As much as I love the forests, elves, and anything with trees, I have to say these city settings are pretty interesting. It's a nice change of pace, I remember feeling the same way with The Steward's Fear.

As much as I love the forests, elves, and anything with trees, I have to say these city settings are pretty interesting. It's a nice change of pace, I remember feeling the same way with The Steward's Fear.

Yes, that is another reason why I hope it wont be new "The End Is Coming" but instead hit the tables often.

Zero cost response probably doing something with enemies or encounter deck...

As much as I love the forests, elves, and anything with trees, I have to say these city settings are pretty interesting. It's a nice change of pace, I remember feeling the same way with The Steward's Fear.

I agree! Looks like we're starting in a tavern again (The Empty Mug on the quest card).

It's interesting that we're getting a quest that looks like it will significantly raise our threat in the same cycle with a doomed emphasis.

Man I like the box art on this one. Very ominous. Great choice!

Yes!!! Amazing box art and it's great to be going to places like this in Middle-earth where we haven't been yet! Nalir sucks so much.. he's not good for anything! just raises your threat and has terrible stats... more things along with Doomed cards to make Secrecy even more difficult to play.

Yes!!! Amazing box art and it's great to be going to places like this in Middle-earth where we haven't been yet! Nalir sucks so much.. he's not good for anything! just raises your threat and has terrible stats... more things along with Doomed cards to make Secrecy even more difficult to play.

Nalir is an objective, not an objective ally. He isn't there to be useful. He's there to be captured and forced to talk.

Yes!!! Amazing box art and it's great to be going to places like this in Middle-earth where we haven't been yet! Nalir sucks so much.. he's not good for anything! just raises your threat and has terrible stats... more things along with Doomed cards to make Secrecy even more difficult to play.

Nalir is an objective, not an objective ally. He isn't there to be useful. He's there to be captured and forced to talk.

The Questcard 1A reads "The first player takes control of Nahir as an ally"

EDIT: Typo

Any news/rumors on who the Silvan hero will be? I'm hopin' for Haldir...but I'm thinkin', as one of the earlier packs will have Celeborn, that it could also be Thranduil....or if they go outside the books, it could be Argalad (from Middle Earth Quest; can't recall if he was designated as Noldor or Silvan in that game)...hope they stay with characters within the books for now though...

I think It will be either Haldir or Thranduil.

But it may also be Orophan, Galadriel or FFG created hero.

Yes!!! Amazing box art and it's great to be going to places like this in Middle-earth where we haven't been yet! Nalir sucks so much.. he's not good for anything! just raises your threat and has terrible stats... more things along with Doomed cards to make Secrecy even more difficult to play.

Nalir is an objective, not an objective ally. He isn't there to be useful. He's there to be captured and forced to talk.

The Questcard 1A reads "The first player takes control of Nahir as an ally"

EDIT: Typo

Yes, you control him as an ally, but thematically he's only helping you so he doesn't die. He's an unwilling prisoner.

I think It will be either Haldir or Thranduil.

But it may also be Orophan, Galadriel or FFG created hero.

I agree and hope you're right 'bout Haldir or Thranduil...I'm guessing Orophan will show up some time as an Ally though...since Haldir's other brother (Rumil) is due to show up in "The Dunland Trap" as an Ally...but who knows...I just hope they don't go the created hero route again until they've covered most of the viable heroes from the books...

I think It will be either Haldir or Thranduil.

But it may also be Orophan, Galadriel or FFG created hero.

I agree and hope you're right 'bout Haldir or Thranduil...I'm guessing Orophan will show up some time as an Ally though...since Haldir's other brother (Rumil) is due to show up in "The Dunland Trap" as an Ally...but who knows...I just hope they don't go the created hero route again until they've covered most of the viable heroes from the books...

Just BTW, we don't actually know that Rumil will be in the Dunland Trap. The card fan that he was shown in was for cards from the whole cycle, so he might be in another pack.

I hope that the Silvan brotherhood (Haldir, Rumil, Orophan) will make some combo together. Not as restricted as Elladan/Elrohir, but still unique.

Silvan hero with Spirit sphere, lol.

Tactic: Legolas

Leadership: Celeborn

Lore: Mirlonde

...

so next: spirit

Spirit Haldir that would make secrecy stronger. Reducing your threat or something like that.

Yes!!! Amazing box art and it's great to be going to places like this in Middle-earth where we haven't been yet! Nalir sucks so much.. he's not good for anything! just raises your threat and has terrible stats... more things along with Doomed cards to make Secrecy even more difficult to play.

I think I am mostly alone here but I always found Secrecy to be a really interesting mechanic that needed another cycle worth of cards (not necessarily secrecy cards either--just a couple more diverse threat-management effects and a hero or two with a lower threat cost that don't suck). The hobbits from The Black Riders and some of the other hobbit-related cards help in this respect, as did Mirlonde (though I think she's a LITTLE under-powered--her use of BOTH the "printed" Lore type AND the "that you control" modifier almost lock her into mono-lore...which is not too secrecy friendly). I really hope that after this cycle they revisit it. Maybe even in the Saga expansions--it certainly fits thematically for Sam and Frodo's trip to Mount Doom post-Fellowship.

As much as I love the forests, elves, and anything with trees, I have to say these city settings are pretty interesting. It's a nice change of pace, I remember feeling the same way with The Steward's Fear.

I agree! Looks like we're starting in a tavern again (The Empty Mug on the quest card).

It's interesting that we're getting a quest that looks like it will significantly raise our threat in the same cycle with a doomed emphasis.

Of course we start in a tavern--don't you know that's where ALL great adventures start?

Spirit Haldir that would make secrecy stronger. Reducing your threat or something like that.

I don't really think secrecy is viable in this cycle but I would love to see a Spirit Silvan. Though assuming a Spirit Haldir's stats are the same as his ally version we are probably looking at a threat-cost of 9...whether you could fit that into a Secrecy deck would really depend on how reliable his threat-reduction ability (assuming his ability IS related to threat-reduction) turned out to be and how fast he could put it into practice. Nori, for example, has great ability to reduce threat with a cost of 9--but I wouldn't play him in secrecy. Then again, secrecy is hardly the Dwarve's forte so a Silvan/Noldor or Silvan/Hobbit combo could work out a lot better in Secrecy.

I've got to say--the thing I am most excited for in this AP is Gwaihir and the return of the Eagles. For one brief moment they were SUCH a good deck but 2 cycles and several big-box expansions later we haven't seen ANYTHING for them and the keyword has fallen into a pretty bad state. REALLY glad to see the Eagles flying again

Plus Gwaihir himself is really pretty pro. Decent (though not AMAZING) stats for an admittedly high cost. But Radagast helps to mitigate some of that cost and he has some GREAT utility in an Eagle deck. Plus--he is one of the very few cards in the game that can (in SOME circumstances) be a better Sneak Attack than Gandalf.

I mean--can you imagine Sneak Attacking Gwaihir onto the table, bringing back a Descendant of Thorindor, dealing 2 damage, attacking/defending with BOTH, and then returning both to your hand while triggering ANOTHER 2 damage? And if you were able to get an Eagles of the Misty Mountains on the table you could even choose to attach one or both of those cards to it as they leave play to boost THAT card up to a 2/4/4/4. For ONE RESOURCE (though you would have of course had to get Descendant into your discard pile somehow and would have had to spend 4 for Eagles of the Misty Mountain in the second example). Even just using it to bring back a Vassal of the Windlord or Winged Guardian has good utility--especially as those cheap cards are often used in the early game before players can get a Eagles of the Misty Mountain in play to benefit from them leaving play.