AV – Eowyn – A very interesting matchup that often plays out when I am deck building. There was a time not long ago I would have called Frodo superior due to his versatility and synergies. But Eowyn frees you up to do all sorts of other things with the other heroes and cards. While she is boring, she enables the rest of the deck to be very much not boring. One the other hand, Frodo stopped finding his way into my decks largely because it always seemed like an upgrade to swap in Eowyn. So I wouldn’t be honest with myself if I didn’t vote for Eowyn here . . . which disappoints me a bit.
AW – Beregond – This is nearly a toss up for me. Both are fantastic heroes and oddly enough great defenders. It is the sentinel key word that makes the difference. In an intentional deck pairing, a strong sentinel defender first turn is really powerful and once again enables the rest of the heroes/decks to do cool things.
AX – Gandalf – This one is a no brainer. I greatly enjoy the fiddlyness of Gandalf. Lots and lots of decisions. Lots and lots of versatility. And THE best card sifter by far if built right (around zero cost events). This once again enables lots of strategies since it is much easier to promote your combos . . . which is awesome. I can’t wait to see shadowfax.
AY – Aragorn – The weakest pairing in an otherwise strong round. My love for Silvan is still developing. My respect for building around Aragorn remains. Gandalf should crush whoever emerges here.
