D: Galadriel

E: Dain Ironfoot

F: Glorfindel (S)

G: Sam Gamgee

H: Beravor

I: Beorn

J: Glóin

K: Aragorn (Le)

L: Aragorn (Lo)

M: Prince Imrahil

N: Legolas

O: v Gríma

P: Beregond

Q: Merry (T)

R: Haldir of Lorien

S: Mablung

T: Elrond

U: Rossiel

V: Merry (S)

W: Bifur

X: Gandalf

Y: Halbarad

Z: Boromir (T)

AA: Erestor

AB: Éowyn

AC: Erkenbrand

AD: Elrohir

AE: Aragorn (T)

AF: Celeborn

AG: Arwen Undomiel

AH: Théoden (S)

AI: Faramir (Le

D- Galadriel

E- Pippin

F- Théodred

G- Sam

H- Frodo

I- Beorn

J- Éomer

K- Idraen

L-Aragorn

M- Thalin

N- Legolas

O- Denethor

P- Bombur

Q- Merry

R- Haldir

S- Mablung

T- Elrond

U- Rossiel

V- Merry

W- Damrod

X- Gandalf

Y- Halbarad

Z- Treebeard

AA- Erestor

AB- Dwalin

AC- Erkenbrand

AD- Amarthiul

AE- Aragorn

AF- Celeborn

AG- Arwen

AH- Theoden

AI- Faramir

Going into the weekend, two match-up are way to close to call

v

v

Both sets of heroes are within ONE vote from each other

Treebeard is keeping pace with Boromir? Oh man, didn't expect that one. Grima being criminally underrated however, fully saw coming.

D: Galadriel

E: Pippin (Lo)

F: Glorfindel (S)

G: Sam Gamgee

H: Beravor

I: Beorn

J: Éomer

K: Idraen

L: Aragorn (Lo)

M: Thalin

N: Legolas

O: Gríma

P: Beregond

Q: Bard the Bowman

R: Haldir of Lorien

S: Mablung

T: Elrond

U: Faramir (Lo)

V: Merry (S)

W: Damrod

X: Gandalf

Y: Halbarad

Z: Boromir (T)

AA: Balin

AB: Éowyn

AC: Eleanor

AD: Amarthiul

AE: Aragorn (T)

AF: Celeborn

AG: Arwen Undomiel

AH: Elladan

AI: Faramir (Le)

D: Galadriel - I like Mirlonde a lot, but Galadriel is one of my favorite heroes. Sad to see the 'nameless she-elf' go though.

E: Pippin (Lo) - Weren't it for Pippin, 50% of the decks I make wouldn't be possible, and I can't play with Dain anyway in MP 'cause he's too good so he makes things boring.

F: Glorfindel (S) - Oh, uhm. Theodred is one of my favorite Leadership heroes, especially for 2-player games. Glorfindel is Glorfindel. Uhm. I guess I still can't bear myself to vote against one of the mighty of the Firstborn. At least not twice.

G: Sam Gamgee - Bye Ori, no regrets.

H: Beravor - I love Beravor, probably because I'm a draw-junkie.

I: Beorn - Roar! I love the character, and he's a very good hero too, especially when the setup puts a lot of pressure on the players. A shame Shadows have gotten so bad lately..

J: Éomer - I've never been a fan of Gloin, while I really enjoyed Eomer when I started playing.

K: Idraen - Aragorn (Le) is good, but I'd rather have the Lore version. Idraen makes an appearence in almost all of my multi-tasking Spirit - Lore decks, she's especially good combined with Glorfindel and Asfaloth.

L: Aragorn (Lo) - So good. Not a fan of Outlands either, I don't think they really are that good. One can abuse Loragorn, but there are also plenty of decks one can build using his strengths while not having the feeling you're exploiting the game, you just need to stay away from Doomed cards.

M: Thalin - He enables an archetype, and a very fun one.

N: Legolas - . Am I supposed to justify this?

O: Gríma - He is awesome. He is so good in Solo decks! I really can't see how one could put him on par with Denethor.

P: Beregond - I do not love him, but Bombur is even more boring.

Q: Bard the Bowman - I don't really like 3 ATK hobbit nonsense, not to mention the absurd combos Merry (T) can be part of.

R: Haldir of Lorien - My favorite hero. Amazing art, amazing ability. Love the character too.

S: Mablung - I like his ability.

T: Elrond - If Vilya were a bit more consistent I would like him better, but his healing ability alone is worth it in big MP games, or with Treebeard.

U: Rossiel - Not too stoked by her, but I like Faramir even less.

V: Merry (S) - He's a beast. He makes Secrecy decks so much better, almost enabling the archetype all on his own.

