Legends:Cloudy Dregs Inn

Check the inn to see if anyone's seen anything suspicious. Episode: Enter the Shadows Opponent Name: Surly Barkeep Opponent Class: Sorcerer Lanes: Liquid Courage/Shadow Starting Health: 30 Special Conditions: Both you and your opponent start with Broken Bottles in play. Liquid Courage Lane: When a creature takes damage here, give it +2/+0. Previous Quest: Uther's Story Concurrent Quest: Murder Scene or Dreughside or Arenthil Wethrin's House Next Quest: Kastus Thorn's House Reward: 3x Knife to the Throat

Enter the Shadows: Cloudy Dregs Inn

The Cloudy Dregs Inn is a location in the Wayrest map of The Fall of the Dark Brotherhood campaign. It is one of the first two locations during the Enter the Shadows episode, along with the Murder Scene. Uther sends you to the inn to see if anyone's seen anything suspicious. However, the barman doesn't take kindly to you and drags you into a bar fight.

Dialogue

Pre-match

Barman: You ask too many questions. I think it's time we taught you what we do to nosy people.

During the match

A barfight has broken out. Watch out for broken bottles!

After the match

Barman: All right, you win. There's a man who says 'Hail Sithis' when he's in his cups. He scared me more than you do - but not anymore. He lives on the East side of town.

Opponent's Decklist

Normal

Quantity		Name	Type (Subtype)					Ability
1x		Daggers in the Dark	Action	0	–	–	1 Common	Equip a Steel Dagger to a random friendly creature in each lane.
2x		Maple Shield	Item	0	–	–	1 Common	+0/+3
3x		Firebolt	Action	1	–	–	1 Common	Deal 2 damage to a creature.
3x		Iliac Sorcerer	Creature (Breton)	1	1	1	3 Epic	Ward When Iliac Sorcerer's Ward is broken, double his power.
1x		Crystal Tower Crafter	Creature (High Elf)	2	1	1	1 Common	After you play an action, Crystal Tower Crafter gains +1/+1.
1x		Evermore Steward	Creature (Breton)	2	1	1	2 Rare	Guard, Ward
2x		Ice Spike	Action	2	–	–	1 Common	Deal 2 damage to your opponent. Draw a card.
3x		Northpoint Herald	Creature (Breton)	2	0	4	1 Common	Guard
3x		Oldgate Warden	Creature (Breton)	2	0	5	1 Common	Guard, Regenerate
1x		Argonian Veteran	Creature (Argonian)	3	3	3	1 Common
1x		Camlorn Adventurer	Creature (Breton)	3	2	4	1 Common	Guard
2x		Crushing Blow	Action	3	–	–	1 Common	Deal 3 damage.
3x		Hackwing Feather	Item	3	–	–	3 Epic	Regenerate +1/+3
1x		Keeper of Whispers	Creature (Redguard)	3	3	4	3 Epic	Other friendly creatures are immune to Silence.
1x		Fire Storm	Action	4	–	–	2 Rare	Prophecy Deal 2 damage to all creatures in a lane.
1x		Northpoint Captain	Creature (Breton)	4	4	2	2 Rare	Summon: Summon a 0/4 Northpoint Herald with Guard.
1x		Winter's Grasp	Action	5	–	–	3 Epic	Shackle all enemy creatures.
3x		Night Patrol	Creature (Breton)	6	5	5	3 Epic	Breakthrough

