I have been reading articles and listening to pod casts and I am amazed how different some peoples opinions on heroes are.

For instance TBoromir seems to be a top choice for most players yet I have used him once and am not very impressed.

My top Tactics combat hero is Aragorn.

So below is my list of best and worst Heroes per sphere. I would like to know what others opinions are and why.

Just to clarify my best are heroes I will often include in my games (predominately multiplayer) and the worst are those that I always ignore.

TACTICS

BEST 3

Aragorn

Mablung

Beregond

WORST 1

Dori

SPIRIT

BEST 3

Glorfindel

Arwen Undomiel

Eowyn

WORST 2

Pippin

Fatty Bolger

LEADERSHIP

BEST 3

Theodred

Denethor

Sam Gamgee

WORST 1

Balin

LORE

BEST 3

Elrond

Haldir of Lorien

Treebeard

WORST 1

Bilbo Baggins

Cant give worsts as I havent tried them all. But for bests:

Tactics I have to say I really struggle to get away from Gimli in tactics, I really rely on his huge attack. Gimli, hurt, with a weapon (Dwarrowdelf Axe) and citadel plate often seems my main way of dealing with the big health monsters.

As a result, I have hardly played any other tactics hero as my poor deck building just cant support them.

Id love to try others away from Gimli.

Spirit its always Eowyn, shes just too good a questor for the money. I heavily rely on her too.

Lore: Dont often play lore but when I have, Denethor and his scrying has been the reason.

Leadership: This is a tough one as Ive played a few Leadership heros. Dain is good for his dwarf buffing and then if he goes last he has some good stats too. Theodred is great for his cheap cost and his resource, Gloin I have enjoyed when partnered with a healer as his defending/resource in that mode works great, core Aragorn is good for stats and readying.... Hmmm.... I think for cost-to-gain I probably play Theodred most from those

Good thread, am interested in what will come into it.

I'd actually agree on a a good number of your choices. TBoromir really shines in solo play, which is why you've been underwhelmed. He allows you to send everyone questing. I've found solo play and multiplayer to require totally different approaches. In multiplayer, I would actually replace Boromir with TAragorn as well. When I play with my wife, I run a Tactigorn, Mablung, Arwen deck. When I play solo, Boromir is my go-to choice for winning.

Oh, for Lore, I've for Haldir and Treebeard to be a bit finicky. Both can be awesome in the right deck, but need some specific pieces. Loragorn and Erestor are fantastic though.

I'd actually agree on a a good number of your choices. TBoromir really shines in solo play, which is why you've been underwhelmed. He allows you to send everyone questing. I've found solo play and multiplayer to require totally different approaches. In multiplayer, I would actually replace Boromir with TAragorn as well. When I play with my wife, I run a Tactigorn, Mablung, Arwen deck. When I play solo, Boromir is my go-to choice for winning.

That makes more sense.

I have a multiplayer deck with Tactigorn, Mablung and Hama with almost every 2 willpower red ally and good events and it is so much fun to play.

After seeing the love people have for Boromir, I will have to see what decks I can come up with.

With Haldir in multiplayer, his ability to snipe something before it gets to attack is what makes him so good.

And Treebeard is so good for questing, sure he needs healing in the deck to support it but being able to decide after you know what the threat is to increase his willpower is great.

The weird thing is I have never played Loragorn. I struggled to find that expansion so by the time I got it I have Tactigorn and never got to use him. Go figure

Erestor has such a great ability but I struggle to find the right combo with him.

Besides the Outlands one that I found on RingsDB and that deck I cant play multiplayer because it dominates so much that it is no fun for the other players.

I've found that Erestor pairs really well with any sort of resource acceleration. Denethor is the strongest, Arwen is a natural fit. Grima is an interesting choice as well. I love getting a whole bunch of cards on the board before the first quest phase.

I have been reading articles and listening to pod casts and I am amazed how different some peoples opinions on heroes are.

For instance TBoromir seems to be a top choice for most players yet I have used him once and am not very impressed.

