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Mormegil 10171
Tactics Heroes
1. Premise
2. Compact List
3. Card Reviews
4. Stats and Discussion
5. Closing Notes
1. Premise
This deck is part of Mormegil’s Ratings, an effort to rate and review all official cards in this game. Click here to check out the whole project and the other lists.
Under "2. Compact List", you can find all cards rated from 10 to 0.5 descending from best to worst. Under "3. Card Review", you can find extensive written reviews of all cards. "4. Stats and Discussion" is where I share some thoughts of mine of this specific subset of cards.
The goal with this project is to spark discussion with players and provide some ideas when it comes to deckbuilding, especially for players who might be overwhelmed with the choices and variables this game can throw at you. Therefore, embedded in the fist word of each card review, is a link to decks running that card in my expanding deckbox to hopefully provide some inspiration. While not all cards have yet been used in the deckbox, I still hope that it can give some guidance and orientation.
2. Compact List
10
9.5
9
8.5
8
7.5
7
6.5
-
6
5.5
5
4.5
-
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
-
1
0.5
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3. Card Reviews
10
Éowyn
One of the best heroes in the game. Éowyn could have a blank text box and her stat-line (in tactics!) would probably suffice in elevating her to a 9/10. And then add to that her abilities ...
Her initial threat reduction turns her into the cheapest willpower you can get from the get-go, paying 1.5 threat points per willpower, which is even less than you have to invest for Glorfindel's 3. It also opens up secrecy and some ridiculously low starting threat values (even with Bond of Friendship) in general.
So if the card would stop there, she would already be close to a 10/10 easily, no questions asked. Enter her second ability. Which is one of the strongest in the game. Up to 2 instant-kills (since triggering her action after declaring her as an attacker for the first attack lets you attack for 10 twice) any time you want, no setup required. The tempo-gain Éowyn gives you when it comes to handling early enemies is unparalleled and will often give you an incredible head-start. Not to mention that it is also a silver bullet for any kind of battle quest, even transforming Delay the Enemy into a good card, not something I ever thought was possible.
I could go on and on but the short version is pretty simple. Éowyn is easily a top 5-, maybe even top 3-hero, the best tactics hero by a long distance, has unique abilities that are not replaceable by another option and manages to outshine her already spectacular spirit version.
9.5
Aragorn
While Aragorn is admittedly mediocre in solo and still not amazing in 2-player, he is an absolute monster in high player counts. Combining his ability with the likes of Merry, Sam Gamgee or Brand son of Bain (and further readies) makes for setups that can easily wipe the board round after round, often even preventing many attacks in the meantime since you can just leave enemies in the staging area and engage them with Aragorn after the enemy attack window to further utilize his hefty 3 attack (plus defense reduction).
He furthermore triggers other engagement effects as well, providing further support for characters like Mablung, Faramir, Pippin or Pippin. In fact the Aragorn-Merry-Pippin-archetype that is pretty famous and popular by now is one of the very best combat archetypes in the game, with Aragorn the central piece to make it all happen.
And while those are the main reasons to play him, his passive ability is also very useful, making him essentially a 4 attack hero from the get-go (something very rare) and enabling some fun Straight Shot shenanigans.
People who mostly play solo or 2-player might be surprised to see him this high on the list, however I can assure you that Aragorn is - in the right player count and deck type - one of the strongest, most unique and fun combat-focused heroes out there.
9
Merry
Coming close to top marks for me is Merry, he is just that good. A threat cost of 6 is (almost) unparalleled in tactics and just that, paired with his 2 willpower (quite good considering the sphere we are in), would already be somewhat decent, even if overshadowed by Éowyn.
However there are two more places where he really begins to shine. Firstly, in Hobbit decks, Merry is an absolute stat-machine for his low threat cost, having 3, 4 or even 5 attack, with Bond of Friendship decks and saga quests being an especially useful place for him. But even in a classic, 3-hero Hobbit deck, he still provides some much needed combat upside while still being a secondary quester with an occasionally useful second ability.
Speaking of said ability, the second niche Merry carved out for himself can be even more insane. Combining him with characters like Legolas, Legolas or Aragorn can lead to some insanity, with him providing as much readying as you have available (which can be quite a lot through cards like Rohan Warhorse or Fast Hitch), maximizing the extremely useful abilities of the characters he potentially readies. And with Brand son of Bain, they can just ready each other, enabling you to just carve through as many enemies as you wish on your side of the board.
A fantastic hero who fits very well in a lot of very different places!
8.5
Háma
Even though his errata slowed Háma down a little bit, he is still able to recycle tactics' often hugely impactful events very efficiently for a little while. And after you did it three times, you often have other avenues like Book of Eldacar available, meaning you can still use Háma to create decks that can recycle events like Thicket of Spears, Hour of Wrath or Charge into Battle every round almost as well as ever.
The upside there should be quite apparent, having these completely combat-altering effects available every round can be an easy way to either win you a game outright or at least solve combat entirely, potentially even for the whole table. But even less "extreme" options like Feint or Foe-hammer are very good options for his ability, while you can also go down some more tricky routes. I for example had a lot of fun combining Háma with Gwaihir's Debt or Wait no Longer.
