Designed to be played with The Hard Place; see fellowship link
It's not hyperbolic to say that Brand son of Bain is one of the most universally panned heroes in the game. Players have a tendency to look at cards from a single deck mindset, and when you do that, Brand loses his shine a bit. It takes a very altruistic mind to truly put him to use, as his ability is only really a boon to your fellow player(s). Enter Merry. The prospect of building a strategy around readying another player's heroes becomes much more palatable when they ready yours right back. When both Merry and Brand participate in an attack together, they can mutually ready each other for a subsequent attack, pretty much into perpetuity. Reciprocity is a beautiful thing.
This combo has existed in the pool for a while, but the way Brand is worded, player order can mess you up. The tag team really only works if you are killing an enemy engaged with the player who controls Merry. So, enemies being what they are and going where they will, the partnership between Merry and Brand son of Bain can sputter at times. Enter...wait for it...Scorpagorn. If there's a solution in this game for the problem of funneling enemies where you want them, it's the Red King. I'll get into the intimate details of how Aragorn wrecks house in that deck, but suffice it to say that adding him to this mix absolutely fixes the problem of enemies hanging out where they ought not tread, and keeps them squarely between the mortar and pestle that is Brerry (Brand son of Bain and Merry's celebrity couple name).
The rest of the deck is basically just Spirit questing power, and threat reduction. Keeping the threat of both decks low is PARAMOUNT to making the decks sing. Controlling the engagement of as many enemies as possible keeps Aragorn's ability, and thus the entire machine, rolling. Given the heavy emphasis on threat reduction, the main draw engine for the deck is the Hobbit Pipe.
Tale of Tinúviel is a fun play. Often, Glorfindel's action after questing (assuming Light of Valinor is down) goes unused. Well, making Aragorn a 5, 6, and 5, with a ready is pretty okay. Especially when you see all the work he's doing in the other deck. Spare Hood and Cloak serves about the same purpose. Usually Glorfindel, Frodo Baggins, or someone else will be ready and unneeded. The cloak is a fun way to spread that action advantage around where it's needed.