Ok, please excuse a typical addict in the withdrawal period. I am just wondering why we still haven't seen the announcement of the Flame of the West. It has been a while since we learned the title...

As for the predictions:

A) When is the announcement going to hit?

B) What shall we see in it? If the past is anything to go by, the first saga preview never had a non-saga hero, and only one or two player cards (none for the Land of Shadow I recall).

A) Tomorrow.

B) Something player card related, I hope.

Come on Leadership Denethor hero..

Tactics Imrahil please

A) Tomorrow.

B) Something player card related, I hope.

That would be nice.

Come on Leadership Denethor hero..

I doubt a Denethor hero because there is one in the core set. But it would make most sense to have him in Leadership, and if Leadership, then as a hero. It is yet to be to have two version of an ally within a single sphere, even though saga and cycles are two different organisms. I really wonder now as I am contradicting myself...

Tactics Imrahil please

Imrahil hero for sure. I think that is the safest bet about all the player cards in the box (unless you count saga Aragorn). But the sphere? Well, thematically I think Spirit fits well but it is the least of Gondor spheres by a long shot. Lore seems totally unlikely. And we have a Leadership hero Imrahil, so just as the above, either there will be something we haven't seen before, or… well Tactics Imrahil.

Also, the saga hero counts per sphere thus far:

Leadership 2

Tactics 1

Spirit 2

Lore 3

Prediction for the future sagas:

1 Leadership

2 Tactics

1 Spirit

0 Lore

According to that and some more (feeble) logic, we might get Leadership & Tactics now and Tactics & Spirit in the last box.

Still waiting for SpearAgorn. How can you have 4 Aragorns and not spirit after a Dunadain cycle?

I think we'll get Leadership Denethor with some sort of amazing ability or stats but also a negative ability and Imrahil will be an Ally or a Tactics Hero

Oh, and I totally got one thing wrong, I still think Imrahil is a safe bet but Éomer hero is a much safer bet yet.

I really hope there is no Aragorn beside the saga version, there have been too many of him already. If there is to be one more, I hope it is an ally -- and not in the saga.

Imrahil Tactics and Eomer Leadership will be the heroes.

FFG likes to release a saga expansion at Gen Con. The Road Darkens was announced in early February 2014 and they clearly intended to have a limited release at Gen Con (in Christian Petersen's InFlight report, he incorrectly said that it was available). At Gen Con 2014, perhaps in reaction to yearlong wait between Black Riders and Road Darkens (and also because they were announcing Helm's Deep and the shift from Frodo to Aragorn), they also announced Treason of Saruman, which came out on April 23 2015. The Land of Shadow was announced a week later, three months before its limited release at Gen Con 2015. My guess is that The Flame of the West will have a limited release at this year's Gen Con, and they don't want to announce too early, especially since the full release is usually a couple of months after Gen Con. On the other hand, we're currently in the relatively dead period between a deluxe release and the start of a cycle. I expect to see, within the next month, announcements for the fifth and probably sixth APs of the Dreamchaser cycle, announcements for Nightmare decks (for either the second half of the Ringmaker cycle or The Road Darkens), and the announcement for The Flame of the West.

Player cards would be cool, but my biggest hope for the the announcement article is that it lets us know what the quests are. The Paths of the Dead and the battle of Pelennor Fields are obvious choices, but will Flame of the West include the battle of the Morannon, or will that be saved for the sixth box, perhaps in a quest that combines Mount Doom and the battle? If Flame of the West doesn't include the battle of the Morannon, what will the third quest be? If the battle of Pelennor Fields is the final quest, there could be a preparatory quest. The Siege of Gondor might work, although Aragorn's not present for that (The Road to Isengard mostly avoided this problem, since the quest was more focused on the confrontation with Saruman than on the Ents destroying Isengard). The Ride of the Rohirrim has the same problem, and the raid on the Corsairs is outside of Tolkien's narrative and doesn't feel epic enough for a whole quest (possibly a quest stage, though). The Pyre of Denethor also seems like it wouldn't be a whole quest: perhaps it'll be represented by a treachery (condition attachment?) in the Battle of Pelennor Fields. The Battle of Pelennor Fields could be the second quest, but a third quest where the armies just march to the Black Gate seems anti-climactic. Of course Flame of the West could include the Battle of the Morannon, but then there's not much material to draw on for the last box. One quest would be Cirith Ungol, but it seems difficult to stretch the Ringbearer traveling through Mordor and up Mount Doom into two quests without the battle of the Morannon. The sixth box might then have to include Scouring of the Shire, which seems like it would work better as a POD quest. Any other ideas on possible quests?

Oh yeah, the quest selection is a tricky one. My guess is that the Black Gates Open will be saved for the last box -- you gotta have one battle there, right? I feel the Pellenor will be the climax of the Flame. Perhaps Siege of Gondor being a part of the second quest? Well, probably not because Aragorn is not present during that. Hmm...

Re-reading the above, you basically said it all Estel. Scouring of the Shire fits perfectly within the lines of the Battle of Lake-town, Old Forest or Fog on Barrow Downs. I think Mount Doom will indeed finish the story of the Box VI.

You could have the acquisition of the Oathbreakers as the first quest, and in the second quest you race to Pelargir in a blitz quest where enemies are only a minor inconvenience (maybe featuring very powerful Oathbreaker objective allies) but getting through the stages quickly is vital.

A fair while ago I started this similar thread: https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/134436-scenarios-in-the-remaining-saga-boxes/

As you can see back in that thread there was a fair bit of discussion about whether or not scouring would be included, I guess we will have to wait and see!