In conclusion, Háma has not been hit nearly as hard by his errata as people sometimes claim - he can still be used as a crucial centerpiece in a variety of decks, be they geared towards solving combat wholistically, providing some very efficient "smaller-scale" upside or enabling really fun shenanigans. Furthermore, his attacking stats are quite decent, meaning he has not lost his status as a top-tier hero for me one bit.
Beregond
Does the original defensive powerhouse still hold up in a modern card-pool? While I consider Erkenbrand a better defender in higher player counts (due to his unmatched shadow control) and spirit Beregond (after the release of Inner Strength) a better one in lower ones, tactics Beregond still comes in second in whatever player count for my money.
The reasons for that are very simple. His built-in sentinel keyword, ultra-focused stat-line (with an amazing defense of 4 while having a robust pool of hit points) and useful resource acceleration make for pretty much the complete package. Especially when you factor in some of the tailormade in-sphere attachments for him (chiefly Gondorian Shield of course, but also Raven-winged Helm, Raiment of War or Spear of the Citadel).
And while tactics remains the only sphere that has no attachments to either control shadow cards or ready defenders, which is a a downside when comparing him to the aforementioned other defensive options, you can just mix spheres to give him cards like Armored Destrier or Unexpected Courage easily (especially since his resource acceleration means that one tactics hero is often sufficient). Beregond has always been one of the best defensive solutions in the game and still is, overall holding up extremely well.
8
Grimbeorn the Old
I am very critical of heroes needing to spend a resource for their ability in general, however Grimbeorn the Old might be the most notable exception to that rule. His ability means he will not only be a very decent sentinel defender, but also a potent attacker anywhere on the board, thus giving him a unique form of pseudo-ranged.
The fact he uses pretty much all of his (conveniently very focused) stats makes him a prime target for attachments boosting both of these aspects, like Raiment of War or Captain of Gondor. I also really like to combine him with Strength and Courage, meaning he will be able to kill even bigger enemies early on through his ability. And if you boost his attack high enough, Firefoot is then extremely useful to maybe prevent another enemy attack outright through killing something in the current defense window.
There still is the issue of him being quite expensive and therefore putting you in the unfortunate spot of balancing to buy attachments for him or using his ability, with you often not able to do both, however even then he remains either an elite defender or great attacker, if not both. A fantastic hero and all-round combat juggernaut!
Boromir
Having been one of the very best heroes for a long time, his very understandable errata slowed Boromir down considerably. That being said though, he remains great, even if not game-breaking. A very easily triggered, built-in ready coupled with great combat stats is not something that should be underestimated, especially since Boromir's stats are conveniently easy to boost, with cards like Gondorian Shield, Captain of Gondor, Warrior Sword, Shining Shield, Valiant Sword or Raiment of War being just a few of the amazing options out there.
And even outside of the combat phase, his ready has a lot of uses. My favorite one is probably Peace, and Thought, but there are also for example Palantir (a very underestimated card), Captain's Wisdom, Hail of Stones and a host of encounter cards requiring an exhaust. Even his willpower can be used if needed, especially after flipping Forth, The Three Hunters! with him as one of your heroes (making him one of my very favorite heroes to play with the contract).
His second ability is something I rarely if ever use, but all in all, Boromir, while not being broken anymore, is still extremely consistent from the get-go through his versatility, providing a considerable output and having many good attachments available. I still like him a lot!
Legolas
I swapped Boromir and Legolas back and forth, they are extremely close together for me, even if filling very different roles. Boromir shines through his versatility more than anything else, being extremely helpful for whatever you need in combat, whereas Legolas focuses solely on one thing but oh boy, does he do that thing well.
The archetypical ranged attacker from the onset of the game, Legolas has (ironically) defended that spot admirably through the lifespan of the LCG. His stats give you exactly what you need from an attacker - 3 attack with ranged for a very reasonable starting threat cost of 9. There are certainly other heroes that bring those kind of stats, however what is truly unique about Legolas is his access to many in-sphere attack boosting attachments and events pretty much tailormade for him, with Bow of the Galadhrim, Rivendell Blade or Hands Upon the Bow some notable standouts. Having access to Rohan Warhorse is of course something every attacker loves as well.
Add to that his ability, which can either be very useful gravy or be built around to be game-warping. When combining him with the likes of Merry or Hour of Wrath, he can clear out one or even multiple quest stages by himself in the combat phase (especially when he also has Blade of Gondolin attached), something no other hero can do as easily.
Legolas started out being really good and has remained so ever since. He excels in his role as an attacker through his focused stat-line and keyword, with many great options to further boost him and an ability that can have potentially quest-winning upside. In lower player counts I rarely find room for a dedicated attacker, but in higher ones or the right 2-player fellowship, you will seldom regret running him.
7.5
Thalin
Even after 9 cycles and 8 saga expansions, Thalin has successfully retained his place as THE direct damage hero. And during the release of all those products, the archetype has certainly increased in strength, getting another key piece as recently as the last cycle with Reckless Attack (and, to a smaller extent, Westfold Lancer).
True, Thalin and his archetype are by no means suited to all situations, being quite hard to make work in solo and suboptimal for quests that either have enemies with toughness or a lot of hit points (like Trolls). But the threshold here is much higher than many people give it credit for - even enemies with 5 or 6 hit points are nowadays quite easily killable through direct damage before they ever get the chance to attack between cards like Thalin, Argalad (who, when run alongside Thalin, opens up Unlikely Friendship), Anborn, Goblin-cleaver, Reckless Attack, Spear of the Citadel, Descendant of Thorondor, Gandalf or Gondorian Spearman.
