#7 Ally for Cost Value - Gandalf

We begin our list of the top Allies for Cost Value with two cards for the price of one. In (joint) seventh place we have the Ally version of Gandalf. The grey wizard is a neutral ally found in both the Core Set and the first of the two Hobbit Saga expansions. His Cost Value is 160%.

Gandalf is not the only Ally character who we have two versions of; there are also two version of Bofur. But unlike Bofur, the two Ally versions of Gandalf have exactly the same cost and stats, which is why they are paired into a single item on this list.

The Cost Value formula works out that Gandalf should have a cost of eight resources to play him, but his relatively low cost of five is what earns him a place towards the top of the current list.

The low cost for such good all-purpose stats is balanced by the fact that he is reluctant to stay with you. The Core Set version will leave play automatically at the end of a round, and the Hobbit version of this powerful Istari will do the same unless you raise your threat each round by an additional two.

Although five resources is higher than average for an Ally, we do get a character that can be useful in any deck. Whether you need cards, damage dealt to enemies, threat reduction or a character who can be both an amazing quester and defender or attacker in the same round, Gandalf is worth a place in most, if not all, decks. The fact that he is a neutral card also means he becomes even more useful in multi-sphere decks.

Team - Core Set Lore Heroes

Finally we come to the last Heroes provided in the Core Set, those belonging to the Lore sphere. Do they make a good team?

As we already know, all Heroes from the Core Set have a Threat Value of 100%, and these three are no exception. The stats on each Hero add up perfectly to their Threat Cost. However, the Stat Values are a mixed bag.

Glorfindel has a Stat Value of 100%. According to the formula he is an average Hero, though this is surprising considering his stats. The formula does not take into account that both his Willpower and Attack are value three, it simply notes that the highest value he has printed is three. As with many characters in the Lore sphere, we are left with choices, since Glorfindel excels in more than one category. Indeed, we shall find that the Stat Value formula will often fall short of telling the whole story for characters in this sphere.

Beravor only has a Stat Value of 80%, because paying a Threat Cost of ten appears high for a Hero with a value of two as her highest. But here we see a design common in Lore characters- this highest stat is shared between several stats, or in this case, all three of them. It is completely your choice whether she contributes to questing, defending or attacking, because she can make a fair offer for all of them. The only issue is that she is another Hero that suffers from Annoying Power Syndrome. Her stats indicate that you will want to exhaust her to use her for something during each round, but her Power requires that you exhaust her too. One character offering four equally valid choices is kind of annoying. On the good side, at least she will always be useful, and is a prime candidate for pairing with a sphere that has readying abilities.

Last, but definitely not least, we have Denethor. He has an impressive Stat Value of 150% due to his impressive defence value of three. We have already mentioned him in earlier posts.

Is this a team that works well together? I would say yes. As an example, assume you are using this team in a solo game where there are no enemies in play at the beginning. You can exhaust Glorfindel as your main quester, giving you a fair value of three. It is worth noting that him being exhausted does not prevent you from using his healing Power. Then you can see what type of card comes out of the encounter deck. If it is an enemy then you can defend handily with Denethor and attack with Beravor. However, if the card revealed is either a location or treachery then before the round ends you will be able to exhaust your two remaining Heroes to both draw two cards and have a look at what will appear from the encounter deck next round. Not bad at all.

Team - Core Set Spirit Heroes

Next we will have a look at the three Heroes from the Core Set provided for the Spirit sphere. Do they make a good team?

As we are seeing with all Heroes in the Core Set, their Threat Values are all 100%, so you get exactly the stats that you pay for. But do they make a good team in individual roles? What about their Stat Values? Well, their Stat Values turn out to be extraordinary.

A defence of two for the Threat Cost of seven gives Eleanor a Stat Value of 114%. Saving her for defence on some rounds is definitely an option, since her Response power is one that you can chose to use or leave during the questing phase. When questing, you will probably keep her ready just in case a nasty When Revealed effect turns up, but if one doesn't then you have a defender for your team in the combat phase.

Eowyn has an amazing Stat Value of 178%. Her four Willpower makes her the best candidate for questing not only in this team but in all of the Heroes released for the game so far. As has been discussed in previous posts, her power only adds to this strength.

Dunhere only has a Stat Value of 100% thanks to his attack of two, but although this seems less exciting than the other two he is still a valuable member of the team. We already have a quester and a defender and Dunhere makes a good attacker. Admittedly an attack value of two won't do much against many enemies, but his power works well with the team as a whole. The Spirit sphere has, on average, the Heroes with the lowest Threat Costs, so it is more likely that you can avoid engaging enemies. This is where Dunhere's ability to attack remotely makes all the difference, and it will boost his attack by one when you do so.

Overall, the Spirit sphere Heroes included in the Core Set make a very good team. The only thing to watch out for, as with all Spirit sphere cards, is that you avoid too much combat.

#2 Hero for Stat Value - Eowyn

For the second time a Hero from the Core Set makes it into one of our top positions for Stat Value. In second place on the list is Eowyn. She is a Spirit Hero included in the Core Set. Her Stat Value is 178%.

The daughter of Rohan earns her place with a strong Willpower of four, which would be impressive even on a Hero with a Threat Cost of twelve, but she asks for a Threat Cost of only nine.

Her other stats are low and her power encourages you to use her Willpower and boost it even further. She is clearly a team member with one job to play; questing.

She is the only Hero currently in the game with a Willpower of four that you can commit to quests. Such a strong stat combined with a Threat Cost below ten has made her an often used character in many teams. Her strength isn't dependent on other Heroes in your team in any way, so she can be added and equally effective in a multi-sphere team or one that is purely Spirit. She deserves her high rank, and only one other Hero has overtaken her for Stat Value.

