Patrice plays alone (outdated)

I also had the idea about using Scavenging 2 in patrice's deck to play commited items. But with Dark Horse I'm not sure her ressources will suffice? I once saw her on another player and her normal economy was already pretty tight. I agree that the permanent version of On Your Own will help a lot with all those events.

Do you think A Glimmer of Hope is worth including? Patrice ability to draw 5 cards each turn is usually enough to get some icons to commit for her tests during her turn (in addition to moving). I'd replace it with Live and Learn, Last Chance, Guts or Perception.

Yeah I was thinking I'd basically have to do the mythos phase without Dark Horse but could have 2 resources per turn with Patrice's Violin. Once On Your Own (perm) is covering event costs I basically only have one 3+ cost card (either Sixth Sense or Mind's Eye)

Still testing for sure though, I might decide the economy hit isn't worth it.

I'm also undecided on A Glimmer of Hope but wanted to try it out. I do like the recursion, and keep in mind that this would mean I have 6-8 cards to commit any turn I summon then back from discard, whereas I can only have 5 normally.

I disregarded Last Chance before but wasn't thinking about the number of free plays and commits I'll be making I should take another look, thanks!

I agree Patrice's Violin is a great economy boost, but with only 1 in your deck you're not likely to draw it early, even with her ability so i wouldnt rely too much on it. It also costs 2 ressources which may be a problem with Dark Horse.

I usually avoid Last Chance in other because I've got too many cards in hand, but on patrice it's good because you want get rid of your hand anyway, as any remaining card is wasted to her ability. Also see TheBlackHorror's review of patrice.

That's also why i think spending actions on recursion like Scrounge for Supplies or A Glimmer of Hope is bad. The glimmer's ? is nice to commit it to any test, but if it's only for that, I'd prefer cards with more ??+ or Live and Learn. Resourceful is different because it doesn't take an action to work.

Fair point on Patrice's Violin, maybe I'll upgrade into Drawing Thin to deal with that? It wouldn't solve the issue for a couple of rounds though so I'd probably need some lvl 0 resource generation if I'm going to really solve the issue. (Maybe Forbidden Knowledge ?)

I'm coming around on Last Chance for her, seems like even if I need to use it when I can't commit every card in my hand (wrong icons or something) I could probably at least get 2-3 wilds out of it.

Scrounge for Supplies was mainly for Enraptured (for Mind's Eye) or Resourceful, and I think you're right, that is just not enough use to be worth a deck slot.

I still want to play test with A Glimmer of Hope though, This really seems like the only deck it could work well in and I want to see if a potential +3 wild icons when you really need them during a turn could be worth the action loss or not.

Thanks for pointing me to that review by the way, it was excellently done I'm surprised I missed it. Two things I need to take from there I think is realizing less important assets are still going to get drawn eventually (so i should maybe drop a copy) and that I need to weight icons heavier than I have. A slightly worse event with better icons might actually be better for Patrice. They also make a good point about lvl 0 Rise to the Occasion. I last played that as Calvin Wright but with Patrice Hathaway it will be a lot more circumstantial.

At this point I'm thinking of the following changes, what would you think?

1. Drop Scrounge for Supplies -> Forbidden Knowledge
2. Rise to the Occasion -> Last Chance
3. Trial by Fire -> Live and Learn (or maybe do Grit Your Teeth ? that could combo well with Drawing Thin)
4. 1x each of Gravedigger's Shovel and Lantern -> Improvised Weapon
5. A Glimmer of Hope if I end up not liking it -> Not sure what to replace here though, maybe Open Gate? Could also go with a basic skill, or with Uncage the Soul since that has 2 icons and might occasionally save me some money.