Another fantastic thing about him is that he defeats 1 hit point enemies like Eastern Crows before their effects trigger, preventing surge or any nasty when revealed effects. His 1 willpower for 9 threat is certainly very unspectacular, even if boost-able by the likes of Dáin Ironfoot, however the fact that he often equals 2-3 free damage per round is quite awesome.
7
Beorn
With a stat-line and ability quite unlike any other, Beorn is probably one of the most unique heroes in the game. His stats surpass his threat cost comfortably, especially due to his unparalleled pool of 10 hit points. There is also no other hero with a starting attack power of 5, as well as no other hero who is completely unable to get attachments (save Sméagol), as well no other hero who is completely immune to player card effects, as well as no other hero not exhausting to fulfill a particular role from the get-go.
What this results in in my experience is making Beorn a hero who is either brought for his early game combat potential or where you boost him indirectly by other means. Let's look at those two scenarios:
Firstly, as an aggro-style hero who handles combat almost single-handedly to start off, his utility is certainly greatest in quests swarming you with many little enemies. In those, he often saves you from terrible shadows and can really benefit from his solitary point of defense while afterwards being able to single-handedly kill a smaller enemy. He will be somewhat suboptimal when facing fewer but beefier opposition, where his defense will prevent fewer total damage and where he will struggle to kill enemies by himself. That makes him somewhat quest-dependent, being sometimes not a great fit but other times an absolute monster when it comes to early-game combat help.
Secondly, he can still be built around (as mentioned) in the right decks. The most obvious way to do that is using cards to return him once he has died (since he will not be immune to player card effects once outside play), which includes options like Landroval, The Houses of Healing or Fortune or Fate. But there are many, many other ways. Cards I like to use him with in particular are Horn's Cry and Keep Watch, who pseudo-increase his stats by altering the relation of his numbers to those of the enemies. And lastly, another important nuance, while he is immune to player card effects, the damage assigned to him is not, meaning cards like Vigilant Guard or Honour Guard are pretty fantastic if paired with him.
So overall, while Beorn is somewhat quest-dependent, he will be able to completely dominate combat in some scenarios especially early-game in a way that very few other heroes can compete with. Also, despite his restrictions, there are very decent combo-pieces he profits from greatly, leading to him not only being extremely fun and unique, but also a very powerful hero.
Brand son of Bain
Pretty pointless in solo, however really useful in higher player counts. Brand son of Bain would definitely profit from some lower peripheral stats and a resulting lower threat-cost, 10 being high for a dedicated attacker, but at least the 3 ranged attack points are there, which is the most important thing.
Another thing that would increase his usability is a tailormade weapon boosting his attack early on in an efficient manner, which is not really out there. War Axe is often a late-game card, Dagger of Westernesse works a little against his steep starting threat and Warrior Sword against his ability. That being said though, his ability often amounts to freeing up more attack power, enabling you to ready other characters with some usability in that department. Also, especially in higher player counts, I usually prefer to use his restricted slots for Rohan Warhorse anyways.
So what characters do I like to use alongside Brand son of Bain? Firstly, all characters that reward you for defeating an enemy (and thus by extension, defeating multiple ones). The most obvious example is the infinite ready potential together with Merry, however I also really appreciate him also with the likes of Legolas, Legolas or Aragorn.
Aside from other attacking-minded options, it can be equally great to ready characters who have a useful action ability. Possibilities here are quite extensive, with some of my favorite examples being Warden of Healing, Gléowine, Denethor, Beravor, Anborn or Gildor Inglorion.
In conclusion, Brand son of Bain has much more utility than many players give him credit for. The niche he fills (quite well I might add) is one that only really exists in higher player counts and is maximized in efficiency when building a whole fellowship rather than a single deck, and I think that is why he cops a lot of flag from a player base in which the most played modes are solo/2-player and even in higher player counts, dedicated fellowships are still much less common than the classic "everybody just brings their deck". So the low opinion many players have of him is in my opinion not at all his fault but more due to the playing tendencies of most players. I think that, if taking a neutral and impartial view across all player counts, Brand son of Bain is really, really good!
6.5
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6
Hirgon
There is a lot to unpack here. Hirgon is quite multilayered - except for his role as a quester, a role he will almost always fill in-game and a role I exclusively put him in a deck for. And having a 9-threat questing hero who only has 2 willpower does require quite the ability to coexist in a hero-pool that also has Éowyn for 2 more willpower and Merry for 3 less starting threat.
Luckily, his ability is more than enough to justify his existence - it is indeed very strong. Questing successfully can be tricky, especially in tactics, however the payoff is fantastic, providing resource acceleration in an otherwise resource-starved sphere and opening up an intriguing opportunity to play allies from hand post-staging, something that is extremely rare.
First and foremost, this allows you to adapt much better to whatever challenge staging threw out at you, setting up a much more controlled combat phase. It furthermore also ensures that allies with useful enter play abilities like Galadhon Archer, Marksman of Lórien, Descendant of Thorondor or Meneldor (sidenote: he is generally great with eagles) have much more available targets, increasing their playability dramatically. The stat-boosting part of his ability also comes in handy from time to time, occasionally providing that one stat-point you would be missing otherwise.
