What do you think? 😃

This is spirit Aragorn, really?

I believe Aragorn's text should read: "...where X is Aragorn's printed willpower strength."

2 willpower 3 cost non-unique ally for tactics, ladies and gentlemen.

Halet is great and makes a very good toolkit ally and one of the top tier contract promoted heroes in the game.

Thorongil is fantastic. Think of Pippin heroes with this card.... joke aside, it opens a lot of theoretical deckbuilding possibilities for all heroes with 2 version or for all allies with at least one hero version of combined with motk

Spirit Aragorn is kinda underwhelming (basically a disguised Argalad for locations) though the Scout trait could be interesting. It can perhaps be used with Thorongil, even though I would prefer to fuse Lore Aragorn with its Leadership or Tactics counterpart.

The contract could be interesting, not only for Hobbits, but the "exactly 10 card" restriction might prove bothersome.

Haleth is a good enabler for the Woodmen archetype, though a bit pricy. Woodmen Lore is kinda going against the theme of putting a lot of attachments on a single location.

The Westfold lancer is 2 Willpower for 3 cost in Tactics so quite good and its effect can be sometimes useful. Possibly a good card.

The Misty Mountain Journeyman is a good counterpart of the Northern Bowman from last pack, with both being quite at home in the usual Dunedain decks. Strange shenanings aside it might very well be the new Dunedain Pathfinder as cheap willpower for the Dunedain.

Knowledge of the Enemy is some much needed resource acceleration for Dunedain decks, but in general useful for those combat decks that tend to engage a lot of enemies for a Fellowship.

The Tireless Thoroughbred seems a bit overpriced (both as cost and by using a Restricted slot) for what it gives.

Shining Shield is the counterpart of the Sword from last back, only for Noble and with a larger effect when over 40 threat. Might be very good for Denethor and Boromir in Pillar of Kings Gondor Swarm decks (especially in combination with a Gondorian Shield) but there a lot of good target.

Thorongil can be really interesting, though I am not yet sure if the "gain" part of the text is meant as "in addition" or "substitution". If for example I can have a Lore/Tactics Aragorn which has the Warrior trait and both the -1 Defense and engagement ability of the Tactics version in addition to the lowering threat ability of the Lore version.

A Desperate Path can be awesome with encounter deck scrying and manipulation (or in the right quest knowing which treacheries are in the encounter deck), otherwise is too much of a gamble for my tastes. But when it hits it's surely spectacular.

Not sure to have understood how the contract works. 10 cards per each sphere makes 40. To have 50 cards , 10 are missing. Does it mean 10 neutral cards are mandatory to use this contract? Not easy for most potential decks

17 minutes ago, Halberto said:

Does it mean 10 neutral cards are mandatory to use this contract? Not easy for most potential decks

10 cards not from the 4 basic spheres, which usually means neutral but in the Saga could also be Baggins or Fellowship cards.

Anyway with 2 Gandalf and 2 Good Harvest (which ina 4 sphere decks is basically mandatory) are basically locked down. In many decks the Envoy of Pelargir is a good resource smoother so that's another possibility. Ally Treebeard is one of the best ally around. Generally speaking depending on your deck there are quite a few good neutral attachment or allies you already include.

2 Gandalf and 2 good harvest, I think. The limit of 2 cards of the same title applies to neutral and saga spheres too.

I agree there are some very good neutral allies and cards but 10 is not a negligible number. 5 generally good neutral cards? Not sure, but ok let's try the contract in real life first

And by the way, we can have 6 heroes decks now, correct?

4 to begin with plus thalion plus sword thain. Not worth the effort probably but yeah, now we can

12 minutes ago, Halberto said:

2 Gandalf and 2 good harvest, I think. The limit of 2 cards of the same title applies to neutral and saga spheres too.

Indeed, I edited my messagge.

12 minutes ago, Halberto said:

I agree there are some very good neutral allies and cards but 10 is not a negligible number. 5 generally good neutral cards? Not sure, but ok let's try the contract in real life first

Let's take the tematic example of the contract art (an all hobbit deck) without using the Saga: we have Gandalf, The Shirefolk, Good Meal, Friend of Friend, the various Songs, The White Council, Hobbit-Sense, some guarded attachments, Gather Information and The Storm Comes.

By the way the idea of having a 5 attack Tactics Merry (or 6 with a Sword Thain Rosie) in the first saga quests is kinda intriguing 😄

Just now, Halberto said:

And by the way, we can have 6 heroes decks now, correct?

4 to begin with plus thalion plus sword thain.

Seven in the Saga.

Yes with hobbit the 10 cards neutral are quite easy to fit in, less in other decks unless packing in a bunch of songs or master cards. But I cannot wait to build my hobbit deck with this contract.

Merry in saga would kill sauron all by himself with a couple of dagger attached... nazgul be scared now...

Also another fun fact, with this contract we can now have decks that start the game in Valour, kinda curious to build one.

Or Dwarf decks starting the game with 5 dwarves (courtesy of Bombur), though I would still possibly prefer Bifur or Ori.

