So, Sword Thain makes an ally a hero, which allows them to collect resources related to their sphere.

What happens if allies like Radaghast or Treebeard, who already collect a resource, are made into heroes? Do they collect two resources a phase(one for being a hero, one for their ability)?

I would say they do collect two resources.

I just read Sword-thain's text. You actually can't attach Sword-thain to Radagast or Treebeard because it says "attach to a unique ally belonging to any sphere of influence ". It was previously ruled that neutral cards do not belong to a sphere.

Here is the relevant ruling from the FAQ:

Stand and Fight CORE 51

Stand and Fight cannot return neutral allies from the discard pile, as neutral cards do not belong to “any sphere.”

Oh, didn't realize they don't qualify. Well, that solves that.

After the Stand and Fight fiasco I'm really surprised that the devs haven't adopted the Gandalf-hero approach of just listing all the spheres rather than using the phrase "any sphere". Yes, it's in the FAQ, but issue is still going to come up repeatedly.

To be fair to them, it's in the rulebook that neutral cards don't belong to a sphere (part of the Stand and Fight fiasco was that the "restriction" wasn't really worded as a restriction at all). Although they do choose a dubious way to word the restriction on Sword Thain. Instead of "ally belonging to any sphere of influence", why not say "non-neutral ally"?

To be fair to them, it's in the rulebook that neutral cards don't belong to a sphere (part of the Stand and Fight fiasco was that the "restriction" wasn't really worded as a restriction at all). Although they do choose a dubious way to word the restriction on Sword Thain. Instead of "ally belonging to any sphere of influence", why not say "non-neutral ally"?

Theoretically, they could release other non-sphere resource types. It would make the wording "non-neutral ally" potentially problematic if they also intended for Sword-thain to not be attached to those as well.

Wow that's really stretching it.

The very definition of Neutral is essentially "no sphere", so I don't see how there could be other non-sphere resource types.

Wow that's really stretching it.

The very definition of Neutral is essentially "no sphere", so I don't see how there could be other non-sphere resource types.

Rainbow, could be one.

Like Saruman of the many colors?

Incidentally, "Treasure" cards are not explicitly described as Neutral cards anywhere, are there? "Boon" cards, on the other hand, are.

But "Neutral" is generally not capitalized, I think. Meaning that if a card has no sphere, like a Treasure card, or Gandalf, or even if it is called a "Rainbow" card, it is still considered "neutral," maybe.

Core rules, page 12: "Neutral cards, which belong to no sphere of influence, require no resource match to play."

I think that explains everything. If a card does not require a resource match, it is neutral.

Core rules, page 12: "Neutral cards, which belong to no sphere of influence, require no resource match to play."

I think that explains everything. If a card does not require a resource match, it is neutral.

Nerf guns, which are harmless children's toys, require no special licence to use.

Therefore, if an object requires no special license to use, it's a Nerf gun.

Nerf guns, which are harmless children's toys, require no special licence to use.

Therefore, if an object requires no special license to use, it's a Nerf gun.

Well actually, yes.

At least, in a closed universe where every single object other than Nerf guns require a special license to use.