Why would it be good with Frodo even without the valour? Frodo can trigger his response once per phase, if not once per round, if I recall correct.

I think, but the 40 threat requirement means your are in the "danger zone" and keeps it from being good with Frodo

Seams that Frodo would be the fastest way to hit 40 though action, but you could just as easily hit 40 by simply not questing. Eat a ton of threat on turn 1 and just wipe out all the monsters. There could be a solo deck here that doesn't quest at all (practically). Threat reduction, token placers, blades etc etc. These high monster eDecks could lead to a entire new way to play. Doomed will also make a big play for solo, but in multiplayer there could be problems with how it effects the entire table.

Still I think in multi-player Frodo looks like the fastest and most reliable way to have a single player hit 40 while having the other players quest and stay under. Whack a Battle + Mocking Song and you have some powerful wound absorption across the entire table, especially when you build with other absorb effects. Mocking isn't unique or limited in any way, you could have 3 on Frodo easy.

Not been as excited for a set for a while, this new keyword is very exciting for the changes in deck building it is encouraging and unlike Secrecy it is much easier to hit the threshold. At first I thought it might lead to a drop in the need for as much threat reduction, but having 40 threat could make those reduction cards more important not less.

I am of the opinion that we will get a card or two that allows the Valour player to reduce or set their threat to 40. The reason is that once you are at 40 you are only a couple of Doomed cards away from losing.

Or perhaps a way to convert threat to damage? That would be a twist.

I'd be disappointed if there was a 40 reset of some sort. Seams to me that would remove the skill in piloting the deck as well as designing it.

You'll see a Lore side quest that does what? Oh, snap! It lets you add a card from the encounter deck to the victory display!

Right, I followed that much. There are other cards that do that too. I thought you were implying it had something specifically to do with side quests.

I really hope it doesn't require a card with the same name in the victory display, because that would make it sooo situational. Although if you could use it on non-treacheries, I guess that would be nice. The partial letter before the e doesn't look like it could be an m though. Looks more like an l or d. Joezim would be able to figure this out.

Thanks for the vote of confidence. Early looks seem to indicate that the cards need to have the same title. I was hoping to not spoil the cards for myself this time, but since everyone is already discussing them so much, I might try to verify the wording on some cards.

I personally like the idea of a card needing to already be in the victory display. It gives new life to Out of the Wild, which Ive been wanting to play recently but kept choosing Risk Some Light instead. Obviously the duplicate title restriction weakens the card, but makes it far more interesting and prevents it from becoming overpowered or just expensive.

Also, the stuff about Spirit Noldor is making me think they'll release an Arwen hero. That's potentially exciting.

Also, the stuff about Spirit Noldor is making me think they'll release an Arwen hero. That's potentially exciting.

You're probably right. The Tale of Tinúviel could be totally interpreted as an omen.

I'd be disappointed if there was a 40 reset of some sort. Seams to me that would remove the skill in piloting the deck as well as designing it.

Lore Aragorn?

I'm toying with the idea of using Grima, Lore Aragorn & suitable leadership or tactics hero, depending on the valour cards.

Ramp up your threat with Grima (or Frodo if you play multiplayer)

While doing that, get your valour cards out on the table.

Once you are in your 40s use them as needed and then reset your threat with Aragorn.

This is a hero choice, and you would need to pick heroes to start above 40 =< for it to work, though raising the threat isn't hard after the reset. Still this is a little different from having a card that you can put 3 copies on to just rest to 40 from lower or higher.

This cycle looks very promising so far!

But FFG, please, plastic boxes? I loved those cardboard boxes, I store the respective adventures in there and the boxes are perfectly arrangeable. The inlays are great as dividers, as mentioned before. Also in terms of ecology this new standard is just a shame!

Sorry, but I had to get this off my chest. Game wise I'm really excited about it.

Also in terms of ecology this new standard is just a shame!

On the contrary. Less paper, less trees cut. Let's not fool ourselves though; we all know why they opted for plastic.

On the contrary. Less paper, less trees cut. Let's not fool ourselves though; we all know why they opted for plastic.

Paper comes from a renewable resource and can be recycled; plastic typically relies on petroleum and most f it ends up in landfills.

I'm toying with the idea of using Grima, Lore Aragorn & suitable leadership or tactics hero, depending on the valour cards.

Ramp up your threat with Grima (or Frodo if you play multiplayer)

While doing that, get your valour cards out on the table.

Once you are in your 40s use them as needed and then reset your threat with Aragorn.

Lore/Leadership also has cool doomed cards, which also accelerate valour. Loragorn is a very cool idea!

Hugely disappointed with the new plastic boxes. Please go back the nice cardboard ones. :/

The actual cycle looks very fun.

I think this change of packaging gets too much attention.

Loragorn, Elrond, and Gandalf gets 38 starting threat, with a reset back to 38 and meaty stats. It's an obvious combination of heroes, but it's nice to have a new keyword encourage the big number heroes back into play.

Or at least into play more.

Really cool! That cycle looks much more promising then previous

You wrote that every previous cycle! (well, something similar)

Really cool! That cycle looks much more promising then previous

You wrote that every previous cycle! (well, something similar)

Yeah, I wouldn't count on this cycle being "promising" from his point of view, as regular packs are designed for commoners, not die hard players who will accept nothing less than teeth-breaking difficulty of each quest.

Really cool! That cycle looks much more promising then previous

You wrote that every previous cycle! (well, something similar)

Couse I always hope good is coming. Third cycle was briliant! Saruman cycle looks promising but practically time mechanics is not so great .. Battles and siege much more cooler and I happy that always have a part in the game in future quest.

Or at least into play more.

More? It's not really that Elrond, Gandalf and Loragorn are underused heroes! The cool this about Valour is that other high threat heroes get to be played more, because valour ups the synergie they have with the deck. The guys you named are powerhouses in their own right. I'm courious whether valour will make underused high willpower heroes (looking at you, Brand) more playable.

It's been verified via Photoshop: The Door is Closed has the following wording...

Response: After an encounter card is
revealed from the encounter deck, cancel its
effect and discard it if there is a card with
the same title in the victory display.

I hope that Tactics and Leadership get their own specialized means of cancellation as well. I'm sick of relying on Spirit.

I hope that Tactics and Leadership get their own specialized means of cancellation as well. I'm sick of relying on Spirit.

When even rely on spirit? Game can be beaten in more ways than just canceling stuff.

I didn't read the article fully until now, but I'm intrigued about the "new strategies" for Noldor players. I thought the Ringmaker cycle was the most elvish stuff we were going to get for some time, but I'm not a huge fan of the bouncy mechanics.