Hey all, I play two handed solo almost exclusively with this game and I just wanted to both share my two decks I use (I consider them the one deck really) as well as see other decks used by those of you who play two handed solo. If possible explain a bit about how the decks work together, strategies you use or even the theme of the deck if you wish =)

Here are my two decks, I'm very proud of the time, effort and strategy put into both of them and although many cards in them are not thematic I do like what theme I do have. Elrond and his three sons (Aragorn is almost like a Son to him and eventually does become his Son!) with Glorfindel; another elf-lord from Rivendell and Legolas, whilst not from Rivendell and belonging to Thranduil's realm, whom is also an elf. Elladan and Elrohir's sister and Aragorns love Arwen Undomiel is also a key component of my decks as well as Haldir, Gildor and Riversong.

Also as far as I can tell the majority of people use Dwarf, Outlands, Hobbit or Rohan Decks so I quite like to use Elvish Decks and go a different direction than most.

I've been able to beat almost all of the quests released to date with these two decks or older weaker versions of them. I believe the main weakness of my decks to be the amount of allies and my dependance on attachments... this may change with the Ring maker cycle however with plenty of new Elf allies on the horizon which may get swapped in.

Deck 1: Tactics/Leadership (Elven Son's)

Heroes:

Legolas - 9

Elladan - 10

Elrohir – 10

Starting threat – 29

Allies: (17)

3x - Gandalf (Core)

3x - Envoy of Pelargir

3x - Westfold Outrider

3x - Pelargir Ship Captain (will be replaced with 3x Naith Guide when it comes out)

3x - Gondorian Spearman
1x - Faramir

1x - Bofur

Attachments: (24)

1x - Celebrians Stone (goes on Loragorn who is in deck 2)

1x - Black Arrow (goes on Legolas)

1x - Sword that was Broken (goes on Loragorn who is in deck 2)

3x - Dunedain Warning (first one goes on Elrohir, then Elrond, then Elrohir)

3x - Steward of Gondor

3x - Gondorian Shield (first one goes on Elrohir, then Elrond, then Loragorn)

3x - Rivendell Blade (first one goes on Elladan, then Legolas, then Glorfindel)

3x - Dagger of Westernesse (first one goes on Elladan, then Legolas, then Glorfindel)
2x - Rohan Warhorse (goes on Legolas, second is spare)

2x - Rivendell Bow (first one goes on Elladan, second goes on Glorfindel)

2x - Dunedain Signal (this goes on Elrohir, second can go on Elrond)

Events: (9)

3x - Feint

3x - Sneak Attack

3x - Goblin Cleaver

Sideboard: (6)
3x - Hands Upon the Bow (replaces Goblin Cleaver for quests where there are nasty enemies that need killing in the staging area (hummerhorns im looking at you...) or in quests where there are not any/many Orc enemies. (goblin Cleaver is still surprising good even at only 2 damage however...)
3x - Blade of Gondolin (replaces Dagger of Westernesse for quests where enemies have low engagement costs/are mostly Orcs. this way it provides the same +1 attack and also puts progress tokens down)

Deck Overview:
This deck is obviously the combat deck and it's designed to be able to both dish out many strong attacks as well as defend many strong attacks from enemies (for both players). This is done by putting a rivendell blade and dagger on Elladan as well as a rivendell blade and warhorse on Legolas (or blade if need be). This way they can both make multiple powerful attacks every turn (so long as Elladan has some resources and you put a warhorse on Legolas) to clear enemies out quickly for both players (legolas is ranged and if you get a rivendell bow out so is Elladan). Elrohir can also join the attack alot of times (more on this shortly) as well as Gondorian Spearman and Westfold Outriders if you have them out. The Defensive role the deck fulfills is created by putting steward of gondor, gondorian shield and a Dunedain Warning or two on Elrohir. This is also buffed by the other deck putting Song of Wisdom and Burning Brand on him as well as the buff that Arwen provides so long as the other player has her in play. The two dunedain signals are just in case the other deck does not have arwen/in case she dies from nasty encounter effects. With all of this on Elrohir he has 7 or 8 Defense, can usually block around 3 attacks per turn (his ability combined with resource acceleration from Steward), cancels shadow effects (burning brand) AND can defend for both decks with Sentinel. Late game it is not unusual for him to be able to block 6 or 7 attacks in one turn and come out completely unscathed. As long as you have a resource left after the last attack you plan to block with Elrohir you can also use that resource to ready him and use him in the counter attack alongside Elladan, Legolas etc.
Sneak attack and Gandalf is a no brainer however I usually use his threat reduction as the only other threat reduction for this deck is Galahadrims Greeting which the other deck always uses on this deck. His Direct Damage is used if I don't need threat reduction and the draw effect is probably used least. I use the gondorian spearman to defend only if the enemy has been left on 1 health resulting in it dying instantly, otherwise I generally use them to attack. Faramir's ability is generally used on the other deck (the other deck is primarily used for questing and utility) but he can also be used as an attacker in dire needs. Envoy of Pelargir allows first turn use of Steward of Gondor. Bofur's ability is good but rarely used, he is usually used to quest or attack. If the other decks willpower is building too slow Elladan or Legolas can be used to quest as just one of them is usually able to make more than one attack on their own anyway.