W: Bifur - This is so difficult! I like both. I'm going with Bifur because he fits in a much wider range of decks.

X: Gandalf - Istari. He is in one of the decks I'm going to use after everything else has failed. Or when I just want to make the ecnounter deck look miserable. Middle Earth's saviour. Play him. Play him!

Y: Gimli - Gimli can be a lot of fun. I hope new cards will make me love Halbarad more though.

Z: Treebeard - Super tough matchup. I like both characters. I Love both heroes. Treebeard gets the vote because Boromir always feels like abusing the game to me, but it was hard.

AA: Erestor - More interesting.

AB: Éowyn - She's 4 WP. Boring, but so **** effective. Dwaling is usable only in a handful fo quests.

AC: Erkenbrand - One of the best heroes in the game for me, and by far the best defender.

AD: Amarthiul - Let's give him a chance.. Hmm..

AE: Aragorn (T) - He's bonkers. I'm not much into Rohan, and find Theodred to be a waste - he's got so much stuff he can use but he still feels too weak for me.

AF: Celeborn - Had to Google 'Dori Hero' 'cause I've already forgotten he exists. 'nuff said.

AG: Arwen Undomiel - She looks awesome. AWESOME. I've never been a big fan of Hama either - if you take a look, under the voice 'good Tactics heroes' you can clearly read 'abuse game mechanics' as the definition. I don't like it. Well, to each his own.

AH: Theoden - I don't like Theoden's spirit version either but Elladan always struck me as uninteresting and the worse of the Twins. Things will change with Arwen and the new attachments, but I'm not really sure it will be enough for him to become interesting.

AI: Faramir (Le) - Faramir (Le) is much more interesting to play with.

D: Galadriel

E: Pippin (Lo)

F: Glorfindel (S)

G: Sam Gamgee

H: Frodo Baggins

I: Beorn

J: Éomer

K: Idraen

L: Aragorn (Lo)

M: Prince Imrahil

N: Legolas

O: Gríma

P: Beregond

Q: Merry (T)

R: Haldir of Lorien

S: Mablung

T: Elrond

U: Rossiel

V: Merry (S)

W: Damrod

X: Caldara

Y: Gimli

Z: Boromir (T)

AA: Erestor

AB: Éowyn

AC: Eleanor

AD: Amarthiul

AE: Aragorn (T)

AF: Celeborn

AG: Arwen Undomiel

AH: Théoden (S)

AI: Faramir (Le)

Thanks for the copy paste option, so much easier!!

D Galadriel

E Dain

F Glorfindel

G Sam

H Frodo

I Beorn

J Eomer

K Aragorn

L Aragorn

M Imrahil

N Legolas

O Grima

P Beregond

Q Merry

R Haldir

S Thorin

T Elrond

U Rossiel

V Merry

W Bifur

X Gandalf

Y Gimli

Z Boromir

AA Erestor

AB Eowyn

AC Erkenbrand

AD Elrohir

AE Aragorn

AF Celeborn

AG Hama

AH Theoden

AI Boromir

D. Galadriel

E. Dain Ironfoot

F. Glorfindel (Spirit)

G. Sam Gamgee

H. Beravor

I. Nori

J. Eomer

K. Aragorn (Leadership)

L. Hirluin the Fair

M. Imrahil

N. Legolas

O. Denethor

P. Beregond

Q. Bard the Bowman

R. Haldir of Lorien

S. Thorin Oakenshield

T. Elrond

U. Rossiel

V. Merry (Spirit)

W. Damrod

X. Gandalf

Y. Gimli

Z. Treebeard

AA. Erestor

AB. Eowyn

AC. Elanor

AD. Amarthiul

AE. Aragorn (Tactics)

AF. Celeborn

AG. Arwen Undomiel

AH. Theoden (Spirit)

AI. Faramir (Leadership)

--- Round 2 CLOSED ---

Round 2 voting is officially closed

The 32 heroes moving on to Round 3 are:

Galadriel
Pippin (Lo)
Glorfindel (S)
Sam Gamgee
Frodo Baggins
Beorn
Éomer
Aragorn (Le)
Aragorn (Lo)
Prince Imrahil
Legolas
Gríma
Beregond
Merry (T)
Haldir of Lorien
Mablung
Elrond
Rossiel
Merry (S)
Damrod
Gandalf
Gimli
Boromir (T)
Erestor
Éowyn
Erkenbrand
Aragorn (T)
Amarthiul
Celeborn
Arwen Undomiel
Théoden (S)
Faramir (Le)

All three Aragorn heroes are moving on
Only one dwarf hero, Gimli, made it out of this round.

