On Cardgame DB, when A Game of Thrones LCG cycle ends, they vote on awards for cards in the cycle, and I thought that would be a fun thing to do with the player cards in this cycle. Not everyone has played all the quests yet (including myself), but all the player card spoilers are out there so I thought we could vote on a few categories. The cards that are eligible for voting are from the Heirs of Numenor deluxe expansion, Steward’s Fear, Druadan Forrest, Encounter at Amon Din, Assault on Osgiliath, Blood of Gondor, and Morgul Vale. Heroes and player cards are eligible. Depending on the interest level in the poll, I’ll keep it open until next Wednesday before I tally the results. The award names are attempts to make jokes on the meta-game. Enjoy !

General Poll:

What sphere got the best cards?

What sphere got the short stick?

What was the best deck archetype to come out of this cycle?

Did you like the focus on mono-sphere decks?

Awards:

1. The Chuck Norris Exhaust to Win Award (best player card)
2. The Fatty: When He Exhausts, Discard Him Award (worst player card)
3. Angry Bear Swings Twice Award (most thematic player card)
4. Haldir is a Boy Award (best player card art)
5. Boromir Ringbearer Award (most overpowered player card)
6. Bill the Pony Award (card that seems innocent, but is very powerful)
7. Hail of Apples Award (cool but useless player card)
8. It’s a B+ (not the best player card, but you’ll use it a lot)
9. Gimli and Legolas Superfriends Award (best co-op player card)
10. Tom Bombadil is the Witch King Award (most controversial player card)

Great thread idea! I'd love to see more end-of-cycle discussion.

What sphere got the best cards? You could argue leadership because of Outlands, but I think I'll go with Tactics. Beregond, spear of the citadel, and Gondorian shield alone form by far the best and cheapest defender in the game.

What sphere got the short stick? Spirit. Pippin and Caldara, need I say more?

What was the best deck archetype to come out of this cycle? I really like the ranger/trap deck idea. It's not quite as strong as I was hoping, but still really cool.

Did you like the focus on mono-sphere decks? At first I was kind of lukewarm about it, but now I really like it. Mostly, I just like that it creates cards that can be very useful, but aren't strong enough that you include them in every deck. It just opens up a lot of new deck construction options.

1. The Chuck Norris Exhaust to Win Award (best player card): Ranger Spikes. Pretty much cancels an enemy, buffs Faramir, and can be recycled with Anborn. Spear of the Citadel comes in 2nd.

2. The Fatty: When He Exhausts, Discard Him Award (worst player card): Children of the Sea. I can't see ever including that in a deck. Pippin is pretty high up there, but a spirit Hobbit has value regardless of abilities.

3. Angry Bear Swings Twice Award (most thematic player card): Palantir. I try really hard to include it in my decks if at all feasible. Small Target is close behind.

4. Haldir is a Boy Award (best player card art): Tough call between a lot of good heroes. I think I'm actually going to go with Mirlonde over Boromir, Faramir, and Beregond.

5. Boromir Ringbearer Award (most overpowered player card): So many Outlands cards to choose from... but it has to go to Visionary Leadership.

6. Bill the Pony Award (card that seems innocent, but is very powerful): Silvan Refugee can be really nice in a solo game.

7. Hail of Apples Award (cool but useless player card): Against the Shadow. A cool idea, but it just isn't that effective. Forest Patrol would be my next vote.

8. It’s a B+ (not the best player card, but you’ll use it a lot): Faramir. He's really not that strong of a hero, but I just love playing with him. I was once able to one-shot a Hill Troll with him, which was worth the price of admission.

9. Gimli and Legolas Superfriends Award (best co-op player card): Visionary Leadership. If by best, you mean strongest. I'll add that I think Mutual Accord will have value as Voice of Isengard gets developed.

10. Tom Bombadil is the Witch King Award (most controversial player card): I'll just go with Forlong, to symbolize the whole Outlands trait.

Thanks for the reply, Teamjimby! And for the analysis!

My own votes:

General:
1. Lore.

2. Spirit.

3. Ranger/Traps. Lots of fun to play, and a very different play style.
4. Yes

Awards:
1. Gondorian Shield

2. Denethor: not necessarily the worst (he's up there), but the most disappointing

3. Palantir

4. Boromir. The view of the city in the background puts it over the top

5. Men of the West: The Grey Company Podcast did a good job explaining why this card made the Outlands trait even more broken

6. Envoy of Pelargir: a neutral ally that only costs one as long as you have a noble hero around, and with Leadermir and Visionary Leadership, she's a 2 WP 2 ATT ally.

