Anyone else having a hard time defeating this quest? No matter what I do I get overwhelmed by tentacles in solo mode. I'm playing a pure leadership deck finely tuned with leadership cards taken from all expansions and chapter packs. I own the whole game + expansions & chapter packs as of now. My leadership deck contains: 50 cards + my 3 heroes = 53 card deck.

I've tried making duo-sphere and tri-shpere decks but they NEVER work out. My questing lasts longer when I am playing a mono-sphere deck.

Any suggestions on making a "workable" deck against this Chapter pack/quest?

I've played through this quest with =Leadership/Spirit deck I use against all the quests and have managed to slowly develop what I'd consider a strategy. Stage 1 you're looking to get through quickly, so you can avoid the tentacles, which you not only mention having problems with, but I know firsthand what you're talking about. The tentacle that redirects your attack damage can really cause a lot of pain, so if you can avoid having them come out (not easy) your life is going to be easier. If you're having problems questing through quickly enough, try putting in some spirit cards (Eowyn, West Road Travelers, Arwen) to boost your willpower. Faramir, Celebrian's Stone, and Sword that was Broken (if you're not using Aragorn, I'd suggest it, I really like him for this quest) all can help you on the Leadership side of things. Stage 2, depending on what cards you have, is either trying to accumulate a lot of cards that start with S, B, T, W, M and G and getting past the Doors of Durin, or killing the Water. If you have Gandalf and a few copies of Sneak Attack this is possible, as long as you have some allies to help you overcome its defense and finish it off. However, I'm just trying to describe how to do it and keep your original deck mostly intact. If you're looking to just make a deck to beat THIS pack, throw in some Lore. Henamarth Riversong or Denethor can make Stage 2 a sure thing by looking at the top card, so then it's just a matter of being able to get past Stage 1, which is just questing as quickly as you possibly can. In addition, Lore has the highest card draw, so you can assure you'll have the card you need for Stage 2. I hope I've helped slightly, I think the key point here is don't let the quest drag on. If you're getting into Stage 2 and you have 2 tentacles out, you're going to be in a world of hurt when the Water comes out. Quest as hard as you can early, get to Stage 2, decide your path (Doors or Killing the Watcher), and go from there. If your biggest problems are in Stage 1, spirit could be a big help, if they're in Stage 2, Lore is worth looking at. Hope this helps, good luck!

I have two successful decks, but neither of them includes any leadership cards. Both included lore though, and IMO lore is the sphere which should be in your deck to have a decent chance of winning.

My two hero combinations were 1) Loragorn, Boromir, Glorfindel and 2) Frodo, Bilbo, Loragorn. The first wins by defeating the Watcher, the second by opening the door. Daugher of the Nimrodel plays a major part in both decks. This might be the only scenario (beside Rhosgobel) in which you get more damage than progress tokens.

Then you have to play cards that increase the chance that you to open the door: Rumour from the Earth, Henamarth, Shadow of the Past (or even Needful to Know). Some might prefer Denethor for this, but IMO you really don't need him.

In conclusion you should think about dropping leadership. It's the least helpful sphere in this scenario.