Saruman's Staff, Wizard's Device (4R174)

Saruman, Black Traitor (4R173T)

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Still They Came (4C175)

	Set:		The Two Towers
	Kind:		Shadow
	Culture:		Isengard
	Twilight:		2
	Card Type:		Artifact • Staff
	Strength:		+2
	Game Text:		Plays on Saruman. He is fierce and damage +1. Maneuver: Make the first sentence of Saruman's game text not apply until the regroup phase.
	Lore:		"His hand clutched his heavy black staff like a claw."
	Rarity:		R
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General Strategy

Saruman, Black Traitor. Saruman, Keeper of Isengard. Saruman, Rabble Rouser. Saruman, Servant of the Eye. Saruman, Master of Foul Folk. Each copy of Saruman offers great support ability at the expense of a fighting minion--until the release of Saruman's Staff, Wizard's Device.

Saruman's Staff, Wizard's Device is fairly versatile. Saruman, Servant of the Eye, can self-assign with his own text and Saruman, Black Traitor, who can retrieve the artifact from your discard pile. The other versions of Saruman do not necessarily benefit as much from the staff: for example, Saruman, Rabble-Rouser can use it but could possibly take wounds while skirmishing. It is worth noting that as an artifact, Saruman's Staff, Wizard's Device is not retrievable via Saruman, Master of Foul Folk's game text, which only tutors possessions.

The post-Shadows expansion minion versions of Saruman could access the Assignment and Skirmish phases without this Staff (besides Saruman, Instigator of Insurrection), and Staff of Saruman, Fallen Istar's Stave was introduced as an alternative, although Saruman's Staff still offers a damage bonus and Fierce boon.

Saruman has the potential to decimate fellowships with his staff, but only if he can win skirmishes. Men Will Fall is the only skirmish event that will benefit him in The Two Towers, but Bill Ferny, Swarthy Sneering Fellow is a strength pump of sorts, or Saruman's Snows to prevent an opponent from beating him with pumps.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strong Versus...

• Archery and Wounding decks
• Hobbits
• Fellowships that don't have a large "tank" companion
• Natural synergy with Saruman, Black Traitor and Saruman, Servant of the Eye

Weak Versus...

• Artifact discard (Roll of Thunder, Something Draws Near, Catapult, Fall Back, Disarmed)
• Effects that could discard Saruman from hand (Such as Foul Creation or A New Light)
• Companions strong enough to defeat Saruman if the Staff were used (Eomer, Third Marshal of Riddermark, Gandalf, Mithrandir, Treebeard)