O- Glorfindel

P- Gimli

Q- Aragorn (Lore)

R- Boromir (Tactics)

S- Aragorn (Leadership)

T- Beorn! <- Am I biased? Why yes, yes I am.

U- Legolas

V- Eowyn

W- Dain Ironfoot

X- Sam Gamgee

Y- Bifur

Z- Denethor

AA- Elrond

AB- Frodo

AC- Beregond

AD- Balin

Thanks to all that voted. The count has been updated. Special thanks to legolas18, Ellareth and DevastazioneH88 for some great commentary.

Match-up spotlight!

THE BOWMAN VS THE RING-BEARER

Frodo Baggins handily dispatched the Gondorian maiden, Caldara, but he now faces steep competition in Bard the Bowman. Of the original 7 hobbit competitors, only Sam, Merry, Pippin (Lore) and Frodo remain. During the previous round, Merry committed fratricide in offing fellow hobbit, Fatty, Bilbo was sent back to the Shire by Prince Imrahil, and Pippin (S) was absolutely spanked by Faramir. Though we are in the early stages of the game, Bard is leading Frodo 4-3. Currently, Frodo and Pippin are fairing the worst of the hobbits still in the competition.

Asked concerning his match-up with the diminutive hobbit, Bard said, "I knew Frodo's uncle even though I never met Frodo himself. The fight almost does not seem fair after slaying a dragon, but, alas, I want to reach the next round. Plus, I'd also like to say my art rules. I mean I should win based on that merit alone."

Frodo also seemed confident. "It's still early in the match and I'm confident I'll pull through," said Frodo. "Plus what's slaying a dragon compared with saving all of Middle Earth? Great props to Bard for the whole Smaug-slaying thing, but it's not even a comparison. Also, has everyone forgotten about my sweet defense mechanism?"

vs

O: Glorfindel - Too strong for Beravor, although he's definitely not my favorite

P: Gimli - Giving a purpose to citadel plate since 2011

Q: Thalin - I love direct damage decks

R: Pippin - I hate the art on Boromir(T) and I've been looking forward to hobbits since I first played the game

S: Aragorn - Practically the same as Imrahil, but cooler and access to Aragorn-specific items

T: Faramir - I loved playing Beorn in the Hobbit quests, but I love lore, Gondor, and rangers even more

U: Legolas - Elrohir is top 15 for me, but Legolas is top 5

V: Eowyn - Hama is nice but there are a lot of good tactics heroes. Eowyn is sorely needed in the spirit sphere

W: Nori - I refuse to play Dain because he's OP. Nori is one of my favorite Dwarves, too.

X: Sam - Looking forward to the hobbits and he's the best one. I also like Theoden and think he gets picked on too much

Y: Boromir - Art is great, although his ability is mostly worthless right now

Z: Denethor - Still a good defender (esp. with burning brand and gondorian shield) and his ability works nicely when you don't have to defend

AA: Elrond - I might love his healing bonus even more than Vilya.

AB: Bard - tough call, but I don't actually own Frodo because CatC was out of print when I started playing

AC: Beregond - A staple in every tactics deck. Great art, too

AD: Merry - A tactics Hobbit?!? Sign me up!

O - Glorfindel-Don't get me wrong, I like Beravor, but Glorfindel is just too good. He really opens up a lot of deckbuilding possibilities.

P - Gimli-My favorite combo from the Core Set days is Citadel Plate+Gimli.

Q - Aragorn-My favorite hero in the game, with what I think is the best ability. He allows you to abuse some of the most powerful cards in the game like OHaUH Gandalf and Frodo.

R - Boromir (T)

S - Prince Imrahil-Practically identical heroes. This is just a matter of preference for me.

T - Faramir-Maybe it is the new car smell to Faramir, but Beorn to me needs expensive cards to make him shine, and any deck that I run right now that has Lore includes Ranger Spikes.

U - Legolas-Best Tactics hero in the game.

V - Eowyn-I really liked Hama when he came out, but I find that he has fallen to the wayside in favor of other Tactics heroes.

W - Dain Ironfoot-No contest.

X - Sam Gamgee-Poor Théoden. He got crapped on by the design team. Hopefully we will see a new version of him in one of The Two Towers Saga Expansion.

