A friend sent me the following image that has Smoke and Think and the new Hobbit ally revealed:

15 minutes ago, Encolpius said:

A friend sent me the following image that has Smoke and Think and the new Hobbit ally revealed:

I hope the hidden word on smoke and think is "card" and not "ally", "attachment", or, heaven forbid, "event".

2/5 on both. Thanks for the spoil! One leadership (probably guarded) card and one tactics (probably event based on the breakdown) left to go.

Gosh, I thought my one ring L-Frodo, Sam, Merry deck was pretty good, but now it's going to be incredibly tempting to swap Merry to Tactics ally Pippen! One less attack for more Willpower questing. I think it's worth it!

Also just thinking of the Elven possibilities with this contract. S-Glorfindel, Tactics Elladan and Spirit Ally Elrohir. Starting threat of 22, extremely easy ways to get that down to Secrecy levels and you get access to my two favorite Elven events: Revealed in Wrath and Fair and Perilous. Throw in some Mirkwood Long knives, plus all the classic canceling cards (Hasty Stroke, A Test of Will, Feint) and I think this deck has built itself haha. As if I don't run Elves enough as is.

I was looking at the contracts released up to this point wondering where they could go next. I am floored at this one and the possibilities it presents. If my suspicions are right and this is the final cycle, we are certainly ending on a high note. If I'm wrong, how would they top this cycle?

Gwaihir is a bit difficult to play around, but it makes sense that an eagle hero wouldn't be a good fit for most decks. I'm actually glad that he's a challenging hero with high threat and a very unique stat/keyword mix. His obvious partner is Radagast, but you'll want to run a low threat third hero to fill out the board. Fortunately the new contract adds several good options, including Ioreth, Pippin, and Meneldor. Sure, your threat will probably still be pretty high, but you get to run 2 eagle heroes and an Istari hero!

Speaking of the contract, a few allies really stand out to me:
- Le Anborn seems like a fun third for a direct damage Argalad/Thalin deck. He allows for Unlikely Friendship and Fresh Tracks, but he might be overkill in a deck that already struggles against boss enemies.
- Angbor the Fearless might be the only Valor hero we'll ever get, but he's a good one.
- Arwen was always amazing, and just got even better. Your main defender now has +1 def and sentinel from turn 1. Congratulations!
- Azain is definitely quest dependent, but he'll do a ton of work when he gets the chance. He's sort of a little brother to T Thorin. Sure, Thorin will typically be the better choice, but Azain is a fun alternative.
- Bilbo makes pipe and Istari decks work out the gate, and for only 4 threat. There are few better deals out there.
- Boromir is a great addition to a low threat deck, even though his readying butts heads with the contract. If he's getting his 3 defense, then he's a great hero for only 9 threat.
- Ceorl is like a flexible mini Le Aragorn. Moving him around should allow for some fun shenanigans.
- S Elfhelm is a champion in certain quests. He saved my butt in Temple of Doom.
- Erestor is going into a Cirdan deck for sure. Just strain the draw deck and get the exact cards you want. Throw in some Silver Harps and go to town.
- Firyal... wow.
- Galdor is a great companion to S Legolas, Arwen, Erestor, etc. One of the promoted allies that just feels like an official hero.
- Ghan-buri-Ghan is hampered by his discard effect, but I'll gladly slot him into a Haldan/Idraen deck.
- Gimli is a higher threat all rounder, but his innate readying ensures that his stats won't be wasted. He's great in a dwarf deck, but he'll fit in most anywhere.
- Gleowine is 3 threat mini-Beravor. Poor Lo Bilbo...
- Glorfindel is costly at 11 threat, but he's still cheaper than Lo Glorfindel. The loss of 1 hp isn't terrible either, since that was mainly used for undefended attacks. His readying ability matches up perfectly with the contract, and he's still a great target for Light of Valinor. I'd be happy to run him in an Erestor deck.
- Jubayr is getting on an Armored Destrier for sure.
- Legolas is a slighty cheaper version of Core Legolas, but with a more universally useful ability. Tactics just got guaranteed turn 1 draw capability.
- Meneldor is basically blank, but a 7 threat eagle hero should be a fun addition to a Radagast deck.
- Pippin is possibly the best ally for this contract because he essentially offers 6 points of stats and readying for 4 threat cost. That's bonkers. I'm gonna have a hard time playing T Merry now. The biggest knock against him is that Lo Pippin is so good in the same deck type.
- Robin, Rosie, Sam, Halfast, and Gaffer: hobbits/secrecy probably get the biggest boost from this contract of all the archetypes.