His traits increase his usefulness, with Gondor having access to not only great tactics allies but also good willpower boosts such as The Red Arrow and of course Visionary Leadership while the scout trait is a rarity in tactics.
Overall, while Hirgon is certainly not a meta-shifting powerhouse, he still possesses versatility, a unique ability that can easily be built around and some decent willpower for a manageable starting threat. I like him a lot!
Mablung
Speaking of resource acceleration in a resource-starved sphere, Mablung can fix that particular problem of tactics quite nicely as well. Without any further setup, he will generate one extra resource during the engagement phase, which is certainly not the ideal timing for resource generation, but still a lot for an effect that requires no other trigger.
If you then start building around him through cards like Wait no Longer, Aragorn, Dúnedain Hunter or Westfold Outrider however, he can easily generate 2-3 resources per round, making him a very useful engine that has no real equivalent in tactics.
His stats are somewhat of a drawback I have to admit, not really excelling in any area while still adding up to a hefty starting threat of 10. Boosts like Gondorian Shield or The Red Arrow exist of course, but with either more focused numbers or fewer stats (and therefore a lower threat cost), he would be even higher on this list, ultimately settling for decent, above-average and good rather than great.
5.5
Prince Imrahil
Whenever there is a hero whose ability requires paying resources, said ability better be worth it. And, in the case of Prince Imrahil, it certainly is, even if it then also requires a lot of commitment during deck construction, since you need enough allies to ensure that you won't whiff often.
His traits are extremely common, meaning he has many, many decent targets with Envoy of Pelargir, Boromir, Glorfindel and especially Beorn among the standouts. In addition to that, attachments like Nor am I a Stranger or Elf-friend can further open up his target-pool, with Silvans profiting especially due to their powerful enter-play effects.
As a hero beyond his fantastic ability however, Prince Imrahil excites me much less. Having a steep starting threat cost, stats that can be described as all-over-the-place and no built in readying is not really ideal. Even his attack is somewhat limited, being neither ranged nor easily increasable, with no weapon setting up an effective +2 (in most cases) for 1 resource by itself (a noticeable difference to say Dagger of Westernesse on Merry or Rivendell Blade on Legolas). He can be equipped with the likes of Gondorian Shield or The Red Arrow, but I overall consider him pretty middling with a great ability and a subpar stat-line.
Théoden
Global willpower boosts are never terrible - however tactics heroes seldom quest in my experience. Sure, there are the likes of Hirgon, Éowyn, Thalin or Théoden himself, but many more red heroes post pretty subpar willpower stats. This limits the usability of the king of Rohan somewhat, making him mostly a good option in high player counts or dedicated mono-tactics decks. I do like him a lot with his signature attachments, including Snowmane for readying and Golden Shield/Herugrim for combat. With Golden Shield, you can even make use of his otherwise rather awkward sentinel keyword.
So there certainly are niches where Théoden is quite solid and even good, however those niches are quite narrow and while the payoff is decent, I would still not call it fantastic. An average hero, but by no means a bad one.
Tom Cotton
I feel like people sleep on Tom Cotton. He is often spoken about (at least in my vicinity) as being quite bad which is rather unfair if you ask me. Now, he often competes with Merry in decks, which is a tough place to be in, however Merry also exists as a spirit hero, giving them room to coexist. In some decks, he even surpasses Merry, especially if said decks are geared towards ally swarm and utilizing jumpy Hobbit cards like Raise the Shire or Curious Brandybuck.
Never underestimate a global boost, especially if it is a +2, as even a few small Hobbits become quite the force to be reckoned with, meaning Tom Cotton can often provide 6 or more attack per round distributed between different players. Furthermore, his defensive capabilities, being just a little too low stat-wise to count him as a primary defensive option on their own, have been greatly improved by Inner Strength and the increased playability of restricted attachments like Ring Mail due to Forth, The Three Hunters!.
His resource-smoothing ability I consider the least of his qualities, with it being occasionally useful but seldom the reason I run him. A hero that definitely needs work and the right cards around him to make him competitive, however when doing so, there is definitely a worthy payoff!
5
Gwaihir
While I think that Gwaihir's drawback of not readying in the refresh phase is a thematic homerun, it still majorly ears into his efficiency. Because without this drawback, I would play Gwaihir a lot more and he would still not be broken over overpowered I feel. He would still have the second-highest starting threat in the game and would be unable to claim many of the wonderful attachments tactics possesses, meaning I hardly see him being above-curve in that scenario.
As it stands, he is still far from terrible - having both ranged and sentinel is awesome, as are his stats and traits, often enabling you to play something like Gwaihir's Debt much sooner than you would otherwise be able to. His readying potential - albeit hindered somewhat by usually forcing you to play an eagle ally during planning - is also very useful, meaning you can often use him 2, 3 or even 4 times per round. I also like his synergy with The Grey Wanderer since you usually want to trigger the contract during planning for the resources, with the other ability often going to waste. This will seldom be the case here however, since Gwaihir is a) often damaged as he is a decent defender and b) will be exhausted in planning quite often.
Overall, I enjoy Gwaihir a lot, with him having been a breath of fresh air underneath the wings of many eagle deck. That being said though, I feel like he has just one drawback too many (with readying prevention, inability to equip restricted attachments and a high threat cost) to be a really good hero, rendering him certainly still average but unfortunately little more than that.
