X - Legolas - No contest

Y - Eowyn - A one trick pony, but she's essential for Rohan decks and still the best at questing

Z - Elrohir - The better of the twins, and I've never been able to use Boromi's ability well. Imrahil is always better.

AA - Frodo - Aragorn can be a beast with the Sword, but Frodo is one of my favorite heroes. If only you could use him in the saga boxes.

AB - Elrond - I like Thalin, but he doesn't scale to the new quests well. Elrond is a stud, although I find Vilya decks to be very boring.

AC - Eleanor - I know Boromir can be a beast, but I just don't like that kind of deck and Eleanor's art is 100x better.

AD - Beregond - Toughest pick so far. I love Imrahil, but there is nothing quite like Beregond.

AE - Denethor - The original defender. I like his synergy with burning brand and shield. I also like the potential of heir of Mardil (and optional Palantir for the theme win)

AF - Pippin - I love Sam too and he can be a powerhouse, but Pippin is my go-to lore hero and in almost every secrecy deck I run.

AG - Merry - I love the Hobbits, but this is more a protest vote against Gandalf.

AH - Faramir - I have an irrational love for Faramir and I fully understand that Haldir is better in virtually every way. I just want to make sure Faramir doesn't get shut out.

AI - Galadriel - Tough call because I like Beorn. However, I almost never play him and Galadriel is new and shiny and opens up more secrecy options.

AJ - Mablung - Another tough call because I use Glorfindel a lot for secrecy. I hope Galadriel can reduce my reliance on him and I am really excited about the potential of Mablung/Dunedain deck.

AK - Celeborn - Silvan decks are so much fun and he is the anchor. I like Gimli, but rarely use him anymore.

AL - Hama - Aragorn is better, but for some reason his threat reset feels like a gimmick to me, especially when you use it on multiple people. I love the Rohan/mount synergy that is developing.

AM - Eomer - This is an actual vote for Eomer instead of just a protest vote against Dain. Just needs one attachment to be attacking for 7 with splash.

X- Nori : While many people like to "cry" about Dain and use Legolas to wipe the table and make a tone of progress (no mater battle, siege or normal questing) i'm just a humble dwarf guy

Y- Eowyn: a straightforward hero with a cool ability, what's not to love?

Z- Boromir (L): Gondor "Dain+"

AA- Aragorn (L): I like Frodo a lot but i can't play all quests with him (saga)

AB- Thalin: 1 Elrond ally is so cool. 2 Elrond hero with, vilya, gandalf, stargazer = bananas and 0 fun. 3 Thalin is a Dwarf

AC- Boromir (T): One man army.

AD- Beregond: Defend ? hahahaha

AE- Bifur: resource manipulation ? solved!

AF- Sam: I just flipped a coin for this one, soooo hard

AG- Mery: If you like this game you are o LOTR fun, so you will love to have your epic Gandalf moment, and you have to be a bad person to deny this from others.

AH- Haldir: ...

AI- Beorn: Soooo hard but i love this so unique bear.

AJ- Glorgindel (s): ...

AK- Gimli: The old fashioned killer never gets old

AL- Aragorn (L): Threat prob? nop!

AM- Dain Ironfoot: King ! Not OP not broken, an absolute beast, like many other heroes. A King with his army MUST! feel exactly like this, the designers do a very nice job ignoring all the mumbling.

X - Legolas

Y - Eowyn

Z - Boromir (Le)

AA - Aragorn (Le)

AB - Elrond

AC - Boromir (T)

AD - Beregond

AE - Bifur

AF - Sam Gamgee

AG - Gandalf

AH - Haldir of Lorien

AI - Beorn

AJ - Glorfindel (S)

AK - Gimli

AL - Aragorn (Lo)

AM - Eomer

I can not believe it.

HAMA WON?! SarumanDK will come back. Even a defeated Saruman is dangerous...

I can not believe it.

HAMA WON?! SarumanDK will come back. Even a defeated Saruman is dangerous...

Ofcourse Hama have won. Remember the hurt when Grima was announced. The unthinking majority just can't handle that somebody they percieve as a pure evil could be a complicated case and they would pick somebody simple straightforward white above grey any day.

I can believe it, but I just didn't want to.

