The Saga is the single-player half of the game: four chapters, six missions each, against opponents written for the mission. The old pacts between the ringforts are broken, the barrows are restless, the giants have closed the mountain road, and Asgard's envoys want proof that people still keep their word. You carry the banner.
WIPChapter I on the Saga map. Each stone is a mission; the gate opens when the chapter is won.
What it is
One road. The four chapters are one painted road, from the valley of the ringforts to the gate of the gods. You drag it along with a finger; a gate stands between each realm and the next.
Nobody wins on levels. Every card, yours and theirs, plays at a fixed tournament level. If your deck is thin, the mission lends you one.
The first win pays. Each mission pays Silver and copies once, and a chapter pays again when its last mission falls. After that you can replay any mission for the ordinary battle rewards.
No energy, no purchases. The Saga runs on the same daily budget as everything else.
WIPThe brief before a mission says who you face and what the first win pays.
The opponent
Each mission starts with a brief: one or two sentences about what is coming and what to do about it. In the first missions the opponent follows a script for the opening, so the thing the brief warns you about happens on cue, and then the game's regular bot takes over and plays to win with the mission's deck. From there on, every mission is the bot from the first second, each with a deck built around one way of playing: a rush of cheap troops, a siege, a hand full of spells, a slow wall of giants, and at the end of each chapter a boss who mixes them.
Some missions play out the same way every time, so you can learn them; the brief says which. The others change with every attempt.
The four chapters
The mission names and briefs below are the game's own.
Chapter I
Chapter I: Raise the Banner
The old pacts are broken. Gather a war band and win the respect of the neighbouring ringfort.
A Banner Raised. A lone raider walks the middle road, then they wait. Stop him in his own lane and push while it is quiet.
The Open Road. They come down two roads at once, top and bottom. Answer both lanes, not just the first.
Restless Footsteps. Something stirs among the barrows. Many small foes at once call for blows that land on many.
Behind the Shields. Shields in front, archers behind. Break the line where it is thin, not where it is strong.
The Breaking Line. A strong foe leads cheap troops. Spend your Runic Power where it hurts most.
The Rival's Standard. A rival banner-bearer has gathered the best host in the valley. Win here, and the ringfort is yours.
Chapter II
Chapter II: Beneath the Barrows
Oaths sworn over the dead have been broken, and the barrows do not sleep. Ride from the jarl's steading along the fjord to the old mounds, and find out who woke them.
The Silent Mounds. The jarl's dead come cheap and many, down every lane at once. Spread your guard: one wall will not hold three roads.
What Rises Again. Their guards rise again after the first blow, and rams follow them to your gate. Finish what you start, and keep the gate.
Grave Mist. A mist rolls in off the fjord, and it burns. Do not bunch your host where one spell can reach them all.
The Keeper's Lantern. Archers and a seer stand behind the keeper's shields. Choose what you strike: the ones at the back win this fight.
Three Unquiet Roads. The downs stir on every road. Pressure comes everywhere at once: answer where it hurts, and push where it is quiet.
Warden of the Barrow. The Barrow Warden wakes with giants at his side. Weather the heavy blows, then break his mound, and the dead will sleep again.
Chapter III
Chapter III: The Giant's Road
Beyond the barrows the old road climbs into the mountains, and the giants have closed it with stone and ice. Open the pass, and the lands on either side can keep their oaths again.
Stones from the Heights. Boulders fly from the heights long before the giants' men reach you. Meet the throwers early, or they will batter your gate from afar.
Rimebound. Frost lies on the pass, and it bites deeper the longer you stand in it. Keep your host moving, and do not let one spell freeze it all.
A Giant's Patience. A giant holds the road while archers shoot from behind him. Do not spend everything on the giant: strike the ones he shields.
Teeth in the Dark. Wolves hunt the pass by night, and something far larger runs among them. Meet the pack with a pack of your own, and keep something back for the great wolf.
The Other Gate. While you guard one gate, the giants' allies pour down the other roads. Answer where it hurts, and strike back where they are thin.
The Stone Host. The giants march down the road themselves, stone on stone. Weather the heavy blows, break the rams before they reach your gate, and the road is open.
Chapter IV
Chapter IV: The Storm Oath
Asgard's envoys wait at the storm-bound gate of the gods. Prove to them that your people keep their word.
The Chosen. The envoys ride ashore with the chosen dead at their side, fast and eager. Meet each rider where it lands, and never let two lanes run at once.
The Seer's Trial. A seer watches you from behind a giant, and her wards take the edge off every blow. Choose the targets her weakening cannot save.
A Gift in Time. The envoys' healers mend whatever you wound and shield the rams they send. Strike hard and all at once, not a little everywhere.
The Binding. The envoys test you with a fetter: while your defenders stand bound, their rams walk in. Keep a second answer for the lane that is held.
Before the Thunder. The envoys wait and gather their strength, and then the gods themselves take the field. Press while they are saving, and keep your best answer for the god who comes.
Hammer of Asgard. Thor comes down to see for himself, with plain warriors around him. Hold the lanes he does not walk, meet the thunder with many small blades, and the oath is sworn.
WIPA mission in play. The battle itself is the same as everywhere else.
What is built, and what is not
All four chapters are in the game and can be played through. Two of the opponents' scripted openings are written; the rest of the missions use the bot with its mission deck from the start. A fifth chapter, more sagas and a harder pass through the same road are ideas for after launch, not promises.