There were several cases where higher seeded trounced their competition (Galadriel, Éowyn, and Beregond each only had two votes against them). And poor, poor Dori, didn’t get a single vote against Celeborn.

--- Round 3 ---

32 heroes are reducing down to 16. Match-ups are really starting to get tough in this round!

Once again, I’ve included a voting card (see below) that should help alleviate everyone re-typing everything. Just copy, paste, and delete whichever names you are not voting for.

Visit http://challonge.com/lotrhero2015 for the bracket layout.

Voting closes at noon CST Saturday December 12.

---------------------------------------------

AJ: Galadriel v Pippin (Lo)
AK: Glorfindel (S) v Sam Gamgee
AL: Frodo Baggins v Beorn
AM: Éomer v Aragorn (Le)
AN: Aragorn (Lo) v Prince Imrahil
AO: Legolas v Gríma
AP: Beregond v Merry (T)
AQ: Haldir of Lorien v Mablung
AR: Elrond v Rossiel
AS: Merry (S) v Damrod
AT: Gandalf v Gimli
AU: Boromir (T) v Erestor
AV: Éowyn v Erkenbrand
AW: Amarthiul v Aragorn (T)
AX: Celeborn v Arwen Undomiel
AY: Théoden (S) v Faramir (Le)

AJ: Galadriel

AK: Sam Gamgee

AL: Beorn

AM: Eomer

AN: Aragorn (Lo)

AO: Legolas

AP: Beregond

AQ: Mablung

AR:Elrond

AS: Merry

AT: Gandalf

AU: Boromir

AV: Eowyn

AW: Aragorn (T)

AX: Celeborn

AY: Theoden

AJ: Galadriel: Honestly really don't like either of these heroes, but Pippin has no business taking out Dain!
AK: Glorfindel (S): Never been fond of Sam.
AL: Frodo Baggins: I quite like Frodo and his ability.
AM: Éomer: I like Eomer more right now simply because I am really interested in making a Rohan deck with him in it. Leadership Aragorn is still really strong, though.
AN: Aragorn (Lo): Lore Aragorn is so great, allowing for some very fun high threat or doomed-based decks.
AO: Gríma: I think this is a really tough choice. Legolas provides much needed location management in a sphere that otherwise lacks it. Grima also loses out on usefulness as you add more and more players, but in the end Grima's ability is a lot more fun to me and Legolas has been around for quite a while.
AP: Beregond: Beregond wins this one for me easily. Whenever I use hobbits they just die to things that deal direct damage [the obvious exception being Frodo, of course!]
AQ: Mablung: I quite like Haldir's ability, but I have had a much easier time building successful decks with Mablung. His ability can generate 2-3 resources per turn easily in some scenarios.
AR: Elrond: Elrond is just a powerhouse having 3 insanely useful abilities (Vilya being one)
AS: Damrod: I like Damrod's ability a lot, even though I think Merry might be more useful. But Merry is a non-Frodo hobbit, so meh, he will probably just die.
AT: Gimli: I don't really like either of my choices here. Gandalf totally ruins Sneak Attack Gandalf combo and despite being strong, I think is best suited for solo play. Gimli has been quite useful during my progression through the game, but unfortunately other decks that fill similar roles just outclass any Gimli deck I've made.
AU: Boromir (T): Just plain strong.
AV: Éowyn: My appreciation for willpower manipulation during questing cannot be overstated.
AW: Amarthiul: While I don't have much experience with Amarthiul, the ability is just so strong.
AX: Arwen Undomiel: Haven't really gotten on the Silvan train and Arwen just looks so good to me.
AY: Théoden (S): I really like both of these, but I am looking forward to making a Rohan deck soon.

AJ: Galadriel v Pippin (Lo) - Very pleased to see him crush Dain. Keep it going and dethrone Galadriel! Just so much versatility and his card draw is the best in the game outside of maybe Erestor.
AK: Glorfindel (S) v Sam Gamgee - Built in readying is so good.
AL: Frodo Baggins v Beorn - Two very nice safety blankets on defense. I'll go with the one that can handle bigger enemies.
AM: Éomer v Aragorn (Le) - Almost no reason to use Leadership Aragorn anymore.
AN: Aragorn (Lo) v Prince Imrahil - Tough call, but I'll go with Imrahil's readying. Not a big fan of exploiting threat and doomed with Aragorn.
AO: Legolas v Gríma - Legolas is still arguably the best attacker in the game.
AP: Beregond v Merry (T) - Tactics Merry is pretty much just there to break the game. Meanwhile Beregond is tied with Erkenbrand for the best defender in the game.
AQ: Haldir of Lorien v Mablung - Mablung makes tactics so splashable and he combos with so many heroes. Haldir is also great, but haven't used him much lately.
AR: Elrond v Rossiel - Pretty sure Elrond will crush this one, but I'll give a support vote to the victory display mechanic.
AS: Merry (S) v Damrod - Merry is my 4th favorite Hobbit while Damrod single-handedly makes traps a thing.
AT: Gandalf v Gimli - Protest vote against Gandalf
AU: Boromir (T) v Erestor - I'm really enjoying Erestor. There are so many deck possibilities with him.
AV: Éowyn v Erkenbrand - Eowyn is still the best questing hero in the game, but I do love shadow cancellation.
AW: Amarthiul v Aragorn (T) - Such a wrecking ball.
AX: Celeborn v Arwen Undomiel - Still think it's a bit early for Arwen. Celeborn makes Silvan a thing.
AY: Théoden (S) v Faramir (Le) - Faramir might be good, but haven't tried him yet. Meanwhile Theoden is one of my most played heroes.

