Sleuth Enforcer [Co-op & Solo] - "Blood" Update

Card draw simulator

Odds: 0% – 0% – 0% more
Derived from
Roland Banks - Sleuth Enforcer - Essex County Express update 83 56 7 8.0
Inspiration for
Lonly Roland 0 0 0 1.0
Sleuth Enforcer [Co-op & Solo] - "Doom" Update 45 31 2 2.0

DadouXIII · 11147

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Sleuth Enforcer

"Blood" Update - [Co-op & Solo]

Level 0 co-operative Guardian / Seeker deck for 2 investigators that relies on discovering clues by defeating enemies rather than by investigating locations, which means both protecting the other investigator while also contributing to advance the Act deck.

Ideal co-op partners: Survivors and Mystics Agnes, Jim, Wendy and Pete.

Current version 10.0 - Check out the Version History to see the incremental changes.

Check out the most recent 15.0 version

Requires 2x Core Sets, The Dunwich Legacy Deluxe Expansion, The Miskatonic Museum Mythos Pack, the Essex County Express Mythos Pack and the Blood on the Altar Mythos Pack.

Missing a pack or two? Check out the Missing Expansions section for card replacements.

Going in solo? Check out the Solo Experience section for tips. imgur

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Table of Contents

  1. Investigator Breakdown
  2. Deck Composition
  3. Weakness Mitigation
  4. Mulligan Guide
  5. Playstyle Guide
  6. Upgrade Guide
  7. Scenario Tips
  8. Solo Experience
  9. Card Alternatives
  10. Card Exclusions
  11. Missing Expansions
  12. Version History

Investigator Breakdown

Roland Banks Guardian - Agency, Detective

  • 3 Willpower (), 3 Intellect (), 4 Combat (), 2 Agility ()
  • 9 Health, 5 Sanity
  • Signature ability After you defeat an enemy: Discover 1 clue at your location (Limit once per round).
  • Elder Sign () effect +1 for each clue on your location.

Deckbuilding restrictions

  • Access to all Guardian cards
  • Access to all Neutral cards
  • Access to Seeker cards of up to level 2
  • Unique Asset Roland's .38 Special
  • Unique weakness Cover Up

Strengths

  • Very good at defeating enemies
  • Very powerful unique weapon
  • Very high Health
  • Good at discovering clues
  • More versatile than just being a killing machine

Weaknesses

  • Poor mobility
  • Very low Sanity
  • Weak economy
  • Punishing and difficult to resolve unique weakness


Everything by the book: every "i" dotted, every "t" crossed. It had worked, until now. ~ Roland Banks (Core Set #1)

Deck Composition

There are 4x Weapon Assets in the deck, which makes it very likely to draw one in the opening hand and / or in the next couple of turns (Mulliganing for one is recommended). It also makes it much easier to defeat enemies, and therefore take advantage of Roland Banks's signature ability

  • 1x .45 Automatic A reliable weapon that set the standard in cost and efficiency for all weapons. The +1 Damage bonus it gives during combat is absolutely essential in order to defeat enemies in one turn. Unfortunately, it is limited to 4 uses, so make good use of them.

  • 1x Roland's .38 Special Roland Banks's unique weapon, a cheaper and better version of the .45 Automatic. Use it in a location with at least one clue to profit from it's full +3 Combat () bonus.

  • 2x Machete Arguably the best non unique weapon from the core box, as it's cheaper than the .45 Automatic, still provides a +1 Damage bonus and is NOT limited to 4 uses. The drawback is that the +1 Damage bonus is lost if you are engaging more than just one enemy, but you can overcome this easily by defeating enemies as they spawn, and / or by having your co-op partner help you with engaging enemies strategically.

  • 1x Prepared for the Worst A great Event that you can play when looking for a specific weapon from your deck, or just a weapon in general. Will be even better if you decide to upgrade into a Shotgun later, as it will essentially let you draw it whenever you need it. I removed 1x .45 Automatic to make room for it, making the deck cheaper in resources.

Since this deck is so focused on combat, it also includes a variety of Events and Skills that will help out a lot when fighting enemies

  • 2x Dodge Fast Event you can use to cancel an attack from particularly nasty enemy. Can be used on your co-op partner if you are in the same location, during his own turn. Very useful when facing attacks that deal high amounts of Horror.

