Finn Is Tired Of Being A Rogue-ish Seeker- Delilah O'Rourke

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The Lynx · 972

Finn Is Sick And Tired Of Being A Rogue-ish Seeker

Give Me MY Guns!

I have extremely fond memories of Jenny Barnes shooting up everything when I started playing Arkham with only Dunwich and then Carcosa. And then I realized that the 3 and lack of boosts in the card pool made it really difficult to consistently shoot your enemies (pass the skill test) without relying too much on Hard Knocks. Unfortunately, even Jenny ends up poor playing all of those weapons and pumping resources into Hard Knocks. There are a few better combos in the later expansions like Well Connected that can boost your if you are rich but I started building Jenny and Finn decks that became elite cluegetters (Hard difficulty) and evaders while chipping in some significant damage using the Rogue events.

But I always wanted to use the really cool and powerful weapons like Lupara and .41 Derringer combo'd with Sleight of Hand or even the Chicago Typewriter but the lack of Static boosts in the cardpool made it feel like pissing into the wind.

Enter Delilah O'Rourke from the latest Dreameaters expansion. She is basically the combat version of Lola Santiago and I consider Lola Santiago one of the strongest allies in the game. In addition to Delilah, Finn and Sefina are heading into the jungles of Mexico where they might find another Fighter to further boost everything.

Why Is Delilah So Great

Delilah not only boosts Finn's two most often tested traits but she also is a reusable Sneak Attack. Finn will be able to pay the evade cost in resources to do 1dmg (2dmg if exhausted) to an enemy at his location. This is really, really strong but it will require a strong economy to make it work.

The goal of this deck is to survive TFA on Hard difficulty. Standard is already extremely difficult but Hard is crazy. Finn and Sefina might be the right duo since they have high and can easily boost it further with the cardpool.

Expansions Required

  • Core Set - You could probably do this fairly well without a second core.
  • Dunwich isn't required since Lone Wolf (Sefina has it) and "I'm outta here!" are the only Dunwich cards in the 0XP deck. Charisma is required but that is a permanent and easy to proxy
  • Carcosa - Everything is from Carcosa
  • TFA - Everything that isn't from Carcosa is from TFA
  • TCU - Only a few decent but not required cards like Crack the Case and The Moon • XVIII
  • Dreameaters - only Delilah but I am proxying her because Where Gods Dwell just started shipping recently. I don't own Dreameaters yet.

Combat

Finn needs to find a way to survive the first two scenarios and get his +2 weapons and Delilah into his deck. In order to have a chance he needs to be at a 6-7 but more is better obviously.

Combat Boosts

  1. Delilah O'Rourke +1 +1 and pay for extra damage
  2. TFA asset - Spoiler
  3. Fight or Flight - I feel confident that Finn will usually have a few horror on him and this will be a significant buff.
  4. Lucky! - I LOVE the reactive nature of this card
  5. Unexpected Courage and Overpower - never bad cards for someone in combat
  6. Well Connected might be brought in with Versatile if Finn's economy is strong enough to get a +2 each round.
  7. Fieldwork doesn't work as well with tests since they usually spawn on you in the mythos phase but there are some that spawn at empty locations.

Weapons

Overall I haven't really picked an upgrade strategy. Not sure if Finn wants many +2/+1dmg weapons or if he wants to just go after the Chicago Typewriter. The latter becomes an economy wrecker and is somewhat limited with ammo (even with Contraband. And it doesn't work with Sleight of Hand using Taboo.

Sleight of Hand increases the ammo supply but not on the Typewriter.

Many strong weapon options

  1. Lupara - great with Sleight of Hand
  2. .41 Derringer(2) - similar to #1
  3. Finn's Trusty .38 - nice weapon
  4. Switchblade(2) - a really nice weapon that won't run out of ammo.
  5. Colt Vest Pocket - He will usually be able to get 4 shots off each round with Fence to make it a Fast play and Leo De Luca. Ultimately it will get upgraded but this is a nice backup weapon.

It is ALL Illicit

Finn's signature card allows him to search many times for Illicit cards and Fence combos well with all of them. By the end of the campaign almost half of his deck (I think 14 cards) will be Illicit.

Investigating

It won't be Finn's role to pick up clues but he will bring along his Flashlight to clear 2 shrouds and later he will have Lockpicks for a nearly automatic clue each round (testing at a 10 or so).

Economy

Finn and Sefina both wanted all of the Rogue economy cards for themselves. This was really the only competition for cards.

Sefina took Lone Wolf and Finn took "Watch this!". Sefina took the very powerful David Renfield to boost her economy and will upgrade to Hot Streak immediately. Finn will grab Hot Streak when Sefina has upgraded to the 4XP version and Finn will likely get Pay Day since Fence makes it a Fast action. That could trigger 5R between Leo, Finn's evade and the Derringer.

Pickpocketing(2) will probably go to Sefina since she will easily trigger the bonus with Suggestion.

Ultimately Finn will be rich but he won't be that rich. Finn should also draw through his deck quickly with Lucky Cigarette Case and Pickpocketing. Delilah will also consume his resources since she can do a little damage at a price.

