It's a safe bet that the two heroes in The Land of Shadow will be Faramir and Anborn/Damrod. There just aren't many other candidates from that portion of the story.

But what heroes will be released in the last two saga boxes that will cover the events of Return of the King? Who are the options? If we assume that we'll get two heroes per saga box, and that the creators won't make alternates of core set heroes, then the choices are rather limited.

If they want to make alternates for non-core heroes, then they have several options: Imrahil, Halbarad, Hirluin, Erkenbrand, Elrohir, Elladan, Eomer, Beregond, Hama.

But if they want to make new heroes, they have few characters left to choose from: Gamling and Gwaihir are about the only ones I can imagine.

• Imrahil helps lead the defense of Minas Tirith, and charges onto Pelennor Fields. His hero card was released early in the game's history, and I can imagine him getting a Spirit or Tactics alternate.
• Halbarad was released very recently, and I already love his ability. No call for a new version.
• Hirluin could get a non-Outlands iteration, but I honestly don't think he'll be chosen before Imrahil.
• Eomer leads the Rohirrim after Theoden's death, and becomes king. Like Imrahil, he shines in the final battles. He certainly deserves a new version more than most.
• Beregond, Hama, and Erkenbrand are all involved in the battles, but I don't see them getting alternates before Imrahil and Eomer.
• Elladan and Elrohir join Aragorn for the Paths of the Dead. They could get Spirit and Lore version, that have a similar mechanic to their current version. I honestly hope they don't bother with this, though.
• Gamling is, to my mind, one of the last few notable characters that doesn't have a player card. He is by no means a crucial hero, but I think it would be fitting to introduce a new Rohan hero for Pelennor Fields.

Hero 1 Imrahil

Hero 2

Fair guesses. Regarding RotK part 2, shouldn't Cirith Ungol be in The Land of Shadow already? Frodo's and Sam's journey in RotK is basically a drag across Gorgoroth and up the slopes of Orodruin, and then home to the Shire.

RotK Part Two

• Imrahil and Eomer could also be heroes here.
• Gwaihir and his eagles play a big part in the Battle of Morannon and in saving the hobbits. I realize that making a giant winged hero is asking for trouble, but they made Treebeard and Beorn work. And if players want to have Gwaihir get into a fist fight in The Leaping Fish, so be it.

Hero 1 Eomer

Hero 2 Gwaihir

I'd still prefer Lore Gimli and Spirit Legolas over any of the above, but I imagine they'll be released outside the saga. What are your guesses for the upcoming heroes?

Oh, I love this.

I hope you don't mind if I include allies as well: my guess/hopes below.

Box IV: Faramir (Leadership), Damrod (Lore). I see we might see no allies whatsoever here.

Box V: This is difficult. Imrahil is a given but will he be hero or ally? Beregond the same thing, none of them are in either core or saga yet, so we will see them. A given hero is Éomer. Denethor should feature, probably as an ally since he is a hero in the core. And then my big hopes go for Merry and Pippin allies. I hope Merry is Spirit and has the Rohan trait also, and Pippin is Leadership and Gondor (as well as Hobbit, of course). Maybe the trait thing is a bit too much because one can get them through other card effects but I feel it would be neat.

So: Éomer (Leadership hero), Imrahil (Spirit hero), Denethor (Lore ally), Beregond (Tactics ally), Merry (Spirit ally), Pippin (Leadership ally).

Box VI: No idea. Perhaps no heroes, similar to the Road Darkens. I hope to see Meneldor as an Eagle Tactics ally. Perhaps some gets another version? Doubt it though. We can get many events instead.

The Road Darmens featured Gandalf hero. The best hero imo. Sadly they forgot my name.

Of course, I know. But it was just the one, so I mentioned it to show there is really not much consistency between the card distribution in the LotR saga boxes. We got 4 allies in each the Road and Treason, I think we might as well get none in the Land of Shadow. We got 4 heroes in Black Riders, I think we might as well get none in the last. I sort of hope we get 4 in Box V but I think it will be just two: 4, 1, 2, 2, 2 and 0 = 11 heroes plus 12 in the core for those who only follow the saga.

Though, now that I look at it 13 heroes would make more sense: 3 of each sphere and Gandalf without a sphere. We got Spirit and Lore in Treason, which could mean Leadership and Tactics in the Land of Shadow, though I really hope Faramir is Leadership to complete a nice Gondorian Leadership line-up with his uncle and elder brother. And that the other ranger is Lore to make the Ithilien traps a bit more useful.

I had forgotten Imrahil is Boromir's and Faramir's uncle. A Leadership Faramir would be great! But it would have to be pretty special to compete with his core set ally. We do have a Leadership Dúnadan confirmed for Carn Dûm, so there will be an abundance of rangers this autumn.

Your list is fair. The designers have said the Saga line is developped outside of the rest of the product line, with each box including Heroes and Allies that makes thematic sense.

It is absolutely certain we will get a Faramir in LOS, an Eomer in Box#5 or #6. I think we'are getting 6 more heroes total in the last 3 boxes, so there's room for another 4-hero guess.

I also think the second ranger will be Damrod. Then, my money is on Imrahil for box 5 and Gwaihir for box 6. Those characters seems to be the most iconic ones.