Y - Bifur-I find him the glue to my Dwarf decks.

Z - Thorin Oakenshield-A nice ability and his stats are pretty ridiculous.

AA - Elrond-Again, no contest.

AB - Frodo Baggins-This is a tough one, but Frodo's ability is better in my opinion, especially with the myriad ways we can reduce threat in the game now.

AC -Theodred-Another glue hero in my decks. I also tend to use a lot of chump blockers than one uber-defender.

AD - Balin-Nice ability and low threat for a Leadership hero.

O - Beravor

P - Gimli

Q - Aragorn

R - Boromir

S - Imrahil

T - Faramir

U - Legolas

V - Eowyn

W - Nori

X - Theoden

Y - Bifur

Z - Denethor

AA - Glorfindel

AB - Frodo

AC - Beregond

AD - Balin

O - Glorfindel - He's just too good. One of the best art depictions in the game, the best starting threat, fantastic stats, great support cards. He's gotta be the favorite to win this whole thing. And as for Beravor... I didnt vote for her in round 1...so...

P - Gimli - Really tough decision. Gimli won the mental battle for still being a sturdy beast and the fond memories of crushing the stronger enemies of the core set with the proud elf equipped with a citadel plate and possibly a dwarven axe.

Q - Aragorn (lore) - One of the best arts, one of the best abilities, for one of the best characters. I expect lore Aragorn to make it deep in this tourney, sorry Thalin but your fictitious existence cant compare to the king.

R - Pippin (lore) - Tactics Boromir is an absolute beast no doubt about it, but his downfall for my vote is the fact that he looks cross-eyed in the picture. Yes, that is my reasoning... may the hobbit advance

S - Aragorn (leadership) - Even though I really like the prince, it is just so much fun to deck out leadership Aragorn with all his toys and attachments. His ability gives him so much versatility and its not hard to offset the cost. One of the originals and still one of the best.

T - Faramir - Another tough decision but I had to go with prob my favorite character. Love the art on both cards tho

U - Legolas - I just dont think Elrohir has the mental fortitude to continue this tournament with his brother left behind in the previous round. His heart just isnt in it. I expect Legolas to progress through this round just as easy as he progress through locations during the combat phase.

V - Hama - Very challenging decision between the two Rohan heroes, but Eowyn is a bit one dimensional for my tastes. Hama has so many cool things he can pull off and it seems like every set or two theres a new combo around him that can make for some fun decks.

W - Nori - Nothing against Dain, all things considered he's probably the most powerful hero in this list...I'm just bored with him. And Nori still has that beer...

X - Sam - Theoden's superb art cant save him from his own mediocre ability. Sam takes the cake on this one, and odds are, he loves cake.

Y - Boromir (leadership) - Comes down to one thing. The art. Boom.

Z - Denethor - Probably my hardest decision of this round. I really like Thorin not only as a player card but as a character but it wasnt enough to make me not vote for the versatile steward that is Denethor. That scheming noble just gives me so many playing options for me not to vote for him

AA - Elrond - How did lore glorfindel even make it to this round?? The cinderalla story stops here. Elrond is a boss, absolutely everything about is character and especially the card just screams power. Love it.

AB - Bard the Bowman - While i think Frodo is a much better hero, I just really like Bard as character. Seems like a genuine bad@ss. Thats worth a vote i think

AC - Beregond - While Theodred is universally helpful, he is almost always replaceable as well. Beregond is just an absolute stud. Reminds me of wolverine...He's the best there is at what he does. #defense

AD - Balin - Made my case in hall of beorn's competition for why Balin is undervalued. The dwarf is always a solid option and I think he can stave off this quirky upstart from the shire.

