If I were to rate usefulness of cards, I'd not hesitate a second to rate Sneak Attack 10/10. It is my "always needed/always wanted" kind of card. There are so many nice combos, some that I only discovered recently (w/Son of Arnor) and I look forward to the expansions to find ways to get Sneak Attack to my hand, either from the deck or (preferably) the discard pile. So far there is only Will of the West (which I don't play) that can bring it back.

What do others feel about it? Would you rate it 10/10 also?

lleimmoen said:

The way I see it is that Sneak Attack needs expensive allies or allies with good enters play effects to be exceptional. Using Sneak Attack with Gandalf or Beorn is awesome because both allies are powerful and would normally be discarded or shuffled back into the deck. With those types of allies Sneak Attack is definitely a 10/10.

Using Sneak Attack with cards like Brok Ironfist, Longbeard Orc Slayer, Son of Arnor, or Snowbourn Scout (perfect instant Brown Lands removal) is also good but not nearly as much. If used only with these types of cards I would rate Sneak Attack closer to a 7/10.

Either way Sneak Attack is good is definitely worth including in basically any Leadership deck.

Gandalf is discarded from play . It cannot be right to have him come back with this card.

signoftheserpent said:

My friend and I discussed this. We both agreed that you can put Gandalf back in your hand because Sneak Attack only allows you to use him in that phase and thus his use happens in a limited fashion. Whereas the Gandalf card itself lasts for an entire turn. Yes, you'll get to use Gandalf more but in a limited fashion.

signoftheserpent said:

I think there's no doubt that gandalf come back to play hand!

signoftheserpent said:

If you use sneak attack+Gandalf you take Gandalf to your hand after the end of the phase you have played him.If you play Gandalf with no sneak attack or if you bring him back from the discard pile with stand and fight then you must discad him at the end of the turn.

Assuming Gandalf goes into the discard pile and isn't removed from play, which is what I mean, you would need a way to get him into hand.

This card + Gandalf is rather broken IMO given Gandalf's considerable cost.

Apophenia said:

Yeah. I really cannot see having a Leadership Hero and not having 3 Sneak Attack and 3 Gandalf cards. With those numbers you usually do not need many other allies to Sneak. Beorn is definitelly number 2 choice, I'd say, sometimes even more preferable (especially when you have the Steward and thus a decent chance to play Gandalf normally the next round). Choice number 3 would be Son of Arnor perhaps, to engage enemy after enemy attack step is very good. And then the three progress machines, the Scout, well it is a nice combo, but I actually decided to exclude the Scout from my deck - perhaps a bad idea, not sure yet. Northern Tracker and Faramir can be sneaked in need to give you a serious progress boost.

There is an obvious combo in shape and form of Ever Vigilant that works wonders with Sneak Attack. I just love these two Leadership Events. It's great to have cheap and powerful cards.

signoftheserpent said:

I love that we're still taking about this and Sneak Attack in general. Sneaky Tooks have some use, too!

qwertyuiop said:

Wow, interesting heads up. Thanks! Love this about the game, new things can still be revealed (and I don't mean rule interpretations). 8)

lleimmoen said:

I also agree /w apophenia... more a 7/10... really depends on the situation... there is no broken combo or card imo so far....

as to the questions: as discussed earlier in other threads - you can decide which response to trigger first, so yes, sneak attack does bring gandi back to hand... ("end of phase"-bring to hand as opposed to "end of round"-discard from play)

I actually see why not 10/10 because arguably Gandalf is a "better" card. But 7/10, I'd like to see your lists of 8/10 and 9/10 and 10/10. Unless you of course are saving those for latter releases, which may be perfectly logical since the cards may get EVEN better yet.

I'd still go with 10/10. 8) At some point and other thread, I may run a top 10 card list, perhaps people would be interested in that sort of nonsense (as I am).

I actually see why not 10/10 because arguably Gandalf is a "better" card. But 7/10, I'd like to see your lists of 8/10 and 9/10 and 10/10. Unless you of course are saving those for latter releases, which may be perfectly logical since the cards may get EVEN better yet.

I'd still go with 10/10. 8) At some point and other thread, I may run a top 10 card list, perhaps people would be interested in that sort of nonsense (as I am).

Northern Tracker is my go-to card. Until I see sufficient reason otherwise, I will always include him in a Spirit deck, despite his high cost. I haven't tinkered with Lore too much yet, but as for Leadership I'd say Steward of Gondor (love me some resources!) and for Tactics I'd say Feint probably. Those are my possible 10/10 cards right there.

Gandalf is my only 10/10 card, as he's sphere-neutral and has awesome abilities and stats. All other cards suffer from the fact they are sphere-specific which limits playability. Things like Northern Tracker, Forest Snare and Sneak Attack get 9/10 for me.

Poor stand and fight no one remembers you...

servant of the secret fire said:

I play and enjoy Stand and Fight. It does not get used very often by me but it is believed to be a poweful card nonetheless.