I'm very excited for Wiglaf, but I'm a bit confused about his response. Does putting him into play for the contract trigger "After you play Wiglaf..." ? I know it normally would say "from your hand" to stop these responses, but I'm never clear on the language.

I guess the missing tactics card is an attachment for Gwaihir similar to Kahliel's Headdress, to enable digging for eagle allies in the discard pile, otherwise his ability will run out of fuel.

And what is the point of the forced effect on Eagle Messenger? Sure he is cheaper and non unique compared to the other tactics allies with 2 or more willpower. But as long as you want to make progress he is going to become very expensive. I'd rather pay an extra resource for Bofur, Grimbold, Meneldor or Beechbone.

1 hour ago, pmdoug said:

I'm very excited for Wiglaf, but I'm a bit confused about his response. Does putting him into play for the contract trigger "After you play Wiglaf..." ? I know it normally would say "from your hand" to stop these responses, but I'm never clear on the language.

I believe in order to trigger his response you have to pay his cost first, i.e. "play" him. The contract states to "put an ally into play" which bypasses having to pay its cost. So, his response would whiff when used with this contract.

Wow. Just when I think I can't be more excited for a pack after Saruman/Green wanderer, Three Hunters, The One Ring and the awesomeness they was the last cycle; they go and one up everything.

So much to unpack here but I'll throw in my two cents.

Love that it's Gwahir as the hero and our saved Eagle as an amazing ally. Thematically Gwahir being harder to use but also incredibly powerful is very appropriate, very excited to get this bird on the table with his flock. And I'm hoping there is a Tactics crown attachement for him that let's you dig for allies or bring them back from the discard.

There are some other player cards...

Now the real meat of the article, the new contract, first off what a way to dramatically increase our hero count by making everyone into heroes! This is so cool, unique and will make for so many fun combinations. Here is my favourites:

The Sons of Elrond are now in all the spheres and are actually solid choices since most enemies are orcs and they open up a lot more options for pairings of the two.

Anborn (Lore), this is what Traps needed, being able to start with the most eco-friendly man in Middle-Earth the recycling Dunedain is going to make traps shine.

Gamling, just when you thought Rohan wasn't going to be boosted anymore than it was, here is the second most Eco-friendly human in the lore, who can now begin reviving and reusing your allies round one. Let the combos commence.

Elfhelm (Spirit), in case you don't want to raise your threat ever again, here is your guy.

Firyal, she has become the greatest solo hero in the game. Amazing Willpower, especially for Lore, and that ability that puts Core Denethor to shame, she will be the star player in this new contract.

Likewise Jubyr will also be the star of defense and can easily take the title of best defender from Beregond and Erkenbrand. Who needs Burning Brand or Inner Strength when your hero can be immune to shadow effects from round one.

Arwen, great boost to the key aspect of defending right from round one.

Gimli, excellent all-arounder who can always quest but will be ready when you need him for combat.

Legolas, similarly to how his first hero version allows tactics to quest unorthodoxily, our new Tacticts hero version will be a card drawing machine which is what Tactics sorely needed. Very excited to get this elf on the table.

Gildor, move aside Stargazer and Gandalf hero, Elrond decks have a new best friend, being able to arrange two rounds worth of Vilya targets from the top 3 cards or your hand is going to be an amazing thematic pair up. Also excellent stats for the in-between rounds or with some readying. Another excellent Elven defender and target for burning brand.

Bilbo, similarly to the above, Bilbo will very thematically make your Gandalf hero decks shine and let you use him to his full Gandalf-The-White potential from the first phase.

Haldir, kind of the Gwahir light, great for multiplayer games.

Rosie, the new star of the hobbits

Skinbark or beechbone are going to be destroying enemies alongside their Ent kin. You could even make a case for Leaflock finally since he is one of the cheaper Ents to make a hero and will get his full effect very quickly most times.

Galdor, will go with pretty much any Noldor (or spirit Legolas) you have planned

Brock iron fist......... no hahaha

Wiglaf to be the third dale hero with his excellent readying ability making him into a quasi-Boromir.

Forlong, likewise to the above, he will be a staple in Outlands decks.