Team - Core Set Tactics Heroes

We will now look at another team of three Heroes from a single sphere in the Core Set. This time it will be the Tactics Heroes Thalin, Legolas and Gimli. Do their values indicate that they work well together?

First of all, as with all Heroes in the Core Set their Threat Values are all exactly 100%. You get exactly the stats you pay for.

Next we can look at the Stat Values, and this is a much more interesting story. Unlike the three Leadership Heroes, not a single one of these three has a Stat Value of 100%. Legolas has a Stat Value of 133% thanks to his three Attack for the Threat Cost of nine. Thalin has a Stat Value of 89% due to his Attack and Defence values of two not being very high, even for a Hero that only has a Threat Cost of nine. Finally, Gimli has a Stat Value of 73%, as all three of his stats being only strength two is disappointing for a Hero with a Threat Cost of eleven.

So two Heroes below average Stat Value and one above. They nearly average out to 100%. But let us have a look at the roles we would actually use each Hero for and see if this moves our opinion higher or lower.

Legolas is a Hero with an obvious use. His highest stat by far is his Attack, and his Power is triggered when he uses it to destroy enemies. Clearly he should be an attacker.

Gimli is less simple. With good all-round stats, he could be assigned to any role we need. His power indicates that if we let him do a bit of defence work he will get angry enough to become a powerful attacker. Before dying he could get up to four bonus points added to his attack strength. However, we already have Legolas in the team, so we weren't in desperate need of a good attacker anyway. Add to that the fact that Gimli has the highest Willpower of these three Heroes and you may consider using him for questing instead, even though it makes no use of his Power.

Last of all, Thalin is another character that I consider suffers from Annoying Power Syndrome. His attack and defence values of two are average at best, but then his Power encourages you to use him for his weakest stat, Willpower, which has a pathetic value of one! So you must choose whether to send him questing almost solely for the damage dealt to enemies by his power or save him for defence or attack duty. The former is more useful in games with many players because other players can worry about providing real Willpower strength, but the latter could be relevant in a solo game. But that brings me to a point which must be mentioned about this particular team.

The three tactics Heroes provided in the Core Set as reguarded as the worst of the four sphere teams available to play a solo game with. This is largely due to their weak questing ability. It seems to me that in a solo game you would use Gimli for questing, Thalin for defence and Legolas for attack. That might be enough to get you through the first turn or two, but you are likely to see your threat rise to fifty rather quickly in most quests.

Is this a good support team in a multiplayer game, then? Maybe. Thalin can damage every enemy that comes out (increasingly relevant as more cards are drawn during staging) and Legolas can make some ranged attacks. But even considering that, the team is neither strong at one job or balanced at all of them.

Team - Core Set Leadership Heroes

For the first Team post, let's look at Gloin, Theodred and Aragorn, the three Leadership sphere Heroes included in the Core Set. Do their values indicate they make a good team?

The first thing we can say is that we are getting average value for money. The Threat Value of all three Heroes is exactly 100%, just like all Heroes in the Core Set.

We are almost getting average Stat Value, too. Both Aragorn an Theodred have Stat Values of 100% (due to their attack values) however Gloin only has a Stat Value of 89%. His Willpower and Attack value of two isn't great for a Hero that costs nine starting threat.

Both Gloin and Theodred suffer from what I call Annoying Power Syndrome. By this I mean that their unique power in their text box forces you to use them in a way that their printed stats do not support.

In the case of Gloin, his response triggers when he receives damage, however his defence is his weakest stat so this is only likely to ever be triggered by the occasional treachery or shadow card.

Theodred can provide resources when he commits to a quest, however questing is not his best role. He only has one Willpower, but it is his two Attack that earns him his 100% Stat Value.

Theodred's Annoying Power Syndrome of course is balanced out by his brilliant synergy with Aragorn. Instead of saving Theodred to use his two Attack, you can send his questing with Aragorn and then later make use of Aragorn's three Attack instead. There is no denying this fun combo.

Sadly Gloin does nothing to redeem himself. After the combo of his two fellow Leadership Heroes provides the player with three questing and three attack, we need a defender, and the old dwarf is not one that will last long. He may get rich before he dies, but die he will if you don't get some allies out to help. You could also put some attachments on Gloin to boost his defence, but if you want to make use of his power you would be better off giving him the power to heal himself after he takes that damage.

#6 Hero for Stat Value - Denethor

Only two Heroes from the Core Set made it into the top seven ranks for Stat Value, and the first of those that we see is Denethor. He is a Lore Hero from the Core Set. His Stat Value is 150%.

His defence of three for his Threat Cost of eight make him a very efficient defender for your team. The Lore sphere which he belongs to also has access to some good cards for cancelling shadow effects and healing your characters if they ever get hit by an enemy that is tougher than normal.

There are four other Heroes with a defence of three. It is interesting to note that two of them have good Stat Values and two do not.

The two that do are Dain Ironfoot and Erkenbrand. Dain's defence of three and Threat Cost of 11 give him a Stat value of 109%. However you are more likely to find him useful for his ongoing power than for his defending ability. Erkenbrand's defence of three and Threat Cost of 10 give him a Stat Value of 120%. His power makes it obvious that he is good for one job, defending.

The two Heroes with three defence that have a Stat Value of less than 100% are Elrond (Lore) and Gandalf (Neutral). Elrond has a Stat Value of 92% and Gandalf has a Stat Value of 86%. In both cases this is due to their highest value stat of three being not so great compared to their Threat Costs of thirteen and fourteen respectively. But obviously their Threat Costs need to be this high due to them having powerful stats across the board; they are not one-trick ponies. So here we can make an observation; Heroes which have more than one powerful stat may score badly for Stat Value.