7. A Good Harvest: before the clarification in the FAQ, it seemed like a way to splash another sphere into a deck without songs. but since you have to have resource match, it is a mediocre card that smooths resources for a turn. (I really want to put Small Target here, because it hits so rarely for me, but it is so awesome when it does hit I can't put it on the list)

8. Ranger Bow

9. Emery: underrated aspect of her action is that you can put her into play under the control of any player. The ultimate bail-out chump blocker in a team game

10. Forlong. Any Outlands card would do, but he's the most overpowered of the overpowered lot.

What sphere got the best cards? Tactics ( or maybe not the best but the most improved)

What sphere got the short stick? Spirit ( quite slim pickings if you take a deep look at the card pool)

What was the best deck archetype to come out of this cycle? ( RANGER! although i think its almost already becoming irrelevant because of Rohan)

Did you like the focus on mono-sphere decks? (eh, indifferent. i liked the player cards more than the heroes that were focused on monosphere. )

Awards:

1. The Chuck Norris Exhaust to Win Award (best player card) Ranger Spikes
   
2. The Fatty: When He Exhausts, Discard Him Award (worst player card) Well Equipped
   
3. Angry Bear Swings Twice Award (most thematic player card) Palantir
   
4. Haldir is a Boy Award (best player card art) Boromir although I really like Theoden as well
   
5. Boromir Ringbearer Award (most overpowered player card) any outlands card really, but i'm gonna go with strength of arms...despite the restrction it is just nuts. synergizes too well with the tomb of atanor as well.
   
6. Bill the Pony Award (card that seems innocent, but is very powerful) Squire of the Citadel, hes a chump blocker who pays for himself plus he has 1 def to survive against those pesky bats!
   
7. Hail of Apples Award (cool but useless player card) Mutual accord seems brimming with potential, but i just cant find the space to justify running any kind of combo in a deck with it. Small target is another good option here
   
8. It’s a B+ (not the best player card, but you’ll use it a lot) Silvan Refugee. 1 cost allies are just too attractive to me not to use
   
9. Gimli and Legolas Superfriends Award (best co-op player card) The hammerstroke. It really is only worth playing in co-op
   
10. Tom Bombadil is the Witch King Award (most controversial player card) outlands. all of it
    
11. 
    

General Poll:

What sphere got the best cards? - Tough Decision, but Lore due to the fact that it pretty much created a brand new theme to play with - Rangers. Faramir is amazing, lots of great allies, and the traps, oh the traps!

What sphere got the short stick? - Definitely Spirit. Two weakest heroes, and fairly lackluster player cards overall.

What was the best deck archetype to come out of this cycle? - Lore Ranger Deck

Did you like the focus on mono-sphere decks? - Yes and no. Some of the cards are nice, but I play two-handed solo and almost always use all four spheres, so I have gained little to no use out of most of these so far.

Awards:

1. The Chuck Norris Exhaust to Win Award (best player card) - Knight of Minas Tirith - Not only is this guy awesome looking, but when Leadership Boromir is active, he attacks for 4! There may be other, more powerful cards in this cycle but he is my favorite.
2. The Fatty: When He Exhausts, Discard Him Award (worst player card) - Palantir - Seems like it is a highly conditional card to use. I don't mind scrying, but this is too chancy for me to ever use. Runner up to weakest card goes to Ranger Bow.. though the artwork is amazing, I think it's a pretty lame effect, exhausting a character and the bow just for one damage.
3. Angry Bear Swings Twice Award (most thematic player card) - Gaining Strength. Love the artwork of Aragorn challenging Sauron and letting him know he is coming to take him out. Cool effect too.
4. Haldir is a Boy Award (best player card art) - Boromir and Faramir hero cards - it's a tie!
5. Boromir Ringbearer Award (most overpowered player card) - Can't really pick a single overpowered card, but obviously Outland decks can get crazy strong.
6. Bill the Pony Award (card that seems innocent, but is very powerful) - Squire of the Citadel seems like it fits this category, he is innocent looking and ultimately serves as front-line fodder, but even then he gives a nice dying tribute to Boromir when an orc slashes him down!
7. Hail of Apples Award (cool but useless player card) - Well Equipped. I loved the fact that FFG decided to throw in a random Dwarf card for this cycle, but it is a bit useless compared to others. (Especially Bofur's awesome ability) Yet, the artwork is nice.
8. It’s a B+ (not the best player card, but you’ll use it a lot) - Gondorian Discipline. It really is a weaker card, but I do find myself using it in my Gondor-heavy decks. It's nice to instantly heal 2 damage and the fact that it is from Tactics is interesting.
9. Gimli and Legolas Superfriends Award (best co-op player card) - Errand-rider. Very nice ally that lets you lend a resource to anyone in need.
10. Tom Bombadil is the Witch King Award (most controversial player card) - No one card, really - but again, Outlands can definitely get crazy near the end of a quest!