Pippin, becomes the best low-threat questing Tactics hero in the game with a great synergistic effect

Angbor, is now essentially a better Aragorn

And so many other options! I love that this contract boosted Harad into top tier hero status, and opened the door for so many more combinations of heroes out there. Excellent work Caleb and design team! Spot on!

I do wonder for which ally they put "attached character cannot ready more than once per phase" on the contract!?

12 minutes ago, Flrbb said:

I do wonder for which ally they put "attached character cannot ready more than once per phase" on the contract!?

Boromir tactics and Rosie for sure

9 hours ago, dalestephenson said:

Does Bilbo's response come into play during setup? That makes him more useful, especially with Wizards.

Whether Landroval can bring himself back or not, the ability to make someone else come back might be more useful than keeping Landroval around. The unique Eagle allies don't have cool abilities, but being able to enable Gwaihir's Debt on turn one has some value, I think. At 7 threat Meneldor is a whole lot cheaper than Gwaihir hero, without his limitation.

I like the idea of Leaflock as a hero in an all-ent deck because he is only 7 threat, but can get to 2 wp easily with Treebeard/Quickbeam abilities and max at 4.

Bill the Pony sadly can't be a hero, since the contract is an attachment. Of course, that also means that Wiglaf in a Dale deck *starts* with 3 willpower and an attachment he can use to ready. Good King of Dale target.

I'm not sure why you're down on Halbarad. Yes, 9 cost makes it hard to fit in a secrecy deck, but across from one his passive effect would be extremely valuable.

I'm not as high as you on Gildor -- he's got great stats, so when is he going to spare the exhaustion for his ability? I prefer non-exhausting abilities like Galdor and Erestor have. Dori has a similar issue -- if he didn't have to exhaust to absorb hero damage, he could be really valuable at 7 threat with a few good attachments.

Fair points. I guess no pony heroes then - poor Bill.

I’m intrigued by Gildor because of the shenanigans he enables. Without having it thought through, here is what my impression is based on:

-Vilya is a thing. A single exhaust can set up two activations.

-Works fine with hero Gandalf.

-Combined with shuffle effects lets you sub dead cards.

-Likely fun with hero Erestor. Drew a card you don’t want now, but next turn? Gildor can help.

-He’s a friend of dwarven miners and can go hide a cache or two, so Zigil Miner can go to town.

The exhaust is a steep price to pay, but surely worth it in a variety of scenarios.

Another point that might be worth mentioning: These objective allies might make great targets for the contract - especially the Silvan one as it seems to read that you get to draw a card each time you quest successfully, with presumably 3 WP.

Is anybody else hoping that we get those as player cards with the last AP? The Silvan one could make Silvan a card drawing powerhouse with Galadriel and ally Legolas.

I am just a bit bummed that the contract won't give us a good option for a tactics silvan hero...

13 hours ago, Gibby said:

Ad-hoc evaluation of unique allies as contract targets:

General consideration: The expectation is that the best targets are those that have low stats, but are highly costed for amazing and recurring abilities.