X-Legolas (chers)
Y-Eowyn
Z-Elrohir
AA-Frodo Baggins (no comments)
AB-Thalin (direct damage is always funny)
AC-Boromir (T)
AD-Prince Imrahil (i love gondor trait now)
AE-Bifur (simply the best)
AF-Pippin (Lo) (it is very powerful, even more than sam)
AG-Merry (i love this low tactics threat hobbit)
AH-Haldir of Lorien (funny, very funny)
AI-Beorn (fear the beast)
AJ-Mablung (i like this new)
AK-Celeborn (i like silvans now)
AL-Aragorn (Lo) (Aragorn is funny still)
AM-Eomer (new still)

X - Legolas. my favorite tactics hero along with Gimli back from the Core Set

Y - Eowyn. No contest here..

Z - Elrohir. Great defender and his ability is really nice. Gondor trait isn't just there yet IMO.

AA - Frodo. Just like Frodo a little better. Didn't use the Theodred-Aragorn combo that much.

AB - Elrond. Great healing ability, stats and ability for smoothing. Also Vilya is great! I have put him together with Gala and Gandalf and they are awesome!

AC - Boromir Tactics. Just for Brandon. I love how he talks about him, it's so funny.

AD - Prince Imrahil. He got new live in this cycle and he his cool with Rohan. (nice thematic thouch)

AE - Bifur. Really hard one, because I used Denethor a lot, especially defender. Scrying not so much, because only 1 UC is wasted then imo and I didn't really understand the full power of scrying back then.

AF - Pippin Lore. Also hard choice, but the drawing is great and the +1 saved the day often for me.

AG - Gandalf. Good old Gandalf! He is just so cool and fun to play and powerfull.

AH - Haldir of Lorien. Another hard one, but Haldirs ability is just really awesome and Faramir doens't really synergize with his trait.... Something that always blurred me....

AI - Beorn. My wrath for Grima will be great, but Dan's wrath if we don't vote Beorn... At least I'm save. But I do love Gala..

AJ - Spirit Glorfindel. He is just so powerfull. Although I do like Mablung a lot and the vets will hate me for getting Splorfindel again..

AK - Gimli. Great attacker! Slayed the Balrog and the Watcher multiple times with him.

AL - Aragorn Lore. Great ability, stats and cool personage; Strider!

AM - Wanted to go with Dain, because he is just cool, but Eomer has the noble trait at least..

I can not believe it.

HAMA WON?! SarumanDK will come back. Even a defeated Saruman is dangerous...

Ofcourse Hama have won. Remember the hurt when Grima was announced. The unthinking majority just can't handle that somebody they percieve as a pure evil could be a complicated case and they would pick somebody simple straightforward white above grey any day.

Hey, I was one of those but still voted for him. (I'm that cool)

Grima shall rise again!

He'll probably assassinate the winer and take the price himswlf.

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

My good man I believe you mean I will be stabbed in the back and then you will be shot down by hobbit archers in the aftermath of the scouring of the shire!

X - Legolas

Y - Eowyn

Z - Elrohir

AA - Aragorn (Le)

AB - Elrond

AC - Boromir (T) - that's a tough one to pick out of the two.

AD - Beregond

AE - Bifur

AF - Pippin (Lo)

AG - Gandalf

AH - Haldir of Lorien

AI - Beorn

AJ - Glorfindel (S)

AK - Gimli

AL - Aragorn (Lo)

AM - Dain Ironfoot

X - Legolas

Y - Eowyn

Z - Elrohir

AA - Frodo Baggins

AB - Elrond

AC - Eleanor

AD - Beregond

AE - Denethor

AF - Sam Gamgee

AG - Gandalf

AH - Faramir

AI - Galadriel

AJ - Glorfindel (S)

AK - Celeborn

AL - Aragorn (Lo)

AM - Eomer

X. Legolas. He's always been pretty good but since now silvans can sponge damage to a certain degree without bothering that much and get attack over 9000, he's sooo much better. And Villeneuve point.

Y. Eowyn. Since both of them are one-trick ponies and designers have decided that being one of the best archers of human history is not good enough to allow you to use an elven bow (cause everybody knows only elves can shoot), Bard became one of the worst choices if you are looking for a ranged hero.

Z. Boromir. Mass boosting is always a good thing to have (even more in multiplayer) and Villeneuve point. Moreover, Elrohir alone... bad choice.

AA. Frodo. The peace of mind his damage-swallow ability brings is priceless. I think Leadagorn is good but most likely the worst out of his 3 actual versions.

