One last note, the silvan hero just has to be Haldir....right? RIGHT?

or a hero made up by FFG!

oh dear i hope not, especially considering I feel like a custom hero is coming in the second AP aka the cover art

Like two weeks after I finally give up at making an eagle deck viable as an all rounder (all quests) they release spoilers with Gwaihir and the fact they will be releasing more cards that support the Eagle trait........
**** YOU FFG! Nah... not really, way happier with my new decks and as awesome as Gwaihir's art is he's not so special.

Cool mechanic but for 5 he needs three willpower or one more defense at least...

I am so glad that we finally have the mighty Gwaihir joining the card pool! He will make eagles decks feel just that little bit more complete. Thanks FFG!

One last note, the silvan hero just has to be Haldir....right? RIGHT?

Or Orophin! They announced Rumil as an ally though... It'd be amazing to have a deck built with the three brothers as the heroes.

Like two weeks after I finally give up at making an eagle deck viable as an all rounder (all quests) they release spoilers with Gwaihir and the fact they will be releasing more cards that support the Eagle trait........

**** YOU FFG! Nah... not really, way happier with my new decks and as awesome as Gwaihir's art is he's not so special.

Cool mechanic but for 5 he needs three willpower or one more defense at least...

The article does *not* mention that there will be other eagle cards, just to be clear.

Also, his 5 cost is on par with Landroval, and Gwaihir has one extra WP than Landroval does - and the ability to bring in a second ally for free. I think that's quite the bargain.

I suppose this thread will talk about the whole preview rather than just Gwaihir? Anyway, I absolutely love the card. I'm glad to see Gwaihir as an ally and not a hero (at least not before they've done wizard heroes, which is still unlikely), and the ability is great. Great with Descenant, as you said. I would have like a little bit more willpower, but that's just nitpicking.

Oh, at least one wizard hero is more than likely, it seems more like a certainty with the announcement of a single hero (other than Frodo) in the Road Darkens. Mark these words if you like. Still, I too prefer Gwaihir as an ally, and willpower 3 would have been excellent but this is a clever design. I find the latter cards are less hasty into being over-powered, which is a good trend.

Get the Horn of Gondor warmed up!

Yeah, Horn of Gondor has been getting better and better. I still think it should have bounds with Boromir, or at least Gondor but the early cards often missed such things. As for the mechanics, though, in certain decks Horn will be able to rival Steward, and from two players on, I think it is becoming even more efficient (though you still need proper decks and the timing of getting resources is problematic). Gondor deck with Imrahil and all those cheap allies like the Squire, Rohan deck with Horse-breaker, Escort, Riddermark's Finest, etc., Eagle deck, Silvan deck. Just combine any of the two and you will surely be making two resource per turn as a rule with Horn of Gondor.

The 5 cost is a bit off putting but I like his thematic ability and the stats are nice as well.

A Good Harvest... Nice card, especially in 3 or 4 sphere decks. It makes cards like this playable and brings back some old forgottens like ally Beorn as well.

Combine with Steward of Gondor, Elf-stone, Vilya, A Very Good Tale, Sneak Attack, Grima... there are plenty of good ways to get him into play, if you plan your deck around them. I wouldn't recommend just tossing him in to fill out a 49 card deck though.

One would think Radagast would be a boon here, but that means adding yet another 5-cost ally to your deck. Already if you have a complete eagle-centric deck you've got 4-cost x2 (Eagles of the Misty Mountains, Descendant of Thorondor) and 5-cost x2 (Gwaihir, Landroval), which is not to mention Gandalf if you've got him. Those eagles better bring some shiny silver tokens for me, grasped in their talons!

Gwaihir is also allowed attachments, albeit not restricted ones. I can't think of any off the top of my head, but there must be something useful to throw on him.

Although now I check, all the Eagles can have attachments. Nevermind...

Full list of attachments that the eagles can hold:

• Born Aloft
• Nor Am I A Stranger
• Self Preservation
• Spare Hood and Cloak

Not a whole lot of usefulness there. Born Aloft doesn't make much sense for Gwaihir, since he costs a lot and is nice to keep in play, or put into play with Sneak Attack, which will take him out anyway.

Nor Am I A Stranger is only useful with Eomund, but does actually provide some nice usefulness with that since his stats are useful in many phases.

Self Preservation might be useful if he blocks often enough or if there are some mean treacheries hitting him during questing. Not sure if it's worth it though.