  • 2x Evidence! Fast Event that has the same effect as Roland Banks's signature ability, a good way for Guardians to discover clues without resorting to investigating locations.

  • 2x Vicious Blow Skill you can commit during a Combat () test when fighting an enemy, to raise your chances of passing it and then deal +1 Damage. Allows you to deal 2 Damage to an enemy without using a weapon, or even deal a whopping 3 Damage (or more) to an enemy when using a weapon.

  • 1x Overpower Skill you can commit it during a Combat () test to raise your chances of passing it and then draw a card.

Sometimes you'll find yourself in a situation where no enemies are around, which means that you won't be able to discover clues using Roland Banks's signature ability, and will have to do it by investigating locations

  • 2x Flashlight A staple Asset that reduces the Shroud value of locations by 2 while investigating. It's limited to 3 uses, so save it for investigating locations with a high Shroud value.

  • 2x Working a Hunch Fast Event you can use to immediately discover a clue at your location. Especially useful in locations with high Shroud values, or if you are short on time and do not want to rely on the luck of the Chaos Bag.

  • 1x Deduction Skill you can commit during an Intellect () test when investigating a location, to raise your chances of passing it and then discover an additional clue at your location.

  • 1x Perception Skill you can commit it during an Intellect () test to raise your chances of passing it and then draw a card.

Roland Banks's biggest weakness is his low Sanity value, but it can be somewhat compensated with the Sanity provided by the various Ally Assets included in the deck

  • 2x Beat Cop Excellent ally that soaks up Damage and Horror, provide a +1 Combat () bonus, and can be discarded to deal a bit of Damage in a pinch.

  • 1x Laboratory Assistant Ally that soaks up Horror and also guarantee a double card draw, making it extremely efficient for its low cost in resource.

  • 1x Art Student Ally that has the same stats and cost as the Laboratory Assistant, but discovers a clue instead of drawing two cards.

  • 1x Smoking Pipe Not an ally, but will convert up to three Health into three Sanity, for only one resource and the one action it takes to equip it.

  • 2x Guts Most tests that deal Horror will test Willpower (), so commit this Skill during a Willpower () test to raise your chances of passing it, hopefully preventing you from taking Horror, and then draw a card.

The rest of the cards in the deck offer some much needed flexibility

  • 2x Emergency Cache Since most of the powerful Guardian Assets are quite expensive, this Event is very needed in the deck. Use it to gain 3 additional resources.

  • 2x Shortcut This Fast Event will help a lot with moving around a bit faster in case of emergency. You can also use it to move while engaged to enemies without triggering an Attack of Opportunity.

  • 2x Unexpected Courage Skill you can commit to any test to raise your chances of passing. Very flexible, but comes without the card draw.


Cuts through vines, underbrush, and tentacles equally well. ~ Machete (Core Set #20)

Weakness Mitigation

  • Roland Banks's personal Cover Up weakness Mitigated by all the cards that help with discovering clues at locations, and by the presence of your co-op partner, that can also contribute clues to resolve the weakness.

  • Roland Banks's extremely low Sanity value Mitigated by the Ally Assets that help soak up Horror and the Smoking Pipe Asset.

  • Roland Banks's low Agility () stat Mitigated by his very high Health value. It is therefore generally better to fight enemies rather than evade them.

  • Roland Banks's lacklustre mobility Mitigated by the Shortcut Event and the high number of Fast cards in the deck.

  • Roland Banks's lacklustre economy Mitigated by the Emergency Cache Event, and the high number of 0 cost cards in the deck.


Sometimes, the most selfless acts can come from the strangest places. ~ Unexpected Courage (Core Set #93)

Mulligan Guide

  • If no weapon was drawn in the opening hand Mulligan the entire hand.

Exceptions to this rule: you can keep a Laboratory Assistant, as equipping it will make you draw two cards, effectively raising your chances of drawing a weapon, or a Prepared for the Worst, as it will let you look in the top third of your deck for one.

  • If multiple weapons were drawn in the opening hand Mulligan them all except one.

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Best weapons to keep in order Roland's .38 Special > Machete > .45 Automatic.

Example great starting hand [1] Machete, Flashlight, Laboratory Assistant, Deduction and Unexpected Courage.

Example great starting hand [2] .45 Automatic, Beat Cop, Vicious Blow, Evidence! and Emergency Cache.