Legolas's ability is just ridiculously good, possibly my favorite hero ability in the game and has saved me from a nasty location staying active or has put the last few quest points needed to win a quest right before defeat so many times it isn't funny.
Elladan (when not being used to quest) is just a machine at attacking, throw a few weapons on him and he can clear 2 or 3 small enemies a turn late game or strike hard against bosses.
Elrohir keeps it all together by blocking absolutely everything and cancelling all shadow effects (once you get brand on him). He keeps both decks as safe as can be.

Deck 2: Lore/Spirit (Rivendell's Finest)

Heroes:
Elrond - 13

Loragorn - 12

Glorfindel (spirit) – 5

Starting threat – 30

Allies: (16)

3x - Arwen Undomiel

3x - Master of the Forge

3x - Warden of Healing

3x - Northern Tracker

1x - Elfhelm

1x - Gildor Inglorion

1x - Haldir of Lorien

1x - Henamarth Riversong

Attachments: (16)

3x - Burning Brand (combos with Song of Wisdom on Elrohir, second one goes on Elrond/Loragorn then third on Elrond/Loragorn)

3x - Asfaloth (goes on Glorfindel, other two are spare)

3x - Light of Valinor (goes on Glorfindel, if he is the prisoner (Dol Guldur) or not in play it goes on Elrond)

3x - Song of Wisdom

1x - Unexpected Courage (this goes on Elrond so he can quest for 3 and defend, alternatively it goes on Loragorn (if he has stone and sword) so he can quest for 5 and then attack or defend)

3x Ranger Spikes**

Events: (18)

3x - A Test of Will

3x - Elrond's Counsel

3x - Expecting Mischief**

3x - Hasty Stroke

3x - Galahadrim's Greeting

3x - Gildor's Counsel**

Sideboard: (6)
3x - Rider of the Mark (only ever swapped in for quests where there is an ally objective Arwen and I cannot have Arwen in my deck)
3x - Miruvor**

3x - Power of Orthanc**

3x - Lore of Imladris**
With this deck's sideboard each sideboard card does not necessarily correspond to a specific card it can replace but rather before playing each quest I look at all encounter cards used and determine which 3 of the 6 cards with ** next to them are best to use in that particular quest. Power of Orthanc is only used if the deck has nasty condition attachments, lore of imladris is used if the wardens of healing dont seem like they will provide enough healing, miruvor is used if the quest needs extra readying abilities/if ranger spikes wont work in the quest (attachment immune enemies such as Nazgul). Expecting mischief is taken out if it wont be effective (high hit point enemies/not many enemies). The above set up (ranger spikes, expecting mischief and Gildors Counsel) is the most often used.

Deck Overview:
This second deck is the questing/healing/threat reduction deck but it can also hold its own when it comes to combat. To start with Glorfindel and Aragorn are used to quest and Elrond is used to Defend. Light of Valinor is used to allow Glorfindel to quest and attack and Aragorn is held back from questing if he is also needed for combat. So long as there is a chump blocker (Gildor, Elfhelm, Haldir and the Northern Trackers are all pretty good defenders and Master of the Forge is a good sacrifical blocker if you dont really need his ability) Elrond is also used for questing (so all three heroes in most situations once the team has been built up a little bit) as are all the allies minus the single one saved for chump blocking even though Elrohir should have Sentinel by now and be able to defend both decks from attacks. Aragorn's questing is boosted by Sword that was Broken and Celebrians stone from the other deck and this decks overall questing is boosted by Sword that was Broken and Faramir (both from the other deck). Master of the Forge helps bring out Song of Wisdom/Burning Brand as well as Asfaloth or Light of Valinor if need be. Gildor is almost another Hero with his stats, similar situation for Haldir and Elfhelm. Elfhelm is a great attacker/defender and is never used for questing thereby minimizing threat gain from encounter cards with his ability. Haldir and Gildor are used mainly for questing but are great defenders/attackers as well). Riversong combos with Expecting Mischief or is just used for questing mainly.
This deck also handles threat reduction for both decks; Elrond's Counsel and Loragorns ability keeps this decks threat well in control while Galahadrim's Greeting is almost always used on the other deck considering the other decks only threat reduction is Gandalf.

Spirit Glorfindel is a beast and his ability to both quest and attack is invaluable as is Asfaloth clearing locations whilst attached to him. With a Rivendell Blade from the other deck on him he becomes a very potent attacker for this deck.
Loragorn with his two attachments from the other deck becomes a willpower monster and buffs +1 willpower to all his comrades in this deck as well. His sentinel ability if you are using Elrond to quest and him to defend is also massively useful. His main use is obvious though, that ridiculous threat reduction back to starting threat. This, just like Legolas's ability has saved countless games.
Elrond is probably the leader and mvp of this team considering the healing he provides, his great defensive stats and his ability to help pay for spirit allies. He allows first turn Arwen as well as making it much easier to pay for Elfhelm and Northern Trackers. If not for his ability neither would be in the deck as I would never have the resources to pay for them. His healing bonus to Warden of Healing makes a single warden (or two for especially nasty situations) enough to constantly heal both decks defenders.