38 minutes ago, Alonewolf87 said:

Also another fun fact, with this contract we can now have decks that start the game in Valour, kinda curious to build one.

Or Dwarf decks starting the game with 5 dwarves (courtesy of Bombur), though I would still possibly prefer Bifur or Ori.

Yes, dwarf. I forgot how a 4th hero could push dwarf stetup up. Starting threat would be uncomfortable in early game, but the engine warm up in turn 1...

3 minutes ago, Halberto said:

Yes, dwarf. I forgot how a 4th hero could push dwarf stetup up. Starting threat would be uncomfortable in early game, but the engine warm up in turn 1...

With a Bofur/Nori/Thorin Oakenshield/Thalin or Thorin Stonehelm lineup you start at 38 Threat, but with Nori around threat usually is not much of a problem. Though as I said I would prefer Oin instead of Bofur.

My takes:

SpAragorn's ability isn't dramatic, but I like having an Argalad for locations in the game. There are few heroes where it's important to buff their willpower specifically; this will be one.

The contract should be fun to play, and now makes it easier to start in Valour if you're feeling aggressive.... Four hobbit decks will be the most common for theme, TaMerry, and Drinking Song.

Shining Shield looks fine, cheap +1/+2 that can go on a lot of nobles.

Knowledge of the enemy seems useful for Dunedain decks, but it's not an early accelerator, I don't see it being used much.

I like Haleth in a traps or woodmen deck, also will be a great addition to a Three Rings deck. Fantastic ability for MotK hero.

Woodman Lore likes distributed attachments, and a couple of woodmen allies really like loaded up locations; OTOH some location attachments don't mind being distributed (Power in the Earth, Thror's Key, Hithlain). I don't see this card being used outside of a woodmen deck, and not guaranteed to see play there.

Misty Mountain Journeyman's use for a Dunedain deck is obvious, if it uses spirit (which most don't). But it's fantastic value for any deck that expects to have an enemy engaged during planning sometime, which covers a lot of decks.

A Desparate Path is interesting, the first card to search out a treachery. This card is going to be very quest dependent, but if you know you can survive whatever treachery turns up this a very powerful card for YOLO questing.

Westfold Lancer is great willpower value for Tactics, and a fantastic option for Lothriel.

I think the price is fair for Tireless Thoroughbred, but the cost of a restricted slot makes it tough to put on a hero unless Elfhelm is in play. Being able to put it on a character is nice, but aside from Beorn, Soldier of Erebor and maybe Gimli I'm not seeing a lot of likely targets.

Thorongil is expensive; which alternate-hero abilities are worth spending 3 to get the ability and a sphere match?

Aragorn -- adding LoAragorn's one-time ability is certainly worth 3. TaAragorn's passive -1 defense to enemies would also be handy.

Beregond -- adding SpBeregond's threat reduction to TaBeregond is certainly worth 3.

Bilbo -- giving LoBilbo the extra willpower and damage would be great, as would giving TaBilbo the extra card draw.

Boromir -- both abilities are potentially useful to the other version.

Brand -- no joy here, LeBrand isn't ranged and TaBrand won't be in a Dale deck.

Dain -- giving SpDain the global dwarf boost seems worth three, but a defense boost isn't worth 3 for LeDain.

Denethor -- 3 to add LoDenethor's scrying to LeDenethor is worth it.

Eomer -- since characters don't generally leave play before Eomer commits to the quest, there's no synergy here, but adding LeEomer's ability to TaEomer might be worth 3 once the Galadriel/Herugrim combo is set up.

Eowyn -- one time ready and +9 attack is worth 3.

Faramir -- LoFaramir with LeFaramir's ally readying would be nice in an Ent deck. If LeFaramir is in an ent deck, the sphere addition is actually useful, though LoFaramir's ability may not be worth the cost even with that.

Frodo -- while the two responses are in different activities, they are both strong enough to be worth 3 cost.

Gimli -- attack and defend abilities don't synergize, not worth 3 in either direction.

Glorfindel -- LoGlorfindel's healing isn't worth 3

Legolas -- adding the progress to SpLegolas may be worth 3 if he's routinely readied for attack.

Merry -- with cheap readying, I think combining these may be worth 3. Note that SpMerry gets his attack 1 higher than TaMerry does in an all-hobbit deck. Saga SpMerry with the new contract and Thorongil....

Pippin -- if you were running SpPippin for some unknown reason, adding LoPippin's useful ability would certainly be worth 3.

Imrahil -- 3 is expensive for a once-per-round conditional ready, but adding TaImrahil's ability to LeImrahil might be worth 3.

Theoden -- adding TaTheoden's ability depends on how many Tactics heroes are around, it would at least buff Theoden by one and the tactics symbol may also be useful.

10 minutes ago, dalestephenson said:

My takes:

SpAragorn's ability isn't dramatic, but I like having an Argalad for locations in the game. There are few heroes where it's important to buff their willpower specifically; this will be one.

The contract should be fun to play, and now makes it easier to start in Valour if you're feeling aggressive.... Four hobbit decks will be the most common for theme, TaMerry, and Drinking Song.

Shining Shield looks fine, cheap +1/+2 that can go on a lot of nobles.

