A-Nori

B-Bard the Bowman

C-Eowyn

D-Thorin Oakenshield

E-Frodo Baggins

F-Ori

G-Boromir(T)

H-Balin

I-Imrahil

J-Fatty Bolger

K-Gloin

L-Pippin(Lo)

M-Merry

N-Gandalf

O-Haldir of Lorien

P-Galadriel

Q-Beorn

R-Mablung

S-Oin

T-Gimli

U-Hama

V-Dain Ironfoot

W-Eomer

The first day's voting totals have been added to the bracket.

There are a lot of runaways, but don't fear! If your favorite hero is falling desperately behind, there are still three days left to vote.

Thank you everyone for your commentary, they are a blast to read.

I loved Leptokurt's response to the Boromir vs. Caldara match "Boromir - his way of dying is way cooler"

There is one match that is shaping up to be quite a fight:

HAMA (10) vs GRIMA (12)

When asked about the match-up, Hama only had pleasant things to say about his opponent. "Grima? Oh yeah, a really nice guy. Theoden just appointed him as an adviser and he seems to be working out really well."

Meanwhile in the Shire, Pippin and Fatty Bolger are celebrating each having one vote.

A - Nori

B- Brand

C - Eowyn

D - Thorin

E - Frodo

F - Thalin

G - Boromir

H - Eleanor

I - Imrahil

J - Denethor

K - Bifur

L - Pippin

M - Merry

N - Gandalf

O - Haldir

P - Galadriel

Q - Beorn

R - Mablung

S - Celeborn

T - Bilbo

U - Grima

V - Dain

W - Eomer

Not much thoughts to add - mostly went with which ones I prefer to put into decks.

A: Theoden

B: Bard the Bowman

C: Eowyn

D: Thorin Oakenshield

E: Frodo Baggins

F: Ori

G: Boromir

H: Balin

I: Prince Imrahil

J: Denethor

K: Bifur

L: Pippin

M: Merry

N: Gandalf

O: Haldir

P: Galadriel

Q: Beorn

R: Theodred

S: Celebron

T: Gimli

U: Hama

V: Dain

W: Eomer

A theoden

B bard

C eowyn

D elrohir

E frodo

F thalin

G boromir

H eleanor

I imrahil

J denethor

K bidur

L idraen

M dunhere

N gandalf

O haldir

P galadriel

Q beorn

R mablung

S celeborn

T gimli

U grima

V pippin

W eomer

A - Nori I don't use either much, but Nori has some fun possible schennanigans.

B - Brand Brand is quite versatile, and that single threat lower tends to help a surprising amount.

C - Eowyn I'm not a fan of building a unique deck for each scenario, so Balin has almost never been used.

D - Elrohir Never been much fan of the dwarven cards, and Elrohir/Elladan have tons of gameplay decisions to make.

E - Frodo Frodo is just an awesome hero.

F - Thalin I've never quite gotten a Thalin deck that I am fully satisfied with... but I still love trying.

G - Boromir (T) Lots of meaningful gameplay decisions.

H - Eleanor I have always loved Elearnor - low threat, occasionally life-saving ability, good defender with the shield

I - Imrahil Now even better with his good buddy Eomer.

J - Denethor Consistent use since the core set

K - Gloin I love trying to set up the gloin resource engine

L - Idraen I like both of these heroes, but Idraen opens up a somewhat new deck type

M - Dunhere Merry does open up a lot of decks, being a tactics hero with low threat... but Dunhere is just so fun!

N - Bombur I don't have the road darkens, but I feel there shouldn't be a Gandalf hero.

O - Beravor Difficult choice, but I went for versatility. Both are excellent heroes.

P - Galadriel Not only is she awesome, but why would anyone vote for an unknown hero? I'm hoping its Thranduil or Cirdan.

Q - Elladan Beorn is cool, but Elladan opens up tons of in-game choices.

R - Mablung Versatile + resource generation in tactics? Awesome.

S - Celeborn Celeborn is just cool! Plus he has a unique distribution of stats, and 3 will in leadership is quite welcome.

T - Gimli Gimli is always fun, and Bilbo simply has too high of threat for what he offers

U - Hama Doomed cards are much more difficult to play in multiplayer

V - Dain I have actually never used spirit pippin. And Dain is, well, Dain.

W - Mirlonde Another very difficult choice. Mirlonde simply makes so many decks work. Eomer is tons of fun though.

Most choices were fairly easy, with a couple of exceptions - notably Idraen/Pippin, Dunhere/Merry, and Mirlonde/Eomer.

Meanwhile in the Shire, Pippin and Fatty Bolger are celebrating each having one vote.

I'm amazed to see Spirit Pippin doing so well (he now has 2 votes)...