No one else seems to want to share their two handed decks =(

So I'll post the changes I've made already since posting them.
I've put in several new cards that have been spoiled and have been running proxies of them (Wingfoot and Rumil are AWESOME!)
New cards are in red

Deck 1: Tactics/Leadership (Elven Son's)

Heroes:

Legolas - 9

Elladan - 10

Elrohir – 10

Starting threat – 29

Allies: (17)

3x - Gandalf (Core)

3x - Envoy of Pelargir

3x - Westfold Outrider

3x - Naith Guide

3x - Defender of Rammas

3x - Gondorian Spearman
1x - Faramir

1x - Rumil

1x - Beorn

Attachments: (20)

1x - Celebrians Stone

1x - Black Arrow

1x - Sword that was Broken

3x - Dunedain Warning

3x - Steward of Gondor

3x - Gondorian Shield

3x - Rivendell Blade

3x - Dagger of Westernesse

2x - Rivendell Bow

Events: (9)

3x - Feint

3x - Sneak Attack

3x - Goblin Cleaver

Sideboard: (6)
3x - Hands Upon the Bow (replaces Goblin Cleaver for quests where there are nasty enemies that need killing in the staging area (hummerhorns im looking at you...) or in quests where there are not any/many Orc enemies. (goblin Cleaver is still surprising good even at only 2 damage however...)
3x - Blade of Gondolin (replaces Dagger of Westernesse for quests where enemies have low engagement costs/are mostly Orcs. this way it provides the same +1 attack and also puts progress tokens down)

Changes:

After great deliberation I decided to replace Bofur with Rumil (Was until recently going to keep Bofur and take out another card for Rumil) as despite Bofur's lower cost for the same attack and questing power, Rumil's ability is just so much better than it seems (always 2 damage with Legolas in play) and fits the Elvish theme of the decks. Naith Guide is just awesome and was always going to go in but I decided not to wait and use proxies. Especially useful in Siege and Battle quests I've found as you can commit your best buffed attacker or defender without exhausting them allowing them to attack or defend as well as quest. Defender of Rammas was added as although Elrohir can become an absolute unstoppable defender there are always the games where you do not get all the cards you need to buff him as well as treacheries or nasty effects that may exhaust him. More defense is always helpful and they can also help attack when not used for defense (also they are ridiculously good for quests with Siege). Beorn is awesome. full stop. Every game I've used him in he has helped so much, whether it be by soaking up archery damage with his crazy high hit points, being an excellent attacker or defender or by being an 8 attack monster at a crucial moment. Due to none of my tactics cards in this deck being more than 2 cost he isn't that hard to get out of your hand either. Rohan Warhorse was taken out as with the other more useful weapons being restricted it rarely gets used to good effect due to it also being restricted and Elladan can already make multiple attacks as is. Dunedain Signals were also removed as they are useless with Arwen in play first off and secondly are not as useful (especially considering the tactics deck engages most enemies anyway and can kill enemies engaged with the other player first thanks to ranged) late game compared to what replaced them (rumil and beorn).

Deck 2: Lore/Spirit (Rivendell's Finest)

Heroes:
Elrond - 13

Loragorn - 12

Glorfindel (spirit) – 5

Starting threat – 30

Allies: (15)

3x - Arwen Undomiel

3x - Wandering Ent

3x - Warden of Healing

3x - Northern Tracker

1x - Gildor Inglorion

1x - Haldir of Lorien

1x - Henamarth Riversong

Attachments: (16)

3x - Burning Brand

3x - Asfaloth

3x - Light of Valinor

3x - Song of Wisdom

1x - Wingfoot

3x - Ranger Spikes**

1x - Ring of Barahir

Events: (18)

3x - A Test of Will

3x - Elrond's Counsel

3x - Expecting Mischief**

3x - Hasty Stroke

3x - Galahadrim's Greeting

3x - Gildor's Counsel

Sideboard: (6)
3x - Rider of the Mark (only ever swapped in for quests where there is an ally objective Arwen and I cannot have Arwen in my deck)
3x - Power of Orthanc**

3x - Lore of Imladris**
I removed Miruvor from the sideboard of this deck (awesome card but just doesnt make the cut anymore, especially with naith guide and wingfoot helping provide readying effects) and consequently Gildor's Counsel is now in for every game. It is such an underated and under appreciated card, so so useful ESPECIALLY in two player/two handed.

Changes:
I rarely if ever used Master of the Forge's ability, he was almost always just kept ready to chump block or just died to nasty encounter effects because of his 1 health. What's more his ability is not needed very much as I do run x3 of all the important attachments so I usually end up with at least half if not most of them and have no need for his ability or they die before they are of any use. I replaced them with Wandering Ent which I think is a fantastic new card, while coming into play exhausted can be a big deal in situations you need a chump blocker or extra quester/attacker straight away but his fantastic stats compared to his cost is just too good. Plus his art is pretty sweet and Ents are awesome not to mention more thematic fighting alongside Elves than anyone else (except maybe hobbits!) Elfhelm was taken out almost purely because of his high cost and also to improve the theme of the deck. I find Northern Trackers ability is better and he has the same stats, is not unique and costs the same. Wingfoot is just AMAZING and I always state enemy card as they are what you will need ready characters for more than anything else. Ring of Barahir was the very last change and addition to my new versions of these decks. Although it providing Loragorn a lore icon is completely useless for the version of Aragorn I use; the +1 hit point for each artifact can be suprisingly good. The ring itself provides +1 and Sword that was Broken, Celebrian's Stone and Dagger of Westernesse all also provide +1 putting him on 9 health if he has them all which is pretty beasty and helps soak up archery damage, defend attacks and stop cards like hummerhorns from getting an instant hero kill!