Master

Quantity		Name	Type (Subtype)					Ability
3x		Firebolt	Action	1	–	–	1 Common	Deal 2 damage to a creature.
3x		Oldgate Warden	Creature (Breton)	2	0	5	1 Common	Guard, Regenerate
3x		Wardcrafter	Creature (Breton)	2	2	1	2 Rare	Summon: Give a creature a Ward.
2x		Wind Keep Spellsword	Creature (Breton)	2	2	2	1 Common	Ward
3x		Daggerfall Mage	Creature (Breton)	3	2	2	4 Legendary	Ward When Daggerfall Mage's Ward is broken, put a Tome of Alteration into your hand.
1x		Hackwing Feather	Item	3	–	–	3 Epic	Regenerate +1/+3
1x		Haunting Spirit	Creature (Spirit)	3	3	3	2 Rare	Last Gasp: Give a random friendly creature +3/+3.
1x		Angry Grahl	Creature (Troll)	4	2	4	3 Epic	Regenerate Summon: +2/+2 if your opponent has more cards in hand.
2x		Breton Conjurer	Creature (Breton)	4	1	1	3 Epic	Ward When Breton Conjurer's Ward is broken, summon a 5/5 Frost Atronach with Guard.
1x		Fire Storm	Action	4	–	–	2 Rare	Prophecy Deal 2 damage to all creatures in a lane.
2x		Lightning Bolt	Action	4	–	–	1 Common	Prophecy Deal 4 damage.
2x		Lion Guard Strategist	Creature (Breton)	4	2	3	3 Epic	When you summon another creature in this lane, give it a Ward.
3x		Shornhelm Champion	Creature (Breton)	5	3	3	3 Epic	Breakthrough, Ward When Shornhelm Champion's Ward is broken, he gains +3/+3.
1x		Winter's Grasp	Action	5	–	–	3 Epic	Shackle all enemy creatures.
2x		Night Predator	Creature (Werewolf)	6	5	6	3 Epic	Breakthrough, Regenerate

Strategy and Example Deck

Strategy

An aggro style is difficult to pull off due to the opponent's guards in the early turns, but a control style is likely to suffer too much in the early game. As such, a midrange style is advisable for Cloudy Dregs Inn.

Notes

• Because of the Broken Bottles supports, it is unreasonable to bank on creatures with low health surviving.
• Due to the Liquid Courage Lane in conjunction with the scenario, it is a far better strategy to rely on low-power and high-health creatures, much like the A.I. itself does.
• Due to the high potential of the opponent's creatures to grow out of control; it is advisable to pack either on-demand Silence, Lethal creatures, or Hard Removal.
• If you find that the Broken Bottles support provides more advantage to your opponent rather than you, it may be advisable to destroy it with cards such as Vicious Dreugh. Do note that the example deck below is built to work with the broken bottles support.

Deck Exemplar

UESP has included a deck exemplar for this battle, effective in both normal and Master modes. The cards in the example deck have been chosen due to affordability and utility in the scenario. Its initial gameplan is to survive the opponent's early aggression without allowing the opponent to gain board control. Its prophecy count includes enough cards that prophecies should be expected; however it should not be counted upon. Silence effects should be held for times at which they're direly needed; they should not be the first response. Once the opponent is forced from the Liquid Courage Lane, it will move to the Shadow Lane. Without becoming too enamored of the Liquid Courage Lane, one should be ready to pivot to defending the Shadow Lane. At this stage in the game, the opponent's larger threats will be found there; be prepared to defend against this.