O - Glorfindel (Spirit)

P - Ori

Q - Aragorn (Lore)

R - Boromir (Tactics)

S - Prince Imrahil

T - Beorn

U - Legolas

V - Eowyn

W - Dain Ironfoot

X - Theoden

Y - Bifur

Z - Thorin Oakenshield

AA - Elrond

AB - Frodo Baggins

AC - Beregond

AD - Balin

O - Glorfindel (S)
P - Gimli
Q - Aragorn (Lo)
R - Boromir (T)
S - Aragorn (Le)
T - Beorn
U - Legolas
V - Eowyn
W - Nori
X - Theoden
Y - Bifur
Z - Thorin
AA - Elrond
AB - Bard the Bowman
AC - Beregond
AD - Ballin

O - Glorfindel (S)

P - Gimli

Q - Aragorn (Lo)

R - Boromir (T)

S - Aragorn (Le)

T - Faramir

U - Legolas

V - Éowyn

W - Dáin

X - Sam Gamgee

Y - Boromir (Le)

Z - Thorin Oakenshield

AA - Elrond

AB - Bard the Bowman

AC - Beregond

AD - Merry

Ok, I will step in for this round. Judging by design (including art), not power.

O. Glorfindel.

P. Ori. I am surprised he seems to be so far behind.

Q. Aragorn.

R. Boromir. I like Lore Pippin, perhaps the most of the Hobbits out there, but still, it is hard to vote against Boromir (though the art is really holding this one back).

S. Imrahil. A little cooler.

T. Beorn. This is another tough one, my favourites often packed together. I will surely play with Faramir more, but I just like Beorn better.

U. Legolas. Couldn't get into the twins, Elrohir was the cooler of them, in every way, but I still go with the Silvan (though he probably wasn't).

V. Háma. Nice art.

W. Nori. This got me into it, I really want Dáin to lose this one, even before he finally gets his errata, one of the worst designs out there.

X. Théoden. A tough one again.

Y. Boromir. A very easy one.

Z. Denethor.

AA. Glorfindel. So that he has a vote.

AB. Bard the Bowman.

AC. Théodred. Close for me, but not for others, apparently.

AD. Merry. May one Hobbit prevail. But this just shows how can even a game change perception of your beloved characters. Judged by the book experience, Balin would have easily won this one. The card just doesn't seem to depict him very well, though it has a good use.

O - Glorfindel. So sorry beravor. You are no light weight but G.sp is a heavy weight champ

P - Gimli. Great matchup here but raw power wins over utility in this case

Q - Aragorn. Voted for Thalin in the first round but I fear my crow killing friend is simply overmatched

R - Boromir(T). A personal fav in every way but art. Art is good but not among the best this game has seen. Pippin is great but just can't stand up to that extreme versatility of tactics Boromir

S - Aragorn(le). Close but not that close

T - Faramir. Sorry Beorn. Love ya but Faramir deserves more

U - Legolas.

V - Hama - another tough one. Close match up I'm voting hama because TFW decks are probably my fav mono sphere decks

W - Dain. Another case of a good dwarf being outside his weight class

X - Sam. Now this one is tough! Really tough. Tactics is my fav sphere and leadership my least fav. I've seen some flak directed Theodens way and I really have no idea why. He is an absolutely incredible hero. But Sam is the best Hobbit in the game

Y - Bifur. Utility beats power in this case

Z - Denethor.

AA - Elrond - I was really pumped the glorfindel lore made it through the first round.

AB - Frodo. Still the 2nd best spirit hero

AC - Beregond. lego represents the range of tactics. Beregond represents the sentinel

AD - Merry. Sam may be the best hobbit but dang if Merry isn't a welcome addition to the tactics sphere

O - Glorfindel (S) - (Reaaaally wanted to go Beravor here... but let's be honest: It's Glorfindel's world. We all just live in it. For now, he's the "Chuck Norris" of LOTR LCG).

P - Gimli - (who doesn't love a short, furry Revenge Tank!)

Q - Aragorn (Lo) - (So hard to vote against Thalin, but Strider.. er, Loragorn... is the character that first grabbed my attention as a young reader and got me hooked on all things Tolkien. Speaking of... Thalin. Isn't. Nuff said.)

R - Pippin (Lo) - (Gonna tab this as my big "upset" choice... started to vote "Kill-them-all" Boromir, but since his sacrifice came for the greater good of defending Pippin anyways, I'll yield to his sacrifice... Besides, I'm uber stoked for all these new Hobbits! Out with the old, in with the new!)