Thanks for reading if you did and feel free to give feedback/suggestions/comments if you don't want to/can't post your own two-handed decks

My favorite two handed deck had these heros:

Brand Son of Bain

Glorfindel (Spirit) (or frodo, if you aren't playing black riders)

Eowyn

Starting threat: 24 (26 with frodo)

Sam

Merry

Hama (I would have used Beregond, but I don't have HON. Hama is nice for recycling events)

Starting threat: 23

Sam made a killer defender with a hobbit cloak and a few other toys, then Merry and Brand could clean out all the enemies engaged with the second deck. It worked insanely well, but I don't really remember the complete deck lists.

Don't play this way. It violates table talk and I prefer multiplayer. Your decks look good.

But not if you just think. It's table TALK, not table THINK. Just don't mutter to yourself while you play.

I'll post my two-handed decks as soon as I've finished them since I'm going back to the Hobbit sage quests so one of the decks is going to be all-Dwarf (and it's a while since I built a Dwarf deck).

Made some more minor changes to my two decks:

Deck 1: Tactics/Leadership (Elven Son's)

Heroes:

Legolas - 9

Elladan - 10

Elrohir – 10

Starting threat – 29

Allies: (17)

3x - Gandalf (Core)

3x - Envoy of Pelargir

3x - Westfold Outrider

3x - Naith Guide

3x - Defender of Rammas

3x - Gondorian Spearman
1x - Orophin

1x - Rumil

1x - Beorn

Attachments: (20)

1x - Celebrians Stone

1x - Black Arrow

1x - Sword that was Broken

3x - Dunedain Warning

3x - Steward of Gondor

3x - Gondorian Shield

3x - Rivendell Blade

3x - Dagger of Westernesse

2x - Rivendell Bow

Events: (9)

3x - Feint

3x - Sneak Attack

3x - Goblin Cleaver

Sideboard: (6)
3x - Hands Upon the Bow (replaces Goblin Cleaver)
3x - Blade of Gondolin (replaces Dagger of Westernesse)

After much deliberation I have taken out Faramir and replaced him with Orophin. For a long time I was going to take out sword that was broken instead but I have ultimately decided taking out Faramir instead is the way to go. Sword that was Broken provides the same effect as Faramir and whilst it does not provide an ally to help quest/attack/defend Faramir is almost always purely used for his ability. Therefore it makes sense to keep the sword instead as it is cheaper to play and leadership resources on Elrohir are what allow him to defend against so many attacks. The more he has on him at any point the better so that he can defend both players!
Therefore putting Orophin instead makes sense as he is also cheaper to play than Faramir, provides a very useful new ability and fits better thematically.
Orophin as he has been spoiled, very much appears to have ranged (the big gap before his other rules text) and returns a Silvan ally back to your hand. This combo's well with both Naith Guide and Rumil allowing you to use their enter play responses a second time, it also gives an extra point of damage to Rumil's response because Orophin is ranged. This choice helps my decks become much more thematic with the third brother finally joining my teams (Haldir, Orophin and Rumil).
I'm really hoping the tactics silvan ally coming out soon is awesome so I can put it in this deck instead of the Westfold Outriders/Defender of Rammas as well!

Deck 2: Lore/Spirit (Rivendell's Finest)

Heroes:
Elrond - 13

Loragorn - 12

Glorfindel (spirit) – 5

Starting threat – 30

Allies: (15)

3x - Arwen Undomiel

3x - Mirkwood Runner

3x - Warden of Healing

3x - Northern Tracker

1x - Gildor Inglorion

1x - Haldir of Lorien

1x - Henamarth Riversong

Attachments: (19)

3x - Burning Brand

3x - Asfaloth

3x - Light of Valinor

3x - Song of Wisdom

1x - Wingfoot

3x - Ranger Spikes

1x - Unexpected Courage

3x - Healing Herbs

Events: (15)

3x - A Test of Will

3x - Elrond's Counsel

3x - Hasty Stroke

3x - Galahadrim's Greeting

3x - Gildor's Counsel

Sideboard: (6)
3x - Power of Orthanc (replaces healing herbs/ranger spikes)

3x - Expecting Mischief (replaces healing herbs/ranger spikes)

With this deck there are a few more changes. Firstly I took out ring of barahir as it is terrible and not anywhere near as handy as I thought it might be and put unexpected courage back in. I replaced Lore of Imladris with Healing Herbs as I have never used them but they seem better for a few reasons (0 cost being a big one). Lastly I took out the Wandering Ents as although their stats are awesome the comes into play exhausted penalty can really put you in a pickle sometimes... I put in three Mirkwood Runners instead, at first I was going to put in Silvan Trackers to heal the trio of brothers (Haldir, Rumil and Orophin) as well as Legolas but it seems too conditional as the brothers do not always come out in a game and it does not help Naith Guide or Henamarth due to them only having 1 hitpoint. The runners are useful as they can finish off nasty/boss enemies with only 2 hitpoints remaining or can simply help Glorfindel or Aragorn in attacks providing their decent 2 attack (the same as the ents). Depending on what other Silvan allies are released in this cycle and whether or not more of them find their way into either of my decks I may put Silvan Tracker in instead of Mirkwood Runner or even put them both in and remove something else.

