So I was wondering...what is everyone's favorite card to use per sphere and why?

Not necesserily the best, but the ones you really love to play.

Heroes not included.

Mine:

Leadership: Errand-rider. 1cost, 2hp, a fun to use great ability, and he can chump. So good, unless you play a mono leadership deck solo maybe.

Tactics: Hard to pick one, but I think I'll have to go with Black Arrow. Limited 1 per deck, when this epic card pops up I always get giddy and want to nuke something.

Spirit: A test of will. This might sound like a dull choice. But I always get a satisfied feeling when I just cancelled a devastating threachery card.

Lore: Daeron's Runes. This card is always a welcome sight when you draw it. 0 cost, draw 2, dump 1? Yes please. Love the "gamble" effect in it, if you discard a card you can also use, but really need that other card.

And out of these 4, it would be Daeron's runes, hands down.

I by default assume that heroes are excluded from the list

Leadship: Orthanc Guard. 2def/hp for 2 most cheap resources of the game makes me include him in every deck that has Leadership in it.

Lore: Ranger Spikes. Anything that prevents enemy from beating the snot out of me and is also keeps him at low threat is simply a must have.

Spirit: Light the Beacons. This card is a game ender in multiplayer.

Tactics: Rumil. Good stats, has willpower, has ranged, hurts people. Well-worth the munah you pay for him, especially playing the artillery deck.

Neutral: White Tower Watchman. For 3 neutral resources, he is good even if you're not running monosphere. If you do, however, he is great.

I have a really hard time picking just one, since each sphere has great cards, so I'll pick as fw as possible and put them here.

Leadership:

• Warden of Helm's Deep: 3 resources from the sphere best at generating them is a low price to pay for a defense 3, 2 health sentinel ally.
• The Day's Rising: in certain types of decks this card is hilarious fun, and generates surprising amounts of free resources.

Lore:

• Warden of Healing: splashes of healing often come more in handy than big single ones like from Daughter of the Nimrodel, Lembas, etc. Also, when you have Elrond (hero) on the table, even a single Warden becomes a powerhouse of heals.
• Ranger Spikes: -2 threat and no engagement cost is an amazing lockdown tool, since it effectively removes many enemies from the game. Even better is if you also have Faramir (hero, Lr) out, since the Ranger Spike is basically a semi-permanent +1 attack for him.
• Ambush: Another trap, this card is great if you're low on defenders since you can use that Combat action to defeat the enemy before they even have a chance to attack.

Spirit:

• Northern Tracker: some quests are lousy with locations, and there is little better than Norther Tracker for dealing with location floods.
• The Galadhrim's Greeting: lowering threat by 6, or lowering everyone's by 2, is an incredibly powerful effect, even for three cost. This is in most of my Spirit decks.

Tactics:

• Dúnedain Hunter: While it's less useful in enemy-light scenarios, in your average scenario this is an incredibly cheap 3-attack ally, as strong as some heroes.
• Knight of Minas Tirith: It's been less powerful as of late, but this is a great card for clearing the staging area of smaller enemies, plus his 3 attack is no slouch for later.
• For-hammer: with card draw often an issue for tactics decks, this card is a godsend for accelerating your options.

Neutral:

• Keen as Lances: Hard to pull off in your average deck, in ones built to make use of its special abilities its amazing, especially since playing one lowers the cost of playing another.

Maybe not the most powerful cards, but I love them.

Leadership: Warden of Helms Deep. Do not know why, but I like them a lot. Erestor is also close to him.

Tactics: Veteran of Nanduhirion, always a good feeling when they kill anyone, or defend an attack. The hardest one to pick, other cards (horns cry, Beorn...) is like I also a lot.

Lore: Harbour Master. Like Warden of HD, don´t know why I love them. I like expensive, doubtful allies a lot.

Spirit: Warden of Annuminas. Another really powerful 4cost ally, not so good ability, but very good stats.

Forgot neutral:

Saruman!!! Just love the character (mostly in the books, but in monies and games too).

Oh I forgot neutral.

Keen as lances it is then. Great fun to use playing in a group, and also a very powerful.

I'll be boring and basically give the cards that I use the most from each sphere:

Leadership: Steward of Gondor

Tactics: Gondorian Shield

Spirit: A Test of Will

Lore: Burning Brand

Neutral is not a sphere, but I use Song of Wisdom the most from that binder.