AB. Elrond. Really good quester and defender, and being elf and lore allows more cards to boost these aspects. And multisphere smoothing plus healing boost. One of the epitomes of versatility. And Villeneuve point. Can I ask for more?

AC. Eleanor. Yes, Boromir is a one-man shield (because there are no real good attack boosters for Gondor characters and no way to make him an elf) but that's pretty much it. Eleanor's treachery cancel can save a game and in worst case can be

improvised as a defender with a shield..

AD. Imrahil. Imrahil is pretty versatile and has autoreading ability which is good and being a Gondor allows to boost questing and defense. Beregond is a one-trick pony.

AE. Bifur. I never thought Denethor deserved to pass last round so why should I vote for him in this one when Bifur is actually a really good hero.

AF. Sam. When it comes to attributes, Sam wins. He can be autoreadied. No **** 2 hp and free pony. Better quester. And let's be fair, usually Pippin owner end up depending on other players to save their sorry asses in order to draw more ^^.

AG. Gandalf. One of the best heroes there are (best attributes, awesome ability and lots of good attachments). I don't like using him that much but the fact that he is awesome is undeniable. And I think the sneak+Gandalf combo could take a rest.

AH. Haldir. A better ranged hero choice, even more being an elf plus the possibility of the preventive strike. And the Faramir ally is so much better.

AI. Galadriel. I have already said that I think she is the dark horse of the tournament so making her drop here would be contradicting myself ^^. It was a tough call, however.

AJ. Mablung. Leaving aside my disdain for Godfindel being in almost all decks... I think Mablung is awesome. More resources in tactics + Gondor (blood of gondor and gondorian fire) is always a good thing to have. He can also be boosted by the Visionary Leadership and Théoden as well as get a shield which gives him more versatility in my opinion.

AK. Celeborn. I think as a hero per se Gimli is better than Celeborn but Celeborn has a mass boosting ability which in the end makes him the best choice. And put him together with a Galadriel...

AL. Loragorn. I like Háma a lot but he is less versatile than Loragorn and there are very good uses for threat resetting. If have had ranged or an easy way to get I could change my mind but since there is only one card (and it's not even his own sphere).

AM. Dain. Mass boost always wins. The more the players the more mass boost wins. And Éomer is a one-trick pony. I like him better but truth to be told... Dain IS better.

X- Legolas: I like Nori, but this is an easy win
Y- Eowyn: tough match-up for Bard, but Eowyn is just too good to vote out now
Z-Elrohir: he's the best defender in the game once he's all set up
AA- Aragorn: lots of fond memories from the core set days, and he's great in the saga expansions (until we can't use him)
AB- Elrond: don't really have anything to say. He's great
AC- Boromir (Tactics): one of my favorite heroes, there's just so many epic moments you can pull off with him
AD: Imrahil: getting new life with his buddy Eomer
AE: Denethor: tough call because both are good, so I'm going with my favorite chracter
AF: Sam: hard choice because I usually use them in tandem and both are valuable even when separated, but Sam is my favorite character from the books
AG: Gandalf: he's awesome and opens up a lot of fun new decks to play. I feel like I've barely scratched the surface of his potential, and the really high threat decks I'm making with him are a blast to play
AH: Haldir: what Faramir should have been
AI: Galadriel: do you want a hero who comes with her own attachments, or one who can't even have them?..............I thought so.
AJ: Glorfindel: haven't even tried Mablung yet and Glorfindel brought me through too many scenarios for me to turn my back on him now
AK: Gimli: I like Celeborn and the Silvan, but my Gimli-Firefoot attachment deck gave him new life for me
AL: Aragorn: still bitter that Hama beat Grima
AM: Eomer: I play Eomer because he makes the game more enjoyable. I don't play Dain because he makes the game less enjoyable. Easy choice.

X: Legolas - Nori is restricted to dwarf decks and doesn't offer anything that you can't elsewhere in the spirit sphere. Legolas, though is an amazing attacker and offers an amazing benefit for doing his job. He also fits into a much larger range of decks.

Y: Eowyn - Bard only works in multiplayer and has wasted stats. Eowyn really doesn't have any wasted stats and can excel in both solo and multiplayer.

Z: Elrohir - This is a tough choice, but leadership Boromir is only useful in Gondor decks, and even then he often doesn't deliver as much as you expect. Elrohir requires his brother, and some resource acceleration. A deck that has Elrohir requires a lot of specialization, but not as much as leadership Boromir. Also, I prefer readying to stat boosting.

