Each time you criticize Hama, a poor Hobbit loses it's second breakfast

I know Hama can be boring if you abuse it's ability, specially with feint. But if you avoid that kind of "cheating", it's a great hero which gives you a lot of versatility. I really like using it to recycle foe-hammer.

Well, hobbits really could use some weight loss.

Each time you criticize Hama, a poor Hobbit loses it's second breakfast

I know Hama can be boring if you abuse it's ability, specially with feint. But if you avoid that kind of "cheating", it's a great hero which gives you a lot of versatility. I really like using it to recycle foe-hammer.

Eacht time someone votes Hama, his karma will come back at him. Or in game perspective: he gains doomed X+1, X is the number of votes for Hama.

All Hama voters will feel my wrath! PsychoRocka, you will be thrown down from atop Orthanc whilst first being stabbed with a knife.

Perhaps SarumanDK would make a more apt name?

Yeah, I'm a themeplayer. No better way to assemble votes for Grima then by force, threats and slaughter.

It looks like my attempt to get votes for Hama failed :_( Grima has an important advantage...

Well...poor Rohirrim, a traitor will pass to second round... :'(

I hope Aragorn will be sage enough to unmask and defeat him...

Edit: I say nothing, I was looking at the challonge.com link and I thought that the number in front of each hero name was the number of votes... u_U'''

The cowardly Hamavoters are covering themselves up already for their loss.

As far as I know... Hama is winning 30-20 by the moment... :P

So coward hamavoters uh...? :angry:

Let's recycle a "charge of the Rohirrim" or a "Forth Eorlinga"s and see who are the cowards now... (Oh, wait... that will affect Grima too...)

The King’s Councillor

I know some fans will question the decision to make Gríma a hero, but I hope that after reading this preview they will appreciate the thought that went into it and the exciting gameplay options that come as a result. As with all of our card designs for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game, we try to combine the spirit of the source material with a fitting game mechanic. Accordingly, the first part of our rational for making Gríma a hero is thematic.

Gríma was chief advisor to the King of Rohan, which made him a very influential person in Middle-earth. It’s safe to assume he did not attain that position by giving bad advice. Gríma’s wisdom and cunning must have benefitted Rohan initially in order for Théoden to promote him to his lofty position, and in the timeline of the card game Gríma’s treachery, like Saruman’s, was not yet fully developed. It is possible that Gríma could have chosen the hero path at this time.

Mechanically, Gríma has a unique place in The Voice of Isengard that only he can fill. As the only character in the game with both the Rohan andIsengard traits, Grima bridges the two factions present on the player cards in the box. Furthermore, his ability allows players to take full advantage of the Doomed mechanic: “Action: Lower the cost of the next card you play from your hand this round by 1. That card gains Doomed 1. (Limit once per round.)” As a Lore hero, Gríma belongs to a sphere that excels at drawing cards but struggles to find the resources to pay for them, so he will be a welcome addition to many decks. Having trouble finding matching resources to pay for cards in your dual-sphere deck? Make it easier to play them by lowering their cost! Want to play a four cost ally on your first turn? Now you can! These are just a couple of the ways you can benefit from heeding Gríma’s counsel.

By the way, reading this article now it's funny how there is emphasis on Grima "bridging two factions together - Rohan and Isengard", when cycle has ZERO Isengard support at all.

A- Nori

B- Bard

C- Eowyn

D- Thorin

E- Hirluin

F- Thalin

G- Boromir (T)

H- Eleanor

I- Prince Imrahil

J- Denethor

K- Bifur

L- Pipin (Lo)

M- Merry

N- Gandalf

O- Haldir

P- Galadriel

Q- Beorn

R- Mablung

S- Oin

T- Gimli

U- Hama

V- Dain

W- Eomer

A - Nori

B - Brand

C - Dwalin

D - Thorin

E - Frodo

F - Thalin

G - Caldara

H - Balin

I - Prince Imrahil

J - Denethor

K - Bifur

L - Idraen

M - Dunhere

N - Gandalf

O - Haldor

P - Galadriel

Q - Beorn

R - Mablung

S - Celeborn

T - Gimli

U - Hama

V - Dain

W- Eomer

By the way, reading this article now it's funny how there is emphasis on Grima "bridging two factions together - Rohan and Isengard", when cycle has ZERO Isengard support at all.

Yep. That was disappointing.

Well it does say "Grima bridges the two factions present on the player cards IN THE BOX." It doesn't even pretend Isengard will show up in the cycle.

It will be interesting to see some Uruk-hais as enemies with Isengard trait, and maybe some treasons granting a boost to Isengard cards... that would be an original idea to use this trait.

Well it does say "Grima bridges the two factions present on the player cards IN THE BOX." It doesn't even pretend Isengard will show up in the cycle.

The point is, there is no actual bridging. Yes, he has two faction traits. What good that does to him that it does not for any other rohan hero? Zero. Even IN THE BOX there is technically zero direct isengard support. What's the point in the "bridging" statement? Just to provide an example, a hero that would have both Rohan and Gondor printed traits would actually brige two factions and it would actually matter gameplay-wise.

It will be interesting to see some Uruk-hais as enemies with Isengard trait, and maybe some treasons granting a boost to Isengard cards... that would be an original idea to use this trait.

