I am playing a deck from blog Beorn's Path. It's great and will teach me heaps.

However, I was just presented with an opportunity that seemed to good to be true;

Playing Sneak Attack then Gandalf.

Surely this cannot ?

Can I play the sneak attack card for 1 resouce token in exchange for Gandalf, who can reduce my threat by 5 and kill a monster outright before retiring anyway?

And when he retires, does he go back to my hand (sneak attack) or to the discard pile?

If you can answer me this, I'll be seriously thankful.

JJ

yes, this is one of the most powerful combos in the game, and must loved by players

and yes, even better, he goes back to hand

Wow! That is fantastic, isn't it?

This deck is awesome too.

Thnak you, kind sage.

JJ

very welcome! and yes! it is !!

Remember that when Gandalf enters play, he only does ONE of his special actions. You cannot reduce threat and put 4 damage on an enemy. He can still Quest, Defend or Attack depending on the phase. Still a great combo!! Cheers!

so Gandalf only returns to ur hand if u use sneak attack?

Sneak Attack text make him returning to your hand if it is still in play.

There are others few effects to return an ally to your hand, Born Aloft might be the only one working on Gandalf.

Remember also that he only lasts for the PHASE with Sneak Attack. If you play him during the Quest Phase, he won't be around for Combat unless you have another Sneak Attack

If you use Sneak attack for Gandalf in the Combat phase, can he be used for both defense and attack before returning to your hand?

29 minutes ago, Randyman said:

If you use Sneak attack for Gandalf in the Combat phase, can he be used for both defense and attack before returning to your hand?

Not unless you have a means of readying Gandalf after he defends.

I'm sorry, I worded that incorrectly -- I want to use Sneak Attack and bring him in to "deal 4 damage to one enemy in play" and then have him hang around to defend during the Combat phase as well. Just wanted to make sure this was legal? Also, is it OK to assign his automatic 4 damage to an emeny in the staging area? Thanks

1 hour ago, Randyman said:

I'm sorry, I worded that incorrectly -- I want to use Sneak Attack and bring him in to "deal 4 damage to one enemy in play" and then have him hang around to defend during the Combat phase as well. Just wanted to make sure this was legal? Also, is it OK to assign his automatic 4 damage to an emeny in the staging area? Thanks

Only legal if you play Sneak Attack during the Combat phase. And yes, you can assign 4 damage to an enemy in the staging area, unless the enemy is immune to player card effects, or there is another card in play that prevents you from targeting or assigning enemies in the staging area.

EDIT: remember that if Gandalf dies while defending during a Sneak Attack, he will go to your discard pile and not back into your hand.