1. Good point about Forbidden Knowledge. 4 horror could be a problem but it's a good combo with Dark Horse. Maybe put the horror on Holy Rosary and get it back with Scavenging 2? Alternertively, Cherished Keepsake and Leather Coat is also a good combo with Scavenging 2 and cost no ressources. They also help thinning your deck when reshuffling so you have more skill cards in it.
2. Rise to the Occasion is hard to rate, not sure if it works with attributes where she has only a 2.
3. Grit Your Teeth wont be released for a while, so i'd go for Live and Learn. It also has the advantage if you succeed on the first try, you dont waste the card and it dosnt cost ressources.
4. You mean Impromptu Barrier? The weapons already in your deck. I dont really like evasion in general, I'd take a card with ? or one of the basic skills that draw a card on success, helping you to cycle your deck faster.
5. I don't think you have enough spells for Uncage the Soul to consistently have this and another one in your hand. Also note that Uncage the Soul provokes an OA if used with evade or fight events because it counts as play.
6. I like Open Gate but it often depends on the scenario and number of players. In solo it's not worth it, scenarios provide you with enough time even if you have to backtrack. But in 3-4 player it's great to save time and can be helpful to evade enemies at the other end of the map with an OA.

Oh I didn't realize that about Uncage the Soul, definitely not worth it then.

And I suppose Impromptu Barrier wouldn't do me any more good against watcher than Improvised Weapon. I'll drop a skill there, either Guts or Overpower probably.

I usually play with either 2 or 4 so I'll do Open Gate in 4, if playing in 2p I'll either use a basic skill or search for another option.

I did consider Cherished Keepsake, but ultimately wanted the bonus to will since I'm going for a Mind's Eye build.

Unfortunately that would mean that recurring Holy Rosary uses up half those resources. maybe this is enough of a hold out until Drawing Thin is available, not sure how I feel about it yet.

Or both with Relic Hunter? Drawing Thin also costs 3 XP if you play with taboo and is another asset you need to play. It also tends to waste actions on a failed a skill test because of the increased difficulty. I think Drawing Thin is only worth it if you play the full fail to win combo, but patrice doesn't really benefit from drawing cards here.

I witnessed patrice works best with as few assets as possible (outside of items you play with Scavenging 2), as there's often stuff todo and you're forced to discard key assets. Like you need to move once and get that clue or kill a cultist before the agenda advances... or to discard a weakness

I could do both, but I was hoping to get 2x Holy Rosary out and have 6 and Mind's Eye available. Since I'd be using Sixth Sense to investigate I should be able to make that last, especially with the fast recharge ability and Enraptured.

I do use taboo, and with the horror mitigation it's probably not the biggest deal to just take 3-4 horror from Forbidden Knowledge if I have to.

What do you think of this update: arkhamdb.com ?

Darn, I think we both missed that Mind's Eye requires 2 arcane slots, so you cant play it with Sixth Sense unless you add Sign Magick.

Not sure how much Overpower helps you without a 2 damage weapon like Fire Axe (great combo with Dark Horse, Madame Labranche and Forbidden Knowledge). So if you don't have such weapons I'd rather rely on evading (Manual Dexterity) or have another player kill enemies in your way.

Once you have Cornered (2 in play) you don't need much else, you can throw any card to any test. Preferably Assets for Scavenging 2?

Oh crap, good point. I even had that in my original notes haha. I was intending on upgrading Sixth Sense to Mind's Eye, but forgot about that when we were chatting.

Good point on overpower, I was mainly thinking it would help with Gravedigger's Shovel when it had to occasionally be used as a weapon, as well as technically helping with Improvised Weapon. In both cases though it would not help if I'm using Mind's Eye.

I don't think I can spare a hand slot for Sign Magick since I want Patrice's Violin and either a Lantern or Gravedigger's Shovel in play. Do you think I'll be alright without Sixth Sense if I have Mind's Eye going?

Maybe I should replace Overpower with Perception with the intent to upgrade it to Sharp Vision?

At some point it feels like I might be sacrificing too much for Mind's Eye though. I could drop it and just find other ways to handle / (since rarely matters enough to build around). It really just depends on how successfully I can recharge it, which was the only reason I thought Patrice Hathaway might be able to make it work. It's kind of lackluster otherwise.

Sign Magick will overload your action and ressource economy, so don't play it.

I think Mind's Eye is a bad card for the reasons stated in the review on it's page. After spending it's last secret you'll wonder how you're supposed to win the scenario and why you've played 2 Holy Rosary to boost your , which is now useless?

I'd rather go with Sixth Sense and maybe Mists of R'lyeh if your group has a dedicated fighter or Shrivelling if not.

I used Sharp Vision and Brute Force on calvin in the dreamland campaign, they're both pretty good. Brute Force especially cause you don't need a weapon and still deal 3 damage.

