Magali is overrated. Great, but overrated. There, I finally said it.

Man, I agree that this game is graced by many excellent artists (and for those who rush to condemn T. Baracchi on the grounds of Spirit Theoden: you 're unfair; he's great) apart from Magali. Her husband, Al. Dainche for instance is equally talented, yet no praise is heard of him.

On the other hand, calling someone overrated, while sporting her art on your avatar at the same time, is a serious contradiction on your behalf.

How is it a contradiction? I, for one, enjoy Magali's art as the next guy, but she recieves so much praise here that I indeed agree she is being overrated. She's good, but not that good to worship her as some people do. And overrated doesn't means bad, or even not good, overrated means rated above it's actual value. It's not a sinister term.

I would argue that you underrate her sir. get on our level and then you wouldn't think she is over rated. Just appropriately rated. I do agree with Serazu, there are plenty of other artists that do great but as far as consistency goes (and my awareness of who they actually are), Magali sets the bar. She is definitely the only artist that I actually remember the name of though, mainly because of conversations at Covenant about this games art and Megali and the heroes she's done.

How is it contradictory? I never said her art is bad, nor did I say that I dislike her art. On the contrary, I like most of the stuff the puts out (including the elven brothers). But her fanboys here seem to act like (a) all the best artwork in this game comes from her, and (b) every piece of art she makes is the best, both of which are not true. They seem dazzled by the fact that a piece of digital art can have golden light shining through things (leaves, hair, clothes), dramatic poses, pretty faces and photorealisitc textures. Guess what, those things are actually not that incredible. Do I like her art? Sure, I still think she's one of the best artists in this game. Is she overrated by the community? For sure.

And there you have it. It's the community and the developers that hype her up. Or do you think she chose to illustrate the majority of the heroes (mainly females and elves)? Obviously not. I long for the day that we see a hero illustrated by Owen William Weber or Illich Henriquez, but so long as players and the art director keep hyping her up, all of our female and elven heroes will be illustrated by Magali.

By saying she's good, but not as good as some fanatics are trying to make her look? Yeah, definitely. Thanks, I'll stay on my non-hypocritical level over here.

I don't really think she is overrated. The reason she gets mentioned so much is because her art is consistently good. Just because something gets mentioned a lot does not make it overrated. It's possible it warrants it.

Really, how you rate something is completely and entirely subjective so the discussion as to whether her art is overrated or not is sort of silly. Some will think she is overrated, some will think she is underrated, and some will think she is appropriately rated.

By saying she's good, but not as good as some fanatics are trying to make her look? Yeah, definitely. Thanks, I'll stay on my non-hypocritical level over here.

It was in jest. everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I even gave a bit of an explanation as to why I've formed mine. As someone without any artistic capability, almost all the art is amazing to me regardless of who did it.

So can we talk about a golden-haired Silvan?

So can we talk about a golden-haired Silvan?

Well, I would like to, but it is hard without being sure about the text. And even with it but without stats it would be difficult. I am excited for the hero though.

Great hero, but I´m 99% sure that Seastan is right. He damages himself.

Here's my guess:

Action: Exhaust Argalad to choose an enemy in

a staging area. Until the end of the phase, that

enemy gets -X [T], where X is Argalad's [A].

If this reduces the enemy's [T] to 0, deal

Y damage to that enemy (Limit once per round).

I'm guessing Y is 1 or 2. But it could be X, which would be pretty bonkers.

If you change "the" to "a" it makes it line up better from line one to two, but would be weird if it could target enemies in other people's staging areas

We also see that "the" on line 4 lines up with "Limit" on line 5. I am trying to make it work but it's not fitting right:

Action: Exhaust Argalad to choose an enemy in

the staging area. Until the end of the phase, that

enemy gets -X tttt, where X is Argalad's aaa.

If this effect reduces the enemy's tttt to 0, deal 1

damage to the enemy. (Limit once per round).

On the other hand....

Action: Exhaust Argalad to choose an enemy in

the staging area. Until the end of the phase, that

enemy gets -X tttt, where X is Argalad's aaa.

If this effect reduces the enemy's tttt to 0, deal 1

damage to Argalad. (Limit once per round).

Great hero, but I´m 99% sure that Seastan is right. He damages himself.

Perhaps the text is simply "deal 1 damage to it."

So can we talk about a golden-haired Silvan?

No one working on this game actually cares about the contents of the books, if they've read them at all.

There is one reason I wouldn't mind him damaging himself -- the fact it wouldn't make me want to boost his attack, which is hard to do in a Tactics less deck I am imaging Argalad in (with Celeborn and Galadriel). Also, it would mean that his attack is actually higher to begin with, my guess would be 3, and that again would fit great within the deck in mind.

Finally, there is a space between the traits and text, right, so we can expect Argalad to be ranged. If all these are correct, I imagine him to be one willpower and one threat lower version of Haldir, or same threat with 1/3/2 -- making total sense to leave him out of questing.

So can we talk about a golden-haired Silvan?

No one working on this game actually cares about the contents of the books, if they've read them at all.

Recalling one of the interviews with the Caleb, I think he described himself as a huge LotR nerd, having read not just the books, but a lot of off-the-books material.

"The" Caleb. Noice.

So can we talk about a golden-haired Silvan?

No one working on this game actually cares about the contents of the books, if they've read them at all.

Recalling one of the interviews with the Caleb, I think he described himself as a huge LotR nerd, having read not just the books, but a lot of off-the-books material.

And yet lately we're consistently given art/rules/lore that contradict things from the books, either to follow the films example (New Line should sue, FFG don't have the rights to those designs, do they?) or just random and conflicting for the sake of it.

Take a series of stories in which travel over the sea is a big thematic element and throw in a Pirates of the Caribbean style pirate adventure. Why not?

Take a series of stories in which travel over the sea is a big thematic element and throw in a Pirates of the Caribbean style pirate adventure. Why not?

Do you somehow think that any civilization with the capacity to travel by sea didn't have to deal with piracy?

New Line should sue, FFG don't have the rights to those designs, do they?

'Murica.

Take a series of stories in which travel over the sea is a big thematic element and throw in a Pirates of the Caribbean style pirate adventure. Why not?

Do you somehow think that any civilization with the capacity to travel by sea didn't have to deal with piracy?

It would have been a thematic disappointment not to deal with Corsairs from Umbar in this game. Pirates may not be stereotypical "high fantasy", but they're absolutely canonical.

To be fair, there were even pirates in the movies.

And in the books.

Take a series of stories in which travel over the sea is a big thematic element and throw in a Pirates of the Caribbean style pirate adventure. Why not?

Do you somehow think that any civilization with the capacity to travel by sea didn't have to deal with piracy?

The Lord of the Rings isn't a civilisation. It is a novel. A novel in which travelling over the sea is essentially a one-way ticket and otherwise forbidden by literal god-figures.

Passing over the sea, the call of the sea, the arrival of hope/doom by sea etc. are all strong recurring thematic elements in the narrative. To append a sea-faring adventure on treasure island to the IP is to reveal a complete lack of respect for the source material.

The game is called Lord of the Rings, but it's not actually restricted to what have been in the novel, but rather to the universe in which the novel existed, which included pirates and stuff.