It definitely is a matter of player perspective and game modes that you use, as well as what types of decks you are making and what your friends often bring as well. If everyone is playing Dwarves, Dain is then arguably the best hero in the game - at that moment. But if no one brings Dwarves, he is arguably the worst choice - at that moment. Because all the cards are tied to various situations, traits, themes, spheres, etc, it is very hard to judge a card by itself and say that it is the best since it could be the wrong choice for a given scenario/setup.

That being said, I do find there are some heroes that tend to rise above these various constraints and are just really good regardless. So if we are going by that measure, they could be considered the best heroes of that sphere, since they are not tied to other restrictions. Btw, to see the power of TBoromir, just look up any deck that Seastan posted with him. If you play 2 player, he even has a version for that. He is really really good, and because of his limitless standing ability, makes him a strong top contender for best hero in the game. However, to make use of his standing, he takes a TON of cards to back him up. Resource acceleration, and the Gondorian Fire and Blood of Numenor attachments are key.

Using your standard of best - meaning which I will use the most of, combined with some thought as to how restrictively best a hero is, here are my choices:

TACTICS:

Mablung - Resources for engaging, something tactics will do consistantly

Beregond - best defender in the game and includes a built in cost reduction for beefing him up

Legolas - Not actually the best attacker in the game (Bard is, Eomer is second), the 2 progress can be crucial and his trait giving access to superior weapons makes him better.

WORST

Beorn - I think he is worthless for general deck building since I play encounters blind and don't see the enemies first. If they consistently have 3-4+ attack, his days will be short lived.

NOTE: I think Dori is amazing in a 3+ player game since he has the ability to add his defense to someone else when needed, essentially a Gondorian Shield on a stick. It has saved many lives in my games. Note that he does not replace Beregond. He is always on the board. I'll add Dori to my ent deck because it isn't important that I run Beregond. It's only important that SOMEONE is.

SPIRIT:

Arwen - resource acceleration in Spirit?! Yes please! Combo's with a card draw card in Spirit?! Yes please!

Eowyn - Best quester in the game and can get 100% better in a 4 player game. Also feeds Elven Light drawing.

Galadirel - Card draw and threat reduction and/or quest for 4. Duel sphere. Allies don't kneel first round.

WORST:

Fatty and Pippin - easily the most garbage heroes of any sphere.

NOTE: Glorfindel is not on my list simply because I often found he was ready for nothing. His other amazing 3 Attack stat would just site there as I often never engaged enemies and left them to the tactics players.

LEADERSHIP:

Balin - built in shadow cancellation with zero requirements. Grants access to dwarf trait cards.

Theodred - best/most reliable resource acceleration in the game and can be used to give resources to other players.

Aragorn - built in readying effect and access to OP artifact attachments.

WORST:

This is actually the hardest due to Leadership having really good heroes, even though they are often trait based or only excellent in very specific conditions. That said:

Halbarad - granted I tend to value readying effects a LOT, but his stats are pretty trash for what he offers, his second passive is too sporadic useful and there are better Dunedain/Rangers to chose from.

NOTE: Balin is your worst?! Even in none dwarf themed decks he is a great support hero. Low threat, 2 WP, moderate hp and an ability to save the game from deadly shadow effects!

LORE:

Beravor - Wingfoot on her gets you 2 WP each turn and someone gets to draw 2 additional cards each turn. And card draw is king.

Treebeard - Great for every phase of the game. Self-preservation and Ent Draugh make this beast into a machine. Lembas is also fantastic if you can swing it.

Elrond - great stats paired with resource matching and increased healing as well as access to Vilya.

WORST:

Bombur, Faramir and Glorfindel - Of these three, I have only tried to use Faramir, but his high starting threat works directly against his desire to leave enemies in the staging area.

NOTE: My personal favorite Lore heroes are Damrod and Haldir, but Damrod requires enemies that can be trapped and Haldir requires tactics weapons to be of any worth.

I've almost never used Treebeard hero in pure solo, but maybe I should give him a try (and forget about his ally version.... huh... what??).