Bilbo Baggins
Everybody's favorite burglar has become quite the pet card for me. He certainly needs some help to function (like Hobbit Pony, Pippin or Fastred), however when utilized correctly, he is a very good quester with some decent direct damage to boot and one of my favorite ways to free up guarded cards.
I also really like him for his jank potential - you are able for instance to commit and trigger him, than uncommit him through Elevenses or Don't Be Hasty! before recommitting him through Hobbit Pony or Late Adventurer and thus triggering him again, getting double willpower and damage. He is definitely still only an average hero, with his high starting threat and need to be set up holding him back from a higher rating, but I find Bilbo Baggins overall quite useful in the right deck, not to mention being bags of fun.
4.5
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4
Elladan
Making Elladan and Elrohir a thing is quite difficult I find. Forth, The Three Hunters! at least helps with one of their biggest problems (needing resource-intensive attachments while having resource-based abilities), however they usually still need said attachments to get going, in the case of Elladan mostly Rivendell Bow to give him ranged (since running a dedicated tactics attacker in solo is not something I would recommend as a general rule) and then some other weapons like War Axe or Rivendell Blade to boost his attack strength. This not only takes time, the payoff here is also only average.
The biggest saving grace for Elladan, and the reason why most of my twin decks are not just using Messenger of the King for his otherwise more useful ally version, comes in the form of Orcrist. While this combination still needs a little time to be set up and get going (needing to defeat a guarded card first is certainly a huge downside), the ensuing payoff is pretty great, with Elladan suddenly reaching his ultimate machine-gun form. The setup is bothersome as discussed and probably only makes real sense in higher player counts where there are sufficient enemies to be worth it, however it does save Elladan from being a total disappointment for me.
Éomer
Dedicated attacking heroes without ranged and no other unique abilities (like Aragorn, Háma or Merry) are cards I generally have a hard time including in decks. In solo, you rarely can afford to waste a third of your starting hero-power on a dedicated attacker (especially not when it also entails running the worst sphere by far in solo), in multiplayer ranged options tend to outclass non-ranged ones comfortably (at least when discounting the aforementioned examples).
Éomer unfortunately is exactly that - a dedicated non-ranged attacker with his ability only providing potentially more non-ranged attack power. That leaves him in a very awkward spot - because even if you can give him 5 attack consistently (running him next to a Silvan or in a Rohan deck for instance), that 5 attack is pretty unflexible. And while Firefoot does provide him with some much-needed nuance and upside, it is also quite expensive and needs some things to go right before its full effect can be utilized.
However what does elevate him is his wife Lothíriel. She not only reliably triggers Éomer's ability, giving her the Rohan trait also opens up a variety of fun and powerful combinations, especially if you combine her with Éomund (fittingly enough the father of Éomer). Now granted, you can enable the same combinations with leadership Éomer and this argument is more about Lothíriel being awesome than Éomer, but it does give him a decent relevance he would be lacking otherwise.
3.5
Bard the Bowman
In my view, Bard the Bowman feels quite frustrating in a few different ways. As a primary attacker, he has high secondary stats that are often useless during a game, resulting in a fairly hefty threat-cost of 11. Also, his signature weapon, Great Yew Bow, really isn't a very good card, meaning you will have a hard time finding decent weapons for him, with even the otherwise universally useful Dagger of Westernesse somewhat hindered by his aforementioned starting threat. And finally, with the warrior trait being very common and the Esgaroth trait possessing no synergistic potential anywhere, he is pretty unimpressive on that front as well.
Now, having basically 5 attack ranged from the get-go in multiplayer in some areas of the board is pretty handy for sure, as is freeing up your restricted slots for Rohan Warhorse. This means that Bard the Bowman is far from useless and definitely a hero I ran before, however in general, he does not hold up overly well against other options like Legolas, Haldir of Lórien or even Brand son of Bain when it comes to choosing a ranged attacker.
3
Quickbeam
So unimpressive that he was even deemed non-unique by the designers. I kid of course, Quickbeam is however really not my favorite hero in the game by any stretch, feeling quite clunky in numerous regards.
Firstly, he competes with his ally version which is one of the best and most commonly used cards in the game. Secondly, while he provides decent attack power, that attack power is neither permanently boostable in any serious way, nor is it ranged, a major drawback for multiplayer. Thirdly, while his ready is very cool, it is in a sphere with no real healing opportunities, forcing you into a very specific sphere-match with lore if you want to use him.
Compare that to someone like Boromir, admittedly one of the better heroes in the game, who also has amazing stats, can take attachments as he pleases, doesn't disable you to run one of the best allies in the game, starts with a lower threat cost and has a much easier time to trigger his ability.
All of these factors make Quickbeam hard to use. He does have some considerable upside, being fantastic with Peace, and Thought for instance, as well as bringing multiple actions for many stat-points from the off, however I still rarely use the hero version of one of my favorite characters in the books, usually settling for the amazing ally instead.
Thorin Stonehelm
It cannot be argued that Thorin Stonehelm is unique in the sense of being the only hero in the game reaching a de-facto 6 attack with just one 1-cost attachment (Dwarrowdelf Axe), making him a very focused and considerable attacking threat. That being said however, in solo I rarely find room for a hero only being able to attack (maybe with the exception of Bond of Friendship), in multiplayer I mostly look for ranged options with a secondary ability if possible. And sure, he does provide some mining synergy, but mining decks usually don't really want tactics access anyways, having great options elsewhere. So while Thorin Stonehelm is certainly good at what he does, what he does is very rarely needed in decks.