Great idea, thanks for posting! Here is my feedback:

Best sphere cards - Tactics. The Hammer-stroke and Trained for War open up some cool options.

Short stick - Leadership -- I think all the spheres got wonderful cards. I see myself using the Leadership cards the least, though. So my vote is based on taste rather than raw card power...

Archetype - Rangers. Hobbits are a super close second though. If Black Riders were a part of this I would have to go with Hobbits. Without the BR cards in consideration, it is hard to build an effective Hobbit deck, but the ones that I *did* build before BR hit shelves were really tricksy and fun to play.

Mono-spheres? - No, didn't really dig it. For me, it just produced a bunch of new cards that only work in one type of deck. I prefer diversity of purpose.

Awards:

1. (best player card) Ranger Spikes.
2. (worst player card) Well-Equipped. Just seems like such a 'filler' card.
3. (most thematic player card) Easy, Small Target!
4. (best player card art) A Watchful Peace, lovely!
5. (most overpowered player card) Visionary Leadership.
6. (card that seems innocent, but is very powerful) Mighty Prowess. Really effective card in certain quests. This card cuts swaths through enemy gangs in any Moria quest, the Hobbit sagas, Blood of Gondor... Combine this with a Spear of the Citadel on your defender for tons'a fun!
7. (cool but useless player card) Pippin. He would have so much potential if the text simply read "cannot engage *anyone*"
8. (not the best player card, but you’ll use it a lot): A Watchful Peace. Great tool for Spirit to stem the flow of enemies, or to deliver up a predictable shadow effect, especially since Spirit generally lacks combat prowess.
9. (best co-op player card) Mutual Accord for massive synergy potential (even now, before Isengard).
10. (most controversial player card) Palantir. Definitely a 'love it or hate it' card.

What sphere got the best cards? Tactics. The assumption is that this cycle would make Tactics more relevant, and it didn't disappoint.

What sphere got the short stick? Lore. Yeah, it got Ranger Spikes. That's pretty much it. The Ranger deck is meant to be played mono-Lore, and the one card that it needed to help with resources, Master of Lore, got hit with the most controversial errata in the game.

What was the best deck archetype to come out of this cycle? I am taking this as most powerful archetype, so Outlands takes the cake there.

Did you like the focus on mono-sphere decks? No. I think FFG added some interesting cards, but obviously the focus was on Outlands, a trait. Before that, it was the Dwarves. Before that, it was Rohan and Eagles. In the Black Riders, it was Hobbits. As much as I appreciate FFG giving us different options for deckbuilding, the synergies from the beginning have been built around traits, not spheres.

Awards:

1.The Chuck Norris Exhaust to Win Award (best player card): Right now, it is Ranger Spikes. When Voice of Isengard comes out, Mutual Accord. There is going to be a ridiculous amount of synergy going on there.

2.The Fatty: When He Exhausts, Discard Him Award (worst player card): Gondorian Lampwright. The only redeeming quality is that he can chump block. Pretty useless ability. Why not just cancel the surge outright?

3.Angry Bear Swings Twice Award (most thematic player card): Palantir.

4.Haldir is a Boy Award (best player card art): The Hammer-stroke.

5.Boromir Ringbearer Award (most overpowered player card): Forlong. This card should cost 6.

6.Bill the Pony Award (card that seems innocent, but is very powerful): Caldara/Emery. Okay, I am cheating here, but hear me out. You get a free ally that indirectly feeds the ability of a hero that everyone has overlooked. Couple these two cards with Hidden Cache and Zigil/Stargazer, and you have a pretty potent deck that can flood the table with allies fairly quickly.

7.Hail of Apples Award (cool but useless player card): Faramir. Too high threat, wasted stats, but an iconic character with great art.

8.It’s a B+ (not the best player card, but you’ll use it a lot): Silvan Refugee. 1 cost, 2 WP ally. I think that is a huge bargain, especially if she can stick around for a couple of rounds.

9.Gimli and Legolas Superfriends Award (best co-op player card): The Hammer-stroke. This is the ultimate bail-out card for this cycle. Your support deck gets swamped by a Mumak, Morgul Spider, Lieutenant of Mordor, etc. This card with Thicket of Spears is money.

10.Tom Bombadil is the Witch King Award (most controversial player card): Théoden. The King of Rohan that provides little to no synergy to the Rohan trait? C'mon man!

