C – core set M – Shadows of Mirkwood cycle M1 – Hunt for Gollum M2 – Conflict at the Carrock M3 – Journey to Rhosgobel M4 – Hills of Emyn Muil M5 – Dead Marshes M6 – Return to Mirkwood K – Khazad-dûm deluxe D – Dwarrodelf cycle D1 – Redhorn Gate D2 – Road to Rivendell D3 – Watcher in the Water D4 – Long Dark D5 – Foundations of Stone D6 – Shadow and Flame H – The Hobbit saga H1 – Over Hill and Under Hill H2 – On the Doorstep N – Heirs of Númenor deluxe S – Against the Shadow cycle S1 – Steward’s Fear S2 – Drúadan Forest S3 – Encounter at Amon Dîn
S4 – Assault on Osgiliath S5 – Blood of Gondor S6 – Morgul Vale
Willpower
Bard the Bowman (H2), Bard Son of Bain (M4) and Elladan (D2) are all a bit special as
they come with the printed willpower of 2 in the traditionally willpower-drained
Tactics sphere.
Bofur (H1) and Eagles of the Misty Mountains (M6) are ally counterparts to the
above, the former with a side ability, the latter with a powerful Eagle
synergy.
There is a wild card in the Tactics pool, Trained for War (S2) allows a strictly Tactics deck (all hero printed resource icons required) to use their attack strength instead of willpower when questing. It is quite some requirement and hardly a permanent solution but it is one way to do for the lack of willpower. The important cooperation note is that all characters (including other decks) will have to do the swap.
Thorin (H1) is the
Leadership’s hero leader in willpower.
Dáin Ironfoot (M6) is the basis to
the Dwarven willpower swarm strategy, a strategy that gets stronger with every
Dwarf that enters play (including heroes and characters of other players).
Faramir (C) is the ultimate
willpower booster, no matter what trait or type, he’ll boost them all for any
(one) player; but he’s an ally, so not a given, and he’s not exactly cheap,
though resources flow better with Leadership.
Celebrían’s Stone (C) was a powerful
card in the core set, but its willpower boost has become less
stand-out-important since. There’s the Aragorn combo to it, still.
Sword that was Broken (C) has a much
stronger Aragorn’s ring to it, so much that it is quite useless without him. It
is a strong card whenever much willpower is needed and the said hero is in play
but coming in Leadership, Faramir is generally a stronger play.
Rear Guard (M4) is a lesser
willpower boosting card. Its use is better in a deck that benefits from
characters leaving play (Imrahil, Horn of Gondor, Valiant Sacrifice, Grave
Cairn types of decks; most of which are Leadership cards).
Visionary Leadership (S6) is a card that mitigates Gondor's greatest weakness, their lack of willpower. And it turns her cheap allies into much more potent servants.
Éowyn (C) is the ultimate quester…
wait, it says battle or siege on the quest card which means Éowyn shall quest
for 1? Yeah, outside of battle and siege mechanic, Éowyn is the ultimate quester,
if only a bit fragile and not much good for anything else.
Glorfindel (D5) is a renowned
character, and he gets mentioned a lot in the game too. Threat cost 5,
willpower 3, do you take that hero?
Words like power and creep have been mentioned in one sentence when Arwen Undómiel (D3) arrived in the
middle of the second cycle. You get 2 willpower for 2 resources, core set
players find that very, very good. With Arwen, however, you get a very, very
useful ability as a bonus. Is she fragile? Not overly so for the cost of 2.
Silvan Refugee (S2) is the only ally to date with the printed cost of 1 and willpower strength of 2. Of course, there's a drawback to that but the stats are amazing.
Escort from Edoras (M3) is a one-trick
pony, if ever there was one in this game. There are no battles and treacheries
hurting questing characters? Then this guy is worth it.
West Road Traveller (M6) is less potent than the
above but should stick around more; the ability will occasionally see play too.
Not surprisingly, Spirit contributes to the Outlands deck by increasing willpower, namely Ethir Swordsman (S1) shall give all your Outlands characters +1 willpower strength.
Bofur (D1) means there’s a chance to
have a 2-willpower ally for the price of 1; but not always.
Pelargir Shipwright (S4) is quite perfect for mono-Spirit decks, he shall give you 3 willpower for the same cost; his 3 hit points and additional point of both attack and defence strength make him so solid.
The Favour of the Lady (C) has a lovely art
but is spelled without “u” on the card, which goes very much against Tolkien’s
text. As for the game mechanic, it is hard to see this card ever included if
not for the looks or theme; giving +1 willpower for the cost of 2 is just not
good enough even though it will almost never hurt you (and there are instances
when having a very strong quester as opposed to many weaker ones is beneficial).
Untroubled by Darkness (K) is situational by
default and redundant in a way, especially with Dáin around.
Astonishing Speed (M6) might have been
meant as a Rohan card to put all that Mirkwood cycle’s worth together but if it
is one thing a Rohan deck can do, it is to quest well for willpower – and
without this card; what a Rohan deck needs… is many other things.
There are two Elven theme events coming late in Against the Shadow cycle, Children of the Sea (S5) provides some new thoughts about ally recycling, and it seems to combine perfectly with Silvan Refugee (S2), an Elven ally that is a great willpower booster on its own. Secondly, Lay of Nimrodel (S6) doesn't require Elves per say, just presents the theme, and boosts a Spirit hero's willpower (if that is ever needed).
Elrond (D6) and Glorfindel (C) have willpower of 3 and
are worth mentioning for the fact.
Erebor Record-keeper (K) and Henamarth Riversong (C) cost 1 to play
and their willpower is also 1, which together is a rare feature for any ally.
Gildor Inglorion (M4) can give you a
good advice, though not always gladly; he can also tell you that there is a
Lore ally whose willpower is 3.
Lore is great for drawing more cards than what is ordinary. But it is
not great at producing extra resources. It can thus happen that you end up with more
cards than you’ll be able to play, why not discarding a few via Protector of
Lórien (C) to boost your willpower?
Gandalf (C) and Gandalf (H1) are two (or are they?) examples of allies with a very
high willpower.