What do you think of these changes? Faramir instead of Sword make sense? Mirkwood Runner or Silvan Tracker? If both what should I take out instead?
As always thanks for reading

Healing herbs and warden of healing provide enough healing, you shouldn't need Silvan tracker. Overall I think the latest changes are good ones. I'm a little surprised not to see Horn of Gondor to give one of the brothers even more readying.

BTW, some of the card counts are off. It says 17 allies when it should be 21 and it says 19 attachments when it should be 20.

What do you think of these changes? Faramir instead of Sword make sense? Mirkwood Runner or Silvan Tracker? If both what should I take out instead?

As always thanks for reading

You're welcome Thanks for really thorough analysis, it was pleasure to read.

Refering to your dilemmas:

Faramir over Sword is definitely a good idea. One leadership resource is not a significant cost difference and it's much easier to lose attachment than 3HP ally in this game.

Tracker over Runner? I say - none of them. You have more than enough healing and firepower in these decks, so they seem abundant, but I suppose you could use some extra willpower - spirit Bofur comes to mind.

Ring of Barahir's short career in your deck made me proud of myself, since I was pretty sure it would go this way when I saw it in second iteration

Yep, ring of barahir is more or less useless haha. A while back I seriously considered a few copies of Spirit Bofur but I don't like using Dwarves in these decks so decided against it ultimately. I think I might keep the Runners for the time being but may replace them with The White Council neutral card when Dunland trap comes out or a new silvan ally from the new cycle. Have a look at the below changes to the Tactics and Leadership deck and tell me what you think!

Deck 1: Tactics/Leadership (Elven Son's)

Heroes:

Legolas - 9

Elladan - 10

Elrohir – 10

Starting threat – 29

Allies: (19)

3x - Gandalf (Core)

3x - Envoy of Pelargir

3x - Westfold Outrider

3x - Naith Guide

3x - Gondorian Spearman

1x - Orophin

1x - Faramir

1x - Rumil

1x - Beorn

Attachments: (22)

1x - Celebrians Stone

1x - Black Arrow

1x - Sword that was Broken

3x - Dunedain Warning

3x - Steward of Gondor

3x - Gondorian Shield

3x - Rivendell Blade

3x - Dagger of Westernesse

3x - Rivendell Bow

1x - Horn of Gondor

Events: (9)

3x - Feint

3x - Sneak Attack

3x - Goblin Cleaver

Sideboard: (6)
3x - Hands Upon the Bow (replaces Goblin Cleaver)
3x - Blade of Gondolin (replaces Dagger of Westernesse)

I took out the three Defenders of Rammas and replaced them with Faramir (this way both Sword that was Broken and Faramir are kept and Orophin can be put in as well; as per tomtom's advice), Horn of Gondor (as per joezim's advice) and a third copy of Rivendell Bow (I find myself needing it alot more often than I draw it, played nightmare journey to rhosgobel the other night and definitely could have used more ranged...)
As much as the defense the Defenders of Rammas provide is very useful, putting Faramir back in gives another defender if need be (plus if Faramir and sword are both out only one willpower boost will probably be needed freeing Faramir up for defense/attack) and Horn of Gondor will provide more resources for Elrohir to defend as well (works better with Gondorian Spearman than Defender of Rammas as the spearman is more likely to die after defending). Pretty happy with these changes as I did want to keep both Sword that was Broken and Faramir and Horn of Gondor is a useful addition. Thank you both

Here's the decks I'm going to try the non-Hobbit scenarios with (they will probably be changed as the games proceed):

DECK ONE - ARAGORN'S HEROES

HEROES

Aragorn (Lore) - 12

Eowyn - 9

Glorfindel - 5

Starting Threat: 26

ALLIES (25)

3x Arwen Undomiel

1x Bofur

3x Daughter of the Nimrodel

1x Elfheim

3x Escort From Edoras

3x Gabdalf (OHAUH)

1x Gildor Inglorion

1x Haldir of Lorien

2x Northern Tracker

3x Warden of Healing

1x Westfold Horse-Breeder

3x West Road Traveller

ATTACHMENTS (15)

3x Asfaloth

3x Light of Valinor

2x Self-Preservation

1x Song of Earendil

1x Song of Travel

2x Song of Wisdom

2x The Favor of the Lady

1x Unexpected Courage

EFFECTS (10)

2x A Test of Will

3x Elrond's Counsel

3x Lore of Imladris

2x The Galadrim's Greeting

DECK 2 - ELVEN SONS

HEROES

Elladan - 10

Elrohir - 10

Legolas - 9

Starting Threat - 29

ALLIES

1x Erestor

2x Faramir

3x Gandalf (Core)

3x Gondorian Spearman

2x Guthlaf

2x Horseback Archer

2x Silverlode Archer

3x Snowbourn Scout

3x Trollshaw Scout

1x Vassal of the Windlord

3x Westfold Outrider

ATTACHMENTS

1x Black Arrow

2x Blade of Gondolin

1x Celebrian's Stone

2x Citadel Plate

1x Dunedain Mark

1x Dunedain Warning

1x Gondorian Shield

3x Mighty Prowess

3x Rivendell Blade

1x Song of Battle

2x Song of Wisdom

2x Steward of Gondor

1x Sword That Was Broken

EVENTS

2x Hands Upon The Bow

2x Sneak Attack

I ran through Passage Through Mirkwood on Nightmare and steam-rollered it in five turns so the decks didn't really get a chance to reveal any weaknesses.