But his 1

This will always be an issue for Finn. He will pass a couple of treacheries off onto Sefina with "You handle this one!" but mostly he will just take the hit and hope that his army of allies can handle the horror.

Logical Reasoning was one of the last cards cut. It might get put in with Adaptable.

Upgrades

Finn needs Delilah ASAP as well as +2/+1dmg weapons.

  1. Charisma (3XP) - later probably upgrade to a 2nd Charisma
  2. Delilah O'Rourke (6XP)
  3. Lupara (6XP)
  4. Lockpicks (2XP)

The rest are not in any particular order

And now some really fun cards to blow XP on the end of the campaign since TFA has so much XP. The first two are the most likely.

Great Cards That Are Missing

  • Intel Report - Sefina has it and Finn's economy is good but not great
  • Quick Thinking is a favorite of mine but Finn isn't blowing tests away so it might not give him the extra action.
  • Double or Nothing
  • Charon's Obol - The Forgotten Age gives out a silly amount of XP. And there is no way that Finn will make it through the entire campaign on Hard without being defeated once.
  • All Dreameaters cards except Delilah - I haven't bought this expansion yet.
  • Contraband is a tough card to get value out of. Especially since Finn will rely on guns that have 2-3 ammo in them so it doesn't add as much. It would be better to just add another weapon.
  • Hard Knocks - I hate playing this card. You are always poor if it is on the table. I went with Fight or Flight, Lucky!, Overpower and Unexpected Courage as Combat skill boosts. It isn't enough until Delilah and spoiler get into play.
12 comments

Mar 07, 2020 SGPrometheus · 795

I was initially going to ask why you don't just use Tony Morgan to fight as a rogue, but then I remembered you don't have Dream-Eaters. I've been playing with Tony recently, and as someone who has loved Roland/Guardians since the game came out, Tony might be my new favorite investigator.

Mar 08, 2020 The Lynx · 972

Tony can of course use all of those weapons really well but he doesn't need the as much since he is testing at 7 with any of the +2 weapons. He will definitely be happy for an extra +1 but the extra untested damage should be awesome for him.

Being able to turn Jenny or Finn into a competent fighter again will be a lot of fun. I think they will still make stronger cluegetters since Lola and Lockpicks exist but it will be fun to play.

Tony Morgan and Silas are my two most anticipated investigators that I don't have so I will have a decision to make regarding which expansion to buy next since I only have a 3 remaining mythos packs for TCU to buy. Yes, I could buy Silas's book but I can get an entire main box of an expansion for <$10 more. I really like the Tony Morgan bounty mechanic.

Mar 08, 2020 The Lynx · 972

I didn't include Skids in that list because he has access to different Guardian static boosts but now I am thinking of a Skids - Beat Cop - Delilah deck where he could test at a 7 and have a lot of untested damage options available. He could run Switchblade(2) and Blackjack(2) (for multiplayer) or Enchanted Blade to keep costs down and then go heavy into Rogue economy to take extra actions or deal damage with Delilah. Simple cards like Trusted, Inspiring Presence and Reliable could be used. And Lockpicks of course. This could be a really strong True Solo deck.

Mar 09, 2020 Eggzavier · 1

Note that Finn can also take the Guardian version of .45 Automatic - I think its stronger on him than the rogue weapons if you're using un-mutated Sleight of Hand.

Mar 09, 2020 Eggzavier · 1

I meant .45 Thompson - not the .45 Automatic.

Whoops

Mar 09, 2020 The Lynx · 972

Yes, I keep forgetting about other Illicit cards. Maybe they will add a few more out of class Illicit cards sometime.

Taboo all the way for me but I rather like weapon choices once upgraded with Lockpicks in the other hand. My hope is that Sefina and Finn can go quickly through each scenario.

Mar 16, 2020 Charles Dexter Ward · 556

Hey TWWaterfalls, very nice take on a combat oriented finn!

I especially like the survivor events for combat boost. If you have played it so far, how is Fieldwork doing as combat boost?

In my opinion your economy is too weak for expensive Leo De Luca and regular use of Delilah O'Rourke What is your experience from gameplay regarding this point?

And how is Fence behaving? I have built a fence build with finn and it seemed to be clogy and just too expensive.

Also how did you like Colt Vest Pocket after playtesting?

I want to build a fight oriented Finn for return to dunwich, which will be accompanied by either patrice or ursula.

Im considering 2x Peter Sylvestre 2x Meat Cleaver and 1x Fight or Flight together with Say Your Prayers for defense, althaugh i dont like the cleavers stylewise in finn. That weird idea aside i might need logical reasoning against the terrors.

I also like the idea of taking the Ornate Bow route and loose Lockpicks, and use [Followed(/card/06114) and Eavesdrop for clues and perhaps Narrow Escape to navigate the monsters, where you want them. I could also use Crystallizer of Dreams with all that events.

I would be glad, if you had some suggestions for a dunwich variation, as you can see im spinning a lot of ideas atm. Oh and sry for the brainstorming textwall...