UESP's Deck

Quantity		Name	Type (Subtype)					Ability	Information
3		Suppress	Action	0	–	–	2 Rare	Silence a creature.	This has utility all through the game; however it is advisable only to use it when it makes it possible to immediately remove a creature or when the opponent's creatures have become too powerful.
3		Deadly Draugr	Creature (Skeleton)	1	1	1	1 Common	Lethal	This has little to no utility in the early game, but in the middling and later stages, this card can remove some of the opponent's larger creatures. Note that one should be careful in using it early.
3		Fharun Defender	Creature (Orc)	2	1	4	1 Common	Prophecy, Guard	This card can serve to stave off an assault in the middling stages of the game, and can be expected to proc as a prophecy occasionally. Its health means it is not vulnerable to death from broken bottles.
3		Oldgate Warden	Creature (Breton)	2	0	5	1 Common	Guard, Regenerate	A staple in this battle; its effectiveness as demonstrated by the Surly Barkeep should be all the justification necessary.
3		Raging Horker	Creature (Beast)	2	1	3	2 Rare	When Raging Horker takes damage, it gains +1/+1.	This card's effectiveness lies in the early game; where it effectively negates the effect of broken bottles and can grow to be a threat against the opponent.
3		Sorcerer's Negation	Action	2	–	–	2 Rare	Silence a creature, then deal 2 damage to it.	A powerful card that can serve as removal when called for; especially on targets such as Daggerfall Mage, Breton Conjurer, and Night Predator.
3		Wind Keep Spellsword	Creature (Breton)	2	2	2	1 Common	Ward	A staple in midrange decks, Wind Keep Spellsword holds the board for the first few turns.
3		Ancestral Dead	Creature (Skeleton)	3	2	4	1 Common	Slay: Summon a Risen Dead.	This card's stats make it effective in the broken bottles lane, and its slay ability can slow down your opponent while diluting Broken Bottles's targets.
3		Bruma Armorer	Creature (Imperial)	3	2	2	2 Rare	When you summon another creature, give it +0/+2.	The card makes your creatures less vulnerable to broken bottles and baits out your opponent's removal.
3		East Empire Crafter	Creature (Imperial)	3	2	4	1 Common	When you summon another creature with 5 health or more, give it +1/+1 and Guard.	The card has a high synergy with the high-health cards in the deck as well as being able to survive against broken bottles.
3		Mentor of the Watch	Creature (Imperial)	3	2	2	1 Common	Prophecy, Guard Summon: Give a creature in your hand Guard.	As a prophecy with its ability, the only role of this card is to help out in a tight spot, either as a prophecy or to play a guard in a clutch moment. Avoid giving guard to creatures you would rather exercise discretion with though, such as Deadly Draugr, East Empire Crafter, Bruma Armorer, and Little Girl.
3		Cursed Spectre	Creature (Spirit)	4	2	2	1 Common	Prophecy Summon: Silence another creature.	An on-demand silence effect that can be used to wipe out the opponent's creatures' buffs. Additionally, Cursed Spectre is a prophecy.
3		Hatchery Meddler	Creature (Dark Elf)	4	5	3	2 Rare	Summon: Swap a creature's power and health.	Hatchery Meddler can lend additional survivability to your creatures, because in the Liquid Courage Lane, power can quickly outweigh health. This can make creatures incredibly difficult to remove in that scenario, as the low power caused by the swap can quickly be countered by Liquid Courage. This card can also serve as removal for low-power cards like Oldgate Warden or to even out trades with higher-health and lower-power creatures.
3		Lightning Bolt	Action	4	–	–	1 Common	Prophecy Deal 4 damage.	A prophecy card that can wipe out the opponent's higher-health creatures or simply reduce face health.
3		Mystic Dragon	Creature (Dragon)	4	4	4	1 Common	Prophecy	Back-breaking as a prophecy, and with a sufficient statline that allows it to serve defensively or offensively in the Liquid Courage lane.
3		Conjuration Scholar	Creature (Redguard)	6	1	2	1 Common	Summon: Summon a 5/5 Frost Atronach with Guard.	Increasing the count of bodies on the board, it dilutes possibilities with Broken Bottles. The guard it summons is rather powerful, and is larger than the base form of all of the opponent's creatures.
1		Nahagliiv	Creature (Dragon)	7	7	7	4 Legendary	Guard Your opponent can't target Nahagliiv with actions.	Non-essential, though its high health allows it to block nearly all of the opponent's creatures, and usually multiple. It additionally has synergy with East Empire Crafter. As one of the two Legendaries, this card could most easily be swapped out.
1		Ancano	Creature (High Elf)	8	5	5	4 Legendary	Breakthrough Summon: Deal 5 damage. Your actions have Breakthrough.	Ancano is a powerful tool, with 5 damage being more than most creatures' health as well as being a good amount to push to face. Ancano's ongoing ability also allows cards like Lightning Bolt and Sorceror's Negation to also push face even when used against creatures. Ancano's health is also sufficient to proc off East Empire Crafter. This Legendary is very powerful and is very easy to obtain, with a Skyrim theme deck containing him.

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