The Lord of the Rings LCG- The Core Set Heroes pt I

To follow up on my previous article (an overview of the Lord of the Rings Card Game), I thought I'd spend some time taking a look at the heroes included in the core set, how I've used them, and how I think they could be useful. In part one, I will look at the Leadership and Lore spheres. Without further ado, let's jump right in!

Note: Thanks to Hall of Beorn's card search for the images.

Aragorn

The heir of Isildur himself. The king of men. Aragorn is a sentinel and with 2 defense and 5 hitpoints, that means he can come through in a pinch to block for your comrades. His ability allows him to ready after committing to the quest phase, making him very versatile. With 2 willpower and 3 attack, Aragorn can be counted on to fill a wide variety of roles.

Thoughts: Aragorn should always be considered in a leadership deck. With the Leadership sphere's ability to generate resources, utilizing Aragorn in 2 different phases is hugely beneficial. His threat is quite high, however, making powerful combinations of Aragorn and other heroes a dangerous proposition!


Gloin
One of the member's of Thorin's company, and Gimli's father. Gloin isn't a particularly strong hero on his own, but paired with any form of healing and his ability allows you to generate resources quickly. This can be a bit dangerous has Gloin only has 1 defense, and 4 hitpoints. With 2 willpower, he's usually committed to questing as fighting isn't his forte.

Thoughts: I tend to overlook Gloin as he doesn't do any one thing particularly well, but I have used him in a dwarf deck here and there, particularly if that deck is light on resource generation.

Theodred
Son of Theoden, who fell at the Ford of Isen. Theodred's printed stats are fairly weak: 1 willpower, 2 attack, 1 defense, and 4 hitpoints. With a low threat, and a fantastic ability, however, I really like this card. His ability allows him to generate resources not only for yourself, but your comrades should they find themselves light.

thoughts: Theodred is one of my favorite heroes from the core set. with the Voice of Isengard and Ring-maker cycle adding more support for Rohan, I expect Theodred will see continued use in my future decks!

Beravor

I'm not entirely sure who Beravor is- I think she's a concoction of Fantasy Flight like a few other characters in this game. That's no bother, though, there's plenty of room in Tolkein's universe for people to be creative! Besides, I really like this hero. Like Aragorn, she is a Dunedain Ranger; I'm hoping to see more support for those particular traits in future expansions. At a threat cost of 10, Berevor's stats are well rounded: 2 willpower, 2 attack, 2 defense, and 4 hitpoints. Her ability allows you to draw two cards by exhausting her.

Thoughts: I've tried my hand at a Ranger themed deck a few times now, and Beravor has made the cut every single time. If I have enough willpower on the board, I will usually leave her free as a backup defender, or some extra card draw. Paired up with something that lets her ready after doing something else. that card draw is just hugely helpful!

Denethor
The Steward of Gondor himself. With 1 willpower, and 1 attack Denethor isn't great at much, except maybe defense (Even with 3 defense, having only 3 hitpoints means he can't sustain much damage!), but his special ability is fantastic! Being able to have any control at all over the Encounter deck is huge.

Thoughts: Look, Denethor is a fantastic hero for only 8 threat. Honestly, though, I just don't like the guy! Maybe it's John Noble's excellent portrayal of the disturbed man in the movies (though he is much less crazy in the books), but I can't help find excuses to not include Denethor in my decks. That's just me, and I should probably embrace the Steward.

Glorfindel

I was so bummed Glorfindel was left out of the movies! For those of you who may not know, Glorfindel was the one who rescued Frodo after the battle on weathertop, not Arwen. Anyhow, Glorfindel actually has another Hero card in the game that is, in my opinion, better than this version. Still, Glorfindel is a well rounded hero with 3 willpower, 3 attack, 1 defense, and 5 hitpoints. Compared to Aragorn for the same cost, however, he just isn't quite as awesome. His ability doesn't require exhausting, but the Lore sphere is frequently at a premium for resources, making actually using a bit more difficult. Paired up with Elrond (who we will discuss later!), however, you get much more bang for your buck!

Thoughts: Glorfindel is a great hero... but maybe not this version of him. Paired up with his horse Asfaloth, Glorfindel can be a questing beast. Though I tend to use his other version, I have used "Lorefindel" as my captain hero from time to time.

Check back next time as I go through the other 6 heroes from the core set! Make sure to sound off on the forums, and let me know what else you might like to see from this wonderful game!