadow level

Hummerhorns

Hummerhorns proves that Mirkwood forest isn’t fulfilled only by Spiders and Orcs. The giant wasps can attack so fiercely that they may sting any hero to death.

To provoke Hummerhorns attack Players would have to move in forests like the careless, clanging army, or they would have to be there for a long time. 40 Engagement cost is very high value, so it is not easy to send Hummerhorns spontaneously on some Player. It doesn’t mean any serious threat in the staging area, because it owns only 1 Threat Strength. Also, because Hummerhorns are Insects, they won’t last too long. 2 Attack and no Defense with 3 Hit Points isn’t a real challenge for nasty Players.

Still, no Player would wish to engage Hummerhorns optionally, despite its fragility. How is that possible? Because the initial attack is so furious and dangerous that it deals 5 damage directly to one hero of the player, who has engaged Hummerhorns. Such evident menace Players haven’t met yet. We just regret that Hummerhorns can’t resist to Gandalf’s dealing-damage ability. Logically, Hummerhorns mean such danger for Players, that they will use that damn sorcerer just for killing this enemy. However, without Gandalf and with the increasing threat, these wasps are like a time bomb – it explodes when it gets contacted with the Player.

5 damage to any hero means instant KO – no hero has 6 or more Hit Points to survive such sting attack. Only attached Citadel Plate can complicate our victory, because it, unfortunately, gives to hero strong protection. Otherwise, it removes the hero from the game, thus Players are even closer to defeat.

Shadow effect

The shadow effect of Hummerhorns has the same base as its ability – it deals damage. Defended attack deals just 1 damage – but unlike the ability, it applies to all characters of the given Player. Hummerhorns just attack in the swarm on each character and cause them 1 damage. If the attack is undefended, then the swarm bulks up the strength – each character of the given player is hurt by 2 damage. More characters mean the greater pandemonium. It sends many allies to the graveyard directly and maybe even some bleeding hero…

Passage Through Mirkwood

This Insect poses a threat all by itself, so it doesn’t need even some special combo or cooperation. In Passage Through Mirkwood, it belongs with Chieftan Ufthak and Ungoliant’s Spawn to Our best and most dangerous servants.

Escape from Dol Guldur

Destroying a hero at the moment when We are keeping one of the heroes as the prisoner can mean only one thing: certain defeat for Players. And because Players used to be too busy with fighting Nazgul of Dol Guldur, Hummerhorns have a bigger chance to strike.

A Journey to Rhosgobel

More than ability the chaos is caused by Hummerhorn’s shadow effect, which deals damage to characters. Characters are therefore vulnerable mainly to Festering Wounds. In this scenario, it proves that the sting of Hummerhorns can bring to characters bothersome and very painful infection, which will finish them off.

Return to Mirkwood

Not only Hummerhorns are able to kill the hero. But even that treacherous and hot-tempered Gollum can badly hurt hero by Gollum’s Bite, if not kill him directly. How Players can protect themselves from such power of Our Encounter deck? Moreover, the guarding Players will face the enormously increasing threat (due to abilities and effects of Gollum, Gollum’s Anguish), so engaging Hummerhorns is rather a certainty than a possibility.

Lost in Mirkwood

It’s hard to say if in Lost in Mirkwood Hummerhorns poses any challenge or threat for Players. If they went through all the scenarios and adventures up to here, Hummerhorns can look like a prehistoric, weak enemy. But it’s not wise to underrate them – still dealing 5 damage to one hero is a serious wound, for which the careless hero can pay with life.

Danger level

Shadow level

Ungoliant’s Spawn

The child of Ungoliant, one of the most insidious Spiders, is patiently lurking on Players. Ungoliant’s Spawn waits for them with a very simple task – devour all their characters.

Our most precious pet of the whole Encounter set is hard to beat, and only naive Players haven’t respect for Ungoliant’s Spawn. Their arrogance will be followed by a quick and painful death. Wiser Players will be afraid of its arrival. Its 3 Threat Strength foreshadows that something dangerous is coming. 5 Attack will kill almost any ally and seriously wound any hero. Its bite may survive only the strongest characters. 2 Defense means the only vulnerability of this Spider because it doesn’t have any armor or solid skin, just chitin exoskeleton. On the other hand, with 9 Hit Points, it will resist to swords and axes for a longer time. More precisely, nothing tougher Players won’t meet in the very first scenario, so for new Players, Ungoliant’s Spawn is the horror embodiment.

