Thranduil

Hero. Threat: 9. 1   1   3   4  

Silvan. Noble.

Combat Action: Play a Silvan ally from your hand. You do not need a resource match for this ally. (Limit once per round.)

"It is a crime to wander in my realm without leave."
The Hobbit
Magali Villeneuve

Fire in the Night #56. Leadership.

Thranduil
Reviews

One of my favorite heroes in the game. Although his stats aren't great, his defense is really high for a Silvan, and his threat is low enough to fit into many hero combinations. I love pairing him up with Celeborn, and maybe even a hero like Leadership Faramir. Silvan allies can be pretty powerful, and this guy gives you access to out of sphere Silvans with the only caveat being once per round. The only downside is his weak will and attack, but that can be remedied in a variety of ways; although it might be best to just use his strongest stat and have him as a dedicated defender with some tweaks. An underappreciated hero that deserves some attention.

edit: I searched RingsDB and as of now there is only ONE deck featuring Thranduil. He really is an overlooked hero and I'd like to see some more decks and ideas with him; I'll be doing my part soon and I'll report the results.

I just realised Thranduil is really good in a Bond of Friendship deck. His noble trait (and your high starting threat) enables Shining Shield (combine with Cloak of Lórien and you have a 6 character), but the best part is his ability.

It solves one of BoF's drawback (resource smoothing), so you don't have to rely on The Storm Comes or A Good Harvest. It opens up slots in your deck and starting hand options (imagine mulliganing for a Legolas on first turn !)

Emmental 419
New player here: do I still pay the cost for the ally to enter play or is that ignored because of the action? ? — Wittebaard 91
You still must pay the resource cost to play the ally. — Seastan 43981
So then his action is only useful because you get to pay from any sphere or is there another strategic aspect to him that I'm missing? — Wittebaard 91
Some ally cards (Silvan) have an action when you play them, for example you can deal dmg or ready a hero. Therefore it is helpful to play them after questing and when you know what has come from the encounter deck. — Kilie 70
That makes so much sense, thanks for clearing that up for me. I'm used to Arkham LCG and Marvel LCG which don't have such strict windows of opportunity, hence why I didn't get this action. Can't wait to dive deeper into what this LCG has to offer! — Wittebaard 91
In a deck with Thranduil and say Haldir Hero (Lore), can I pay for a tactics ally with all resources, or must they be from Thranduil? — Estrolon 2
No ressource match means you can use ressources from any sphere or hero, so yeah you can also use Haldirs. Otherwise it would specify "ressources from this hero" like for example on Radagast or Kahliel. — Roka 1659