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.

Rating: 3/10

Decks of mine using Quickbeam

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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.

Rating: 3/10

Decks of mine using Thorin Stonehelm

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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!

Rating: 2.5/10

Decks of mine using Gimli

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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.

Rating: 2/10

Decks of mine using Na'asiyah

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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.

Rating: 1/10

Decks of mine using Dori

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