2.5
Gimli
Oh Gimli - a core set classic that unfortunately falls quite flat for me in a modern card-pool. I said it before on some reviews, I'm saying it again - a non-ranged primary attacker is a very, very difficult sell for me. In solo, I rarely (if ever) have the hero slot available for attack, in multiplayer I am very reluctant to forego the flexibility ranged gives you (unless using someone like Aragorn or Háma of course, who provide a lot of flexibility through other ways). Sure, Gimli also has ok willpower and defense, but you will not play him for that. So on top of being a non-ranged attacker, he has rarely useful peripheral stats that will nonetheless bump his threat cost and needs a decent amount of risky setup. Overall not a useless hero but nevertheless quite a difficult sell for me. Great in battle questing though!
2
Na'asiyah
I really, really want to like Na'asiyah. For my money however, she is just too restrictive and expensive sadly. The only place she really has is in combo decks, where using Helm of Secrecy to swoop her in and then giving her infinite resources to defend/destroy any enemy is definitely useful, however you don't really play those types of decks after seeing if they could work. This niche does save her somewhat from becoming a 1/10, however she is still an underwhelming option to say the least.
1.5
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1
Dori
One hero had to claim the unfortunate title of the lowest rated hero in my lists and it sadly is Dori. Pretty much everything about him is underwhelming - his uninspiring stat spread, the lack of useful traits like warrior and his incredibly restrictive ability - which is not very impactful, triggers at a very inopportune time (before the shadow card is revealed), can only target heroes and only lasts for one attack.
I know some people have used him with the likes of Gimli and/or Forth, The Three Hunters!, and while I applaud these decks for their attempt of making him work, the sad truth is that I have not seen a deck with Dori in it where a few changes would drastically improve the deck, with these changes usually starting by just removing Dori. In my books probably the worst hero in the game.
0.5
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4. Stats and Discussion
- N (cards): 26
- Mean: 5.86
- Median: 5.75
- Standard Deviation: 2.43
- Interquartile Range: 4
With a mean and median both comfortably under 6, the tactics hero cohort is on average the worst hero cohort across all spheres. One important reason for this trend certainly was the dearth when it came to extremely high rated heroes, with only 3 tactics heroes receiving a rating of 9 or higher (and Éowyn the only one receiving full marks).
Another crucial factor here proved to be the uniformity of tactics heroes, with at least 10 of their 26 heroes being (for the most part) dedicated attackers (Aragorn, Merry, Háma, Legolas, Brand son of Bain, Elladan, Éomer, Bard the Bowman, Thorin Stonehelm,Gimli). This not only creates competition within the sphere, it is also rather suboptimal for solo (where dedicated attackers almost never justify a hero slot). In fact the only hero out of the 10 dedicated tactics attackers I consistently run in solo is Merry (with him having a very low threat cost as well as a decent amount of willpower in addition to his attack). Spirit heroes show a similar pattern in terms of uniformity (with many being questers first and foremost), but the essential difference here is of course the need for high starting willpower in all player counts including lower ones.
Speaking of attackers, especially non-ranged dedicated attackers are highly represented in the bottom half of the list. It is a cohort that generally received rather low ratings due to the tendency to be not run in solo and lacking the ranged keyword for higher player counts, one of the most important aspects of an attacker in higher player counts (and very hard to get through other player card effects). In fact the non-ranged attacking heroes that received high ratings (Aragorn, Merry and Háma) all have other things going for them (pseudo-ranged, stats at a discount/free action advantage and recursion respectively).
Another cohort that scored rather poorly were heroes with built-in resource disadvantages such as Na'asiyah, Elladan, Éomer (since an ally has to leave play for his ability to trigger) or Prince Imrahil, with Grimbeorn the Old the one big exception of course. On the flipside, heroes with more "free" triggers when it came to action advantage in particular scored really high, with the likes of Boromir, Merry, Beorn, Brand son of Bain or Éowyn all receiving grades of at least 7. One interesting thing as a closing point: Starting threat cost was very mixed throughout the ratings with no real trend being discernable (other than the two heroes with the de-facto lowest starting threat cost of 6 being very high up the list in Merry and Éowyn).
5. Closing Notes
Thank you for your time, I hope this project is of interest to you and can provide some inspiration in terms of deck building and card evaluation. I do look forward to feedback and discussions, my opinion is not set in stone and I am very open to your perspective on whatever card or aspect of this ranking.
Thank you to the people who directly contributed to the project, especially Jban who was ever-present during the almost 2-year process of compiling and optimizing these lists. Without their input, this project would not be of the same quality.
Thank you also to the people behind ringsdb.com for providing such a good platform for projects like this one - I am aware of some of the great work done by Seastan, Beorn and Alsciende in that regard but am probably missing a few people. What an awesome resource for the entire community!
ENJOY!!!