As for the last hero, I really think we'll get... Frodo Baggins. Because I think we'll get Sam as the Fellowship hero with the Ring-bearer trait in box #6. And if players decide then to choose Sam as their Ring-bearer during the whole campaign, they have the possibility to play Frodo, as a non-fellowship hero.

So I'm saying: Faramir, Damrod, Imrahil, Eomer, Gwaihir and Frodo.

omg! guys you are forgetting so many peps! Don't you think that... Eowyn might just show up after not appearing sense core? and wouldn't it be fitting for us to get a tactics Denethor in the battle of pelennor? we got the king of rohan in the last box so why in 5 wont we get the acting ruler of gondor.

omg! guys you are forgetting so many peps! Don't you think that... Eowyn might just show up after not appearing sense core? and wouldn't it be fitting for us to get a tactics Denethor in the battle of pelennor? we got the king of rohan in the last box so why in 5 wont we get the acting ruler of gondor.

They seem to be making a concerted to make it possible for players with only the Core set plus the Saga expansions to play with the heroes important to the story. That's why not many people suggest Denethor or Eowyn-- already have them, so duplicates in a Saga box don't seem likely.

I wouldn't be surprised to see new versions of some old friends. Even though leadership Sam is pretty boss, I wouldn't be surprised to see a new version. I mean, he is the real reason the Ring made it all the way to Mordor, give the man some props! Hopefully, we will see Eowyn soon, but how to you beat an already awesome hero that still comes in handy? Especially if you change spheres? I would love to see Spirit Aaragorn as king (since it's the only one left) in the last Saga box. I'm still hoping we see Anduril soon as the attachment that gives him the tactics icon.

Yes, maybe Éowyn as an ally. I think they want to release all the big characters in the saga, one way or another. So those who are heroes in the core, like Legolas or Gimli, will get an ally treatment in the saga. Aragorn is an exception, probably, since he is a Fellowship hero for Treason (and maybe for box V as well). But I am almost positive we shall see Denethor ally, and probably Ěowyn ally as well in the box V.

That Frodo call is interesting. Perhaps it may happen like that. We may get Ring-bearer Sam and one will be able to choose either Frodo or Sam as the Fellowship hero and the other (if he wants) as a line-up hero.

I further agree (as I have been already changing my mind above) that we shall see six more heroes, for the total of 13: 3 for each sphere and Gandalf.

That would leave only one more Lore and one more Spirit hero, two more for both Leadership and Tactics. What about the distribution then?

I'm still hoping we see Anduril soon as the attachment that gives him the tactics icon.

Given that Anduril is already a Boon in the campaign and hasn't been reforged yet in the usual timeline of the game, I'm pretty sure this won't happen.

But I am almost positive we shall see Denethor ally, and probably Ěowyn ally as well in the box V.

That Frodo call is interesting. Perhaps it may happen like that. We may get Ring-bearer Sam and one will be able to choose either Frodo or Sam as the Fellowship hero and the other (if he wants) as a line-up hero.

I'm not sure about the possibility of another ally Denethor... to be honest, I could imagine Denethor being another objective ally/enemy like Gollum/Smeagol, except in Denethor's case he'd start as an ally and then be flipped partway through the quest with no means to flip him back.

On the other hand, I suppose that would prevent people using Hero Denethor, so they might well not do it if they are trying to specifically cater to people with only Core + LotR Saga.

I wouldn't think they will address Denethor's actions in this way. Just as they didn't address Boromir's. They just made it generic and we may see something of the kind again, i feel. Though the battle being Minas Tirith, maybe we shall see Denethor's Madness as a treachery?

I love the idea of a Ring-Bearer Sam, but I could also see players having to pick one of their heroes to be the new Ring-Bearer for the first quest of box 6. "Attach to a hero. Attached hero gains the Fellowship icon and the Ring-Bearer trait."

Then maybe that hero has to make willpower checks throughout the quest to resist the lure of the ring.

I'm currently playing through a campaign with a Rohan theme in an alternate history "What if Saruman manipulated Rohan to retrieve the Ring for him?" It's actually a Grima redemption story, I think.

I'd love to see alternate Ring-bearers for such endeavors. They certainly let the design space open when they wrote the campaign rules. Time will tell whether they depart from the story and make non-canonical ring-bearers. I think a POD player card set full of alternate ring-bearers would be a cool product

Well actually I was thinking they would make a spirit aragorn seeing that they have all other spheres with his theme being the revealed Ellessar. I would agree with others when i don't think besides Aragorn and a few others they aren't gonna make different flavors of other heroes.

I would certainly appreciate a Spirit version of Aragorn, even though I think there are many heroes who deserve a first or second iteration far more than he deserves a fourth! But I'm operating under the assumption that core heroes won't get alternates in the upcoming saga boxes (barring Fellowship Aragorn). If it turns out I'm wrong, then I'd love to see Lore Gimli and Spirit Legolas. Hopefully they'd have complementary abilities that wouldn't be dependent like Elrohir and Elladan's. Gimli and Legolas' current versions have little synergy, and I'd love to see their friendship presented by their hero cards, or at least in a better version of Keeping Count.

Oh, how I hope we won't see Spirit Aragorn for a while. I actually hope we shall never see him in a way. There are three sphere-versions of him, plus the saga. An ally version would be cool though -- and it could be Spirit. I see I am contradicting myself quite a bit, but maybe someone will get what I mean.