This is an auto-include if you’re running spirit in Heirs of Numenor and Against the Shadow. The majority of the quests have shadow cards that do this to the player, so having a free means to effectively cancel the extra damage is amazing.

I like this card a lot. As far as I can tell, most shadow effects raise the attacking enemy's and most that do so only raise it by 1-3, so for 1 less resource than Hasty Stroke you get a card that still neutralizes most shadow effects in the game. Plus it has an added upside if you or another player is running , which is admittedly really satisfying to pull off. Of course you would still probably run Hasty Stroke in quests with effect- or damage-based shadow effects like the Angmar Awakened cycle, but in quests with mainly -raising shadow effects, this one is pretty neat.

On the one hand, this is less powerful and generally applicable than just straight up canceling a shadow effect. So cards like Hasty Stroke or A Burning Brand or responses like those of Erkenbrand or Déorwine are generally better. Those others can deal with shadows that do things like give extra attacks, deal direct damage to the defender or raise threat.

However, there are two clear advantages to this card. First, the zero cost. The worst thing about Hasty Stroke is having to save back a resource just in case it is needed instead of spending that resource on an ally who will definitely help that round. So if you are on a quest where the shadow effects that concern you are attack boosts, this might be better. Second, it targets the defending character, not the shadow card. So this will still work, for example, when it is Night on the Wastes of Eriador and encounter cards can't be canceled or when facing an enemy whose shadow cards are immune to player card effects.

What to make of the 2 tactics resource kicker? THE card of this type where the kicker consistently makes sense is Heed the Dream. For this card, it would have to be a very specific circumstance -- maybe a Mablung deck that has a surplus of tactics resources would want to trigger it, but not much else.

TL/DR: A quest specific alternative to general shadow cancelation that can be cheaper and more useful in some circumstances.