AA: Frodo Baggins - Another tough choice. I tend to favor readying, so leadership Aragorn gets an edge there, but Frodo has saved so many lives it isn't even funny. Also, the ability to defend without the risk of death while you're exhausted is close enough to readying in my book. Aragorn's readying is also expensive and restricted to certain timing, so you need some sort of resource acceleration and you're not necessarily sure if you need to ready so you can ready him when you won't need him. Elrohir's readying is just enough less restrictive to make it seem way better than Aragorn's. Finally, Aragorn's starting threat can be a big negative factor.

AB: Elrond - I just finish saying that Aragorn's starting threat can be a negative factor, but I'm taking the 2nd highest threat hero with this pick. This is because he is able to make up for it. Even if you only use him for Vilya, you can probably justify him because that is so powerful. He is also able to cpntribute to just about any phase of the game. Thalin, on the other hand, has limited applicability. His main role is obviously to quest, but the lone willpower just feels like a waste. Also, the single point of damage can be negligible in many cases, though it can also make an enormous impact in other quests. Overall, I think Elrond is able to make more impact a higher percentage of the time.

AC: Boromir (T) - Another tough choice, but I ultimately go with readying again. If Boromir's readying was limited to once or twice per round, Eleanor would probably win. Also, if Eleanor's ability didn't require you to replace the cancelled treachery, it'd fight much harder here. Tactics Boromir is just way too powerful to not win this though.

AD: Prince Imrahil - Another tough choice decided by readying. Beregond offers a super solid defender right out of the gate and allows a user to buff him with free/cheaper armor or weapons. Prince Imrahil, though, has decent stats in each category and has readying, so he's far more versatile and with a single attachment (Gondorian Shield) performs quite well as a defender too.

AE: Denethor - Bifur is a great hero because resource smoothing is important, but he has no standout stats, so he feels lackluster. Denethor, though, can defend well right away or can be a key component in an encounter manipulation deck. Both of them have very useful traits.

AF: Sam Gamgee - Another super close one. Pippin opens up a lot of possibilities for secrecy decks, and since I semi-recently was on secrecy kick, I've played him much more. Sam is super good for his threat, though and offers a great low threat leadership hero with built in readying and stat boosting. Those are quite limited, but even if he can't ready, his 3 willpower is amazing. Pippin is a big key to secrecy, though...

AG: Gandalf - Gandalf has amazing stats and a lot of wonderful toys, not to mention his ability to completely change the way you play by being neutral and being able to see the top card of your deck. Merry can work well if you need low threat and want to splash in tactics, or if you want to build a hobbit deck, or if you're trying to make Theoden worth playing, but other than that he doesn't bring much to the table.

AH: Haldir of Lorien - Faramir is a walking contradiction and is too difficult to build around. Haldir, on the other hand, is exactly what you want in rangers and his ability allows him to kill things safely. No contest.

AI: Galadriel - Galadriel is just so powerful. Locking your threat level (barring any "doom") and drawing an extra card each turn is extremely useful and opens up a lot of great deck types. Beorn is extremely powerful too, but he has much tougher drawbacks: no attachments, immune to player card effects. His built-in "readying" is great, though, and 5 base attack is insane, but I just can't take him over Galadriel, especially with such high starting threat.

AJ: Glorfindel (S) - Mablung looks to be potentially very powerful. Glorfindel just won't be beat, though. Mablung tends to need more cards built around him, whereas Glorfindel really just needs Light of Valinor. Also, the fact that Glorfindel is in so many decks just speaks for itself.

AK: Celeborn - This one is sorta tough. Celeborn is not very versatile in the types of decks he can show up in, but he is the top dog in a massively fun new faction archetype. Gimli fights quite valiantly for this spot, though, so it was tough to decide.

AL: Aragorn (Lo) - The threat reset is insane. It would work a lot better on a low-threat hero, but I'll take what I can get from Aragorn. Hama's recycling can be a bore some times and he's very one-dimensional. Aragorn is more versatile.

AM: Eomer - Dain is nothing by himself. He requires the rest of the dwarves to make a difference. Eomer isn't super versatile, but with just 1 attachment, he becomes a beast. I like beasts.