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Aug 28, 2026 |
Aug 28, 2026The only one I would seriously disagree with is Gimli. The classic Gimli+2xCitadel Plate+Vigilant Guard combo still makes him the most powerful attacker in the game outside of a significantly boosted Gondorian Fire. As a Warrior, he can also be further boosted with Hauberk of Mail and Captain of Gondor. He's also a Dwarf, so benefits from the boosts from Dáin Ironfoot and Hardy Leadership as well as so many powerful cards such as Dwarrowdelf Axe, Heavy Stroke, Khazâd! Khazâd! & Ring of Thrór and if you are duel sphering: Lure of Moria, Durin's Song, & We Are Not Idle. Finally, whilsti may be niche, his synergy with Legolas is a great way to get use of his broad spread of stats and between them, you also meet the prerequisites for cards such as Unlikely Friendship, Well Warned and Hunting Party. As a Noble, he can also be paired with Théodred and Heir of Mardil. For me, the introduction of Tireless Thoroughbred and Golden Belt mitigates the issue over him not being ranged (or if you are looking for a non-restricted option Elf-friend+Rivendell Bow), but in honesty it shouldn't be an issue as you should be the one engaging enemies in the first place. I get that it isn't always possible but I never seem to have much of an issue in most games. I also just love the Berserker aspect of his ability in that he gets stronger the more wounds he takes. I would rate Gimli easily as a 6 or 7 out of 10. |
Aug 28, 2026i would rate some heroes a bit different:
for the remaning i can agree with a difference of +/-1 |
Aug 29, 2026I would make thé same remark than |
Aug 30, 2026
RE Gimli I probably have similar fond memories of him, first narrowly tanking a Hill Troll before attacking back for ungodly amounts of attack. This rating however is about gameplay efficiency in a modern cardpool where I actively try to not factor in theme, fun or nostalgia. If you want to reach a high number of attack, there are many less risky and cheaper options - Thorin Stonehelm + Strength and Courage + Dwarrowdelf Axe reaches the same effective attack as a Gimli + Citadel Plate, the likes of Legolas, Haldir of Lórien or Bard the Bowman reach high numbers with weapons (giving you 2 attack for 1 resource instead of 4 for 4 like Citadel Plate) or simply Strength and Courage. And trait-based options like Dwarves, Silvans or Outlands (or indeed Gondorian Fire) blow even the most beefed-up Gimli out of the water. If you instead want Gimli for his "tank-and-spank"-potential, Grimbeorn the Old, Beorn or Boromir do the same thing more reliably and without having to risk an undefended attack anywhere. Add to that the conundrum of being a non-ranged attacker - in lower player counts you seldom have room for a dedicated attacker, in higher ones he lacks the crucial ranged keyword. Sure, Tireless Thoroughbred exists but I am reluctant to pay 2 resources for a keyword other amazing attackers get for free. Gimli's lategame numbers can be very high, but don't let that fool you: Most games are decided in round 1-3, where Gimli needs to be set up with the risk of loosing him with the attachment you most want on him (Citadel Plate) rarely being affordable. He is far too slow, not flexible enough and risky to seriously compete in today's meta, with many more convenient options out there to handle attack. Maybe you have a suggestion here, but I have yet to see a strong modern deck which features Gimli and cannot be improved by replacing him and 5-10 cards with an alternative. |
Aug 30, 2026@gimli, imo its not about getting the 1-hit- dreagonkill-attack its about easily get to att-str of 5-6 and near to no setup. its not about 2 plates and xxxx support, he can take a hit and mostly by turn 2 attack with about 5-6 + weapon(s) and can kill many enemies singlehandly early in the game. in addition to that: with 2 willpower and 2 defense you can even make him usefull for other purposes. and he has a good 2. sphere so also a good target for Thorongil but u might think different and imo it is more the same as with Bard the Bowman you seem to not rate the things very high that they get with them just out of the gate at the beginning of the game, and therefore i rate these 2 much better. perhaps another thing to think about, with Khazâd! Khazâd! you might kill easily a 8-9 enemy early. |
Aug 30, 2026
So I think what we have here is not an overly different valuation of Gimli, but more a different rating philosophy. I think you seem to rate "how good is a card once he has hit the table?", and in that sense, I agree with your assessment for the most part (except where Thorongil is concerned ;)! My philosophy is more "How likely will a card make a deck in the first place?", something that then factors in competition and alternatives much more. None of these approaches is wrong I think, they just lead to very different ratings when it comes to heroes like Thorin Oakenshield or Gimli. They are both clearly good when in play (thus probably your high rating), but are not that likely to be included in competitive decks in the first place because of often superior alternatives (thus my low rating). Both ratings are probably justified and fitting for our respective rating philosophies here while appearing very different at first glance. |
Aug 30, 2026few points:
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Aug 30, 2026
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Aug 30, 2026i only gave you my thoughts. its up to you to take it into consideration. |
Aug 31, 2026@doomguard "The goal with this project is to spark discussion with players and provide some ideas when it comes to deckbuilding"... except when you disagree with his viewpoint, in which case it might not be for you |
Aug 31, 2026
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Aug 31, 2026Thank you all for your comments, plenty to think about. I think I've said my part on Gimli for now and did appreciate the input. :)
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Aug 31, 2026I'd personally rank a few heroes a bit higher numerically. I can see your arguments about Gimli, there are lots of less risky ways to get enough attack in a deck, but I'd still put him at about a 4 because he can be effectively built around, which is more than I think can be said for Quickbeam, Na'asiyah, and Dori. I appreciate your low ranking of Éomer too, I think there are many more effective attacking heroes, and I've expressed such before on the card of the day channel on discord. Also surprised to see Háma so high, I never see anyone make new decks with him. That might simply be because his errata made him not much fun at all, it's pretty boring to recur Feint/Thicket of Spears three times and that's it. |
