"Snap snap, grin grin, wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more!"

Card draw simulator

Odds: 0% – 0% – 0% more
Derived from
None. Self-made deck here.
Inspiration for
Pictures at an Exhibition - Marie Lambeau (solo/MP) 16 9 12 1.0
Pictures at an Exhibition, Second Movement - Marie Lambeau 26 23 11 2.0
Jim Culver 0 0 0 1.0
Photographic Memory - Carolyn Fern (solo) 33 27 2 1.0
Jim Culver relic build 0 0 0 1.0

Brownloaf · 674

Intro
This is a deck I've been using recently with some success, born from a suggestion to revisit Jim Culver and a desire to try out the Hawk-Eye Folding Camera, the aim being to try and get TWO of the cameras loaded with TWO bits of evidence, leaving you with a very desirable stat line, and your two arcane slots left to make the most of.

First and foremost I'm finding the deck very fun to play, but it does seem to be giving me reasonable success at the same time.

"But what about my Trumpet!?!?!"
Enter Dr. Elli Horowitz! Well that was the oringal plan for adding her at least, until the release of Enchanted Blade! This weapon is fantastic for putting on Ellie as she hopefully finds it for you quickly, adds no extra resources cost, but by far the best reason, saves the two slots that it would normally take up! With two in the deck, the trumpet, and a careful mulligan, she's very unlikely to disappoint.

Alyssa Graham.
Alyssa Graham in solo is by far my favourite ally, and there has to be a really good reason for me not to play her. I find myself rarely using her doom ability, as it's the knowledge of what is coming up, which provides the most power, even if it is going to be a rough ride. For that reason Charisma tends to be one of the first upgrades I make.

There must be a better choice than Mind over Matter?!
Well I'm sure there is, but this card has turned a losing situation on its head many times for me in this deck. Let's say you've hit the dream set up and have dual cameras each with 2 evidence, and Alyssa Graham in play, then Mind over Matter will give you a stat line of 6/6/6/6 for a whole turn, which combined with Jim's ability is pretty potent!

Variants
The deck as it is written above, is designed for solo play, but I've found it can easily adapted to suit any role in multiplayer. The first change when going to 3 or 4 players, is to swap Alyssa Graham for St. Hubert's Key. There's an argument that this is a better fit anyway, but as I said, I love the control she bring in solo. The deck can be pushed more to clue gathering by swapping Shrivelling for Sixth Sense, or more towards combat by switching Rite of Seeking for Wither or Storm of Spirits. I have found that just these little changes do make a significant difference to the feel of the deck, but to date its has performed best in the flex or solo role.

Skills
I'm not yet wedded to the skills choice here, they do seem to work for the most part, but could probably be improved. Strangely for Jim, I'm finding Fearless to be quite handy, and actually, if set up has gone perfectly in this deck, Jim's Trumpet will not even be in play, so a bit of help with horror can be desirable.

Mulligan strategies
As hard (and stupid) as it might sound, I've found that ditching the Enchanted Blade and Jim's Trumpet, to search for either the Hawk-Eye Folding Camera, or Dr. Elli Horowitz, leads to better results. Also I've found Dr. Elli Horowitz to be more handy than Alyssa Graham when you have to choose, but this can change based on the current scenario and situation. If you can find a bit of economy in there also, it wouldn't hurt.

Upgrades
Charisma as mentioned above, dream set up is 2 x cameras, Alyssa Graham, Enchanted Blade on Dr. Elli Horowitz, and then a couple of spells in the arcane slots.
After that I would spend xp gradually upgrading the spells, not forgetting the Arcane Research boost
The upgraded Enchanted Blade is a really good choice.
Grotesque Statue is another good one to put on Eli.
As mentioned above upgraded Fearless has made it in there a few times.
Update!!
Thanks to @dmarcey for mentioning Crystalline Elder Sign as potential upgrade. This fits beautifully into this deck, thanks to it's Relic trait and the relative averageness of Jim's Elder sign ability

Conclusion
This deck's main weakness if that if assets come out in the wrong order, it can be a bit difficult to steer, but there is normally a clear "best line" based on the cards in your hands and what you want to achieve at the time. Finally, without spoiling, there is a certain asset that you can gain at the end of scenario 3 in TCU. That card is a dream in this deck!!

6 comments

Jul 03, 2019 unitled · 2228

Just one comment: surely there's a better choice than Mind Over Matter?

Jul 03, 2019 Brownloaf · 674

@unitledLOL, good question. Tell you what, I'll put in a section about it in the description. Need's a snappy subheading though so people don't miss it!

Jul 09, 2019 Tiltowait · 20

Suggest Mists of R’lyeh for Will based evasion. You cannot fight everything...

Jul 10, 2019 Brownloaf · 674

@Tiltowait Thanks for the comment! Sure, it would fit very nicely in there, however I think it probably comes down to personal preference and playstyle. I'm not a massive fan of evading in solo unless that is my specific investigator's style. To date, the blade and shrivelling have kept me pretty much covered, with MoM and skills on hand for emergencies. That being said, it's definitely worth considering for TFA.

Jul 18, 2019 dmarcey · 1

Any thoughts on Crystalline Elder Sign as a possible upgrade path? Synergy with Elli and Jim will get frequent use out of the 3 of the 4 stats that get boosted. Even if Elli doesn't fetch it, there isn't anything else in the accessory slot.

Jul 18, 2019 Brownloaf · 674

Hi @dmarceythanks for the comment. My thoughts on Crystalline Elder Sign, is "Why on earth haven't mentioned Crystalline Elder Sign!!!" It definitely came up in early planning/discussions, but it seems to have been forgotten! Especially good as Jim's Elder Sign ability is a bit average so he's not too worried about sealing it. I'll add it in. Many thanks!!