Its funny (though irrelevant and pointless), but we can change the trait on the enemy Lord Alcaron to Rohan

You're on the list.

A – Nori

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 of Lorien

P –Galadriel

Q - Beorn

R – Mablung

S – Celeborn

T – Gimli

U – Hama

V – Dain Ironfoot

W - Mirlonde

Week One results have been posted. There were an astonishing 55 participants! That's crazy cool.

Week two features the top 10 from last year's results (all of which had a bye last week). There are several really good match-ups that I am exited to see. Keep up the commentary on your votes and the hero debate has been top notch! Also, look forward to a few spotlights on particular match-ups

Balin lost against Eleanor (I don't want to live on this planet anymore)

X- Legolas

Y- Bard the Bowman (He is just such fun card with such amazing art!)

Z- Elrohir (One twin down, can't let the other loose)

AA- Frodo Baggins

AB- Elrond

AC- Boromir (T)

AD- Beregond

AE- Denathor

AF- Pippin (Lo)

AG- Gandalf

AH- Haldir of Lorin

AI- Galadriel

AJ- Glorfindel (S)

AK- Celeborn

AL- Aragorn (Lo)

AM- Eomer

X-Legolas
Y-Eowyn
Z-Elrohir
AA-Frodo Baggins
AB-Elrond
AC-Boromir (T)
AD-Prince Imrahil
AE-Bifur
AF-Sam Gamgee
AG-Gandalf
AH-Haldir of Lorien
AI-Galadriel
AJ-Glorfindel(S)
AK-Celeborn
AL-Aragorn (Lo)
AM-Eomer

X. Legolas No contest

Y. Eowyn No contest

Z. Elrohir Just can't get Boromir to work for me but that has more to do with gondor. Elrohir is one of the best defenders in game

Aa. Frodo Close call, but frodo's ability has alowed me to defeat smaug and other big baddies.

Ab. Elrond i like direct damage decks, but Elrond is the better hero by far.

Ac. Boromir T Eleanor has made a come back in my decks, but Boromir has been consistent all the while.

Ad. Beregond best defender hands down, although i have always liked imrahil and he saw more play with eomer around.

Ae. Bifur never really liked scrying decks although denethor is very good, bifur can be the real glue of a deck

Af. Sam both are good, but same is better

Ag. Gandalf opens up whole new way to deck build.

Ah. Haldir No contest. What faramir could have been.

Ai. Galadriel i'll use Galadriel in my decks more than beorn, she's pretty awesome.

Aj. Glorfindel S. Still a crutch at times.

Ak. Celeborn great hero, did not play him much until recently, but fits perfect into the silvan theme.

Al. Aragorn Lo No contest. His ability allows for many differnt types of deck builds.

Am. Eomer Lots of fun to play while dain is boring, but still useful for a really tough challenge.

X - Legolas for being awesome and having one of those abilities that breaks with sphere themes

Y - Bard - not for sheer power or even the amount of table time he sees, but for being one of those niche heroes that is just really fun to play in the right deck

Z - Elrohir , but kind of a tough call. Been enjoying this Boromir a bit more recently.

AA - Frodo, although if this had been Frodo vs. Strider I would have made a different call

AB - Elrond for power.

AC - Boromir again for power, he's almost a broken card

AD - Bereond for making me feel safe and warm

AE - Denethor to the finals!! The original wall, and a super awesome ability.

AF - Sam for that so nice 3 willpower with a low threat cost

AG - Merry. Gandalf obviously wins for power, but Merry opens up gameplay that is more my style-- fun with Eomer, Firefoot, and Mighty Prowess!

AH - Haldir for a very cool ability

AI - Beorn because BEAR

AJ - Mablung for some long needed tactics resource love, and because we should all shelf Glorry for a year just as an exercise in deckbuilding.

AK - Gimli. People say he is outdated but I still find him a top-notch tactics hero with well-rounded stats and very high damage potential.

AL - Aragorn for art and an ability which lets me use the Palantir with abandon

AM - Eomer. Like I said, Merry + Eomer with Firefoot and Mighty Prowess makes for a lot of fun.

X - Legolas

Y - Eowyn

Z - Boromir (Le)

AA - Aragorn (Le)

AB - Elrond

AC - Eleanor

AD - Prince Imrahil

AE - Denethor

AF - Sam Gamgee

AG - Gandalf

AH - Haldir Of Lorien

AI - Beorn

AJ - Mablung

AK - Celeborn

AL - Hama

AM - Eomer

Well it does say "Grima bridges the two factions present on the player cards IN THE BOX." It doesn't even pretend Isengard will show up in the cycle.

The point is, there is no actual bridging. Yes, he has two faction traits. What good that does to him that it does not for any other rohan hero? Zero. Even IN THE BOX there is technically zero direct isengard support. What's the point in the "bridging" statement? Just to provide an example, a hero that would have both Rohan and Gondor printed traits would actually brige two factions and it would actually matter gameplay-wise.

Grima's effect powers the Isengard cards and having the Rohan trait allows him to benefit from effects that power Rohan and his ability helps pay for the expensive Rohan cards (mostly the attachments and events; the allies are pretty affordable). He seems like a decent bridge to me. The only downside is the tiny amount of Isengard cards.

This way, any doomed card can be called a card that bridges Isengard and all other traits, which is would not be a valid point.