A Path Less Travelled: Journey to the Cross-Roads

I have decided to start a variant on the Saga Campaign. Personally, I felt the strict hero requirements for the majority of the official saga campaign to be more frustrating than fun. My main goal is to balance theme with overall fun for playing each of the quests in the saga all while using as many new cards and archetypes as possible.

This quest was just calling for a traps/direct damage deck. The way you're guaranteed an enemy in staging out of the crossroads mechanic each round makes it perfect for traps (each round Damrod fires for card draw) and direct damage (each round Bilbo quests for 2-3+ and does a damage to the trapped enemy). I initially started with a Bilbo/Argalad/Thalin deck but Argalad and Thalin are just too one dimensional for this tough of a quest.

As far as theme goes the harad/scouts/rangers are all fitting. Imagine Sam Gamgee ran off looking for Gollum. As for Bilbo and Azain well, who needs theme anyways.

The crossroads enemies were dealt with a number of ways. The oliphaunt was taken care of with the great hunt OR using straight shot and a timely marksman or lorien or Haldir with intimidation. Great hunt could be recycled with scroll of isildur as needed. Haradrim soldier could be taken out with the one damage from Bilbo for questing and a forest patrol. The soldier or the archer could also be sniped with Haldir if I was able to avoid the nasty engagement treacheries that round.

The other enemies that were revealed in staging would be engaged by the tactics deck (assuming direct damage and Haldir sniping wasn't adequate). Once engaged there were a number of options to take them out. Goblin cleaver and spearmen with spear (4 damage total). Oliphaunt is revealed so an ambush trap is free to hit the regular encounter deck enemy and then Azain attacks immediately and kills with 2 damage from axe and bow and 4 attack. Then pay a resource to do two damage to another enemy in play. MOTK Azain is really powerful in these quests with all the enemies sharing a trait.

Another fun card is spring the trap for getting Anborn in play to guarantee traps every round.

Two toughest issues with this quest were the treacheries and willpower/location lock. Treacheries were avoided with Firyal and Frodo's ability as well as interrogation. This card is really valuable. You can basically look at the top 2-3 cards for 1 resource and then pick which one you discard! Location lock was avoided with another underrated attachment woodmans path (often used on the foothills of ephel duath location with it's 6 quest points and not too harsh travel effect). Mirkwood explorer was used to pop the southron road out of staging and avoid it's nasty travel effect. Ghan buri ghan also helped a lot (he gets 9 WP when the crossroads is active!).

These decks work really well together providing tons of ways to take out enemies. Definitely mulligan for a straight shot and/or the great hunt. The decks are not equipped to engage the oliphaunts and go three rounds with them. Rare case I couldn't great hunt or straight shot them I would let them go to the black gate or just call it a loss (the goal was to have ZERO enemies go to the black gate).

This deck could win regularly, if you allowed enemies to go to the black gate. I was able to win a few times with ZERO enemies in the black gate!