Joe Diamond - P.I. Staker. (Hard Mode)

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I HAVE NOW ADDED AN UPDATE TO THIS DECK, PLEASE SEE HERE:

New improved and rebalanced P.I.Staker

Incase it helps I've also sorted out the write up a quite a bit on the revised version so its a lot easier to find things.

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This is a investigation and combat focussed Joe Deck that has been refined over a small number of hard mode runs of the first 3-4 scs from Dunwich and Carcossa paired with a more thematic Joe deck that im developing but is seemingly a long way off. I wrote it for my blind run through The Circle Undone, but since I have yet to play any of TCU I dont yet know how it will perform there. Certainly it is probably not in great shape for Forgotten age since it lacks decent agility. Eitherway it is very satisfying to play at least and so far it seems strong enough. Dont expect Rex level clue generation, but the combat access more than compensates for this.

Since at time of writing, Joe is new and the theory crafting around his Hunch deck is still being explored, I have included my personal take on this under "PACKING A HUNCH". This isnt really linked to this deck specifically per se and can be skipped if needed. The specific guide to using the hunch deck included in this list (See "WORKING THAT HUNCH" under "DETAILED PILOTING" section instead). Sorry for how much length this has added to the guide.

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EYEBALLING (Overview/TL:DR)

A mixed clue and combat Joe build capitalising on his 2442 statline and mixed seeker/guardian card pool. The rough game plan is to use one hand slot for and one for a weapon, then add passive boosts from Milan & Ace of Swords to be able to investigate or fight with a base skill of 6 to cover basic investigating and combat.

Higher shroud or combat tests are aided by an ample supply of skill pips. And burst damage for particularly high HP enemies is provided from Dynamite Blast (paid for by Milan Money, Vicious Blow and later on Timeworn Brands second action.

The hunch deck is:

• Working a Hunch
• Scene of the Crime
• Connect the Dots
• No Stone Unturned
• Preposterous Sketches (or Evidence! once you have Cryptic Research)

This is a mix of draw and auto clues. Early game this means we have access to either an auto clue for a high shroud location, or a draw card to dig for our tools. Late game it means we dont need to chase super high or over spend on Higher Education for high shroud locations.

This keeps cash in reserve to pay for Unsolved Case and liberal use of Higher Education to protect us from sanity hits from the encounter deck. Take the Initiative, Say Your Prayers are reserved for encounter checks, Logical Reasoning can be used to recover lost sanity retrospectively, and Dr. Milan Christopher offers a little san soak if needed once you find the second copy feel free to let him die off and just replay him.

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THE PAY OFF (Upgrades)

Ive put this up here as i know not everyone wants to read the full piloting section

Priorities:

• Higher Education (3) - Vital for encounter deck protection (see below) and opens up deck space for more progressive tools
• 2x Ace of Swords (1) - Replace 1x Say Your Prayers and 1x Overpower. You no longer need The Prayers once you have Higher Ed. Alternatively Charisma (3) + Beat Cop (2) can do a similar job, but it costs alot more xp and delays better toys (below).
• 1x Upgraded Mag Glass (1) - This gives you alot more control over your handslots (See Hand Slot Juggling in the clues section). It also helps Higher Ed by potentially letting you keep an extra card in hand. A second copy is better but not as essential.

Then some options

Pick these to match playstyle and group composition.

Clues Upgrades

• Pathfinder - (See Pay attention to positioning in the clues section). In addition to the bonus action that everyone loves. Positioning yourself on the clue before your first action can be very important.
• Deduction (2) - Less useful on 1-2p, but much better on 3p+ since the 3rd clue is more likely to be present.
• Death • XIII - if you took Beat Cops (2) instead of the Ace of Swords.

Combat Upgrades

• Machetes Timeworn Brands (5) - Equivalent to Machete passive +1 from a Beat Cop/Ace of Swords in one card. The tempo advantage of this huge, replacing a previous two card combo with a single tutorable card. Also adds more burst damage from the once per game exhaust action.
• .45 Automatic (2) - Similar +2 but on the automatic.
• Vicious Blow (2) - More damage is more damage
• Dynamite Blast (2) - Cheaper and much more versatile. Optionally this option can be used to bring a second copy of Dynamite Blast into the deck later on once youve freed up a bit of space.

