https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1718326/lord-rings-lcg-challenge-feb-2017-foundations-ston/
Mark Schipper on BGG is running a monthly challenge with a few tweaks. There are a few modes, including Story challenge, which is progression style (using only cards released when the quest came out, and in this case using only one core set) and requires players to include a randomly selected hero. Score is calculated with additional penalties for dead allies and discarded attachments. That means some fun strategies don't work well in this mode, but I like the theme of discouraging chump blocking.
February's challenge had Brand as the random hero for Foundations of Stone. Since the Foundations encounter set includes Durin's Axe and Durin's Helm, it seems fitting to include dwarf heroes. Brand was an ally of Dáin (in fact, Dáin was killed during the War of the Ring while defending the body of Brand), so it's fitting to include them together. This deck is somewhat thematic, but a few cards like Arwen don't really fit.
You can read a round by round account of my playthrough on BGG. I had a a relatively gentle Encounter draw, and managed to complete the quest during Round 7 without losing any allies or attachments. If you're interested in participating in the next challenge, there's already a March Saga challenge for We Must Away, Ere Break of Day.