After building my Rossiel Strider deck http://ringsdb.com/decklist/view/3009/the-elven-sorceress-1.0, I wanted to build something that could easily pair well with it for two player games or two-handed play. It seems that a Rossiel secrecy deck that relies on ents doesn't have an early board presence as strong as other decks (particularly in combat), so I built one that brings that to the table in a sort of aggro fashion. This deck not only handles combat right away, but brings significant too. This sort of deck should pair well with many different decks that are a bit slow out of the gate, not just with a Rossiel deck. Please note that Ancient Mathom is included in this deck, but would be switched for Keen as Lances when alongside Rossiel.
Beregond is the main defender. His threat reduction means we won't have to worry very much about threating out once he is boosted by a Gondorian Shield and Arwen Undómiel (who can also buff Rossiel alternatively). He can gain Unexpected Courage to defend more attacks as the need arises. Beorn is here as the main attacker and a secondary defender to take on what Beregond didn't shield against. He is great for defending the smaller enemies and being a direct damage sponge. With Fortune or Fate we can bring him back for more. Círdan the Shipwright brings the as the questing hero here and with the Light of Valinor he can quest and contribute his 2 attack in the combat phase. He provides consistent card draw all on his own, which is something & decks typically lack right now aside from Elven-light. His card draw can cause tough choices though. With his ring, Narya, he can also ready some of our combat allies, inspiring them to continue their just onslaught. With this, the ranged allies can deliver devastating strikes across the table to help finish off enemies engaged with other players.
In this deck allies are mostly cheap and effective, and a good starting hand will show a mix of some and allies. Aside from that, almost any starting hand will be decent. Although our heroes have high stats already, cheap allies that provide at least two attack or two willpower quickly add to that sum and give us even more "brute force". For location control we have Rhovanion Outrider and Northern Tracker both of which unclog any location buildup.
We have a suite of events that see plenty of use in decks with these spheres, because they are good at dealing with problems. We will cancel the worst treacheries we face with A Test of Will, cancel lethal shadow cards with Hasty Stroke, and Feint to avoid fatal attacks. In addition, Revealed in Wrath does something amazing. All those enemies that have a dreaded effect that makes you groan can have that wiped away! Last but not least, Gather Information is like having an extra way to access any card in our deck aside from straight drawing it. It can be great for fetching Narya or Fortune or Fate or anything else you need at the time. Other players will thank you too.
This is a fairly strong solo deck, the one it is based off of was no slouch, just risky at times for lack of card draw. However, this deck can boast of having card draw, and has more events for those tight situations. It can also be played in a two deck pair to take pressure off of the other deck in the early game, allowing it breathing to room to shine. With more than two players, it may still be a welcome sight, shoring up the areas of combat and questing, and Narya could even see greater use in such an environment. I hope you find this versatile deck enjoyable, as I have.