This may have been done previously, but I haven't seen a recent poll and with the kick-off of the Darrowdelf cycle I thought it would be fun to have one of these polls.

The voting will be open for 1 week and run until next Sunday (March 11). All cards in the Core, Shadows of Mirkwood Cycle, Khazad-dum and Redhorn Gate are included in the pool to choose from.

I'll compile and publish the results after voting ends. Feel free to respond to as many of the categories as you like. One set of votes per forum participant. Only one card per category. I know some cards only work really well in combination with certain others, but no combos included please.

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1. Most Powerful Player Card - Leadership Sphere

2. Most Powerful Player Card - Spirit Sphere

3. Most Powerful Player Card - Lore Sphere

4. Most Powerful Player Card - Tactics Sphere

5. Most Powerful Player Card - All Spheres (excluding Gandalf)

6. Most Thematic Card (e.g. theme implemented really well by the combination of character/actions or event/actions, etc.)

7. Nastiest Encounter Card

8. Best Artwork (either Player or Encounter Card)

Maybe consider taking the gate out of this list, as 1 month is barley enough time for it to even get to the stores in many countries outside America, let alone into peoples collections and had them play with them... Also I am assuming you mean player cards.. not Heroes.

Some notes on my choices, I diced that conditional cards might not be a god option (feel free to nominate conditional cards yourself) Like say Support of the Eagles for tactics but this card is 100% useless with out an eagle card getting drawn and cast. I thought it might be best to pick cards that are powerful in their own right as soon as you draw them with out any need for supprt fomr other player cards

Leadership

• Steward of Gondor (I think this is a given)

Spirit

• Ziggy (Hard choice Tracker, Test and UC defiantly are up for the most powerful in entire game as well.)

Lore

• Rivendale Minstrel (This is really hard choice, lore has so many good ones, Still 3 for 2(w) plus a fetch spell for mana fixing? Pretty darn strong)

Tactics

• Feint.

Most Powerful Playercard

• Ziggy.

Most Thematic Card

• These Dunedain Mark - The story of the Dunedain and is very cool, and one of the more interesting back stories that I know of. People coming from the films as their only source might think that Aragon was the only "ranger" but in fact he was only from a single set, the Northern Dunedain. The Arnor and Gondor were also Dunedain and all communicated between each other by a secret series of symbols and marks left though out the word. These acted as a relay of information between Rangers and ever to the other Dunedain factions. I find it quite satisfying that such a small and obscure point as this secret communication, with was also instrumental in the organisation of resistance to Mordor in the War of the Ring is encapsulated in this card as a increase to attack. These marks were basically communication between rangers about teh locations, strength and make up of various enemies you could encounter, allowing the new comers to better defend or attack.. pretty mcuh exactly what the card dose in the game

Nastiest Encounter Card

• Festering Wounds - Crazy hard choice. I want to say the new khaz troll, and necromancers pass got a think as it is common, but I think of all the cards ever, this is the one that has lost me the game most often though a wipe of the entire board.

Best Artwork (either Player or Encounter Card)

• Dawn Take You All - This question is just insane.. make it a top 10 at least.. so many good cards... but I think this card is defiantly one of my favs. I think the art is fantastic and I love the glow of the destination. The art matches the theme of the card so well and for those that have toiled in Return to Mirkwood can really appreciate the beauty of the forest road final clearing into a bright open pasture, and the na nice pony ride to the inn. There are many great cards but for me this on I can literally feel the peace and relief that the artist is trying to portray.. not only form the art but teh pack it was packaged ion as well as the effect of teh card itself. Just fantastic and a prime example of why, even with all this games faults, it is still such a beautify crafted game that it tears the eye.

yes i did this a few months back, didnt really kick off though..............(prepare for another forum software fail....)

Leadership

Sneak Attack

I would argue it is stronger than Steward of Gondor as it fits every Leadership deck I can think of. In a three or four-player game, having more players with the Steward can be redundant. I have to also mention Faramir as he is probably the best questing boost.

Tactics

Feint

Quick Strike gets an honorable mention, as a runner up. I see that card gaining importance with time.

Spirit

Unexpected Courage

Really hard choice. A Test of Will, Zigil Miner, Northern Tracker, they are all up at the top.

