Haldan is the OG Burglar 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

I have been trying to figure out how to use The Burglar's Turn in a deck since it came out. I have cobbled a few ideas together, but nothing struck my fancy.

It was when I was recording an episode (yet to be released!) of Card Talk that I started to obsess about a deck using Aragorn and Arwen Undómiel and then taking advantage of Haldan as my third hero. So far, I'm loving the play of this deck.

The main idea is to take advantage of The Burglar's Turn by having multiple cards that do, in essence, the same thing. For example, if you draw Mithril Shirt or Raven-winged Helm, you are doing the same thing, for the same cost. This then reduces the "one of" feel of you loot deck.

Also, this deck takes advantage of location manipulation, using cards like Strider's Path, Distant Stars, Ghân-buri-Ghân, and others. This is a safety for being able to cycle through the loot deck even more reliably to get the attachments you want or need. Locations that are explored from the staging area don't trigger the forced effect on The Burglar's Turn, so those attachments get discarded. So you can trade active locations with Strider's Path, discard that location in the staging area with Heirs of Earendil or Distant Stars, then use Reforged to pull that attachment out of the discard pile. Or, if it's an attachment you don't care about, don't use Reforged. The drawback of Distant Stars is that it doesn't trigger the travel part of The Burglar's Turn, so you don't get an attachment, buuuuuut, you can use Strider's Path to switch the locations around and keep going. Truth be told, in playtesting I only did this sort of thing a few times, but it does feel like "achievement unlocked" when you Reforged one of those attachments and get it into play using all these shenanigans.

There are a few old tropes in this deck that help it run smoothly, like Elven-light for Arwen Undómiel and Elrond's Counsel. There are some things to note when piloting this deck.

Haldan should be the target of Orcrist and Durin's Axe if they both come out. While he will be questing without exhausting for much of the game, but his 3 is just too valuable for eliminating enemies. Consider his 2 a bonus when questing, as opposed to where you want to hang your hat.

Arwen Undómiel, with her 3 will be your primary quester. It's great to get the Necklace of Girion. The extra resource production that it gives her is great. She can get the Star Brooch to help her quest. Her 2 can always be taken advantage of by arming her with Mithril Shirt and in some cases, putting a Citadel Plate on her is warranted.

Aragorn is an interesting include here, but by using him, there is more space in the deck for location manipulation cards instead of threat reduction cards. As I have played this deck, I also seem to give him Celebrían's Stone, Sword that was Broken, The Arkenstone, and Raven-winged Helm can only go on him. The Citadel Plate makes him a great defender. And if you are able to get Magic Ring on him, Aragorn is likely to be the best target. The Mithril Shirt also works nicely on him, and if you are lucky enough to get the Ring of Barahir out early, it may make more sense to load him up with all the artifacts and give the Citadel Plate to Arwen Undómiel.

As I put this deck together, I found that the most surprising and special part of the deck is Gandalf. The deck is poor on action advantage and the fact that he never exhausts to commit to the quest AND coupled with Aragorn's refresh action, as soon as he comes out, he never has to leave play. In essence, you are going to have 6 for the quest, and 7 every round between Haldan and Gandalf. Then, if Glamdring comes off the loot deck, this makes Gandalf a total powerhouse.

The last attachment that needs a little discussion is Ancestral Armor. There are only two targets for this, and both can be great. If you put it on Arwen Undómiel, she becomes a formidable defender with 4 and 5. It can also go on Glorfindel to give him a little help in the defense category if, for some reason your stuck and can't chump with an Elven Jeweler or a Sailor of Lune.

As I have sat down and reflected on this deck, I think that it was made stronger by The Burglar's Turn, instead of trying to eliminate and incorporating the attachments in the deck. The breadth and variety of attachments are what make this deck work. It also ramps up enough throughout the game so that by the end of the game you have characters that are powerful enough to take on boss enemies or enough to quest through the hardest locations.

As I keep playing, there are a few replacements or changes I can see making to this deck. Adding a third Gandalf would be good. Exchanging Distant Stars or Heirs of Earendil with 3x Henamarth Riversong may be good, too. I'll keep you posted.