From the Jungle to the top of the FBI - A Solo Deck for TCU

"I've had enough Mitch, the price of this last expedition was the blood of countless good men. Some of the best actually..."

"Then what should we do Leo? The adventures are our lives... What else can we do, besides exploring the wildest legions of the world?"

"Maybe we can do something else... Maybe we can help humanity in a way, instead of sacrificing the lives of good men for some extraordinary treasure."

"It seems like you already have something in your mind Leo. Tell me what's going on!"

"Did you heard about the city of Arkham? There were several disappearances in the couple weeks, and the police has a hard time figuring out what is going on. Maybe they could use some help."

"Sounds like a plan. As always, I will follow you 'till the end"

"That's what I thought. Our ship will depart tomorrow morning. I've already bought the tickets."

Welcome to the tale of the expedition leader, who joins the local police in Arkham, and by the end of the campaign, will reach the top of the FBI itself.

We will start out as an expedition leader, who tries to help the local police department with his trusty friends Mitch Brown and Leo De Luca. As time goes on, we will develop our Keen Eye and earn a Police Badge as we take part in the investigation. After several successful cases, we will join the ranks of the FBI, and by the end of the campaign, we will earn the help of several special agents in the form of Agency Backup.

Please note, that this is a non-taboo deck, with standard difficulty in mind.

1. Investigator overview

True solo can be a tough challenge. We need to build our deck keeping 3 points in mind:

1. We need to be able to gather clues efficiently
2. We need to be able to handle enemies in some way
3. We need survive the things that the encounter deck throws at us

Leo is decent at two of the above points due to his 4 and 4, and with a little help in the form of testless clues, we can overcome the 3. TCU really likes to spam tests, which Leo can handle quite well. Also the allies are not just for the added bonus, but they are also pretty decent meat shields, helping you tank some hits from failed tests. This deck revolves around three key things:

1. Always having an ally in play (or more for the better)
2. Doing at least 4 actions per turn
3. Gaining clues efficiently (mostly testless, or low risk test)

2. Mulligan guide:

For fighting, your best friend is your trusty Machete and the Enchanted Blade. Try to mulligan for at least one of these cards, or for Prepared for the Worst. With a friendly Beat Cop ally, you should be able to handle enemies pretty efficiently. Guard Dog can also help with some ping damage for 3 health enemies.

For clue gathering, you should try to look for Flashlight. We can safely use it on 2 shroud locations for the guaranteed clue, or on 3 shroud locations for low risk investigations. We also have some form of testless clue gathering with Scene of the Crime and Evidence!, the latter supported by On the Hunt. Keep these for those nasty 4 shroud locations if able.

For economy and efficiency, you should look for Lone Wolf and Leo De Luca. These are not top priority cards as the fighting or clueving tools, but it helps to have some bonuses for the early game.

3. Overall gameplay

The idea of the deck is dealing with whatever monster the encounter deck throws at you, while gaining the necessary clues for finishing the scenario. TCU mostly has weak enemies in the early scenarios with low and health. For the more difficult enemies you can use Steadfast or Take the Initiative. Later in the campaign, when enemies have higher health and , we mitigate the time spent in combat with additional actions using Leo De Luca and Quick Thinking, while also milking Keen Eye for stat bonuses in those long turns.

In the meantime, we will use Flashlight, Scene of the Crime, and Evidence! to get our clues. It's also okay to try naked tests on low shroud locations without nasty haunted effects. As we upgrade our deck, we will rely more on Agency Backup and some shenanigans provided by Keen Eye and bonus actions from Leo De Luca, Police Badge, and Quick Thinking for some serious full on investigation turns (note that this combo can be quite handy in cases like the The Secret Name when you have to investigate a lot to find the Witch House Ruins).

Later in the campaign, we will get some Charisma to have non-stop access to the additional action provided by Leo, while also having Mitch and 2 non-unique assets in play (Beat Cop and Guard Dog, or later in the campaign Beat Cop and Agency Backup. Calling in Favors is an essential card for finding key allies, and providing additional uses of testless damage and clues by Guard Dog, Agency Backup, and Beat Cop.

With 4, we're pretty resistant against the encounter deck in around half of the cases, and once we get Police Badge, our chances are even better.

4. Upgrade path

You can see the recommended upgrade path starting with the most important cards:

1. Keen Eye!!!
2. -1 On the Hunt, -1 Prepared for the Worst / +2 Ever Vigilant (trust me, a wonderfull economy and efficiency card for Leo)
3. -1 Decorated Skull / +1 Police Badge
4. Charisma
5. -2 Guard Dog / +2 Agency Backup
6. -1 On the Hunt -1 Evidence! / +2 Pay Day (By this time, you will need a bit more cash supporting Agency Backup)
7. -1 Flashlight / +1 Police Badge
8. -2 Beat Cop / +2 Beat Cop
9. -2 Leo De Luca / +2 Leo De Luca

5. Epilogue

After a long period of time, Leo felt like it's time to take some rest. Protecting the world from the forces of the supernatural entities can sometimes be more troublesome, than finding a relic in the middle of an unknown temple. At least he felt like he redeemed himself in some way. He took one last look on his trusty machete, before putting it in the wooden chest in the cellar. With heavy steps, he started to climb the stairs, trying to suppress this hollow feeling in the inside. He closed the door behind himself, and after a moment of stillness, he began to prepare for his last day in the agency, for his retirement ceremony.

Big thanks for reading this wall of text my fellow investigators! I tried to include as much insight regarding how the deck works as I could, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments.

Vaughen