Cash/Draw/Hunch Deck Upgrades

• Preposterous Sketches Cryptic Research - Lets you take your primary draw card out of the hunch deck to make space for more clue related cards (see "WORKING THAT HUNCH" section).
• No Stone Unturned (5) - Simply amazing when its free. Despite not being a clue card, the 2 cost reduction and change to fast status means this is just too good not to leave in the hunch deck.
• Emergency Cache (3) - 1 more penny is nice, but this also gives you the option to reload Fingerprint Kit if needed.

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PACKING A HUNCH - A brief guide to hunches

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NOTE: This is a general guide to hunch deck building rather than the hunch set for this deck. If you are looking for specifics of the hunch deck used here, see "WORKING THAT HUNCH" in the "DETAILED PILOTING" section instead.

It is very important to note that the hunch deck operates on a different form of randomness to your hand. In short cards in your regular deck will show up and can sit in hand for a turn or two while you position to make best use of them, hunch cards on the other hand need to be spent fast before they get shuffled back into the deck. In exchange for access to them at sub-optimal timings, we are given a hefty 2 cost discount and an effective free card draw a turn - a bargain if used well, a hindrance if not.

So how do we get the most from this? Here`s a few ideas:

1. Try to make the cards in the hunch deck perform a roughly similar role. That way it matters less which card you draw from the set, and means the function they provide can be relied upon from the deck and played around than needing a specific card showing at the right time.

2. Fast Cards are great. Without the need to draw these, they function like a bonus action in a lot of cases.

3. Avoid cards that depend on or benefit heavily from timing. Since you are least likely to be able to play these well when they show. Examples: Delay the Inevitable - pricey to keep in play. Interrogate/Evidence! - suitable enemy needed at the right place. Logical Reasoning, better held back for Frozen in Fear, or to ensure access when san is low (see below). Shortcut Timing that fast move can be crucial to leverage it well. "I've got a plan!", needs to show when you have a target (and clues).

4. Where possible pick cards that cost 2 or more A bit of a no brainer. If you are being encouraged to play these sub-optimally timed then the price your paying for their reward usually needs to be lower to compensate (I'm sure there will be exceptions ofc).

With these points in mind, we're looking for sets of cards that match up to common or core deck functions. After a little scoping a few sets stand out to me:

• cards that draw
• cards that get clues
• cards that augment combat
• All fast cards

The set picked needs to be considered while building the main deck. Good options include suring up something you lack, or bolster your primary activity. I'm still to get my head around it fully but on paper it looks like a long term a pure clue base will be best (and most thematic). Unfortunately the tools available at level 0 atm (mainly Interrogate) are a bit too circumstantial.

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DETAILED PILOTING

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HITTIN' THE PAVEMENT (The Mulligan)

Priorities: All Eureka! >1xMilan> Mag Glass> Ace of Swords (xp)> Machete

If you didnt see Milan, then keep 2x Magnifying Glass if you saw them. Fingerprint Kit can surrogate, but bare in mind it is a little too expensive before you get Milan down, or find an Emergency Cache. Muligan away anything else. Note that Eureka! takes priority as it effectively can be used to self replace for a choice of 3 cards rather than 1. If for some reason you expect to need to fight early, go for Ace of Swords & Machete as priorities instead.

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WORKING THAT HUNCH (Using The Hunch Deck)

The plan is simple. While we build up a high base for investigating, we leave the high shroud locations to the hunch deck. Either it can help draw into the tools we need fast, or we can use the autoclues to compensate on high shroud while we look for them.

• Working a Hunch
• Scene of the Crime
• Connect the Dots
• No Stone Unturned
• Preposterous Sketches or Evidence!

If you take Cryptic Research, then put both Evidence! and Connect the Dots in and keep Cryptic Research in the main deck. Youre odds on drawing Cryptic Research arnt hampered that much, and you no longer get the benefit of the 2 cost reduction. On the other hand you improve the density (and consistency) of the clue related hunch cards in the deck lowering variance.

Never Start with Logical Reasoning or Shortcut in the hunch deck. They benefit too much from choosing when to play them. If you get the opportunity to reuse them via Detective's Colt 1911s or the , then go for it if the game state feels right. Getting a second use from the card is different to blocking its first use. Just be careful not to over dilute the proportion of clue based cards if you are reliant on them.

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CRACKIN' THE CASE (Getting Clues)

On hard we want to be testing 3 above test value to get reliable odds on success and out strip some a lot of the nastier token effects (some scenarios need higher). So getting your base to 5 lets you gives you (~70% to ~80%) pass rates against a shroud 2. Similarly a base of 6, or 7 are needed for shrouds 3 and 4 respectively. Which implies:

The priorities:

• Get to +2 on investigations asap via some combination of Milan, Magnifying Glass and Fingerprint Kit (hence the muligan).

