Month in Review: January 2023

A new year has dawned and has brought many new articles to the community. On top of it all, a few changes have occurred at the blog that are worth discussing. One of those things is that the blog is now a year older! Over five years ago, I started this project, and I am very proud of the blog in its current state. It has helped me to enjoy the game for a lot longer than I otherwise would have and has given me something to do during the past year of hardships. So cut a piece of cake for yourself, and let’s go over the past month to see what happened on the blog and in the community.

January

Well, we can be rather brief on the news segment this month. Nothing noteworthy has been given to us by FFG. They did do a live stream play-through of The Weather Hills, but no announcements for future content have been made. With that, we have no idea how the pipeline is looking since all the announced products have been released up to this point. I expect we will be hearing from them soon, announcing the next repackaged cycle for people to await. Let’s hope it releases soon after the announcement. AleP has also been rather quiet, as they are between cycles right now, requiring a bit more work before they can announce anything about their latest expansions. So with all of that, things are a bit quiet this month, but I’m sure that it won’t set the trend for 2023.

Scenario analyses

There were no analyses this month, mostly because we are at a stage where not many scenarios are left to cover. We still have a few PODs and Saga quests to do, but outside of fan-made content, there is nothing else to write on. I also feel that the Dwarrowdelf cycle on the blog is written well enough not to need a revision, as I did with the Shadows of Mirkwood cycle last year. So that means that we can put our focus elsewhere.

Nightmare analyses

I’ve hit a bit of a roadblock with the Nightmare analysis of Blood of Gondor. I think this is one of the toughest scenarios yet, and I will need to take some time to complete the write-up. I also spent some time working on other articles this month, so this one took a backseat. I hope to have it out next month, followed by NM Morgul Vale in March.

Traits/Staples

I updated the archetype analysis page this month with the Perilous Voyage contract overview and the analysis of enemy traits. It was a fun side-project that came from a shower thought, and it’s fun to see it come to a complete article. The contract was still on my to-do list for a while, so I’m glad we have now completed the official contracts. There are two AleP contracts still to cover, so I will have a look at them to see if I can get some work on them done. The enemy traits are pretty much complete since I didn’t want to include every single trait in the game if they do not span more than 1 cycle. And traits like Creature are too broad to really have a coherent synergy between them.

Storage Solutions

We had one person step forward and offer their storage solution to me. I just remembered that I have to edit a few things about it, but I will do so soon. If there are other people that have gotten into the game and come up with a unique way to store all your cards, then please let me know, and I can get you another such article on the storage hub!

Additional articles

This month saw the return of one of my authors, that had quit the game during the hiatus. With his return, we were able to complete his series on decks to play with a certain number of players. He also had a bunch of ideas for other articles, and we managed to get some out this month already. The 10 decks for new players article has been received really well, nearly breaking the daily record on the blog (2 views short). This has motivated us for a few more articles aimed towards newer players and some more content related to deckbuilding. More of this will be released in the future.
For February, I hope to release my Loot overview of last year’s loot, as it is nearly finished. If any other article ideas come to me under the shower or in bed, then they’ll appear on the blog next month as well. I might also do an Experience article on the Lure of Middle-Earth, though that will be towards the end of the month or the start of March.

The Future

So many things happened in January that I’m not quite sure where to start. The blog received a few updates to certain pages, including a brand new “Careers” page in case you want to do something for the community but don’t fancy setting up your own site. It’s nothing too fancy, but I could use some people to cover more Nightmare stuff and fan-made content while I chip away at my massive to-do list. Another update came to Patreon, which I explained in further detail in last month’s article. The short version is that there are no longer any tiers or rewards for being a Patreon supporter for the blog, as the constant loot updates were bringing me a bit too much stress.

Speaking of loot, what’s up with last year’s loot that never came? Well, we are still working on it. The pages are ready, up to Ered Mithrin, and I hope that everything will be in place in early February. That will allow me to do a quick prototype run, after which I can place the bulk order. With a bit of luck, I can get the books in before Lure of Middle Earth so that I can hand some out at the convention. The rest will ship soon after I receive the books since all letters, additional items, and envelopes have been prepared already. Hopefully, next month’s update will inform everyone that the books have shipped!

Lure of Middle Earth is another thing that’s going to happen next month, and I’m pleased to say that I will be attending the convention. It will be my first time there, and hopefully, I can spend the entire weekend in the castle playing games and having a good time. It will be just a 3.5-hour drive for me, which is a lot better than the 8-hour flight to Minneapolis each year. I will be bringing 10 decks to play at the convention, so if you are looking to join me, you are more than welcome.

My recovery has also been going at a steady pace. It has been a month of trying to get back into the rhythm for me, but I have found it easier than anticipated. I picked up my job again, and while I am only working part-time for now, I do feel good enough that I can start making more hours again. Hopefully, the recovery will improve so that I can be back to full-time by the end of March. I also went for another checkup last week to see if any tumor markers are left in my blood, though I do not have the results yet. I’m positive that there will be nothing to worry about, as I am still feeling ok and have even picked up another sport/hobby to keep me occupied. The blog will also keep me busy enough during the coming month, so I won’t get bored or anything.

~Aa’menealla nauva calen ar-malta~