This is a card which I am surprised to not see in more decks. While it is terrible in multiplayer, it provides a fantastic safety net in solo play. Because it cancels rather than healing, you can save this card in your hand until you absolutely need it. This card stops your wimpy questers like Éowyn or Frodo Baggins from dying due to an unlucky treachery card. It can also save a hero from an undefended enemy who just got boosted by an unfortunate shadow card. This card fits nicely with Beregond. However, I guess if you are using a gondorian defender, you might as well use Gondorian Discipline instead. Lastly, this card is often overshadowed by Honour Guard. The guard is repeatable and has a handy valour action. He does not even raise you threat. However, the guard cost 2 resources. This puts him in a different category. Honour Guard is a damage solution while Close Call is the backup plan. However, having other cheaper options in a randomized game like LOTR LCG is often more important than relying on staples. I highly suggest you give this card a try. The satisfaction of barely keeping a hero alive is well-worth its inclusion.