A-Theoden

B-Bard

C-Eowyn

D-Elrohir

E-Frodo

F-Thalin

G-Boromir

H-Eleanor

I-Imrahil

J-Denethor

K-Gloin

L-Pippin

M-Merry

N-Gandalf

O-Haldir

P-Galadriel

Q-Beorn

R-Mablung

S-Celeborn

T-Gimli

U-Hama

V-Dain

W-Eomer

My vote for Pippin was solely based on my opinion that Dain is broken

I suppose that I had better vote:

A - Theoden:

B - Brand: He was so bad for so long, then we realized how good he can be. But, he still suffers from his old reputation

C - Eowyn: Shield maiden all the way!

D - Elrohir: love the twins

E - Frodo: Better art and more often used

F - Thalin:
G - Boromir: So, maybe it's not a Magali piece like Caldara, but wow does he carry a lot of decks
H - Eleanor: I just can't get on board with Balin. What is he doing behind that rock anyway?
I - Imrahil:
J - Fatty: I used him and I like him *ducks for cover*
K - Bifur:
L - Idraen: made location control exciting
M - Merry:
N - Gandalf:

O - Haldir: so much fun!

P - Galadriel: I'm assuming that no matter who the new her is, Galadriel will be better

Q - Elladan: love the twins

R - Mablung:

S - Celeborn:

T - Bilbo Baggins: He's such a charming way to spread card draw around the table

U - Hama - much better hair than Grima
V - Dain - sorry pippin

W - Eomer: so much fun!

Screw it: I'm changing my vote from Dain to spirit Pippin. Just to annoy all the Pippin haters, cause he's really not that bad!

Sorry Dain, but you know yourself you're way to overpowered. I call for a disqualification, he's cleary on stereoids!

And I'm also switching my vote from Denethor to Fa... Fa... Faaaa.... no, I can't bring myself to do that...

It's funny. I was wondering why faramir wasn't in the list, then saw he's seeded! Haldir coming along has just made me forget Faramir these days - he was quite popular last time, but can't see it holding this time. Which is sad, but it'll be no surprise if Haldir is seeded in future. Fan favorite!

A - Nori

B - Bard the Bowman

C - Eowyn

D - Elrohir

E - Hirluin

F - Thalin

G - Boromir (T)

H - Eleanor

I - Prince Imrahil

J - Fatty Bolger

K - Gloin

L - Idraen

M - Merry

N - Gandalf

O - Haldir of Lorien

P - Galadriel

Q - Elladan

R - Theodred

S - Celeborn

T - Gimli

U - Hama

V - Dain Ironfoot

W - Eomer

I don't know why we do these things, but ok:

A. Nori

B. Brand Son of Bain

C. Eowyn

D. Thorin Oakenshield

E. Frodo Baggins

F. Thalin

G. Boromir

H. Eleanor

I. Prince Imrahil

J. Denethor

K. Gloing

L. Pippin

M. Merry

N. Gandalf

O. Haldir of Lorien

P. Galadriel

Q. Beorn

R. Mablung

S. Celeborn

T. Bilbo Baggins

U. Grima

V. Dain Ironfoot

W. Eomer

I don't know why we do these things, but ok:

A. Nori

B. Brand Son of Bain

C. Eowyn

D. Thorin Oakenshield

E. Frodo Baggins

F. Thalin

G. Boromir

H. Eleanor

I. Prince Imrahil

J. Denethor

K. Gloing

L. Pippin

M. Merry

N. Gandalf

O. Haldir of Lorien

P. Galadriel

Q. Beorn

R. Mablung

S. Celeborn

T. Bilbo Baggins

U. Grima

V. Dain Ironfoot

W. Eomer

People like lists.

My vote was first for Pippin, without thinking..., but after i said ....

I don't know why we do these things, but ok:

A. Nori

B. Brand Son of Bain

C. Eowyn

D. Thorin Oakenshield

E. Frodo Baggins

F. Thalin

G. Boromir

H. Eleanor

I. Prince Imrahil

J. Denethor

K. Gloing

L. Pippin

M. Merry

N. Gandalf

O. Haldir of Lorien

P. Galadriel

Q. Beorn

R. Mablung

S. Celeborn

T. Bilbo Baggins

U. Grima

V. Dain Ironfoot

W. Eomer

People like lists.

On their belt.