Sep 01, 2026
For example, Háma's ability is undoubtedly a great one but he is a dedicated attacker without ranged - something you have repeatedly claimed to despise in your other card reviews. His statline makes him flimsy as a defender and a poor quester, and his ability is only activared when he attacks, so you are literally just including him as a dedicated attacker to be able to recur Feint/Thicket of Spears, which might not even turn up in a sphere renowned for poor card draw options. As you have quite rightly said, the game is often decided in turns 1-3 and I can't see how Hama is contributing to that consistently unless you get lucky with drawing the right cards at the right time. Compare that to Gimli who can pull his weight in any capacity because of his broader statline that quickly gets better without having to dig for cards. It made him great in the core set and he has only got better in the modern card pool IMO, but I won't repeat what i said earlier. You also seem to automatically favour any hero that has a starting threat of <10 but in a sphere that is starved of , you'll quickly find that lower threat cost negated by including a 1- hero in your starting line-up, especially in a solo game. This is somewhat less of a risk in a multiplayer game in which another player is the dedicated quester but then you have your issue over Háma not having ranged to be able to activate his ability (which is arguably less powerful in multiplayer games when enemies are likely to be coming thick, fast and spread out) unless you are the player engaging the enemies, and if you acknowledge that you can do that with Háma, then why not with Gimli? As an aside, I agree with you that Háma wasn't nerfed as badly as everyone makes out but I wish they had changed his ability so that you just removed events from the game once they had been played again - you could attach them to him from the discard pile so you dont lose track of what has been used already. Part of the appeal of Háma in the first place was being able to include weaker event cards in your deck as you knew you'd get more than one use out of them. But back to my point, I don't see how you can rate Háma as an 8.5 when he suffers from the same drawbacks that you highlighted for Gimli who you only rated as a 2.5 despite his being more versatile, more hardy and is just generally better in every capacity. Yes, Háma starts with a higher and you can use Strength and Courage to make him better than an injured Gimli with no attachments, but then you are preventing the use of Inner Strength on another hero, which is definitely the better attachment for The One Ring and as Likewise, you have rated Mablung, who has a similar statline to Gimli and again doesn't have ranged or sentinel, as a 6 out of 10. Admittedly, his ability is a useful one in a sphere that is often starved for resources and he synergises well with Dunedain decks (despite him being a ranger of ithilien), but in order to trigger it you need to be the player engaging enemies, which is exactly what I have been saying Gimli excels at. Mablung can become a decent defender with a Gondorian Shield attached and Sterner than Steel for shadow cancellation but these are available to Gimli and he offers far more when attacking back. Gimli can also become a pseudo-Mablung with a Dwarven Shield attached to him. Admittedly, this is off-sphere and takes up a restricted slot, which might otherwise be better saved for a Dwarrowdelf Axe or Citadel Plate but my point is the dwarf trait is one of the most versatile. You mentioned before about Citadel Plate being 4-cost for 4-attack but it can easily be cheated in to play for free with Well-Equipped if you are playing a mining deck, which incidentally also happens to generate way more resources than Mablung ever could through Zigil Miner and Hidden Cache, especially if you are able to manipulate your deck such as with Imladris Stargazer. The final comparison i will bring up is between Thalin and Gimli. This is a difficult one because Thalin's ability is fantastic as it distributes a huge amount of damage so long as he is committed to the quest each round, but that is the thing, there are so many wasted stats on Thalin and his is the worst of them, so without some consistent readying effect, which let's face it there is a dearth of in the sphere, his better stats end up being wasted in most games. In certain scenarios, his ability is clutch - his ability to deal with those pesky crows before they surge is second to none and well worth the lack of he brings to the table; and his synergy with Gondorian Spearman and/or Spear of the Citadel makes short work of 2/3 enemies and for this I agree he deserves a high rating but he requires a lot of backup to work effectively and is far less useful in boss fights or against scenarios in which damaging enemies in the staging area is prohibited (e.g. intruders in chetwood). Gimli on the other hand excels at these types of quests, so it is, as they say, horses for courses. My point is Thalin does one thing and he does it very well and it justifies his decent rating but there will be times when his ability whiffs and he just ends up contributing 1 to the quest. Gimli on the other hand has a plethora of synergies available to him that can make use of most (if not all) of his stats and so is much more versatile as a hero and therefore is far more likely to slot into most decks IMO. I think in all of this it may just come down to differences in playstyles. It appears to me from these reviews that you are far more comfortable in a multiplayer setting, whereas I primarily play solo as I find a lot of scenarios become trivialised at higher player counts (not all!), especially if each player is running single-sphere or splash-sphere decks. I do play multihanded sometimes and have recently introduced a few of my friends to the game and we are running a progression campaign. Ironically, Gimli was the first hero I dropped when we moved passed the core set but i still use him a lot in my solo games. |
Sep 01, 2026
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Was looking forward to this one. Have to agree with the extremities of this list. Éowyn is hands down the best hero for all the reasons you gave and Dori is just utter trash. I kind of like the idea of lending to another hero, but the fact that you have to exhaust him to do it makes me think they should have just made him a decent sentinel defender in his own right.