When I ran it, the sun sword was in the castle, and so the players just got all the other items sorted first, then early on in the castle they went for the sword. Most players assume that the castle is a one-way trip, although in my game one PC did run away for a session then come back.
As written, the designers didn't do a great job of re-working the Castle (it is virtually unchanged from the original in I6), with all the new materials that hugely expand the surrounding areas and quests etc. In I6, there wasn't a lot to do before you went into the castle, and it was pretty much assumed to be a "do or die" mission once you enter. The fact that the new book includes a couple of random draws could require you to enter then leave the castle, in order to get the mcguffin, makes it even more complicated, because you get no real guidance on how to make the castle (and Strahd) dynamic.
So you really have to just have a go at giving it some thought as you go along - every session from when the PC's first entered the castle, I spent some time thinking about what Strahd, Rahadin etc might be up to, what changes the PC's could expect in the castle, etc. But I had to do a lot of that with the whole adventure, especially for example in Vallaki. The adventure as written is full of great ideas (starting points, not all of which will ever get used), but you need to keep thinking about how to adapt it as you go along, to keep it interesting and relevant.
Also, I'd say definitely "stack the draw", if you want to use a random draw but also avoid some choices you'd not like to see. For example, just remove cards that need the PC's to enter the castle then leave again to get a key item; remove ones that use locations you're not keen on. No-one will know or care. Personally I didn't think about that before hand, but was pretty happy with what we got. However I did "force" one card draw on one player (using an old card trick), to ensure that Rictavio was the Ally, because that player had a good back-story I wanted to tie into van-Richten's, to be revealed half-way through the campaign. No-one knew at the time, or cared when I told them at the end. The important thing is that everyone has a good time playing it.
As written, the designers didn't do a great job of re-working the Castle (it is virtually unchanged from the original in I6), with all the new materials that hugely expand the surrounding areas and quests etc. In I6, there wasn't a lot to do before you went into the castle, and it was pretty much assumed to be a "do or die" mission once you enter. The fact that the new book includes a couple of random draws could require you to enter then leave the castle, in order to get the mcguffin, makes it even more complicated, because you get no real guidance on how to make the castle (and Strahd) dynamic.
So you really have to just have a go at giving it some thought as you go along - every session from when the PC's first entered the castle, I spent some time thinking about what Strahd, Rahadin etc might be up to, what changes the PC's could expect in the castle, etc. But I had to do a lot of that with the whole adventure, especially for example in Vallaki. The adventure as written is full of great ideas (starting points, not all of which will ever get used), but you need to keep thinking about how to adapt it as you go along, to keep it interesting and relevant.
Also, I'd say definitely "stack the draw", if you want to use a random draw but also avoid some choices you'd not like to see. For example, just remove cards that need the PC's to enter the castle then leave again to get a key item; remove ones that use locations you're not keen on. No-one will know or care. Personally I didn't think about that before hand, but was pretty happy with what we got. However I did "force" one card draw on one player (using an old card trick), to ensure that Rictavio was the Ally, because that player had a good back-story I wanted to tie into van-Richten's, to be revealed half-way through the campaign. No-one knew at the time, or cared when I told them at the end. The important thing is that everyone has a good time playing it.