Lore

Gildor Inglorion

Expensive but perfect. I would never play Zigil without him. Henamarth is a great solo card. Strider's Path also almost always handy.

Art

Longbeard Map-Maker

Useless to justify or call runner ups, there are so many. Map-maker is first that comes to mind.

Theme

Gandalf

Very Hobbit-like behaviour. Really like Boromir too.

For me the best card for each sphere is about cards that have the potential to drastically alter the course of a quest when they come into play.

Best Lore

Forest Snare. Shutting down nearly any enemy in the game, engaged with any player, is about as potent an effect as can exist.

Best Leadership

Sneak Attack. Quick and cheap access to any ally including Gandalf without losing access to the ally later is quite potent.

Best Spirit

Unexpected Courage. Increasing the amount of Hero actions every turn by a third is an amazing opportunity. With enough luck with draws, you could end up doubling Hero actions.

Best Tactics

Feint. For the same reason as Forest Snare, it isn't as long lasting, but its far more affordable.

Thematic

Probably the multi-functional uses of Gandlaf paired with his moving along at the end of the round. Represents well his role throughout the texts, whether it be removal of obstacles, elimination of specific foes, or mustering resources.

Art

For me its Bifur, but I just love that Hero.

We mr, we got three out of four spheres just the same, the only one missing being Lore where I got Gildor Inglorion who you have as an avatar. Some coincidence, I just had to say.

Hah! just noticed that. Not intentional I promise. Considered Gildor for Lore and Galadriel's Greeting with Spirit.

It just shows these cards are very useful. They were from the start and they probably will be even though the game will take some changes.

On the other hand, I love when I find use for a card I had considered poor. It happened to me many times already. The first of those was Son of Arnor.

Most Powerful : Leadership

-Steward of Gondor. Ressource acceleration...need I say more ? Especially useful in multi-ressource decks.

Most Powerful : Spirit

-Dwarven Tomb. Flexibility is the keyword. It effectively gives you additional copies of every spirit card in your hand.

Most Powerful : Tactics

-Feint. Much needed respite when you're overwhelmed, or when you really need to kill a strong enemy and use everything you got (saaaay like a Nazgul).

Most Powerful : Lore

-Gleowine. Cheap card draw, much needed to get to the good stuff. Can also be used to help out your buddies.

Most Powerful : Overall

-Steward of Gondor. Ressources ressources...always go for the bottom line !

Most Thematic Card

-Gandalf. Gonna go with what a fellow forumite said...his many abilities, the fact that he leaves at the end of the round. It's Gandalf all right, only showing up to save the day.

Nastiest Encounter Card

-Eyes of the Forest. Maybe it's not the worst (Nazgul of Dol Guldur makes my blood boil) but I just hate loosing all my event cards. It,s just so hard te rebuild a hand, it can just throw all your plans right out the window.

Best Artwork

-Gandalf. I know it's classic but I just love the way he's painted...really captures the character.

great point on Tomb.. I want to modify my post now

Lore

Beravor. I almost said Protector of Lorien, as that was my first impulse, but then I realized that the Protector of Lorien is only so good as my card draw, and no single card supplies as many cards as Beravor.

Spirit

A Test of Will. Unexpected Courage is great, especially with Beravor, and the Zigil Miner has prompted the rise of an entirely new deck archetype. In fact, Spirit is loaded with great cards, including Dwarven Tomb, Northern Tracker, and Stand and Fight. However, while the other cards allow you to do things a bit better than other cards can do them, A Test of Will is the *only* card currently in the game that can cancel the worst effects the encounter deck can throw at you.

Tactics

Well, this is the sphere most often left out of my decks, sadly. It's an especially sad fact, given how much I like the concept. Both the heroes Boromir and Legolas deserve consideration in this sphere, and as people have pointed out, Feint is also very strong. However, Feint only deals with an enemy for a single round; it doesn't defeat the enemy. Quick Strike is better in that regard, especially with a souped-up Gimli, who also deserves consideration. In the end, though, I'd have to say the strongest card in this sphere is the Horn of Gondor. Especially in multi-player, this card can generate a good deal of resources, and for all those arguing how the Steward of Gondor is the strongest Leadership card, the Horn sees play less frequently and is, thus, less likely to be redundant in a game.