I agree that it seems a little anti climactic going from Mount Doom to the scouring of the shire but thematically it is extremely appropriate and what's more I cannot for the life of me think of what the 3rd quest in the last box would otherwise be unless the siege of Minas Tirith and Battle of Pelennor fields are broken up into two quests.

There is no doubt that the Scouring of the Shire was a major theme for Tolkien. I think one of his most important episodes, as a war veteran. It is a tragic and powerful chapter in the book; however, just as I understood its omission in the movies, I would understand it in the game, and feel a bonus quest would be most appropriate for it.

My ideas for the Flame of the West:

Heroes: tacic Imrahil, Leadershp Eomer (fellowship Aragorn)

Allies: Leadership Denethor, Tactic Eowyn. lore Elladan, Spirit Elohir

Quests: paths of dead, some kind of quest when you travel from Erech to Minas Tirith (inlcuding the battle at Pelargir), the Battle of Pelennor Fields.

My ideas for the last one:

Heroes: tactic Gwahir, Spirit Aragorn (fellowship Frodo)

Allies: Leadership Pippin, tactics Meneldor, lore Merry, spirit Sam

Quests: Cirith Ungol, the Black Gate opens, Mount Doom

Pod quest scouring of the Shire.

That leaves only a couple of problems.

1. Ally Beregond or Halbarad would be a good choise, but not as good as the others. Maybe instead of Elladan/Elrohir?

2. There will be no fellowship Aragorn at the Black Gate opens.

Any characters missed?

I think it leaves a few more problems. Don't you find Merry and Pippin play much more prominent roles in the Book V than VI? And also much bigger roles than Elladan and Elrohir? One can argue they are already represented by their Black Riders versions though.

Beregond is a prominent character in the Book V for sure.

Denethor Leadership ally would make perfect sense, if not for the fact there is a Leadership ally version of him already -- though neither in the core set nor in the saga boxes.

I agree about the problem of no Aragorn for the Black Gate Opens. A very good point. Thus we might have a perfect collection of Paths of the Dead, Pelennor Fields, and Morannon for Box V, making a great story line, and a perfect sense (however leaving us with very little to do in the Box VI).

ps: But I would love to get Elladan and Elrohir allies, because I am (quite unlike others here, I think) totally underwhelmed by their hero versions. I have tried and tried to make a good deck with them but never succeeded once to my satisfaction. However, I feel we shall get them in the new cycle, as expensive allies had been announced (and some previewed already).

I am the opposite and love the strength of the brothers but would still really love some new versions, allies or hero. It would definitely open up more options when building a deck with them by a fair bit.

In a perfect world, there would be 4 differently colored versions of each brother

I also want new versions of the brothers, and that is why I put them in instead of Beregond/Halbarad. Leadership Denethor already exists... a problem. Maybe lore instead?

Merry and Pippin is more important in book V, I know, but they do play a role in book VI, when the others do not. Simply a matter of card space, and I like the idea of new ally versions of the hobbits in the last one, as the heroes in the first. As Gandalf says, the have learned for the scouring of the Shire of their journey. He doesn´t need to help them (or something similar, I don´t have the book available right now). Then we NEED that horn Merry gets from Éowyn. Some hobbit/Rohan synergy.

I want FIVE versions of both brothers. Do not forget neutral.

I am the opposite and love the strength of the brothers but would still really love some new versions, allies or hero. It would definitely open up more options when building a deck with them by a fair bit.

I know both. And I will not argue. I know people find their use, I just struggle with it -- some of those enigmas in life, I guess, haha.

The allies would really make things interesting though, not just having have to put them both together. Even if I play mostly 2-player, I still want to have each deck workable solo, so I wouldn't spread them. I would love if the allies went Elladan Leadership and Elrohir Tactics.

I also want new versions of the brothers, and that is why I put them in instead of Beregond/Halbarad. Leadership Denethor already exists... a problem. Maybe lore instead?

Merry and Pippin is more important in book V, I know, but they do play a role in book VI, when the others do not. Simply a matter of card space, and I like the idea of new ally versions of the hobbits in the last one, as the heroes in the first. As Gandalf says, the have learned for the scouring of the Shire of their journey. He doesn´t need to help them (or something similar, I don´t have the book available right now). Then we NEED that horn Merry gets from Éowyn. Some hobbit/Rohan synergy.

I want FIVE versions of both brothers. Do not forget neutral.

I think if we are going to see a Denethor ally, then yes, he will be Lore. It actually fits the theme even better, as you can imagine Denethor sort of abandoning his Stewardship in favour of deep knowledge which leads to his doom.

And yes, I think we may very well get the Hobbits in the last box. They already had Snowmane and Skinbark in Box IV just because of the space. It would make more sense with Merry and Pippin. And yes, the symbolism of their journey from the beginning till the end would indeed be neat.

I think, that we will have the following Heroes. Please give us 4+1 of them!

Aragorn (Fellowship)
Éowyn (Tactics)
Denethor (Leadership)
Imrahil (Lore)
Halbarad (Spirit)


For Allies we will have:
Bergil (Tactics)
Ioreth (Spirit)
Ghan-buri-ghan (Lore)
Hirgon (Leadership)

Because we need to put this characters now! or never!. In the next expansiones we can have more Twins, or the Hobbits.

I believe that the last adventure of the box will be Pelennor, meanwhile the first two will be something to prepare the great Battle. The Heroes will put their help to defend the city. Aragorn and the Path of the Dead, Faramir in Osgiliath, and the Rohirrim.