The impressive stats are not, however, the only strength of this Spider. When it is revealed, each character committed to a quest has reduced the Willpower by 1 until the end of the phase. In other words: when Ungoliant’s Spawn appears, it weakens the courage and will of each character and sows the fear into their hearts. For Players, it poses the real disaster – the chance of questing unsuccessfully is very, very high, if not certain. Even the full number of Players won’t ease their effort – Ungoliant’s Spawn very substantially reduces the overall Willpower they get together. Thus their threat will increase and so it is probable that one of the Players will engage Ungoliant’s Spawn with a quite low Engagement cost 32.

Shadow effect

Very bad thing happens to the Player if the sinister presence of Ungoliant’s Spawn boosts some attacking enemy. The defending Player must raise its threat by 4 – it’s a huge portion of the increased threat, isn’t it? And what if the Player let the attack of some enemy undefended? Then he must raise his threat by 8. Incredible shadow skills of Ungoliant’s Spawn can significantly draw some Player closer to the magic threshold 50 threat, which means game over.

Passage Through Mirkwood

Our pet can be considered here as the boss. Even Chieftan Ufthak doesn’t raise so much concern as Ungoliant’s Spawn. It is the queen of Mirkwood forests. It’s Our mighty servant, which has own bothersome, helpful servants: King Spider and Forest Spider. Players shudder before its arrival, how it is illustrated in the stage Beorn’s Path. If Players are quick enough, maybe they run away from the insatiable hunger of Ungoliant’s Spawn. But if they choose “Don’t Leave the Path!”? Well… probably nobody will ever hear about the Players again…

Escape from Dol Guldur

Despite Ungoliant’s Spawn isn’t here in the homeland, Players really fear to engage this Spider, when Nazgul from Dol Guldur circling ominously above their heads. Such a combo they just can’t survive.

A Joruney to Rhosgobel

The searching for mighty Athelas may Ungoliant’s Spawn nicely liven up. While Players might expect some amazing treachery here, Ungoliant’s Spawn could surprise them unpleasantly. Without proper army support, this Spider will cause chaos.

Return to Mirkwood

While revealing Attercop, Attercop causes the biggest terror among Players than Ungoliant’s Spawn, the task of the child of Ungoliant remains: make harder (or totally thwart) the questing. The consequences of unsuccessfully questing in Return to Mirkwood used to be far more serious than ever before. The threat acceleration, due to guarding Gollum, will be even boosted, if Players reveal Ungoliant’s Spawn and move Players closer to 50 threat. Revealing this Spider during the stage Escape Attempt can even cause an immediate game over.

Lost in Mirkwood

The final clash between Players and Ungoliant’s Spawn occurs here in Lost in Mirkwood. If Ungoliant’s Spawn will become the nemesis with +2 Threat Strength, +2 Attack, +2 Defense and gain the immunity against the Player’s card effects, the Mirkwood forests will be the witness of one of the most epic battles in Mirkwood history.

Danger level

Shadow level

Locations

Great Forest Web

What it would be for the forest, full of Spiders, if a place, covered by spider-webs, was missing? Players won’t miss such location – Great Forest Web will show them, how it feels to push through the thick webs.

Before the Players decide to travel here, they find out that it has 2 Threat Strength and 2 Quest Points. These stats are exactly the same as at Enchanted Stream, so the same thing is valid for Great Forest Web: it doesn’t hurt much to Players in the staging area and at the same time, they won’t have any issues to fully explore it. The stats of this location is weak, unfortunately. The cost of exploring Great Forest Web, however, isn’t for free. If Players want to travel to a place full of webs, each of them must exhaust 1 hero. We are appreciated, that it doesn’t target commonly a “character”, but directly a “hero”. This mainly means, that each Player will have to do without one hero, which would get involved in combat. Each affected hero must fight with removing webs from their bodies, instead of fighting with enemies. Thus they will become easier prey for the inhabitants of the webs…

We would wish to see the combo Great Forest Web with King Spider so much, but… they don’t cooperate one with each other. When Players reveal King Spider and exhaust characters, they won’t travel into the location, where they would have to exhaust heroes on top of that. Such dumb behavior we can’t expect from Players.

Passage Through Mirkwood

Few of the Players will try, how is it to travel here… but after one, two bad experiences they quickly find out that completely avoiding Great Forest Web is the best (the worst for Us), what they can do. They rather will try to get rid of Necromancer’s Pass and utilize the positive effects of Old Forest Road and Forest Gate than weaken themselves by traveling to Great Forest Web. Only if no enemy will engage Players, then they can afford to travel here.

Escape from Dol Guldur

Traveling to Great Forest Web, when Players can play only one character per round and per group and when one hero is Our prisoner, would be a nice suicide for them because they would miss the bodies in the combat.