No Háma in tactics? That guy is as broken as Boromir... Here are the best heroes of each sphere (this is not open to discussion btw since these are facts ... and this is from solo-mode perspective)

Leadership
1° Denethor
2° Amarthiúl
3° (Can't decide between Dain Ironfoot, Celeborn, Hirluin the Fair or Sam Gamgee for 3rd... I'm going with none of them)

Tactics
1° Boromir
2° Háma
3° Éowyn

Spirit
1° Galadriel
2° Arwen Undómiel
3° Glorfindel

Lore
1° Beravor
2° Gríma
3° Elrond

No Háma in tactics? That guy is as broken as Boromir... Here are the best heroes of each sphere (this is not open to discussion btw since these are facts ... and this is from solo-mode perspective)

Leadership

1° Denethor

2° Amarthiúl

3° (Can't decide between Dain Ironfoot, Celeborn, Hirluin the Fair or Sam Gamgee for 3rd... I'm going with none of them)

Tactics

1° Boromir

2° Háma

3° Éowyn

Spirit

1° Galadriel

2° Arwen Undómiel

3° Glorfindel

Lore

1° Beravor

2° Gríma

3° Elrond

No mention of Balin in Leadership? That hero is amazing.

I have been reading articles and listening to pod casts and I am amazed how different some peoples opinions on heroes are.

For instance TBoromir seems to be a top choice for most players yet I have used him once and am not very impressed.

It definitely is a matter of player perspective and game modes that you use, as well as what types of decks you are making and what your friends often bring as well. If everyone is playing Dwarves, Dain is then arguably the best hero in the game - at that moment. But if no one brings Dwarves, he is arguably the worst choice - at that moment. Because all the cards are tied to various situations, traits, themes, spheres, etc, it is very hard to judge a card by itself and say that it is the best since it could be the wrong choice for a given scenario/setup.

That being said, I do find there are some heroes that tend to rise above these various constraints and are just really good regardless. So if we are going by that measure, they could be considered the best heroes of that sphere, since they are not tied to other restrictions. Btw, to see the power of TBoromir, just look up any deck that Seastan posted with him. If you play 2 player, he even has a version for that. He is really really good, and because of his limitless standing ability, makes him a strong top contender for best hero in the game. However, to make use of his standing, he takes a TON of cards to back him up. Resource acceleration, and the Gondorian Fire and Blood of Numenor attachments are key.

Using your standard of best - meaning which I will use the most of, combined with some thought as to how restrictively best a hero is, here are my choices:

TACTICS:

Mablung - Resources for engaging, something tactics will do consistantly

Beregond - best defender in the game and includes a built in cost reduction for beefing him up

Legolas - Not actually the best attacker in the game (Bard is, Eomer is second), the 2 progress can be crucial and his trait giving access to superior weapons makes him better.

WORST

Beorn - I think he is worthless for general deck building since I play encounters blind and don't see the enemies first. If they consistently have 3-4+ attack, his days will be short lived.

NOTE: I think Dori is amazing in a 3+ player game since he has the ability to add his defense to someone else when needed, essentially a Gondorian Shield on a stick. It has saved many lives in my games. Note that he does not replace Beregond. He is always on the board. I'll add Dori to my ent deck because it isn't important that I run Beregond. It's only important that SOMEONE is.

SPIRIT:

Arwen - resource acceleration in Spirit?! Yes please! Combo's with a card draw card in Spirit?! Yes please!

Eowyn - Best quester in the game and can get 100% better in a 4 player game. Also feeds Elven Light drawing.

Galadirel - Card draw and threat reduction and/or quest for 4. Duel sphere. Allies don't kneel first round.

WORST:

Fatty and Pippin - easily the most garbage heroes of any sphere.

NOTE: Glorfindel is not on my list simply because I often found he was ready for nothing. His other amazing 3 Attack stat would just site there as I often never engaged enemies and left them to the tactics players.

LEADERSHIP:

Balin - built in shadow cancellation with zero requirements. Grants access to dwarf trait cards.

Theodred - best/most reliable resource acceleration in the game and can be used to give resources to other players.