Nice decks! Do you not run into issues running both forms of Gandalf? I always considered putting OHaUH in my second deck but figured it would interfere with Core Gandalf too much.

Play tested my new changes with a few games last night, Horn of Gondor just doesn't work well enough. I don't really use/plan to use many of the Silvan return to hand abilities (except for Orophin) and don't have many allies I chump block with or have leave play in most games. If anything my decks focus on getting strong allies out that last for the majority of the game rather than sacrificing them. The horn almost never triggers and gives resources so I have therefore taken out Horn of Gondor and replaced it with Path of Need.

Final Deck lists until more Ring-Maker is spoiled/comes out:

Deck 1: Tactics/Leadership (Elven Son's)

Heroes:

Legolas - 9

Elladan - 10

Elrohir – 10

Starting threat – 29

Allies: (19)

3x - Gandalf (Core)

3x - Envoy of Pelargir

3x - Westfold Outrider

3x - Naith Guide

3x - Gondorian Spearman

1x - Orophin

1x - Faramir

1x - Rumil

1x - Beorn

Attachments: (22)

1x - Celebrians Stone

1x - Black Arrow

1x - Sword that was Broken

3x - Dunedain Warning

3x - Steward of Gondor

3x - Gondorian Shield

3x - Rivendell Blade

3x - Dagger of Westernesse

3x - Rivendell Bow

1x - Path of Need

Events: (9)

3x - Feint

3x - Sneak Attack

3x - Goblin Cleaver

Sideboard: (6)
3x - Hands Upon the Bow (replaces Goblin Cleaver)
3x - Blade of Gondolin (replaces Dagger of Westernesse)

Deck 2: Lore/Spirit (Rivendell's Finest)

Heroes:
Elrond - 13

Loragorn - 12

Glorfindel (spirit) – 5

Starting threat – 30

Allies: (15)

3x - Arwen Undomiel

3x - Mirkwood Runner

3x - Warden of Healing

3x - Northern Tracker

1x - Gildor Inglorion

1x - Haldir of Lorien

1x - Henamarth Riversong

Attachments: (19)

3x - Burning Brand

3x - Asfaloth

3x - Light of Valinor

3x - Song of Wisdom

1x - Wingfoot

3x - Ranger Spikes

1x - Unexpected Courage

3x - Healing Herbs

Events: (15)

3x - A Test of Will

3x - Elrond's Counsel

3x - Hasty Stroke

3x - Galahadrim's Greeting

3x - Gildor's Counsel

Sideboard: (6)
3x - Power of Orthanc (replaces healing herbs/ranger spikes)

3x - Expecting Mischief (replaces healing herbs/ranger spikes)

When the rest of the cycle is spoiled, I will be looking for good cards to replace the mirkwood runners in this deck and the westfold outriders in the other deck. Hopefully the new tactics Silvan ally is awesome and can replace the outriders and hopefully some other new cards can replace the mirkwood runners. Considering changing the three Expecting Mischiefs with three Forest Snares..... thoughts?

I've never really hit any problems with playing two Gandalf's. Between the fact that he's only in play for one turn and the fact that on a couple of occasions I'll sacrifice one to up Eowyn's Willpower if I've got two Gandalf's in one hand.

I managed to scrape through Nightmare Journey Down the Anduin. One thing is that I've noticed after two games is that the Leadership/Tactics deck works well enough even without Steward of Gondor to add Leadership resources.

thoughts?

Yes, a few.

First, Path Of Need? Come on, it will fly out of the deck faster than the Ring. You cannot base the strategy on any of "limit 1 per deck" cards for obvious reasons and that specific one is especially useless in comparison to Black Arrow for example. It might seem attractive for the epic last round push that leads to victory, but these situations just do not happen frequently enough to justify Path of Need.

Second, I think there are too many 1x's on your list. I understand thematic reasons, but Faramir or StWB are too important to not add more copies of them, sacrificing some Silvans and Beornings in the process. Going further, you might consider 2 copies of Erestor, who does the same as Celebrian Stone plus helps get rid of surplus copies of unique cards and is great for soaking archery damage.

Third - Dunedain Warnings might be useful as an emergency valve in a deck that does not have direct access to GS, but here it looks like obvious candidate for DNP-CD.

Fourth - not convinced to Song Of Wisdom + BB on Elrohir idea. You have two natural recipients of BB and - more importantly - there seem to always come better goals for spending Lore resources.

Fifth - how is that possible that you built "Rivendell's finest" deck with Songs and did not include certain Minstrel?

Sixth - lack of card draw.

7th - completely agree with your opinion about Gildor's Counsel. Very underrated.

thoughts?

Yes, a few.

First, Path Of Need? Come on, it will fly out of the deck faster than the Ring. You cannot base the strategy on any of "limit 1 per deck" cards for obvious reasons and that specific one is especially useless in comparison to Black Arrow for example. It might seem attractive for the epic last round push that leads to victory, but these situations just do not happen frequently enough to justify Path of Need.

Second, I think there are too many 1x's on your list. I understand thematic reasons, but Faramir or StWB are too important to not add more copies of them, sacrificing some Silvans and Beornings in the process. Going further, you might consider 2 copies of Erestor, who does the same as Celebrian Stone plus helps get rid of surplus copies of unique cards and is great for soaking archery damage.