Knowledge of the enemy seems useful for Dunedain decks, but it's not an early accelerator, I don't see it being used much.

I like Haleth in a traps or woodmen deck, also will be a great addition to a Three Rings deck. Fantastic ability for MotK hero.

Woodman Lore likes distributed attachments, and a couple of woodmen allies really like loaded up locations; OTOH some location attachments don't mind being distributed (Power in the Earth, Thror's Key, Hithlain). I don't see this card being used outside of a woodmen deck, and not guaranteed to see play there.

Misty Mountain Journeyman's use for a Dunedain deck is obvious, if it uses spirit (which most don't). But it's fantastic value for any deck that expects to have an enemy engaged during planning sometime, which covers a lot of decks.

A Desparate Path is interesting, the first card to search out a treachery. This card is going to be very quest dependent, but if you know you can survive whatever treachery turns up this a very powerful card for YOLO questing.

Westfold Lancer is great willpower value for Tactics, and a fantastic option for Lothriel.

I think the price is fair for Tireless Thoroughbred, but the cost of a restricted slot makes it tough to put on a hero unless Elfhelm is in play. Being able to put it on a character is nice, but aside from Beorn, Soldier of Erebor and maybe Gimli I'm not seeing a lot of likely targets.

Thorongil is expensive; which alternate-hero abilities are worth spending 3 to get the ability and a sphere match?

Aragorn -- adding LoAragorn's one-time ability is certainly worth 3. TaAragorn's passive -1 defense to enemies would also be handy.

Beregond -- adding SpBeregond's threat reduction to TaBeregond is certainly worth 3.

Bilbo -- giving LoBilbo the extra willpower and damage would be great, as would giving TaBilbo the extra card draw.

Boromir -- both abilities are potentially useful to the other version.

Brand -- no joy here, LeBrand isn't ranged and TaBrand won't be in a Dale deck.

Dain -- giving SpDain the global dwarf boost seems worth three, but a defense boost isn't worth 3 for LeDain.

Denethor -- 3 to add LoDenethor's scrying to LeDenethor is worth it.

Eomer -- since characters don't generally leave play before Eomer commits to the quest, there's no synergy here, but adding LeEomer's ability to TaEomer might be worth 3 once the Galadriel/Herugrim combo is set up.

Eowyn -- one time ready and +9 attack is worth 3.

Faramir -- LoFaramir with LeFaramir's ally readying would be nice in an Ent deck. If LeFaramir is in an ent deck, the sphere addition is actually useful, though LoFaramir's ability may not be worth the cost even with that.

Frodo -- while the two responses are in different activities, they are both strong enough to be worth 3 cost.

Gimli -- attack and defend abilities don't synergize, not worth 3 in either direction.

Glorfindel -- LoGlorfindel's healing isn't worth 3

Legolas -- adding the progress to SpLegolas may be worth 3 if he's routinely readied for attack.

Merry -- with cheap readying, I think combining these may be worth 3. Note that SpMerry gets his attack 1 higher than TaMerry does in an all-hobbit deck. Saga SpMerry with the new contract and Thorongil....

Pippin -- if you were running SpPippin for some unknown reason, adding LoPippin's useful ability would certainly be worth 3.

Imrahil -- 3 is expensive for a once-per-round conditional ready, but adding TaImrahil's ability to LeImrahil might be worth 3.

Theoden -- adding TaTheoden's ability depends on how many Tactics heroes are around, it would at least buff Theoden by one and the tactics symbol may also be useful.

Now let's consider which motk ally turned hero could benefit from thorongil (I believe the combo is legal, no?)

First coming to my mind

Ally Legolas plus TaLegolas

Ally Faramir plus LeFaramir

Ally pippin plus LoPippin

Ally Sam plus Le sam

Others?

Ally Arwen + Arwen

Ally Beorn plus Beorn sadly won't work....

Ally SpElfhelm + Elfhelm

Ally Elrohir/Elladan + hero version

Ally arwen plus arwen, how could I forget... welcome the fusion of two among the best cards in the game...

It makes pivotal to fetch thorongil in early game.

And speaking of the new aragoron, in addition to a meh ability also the art is quite bad too.

After so many years waiting for Sp aragorn I have to say I'm very disappointed by him. Bad art bad ability, no real new/pumped up synergy with any of his traits. No warrior or noble trait too.

Really, really disappointed.

Not a new Sp pippin of course, but let's be honest all the community was expecting him to be a great hero and not a below avg ones.

That's life. Thank the developers for thorongil even if I wished it was a contract and not an attachment to fetch and pay for.

Time to ignore uniqueness rules and send all four Aragorns against the saga....

5 minutes ago, dalestephenson said:

Time to ignore uniqueness rules and send all four Aragorns against the saga....

Or Five even

Of course, starting at 48 threat the quests shouldn't take long....

17 minutes ago, dalestephenson said:

Of course, starting at 48 threat the quests shouldn't take long....

The most satisfying two turns you can hope for...

3 taking into account Lo Aragorn ability which will definitely shine in this particular deck....

(extending you threat durability by 50% is huge boost)