Pure PvE card games have never been terribly popular, but The Lord of the Rings: Adventure Card Game is a strikingly beautiful and engaging rendition of the physical card game from Fantasy Flight Games.
Building decks against Sauron and his minions can be a daunting task for any newcomer, so be sure to check out the tier list of the best hero and ally cards below.
Arwen
Healing factor is indispensable in LotR: ACG, and that’s why Arwen is a must-have hero card for your allies deck.
There are other cards that can keep your allies healthy and gain max score by the end of the game, such as Faramir, but Arwen makes things really easy —even for beginner players.
Arwen synergizes with other heroes like Aragorn and Legolas for a perfect Block/Guard deck.
Erkenbrand
If Arwen is considered the best hero in the game, then Erkenbrand is definitely the best ally card.
Erkenbrand doesn’t have powerful stats with only 2 Attack, but he has both Block and Guard abilities, which is simply game-breaking in the current meta.
Guard is especially valuable; it automatically retaliates as soon as he has been hit. Because it essentially protects itself and its heroes, you can always increase its attack power with the help of weapons.
Reinforcements
Some event cards create significant problems for Sauron when played at the right time and in the right board state.
Reinforcements is one such card. It can easily cheat such powerful cards as Warden of Annuminas and Trollshaw Scout for a mere cost of 1 Resource.
Too bad you can’t do the same with unique allies, such as Erkendrand. However, in that case, this card would be overpowered.
Dwalin
Dwalin’s ability can be used to great extent in a deck that relies on Guard mechanics but excludes any healing. This means that Dwalin is anti-synergistic to Arwen.
You want Dwalin to be damaged, but not dead. If he gets below six points of health, then his attack and willpower increase by one. That is why he works well with either Erkenbrand, who can protect him, or by simply attaching Gondorian Shield, which protects Dwalin if his health goes below five points.
Gandalf
Although Gandalf is a rather expensive ally card, he can potentially produce value each turn by either drawing three cards, dealing 3 Damage, or reducing threat by three points.
His Fleeting ability will force him to return to your hand, and if you have enough resources, you can play him over and over again. Of course, Gandalf quickly becomes the very first target of any match, but if he survives long enough, he can do a lot of damage.
Beorn
This Beorning ally will fit well with a Dwalin deck. It can quickly gain a lot of attack power, but since it can’t be protected with attachments, you also need to rely strongly on Guard allies to make sure it stays alive.
If you manage to protect this card well, then you will have one of the most powerful allies on board for the rest of the game.
Ghan-buri-Ghan
This Wose ally doesn’t offer anything in terms of attack power, but it can potentially produce a huge pool of Willpower, and since it has the Stealth ability, it cannot be targeted by enemy minions.
Ghan-buri-Ghan’s Willpower can be added to the Fate Pool to help trigger various abilities.
This card works well in decks that focus on Tactics sphere, where players are able to quickly exhaust enemies.
Mablung
The Guard ability is definitely very strong when it comes to deflecting enemy attacks, but allies with the Ranged ability can easily bypass the Guard protection and deal damage straight to whomever they want.
Mablung, in addition to having the Ranged ability, can also exhaust any enemy minion on the board, which basically renders them useless.
This makes Mablung a must-have ally for any deck that uses Lore as its main sphere.
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These were the best hero and ally cards in The Lord of the Rings: Adventure Card Game. Stay tuned for more coverage on the recently-released competitive card game, including our official review.