This will be very subjective...

What sphere got the best cards? Tactics! This cycle gave awesome cards to tactics (spear of the citadel) and also made it more playable with battle/siege keywords.

what sphere got the short stick? Spirit.

Best deck archetype. I love "Rangers and Traps"! I am grateful for those cards!

Did you like the focus on mono-sphere decks? I love it! I allways wanted to make mono decks, but they missed something, now they are awesome.

Best player card: Ranger BOW! I am surprised I am 1st person who says this. It is just awesome!

Worst player card: Well equiped. I dont like dwarves and this card is useless even with dwarves. (it is just my opinion)

Most thematic player card: Small target, I love it. It is very situational, but the most thematic card in the game for me.

Best player card art: My favourite art is Umbar Assassin, but it is not player card, so I choose "Forth Eorlingas". (Forlong is 2nd, Lay of Nimrodel 3rd)

Most overpowered player card: Men of the West as a representative card of Outlands.

Card that seems innocent, but is very powerful: Knight of Minas Tirith. He looks like average card, but he is soooo strong.

Cool but useless card: Citadel Custodian. I only play solo so this card is useless and boring for me.

Not the best card, but I will use is a lot: Ithilien tracker. If Frodo is ring-bearer, this guy is natural "ranger bow-bearer". He is cheapest ally with ranger trait and for 2 resources he has awesome 3 hit points, so he wont die so early. I will use him in every ranger bow deck and I tagged Ranger bow as best player card, so i will use him a lot ))

Best co-op player card: If you want to make friends, use Hammer-stroke.

Most controversial player card: Master of Lore.

General Poll:

What sphere got the best cards? Leadership: Despite the grief we gives Outlands, all of the good outlands extras are in the leadership sphere. There's also Visionary Leadership and Boromir which solidify the Gondor Synergy

What sphere got the short stick? Neutral Well Equipped is yeah…, Good Harvest got nerfed when Caleb clarified that you had to have a sphere match. Palantir, while thematic, is hard to use. Hobbit Sense looks good but got blown away by the goodness of Black Riders. Where’s our Vilya, our Gandalf 2.0, or the songs?

What was the best deck archetype to come out of this cycle? The Mono-Leadership Gondor deck. It builds itself, buffs allies, and can make a ton of resources with the ability to give them away to other players very easily.

Did you like the focus on mono-sphere decks? Yes, it's easy to play pick-up games with multiple people - assign spheres and there is no risk of conflicts with unique heroes.

Awards:

1. The Chuck Norris Exhaust to Win Award (best player card) Gondorian Shield
2. The Fatty: When He Exhausts, Discard Him Award (worst player card) Harbor Master. To make this guy useful, you need to have at least two card effects add resources to your heroes resource pools. How often can you make that happen in a game?
3. Angry Bear Swings Twice Award (most thematic player card) - The Records, probably the Book of Eldacar. It's cool to think that a hero is rummaging through this old battlefield manual to learn the secrets of a Quick Strike, or how to call more Eagles into action (The Eagles are coming), etc
4. Haldir is a Boy Award (best player card art) - Trained for War. There is so much story wrapped up in that card. Boromir and Faramir practicing while Denethor watches form the Shadows. Boromir, the outwardly stronger and brasher brother, is besting Faramir, etc.
5. Boromir Ringbearer Award (most overpowered player card) - Mithrandir's Advice, I love this card but it is disgusting how quickly a mono-lore deck can churn through a 50-card deck with this card
6. Bill the Pony Award (card that seems innocent, but is very powerful) Hidden Cache. At first it seems a little blah or useless, but I think already people are figuring out just what his can do for you.
7. Hail of Apples Award (cool but useless player card) Ithilien Pit. It's nice to have another trap, but this one seems to rarely pack the same punch as all the other traps
8. It’s a B+ (not the best player card, but you’ll use it a lot) White Tower Watchman. Maybe a little expensive and only really useful as a blocker, but his ability has saved many of my heroes
9. Gimli and Legolas Superfriends Award (best co-op player card) Visionary Leadership
10. Tom Bombadil is the Witch King Award (most controversial player card) Hirluin the Fair. Why does this second-tier leader tie the outlands troops together. Why not Prince Imrahil? Why not Forlong?

Which sphere got the best cards: Tactics
Which sphere got the short stick: Spirit
Best archetype: Gondorian Defender (Beregond+Shield+Spear+Behind Strong Walls)

Do I like the focus on mono-sphere: yes, absolutely!