Spare Hood and Cloak is always a hit or miss type of attachment, but if you're going to use it, why not put it on the Lord of the Eagles?

I also just realized that no one is mentioning Radagast. The more expensive Eagles that we have, the more useful Radagast becomes in Eagle decks. He also becomes more useful when the Eagles have decent chunks of health, which Gwaihir does (another reason Self Preservation isn't all that useful). I think that Gwaihir is not only an attempt to continue building out the Eagle trait, but also to give more life to Radagast.

I don't see Gwaihir being much of a game changer for an eagle deck or a mono tactic deck. It's a five cost card, how many are you willing to put in your deck to build a strategy around? I doubt more than 2 or else he is going to just clog the deck. Put him with a bunch of other 4 and 5 cost eagles in a sphere that has difficulty generating resources, and your stuck with the same situation were in. He has a one off effect and that's it, and it is also an effect that is going to take a little set up. Is it worth a sneak attack, which calls for an out of sphere card anyway? I don't think so, I would just stick with Gandalf. Once he is in play his primary role for a solo player in mono tactics situation is probably going to be questing. 5 cost for a mere 2 wp, this is what tactics has to pay! 3 wp would be awesome, tactics really needs some help and for 5 cost they deserve it. Give the sphere a little love already. Basically, i see Gwahir as another card for a vilya deck. I can only hope that there is something for eagles that is going to get them in to play a little easier, and sorry Radigast is not the answer.

Anyway, i look forward to giving him a try, but I am not expecting it to change the current situation. Looks the same to me.

One would think Radagast would be a boon here, but that means adding yet another 5-cost ally to your deck. Already if you have a complete eagle-centric deck you've got 4-cost x2 (Eagles of the Misty Mountains, Descendant of Thorondor) and 5-cost x2 (Gwaihir, Landroval), which is not to mention Gandalf if you've got him. Those eagles better bring some shiny silver tokens for me, grasped in their talons!

Oops, missed this before my last reply. I still think that Radagast is a boon. He eventually pays for himself if you can keep him out long enough, and with Horn of Gondor in an Eagle deck, you can generally pay for these cards relatively well (especially in multiplayer with lots of other characters bouncing out of play). Gwaihir's ability to not only bring back the inevitably discarded weaker eagles, but also guarantee that they'll leave play again, only helps bolster this strategy (which also helps boost the power of Eagles of the Misty Mountains... potentially beyond that of any hero (or even Gandalf with just 3 Eagles attached).

Gwaihir helps fix one of the biggest problems with the Eagles, losing too many Eagles before getting Eagles of the Misty Mountains out. To The Eyrie was supposed to help (even though thematically it was supposed to save other allies, not other Eagle allies), but its cost was too prohibitive (Gwaihir obviously has a high cost too, but he also sticks around to help out as an ally) and requires another eagle to be in play (to exhaust for the cost) AND must be in your hand the moment the ally is discarded (along with saving 2 resources after planning phase). Gwaihir is just plain better.

I don't see Gwaihir being much of a game changer for an eagle deck or a mono tactic deck. It's a five cost card, how many are you willing to put in your deck to build a strategy around? I doubt more than 2 or else he is going to just clog the deck. Put him with a bunch of other 4 and 5 cost eagles in a sphere that has difficulty generating resources, and your stuck with the same situation were in. He has a one off effect and that's it, and it is also an effect that is going to take a little set up. Is it worth a sneak attack, which calls for an out of sphere card anyway? I don't think so, I would just stick with Gandalf. Once he is in play his primary role for a solo player in mono tactics situation is probably going to be questing. 5 cost for a mere 2 wp, this is what tactics has to pay! 3 wp would be awesome, tactics really needs some help and for 5 cost they deserve it. Give the sphere a little love already. Basically, i see Gwahir as another card for a vilya deck. I can only hope that there is something for eagles that is going to get them in to play a little easier, and sorry Radigast is not the answer.

Anyway, i look forward to giving him a try, but I am not expecting it to change the current situation. Looks the same to me.

You may be a bit more of a realist than me... or just more pessimistic. I don't expect Gwaihir to totally change the Eagles deck, but I certainly expect him to make them more consistent. I agree that the high cost is prohibitive, but not insurmountable. I definitely hope to see more 1, 2, and 3 cost eagles to fill in the gaps.

