Lost Chapters
Benedict Arnold, Turncoat: Garnet Character
Benedict Arnold was one of the Continental Army's boldest generals who became America's most famous traitor. In 1780, while commanding the fort at West Point, he plotted with British Major John Andre to surrender it, and when Andre was captured, Arnold fled to the British, who made him a brigadier general.
- Cost
- 7 crystals
- Type
- Character · Rebel
- Power / Health
- 5 / 5
- Color
- Garnet (Rebels, Pirates & War)
- Rarity
- Legendary (Legacy)
- Set
- Liberty & Lightning (Set 1)
On play: take control of an enemy character with cost 4 or less.
The real history
Benedict Arnold was born in Norwich, Connecticut, in 1741 and became a successful merchant in New Haven. When the Revolution began in 1775, he shared command with Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys in the capture of Fort Ticonderoga.
That fall he took part in the American invasion of Canada. In the desperate, failed attack on Quebec he was wounded in the leg, and his courage won him promotion to brigadier general. In 1776 he commanded a small American fleet on Lake Champlain and fought the British near Valcour Island.
At Saratoga in 1777, after bitter quarrels with General Horatio Gates, Arnold rode onto the field on October 7 and helped lead the attack that captured the Breymann Redoubt. He was badly wounded in the same leg. That fight helped force the British army to surrender.
Arnold believed Congress had passed him over and never valued his sacrifices. While commanding in Philadelphia he lived lavishly, fell deep into debt and married Peggy Shippen, who had Loyalist sympathies and helped put him in touch with Major John Andre, a British intelligence officer. Arnold won command of West Point and secretly offered to hand the fort to the British for money. In September 1780 Andre was captured carrying plans of the fort hidden in his boot. Andre was executed as a spy, but Arnold escaped on the British ship Vulture.
The British made him a brigadier general, and he led raids in Virginia, including the capture of Richmond. He died in England in June 1801, and in the United States his name became another word for traitor.
Sources
- Benedict Arnold, National Park Service
- Station L, Saratoga National Historical Park, National Park Service
- Benedict Arnold, American Battlefield Trust
In the game's story
In the game's invented story, Benedict Arnold is pulled into Marginalia from 1779, before his betrayal, though he admits he is already thinking about it. Washington will not speak to him, Hamilton will not share a room with him, and Captain Isguard watches him constantly. Yet he keeps the Queen's Writ, works in Washington's encampment unasked and fights hard in the Echo battles, and the Travelers suspect he is trying to learn whether he must become the man history remembers.
How the card plays
Benedict Arnold, Turncoat costs 7 crystals and is a 5/5 Garnet Rebel. He is a Legendary, so he counts as a Legacy character, and he is played in Blackbeard decks. When he enters play, take control of an enemy character that costs 4 or less. Your rival loses a character and you gain one with a single card.
Check the rival's field before you play him and take the best cheap threat, such as a Guard blocker or a key support character. Keep a spot open, since your field holds 5 characters. Siege of Yorktown covers the rest of the job by destroying up to 2 enemy characters that cost 4 or less. Betsy Ross, American Dream gives your other characters +1/+0, the stolen one included, and The Flag gives your whole team +1/+1.
- Playable in decks led by Edward Teach "Blackbeard", and by any Traveler Leader whose colors include Garnet.
- In the Blackbeard starter deck (1 copy). Deck code:
LC2-Aj4BPwFAAUEBQgFDAUQCRQFGAkcBSAFJAkoBSwFMAU0BTgFPAlACUQFSAVMCVAFVAVYBVwFYAVkBWgFbAVwBXQJeAW9C - A deck holds up to 3 copies of this card.
Questions about Benedict Arnold
Why did Benedict Arnold betray America?
Historians still debate it. He resented being passed over for promotion, felt his wounds and service went unappreciated and was deep in debt, and the British offered him money and a general's rank.
What happened to John Andre?
Andre, the British officer who handled Arnold's plot, was captured in September 1780 with plans of West Point hidden in his boot. He was executed as a spy, while Arnold escaped to the British.
Card art
The standard version of Benedict Arnold, Turncoat. The Full Art above is a rare version that can appear in packs.
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