A - Nori

B - Brand

C - Eoywn

D - Thorin

E - Frodo

F - Thalin

G - Caldara

H - Eleanor

I - Imrahil

J - Denethor

K - Bifur

L - Idraen

M - Merry

N - Bombur

O - Haldir

P - Galadriel

Q - Beorn

R - Theodred

S - Celeborn

T - Bilbo

U - Grima

V - Dain Ironfoot

W - Eomer

A. Nori

B. Bard the Bowman

C. Eowyn

D. Thorin Oakenshield

E. Frodo Baggins

F. Ori

G. Boromir

H. Eleanor

I. Prince Imrahil

J. Denethor

K. Bifur

L. Idraen

M. Dunhere

N. Gandalf

O. Beravor

P. Galadriel

Q. Elladan

R. Mablung

S. Celeborn

T. Gimli

U. Hama

V. Dain Ironfoot

W. Eomer

A Nori

B Brand

C Eowyn

D Elrohir

E Frodo

F Thalin

G Boromir

H Eleanor

I Prince Imrahil

J Denethor

K Bifur

L Pippin

M Merry

N Gandalf

O Haldir

P Galadriel

Q Elladan

R Mablung

S Celeborn

T Bilbo

U Hama

V Dain

W Eomer

A - Nori

B - Bard the Bowman

C - Eowyn

D - Elrohir

E - Frodo

F - Ori

G - Boromir

H - Eleanor

I - Prince Imrahil

J - Denethor

K - Bifur

L - Idraen

M - Merry

N - Gandalf

O - Haldir

P - Galadriel (I guess? lol)

Q - Beorn

R - Theodred

S - Celeborn

T - Gimli

U - Hama

V - Dain Ironfoot

W - Eomer

A - Nori

B - Bard the Bowman

C - Eowyn

D - Thorin Oakenshield

E - Hirluin the Fair

F - Ori

G - Boromir

H - Balin

I - Prince Imrahil

J - Denethor

K - Gloin

L - Pippin

M - Merry

N - Gandalf

O - Beravor

P - Galadriel

Q - Elladan

R - Theodred

S - Celeborn

T - Gimli

U - Hama

V - Dain Ironfoot

W - Eomer

A: Nori--Despite Theoden probably having my favorite art in the game, the beer loving dwarf gets my vote for his utility

B: Bard--I've never gotten in the habit of using either (legolas is the my prefered tactics ranged character of choice) but Bard's art is a million times better so theres the vote

C: Eowyn--The quintessential quester vs. limited and outdated dwarf. wasnt tough matchup

D: Elrohir-- I really like Thorin but the elf twins are where its at

E: Frodo-- Frodo still remains a spectacular champ after all this time. Hirluin himself is kind of boring like the archetype he represents

F: Ori--The card draw prevails against Thalin the crow killer

G: Boromir--tactics boromir is as good as ever with the emphasis on the "aggro" archetype the ringmaker cycle has made necessary. He gets the nod

H: Balin-- Both are good utility heroes in their own right but Balin gets my vote here since i think he's more unique for the sphere he represents

I: Prince Imrahil--Always been a fan of the prince and against lore glorfindel, obviously not a contest

J: Denethor--Havent used him in a good bit but was always a fan of his low threat, good defense, and an incredibly useful scrying effect. Not a fatty fan

K: Bifur-- Just too much to like about Bifur, some very underrated art, good effect, low threat. just great

L: Idraen-- Going with the underdog in this fight. I dig her

M: Merry-- Never been a huge fan of Dunhere, i feel like he exists mostly for Morgal Vale anymore

N:Gandalf--I mean come on. The grey wizard is going to win this thing isnt he? Popular, powerful, not broken like spirfindel...got everything going for it

O: Haldir--Couldnt have been happier with the hero version of one of my favorite characters. stats, threat, traits, and ability all just make for a fantastic card

P: Galadriel

Q: Elladan--I already picked Elrohir above so that means i need to pick Elladan. Its all or nothing

R: Theodred-- I like that these two were matched together as they both provide some unconventional means of resource production. Maybe its just cause i havent put the time in with Mablung yet but Theodred gets my vote for his years of usefulness

S: Celeborn-- Celeborn could win this contest on art alone but the fact he's the cornerstone of the funnest new archetype makes him an easy pick for the obscure dwarf

T: Gimli-- Two champs I dont really play much anymore but Gimli gets my vote since i've always been bitter about Bilbo's insane threat penalty

U: Grima--He's interesting I guess.

V: Dain--I dont think the king of dwarves is going to have a tough matchup against the worst hero in the game

W: Eomer--A one man wrecking crew that feels unique among a crowded field of attacking oriented tactics characters. Tough choice because i do dig Mirlonde a lot, sorry gurl.

Most people are picking Gandalf....I hate him as a hero. Not his stats, I just hate that he is a now a permenent character in the company when playing. Its just wrong. I just like when Gandalf pops in for some help and then goes off to attend the other important business he has going on in Middle Earth.

Most people are picking Gandalf....I hate him as a hero. Not his stats, I just hate that he is a now a permenent character in the company when playing. Its just wrong. I just like when Gandalf pops in for some help and then goes off to attend the other important business he has going on in Middle Earth.

He is up against Bombur, though. He is one of those heroes that many people just do not like. I for one love the fat dwarf and have used him quite a bit, but... Bombur vs. Gandalf. It is a foregone conclusion. It'll be more interesting to see how Gandalf fares against more popular characters.