X - Legolas

Y - Eowyn

Z - Boromir (Ld)

AA - Frodo

AB - Elrond

AC - Boromir (T)

AD - Beregond

AE - Denethor

AF - Sam Gamgee

AG - Gandalf

AH - Haldir of Lorien

AI - Galadriel

AJ - Mablung

AK - Celeborn

AL - Aragorn (Lo)

AM - Eomer

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

My good man I believe you mean I will be stabbed in the back and then you will be shot down by hobbit archers in the aftermath of the scouring of the shire!

Nah, making the same mistake twice would be just silly.

X: Legolas. Nori is good but Legolas is just one of the best heroes.

Y: Eowyn: Hard to decide... I like Bard a lot. But Eowyn is still now the best questing hero...

Z: Elrohir: Give him an Steward of Gondor, a Gondorian shield and you have provably the best defender of the game.

AA: Frodo: In the right deck... with enough threat control is a life assurance.

AB: Elrond: Nothing to say... probably it will be the more unbalanced match .

AC: Boromir: If Eleanor would'nt reveal another card she would win. But as they are... I think Boromir is better.

AD: Prince Imrahil: 0 WP sucks.

AE: Denethor: Until we don't get another hero with a scrying ability... he is so good at what he does.

AF: Sam Gamgee: Very very hard choice... I first wrote Pippin... but really, having a deep analysis Sam is just to good for it's 8 threat.

AG: Gandalf: Gandalf and all his toys are just... too good. And this is a signal, look at the round code... (ag, on the reverse side is (GA from Gandalf...)

AH: Haldir of Lorien (I forgot to vote, so I edited the post): I also like Faramir... but what you want in a ranger deck is a way to end enemies on the staging area, not a boost for having them...

AI: Galadriel: Sad to look this paired, as they both are amongst my favourite heroes... but I have to choose one...

AJ: Glorfindel: Better stats. Half threat, Asfaloth... that's too much for Mablung

AK: Celeborn: I'm not a great fan of Gimli, and Celeborn is the cornerstone of one of the most fun decks at the moment...

AL: Aragorn: Best threat control ability on the game. I'm a fan of Hama, but you had a hard match dude, sorry.

AM: Eomer: Looking at the numbers, stats and effectiveness, Dain is provably better. But Eomer is great, original and has good sinergies without beeing overpowered as dwarves are. My choice and one of my favourites to be in the finals.

X-Nori

Y-Eowyn

Z-Boromir(Le)

AA-Aragorn(Le)

AB-Elrond

AC-Boromir(T)

AD-Beregond

AE-Denethor

AF-Pippin(Lo)

AG-Gandalf

AH-Haldir of Lorien

AI-Galadriel

AJ-Glorfindel(S)

AK-Gimli

AL-Aragorn(Lo)

AM-Dain Iroonfoot

X legolas

Y eowyn

Z elrohir

AA frodo

AB elrond

AC eleanor

AD beregond

AE bifur

AF pippin

AG gandalf

AH haldir

AI galadriel

AJ mablung

AK celeborn

AL aragorn

AM eomer

X: Legolas

Y- Eowyn

Z - Elrohir

AA - Frodo

AB - Thalin, tough call since Elrond is a powerhouse, but I dislike Vilya and really love Thalin so ...

AC- Boromir (T)

AD- Beregond, but tough again.

AE- Bifur, cheaper and makes it easy to run just 1 lore

AF- Pippin, easy!

AG- Merry, no fun in playing Gandalf.

AH-Haldir

AI- Beorn (didn't play Galadriel yet)

AJ- Glorfindel

AK - Celeborn

AL- Aragorn (Le)

AM- Dain

Second round.... FIGHT!

X: Legolas

Y: Eowyn

Z: Elrohir

AA: Frodo

AB: Elrond

AC: Boromir (tac)

AD: Beregond

AE: Bifur

AF: Sam

AG: Merry

AH: Faramir

AI: Beorn

AJ: Glorfindel (sp)

AK: Celeborn

AL: Aragorn (lo)

AM: Eomer

x - Legolas

Y - Eowyn

Z - Elrohir

AA - Frodo Baggins

AB - Elrond

AC - Eleanor

AD - Prince Imrahil

AE - Bifur

AF - Sam Gamgee

AG - Merry

AH - Haldir of Lorien

AI - Galadriel

AJ - Glorfindel

AK - Celeborn

AL - Aragorn

AM - Eomer