Lore Anborn: 8 threat cost, fair stats, relevant traits. Recurring traps is a relevant ability. Fair target.
Leadership Anborn: 8 threat costs, fair status, relevant traints. Increase engagement cost and dealing damage ok, but not amazing. Ok target.
Angbor the Fearless: 5 threat cost for a fair quester. Relevant traits. The valor trigger nombos with the low threat cost. Niche target.
Arwen: 5 threat cost, relevant traits and her tried and proven ability make her a good target. To consider: her ally cost of only 2 which is part of what makes her great in the first place. Also you can't use her hero version. Good target.
Azain Silverbeard: 7 threat cost, relevant traits. The ability is interesting, albeit a bit niche. Could be an interesting pick for quests with a number of low HP enemies. Niche target.
Barliman Butterbur: Nope.
Beechbone: The general problems with ents is that it is their ally cost that makes them attractive. Paying for the stats in threat and starting with an exhausted hero is meh.
Beorn: 13 threat costs makes him one of the more expensive hero options out there. His ability is likely a tad better then Tactics Boromir discard ability, but then Beorn lacks his mad readying skills. Niche target.
Bifur: Nothing to see here.
Bilbo Baggins: 4 threat costs for a 2WP quester that does not die to 1 damage. Looks like a good deal. Starting with a pipe is also nice. I expect that he will be a popular target. Good target.
Bill the Pony: The only way to get a hero with the coveted pony trait. Someone will play it for that reason alone, but other than that not very interesting as the main selling point of the ally is that its resource cost is 0.
Spirit Bofur: Nothing to see here.
Tactics Bofur: 7 threat costs for 2WP, 2 ATT and 3 HP is ok. The ability to repeatedly tutor for weapons will surely make him see play. Good target.
Bombur: Maybe against quests with high threat underground locations? Very niche at best.
Boromir: 9 threat cost with two relevant abilities and traits are likely sufficient to make him see play. The contract's readying limitation does matter here. Fair target.
Brok Ironfist: Not very exciting to say the least. You could replace hero Brok by ally brook if the latter bites the dust just for the memes. Meh target.
Ceorl: A hero that can be passed around the table. Very interesting. Fair target.
Damrod: Discard for small benefit. Not very interesting. Meh.
Denethor: Pay for stats with only downside abilities? Pass.
Derwine: 7 threat costs for 3DEF 3P sentinel with built in shadow cancelling? I expect that this will see play. Good target.
Derufin: Discard for small benefits? I do not see the point. Meh.
Dori: His ability to take damage instead of a hero does not shine here. Pass.
Dwalin: Blank ability. Pass.
Spirit Elfhelm: Hot tech against certain quests. Niche target.
Tactics Elfhelm: Blank ability. Pass.
Elladan and Elrohir: Ok alternative to their hero versions with lower threat cost, lower HP and lower off-stat (the one that is not boosted by the sibling). Interesting to have options against Orc heavy quests. Fair targets.
Elrond: 11 threat cost for an additional card at the start of the game and a body does that does not stick around? Pass.
Emery: Blank ability: Pass.
Eomund: Even though his ability requires to discard him, the effect of readying everyone Rohan can be powerful. Niche target.
Eothain: 8 threat costs puts him in actual hero territory. His ability is ok, but not spectacular. Also Imrahil exists. Niche target.
Erestor: 6 threat costs for an interesting ability that is not quite as extreme as that on his hero counterpart. Good target.
Leadership Faramir: This was featured in the article, so it better be ok. I think it is. Ok target.
Lore Faramir: Surely there has to be a quest or two where his ability matter during setup (depening on the precise rules for setup order). Niche``?
Farmer Maggot: Meh.
Fili: Meh.
Firyal: 9 threat costs for a good quester with an amazing ability. Good target.
Forlong: Everyone's favourite unique outlands ally as another hero? Surely this will be a thing with Hirluin and outlanded Imrahil. Good target.
Gaffer Gamgee: 3 threat cost for a hobbit hero will put a lot three hobbit decks comfortably into secrecy territory. The ability is niche, but relevant. Ok target.
Galadriel: Nope. Another white council member that does not like this contract.
Galdor of the havens: Same stats as his hero version, but a interesting different ability. Will see play. Good target.
Galion: 1 threat cost for a third hero will be good enough to make it into secrecy decks wanting another spirit hero. Ok target.
Gamlin: Ability to recur Rohan allies on a stick may make this good enough. Meh stats for 6 threat costs. Niche target.
Ghan-Buri-Ghan: If you ever wanted a wose hero, here is your chance. For only for threat cost, is ability is quite ok. The discard ability will rarely be used, but it's a nice bonus. Good target.
Gildor: Hero quality stats and cost with an amazing ability. This will enable new decks. Good target.
Gimli: 9 threat cost for an allrounder make him fairly expensive. Relevant ability. Ok target.
Gleowine: 3 threat costs for card draw on a stick make this a Beravor light that will fit in a number of secrecy decks. Good target.
Gloin: Nope.
Glordfindel: 11 threat costs with a hero-level ability make this an eligible target. Fair target.
Grimbold: Discard hero to feint? Not great, but you get a 2 WP tactics hero for 6 threat cost. Niche target.
Guthalf: 6 cost sentinel tactics hero. Niche target.
Gwaihir: If you always wanted a Gwaihir hero, but the actual hero Gwaihir is too expensive for you, then this will do. The response will fizzle though. Too bad. Meh.
Halbarad: Too high cost for an all-rounder hero. Ability not relevant enough. Meh.
Haldir of Lorien: Also too high cost for all-rounder. Ranged and sentinel are nice though. Niche taret.
Halfast Gamgee: 5 threat cost leadership hobbit hero that quests for 2 and comes with a free resources. This will go in a number of hobbit secrecy decks. Good target.
Hama: Meh stats and discard to use ability. Very very niche at best.
Henamarth Riversong: Everyone's favourite scrier now collects 1 lore resources for round for 3 threat cost. Squishy, but good. Good target.
Ingold: 5 cost for a strong leadership quester. Why not? Fair target.
Ioreth: Covered in article. Good target.
Jubayr: Defender that discards shadow cards. Good target.
Kili: Nope.
Landroval: The question here is whether he can bring himself back. Need some rulings, but likely niche.
Leaflock: An ent. Niche.
Leogolas: Nice to have options. Good stats, traits and ability. Good target.
Lindir: Not sure on the rule here. If his ability triggers before you draw the starting hand, then this may be fantastic, but that I doubt that this is the case. Meh otherwise.
Mablung: A 5 threat cost hero that quests for 2 in ok. The ability to increase an enemies engagement cost (if the setup timing allows it to trigger) is very narrow in application. Niche target.
Meneldor: Another mediocre way to get an eagle hero. Niche for that thematic reason, but meh otherwise.
Merry: 4 threat costs for a 2WP quester that doesn't die to a single damage. If you can afford 3 threat cost more for Sam, then this will be the better option unless you already run him. Niche target.
Nori: 6 threat for an ok ability in a dwarven mining deck. Ok target.
Orophin: 6 threat for a good quester/attacher stat distribution with ranged. Ok target.
Pippin: 4 threat for 2WP and 2HP is ok. Both abilities are very relevant, makeing him a stand-out amongst hobbit targets. Good target.
Prince Imrahil: Nombo time!
Quickbeam: An ent. The main selling point as an ally is his ridiculously low cost. Less good as a hero, though the readying make this playable in some cases I suspect - even with the contract limitation on readying. Niche target.
Robin Smallburrow: 5 threat cost for a 2 quester and an ability that is only occasionally useful at best. Ok, but there are likely better options. Ok target.
Rosie: Everyone's favourite female leadership hero. Good target.
Rumil: Ok stats and ranged, but nothing more. Meh.
Sam Gamgee: I think the hero version is the better one here. However, this may find a spot in a hobbit deck that is looking for another spirit hobbit that isn't Pippin.
Skinbark: Does nothing the first round, but the ability may be good enough in some quests. Haven't checked. Niche.
Sulien: 3 WP for 7 threat cost is ok, but in spirit you could pay 1 or 2 threat more to get Lothiriel or Eowyn. Niche target.
Wigalf: I suppose the readying ability makes him ok, but not exciting. Ok target.
Yazan: Hero grade stats and hero grade ability (albeit on the weaker side). Probably the worst of the Harad allies as targets. Ok target.