I knew I had seen this symbol before. I must warn the others before it is too late! ~ Deduction (Core Set #39)

Playstyle Guide

Roland Banks is a very straightforward Investigator to play, and the general strategy of this deck is defeat enemies discover clues

  • At the start of a Scenario, assuming you have a good starting hand, the first actions to take should generally be equipping one or two Assets, ideally a weapon, and then moving towards a location with clues.

  • If you did not draw a weapon even after Mulliganing, prioritise drawing one rather than moving.

  • If you did not draw a weapon but did draw a Prepared for the Worst Event, then you can use it on your first turn to look for one. Otherwise, it's best to keep it in order to draw a specific weapon at a specific time, like Roland's .38 Special, or even the Shotgun if you decided to upgrade into it.

Always try to end your turn on a location with clues, ideally one with a high Shroud value, with the hope of drawing an enemy from the Encounter deck. That way, you'll be able to defeat the enemy using your weapon, and discover a clue thanks to Roland Banks's signature ability (only provides ONE clue per round)

  • Play the Evidence! event after defeating an enemy to discover TWO clues at your location.

  • Only Investigate locations if you did not draw an enemy from the Encounter deck, ideally with a Flashlight Asset equipped.

  • Commit the Deduction Skill to the Intellect () test while investigating a location to have a chance of discovering TWO clues.

Manage your resources carefully, try not to go down to zero so you can still play fast cards like the Dodge and Evidence! events when needed

  • Plan when to use the Emergency Cache event in advance.

  • Gaining a resource should generally be the lowest priority action, so only do it when there is nothing else to do.

  • drawing a card is generally not as good as moving, fighting or investigating, but it's generally better than gaining a resource.

  • If you ever need to draw a card, make sure it is the first action of your turn.

Keep a close eye on Roland Banks's Sanity, as it is quite low. Equip your Ally Assets to use them as Horror shields, and use the Smoking Pipe to convert Health into Sanity. Also try to save your Guts Skills for tests that will deal Horror if failed

  • The Laboratory Assistant's ability is irrelevant in this deck, play the ally for the double card draw and don't be afraid to assign Horror to it, discard it, and make room for the next Ally Asset.

  • Try to equip the Art Student when in a location with a high Shroud value.

Stay close to your partner, try to not find yourselves on the opposite ends of the Scenario map, especially if they are bad at fighting enemies

  • If you need to defeat an enemy Engaged to your partner, it is generally better to engage it first, especially if you have a Machete weapon Asset equipped.

    Cover Up goes into play when drawn, and requires you to discover 3 clues at locations without picking them up before being able to remove it from play. If still in play when the game ends (for any reason), makes you suffer 1 mental trauma.

  • It is one of the most punishing and most difficult to resolve in the game.

  • Focus on resolving it as fast as possible when drawn.

  • Clues discovered from Roland Banks's signature ability, and any other source, count towards resolving the weakness.

  • Clues discovered by other investigators at your location also count towards resolving the weakness.

Take the time to PLAN your turns, every action counts

  • Seeing as every Scenario is different, adapt your strategy accordingly.

  • The deck is quite cheap when it comes to actions, as about half of the playable cards are Fast, which makes it quite adaptable.


With a sickening smack, he struck the abomination over and over... until at last, it stopped moving. ~ Vicious Blows (Core Set #25)

Upgrade Guide

  • -1x .45 Automatic +1x Shotgun •••• : More firepower is always good. Save it for targets with High health and Fight values, preferably a boss. Works wonders with Prepared for the Worst and Extra Ammunition.

  • -2x Flashlight +2x Magnifying Glass • : Provides a smaller bonus while investigating locations, but is two resources cheaper, Fast, has unlimited uses and puts less stress on the Hand Slot.

  • -1x Beat Cop +1x Beat Cop •• : Same resource cost, one extra Health, and a much stronger ability.

  • -1x Beat Cop +1x Brother Xavier • : Costs one extra resource for a very efficient way to soak up Damage and Horror from any Investigator in his location, with an ability that can be triggered strategically. Also substitutes a +1 Combat () increase for a +1 Willpower () increase.

  • -1x Smoking Pipe +1x Elder Sign Amulet ••• : Great Horror shield, and takes advantage of the Accessory Slot. Provides more Sanity than the Smoking Pipe without sacrificing Health.

