Hello,
This is going to be a long post therefore the TLDR version:
For scenario 1: I would play noodle
For scenario 2: I would play "T" path
For any scenario, in order of preference: "T" path first (if multiple straight path in hand), else skip (discard or neutral play), then cross if no other choice left (e.g. cross with action cards only, other than map).
Now the full detail for the 2 proposed scenario (although each initial hand need to be analyzed separately, the examples you provided allow interesting global insights);
For scenario 1, I would not dig straight away: I prefer to know who is saboteur first, to neutralize them and THEN dig safely. And this hand allows to do so.
By not digging, saboteurs might not target me in priority because I don't seem to be willing/able to dig...
It would buy me some time to improve my hand hopefullt by having a break card or a "T" path or any other useful digging card.
In the meantime there are still 3 available paths from the ladder, and I'd rather have a saboteur use a dead end on the ladder instead on "T" path or cross to avoid a RF set up.
if I'm broken for whatever reason (likely a friendly fire), I will still be able to use my map or discard the dead end in round 2 to hope for a fix or a another break to show my role etc.
And finally the noodle helps to prevent a later curve back, while not blocking the path.
Hence I would play the "noodle" first since it is mostly neutral for scenario 1 and allow another digger to discard a dead end to the left. Best to keep map for later game or discard the dead end to skip a turn when needed. Simple path is obvisouly suboptimal because can be easily blocked with a dead end.
Yes I don't like to play cross early (unless I cannot do otherwise which is not the case here) and am very surrprised to read so many replies suggesting playing cross first round instead of "T" path for scenario 2. Let me elaborate,
Cross is somehow a "joker" path that can be used as any digging path (except for remote cases of constrained paths), especially in order to open the gold card in late game.
The following reasonning assume at least one RF card is statistically in saboteur hand.
From a saboteur perspective, an early cross is an ideal RF spot because:
- saboteurs still free to set up the RF spot quickly (they will still have opportunity to play dead ends later, or optimize their hand while being broken, and gathering intelligence on which digging cards they have discarded): note by RF spot here I mean block both above and below the cross
- it tells only 4 crosses are now remaining (and likely some in saboteur hand) and- likely one cross will be needed to fix the upcoming RF used by saboteur (respectively 2 if saboteur has 2 RF, and 3 if they have all three RF), such crosses that will not be available in late game anymore.
- also if a digger play a cross, to fix the RF hole, it's likely his hand is now less powerful to dig thus sab can target the other digger preferably
- if diggers struggle to fix the RF hole because some of them are broken, it allows saboteur to double break these digger (more optimal use of breaks) to maintain a status quo
- if digger cannot fix the RF hole, they will likely be forced to use their own RF card to unlock the situation, losing the ability use it to remove an eventual dead end in late game.
Conversely, a "T" path is a weaker RF spot because:
- it is harder to set up as it requires extra paths to fully constraint above and below
- it's still possible to dig from the ladder in case both end were blocked by sabs, but at this stage, the aim of diggers is to break sab tools to secure any further digging: the sooner sabs are identified the better. Also going around the "T" path is also harder for saboteur to "block" (only horizontal dead ends can be used, minus the one already used to block the initial path)
- Still 5 crosses available for later game
I consider the "keep 3 paths" philosophy misleading. It's not that you should play a cross vs. a T because it gives 3 paths options instead of 2, but rather make sure that there is ONE more way than free saboteurs in a row. For instance, if the current path has two free way, and the digger cannot break one of the two free sabs after him, it's safe to play a cross.
Now in early game you don't know yet who they are, I therefore think it's more efficient to use a "T" path to honeypot saboteur dead ends (instead of a cross) for the reasons above (T being a weaker RF spot for sabs, and still possible to work around) and save the cross for later use when they will become useful in a critical situation (fix a RF spot, reach gold from anywhere, create a 3-option before two free known sabs etc.)
Finally, consider that this reasonning can be used as a saboteur to trick diggers by playing a cross first move, indeed you allow yourself the possibility to create a RF spot. It's double edged though, I would recommend this strategy only if you have a lot of forward digging paths (that you will discard) and at least one RF in hand (so you are not setting the RF spot for nothing), plus it increases chances of digger to friendly fire.
For all of these reasons plus the fact "T" allows to dig further and show your role to prevent friendly fire, I would recommend playing "T" path pointing down (because there are 5 L and only 4 Γ making it likely easier to curve back to the right in case path is blocked).
Cheers,
Y.