In Secrecy mode, the cost to play this ally seems to drop to 0. Does this mean you don't need a resource match to use him? I don't think he is worth two resources and I don't play Leadership, but he fits the theme of a Secrecy deck I am considering.

Thread is of course open for general discussion on this card!

You'll need a resource match.

Yeah, you always need a resource match. I've been enjoying him in a secrecy deck with Sam. Between Bill the Pony, Rivendell Scout, and a Very Good Tale, you can get many allies in play without spending a single resource.

But why would I, rule-wise? I know Secrecy does not change the printed cost of the card, but if the actual cost is 0 and I don't need to spend any Leadership resources, why do I even need a Leadership hero? Is there a clear ruling on this?

The resource matching is covered on page 12 of the rulebook:

"Cards with a cost of zero do not require a resource to be spent in order to pay their cost, but they do require at least one hero under that player's control to have a resource icon that matches the card's sphere."

Thanks for replying! I'll try to figure out where I was told that 0-cost cards don't need a resource match.

Maybe it was someone who wanted to play Daeron's Runes in every deck?

FYI, zero-cost cards are a special case in that they ALWAYS need a sphere match (unless a card specifically bypasses it). If you use A Good Harvest to use your resources to pay for a card of a named sphere, a zero-cost card will still need a sphere match, even if you name that sphere .

In other words, it's been previously ruled that you cannot use A Good Harvest to enable a play of 0-cost cards.