1. The Chuck Norris Exhaust to Win Award (best player card): Gondorian Shield.

2. The Fatty: When He Exhausts, Discard Him Award (worst player card): Well Equipped

3. Angry Bear Swings Twice Award (most thematic player card): Denethor

4. Haldir is a Boy Award (best player card art): Beregond.

5. Boromir Ringbearer Award (most overpowered player card): Men of the West/Forlong

6. Bill the Pony Award (card that seems innocent, but is very powerful): Mithrandir's Advice

7. Hail of Apples Award (cool but useless player card): Advance Warning

8. It’s a B+ (not the best player card, but you’ll use it a lot): Ring of Barahir

9. Gimli and Legolas Superfriends Award (best co-op player card): The Hammer-stroke

10. Tom Bombadil is the Witch King Award (most controversial player card): Mirlonde

Ok, I couldn't do the whole thing, I just support some views that I feel strong about.

Outlands again, I think the cry is now almost unanimous, and I think it is great for the community, it shows we don't want easy ways out, we want excitement. And I feel Caleb & Co. want the same, so please, these were a mistake - every one does them but it is nice to do something about them when it happens. That said, the Herdsman and Men of the West together with Lord of Morthond are the cards that make them almost invincibly bad.

Palantír is really a great thematic card.

Denethor is controversial. Very poor in comparison to Faramir (ally). If there's no direct damage to heroes (aka Necromancer's Reach or Blocking Wargs) then he is still good. But a card like Denethor should be wicked, have something special in it - and not just negative.

So many cards with great art. I have to go with Boromir but it is mostly the locations I like the most.

Emery is the one card people had initially thought it wasn't good enough, but I feel it is just the opposite: among the strongest in the whole cycle.

Gondorian Shield and Visionary Leadership are best Gondor representations here, I feel.

My thanks also go for the mono-sphere idea, I like it very much. Whilst Against the Shadow and Advance Warning events may not be as strong as the Leadership and Tactics equivalents, Spirit got Pelargir Shipwright who is a winner in a mono-Spirit (not to mention Emery again) whilst Lore got Mithrandir's Advice. The recycling attachments are also great.

Sorry for interrupting the thread, but I read 2 times that A Good Harvest can only be used when you have a resource match. I just wanted to make sure that it is of course still possible to pay for cards of any sphere with AGH, but not if they have a cost of zero.

Ok, I couldn't do the whole thing, I just support some views that I feel strong about.

Outlands again, I think the cry is now almost unanimous, and I think it is great for the community, it shows we don't want easy ways out, we want excitement. And I feel Caleb & Co. want the same, so please, these were a mistake - every one does them but it is nice to do something about them when it happens. That said, the Herdsman and Men of the West together with Lord of Morthond are the cards that make them almost invincibly bad.

Palantír is really a great thematic card.

Denethor is controversial. Very poor in comparison to Faramir (ally). If there's no direct damage to heroes (aka Necromancer's Reach or Blocking Wargs) then he is still good. But a card like Denethor should be wicked, have something special in it - and not just negative.

So many cards with great art. I have to go with Boromir but it is mostly the locations I like the most.

Emery is the one card people had initially thought it wasn't good enough, but I feel it is just the opposite: among the strongest in the whole cycle.

Gondorian Shield and Visionary Leadership are best Gondor representations here, I feel.

My thanks also go for the mono-sphere idea, I like it very much. Whilst Against the Shadow and Advance Warning events may not be as strong as the Leadership and Tactics equivalents, Spirit got Pelargir Shipwright who is a winner in a mono-Spirit (not to mention Emery again) whilst Lore got Mithrandir's Advice. The recycling attachments are also great.

I agree with most of what you're saying. Denethor is a great card for certain decks (Hobbits, Frodo, Beregond). Emery is a great ally, Gondorian Shield is superb, and Palantir is very thematic, although I don't use it very often.

1. The Chuck Norris Exhaust to Win Award (best player card): Beregond

2. The Fatty: When He Exhausts, Discard Him Award (worst player card): Harbor Master

3. Angry Bear Swings Twice Award (most thematic player card): Palantir

4. Haldir is a Boy Award (best player card art): Advance Warning

5. Boromir Ringbearer Award (most overpowered player card): Gondorian Fire

6. Bill the Pony Award (card that seems innocent, but is very powerful): Behind Strong Walls

7. Hail of Apples Award (cool but useless player card): Faramir

8. It’s a B+ (not the best player card, but you’ll use it a lot): Damrod

9. Gimli and Legolas Superfriends Award (best co-op player card):

10. Tom Bombadil is the Witch King Award (most controversial player card): Hirluin