In my count that makes 17 good targets and a lot of other options to play around with. Also nothing seemed OP. A very interesting contract overall, that opens up a wealth of deckbuilding options. Happy to see this contract!

You deserve a like just for doing all that work! 😉

1 hour ago, RebelX said:

I am just a bit bummed that the contract won't give us a good option for a tactics silvan hero...

Legolas-ally-turned-hero will be an *excellent* tactics silvan hero.

6 hours ago, Amicus Draconis said:

And what is the point of the forced effect on Eagle Messenger? Sure he is cheaper and non unique compared to the other tactics allies with 2 or more willpower. But as long as you want to make progress he is going to become very expensive. I'd rather pay an extra resource for Bofur, Grimbold, Meneldor or Beechbone.

Except for Meneldor, you can't grab any of those with Eagles Are Coming. Eagle Messenger surely isn't intended to buff Tactics questing in general, but to buff Eagles decks -- thanks to Radagast's staff, their economy is better than it used to be, but they're sorely short of questing. You'll want Meneldor *and* Messengers in a solo Eagles deck.

1 hour ago, dalestephenson said:

Legolas-ally-turned-hero will be an *excellent* tactics silvan hero.

Hey, the very possibility of being able to run a tactics silvan hero besides legolas is a win for me. Rumil for 7 threat paired with Legolas is just fine, even without a good trigger (though are there some quests that start with an engaged enemy? Dropping 2-3 damage on that enemy would be nice). How many silvan tools are there, with only one tactics silvan?? Would make a nice combat deck.

