Fugitive (Adventures)

Here's a comprehensive strategy guide for Fugitive:

Fugitive Strategy Guide

Introduction: Fugitive is a special Action-Traveller card that can only be obtained by exchanging a Page (the first card in its upgrade line). It serves as a transitional card in the Page→Fugitive→Disciple→Teacher→Champion upgrade path. While temporary in nature, Fugitive offers solid deck manipulation and can significantly impact your deck's efficiency during its tenure.

Basic Characteristics: - Costs $4 (though not purchasable directly) - Draws 2 cards - Grants +1 Action - Forces a discard - Can be exchanged for Disciple when discarded from play

Core Strengths:

1. Card Flow Fugitive's primary strength is maintaining hand size while filtering. Drawing 2 cards and discarding 1 results in a net +1 card while potentially improving hand quality. This makes it an excellent card for:
2. Maintaining momentum in engine builds
3. Finding key components
4. Cycling through your deck faster

5. Selective deck thinning through strategic discards

6. Action Chain Support The +1 Action means Fugitive doesn't break your action chains, making it a natural fit in engine decks. This allows you to:

7. Play multiple terminal actions in the same turn
8. Continue your turn after playing key payload cards

9. Stack multiple Fugitives without action problems

10. Self-Upgrading Nature The ability to exchange Fugitive for Disciple represents a power upgrade at the right moment. This built-in improvement path means:

11. You're not stuck with Fugitives when they become less useful
12. You can time the upgrade to maximize effectiveness
13. The upgrade path provides strategic flexibility

Optimal Usage Strategies:

1. Early Game (Turns 1-5) During the early game, Fugitive serves primarily as a deck accelerator:
2. Use it to find your other early purchases
3. Discard Copper whenever possible
4. Try to time Page upgrades to get Fugitive as soon as possible

5. Consider getting multiple Pages if the kingdom supports it

6. Mid Game (Turns 6-12) Mid-game is where Fugitive truly shines:

7. Use it to find your key engine pieces
8. Strategically discard cards that don't fit your current turn's plan
9. Begin considering when to upgrade to Disciple

10. Chain multiple Fugitives together for maximum draw

11. Late Game (Turns 13+) In the late game, decisions about upgrading become crucial:

12. Upgrade to Disciple when you need more payload copying
13. Keep Fugitive if you still need the filtering
14. Consider your deck's terminal space when deciding
15. Time upgrades to avoid disrupting critical turns

Key Synergies:

1. Draw-to-X Cards Fugitive works exceptionally well with cards that draw to a specific hand size:
2. Library
3. Watchtower

4. Jack of all Trades The discard effect helps ensure you're not overdrawing with these cards.

5. Discard Benefits Cards that benefit from discarding pair naturally with Fugitive:

6. Tunnel (guaranteed Gold gain)
7. Market Square (can trigger reaction)

8. Warehouse (additional filtering)

9. Action-Heavy Engines Fugitive supports engine building with:

10. Village variants (for additional actions)
11. Cargo Ship (can save drawn treasures)

12. Duration cards (extending benefits)

13. Trash for Benefit Cards Fugitive helps find and enable cards like:

14. Apprentice
15. Salvager
16. Bishop By drawing into them and providing fodder for trashing.

Timing Considerations:

1. Page Upgrade Timing When to upgrade Page to Fugitive depends on several factors:
2. Current deck composition
3. Presence of other draw cards
4. Kingdom card synergies

5. Overall strategy speed

6. Fugitive to Disciple Transition Key considerations for timing the upgrade:

7. Deck's current drawing capability
8. Presence of valuable actions to copy
9. Terminal space availability

10. Game phase and victory card distribution

11. Multiple Fugitive Sequencing When playing multiple Fugitives:

12. Order them before other draw cards
13. Consider what you want to draw into
14. Plan discards to maximize efficiency
15. Account for shuffle timing

Counter Strategies:

1. Attacks That Hinder Fugitive Several attacks can reduce Fugitive's effectiveness:
2. Militia/Torturer (forced discards)
3. Ghost Ship (deck top manipulation)

4. Cursers (diluting deck quality)

5. Alternative Strategies Consider these alternatives when Fugitive is less optimal:

6. Direct deck thinning (Chapel, Steward)
7. Big money variants (less action-dependent)
8. Rush strategies (Provinces before engine setup)

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

1. Upgrade Timing Errors
2. Upgrading Page too early before establishing economy
3. Holding Fugitive too long when Disciple would be better

4. Upgrading all Fugitives simultaneously, losing filtering

5. Discard Choices

6. Discarding crucial engine pieces
7. Keeping Copper when better cards could be discarded

8. Not considering deck composition for future turns

9. Action Management

10. Over-investing in Fugitives without action support
11. Not having enough payload after drawing
12. Neglecting economy while focusing on draw

Advanced Techniques:

1. Mixed Stage Management When you have multiple traveller stages (Page/Fugitive/Disciple):
2. Plan upgrade sequences carefully
3. Maintain appropriate ratios for deck size

4. Consider keeping some cards at lower levels for flexibility

5. Deck Tracking Maximize Fugitive's effectiveness by:

6. Tracking deck composition
7. Counting shuffle timing

8. Planning discard choices based on deck contents

9. Economy Balance Maintain economic output by:

10. Ensuring sufficient treasure density
11. Balancing draw with payload
12. Timing upgrades to maintain purchasing power

Kingdom Considerations:

1. Strong Kingdoms for Fugitive Fugitive excels with:
2. Multiple village effects
3. Strong payload actions
4. Cards benefiting from consistent draw

5. Engines requiring precise timing

6. Weak Kingdoms for Fugitive Consider alternatives when facing:

7. Heavy attack presence
8. Rush-friendly kingdoms
9. Big money dominance

10. Limited action support

11. Support Cards to Look For Prioritize these complementary cards:

12. Villages (action support)
13. Payload actions (worth drawing to)
14. Deck inspection (planning draws)
15. Trashing (deck improvement)

Cost Considerations:

While Fugitive costs $4, its true cost is better measured in: - Time spent developing Page - Opportunity cost of other $4 cards - Action density requirements - Upgrade timing considerations

Conclusion:

Fugitive represents a powerful transitional card in the Page traveller line. Its combination of draw, action generation, and filtering makes it a valuable engine component, while its upgrade potential to Disciple provides strategic flexibility. Success with Fugitive requires careful attention to timing, discard choices, and overall deck composition.

The key to maximizing Fugitive's potential lies in: - Understanding when to acquire and upgrade it - Making optimal discard decisions - Supporting it with appropriate kingdom cards - Maintaining proper action/treasure balance - Timing transitions through the traveller line

When properly utilized, Fugitive can provide the deck manipulation and draw power needed to build effective engines while setting up for stronger late-game positions with Disciple and beyond. Its temporary nature shouldn't be seen as a weakness but rather as an opportunity to adapt your strategy as the game evolves.