Third - Dunedain Warnings might be useful as an emergency valve in a deck that does not have direct access to GS, but here it looks like obvious candidate for DNP-CD.

Fourth - not convinced to Song Of Wisdom + BB on Elrohir idea. You have two natural recipients of BB and - more importantly - there seem to always come better goals for spending Lore resources.

Fifth - how is that possible that you built "Rivendell's finest" deck with Songs and did not include certain Minstrel?

Sixth - lack of card draw.

7th - completely agree with your opinion about Gildor's Counsel. Very underrated.

Thanks for the feedback

First of with Path of Need I actually do find myself in situations where it would be very handy but it does have a high cost and is fairly situational. Perhaps you are right.

As far as the 1x cards, it is indeed not only for thematic reasons but also to limit the amount of dead/useless cards in the deck. You can only have 1 unique card out and having a second one in your hand can be super frustrating. The only unique cards I run multiple copies of are Asfaloth, Arwen and Light of Valinor (in the other deck) as they are all super important, most of the others are not. I play and win many games without the use of Faramir, Beorn, Rumil etc. so not too worried about that.

With Dunedain Warning, with or without Gondorian Shield it is essential to have a warning on Elrohir as well if you are defending against enemies with 5 or more attack, won't say anymore on this one as more defense is always needed. Also not sure what DNP-CD is at all...?

Song of Wisdom and Burning Branch work super well on Elrohir, I do however usually put the first one straight on Elrond or Aragorn if I don't also have Song of Wisdom already. So I quite often do put it on the Lore Heroes first anyway. Song of Lore on Glorfindel can also help get Gildor, Haldir etc out faster.

I only use one song (song of wisdom) so the Minstrel is more or less useless.

Card draw is a valid point but because of the strength of the decks I rarely find myself in trouble because of this and Gandalf can provide card draw for the tactics/leadership deck.

Yeah Gildor's Counsel rocks the house! I use a copy in almost every game I play now and it ALWAYS makes one round super easy, allowing you to recoup losses and come back stronger than ever.

I think based on your feedback I will be removing Path of Need and replacing it with 1x Erestor, he is useful for extra questing, it puts my ally count up to a nice even 20 and his ability is not too bad either (kind of adds minor card draw (or at least card swapping!) without the need to exhaust!). It also provides an extra body for defense as well and he does have high hit points allowing him to soak some archery damage.

I've never really hit any problems with playing two Gandalf's. Between the fact that he's only in play for one turn and the fact that on a couple of occasions I'll sacrifice one to up Eowyn's Willpower if I've got two Gandalf's in one hand.

Ah yeah, pitch them to Eowyn for extra willpower. Not a bad fix at all.

Having completed the nightmare versions of the core missions I made a couple of changes to the Leadership/Tactics deck.

DECK ONE - ARAGORN'S COMPANY

HEROES

Aragorn (Lore) - 12

Eowyn - 9

Glorfindel - 5

Starting Threat: 26

ALLIES (25)

3x Arwen Undomiel

1x Bofur

3x Daughter of the Nimrodel

1x Elfheim

3x Escort From Edoras

3x Gabdalf (OHAUH)

1x Gildor Inglorion

1x Haldir of Lorien

2x Northern Tracker

3x Warden of Healing

1x Westfold Horse-Breeder

3x West Road Traveller

ATTACHMENTS (15)

3x Asfaloth

3x Light of Valinor

2x Self-Preservation

1x Song of Earendil

1x Song of Travel

2x Song of Wisdom

2x The Favor of the Lady

1x Unexpected Courage

EFFECTS (10)

2x A Test of Will

3x Elrond's Counsel

3x Lore of Imladris

2x The Galadrim's Greeting

DECK 2 - ELVEN SONS

HEROES

Elladan - 10

Elrohir - 10

Legolas - 9

Starting Threat - 29

ALLIES

1x Erestor

2x Faramir

3x Gandalf (Core)

3x Gondorian Spearman

2x Guthlaf

2x Horseback Archer

2x Silverlode Archer

3x Snowbourn Scout

3x Trollshaw Scout

1x Vassal of the Windlord

3x Westfold Outrider

ATTACHMENTS

1x Black Arrow

2x Blade of Gondolin

1x Celebrian's Stone

2x Citadel Plate

3x Dunedain Cache

3x Mighty Prowess

3x Rivendell Blade

1x Song of Battle

2x Song of Wisdom

3x Sword That Was Broken

EVENTS

2x Hands Upon The Bow

2x Sneak Attack

Basically, in three games Steward of Gondor had never even got to my hand and I was holding off using Leadership resources in preparation for it so it had to go (the fact that it's not the most thematically appropriate card didn't help either). I removed a few other cards to add in another two Swords That Were Broken and Dunedain Cache so that Eladan and Elrohir can snipe at Deck 1's enemies (and use Black Arrow at a push).

Rivendell bow is cheaper and better than Dunedain cache, plus you have two tactics hero

Here are the two-handed decks I am currently playing with. It is largely a Hammer/Anvil deck with some tricks up its sleeve.