Well this is kinda hard question because there are so many great and fun cards to play in all spheres. Well here are some cards i do enjoy to play:

Leadership: A very good tale. I just like the idea and art in this card. It's powerfull but not overpowered.

Tactics: Eagles of the Misty Mountains. I love eagles and they'r best cards in tactics i think. This one is just the best of all and combined with support of the eagles it becomes even more better.

Spirit: A test of will. I just love this card. It has saved me so many times and i think there should be more treachery cancellation cards.

Lore: Expert treasure hunter. It's just so good card in all ways possible. You can make a deck around this card or just use it for free card drawing. You can also give it to other players so thats plus too.

Tactics: Eagles of the Misty Mountains. I love eagles and they'r best cards in tactics i think. This one is just the best of all and combined with support of the eagles it becomes even more better.

[...]

Lore: Expert treasure hunter. It's just so good card in all ways possible. You can make a deck around this card or just use it for free card drawing. You can also give it to other players so thats plus too.

I agree with you whole-heartedly that the eagles cards are some of the best in Tactics. I personally love me some Descendant of Thorondor, especially with Born Aloft and Meneldor's Flight being available.

I don't necessarily agree with you on Expert Treasure Hunter though. In a balanced deck, you have a roughly 2/3 chance of just discarding the top of your deck every time you trigger it. While it's great with hero Gandalf (since his ability let's you always know what's on the top of your deck), it's far too risky in the average deck for my tastes.

Neutral is not a sphere, but I use Song of Wisdom the most from that binder.

Define a "sphere".

Neutral is not a sphere, but I use Song of Wisdom the most from that binder.

Define a "sphere".

I think he is referring to the Stand and Fight + Gandalf ruling that decided Neutral is not a sphere. It's also going to prevent us from putting Sword-Thain on neutral allies, sadly.

Neutral is not a sphere, but I use Song of Wisdom the most from that binder.

Define a "sphere".

I think he is referring to the Stand and Fight + Gandalf ruling that decided Neutral is not a sphere. It's also going to prevent us from putting Sword-Thain on neutral allies, sadly.

I remember that. I just think that the whole thing of neutral "not being a sphere" is a half-ass measure to prevent Stand and Fight from bringing back Gandalf without much errata (which I still think is stupid, we have a freaking Sneak Attack which does the same frigging thing for 4 less resources).

Hmm interesting thread. I think I need two from each sphere, fun and need.

Leadership:

Fun: Snowborn Scout ( best chump ever )

Need: Steward of Gondor

Spirit:

Fun: Northern Tracker (watch those locations)

Need: Galhadrims Greetings

Tactics:

Fun: Citadel Plate, with Gimli

Need: hmm. Maybe Gondirian Spearman as awesome chump

Lore:

Fun: Forest Snare (Haha! Gotcha)

Need: Daughter of Nimrodel (healness)

All quite core orientated but thats my progression.

Neutral has never been a sphere. Rulebook, p.4:

There are four different spheres of influence in The

Lord of the Rings: The Card Game,

And p.12:

Neutral cards, which belong to no sphere of influence,

require no resource match to play

Now that I remember the situation more clear, the feeling was that they made Stand and Fight wording initially to clarify that the ally is not restricted to spirit, but ended up contradicting their own rule, leaving neutral out. (Word "can" suggests this, because it enables, not disables.)

Now that I remember the situation more clear, the feeling was that they made Stand and Fight wording initially to clarify that the ally is not restricted to spirit, but ended up contradicting their own rule, leaving neutral out. (Word "can" suggests this, because it enables, not disables.)

This has always bothered me as well. It would have been much less ambiguous if they had worded it "The ally must belong to a sphere of influence". Also, parentheses should only be used used for clarifications - they should not add limitations to a card effect.

This is an extremely difficult question.

Spirit: Elrond's Council

Lore: Warden of Healing

Leadership: Bill the Pony

Tactics:Feint

Neutral: Treebeard

Leadership: Path of Need -- a eucatostrophe every time it hits the table (which isn't often at one per deck, and never for long).

Lore: Silvan Tracker -- when it gets going in the right deck, and you see the damage just fly off effortlessly at the end of each round, it is a priceless feeling.

Tactics: Beorn. Obviously.

Spirit: Fair and Perilous. Elf-lord revealed in wrath, anybody?

Neutral: Resourceful -- Making two-hero decks viable for five adventure cycles.

