The Hounds of Zaroff (Deck Guide)

Leo Anderson cosplays as General Zaroff and heads into the jungle to hunt the most dangerous game with his savage pack of hunting dogs and manservant Ivan.

Core Concept

The taboo'd Springfield M1903 comes with attached Telescopic Sights, making it an interesting choice for laying down support fire from ranged and taking down Aloof enemies. However, it retains the signature weakness of the original — while wielding the M1903, you're defenseless if an enemy spawns on you. We mitigate this by entrusting our back to the team of Sled Dogs.

Card Choices

We stick Emergency Cache, Ever Vigilant and Toe to Toe to the plan. Toe to Toe gives us an emergency fight option in the early game before you assemble your team of dogs. You can also commit "Watch this!" to Toe to Toe to testlessly gain 3 resources.

The unique nature of the M1903 means that you'll frequently be shooting at enemies engaged with other investigators. While your is usually high enough to succeed on anything but the (don't run this in Expert), that can and will ruin your teammates' day. That's why we pack the Hallowed Mirror to Sooth the pain. It's our way of saying sorry.

Ace of Swords is to add reliability to your attacks, because you'd really prefer not to hit your teammates at all while the enemies are engaged on them if possible. The same goes for the plethora of skill cards, and notably you ignore the retaliate effect of Daring when shooting with the M1903. The Star • XVII is not recommended as you have more than enough soak with 4 dogs and 2 Venturers.

The Venturer reloads your M1903 while being disposable soak against mythos effects. Calling in Favors finds your dogs, Easy Mark gives economy and thins your deck. Glory gives you even more draw. We want fast draw in this deck because Bought in Blood has a good chance of discarding your dogs, and we want to be able to cycle through the deck to get them back from the discard if that happens.

Piloting Tips

As normal for when playing Leo Anderson, always keep an ally in hand for Bought in Blood.

You do standard guardian things and prioritize getting in position to kill enemies if they spawn. If there's a choice, let enemies engage your teammates instead of you, even if you're going to attack with the dogs. This is so that even if the dogs miss (and they inevitably will), you're able to continue firing with the M1903.

Save Elusive for when an enemy spawns on you and you miss with your dogs (or when you don't have the dogs out in play yet). Disengage, move to a connecting location, and rain fire on them with the M1903.

Upgrading Sequence

I always get In the Thick of It to buy Charon's Obol and Easy Mark. With the amount of soak you have, it's unlikely that you'll suffer defeat due to horror or damage.

Start with Faustian Bargain over Ever Vigilant and Ace of Swords, and the .45 Thompson over the Springfield M1903. Slot in Enchanted Blade in the last slot as a spare weapon. Spend your first XP on Charisma, Ever Vigilant and Stick to the Plan. Then a second Charisma and a pair of M1903s.

Further Upgrades

Upgrade according to your team's priorities; Hallowed Mirror (3) can help the more fragile members of your team. Keen Eye lets you flex for clues in a pinch, as well as improving your combat ability in general. You're one of the few guardians who has the resource generation to use it. Observed never hurt anyone.

The upgraded Overpower and Vicious Blow goes without saying. Even Emergency Cache (2) can be considered.

You'll also want to use spare XP to upgrade Toe to Toe to One-Two Punch (5) for a mostly strictly better effect.

As usual let me know if you've any thoughts, feedback, or suggestions for improvements.