I also don't think Gwaihir was meant to bolster mono-Tactics solo play. You're right that 5 resources is way too much for 2 willpower, even for Tactics. Gwaihir seems to be designed for multiplayer where he can be very flexible and do what needs to be done (quest, defend, or attack) while also making the Eagles strategy more consistent.

Spare Hood and Cloak is always a hit or miss type of attachment, but if you're going to use it, why not put it on the Lord of the Eagles?

Cannot get the mental image of Gwaihir trying to fit into a tiny cloak out of my head.

Too bad he doesn't have Ranged but I still think he is good for the cost and helps the eagles deck a bit and revives it so people will try it out again. For me I usually lost a Winged Guardian or Vassal of the Windlord early in the game so that makes Gwaihir a good help there. Yeah he cost a lot but I think it's worth it and eagles are an expensive deck and that is its weakness which all decks should have.

And he should NOT have 3 willpower and I think FFG needs to be careful with giving tactics allies even 2 willpower otherwise Tactics will become superior to other spheres if they can just as easily quest as Spirit. How many Spirit characters have 3 willpower?? and that's something they should be strong in... Yes it will be nice to play mono-Tactics but each sphere needs to have it's weak spots otherwise they loose their unique feel, play and importance. Imagine a Tactics deck continuing to get support for it's weaknesses- it could deal with enemies but can now also quest well, have card draw, resource acceleration.... and suddenly there is no other reason to play other spheres. So yes it's fine to get some Tactics cards with questing power to be a little more balanced but FFG needs to be careful.

And he should NOT have 3 willpower and I think FFG needs to be careful with giving tactics allies even 2 willpower otherwise Tactics will become superior to other spheres if they can just as easily quest as Spirit. How many Spirit characters have 3 willpower?? and that's something they should be strong in... Yes it will be nice to play mono-Tactics but each sphere needs to have it's weak spots otherwise they loose their unique feel, play and importance. Imagine a Tactics deck continuing to get support for it's weaknesses- it could deal with enemies but can now also quest well, have card draw, resource acceleration.... and suddenly there is no other reason to play other spheres. So yes it's fine to get some Tactics cards with questing power to be a little more balanced but FFG needs to be careful.

Well that's because many people play almost exclusivelly solo, not even two handed, and want to play mono tactics in more quests. Maybe not Return to Mirkwood, sure, but some ATS quests or something like that.

Ahh yes good point. And now that I think about it questing is a crucial part of this game (you can't win without it) so all spheres should be able to quest at least somewhat which Gwaihir helps Tactics out a bit.

FFG is under no contract forcing them to make each sphere possible to play solo mono-sphere. I feel that the fact that Spirit can generally solo/mono is actually a weakness of the game. If each sphere is going to be able to beat most scenarios on its own, they should each do it in unique ways.

I don't think any tactics allies should ever have more than 2 willpower. It's actually quite odd for me to see Theoden at 3 willpower and the fact that he can make numerous other Tactics champions have 3, but at least it is restricted to heroes. I think Gwaihir's 2 is perfect, and I'm more upset about his tiny 1 defense, even he does have 4hp.

Like two weeks after I finally give up at making an eagle deck viable as an all rounder (all quests) they release spoilers with Gwaihir and the fact they will be releasing more cards that support the Eagle trait........

**** YOU FFG! Nah... not really, way happier with my new decks and as awesome as Gwaihir's art is he's not so special.

Cool mechanic but for 5 he needs three willpower or one more defense at least...

The article does *not* mention that there will be other eagle cards, just to be clear.

Also, his 5 cost is on par with Landroval, and Gwaihir has one extra WP than Landroval does - and the ability to bring in a second ally for free. I think that's quite the bargain.

My bad, not sure how I got that.... maybe I read something that intimated as such elsewhere? Like in one of the Ring maker adventure pack articles? Maybe not...

Traits/keywords mount, Silvan and Rohan are all definitely getting more cards though yeah?

Landroval's ability, while very conditional, to me is a lot better.

I don't think any tactics allies should ever have more than 2 willpower.

I do agree. Eventually the card pool will reach a point where you can populate a tactics deck with allies who ALL have a willpower contribution (at present there are like... 7 tactics allies with more than 0 willpower, and many are unique). It will be an expensive deck in terms of resources to be sure, but when the card pool reaches that point.... watch out. Watch..... out.