A Journey to Rhosgobel

Exhaustion would deal damage also to heroes, exhausted by traveling effect of Great Forest Spider. The chance for this, however, doesn’t exist – the revealing treacheries during staging precedes the Travel phase, so Great Forest Web won’t cause the damage (through Exhaustion) to affected heroes.

Return to Mirkwood

Great Forest Web is one of the weakest locations among others in this scenario. While We are torturing Players by locations like The Spider’s Ring or The East Bight, the presence of Great Forest Web will be ignored by Us or even Players.

Lost in Mirkwood

The powerful comeback of Great Forest Web isn’t happening here. Maybe Vastness of Mirkwood and Dark Black Woods can a little bit improve this location once, but it is not really anything significant.

Danger level

Mountains of Mirkwood

From Mirkwood forests protrude the mountainsides of Mountains of Mirkwood. 2 Threat Strength is an average value and 3 Quest points are better than 2 Quest points of Great Forest Web. Therefore, the slimy Legolas won’t explore this location at once by destroying one of Our pets – or at least without Blade of Gondolin. Still, 3 Quest points don’t pose any issue, which should Players slow down.

This location has a positive Response effect for Players: after they explore it, each Player may search the top 5 cards of their deck, choose 1 card and add it to their hands. The rest of the cards they shuffle back into the deck. We don’t like this facilitation for Players, because they just choose the strongest or the most necessary card and use against Us and Our servants. As if there weren’t enough locations with positive effects (Old Forest Road, Forest Gate). Alas, Mountains of Mirkwood will appear in more scenarios than both locations from Passage Through Mirkwood set, so Players can utilize the positive effects more times.

However, on the contrary of Old Forest Road and Forest Gate, Mountains of Mirkwood still owns one unpleasant precondition, if Players want to gain the reward for exploring it. The precondition lies in Travel effect: when Players wish to travel here, they must reveal the top card from Encounter deck and add it to the staging area. Sometimes, too early celebration of gaining the possibility to search card in their deck may lead to a troublesome complication – depends which Encounter card is revealed, for example, King Spider or Ungoliant’s Spawn. Moreover, the added card will increase the overall Threat Strength in the staging area. The unpredictability of this location belongs to the strength of this card.

Passage Through Mirkwood

There is not much really dangerous cards, which may Mountains of Mirkwood bring. Ungoliant’s Spawn, Chieftan Ufthak, The Necromancer’s Reach or Eyes of the Forest belong to the best cards We may reveal.

Escape from Dol Guldur

Endless Caverns is a very good companion of Mountains of Mirkwood. Not only Players increase their threat by 1, but also Surge will trigger, thus the overall Threat Strength in the staging area will increase and it also brings another Encounter card.

A Journey to Rhosgobel

Players will be too afraid to travel into Mountains of Mirkwood. They won’t risk the revealing of dreaded treacheries like Exhaustion, Swarming Insects or Festering Wounds.

Return to Mirkwood

Revealing The Brown Lands or The Spider’s Ring may lead to a decent location lock. Otherwise, traveling here means the great hazard as regards the possible encountering of Attercop, Attercop, Gollum’s Bite, etc.

Lost in Mirkwood

As for Great Forest Web, the only possible straightforward interaction here is between Mountains of Mirkwood and Vastness of Mirkwood or Dark Black Woods. Otherwise, Ravenous Spider and Mirkwood Patrol can surprise that Players, which are not prepared for the battle with the strong enemies.

Danger level

Treacheries

Eyes of the Forest

Even if Players don’t see anything, it doesn’t mean, they are not watched. We are watching each step Players make. Deeper into Mirkwood forests they are going, the bigger smile is on Our face. And when they are deep enough, the trap shuts!Eyes of the Forest discards all events from the hands of each Player. Any embarrassing attempts to mock Us by events like Sneak Attack, Grim Resolve, Feint and others will fail thanks to this treachery. Players get almost naked. Without events, able to play during each phase as the only kind of Player cards, each plan they were plotting against Us, will inevitably fail. Only if some Player dares to cancel Eyes of the Forest by A Test of Will, he will protect events of every Player in the game. This must not happen! WE MUST punish Players for using their ridiculous spells and magic against Us!

Passage Through Mirkwood

Although Eyes of the Forest occurs only in one copy, Players are so afraid of this card they will save A Test of Willon its appearance. Yes, Feint, Hasty Stroke, and Sneak Attack are powerful events, which wait on their opportunity to hit. Tossing them by the effect of Eyes of the Forest can open the weaknesses of Players to dreadful enemies like Ungoliant’s Spawn and Chieftan Ufthak.