S - Aragorn (Le) - (I wanna love Imrahil more than I do... but seriously, it's Aragorn. Although Imrahil's artwork nearly earned an upset pick here for me)

T - Faramir - ( chants : Fara-Mir! Fara-mir! Fara-mir! Fara-mir! Fara-meeeeeeeeeeeeeeer!!!!)

U - Legolas - (Elf-on-Elf violence. Not exactly the kin-slaying here, but still nothing anyone wants to see... Plus Legolas avenges Gloin's... my favorite hero art... loss to Elrohir)

V - Hama - (Now that I've long ago broken my "Eowyn-Habit", I can't go back to her now. Too risky, now that I've been sober for the better part of a year)

W - Dain - (Nori's win over Dwalin in the first round was a nod to the better threat-reduction mechanic... But all non-Gimli Dwarves must bow before the uber-king!)

X - Sam Gamgee - (Like Caleb Grace reiterating Tolkien's thoughts: You begin to realize that the main hero of the story gradually shifts from being Frodo... to being Sam.)

Y - Boromir (Le) - (Hardest vote for me in this round. Bifur really should have earned my nostalgia vote, since I probably ran him 40% of all my games early on. But a "double-Boromir-upset" in round two?? Too much to ask for!)

Z - Denethor - (gave Denethor my "superior theme" nod for round one. Thorin gets the nod over him this round for the same reason.)

AA - Glorfindel - (Glorfindel gets my "blindly biased" vote this round for two reasons: 1) I don't give a **** that Elrond is the better hero... I WANT AN ALL-GLORFINDEL FINAL; and 2) Never been a big Elrond.. the character... fan in the first place. 3) Glorfindel spanked the Witch King... and Balrogs in his earlier incarnation- cue canon purist arguments now; and 4) I'm apparently not good at math!)

AB - Bard the Bowman - (actually wanted to vote for Frodo as a 4th Hobbit to set up the possibility of an all-hobbit "Final Four", but since he and Merry are both in this bottom division together, it couldn't happen. So this is where I'll give my "artwork" vote of the round to Bard. Seriously, Magili has me torn... Half the time I think the art is too "pretty", and even non-elves look like elves. Then you have those cards that you just sit back and "****"... Bard is that moment for me. He and Gloin are currently my favorite hero artworks. Although the new hobbits may end up growing on me to pass them....)

AC - Theodred - ("Make that money" over "Save that Money"... and I used Theodred so much early on in this game.... had to give him my nostalgia vote this round)

AD - Merry - (Another tough call, as Balin's ability is great. But Merry's artwork is just fantastic! And his readying ability for extra attacks??? Just sick! I am SOOOO pumped to see the inevitable new Eowyn Tactics hero and how she and this Merry will produce amazing combos!)

Count updated. Thanks for voting and special thanks to Ana, Pharmboys2013, hildargo, benhanses, Rainelotr and Teamjimby for the excellent commentary!

Match-up update: Frodo is still trailing Bard. Pippin and Merry are also trailing. Sam is the only hobbit in control of his match. But these things swing quickly.

Match-up spotlight:

DAVID VS GOLIATH... I mean... NORI VS THE KING

This match-up has turned out to be much closer than originally predicted. Dain is only leading Nori 9-6. Many fans are rooting for this Cinderella story! (Oops, two new posts while writing this, now 11-6!)

One of Nori's fans, Pharmsboy, said " Nothing against Dain, all things considered he's probably the most powerful hero in this list...I'm just bored with him. And Nori still has that beer..."

Also, some fans are less fans of Nori than unwilling to support Dain.

Ana said, "This got me into it, I really want Dáin to lose this one, even before he finally gets his errata, one of the worst designs out there."

Teamjimby is trying to strike a balance, "I refuse to play Dain because he's OP. Nori is one of my favorite Dwarves, too."

Nori was overwhelmed by the support. He added, "I was just happy to get past Dwalin and I thought it was the end of the mine... I mean line... when I was matched up with Dain. I'd like to point out that Dain was not one of the company that went back to the Lonely Mountain. And threat reduction... is... AWESOME! Anyways, after this is all over, no matter how it turns out, we should all go get a beer!"

