At Last

Rossiel came out in 2014. For seven years I've kept coming back to her, trying to find a design that feels satisfying. This is the closest I've come.

For me, the satisfying, elusive Rossiel deck is one that has her consistently questing and defending and benefiting from her own abilities, and one where I can consistently pull cards out of the encounter deck. A really satisfying deck is one where Rossiel defends for 5, canceling shadows with A Burning Brand, sentinally. Arwen Undómiel has been a natural partner for Rossiel, and spirit a natural partner sphere, but it's been hard to get Arwen Undómiel out consistently. Until now.

Manwë Bless Arwen

What's so exciting to me about this deck is Messenger of the King finally allows me to guarantee that Arwen Undómiel is in play from the start of the game. This allows Rossiel the tiny extra bump she needs to be a high-tier defender.

Secrecy is another vital element of the victory display deck. Out of the Wild is the foundation piece, allowing you to get an enemy or a location into the VD early and precisely – you don't have to defeat the card first. But this isn't viable to do quickly outside of secrecy, especially if you're trying to have a spirit hero so you can play Arwen Undómiel! Prior builds have tried using Glorfindel to keep threat low but provide access to spirit, but then you have a hero who more badly needs Light of Valinor. Grr.

Because in this design Light of Valinor is available to Rossiel, she is instantly more versatile; the player doesn't have to choose whether she's a quester or a defender.

The Attack Power of a Grocer

Now I want to be clear: this is not a solo deck. I don't think there's a quest this deck could beat solo; its attack power is laughable. I strongly recommend pairing it with a deck with lots of ranged, or with the ability to draw engagements.

Opening Hand & Strategy Tips

In your opening hand, look for Out of the Wild or Light of Valinor. Secondarily, look for Leave No Trace, None Return, or, if it's appropriate to the quest, Scout Ahead.

Send cards to the victory display thoughtfully; think about the prevailing traits in the quest. I've found that it's better to get the right trait in the VD than it is to wait for that one most obnoxious card to put in the VD.

Leverage your scrying. Use Henamarth Riversong, Celduin Traveler, Ithilien Lookout, and Scout Ahead to determine if this is the turn to save a resource for that useful lore event (The Door is Closed!), or to play A Burning Brand instead.

In general, I've found card draw to be the best function of Keen as Lances, but what a cool card; usually by the third round this card is costing only 1, likely 0. Encourage your tablemates to run 3 copies of it too.

Sideboard:

Sméagol's risk is easily mitigated by Out of the Wild, scrying effects, and all the cancellation, and his card draw ability is quite nice in this low low threat deck. If you're not feeling him, though, I don't blame you. He can be annoying; consider Pippin or Mirlonde instead.

Again, I'm not claiming here that this is an A-tier deck. It's probably not even the best victory display deck, or the best Rossiel deck, but it's satisfying and it's what I've been looking for. Maybe someone else has been looking for it too.