The Rest:

• Eureka!, Deduction, Unexpected Courage, Evidence! or Connect the Dots: These all offer back up pips for higher shroud or while we dig for the passive buffs. Keep an eye on the modifiers too.

• Higher Education: This can be used in a pinch in place of the pips. but be aware of the need to keep resources high for encounter/weakness protection (See GETTING OUT OF A JAM) and cheeky Dynamiting.

• Hunch Deck: A large amount of this is devoted to autoclues, which can be used to clear high shroud locations or locations with investigation caveats or hazards. Very very minor spoiler warning for TCU: this helps with the new haunt mechanic.

• Bonus Clues: Deduction, Fingerprint Kit, Connect the Dots, Scene of the Crime (with an enemy) and Working a Hunch allow us to get more than one clue in one action. Evidence! also sort of tags a clue onto an action that woudlnt have one.

• Pay attention to positioning: Try to end turns on locations with clues. Scene of the Crime is first action only. Since its free its still good value without an enemy, but it will be appearing at random. Similarly, Evidence! requires an enemy to be at a location with a clue to be used. The Shortcut you kept in hand is your friend here. Use it to move before your first action to enable Scene of the Crime or carry an enemy to a clue for Evidence!. You can also Dynamiteenemies from an adjacent location to use Evidence! at your own.

• Hand Slot Juggling in the long run were looking at one clue tool in hand and one weapon in play. I started with Bandolier but, its huge time and resource sink and removes the benefit of Joes Signature Colts. Its easier and more effective to just play around it. Just pick up Upgraded Mag Glass pull them back while Fingerprinting.

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THE MAGNUM PI (Combat)

This build isnt a dedicated enemy handler, but it can hold its own very well.

• Get to 6 on attacks Much like our cluing this puts us 3 above a 3 enemies. our starting weapons add +1, hence we want the Ace of Swords to act as a surrogate Beat Cop that doesnt take an ally slot. With a little xp we can get Timeworn Brand and/or .45 Automatic (2) for built in +2. The value of this in terms of tempo (not needing to find 2 cards) is huge. And late campaign as higher tokens are added to the bag, these will let us reach 7 base with The Ace down.

• Regular +Damage Each of our basic weapons (including the upgraded ones) have the standard target of +1 damage built in. For the majority of 3hp enemies, were just going to have to suck it up and attack twice, though we have the options of using some of the burst damage options in a pinch.

• Burst Damage Vicious Blow, Dynamite Blast and later on Timeworn Brands once per game ability offer a moderate number of burst damage options for larger enemies. Ideally keep these back for the typical vp enemy from the encounter deck (these are typically 4 or 5 hp) or boss type enemy.

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SIMOLEONS (Cash Management)

Despite Milan money, I have kept the bulk of the deck cheap. This is because when Milan didnt show early the deck was way too slow. Once you add Higher Ed, a few more medium/high price assets like Pathfinder, and the need to float 2-4 resources (see Below) its better to be safe than sorry.

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GETTING OUT OF A JAM (Treachery and Weakness Protection)

Joes Achilles Heel is his combined 2 and low sanity. His low isnt as much of an issue as tests are typically linked to Damage, and since he can kill enemies fairly well and has high HP anyway you have a lot more leeway there.

So, how does an honest man stay sane in a rotten world?

• One Shot protections Take the Initiative, Say Your Prayers and if necessary Unexpected Courage should be held back for tests (these often deal horror). Logical Reasoning should be kept back in hand to play when times are quiet. Note that Frozen in Fear can be cleared by Higher Education.

• Keep a little cash on hand. Unsolved Case is quite mild relative to other signature weaknesses, but it appears fairly reliably and only has a small window to be dealt with due to the way the hunch deck works. Additionally you are looking to keep 1 or 2 pennies on hand for Higher Education to reach 6 on demand incase of test treacheries. This means you are ideally trying to float 2 to 4 resources as protection. Obviously if you have some of the one shot protection in hand you can use these to risk going to 2.

• Recycle Logical Reasoning with and Your Colts. But dont start with it in the hunch deck Logical Reasoning is a card that is too reliant on timing to put in the hunch deck (See Packing a Hunch). If it shows before youve taken horror its a dead card. Late game however you are very likely to have taken some horror so recycling it can be much more effective.

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I have some notes on variants, but a fair few of them are untested. I`ll hopefully add them later.

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As ever, thanks for reading! I would love to hear thoughts and experiences.