Saga Deck 1.1: Shortcut to Mushrooms 1.0

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I used this deck for the first quest of my Saga Campaign. I am going to try and keep it as thematic as possible, stemming from the 'What If?' of 'What if Gandalf didn't escape from Orthanc in The Fellowship of the Ring?' Please note, I don't own all the cards, so am not able to make the most powerful thematic deck theoretically possible, but constrained by what I have, here is my best attempt.

_-When Gwaihir approached Isengard, bearing tidings for Gandalf and Saruman, he was fired upon by several orc archers. Warded off by the volume of arrows being loosed at him, he circled the valley out of bow-shot and what the Great Eagle saw dismayed him. Upon returning to Radagast and alerting him of what seemed as a captured Isengard, and hence an ensnared Saruman and Gandalf, Radagast alerted Cirdan, Elrond and Galadriel as the surviving members of the White Council. Hearing Gwaihir's report of the industry in Isengard, with the valley now filled with orcs and wolves, as well as Saruman's message to Radagast of the Nazgul having issued from their strongholds of Minas Morgul and Dol Goldur, the Council conclude that the Nine had captured Isengard and have either detained or slain the White and Grey Wizards. Galadriel consulted her mirror, which showed her a great host marching from Isengard, destroying all in its path.

With no more doubt in their minds, the Council send scouts and messengers into the Shire, alerting every faithful friend of the danger now posed to Bilbo's nephew. For Elrond knew of Bilbo's 'magic ring', and that Frodo now possessed it, and when he learned of the Nazgul's roving in the West coupled with Gandalf's disappearance, he deduced only one thing would prompt The Dark Lord to move so boldly and openly: The One Ring. And so agents issued forth from Imladris, Lothlorien and Mithlond, Bilbo, filled with concern and regret at having unwittingly left Frodo in such great peril, sneaked away from Rivendell ahead of Elrond's scouts to return to Bag End and help Frodo however he could. But he was not so foolish as to think he could go alone. Enlisting the help of his former companions Bofur and Dori, and Gloin's son Gimli, he set off for the Shire.

Bilbo arrived in Bag End to find Frodo in the last stages of moving to Crickhollow, still awaiting Gandalf's promised return. Merry and Fredegar had gone on ahead to Frodo's new house, and Pippin and Sam were helping tidy away the last odds and ends. Joy at seeing Bilbo quickly turned to despair at hearing news of Gandalf, and so resolving to waste no further time, Frodo sets off from Bag End, not fully comprehending the terrors of the road ahead.-_

The Deck: This deck is primarily designed to handle the questing side of the deck. Cards like Lindon Navigator and Quickbeam are excellent questers, with the ability to use the Navigator for Hide tests as well, while The Evening Star helps blast through locations building up in the staging area. Naith Guide and Rosie Cotton are the enablers for the deck, targeting the heroes who need their boosts the most at that time. It has been said before, but a Fast Hitch on Rosie Cotton works superbly in the quest, allowing her to boost for hide tests or for taking down the Black Riders.

Speaking of which, this deck supplements its partner in handling them. Bill the Pony provides a universal hit-point boost, while Friend of Friends can boost Merry up to a staggering 5 before attachments, assuming the deck is the first player's. Dúnedain Warning and Hobbit Cloak should keep defenders like Tom Cotton alive and kicking. Fast Hitch lets hobbits attack after hiding or questing and None Return can make sure that once defeated the Black Riders won't be coming back. If all three are played on Black Riders, there will only be two left in the whole encounter deck, making failed Hide tests much less of a death sentence.

The economy of this deck should be relatively easy to set up. With very few cards costing more than 2, once the Song of Kings and Song of Wisdom are on the heroes then cards should be played every turn. Elf-stone can help with the more expensive allies, and Ranger Provisions also speeds up the process, or can be used to help its partner deck if needed. Bilbo Baggins's native ability will help both decks with their card draw, negating Gandalf's Delay completely after two turns, and Frodo's Intuition is worth its weight in this deck.

Thematically, this deck represents various allies and messengers that have descended upon the Shire from as far away as Lothlorien, all trying to help Frodo reach Rivendell if at all possible. There are some hobbits who Frodo already knew and could depend on, but most of these people are complete strangers to him and to Bilbo, and yet are willing to sacrifice their lives to see the Ring escape the attention of the Ringwraiths.

The play-through using this deck can be found here: https://theroadlotr.wordpress.com/the-saga/