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  • -2x Emergency Cache +2x Stand Together ••• : A massive improvement over the neutral Event, since it also offers card draw and is also beneficial to your co-op partner, but costly in experience so should not be a priority.

  • -1x Shortcut +1x Pathfinder • : Amazing Talent Asset that might seem costly at first, but will end up paying for itself throughout the Scenario, as it effectively provides one additional fourth action per turn in almost all cases.

  • -1x Deduction +1x Deduction •• : A clear upgrade, one more Intellect () test icon, and one more discovered clue while investigating a location.

  • -1x Overpower +1x Extra Ammunition • : More weapon charges, should be saved for either the Shotgun or Roland's .38 Special Weapon Assets.

  • -1x Perception +1x Deduction •• : A no brainer upgrade, as both cards have the same amount of Intellect () icons, but the effect of the Deduction Skill is just superior.

  • +1x Charisma ••• : With four Ally Assets competing for the one Ally Slot available, this Permanent Asset will allow you to equip TWO Ally Assets simultaneously, greatly relieving the pressure. Best of all, it doesn't count towards your deck size, and your start a Scenario with it already in play! Awesome!


You can never be too prepared. ~ Emergency Cache (Core Set #88)

Scenario Tips

While this section obviously contains gameplay spoilers, I've written in in a way so there are no story spoilers, which includes not saying much about victory conditions.

That said, I do recommend trying each Scenario at least once before consulting this section, so you don't ruin the surprises!


Extracurricular Activity

In this Scenario, the Encounter deck is heavily focused on making you discard as many cards as possible from your deck, which is a big problem since you can't win if all your powerful cards are thrown in the discard pile before you can even use them.

The Scenario is also quite combat focused, and features powerful enemies with high Health and Fight values, as well as a very tough end Boss. Not only that, you'll be tasked to discover a significant amount of clues from locations with high Shroud values and / or tricky Forced effects, in order to progress.

Therefore, I suggest equipping a weapon as fast as possible before they get discarded, preferably a Machete so it won't run out of charges, and ideally also equipping a Flashlight, or have a hand of cards that help you discover clues.

Suggested Mulligan Machete, Roland's .38 Special, Flashlight, Art Student or Laboratory Assistant, Working a Hunch or Deduction.

Don't be afraid to draw if your hand is less than desirable, you need to draw your cards before they get discarded.

If played first You'll have 10 Doom Tokens worth of time to roam around the locations before the end Boss manifests, but you won't have access to a special item that will help you defeat it.

If played second You'll only have 7 Doom Tokens worth of time, but you will have access to the special item. You'll need to investigate a location with a Shroud of 5 to pick it up, so keep your Flashlight / Deduction / Perception cards ready.

First turns Equip your assets (priority on the weapon) and head to locations with high Shroud values to either discover clues by defeating enemies, or with cards that help you investigating, leaving locations with low Shroud values to your partner.


The House Always Wins

This Scenario features a departure from the established gameplay norms, as it is much more focused on interacting with locations rather than combat, even though it will be unavoidable at some point.

You'll be moving from location to location and discovering clues according to every location's special ability, while also avoiding arousing suspicion from the enemies which start off Aloof, ie will not automatically engage to you.

Therefore, interact with the different locations as fast as possible to discover the clues, while also avoiding to provoke the enemies following you around but not engaging, because it is possible to make them aggressive if you're not careful and make the Agenda deck advance faster than it should.

Suggested Mulligan Any weapon, Flashlight, Any Ally Asset, Shortcut, Emergency Cache.

Save up your resources as you'll be needing them, and do not equip your Ally Asset, you'll be needing it for a different purpose.

There will be an Aloof enemy following you through the first phase of the Scenario, so plan your movements carefully in order to avoid engaging him.

If played first You'll have 7 Doom Tokens worth of time to roam around the locations before things start to get serious as long as you don't provoke the Aloof enemies, otherwise you'll cut it down to 3 and you'll be fighting more enemies than you should.

If played second You'll only have 4 Doom Tokens worth of time so make every action counts, and it's even more important to not provoke the Aloof enemies.

First turns Don't equip more than 4 resources worth of Assets as you will need your resources throughout the first phase of the Scenario to advance, and head towards the locations to discover each one's special ability.


The Miskatonic Museum

Coming soon!