Favorite card per sphere is somewhat broad. I choose to interpret this as the cards that I enjoy playing the most, rather than the cards that I find most powerful, or use most often.

Player Cards

Leadership: Timely Aid

Tactics: Beorn (Core)

Spirit: Shadows Give Way

Lore: Distant Stars

Heroes

Leadership: Sam Gamgee

Tactics: Mablung
Spirit: Galadriel

Lore: Erestor

Favorite card per sphere is somewhat broad. I choose to interpret this as the cards that I enjoy playing the most, rather than the cards that I find most powerful, or use most often.

Heroes

Tactics: Mablung

Why not Beorn?

Leadership: Steward of Gondor, I love me some money!

Lore: Daeron's Runes, I like ditching uniques.

Spirit: A test of Will, cancelling those treacheries is just awesome!

Tactics: Eagles of the Misty Mountains, once buffed up and with two or three of these b*tches you can kick some ass! I quest with them also more then with other stuff in Tactics.

Neutral: Saruman. This doesn't require explanation. Together, my Lord, we shall rule this Middle-Earth.

Neutral: Saruman. This doesn't require explanation. Together, my Lord, we shall rule this Middle-Earth.

March to Helms Deep!

Wish we could have played Helms Deep as the fighting Uruk-Hai!

Leadership: Ranger Summons. My favorite aspects of some quests is when an objective ally comes in when needed most. But not all quests has those cool moments. With this, I can do that with any quest. I want to see more cards like this.

Tactics: Beechbone. I love tactics. I love ents. I love direct damage. This guy is the whole package.

Spirit: Ethir Swordsman. I don't play much spirit so I had troubles thinking of a favorite. I chose the swordsman because he give a great boost to willpower. The more the merrier.

Lore: Forest Snare. Locking down an enemy is very nice. Even without Damrod's price reduction, I feel it's worth it. A close second was Wellinghall Preserver (3 WP for 3 that's not Spirit? yes please!)

Neutral: Gandalf 2.0. He quests for free and has amazing stats. He's just so powerful. I always try to keep him in play as long as possible. Threat is a resource, use it!

My favourite player cards:

Allies:

Leadership - Faramir - high willpower is so important

Lore - Warden of Healing - super and cheap healer (super in combination with Elrond)

Spirit - Northern tracker - very good solution for many locations in stagging area

Tactics - Derndigle warrior - my favourite defender, best in combination with Booming ent (attack) and Wellinghall preserver (healing)

Neutral - Treebeard - good price, super stats and gain resources for ent cards

Attachments:

Leadership - King under Mountain - I like dwarves decks and this is super for this

Lore - Ranged spikes - I like traps and this is best of them

Spirit - Unexpected courage - super for more actions with one hero and it is not restricted or limited for one hero

Tactics - Support for the Eagles - super boon in eagles deck

Neutral - Defender of West - it may save hero, universal and cheap title

Events:
Leadership - A very good tale - one of my favourite cards, super for new allies on the table

Lore - Daeron´s runes - 0 cost x 2 new cards and discard worst card from hand.. for me super

Spirit - Helm! Helm! - very good in my Rohan deck

Tactics - Feint

Neutral - Hidden cache - 2 resources are super, very good in combination with A very good tale and the others..

Tactics: Keeping Count - because everyone says it's terrible, yet I've had many games where I've given heroes +5-10 attack with a 0 cost non-restricted attachment.

Leadership: a Very Good Tale - It lets you get out to such a strong start. Shines best in a secrecy deck with Timely Aid or in Gondor swarm decks.

Spirit: Hobbit Pipe - Pipe decks are so much fun once they get rolling. Drawing 4+ cards per turn with enough threat reduction for a 4 player game.

Lore: Strider's Path - This card is really underrated. When you don't have an active location, playing Strider's path is practically the same as cancelling a location card if the threat and quest points are similar.

Neutral: Envoy of Pelargir - Such a great utility card. Effectively a 1 cost Gondor ally that gives you some resource smoothing.

Lore: Henamarth. I only have one copy of him, so I'm pretty excited everytime he pops up. One of the most useful allies.

Leadership: Sword that was Broken. Comboed with Aragorn this card can turn the tide single handedly.

Spirit: Arwen, obviously. I love the art, I love the special effect (see tactics)

Tactics: Gondorian Shield. I always feel better when I am prepared for battle.

Neutral: Treebeard. Fits into every deck and the reason why I never played the hero version.