Mar 16, 2020 Charles Dexter Ward · 556

I guess i realky really like Followed and Eavesdrop stylewise with Sneak Attack maybe Small Favor, Delilah O'Rourke and maybe Garrote Wire and Relic Hunter for a syndicate connected Finn. Im leaning to an event heavy Crystallizer of Dreams using combat finn quite a bit atm. Your feedback after playtesting your deck and and any suggestions would be highly apreciated.

Mar 16, 2020 The Lynx · 972

So far the results have been good but I couldn't make the Finn/Sefina combo work on TFA Hard so I had to switch to Finn/Ursula. Sefina would have been great but they couldn't gain XP in the first two scenarios. Replayed each a second time and they desperately needed XP.

Ursula is amazing as expected and the biggest benefit is that she is ready to go on Round 1.

The two Survivor events have been really, really strong. Lucky is awesome of course since it is reactive but an entire round of boost is so powerful.

Your comments about the economy are true but they are addressed in the upgrades. Finn was also able to get Lone Wolf back from Sefina. She needed it more but he is the only Rogue now and it is a boost. Pay Day was added in early for additional boost for "Watch this!". This will combo better once Fence is added.

I am still optimistic that Fence will be worth it. I think I have 13 Illicit cards in the deck now. That should result in a lot of actions or resources saved.

Fieldwork results are inconclusive. It didn't get used much since it was only a 1x card and Ursula took it when I started the campaign with her. I think it would work well since Finn can move to a location and use his free action to evade an enemy.

Finn has struggled with his being high enough since cards are split between boosting his and splitting both or . Now that Delilah O'Rourke is in the deck that has helped.

Another struggle he had in the first couple of scenarios was getting Lucky Cigarette Case or Pickpocketing into play. His economy was great yet and he often didn't have actions to play an asset that might help in the future. They were taken out but Pickpocketing 2 might come back.

Colt Vest Pocket was fine. It was a backup weapon and I played the Derringer or his trusty .38 every chance I had. It has now been upgraded to the Lupara.

I have run Ornate Bow with Finn before and I didn't like it. It works well but losing Lockpicks is a huge blow. I do not like Followed or Eavesdrop in this deck or with Delilah O'Rourke. Lockpicks will usually test at an 8-10 skill level so almost the only time that you will fail will be with . Followed is situational (need an enemy) and Eavesdrop will end up testing as a 4 vs a 2 or 3 evade value. Those aren't good odds. That improves a little with Lola Santiago but I don't like to be testing (on Hard mode) at +2 or even +3 if I can help it. I think there is a combo there with Ornate Bow, Lola, Followed and Small Favor that would work well but not my first choice.

Garrote Wire is an interesting option with Delilah O'Rourke, Small Favor, Hatchet Man, Cheap Shot and a few other events cards. Not all of those combo off of each other but you could set up a fighting deck with very few guns.

I think a large part of Finn and Ursula's success so far is that Finn is the fighter (Ursula has a Bow) and he can grab a nearly autopass clue most rounds. They have finished 4 rounds ahead of the agenda in two of the four scenarios.

Regarding Finn and Dunwich I think you will really have to commit to combat Finn to make it work with Ursula or Patrice. And things were already dicey with this build that leaned heavily on Fight or Flight and Lucky! for combat. Peter Sylvestre is a great Finn card but I don't know how you are going to pass combat tests early in the campaign without something to buff his often.

Mar 16, 2020 Charles Dexter Ward · 556

Thx for your in depth feedback! I agree with many of your points.

I remember Waylay to be very strong in dunwich and would take it together with Backstab if going the Peter Sylvestre route.

I think Followed may be synergizing well with Delilah O'Rourke and Eavesdrop too and i really like them stylewise, a pity they are so situational. Both would be much more reliable with Dr. Milan Christopher instead of peter. And i agree that i dont have the deckspace for this together with ursula or patrice.

Iam leaning towards Peter Sylvestre with [Lockpicks] after your comments and maybe Crystallizer of Dreams(/card/03031) I also would bring Coup de Grâce and maybe Small Favor for this pesky Whippoorwill and they both provide suitable boosts for the guns in a pinch.

Mar 16, 2020 Charles Dexter Ward · 556

Actually i like your aproach a lot, i just think, that Peter Sylvestre and at least 1 Logical Reasoning are needed for defense in dunwich, compared to TFA.

Mar 17, 2020 The Lynx · 972

These are all good choices for Finn but you seem to be way over 15 cards. You may as well just go with Delilah O'Rourke and event type damage and ignore the guns. I have wanted to play Crystallizer of Dreams but don't have that expansion yet. It might allow you to hit 6+ regularly but this deck seems to be doing too many things and won't be consistent.

I think a Mystic like Akachi would be the perfect option to play with Finn. She can use Ward of Protection(2) and Finn can use "You handle this one!". She can also use 1x Clarity of Mind to help Finn out late campaign with horror. I think Finn was actually okay with Horror in Dunwich once he had 4 allies in his deck. That provided a lot of soak.