AJ: Galadriel
AK: Glorfindel (S)
AL: Frodo Baggins
AM: Éomer
AN: Aragorn (Lo)
AO: Legolas
AP: Beregond
AQ: Haldir of Lorien
AR: Rossiel
AS: Merry (S)
AT: Gandalf
AU: Boromir (T)
AV: Éowyn
AW: Amarthiul
AX: Arwen Undomiel
AY: Faramir (Le)

AJ: Galadriel
AK: Glorfindel (S)
AL: Frodo Baggins
AM: Éomer
AN: Aragorn (Lo)
AO: Legolas
AP: Beregond
AQ: Haldir of Lorien
AR: Elrond
AS: Damrod
AT: Gandalf
AU: Erestor
AV: Éowyn
AW: Aragorn (T)
AX: Celeborn
AY: Faramir (Le)

AJ: Galadriel
AK: Sam Gamgee
AL: Beorn
AM: Aragorn (Le)
AN: Prince Imrahil
AO: Legolas
AP: Beregond
AQ: Mablung
AR: Elrond
AS: Merry (S)
AT: Gimli
AU: Boromir (T)
AV: Éowyn
AW: Aragorn (T)
AX: Arwen Undomiel
AY: Théoden (S)

AJ: Galadriel
AK: Sam Gamgee
AL: Frodo Baggins
AM: Éomer
AN: Aragorn (Lo)
AO: Gríma
AP: Merry (T)
AQ: Mablung
AR: Elrond
AS: Damrod
AT: Gandalf
AU: Erestor
AV: Éowyn
AW: Aragorn (T)
AX: Arwen Undomiel
AY: Théoden (S)

AJ: Galadriel
AK: Glorfindel (S)
AL: Beorn
AM: Éomer
AN: Prince Imrahil
AO: Legolas
AP: Beregond
AQ: Haldir of Lorien
AR: Rossiel
AS: Damrod
AT: Gandalf
AU: Erestor
AV: Erkenbrand
AW: Amarthiul
AX: Celeborn
AY: Théoden (S)

AJ: Pippin

AK: Sam

AL: Frodo

AM: Eomer

AN: Aragorn

AO: Legolas

AP: Merry

AQ: Haldir

AR: Elrond

AS: Damrod

AT: Gandalf

AU: Erestor

AV: Erkenbrand

AW: Aragorn

AX: Celeborn

AY: Theoden

I'm feeling hobbity today

AJ: Galadriel
AK: Sam Gamgee, just way more fun than Glorfindel and plays into themes I enjoy more
AL: Beorn
AM: Éomer
AN: Aragorn (Lo), still some of the best art in the game and a deck-enabling ability
AO: Gríma, now if only I could get away with using him more in multiplayer...
AP: Merry (T), my most-used Hobbit
AQ: Haldir of Lorien
AR: Rossiel, Elrond is definitely more powerful but Rossiel goes hand-in-hand with a very cool new mechanic
AS: Damrod
AT: Gimli, never really enjoyed the Gandalf hero yet and Gimli still stands up in current quests
AU: Erestor
AV: Éowyn
AW: Amarthiul, man that is a tough one. Just recently have been playing with Amarthiul and really enjoying him though
AX: Celeborn
AY: Faramir (Le), simple, deceptively powerful

AJ: Galadriel
AK: Sam Gamgee
AL: Beorn
AM Aragorn (Le)
AN: Aragorn (Lo)
AO: Legolas
AP: Merry (T)
AQ: Haldir of Lorien
AR: Elrond
AS: Damrod
AT: Gandalf
AU: Boromir (T)
AV: Éowyn
AW: Aragorn (T)
AX: Arwen Undomiel
AY: Faramir (Le)