There's still one unannounced contract, but I'm wanting to exchange thoughts with others on the contracts that we've got so far. So, here are the contracts, ranked for me in the order that I enjoy using them, along with my thoughts on them. Would love to see your own list and hear your thoughts.
1. Council of the Wise: definitely going to be in the minority here, but I love this contract. It pushes you toward a deck type that's been almost entirely unseen in LotR LCG on two accounts: singleton decks, and event heavy. The only other event heavy decks I can think of are Silvan and victory display decks, but this is still a whole different beast. These decks are hard to build (mmm... time consuming to build, I should say) but I've built several so far and I'm just enjoying it.
2. Burglar's Turn: I play exclusively multiplayer. When on my own, it's 2-handed solo, and I play 3- and 4-player events regularly. So, Burglar's Turn works for me. It's definitely got a "solo-no" quality, but that doesn't affect me. I've had a blast with this deck, adding some drama and shared enjoyment to the table in multiplayer games.
3. Three Hunters: Straightforward and super thematic, but its setup time does push the deckbuilding toward redundancy (meaning: too many restricted attachments, eventually being cards you can't play). Still, the payoff is well worth it, and it brings the "voltron deck," already a favorite of mine, to all new levels.
4. Fellowship: Straightforward and thematic, and powerful. I like it. 'Nuff said.
5. Messenger of the King: The most cardpool-enriching contract that we have seen, I suspect this will be the favorite of many. Somehow I have ended up liking it less than I expected to, but that's not to say I don't like it. It adds new heroes to the cardpool but doesn't really allow you to do things you couldn't already do without it--- it just enables shenanigans from turn 1 and saves you a hunt for an ally and sword-thain. Definitely unlocks a million decks you wouldn't have dared to build otherwise, just not my favorite.
6. Grey Wanderer: I think I don't like it. It's the only contract I can say that about. I guess it should be seen as a Secrecy contract. I'm not a fan of Secrecy, it's never really landed with me. If you don't think of it as Secrecy, then the contract can only be seen as compensating for what you're giving up by starting with only 1 hero--- and doing very little else for you (arguably nothing else at all). I've spent a good deal of time deckbuilding with this contract at this point, without anything I'm really happy with. Please convince me otherwise?