Dain the King took time from his rule to say, "I don't know why there are so many... "haters" I believe is the term? Yes, haters. As king, I have a great responsibility to support all Dwarrows. You all may be critical of me now that we are living in relative peace, but when a real hard quest comes along, you will all turn to your king!"

vs

Glorfindel (Lore) responded, "I really have to thank benhanses and all the others who voted for me. I could not have done it without them!"

Getting to vote for him twice made me feel like a crooked Chicago politician stuffing a ballot box!!!

(PS... this has been a GREAT thread.. and a heckuva lot of fun so far... Thanks for doing the work of putting htis together, Samwise!)

T- Beorn! <- Am I biased? Why yes, yes I am.

"angry bear swings twice" was just a GREAT moment in that video... 1) Because it was a perfect/hilarious synopsis of that play... and 2) when Caleb said it, it was almost sorta quiet and under his breath. He wasn't TRYING to make a great quip... it just happened naturally!

O - Glorfinel (along with Elrond and Aragorn (lo) the heroes I believe to be the best in the game)

P - Gimli

Q - Aragorn

R - Boromir

S - Imrahil

T - Faramir (tough desicion)

U - Legolas

V - Eowyn

W - Dain

X - Theoden (very tough, especially since none has played Theoden yet, but I think he will be a boost to Tactics)

Y - Boromir (le)

Z - Denethor

AA - Elrond

AB - Bard

AC - Theodred

AD - Merry

".... Sam takes the cake on this one, and odds are, he loves cake."

This quip made my morning!

O - Glorfindel (Spirit)

P - Ori

Q - Aragorn (Lore)

R - Boromir (T)

S - Aragorn (Leadership)

T - Faramir

U - Legolas

V - Eowyn

W - Dain Ironfoot

X - Sam Gamgee

Y - Boromir (Leadership)

Z - Thorin Oakenshield

AA - Elrond

AB - Bard the Bowman

AC - Beregond

AD - Balin

The second tier is now complete!!! We are now down to the Sweet Sixteen! This is where tough decision are made.

Let's look at some of the upsets from the last round.

Merry squeaked by Balin with a score of 11-9. Merry's response," Whew! I thought that dwarf was going to eat me!"

The two rulers, Denethor and Thorin Oakenshield, had a closer battle than was initially reported. In the end, Denethor pulled out the upset and moves on to the next round with a score of 12-8. Denethor responded, "The race of men will always prevail." *Cherry tomato pop*

Gimili was to get the upper hand on Ori with a score of 13-7, while Samwise the Brave snuck past Theoden King with a score of 14-6.

The only dwarves who advanced to the sweet sixteen were Dain Ironfoot and Gimli. They were both facing off against dwarves. All other dwarves fell to there non-dwarf opponents.

Merry and Sam were the only hobbits to advance. Biblo, Frodo, Fatty and both Pippins will have to cheer them on from the sidelines.

Finally, what proved to be the biggest upset, Faramir slew Beorn in an epic contest. As Beorn let out one last blood-chilling roar, Faramir fell to his knees in exhaustion and said only, "Thank goodness for traps..."

vs

The Sweet Sixteen (AE-AL) is now open for voting!!! We'll close it down at 10 ET on 9/10. May the best hero win!

AE - Glorfindel (S)

AF - Aragorn (Lo)

AG - Faramir

AH - Legolas

AI - Sam Gamgee

AJ - Boromir (Le)

AK - Bard the Bowman

AL - Merry

Tough decisions, but...

AE- Glorfindel (Sp)

AF- Boromir (T)

AG- Aragorn (Le)

AH- Legolas

AI- Sam

AJ- Denethor

AK- Elrond

AL- Beregond

AE - Glorfindel (Spirit)

AF - Aragorn (Lore)

AG - Faramir

AH - Legolas

AI - Dain Ironfoot

AJ - Boromir (Leadership)

AK - Elrond

AL - Beregond

I still hold to my original prediction for final four and winner:

Glorfindel (Spirit), Legolas, Dain Ironfoot, Elrond

Winner: Glorfindel

AE - Glorfindel

AF - Aragorn (Lo)

AG - Faramir

AH - Legolas

AI - Dain Ironfoot

AJ - Denethor

AK - Bard

AL - Beregond