Leadership

Sneak Attack. Steward of Gondor is right up there, too, but Sneak Attack + Gandalf is the best combo in the game, by far. The versatility this card affords is tremendous, as is the ability to bring allies into play out of the normal turn sequence.

Most Thematic

I like Frodo, here. The ability to deflect damage could be either the mithral shirt or the One Ring, and the conversion to threat is just perfect.

Best Artwork

I look at my heroes more than any other cards, so I'd have to vote for one of them. I'm a big fan of Magali's work, too, so I think I'd have to go with Legolas. It's not an easy choice, though, as there are so many great art pieces.

Thorongil, I like your take. As I see myself, Quick Strike is indeed very powerful. The timing there is crucial.

I thought heroes were out of bounds. That could be another good thread by itself.

[error] How does one delete a post?

lleimmoen said:

funny

lleimmoen said:

you cannot!!!!!!!! words said cannot be undone on this here forum

Most Powerful Player Card - Leadership Sphere

1A. Sneak Attack - I think that if we did not have Gandalf, this would not be my top card.
2B. Steward of Gondor - I tried really hard not to pick this one, but this would be my top card if Gandalf didn't exist with Sneak Attack.

Most Powerful Player Card - Spirit Sphere

Ancient Mathom - There's a great chance you will eventually explore that location via questing or some other ability. I find this to be an easy 3 card draw engine. Test of Will is quite popular and I do think it's an excellent card, but I don't feel like choosing it. :-)

Most Powerful Player Card - Lore Sphere

Longbeard Map-Maker - Unorthodox card, I know, but he turns Lore resources into Willpower. I think that's friggin awesome and allows you to have some control with questing with Lore resources. In addition to that, he has 1 WP, 1 ATK, and 1 DEF with 3 HP... so he can be damage soak as well.

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I'll try to comment on the other categories when I get a chance.

I just feel like commenting on some of the cards mentioned. I like this thread very much. Different perspectives.

Horn of Gondor. What a great multiplayer card. It is interesting that Steward is getting all the love (obviously) but Horn almost none. I know people here often play solo and then you would really need some autodestructive deck (and get it early) for it to really bear fruit, Rohan plus Eagles perhaps. But I have been recently playing four-player games. There it really shines. One of the games (lasted 5 rounds, 4 completed) I counted how much money it made. We played it one turn one and 11 allies have left play (some due Sneak Attack). If you subtract the cost, it made 10 resources. Steward was also played on turn one (and it is harder to achieve) and it made a total of 8 resources (after you subtracted the cost).

Longbeard Map-maker. I really like that one in my Zi-Gildor deck. I often use a copy or two (if I can get it) to feed Zigil and the one for questing. It is great thematicaly that Lore can deal with questing this way, and with new quests it seems more and more important to quest "just right", being successful is not always helpful.

Below are my picks for the first 5 questions. I need some more time to look through all the encounter cards for the last 3.

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1. Most Powerful Player Card - Leadership Sphere
Steward of Gondor. I play strictly solo and 2 additional resources per turn makes a huge impact.

2. Most Powerful Player Card - Spirit Sphere
The Galadhrim's Greeting. There are several powerful cards in this sphere (e.g. Unexpected Courage, Northern Tracker) but the ability to quickly reduce my threat by 6 has gotten me out of many a jam and often made the difference between victory and defeat.

3. Most Powerful Player Card - Lore Sphere
Protector of Lorien. With a deck built to draw cards quickly this card can let you blast through the last couple of phases of a quest in no time at all.

4. Most Powerful Player Card - Tactics Sphere
Citadel Plate. I had a tough time with this one as I rarely play a Tactics sphere and I suspect there are much better than my selection, especially given it's high cost of 4. I just can't get this sphere to work for me playing solo.

5. Most Powerful Player Card - All Spheres (excluding Gandalf)
Steward of Gondor. Just can't beat those extra resources.

I have One Comment to Rule Them All:

It's very clear that given the proper deck and situation, that some cards are filthier than others. Perhaps we should distinguish these cards for the numerous situations.