9 hours ago, pmdoug said:

- Ghan-buri-Ghan is hampered by his discard effect, but I'll gladly slot him into a Haldan/Idraen deck.

I'm very excited for Wiglaf, but I'm a bit confused about his response. Does putting him into play for the contract trigger "After you play Wiglaf..." ? I know it normally would say "from your hand" to stop these responses, but I'm never clear on the language.

In multiplayer Ghan will be 4 threat for usually 2-5 willpower, which is pretty solid.

Putting into play is not playing. Wiglaf will not trigger.

8 hours ago, Amicus Draconis said:

And what is the point of the forced effect on Eagle Messenger? Sure he is cheaper and non unique compared to the other tactics allies with 2 or more willpower. But as long as you want to make progress he is going to become very expensive. I'd rather pay an extra resource for Bofur, Grimbold, Meneldor or Beechbone.

It's an eagle. It's what they do.

6 hours ago, Flrbb said:

I do wonder for which ally they put "attached character cannot ready more than once per phase" on the contract!?

I'm guessing Faramir, though triggering him twice is already pretty crazy.

6 hours ago, Flrbb said:

I do wonder for which ally they put "attached character cannot ready more than once per phase" on the contract!?

It's definitely principally focused on the Faramir (Le) ally. But, there is tremendously more hero readying in the game than for allies. It felt to me like the drawback to using the contract. We get to convert an ally into a hero, but we can't really go crazy with the. Ex/ Legolas will be a solid draw hero for tactics, but we can't stack 3 Unexpected Courages on him and get 4 cards in a single phase.

I love Wiglaf, but I don’t think I’d use him as a hero in my Dale deck. His ability is so nice, I love playing him with ancestral armour. I think I’ll keep him as an ally. But the Dale messenger will make my Dale deck. Healing has been one of its 2 weaknesses. Now just need a Dale threat reducer.

Cool to see another pipe, and specifically one that is not trait-restricted. I can't think of an example at the moment, but I know a couple of times in the past I've gotten stuck when trying to build a deck with pipes because the character I wanted to put it on was not Istari, Dunedain, Dwarf, or Hobbit. Now we have one that can go anywhere.

10 hours ago, General_Grievous said:

Boromir tactics and Rosie for sure

And Faramir, i think

The preview for Shadow in the East said that contracts were "put into play along with their heroes at the beginning of the game with its “A” side face up." This is logical, and for this particular contract essential -- since your desired ally-turned-hero comes only from the deck, not the hand. So step 2 of setup, only after the deck shuffling. This means that Rumil and Meneldor's enter play abilities are useless (quest hasn't set up yet), but that Lindir's enter play *should* work to let you start with an extra three cards. Has the timing from that preview been overruled anywhere?

It also means that you can start with an effective 49-card deck if you use this contract.

One other thought -- since the ally's threat is *added* to the starting threat, that means it will be ignored by Loragorn's ability. On the flip side, selecting a Hobbit for Folco or a lore ally for Mirlonde won't help.

15 minutes ago, dalestephenson said:

The preview for Shadow in the East said that contracts were "put into play along with their heroes at the beginning of the game with its “A” side face up." This is logical, and for this particular contract essential -- since your desired ally-turned-hero comes only from the deck, not the hand. So step 2 of setup, only after the deck shuffling. This means that Rumil and Meneldor's enter play abilities are useless (quest hasn't set up yet), but that Lindir's enter play *should* work to let you start with an extra three cards. Has the timing from that preview been overruled anywhere?

Unfortunately it was ruled here that the setup on contracts occurs after quest setup, not before like when hero setups occur. That means that you could technically draw the attachment you want in your starting hand for the grey wanderer contract or the ally you want for the kings messenger contract. Lindir whiffs, but Rumil might not.

That's an unfortunate ruling -- not just because it contradicts the preview article, but because it opens the door to effective setup losses. It's bad enough with Grey Wanderer that you could miss out on your preferred attachment because it is in hand rather than in the deck, but with this contract your entire deck is designed on the presumption that you'll be able to use a specific ally as a hero -- and if your copy is in hand, you can't.

You could mitigate by including multiple copies, but that'd be a terrible waste of deck space unless you're running a Harad-ally/hero with Kahliel.

Setting up the contracts, especially this one, at step 2 with the heroes is a much more logical place, though I think it would prevent Guarded uses with Grey Wanderer.