Aragorn - built in readying effect and access to OP artifact attachments.

WORST:

This is actually the hardest due to Leadership having really good heroes, even though they are often trait based or only excellent in very specific conditions. That said:

Halbarad - granted I tend to value readying effects a LOT, but his stats are pretty trash for what he offers, his second passive is too sporadic useful and there are better Dunedain/Rangers to chose from.

NOTE: Balin is your worst?! Even in none dwarf themed decks he is a great support hero. Low threat, 2 WP, moderate hp and an ability to save the game from deadly shadow effects!

LORE:

Beravor - Wingfoot on her gets you 2 WP each turn and someone gets to draw 2 additional cards each turn. And card draw is king.

Treebeard - Great for every phase of the game. Self-preservation and Ent Draugh make this beast into a machine. Lembas is also fantastic if you can swing it.

Elrond - great stats paired with resource matching and increased healing as well as access to Vilya.

WORST:

Bombur, Faramir and Glorfindel - Of these three, I have only tried to use Faramir, but his high starting threat works directly against his desire to leave enemies in the staging area.

NOTE: My personal favorite Lore heroes are Damrod and Haldir, but Damrod requires enemies that can be trapped and Haldir requires tactics weapons to be of any worth.

I agree that Legolas is a great Hero and he would be my #4 in my list but I find Tactigorn just so good and Ally Legolas is also great so I dont use him as much as I used to.

I really want to like the Beorn card and want to make a deck that makes him viable but alas there is always a better option. So I can understand why you place him last.

I agree it is hard to choose a Worst Leadership Hero there is no real clear cut crappy hero. Halbarad is actually decent when you pair him up with Damrod just snare an enemy and you have +2 Willpower every turn and the ability to optionally engage twice is good as well.

I am going to have to try out TBoromir, Galadriel, Balin and Beravor you have provided compelling reasons for them being good.

I've almost never used Treebeard hero in pure solo, but maybe I should give him a try (and forget about his ally version.... huh... what??).

A Friend I play LOTR with also loves ally Treebeard and resisted playing the hero version but once he played a few games with him he swears by him now. So try him out a few times.

My ent deck was for group play, but I liked Beregond, Mablung and Treebeard. Get Mablung the Song ASAP. Also, you can generally spend all your resources each turn as you'll gain one during the Engagement phase in order to play Boomed and Trumpeted. That card is BEAST. And if I understand the timing right you can use Treebeard's ability after you declare him as an attacker - then play the event - so for that attack he is extra pissed off and is also Ready for another attack.

@Zazoo - I currently am running a Berevor, Theodred, Galadriel support deck for a 4 player group. I run Victory Display Manipulation, Side quests, a few cancels with Test of Will, Quick Ears and the Door is Closed, topped off with about 15 attachments that I plan to put on everyone else. Being an enabler is a lot of fun and it helps make the others get more out of their cards as well.

Yea, I agree that Legolas doesn't get included in our decks as often due to his Ally version offering card draw, but he is still a better hero than his other Ranged competitors. Mainly due to his trait and weapon selection. Sure Elf-friend solves that, but Tactics already requires 2 cards (Foe Hammer + Weapon) to get card draw. If you now add + Elf-Friend to that, it is a slow slog if you don't get those pieces early.

@Rajam - I can see giving up Mablung for Hama. The resource acceleration is great, but Foe-Hama and Thicket of Spears-Hama have won us more games than I can count.

WORST 1

Dori

his ability is a bonus. it has niche uses (i could go on forever about how niche uses shouldn't be a metric for overall usefulness given the nature of this game), but it's especially nice in multiplayer games and/or games with one big baddie (Laketown, anyone?) instead of an army of them

that said, i would say that Brand, Son of Bain is the only other Tactics hero in the running for 'worst' since they're all so **** good, so i won't argue too strongly against someone who ultimately decides that Dori is the worst

as for Treebeard, i have a monosphere Lore deck with Rossiel, victory display manipulation stuff (Keen as Lances ftw) and whole mess of Ent allies, and Treebeard really helps with the early game aggression so the deck can start steamrolling once it gets going

WORST

Beorn - I think he is worthless for general deck building since I play encounters blind and don't see the enemies first. If they consistently have 3-4+ attack, his days will be short lived.