Escape from Dol Guldur

Events are kind of cards, which are not anyhow limited here. Players can play them anytime and in any number, on the contrary of allies (only 1 ally per group can be played each round). So where is an insufficient number of allies, there the events could play an important role. And when We are discarding them mercilessly, We are getting Players into an unpleasant situation.

A Journey to Rhosgobel

What cure is best against A Test of Will here, the card able to ruin Our treacheries like Exhaustion, Swarming Insects and Festering Wounds? Eyes of the Forest is the right answer.

Return to Mirkwood

At the end of Shadows of Mirkwood cycle, Players have many disgusting events: Astonishing Speed, The Eagles Are Coming! Gildor’s Counsel, Infighting, Shadow of the Past… all of them can Eyes of the Forest discard from their hands.

Lost in Mirkwood

The old effect of the old treachery will delight Us and bring nostalgic tears into Our eyes. After so many scenarios and dangerous effects and abilities from later Encounter decks, Player won’t remember that this treachery has ever existed. Therefore, its surprising revealing can bury many useful events into discard pile.

Danger level

Caught in a Web

Too vehement searching for the path leading outside of the heart of Mirkwood can some careless hero bring into… deadly, sticky webs! For Spiders of Mirkwood isn’t anything easier than to attack slowed hero, inject poison into him and pull him away to its nest, where its fate will be everything, just not pleasant…Caught in a Web belongs to Our very favourite treacheries. 2 copies of it wait on its unlucky victim. Unlike other previous treacheries from Passage Through Mirkwood scenario, Caught in a Web will stay with certain Player after its revelation. It attaches one hero, which belongs to the Player with the highest threat. It then counts as Condition attachment and has the following effect: “Attached hero does not ready during the Refresh phase unless you pay 2 resources from that hero’s pool.”It’s the opposite of Player’s attachments – it doesn’t boost the character, but cripples him. In this case, when the web was thrown on the hero, the hero can’t ready himself during the Refresh phase – he is slowed, entangled by webs, unable to make his common duties. It doesn’t matter, if the hero quests, defends, attacks or uses some ability, which triggers through the exhaustion – when he is exhausted, he stays exhausted. And exhausted hero means the great weakness and perfect opportunity to hit Player hardly. The treachery indicates it sufficiently – Player, who is moving through the Mirkwood forests careless at most (= has a higher threat), has the highest chance he will take one of his heroes to sticky trap. For temporary elimination of Caught in a Web, the Player must spend some effort (=2 resources) to ready the hero again. If the affected hero hasn’t already Steward of Gondor attached, then the repetitive spending 2 resources will extremely aggravate the Player’s resource management. He then must decide between sacrificing the hero and sacrificing resources.Sly Player may eliminate the effect of Our favourite treachery by some cards. The Player may attach Caught in a Web to hero, which has already attached Unexpected Courage. Even if Caught in a Web won’t release the hero, Unexpected Courage will do it by force. Even worse dirty trick causes ugly Miner of the Iron Hills – after he enters the play, he discards one Condition. That’s the only Our true, direct enemy of Caught in a Web as well as any Our Condition treachery.

Passage Through Mirkwood

Where Spiders rule, Caught in a Web excels particularly. Each step in the Mirkwood forest can cause the fall into webs, which have created Ungoliant’s Spawn, Forest Spider or King Spider. Especially King Spider makes the great combo with Caught in a Web – it may exhaust the hero with attached Caught in a Web, immobilizing him for at least the whole round.

Escape from Dol Guldur

The permanent danger in the form of exhaustion belongs to the best thing We can do to a Player in this scenario. One hero as the prisoner and the limitation for playing allies creates for Caught in a Web perfect environment, able to keep another hero in check.

A Journey to Rhosgobel

Like King Spider, Caught in a Web very sympathizes with dealing-damage Exhaustion, no matter if revealed as the treachery, or as the shadow card.

Return to Mirkwood

Caught in a Web serves here as the common tool, how to annoy the Player, who primarily fights with enemies like Attercop, Attercop, bothersome effects of particular stages, or with defying Gollum.

Lost in Mirkwood

If some Spider damages the hero with attached Caught in a Web during stage Spiders of Mirkwood, for Player may be the problem to ready that hero again if he lacks resources. Otherwise, like in Return to Mirkwood, Caught in a Web serves as the common tool, how to make the progress for Player harder.

