Dynamic Duo - Roland "By the book" and Trish

Roland "By the Book" and Trish Scarborough

Dynamic duo!

This deck is part of a dynamic duo series, and is meant to be played together with Dynamic Duo - Trish Scarborough.

It works just fine when paired with other investigators too, of course, but some cards might be sligthly less effective.

By the book ||

This is the alternative companion deck to (the normal one is here). It's arguably more powerful, since By the Book-Roland is more versatile (and complicated), but you do you.

The bookish Roland

Roland "By the book" is quite the investigator. He packs a punch, but he can only fight twice a round. He can play one Insight or Tactic card fast each round, but he's also limited to playing two cards a round. And he can only move twice each round, but he's a beast with 9 Stamina and 8 Willpower.

The key here is the one fast Insight/Tactic card each round. It's really powerful. Draw cards fast, get resources fast, kill stuff fast. It also makes the Sledgehammer a viable card, since you can often whack an enemy spawned AND move move AND still have the option to play a card. And Toe to Toe is here as a backup in case the hammer fails .

Synergy

All this is a combos rather well with Trish, since Trish can keep most enemies evaded. Don't forget that you can handcuff an enemy and then engage it. If you do, you can stay engaged to an exhausted enemy for the rest of the game, which is great for Directive - Due Diligence AND allow Trish her to trigger her investigator ability each round too. The +2 to an evade, parley or investigator test can be used for investigating with a of 5.

Roland and Trish are both really mobile with Pathfinder and Shortcuts and Trish can auto-evade even elite enemies (sometimes from afar). This combines to make them a quick and deadly duo that can run through scenarios.

Weaknesses: 2 and 3 . Willpower tests hurts, especially cards such as Frozen in Fear.

Important upgrades, in my order of priority

• Cyclopean Hammer, two of them. That's your first priority. Yes, unbuffed Roland will "only" fight at 7 but we have a few buffs and eventually Physical Training for that. And even 7 is usually enough to get the extra +2 damage at least once per round.
• Preposterous Sketches is almost a Cryptic Research since Roland can play it as a fast action.
• Pathfinder Yep, the good ole' Pathfinder. It's just too good not to include, and we need to move fast to keep up with Trish. Safeguard is a viable replacement.
• Physical Training will help you with Willpower tests AND to help you over-succeed with your hammer attacks.

Other upgrades (in any order you’d like)

Stick to the Plan is extra nice for this version of Roland, as he can play tactic cards fast. Remember to add an Astounding Revelation too, for that extra cash.

• Cryptic Writings is a great card for Roland. He's often in need of cash and it's practically a fast Emergency Cache for him. Heck, you might even get to use the "if drawn during your round, then play for free" effect.
• Grete Wagner isn't that much of an upgrade, really, but the extra point of stamina and the + can both be nice. Depends on how much Xp you will rack up.
• Police Badge as a buff and a way to get extra actions in a pinch.
• Glimpse the Unthinkable is another neat way to draw cards for Roland. Insight so can be played fast.
• There's plenty of decent *Fight events with the Tactic trait. Sweeping Kick (replacing Toe to Toe is for Roland a fast Fight action at 6+ (or more) that hits for 2 damage and evades the target. You can also go for One-Two Punch too, if you really wanna punch things for 5 damage (but remember that it will eat up both your fight actions).

Tips and advice

• You can, at any point, choose to disable ONE directive for the rest of the game. For me, that's often the +skill check if engaged Due Diligence Directive. It's the least important one, and it can be a real hassle if you're swamped with enemies. Or if you need to escape a crumbling temple and has to move, ignore the Leave no Doubt - Directive in . Just make sure the loss of 3 sanity doesn't kill you.

• I recommend having some sort of player aid to keep track of your actions. It's easy to screw up and forget about parallel Roland's many limitations.

• The Dirge of Reason isn't a bad weakness, especially since our parallel Roland has 8 Sanity . But the reshuffle can be a pain, so try to have 2 clues on Roland at all times (if at all possible). Then the Dirge is just a minor tempo hit.

• If anyone can use In the Thick of It it's Roland. 9 stamina and 8 sanity is monstrous. Feel free to include one. I would use it to include two Machetes and a Sweeping Kick from the beginning.

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  Disclaimer

  Disclaimer - most of these "dynamic duo" decks are heavily inspired by other decks found here on Arkham. Thanks to everyone who share the fruits of their labor - this is an amazing community . :)