I was wondering how long before you noticed. Who do you think are the best/worst Tactics heroes?

The way I see it, every hero that gives you cards or resources is top tier. They end up fitting in slightly different places depending on exactly how they generate these things, but they're all amazing. (Eg, Grima is not a great resource accelerator for multiplayer, generally, but he is incredibly flexible.)

And there are a few heroes with incredibly powerful effects that belong in the same rank. Boromir because trivial readying allows him to double/triple/more dip on stat boosts. Elrond and Gandalf with huge resource flexibility + more. Caldara for super ally mustering. Dain for the global stat boost.

I think Beorn is a good hero. I use him in a ent deck (Bifur, Beorn, Cirdan), and he is awesome for early game, when the ents is weak. If he dies fast, then that is sad, but not terrible. He was vital for many newer quests, even Helms Deep! Maybe Boromir could have filled the same role, but Boromir needs to be built around. I included zero cards to support Beorn, and even alone he slaughtered many Urúk-Hai.

@Durin - so who would you put at worst in the tactics category?

Worst tactics heroes:

Thalin against the Uruk-Hai

Brand and Bard in a solo deck.

TaTheoden as tactics splash.

Dori in a solo deck with Beregond.

Elladan without Elrohir at the table.

Hama without tactics events.

Eomer without disappearing allies or chump blockers

Mablung or Merry or Aragorn, with Damrod and Haldir

Gimli with Cold from Angmar in play

Legolas in Helm's Deep.

Beregond or Beorn, third stage of Redhorn Gate

Eowyn, in a Caldara deck

Boromir with Local Trouble attached.

Tactics may be the sphere where solo vs multiplayer has an effect on the largest number of heroes. Bard and Brand might as well have blank boxes in solo play, and the other ranged/sentinel heroes are more at home there. Boromir's power shines best in solo, as does Eowyn and Theoden's power IMO. Elladan constricts hero choice the most by requiring his brother. Eomer is probably the most restrictive in what kind of deck you're constructing. Boromir probably wants the most deck space for his personal benefit.

Of all the tactics hero, Thalin is the one whose text is directly opposed to his stats, and TaTheoden and Dori are the only two whose utility is not immediately obvious, IMO.

Dori is the worst tactics hero period

Dori is the worst tactics hero period

I disagree with this statement. I'd put Thalin on the worst list over Dori, easily.

I think Thalin is very good in multiplayer, specially 3-4 players. You can make him even stronger with Fresh Tracks, Expecting Mischief and Anborn, and off course along with the brand new hero Argalad.

However, if the enemies health points keep growing in each cycle, he will be almost useless at some point.

By the way, I like Dori, really, he is a very good defender and pretty nice Sentinel for dwarves.

Having recently played with galadriel a lot lately she is an auto include as the best spirit hero. If you have nenya and unexpected courage on her, she's awesome. She keeps your threat under control Her card draw ability is amazing.

Having recently played with galadriel a lot lately she is an auto include as the best spirit hero. If you have nenya and unexpected courage on her, she's awesome. She keeps your threat under control Her card draw ability is amazing.

Galadriel is amazing even without all those toys. +1 vote for her being the best spirit hero

@fbnaulin - I like Thalin a lot as well, but if I have to toss someone under the bus, it would be him before Dori. His ability is conflicting with his marginal stats.

I know with most heroes, a case can be made where they are the best hero/choice for a specific deck or scenario. But Thalin's usefulness is mostly declining as enemies get stronger. Which is the same negative to Beorn. I can at least use other cards to enhance the effects of Thalin. I really can't with Beorn - which is why he's my first choice for worst.

I'd put Arwen as the best spirit hero since she doesn't actually require any tools to improve upon. Sure, once Galadriel has gotten setup, she is better, but that setup makes her slightly weaker (imo) than Arwen.