Deck 1 - The Lore of the Land (Ranger / Mono-Lore with Leadership splash)

HEROES

Faramir (11)

Berevor (10)

Mirlonde (8)

Starting threat: 26 (with Mirlonde reduction)

ALLIES

Erebor Hammersmith x 2

Miner of the Iron Hills x 2

Longbeard Map-Maker x 2

Haldir of Lorien x 1

Warden of Healing x 2

Ithilien Tracker x 2

Ithilien Archer x 2

Anborn x 1

ATTACHMENTS

Steward of Gondor x 3

Forest Snare x 2

Protector of Lorien x 2

Song of Kings x 3

Dunedain Warning x 2

A Burning Brand x 2

Ranger Spikes x 2

Ranger Bow x 3

Poisoned Stakes x 2

Scroll of Isildur x 2

Elf-stone x 3

EVENTS

Secret Paths x 2

Parting Gifts x 2

Advance Warning x 2

Forest Patrol x 2

Expecting Mischief x 2

Deck 2 - Arrows and Eagles (Eagles / Mono-Tactics with Spirit splash)

HEROES

Legolas (9)

Thalin (9)

Brand son of Bain (10)

Starting threat: 28

ALLIES

Northern Tracker x 2

Winged Guardian x 3

Landroval x 1

Radagast x 2

Descendent of Thorondor x 2

Vassal of the Windlord x 3

Eagles of the Misty Mountains x 2

ATTACHMENTS

Blade of Gondolin x 2

Unexpected Courage x 2

Song of Travel x 3

Support of the Eagles x 2

Gondorian Shield x 2

Mighty Prowess x 2

Book of Eldacar x 3

Gondorian Fire x 2

EVENTS

Feint x 3

The Galadhrim's Greeting x 2

A Test of Will x 3

The Eagles are Coming! x 3

Hands Upon the Bow x 2

Trained for War x 2

Gondorian Discipline x 2

The general tactic is that Berevor gets buffed as a super-defender, while Legolas and Brand attack with Ranged.

Berevor takes Dundain Warning, Burning Brand, Gondorian Shield, and also Song of Kings and Steward of Gondor. In addition to the Resource generation, this also supplies Berevor with the Gondor trait, thus boosting the Gondorian Shield's effect.

Legolas gets buffed with Blades of Gondolin and Support of the Eagles. Legolas is always left ready for attacking, whereas Brand is pretty handy at a pinch to go questing instead depending on need. Brand's ability is used to ready Berevor allowing her to use her card draw ability.

Mirlonde, Faramir and Thalin will generally be questing every round.

Other than the above, there are lots of ranger traps and massing of Eagle allies to be had, along with mono-sphere synergy cards. These decks have so far successfully battled their way through all the core quests and Shadows of Mirkwood quests with no alteration to the decks at all.

My only gripe with it when I play is that Faramir is pretty wasted, largely being used to quest unless Unexpected Courage comes his way, though even then its usually a good idea to drop the first one of those onto Berevor. I am looking forward to adding Wingfoot to the deck to be able to free him up for some action!

Rivendell bow is cheaper and better than Dunedain cache, plus you have two tactics hero

I've got to admit that I completely forgot about Rivendell Bow. There may be a modification before I try nightmare Conflict at the Carrock.

Really nice decks and mechanics scottindeed!

Use a proxy of wingfoot! I have been to great effect. I put it on Loragorn so that i can quest with him with sword that was broken and celebrians stone and then attack/defend with him as well.

I've ditched the Dunedain Cache's in favour of three Rivendell Bow's, as PsychoRocka pointed out, they are a lot more useful than the Cache's (and, after looking at them I've noticed that I can stick one on Loragorn as well for an occasional arrow heading back towards the enemies the other deck are fighting).

I just swapped x3 Hands Upon The Bow for x3 Straight Shot in my sideboard for the tactics/leadership deck. Hands was mainly used for enemies like goblin sharpshooter and hummerhorns which Straight Shot can also take care of.
For orc intensive quests or even just quests where straight shot wont be of much use ill use goblin cleaver for some direct damage, alternatively for quests with few orc enemies or where straight shot will shine ill use straight shot.
As good as hands upon the bow is, its main benefits are:

- Attacking and killing the enemy in staging before it can come down and engage you and make an attack. This is not so helpful as I engage almost all enemies as they are revealed anyway and only occasionally will leave one for a round or two as the combat deck is excellent at defending then clearing groups of enemies, especially once it gets going. This means there are rarely monsters I can't defend against and those that I can't defend against or would rather not engage for a turn or two are usually high defense and have lots of hitpoints so wouldn't die from one attack with Hands Upon the Bow anyway!
- Attacking and killing an enemy before questing, removing an enemy and its threat from staging and the quest phase. This use to be of more help to me when my decks had lower willpower overall and were focused almost entirely on combat. These days I rarely have willpower issues and thus don't need this effect as badly. Not to mention this ties in with the fact I engage almost all enemies as they are revealed (as in on the turn they are revealed obviously) so rarely are they left in the staging area anyway.

I actually have many games where a Hands Upon the Bow will sit in my hand for almost the entire duration as I'm easily able to both defend and then defeat all enemies coming out of the encounter deck and have no real use for it.
Plus I always use it before questing to remove the enemy's threat from the staging area which exhausts a hero well before the combat phase and then sometimes a bigger and nastier enemy will be revealed at which point I can't use Legolas to attack and damage/kill it as he is already exhausted...