Example:

Best Overall Card for Questing/Escape Tests:

Best Overall Card for Defense:

Best Overall Card for Attack:

Best Overall Card for Shadows:

Best Overall Card for Hero Support(Could be Healing or Resources):

Best Overall Card for Resources:

Again I don't really have time to give my 2 cents, but this would be a fun supplement to the discussion!

well depending whether the op wants to include this heres mine

Best Overall Card for Questing/Escape Tests:

unexpected courage -(at least from a solo perspective) this means you can quest and stil have a characrer ready for whatever it may be- escape tests/defending etc.

Best Overall Card for Defense:

citadel plate

Best Overall Card for Attack:

eagles of misty moutains- after some sacrifcing of cheap eagle allies these can be beasts

Best Overall Card for Shadows:

burning brand-gets rid of them!!

Best Overall Card for Hero Support(Could be Healing or Resources):

narvis belt-i think this should come under support, as it means you can spread resources over any spheres you like

Best Overall Card for Resources:

im going to have to put my word in for zigil miner as much as ive never gone in for the whole thing, i cant deny its power for resource draw

As for the Belt Rich, bear in mind that it is good only when you play three sphere decks. Otherwise the Songs are way better: cheaper, neutral, not restricted and searchable, and can be given to any hero. So that is much better unless you have the third (or even fourth) sphere to pay for, right? Well, now that I think about it, the Belt can be versatile in order to attach A Burning Brand or Support of the Eagles, hmm.

lleimmoen said:

yes, thats what i was thinking of- especially when you can '1 turn' it and be lore, to attach what you need, without having to stay lore for the rest of the game

i imagine it will become even better if there is ever a treachery card with deal x damage to (insert sphere) characters though that obviously cant count as its just speculation on my part

i was admitedly forgetting that you have to run leadership to play it!

Might as well chip in ! I exclude Heroes of course...

Best card for questing : Longbeard Map Maker. This one doesn't look like much, but in an hybrid Leadership / Lore deck, and with Dain, this guy has basically 2 willpower and can be pumped up to ridiculous levels of Willpower (with Steward) in case of emergencies.

Best card for defense : Feint. An enemy not attacking is the best defense. I would even go as far as saying it's the best offense since then you can attack with more characters.

Best card for attack : Quick Strike. Striking first is not only the best offense, it also means the best defense, thus completing the cycle ;-)

Best card VS Shadow : It has already been said : Burning Brand. Denethor + Burning Brand = blocks most enemies without nasty surprises.

Best overall card for support : This one ain't easy...I'd say Unexpected Courage.

Best card for ressources. Steward. Of. Gondor.

'Nuff said ;-)

1. Most Powerful - Leadership: I never leave home without Steward of Gondor, plain and simple. I don't know about y'all, but I never seem to have enough resources. It does feel like more interesting 0 cost cards are being added, but I'll always want the expensive stuff.

2. Most Powerful - Spirit: Have you seen those commercials were someone is trying to marry bacon? Well, I want to marry a Lord of the Rings Hero card. And that card is Eowyn. It's almost to the point where I am uncomfortable playing a deck without her.

3. Most Powerful - Lore: Something about that Forest Snare really makes me feel safe and even in control of the game.

4. Most Powerful - Tactics: My favorite Sphere by a long shot, just full of cards I like and want to play. I'd probably give it to Gimli. He's super fun and I really liked him in the novels and (to a lesser extent) the films. Get a few damage on him and just go nuts.

5. Most Powerful - All Spheres: I'm guessing I have to pick one of the above (because Neutral isn't a sphere), of those I'd pick Steward as the most powerful. More resources let you get more stuff on the table.

6. Most Thematic Card The person who mentioned Gandalf earlier summed up my feelings better than I could have. It has never bothered me that Gandalf comes and goes in the game, because that's the way he is in the story. Busy man.

7. Nastiest Encounter Card I can hear the Nazgul scream from the films whenever the Witch King hits the table. And I can't beat him. Some day.

8. Best Artwork: Eleanor. Don't know that I'd ever play her, but I do so like to look.

DrNate said:

ahh yes.....indeed she is easy on the eyes

ps...there's so many innapropriate jokes i could make of the way you worded that, but im just not that guy