The Essex County Express

Coming soon!


Blood on the Altar

Coming soon!


You know this town like the back of your hand. ~ Shortcut (The Dunwich Legacy #22)

Solo Experience

It is perfectly possible to play this deck solo with great performance.

Roland Banks can defeat enemies and discover clues like a champ, and he has tools available to deal with his low Sanity. However, the reasons why this deck fares better with two players, are Willpower () tests and Cover Up

Even with the two best tools available to Roland Banks included in the deck against Willpower () tests (Unexpected Courage and Guts), sometimes you will just not draw them

  • A co-op partner would be able to commit cards to your Willpower () tests, giving you better chances to pass them. they could also be the ones drawing those nasty Encounters cards that test Willpower () instead of you, either by luck or by using cards like Scrying to manipulate the draw, or even Ward of Protection to counter them.

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The same principle applies with Cover Up, some Scenarios you might not see it at all or draw it from the very beginning, but other times you might get REALLY unlucky and draw it at the very end of the Scenario, which is almost impossible to counter

  • Having a co-op partner to help you deal with the weakness whenever it pops up, will significantly lower the chances of you stacking up Mental Trauma caused by bad luck when drawing across the Scenarios.

In short, while being a great deck even when played solo, it is more consistent with a partner to have your back when it comes to mitigating your weaknesses (Willpower () tests and Cover Up) and unpredictable bad drawing luck that comes with deck building card games.

When playing solo, it becomes more essential to know what a Scenario brings so you can adapt to it, keep that in mind!


Stay back! I'll handle this. ~ Guts (Core Set #89)

Card Alternatives

Depending on the Scenario, your co-op partner(s) or your own preference, it is possible to shift the deck's focus more towards investigating locations rather than defeating enemies while still keeping the same feel, by replacing the following cards:

Situational "tech" cards that might be worth including in between Scenarios:


The Laboratory Assistant and Art Student Ally Assets are both excellent includes in this deck, as they provide a good stat line and great abilities for great value. As such, Including two copies of one or the other instead of one of each, is also perfectly fine.


At last, I've found it! ~ Perception (Core Set #90)

Card Exclusions

  • No Hyperawareness and / or Physical Training They have both shown themselves to be too slow and too costly in resources and actions to be worth it, seeing as the deck already includes other costly Assets.

  • No Dynamite Blast Too slow, too expensive and too situational to be worth generally, but could be good in particular cases, so including in between Scenarios can be considered.

  • No First Aid Too slow, equipping Ally Assets is much more cost and time effective, as their health and sanity values effectively add up to Roland Banks's, all for ONE action.

  • No Emergency Aid Same reasons as First Aid, but the fact that you can heal 2 Damage for one action and use it on your equipped Ally Assets, makes it so that it could situationally be good, and therefore "tech'ed in" between Scenarios.

  • No Bandolier So far I've never had any problems with the Hand Slots, as most of the Hand Assets run out of charges and are OK to replace. It might look more useful after upgrading into a Shotgun, but how many copies should be included? If one, then we have a consistency problem, if two, then that's two cards which are being cut out for something that is, in my opinion, not crucial.


Die, you beast! ~ Overpower (Core Set #91)

Missing Expansions

Missing The Dunwich Legacy


Missing The Miskatonic Museum


Missing The Essex County Express


Missing Blood on the Altar


A good pipe can calm the most frazzled of nerves. ~ Smoking Pipe (The Miskatonic Museum #116)

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Version History

v1.0 - Core Box

v2.0

v3.0 - The Dunwich Legacy

v4.0

v5.0

v6.0

v7.0 - The Miskatonic Museum

v8.0 - The Essex County Express

v9.0 - Blood on the Altar

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4 comments

Apr 26, 2017 Arundel · 1

Sorry for the noob question: isn't Higher Education forbidden in Roland's deck being a Seeker lvl 3 card?

Apr 26, 2017 DadouXIII · 11147

@Arundel Absolutely, you are correct, forgive the mistake. I got overexcited about that card...

Jun 10, 2017 Deadlykipper · 1

What are you thoughts on "I've had worse…"?

Jun 10, 2017 DadouXIII · 11147

@Deadlykipper: That card is absolutely insane. I am working on version 11.0 of the deck now, will mention it. It is basically a pure upgrade for Dodge :)