Danger level

Summary review

Enemies

When Ungoliant’s Spawn appears in the game, the Mirkwood forest becomes quite. This giant and powerful Spider is main nemesis of Players. They will fight with it with big difficulties. Not only Ungoliant’s Spawn can attack furiously (with 5 Attack), but it is also quite resistant to physical damage (2 Defense and 9 Hit Points). Players are, however, frightened mainly from the arrival of this Spider itself. It significantly reduces the overall Willpower Players will generate. In most cases, Ungoliant’s Spawn totally destroys the effort to quest successfully.

In the case of Hummerhorns, Players won’t be troubled by its stats, not even by its Engagement cost. But if one of them engages these Insects, they will kill any non-boosted hero. With 40 Engagement cost, Hummerhorns looks like a time-bomb, waiting for its prey.

Last, but not least, with King Spider appearing, each Player must exhaust one character. Players then lose one body able to defend or attack, which is good for Us. Its shadow effect may be even more dreadful and devastating.

We could say that enemies from Spiders of Mirkwood belong among the most dangerous creature beings Players meet in Passage Through Mirkwood.

Danger level

Locations

Where enemies pose the threat, locations of Spider of Mirkwood won’t offer much quality. Players won’t have, unfortunately, any problem with Great Forest Web, because nothing would force them to travel there voluntarily – it has just 2 Threat Strength and too deterrent Travel effect. Mountains of Mirkwood creates for Players an interesting dilemma: climbing the mountain gives them a wide view, which can show them the right way (= choosing 1 card from top 5 of their deck), but simultaneously We will see them (= revealing 1 more Encounter card). Therefore, We can send on Player some dangerous enemy or treachery. But the overall result is considerably uncertain.

Danger level

Treacheries

Eyes of the Forest doesn’t allow any compromises: it discards all events from all hands. No more or less. Caught in a Web will stick ta o hero like a web and won’t release him until the hero won’t pay 2 resources. Such a crippled hero won’t pose for Us any problem, nor for Our servants, who will take care of such easy prey…

Danger level

!UPDATE!
Shadow effects

Three cards offer very variable shadow effects. King Spider exhausts characters, which may lead into very troublesome situations. The Players might not be able to defend potential next attack and the damage will be dealt directly to a hero. Raising-threat-effect causes Ungoliant’s Spawn. The acceleration of threat may bring the Player closer to more dangerous enemies or threat threshold 50. As for Hummerhorns, these insects will deal damage to all characters, so it may clear the board from many allies, which obstruct Us.

All in all, Players will remind the shadow effects from this encounter set quite well. They might learn that let the attack undefended doesn’t worth it.

Danger level

Overall evaluation

Exhaustion is the main theme of the whole set. King Spider, Great Forest Web and Caught in a Web will prevent some characters take an action, letting them be useless for a certain time. Additional exhaustion is a perfect opportunity to hit Player hard: for example by attacking Ungoliant’s Spawn. Anyway, the whole Spiders of Mirkwood is overshadowed by the presence of Ungoliant’s Spawn – nothing else means the greater danger than this arachnid. Actually, the possible clash with Ungoliant’s Spawn hangs in the air the whole game. Players are on the run before this monstrosity and their choice the path during A Fork in the Road will decide, if they will flee away, or if they will face the true nightmare.

Overall Danger level of the set

YOUR NIGHTMARE

Who else than the young of the legendary “Dark Spider” should terrify Players? Ungoliant’s Spawn arouses the fear by its appearance and its power. It is enough when this Spider comes to the game: the heart and will of every questing character will seriously shiver. Reducing Willpower of each questing character causes chaos among their ranks. And when it engages the Player, Players must make every effort to beat Our favourite pet. This is how the true king of Mirkwood is recognized.

GOBLIN CARD

One Northern Tracker used twice, or single attack of Legolas followed by destroying the enemy may fully explore Great Forest Web, the location with only 2 Quest Points and quite negligible 2 Threat Strength. While it hasn’t any positive effect as Mountains of Mirkwood, traveling there would induce only very stupid Players. Who would voluntarily choose the location, which exhausts one hero of each Player? Locations, fully covered by webs and surrounded by Spiders, won’t lure many adventures.

SHADOW HORROR

While increasing threat by 4 (respectively 8, if undefended), caused by Ungoliant’s Spawn, or dealing 1 damage (respectively 2 damage, if undefended), caused by Hummerhorns, may bring many troubles, the exhaustion of 1 character (respectively 2 characters, if undefended), caused by King Spider, will totally break up the forces of defending Player. There is no situation, where the Player could ignore that – only if all his characters are already exhausted. Exhaustion of potential defender may create a big hole in the Player’s defense, which could be utilized by other attacking enemies.