That's funny I literally played Calvin in the dream eaters right before my current campaign, using both of those cards. I think he's now my favorite investigator, the "on the brink of death" play style is so interesting to build for. I started with this deck and at the end was running this (we did a couple of sidequests as well but man that was a high xp campaign). Always felt invincible if I popped out Miss Doyle or Fight or Flight or something. Testing at like 10 is amazing.

Yeah, in general I'd agree with the review on Mind's Eye, I just wanted to see if I could make it work here.

I think if it got an upgraded version (only one slot, and either a better method of recharge or more secrets) then it could be a cool idea. But unfortunately if you did that it would have to cost more than 2xp, and then no off-class mystics could take it anyway.

Alright so if I'm no longer intending on Mind's Eye then I should drop Enraptured as well.

Also I've play tested A Glimmer of Hope last night and would agree that while it's a cool idea, it's really not worth the action it takes to get them back out of discard. I wish I could think of how to fix it, but making an upgraded version fast would be too good without some sort of drawback. Maybe make it cost 2 but be fast? At any rate, it's going out as well.

I got a little screwed with both Forbidden Knowledge and Patrice's Violin later in my deck, so I think I'm going to add a second Forbidden Knowledge.

Also became apparent I can't hang onto Perseverance, so not sure I'll ever get the event benefit from it. It does have two icons though, so not sure if I'll drop it yet.

I do like the action compression of Mists of R'lyeh, but I'm playing in 2p, so might be better not to be totally helpless against monsters without Improvised Weapon. (I wish Wither was the phase instead of the turn so much, because then I could boost an ally's chances without it being my primary goal. )

So I think it's going to look something like this:

1. A Glimmer of Hope -> 1x Forbidden Knowledge + Shrivelling
2. never bother upgrading to Mind's Eye
3. Improvised Weapon x1 + Winging It x1 -> Trial by Fire
4. Enraptured -> Fight or Flight
5. Perseverance -> Dark Horse x1 + Premonition.

Updated version here

Calvin can a problem at the start of 2 player games cause the other player may feel too pressured when calvin cant pass tests yet. So i played 2 chars, calvin and Carolin, which is a cool combo. Both can play Solemn Vow so you can pass damage and horror around until all are healed by Jessica Hyde and Peter Sylvestre.

Hard to say how to upgrade Mind's Eye. I guess it's biggest problem is the low number of secrets. If it had charges instead, Abigail Foreman and Recharge could help. Or if we get better secret sources in future cards... but i doubt that, as it would make several other assets too OP.

Thanks for sharing your experience with A Glimmer of Hope.

Just saw it in another deck, Fearless may help you with the horror from Forbidden Knowledge.

True, conditional events like Perseverance are a bad idea in patrice until you are Cornered.

Extra move from Mists of R'lyeh is nice, but i often couldnt use it cause there were still clues on my location. Also the teams fighter appreciates it if the exhausted enemy does not retaliate on .

Focus on fight or evade also depends on the campaign. In FA and TCU someone should have a few evace options for spoiler reasons.

What campaign are you playing and who's the other character?

Yeah I almost went with solemn vow, but ended up liking the Meat Cleaver + Smoking Pipe combo pretty well. I got a little lucky with my weakness draw too with Dark Pact which helped once or twice. Otherwise I'd just intentionally grab an enemy and drag them around for AoO until I was in a good place.

I think I did get a bit lucky in my early games though, Miss Doyle was either in my opening hand or drawn within the first 3 turns for the first two scenarios.

Ah good call on Fearless, I'll figure out how to slot that in if it becomes needed, I think I tend to overcompensate on healing damage/horror in most decks. Especially after playing Calvin I think I'm willing to play with a little more risk for some extra power. That said Fearless 2 is really solid, I might have to just work it in anyway.

Finished all of the main campaigns (except for Weaver... ) so right now we're returning to Carcosa for round 2.

Mark Harrigan is the other player, and is primarily monster focused, with a few clue gathering methods worked in, so I could go with Mists of R'lyeh and leave all the killing to him, but I'm thinking I actually want to be able to handle the custom lead investigator weakness with damage in case my investigate checks aren't working. That investigation can be brutal in the wrong circumstances.

Not sure how often the action compression would trigger anyway in RttPtC.