I have a thing for high-statted allies, so I want to like this guy. But my problem with it is that its ability makes it look like it's meant to be a questing ally, but the amount of work you have to do to make it worth 4 resources and a deck slot is too much. Let's compare it to Ranger of Cardolan from the same cycle.

• They have the same traits, cost and stats apart from .
• Ranger of Cardolan's stats don't require any setup. In order to get Warden of Annúminas to have the same , you need to be engaged with 2 enemies. And in order for it to be higher, you have to be engaged with 3 enemies, which isn't easy even in a Dúnedain deck. And even then, you're spending resources/defenders on dealing with 3 enemies, while you could be using those defenders to quest instead and make up for the difference in anyway.
• Ranger of Cardolan, being neutral, can be paid for with any resources while this has to be paid for with .
• Ranger of Cardolan's ability is an upside that allows it to be brought into play more cheaply. Warden of Annúminas' ability is... usually a downside.

So in conclusion, if you're playing and you want a Dúnedain with good questing stats, you're better off picking Ranger of Cardolan. And if you're playing and you want a Dúnedain with good battle stats, you're better off picking... yep, Ranger of Cardolan.

PS: Warden of Annúminas even loses when you compare it to Guardian of Arnor and Fornost Bowman, which are the other Dúnedain from this cycle with a similar ability. The Guardian and Bowman each have base 1 in all of their stats, so comparing the Warden to them, you're paying 1 extra resource for 1 extra point in and , but you also get base 0 instead of 1 for the stat that its ability increases; and if you're playing an ally for its questing ability, then and aren't what you want to be paying for. What's more, the Guardian and Bowman's stat boosts help you deal with the enemies that you've engaged to power them up, and you can use them to deal with the enemy in the same round that you engage it, but the Warden's doesn't and you have to keep the enemy engaged with you for a whole second round. If Warden of Annúminas had 3 cost, 1 and 1 , even if it still had 0 base , I would feel much better about putting it in a deck.

Spirit is not well-represented amongst the Dúnedain archetype, which is mostly concentrated in Leadership and Tactics. However, Heir of Valandil does not have to go on a Spirit Dúnedain hero to discount the Warden of Annúminas; so, you can have a line-up of, say, Amarthiúl and Aragorn and some Spirit hero like Éowyn and still get the discount on this card. Obviously that doesn't leave room for lore and its useful traps, so this might not work well playing true solo. Where this card becomes useful is when you build a Dúnedain deck and a deck to support the Dúnedain, likely heavy with lore. I decided to run a support deck with Erestor and Beravor for card draw and unearthing lots of important cards like Forest Snare, the ultimate Dúnedain support card. I ended up with five engaged enemies, three with Forest Snare, and my two Wardens of Annúminas were both free and questing for 5 each (and sometimes 6). It took a lot of setup, and I'm still not sure if what I did was genuinely good, but it sure was fun.