SoSE – Romans 13:4

Yea, though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, thou shalt fear no evil, for He is with you, through me. And surely His goodness and love will follow you all the days of your life, and thou shalt dwell in the house of the Lord forever...though I sacrifice this body and this soul to shepherd you there.

It's that time again! Welcome back to Secrets of Somewhere Else, for a brand-new thematic deckbuild!

I've always been a fan of Zoey, even in previous Arkham Files games, so it was really exciting to me that with the advent of Innsmouth we gained access to mechanics able to reflect our holy paladin's themes and style!

Ms. Samaras is a primary fighter, wielding her favorite chef's knives and her beloved holy symbol. Faith is a powerful force, and Zoey's devout belief in justice, righteousness, and God's grace are capable of working miracles. She channels her faith into her weapons, making them cut deeper and strike truer. No evil is safe in her sight!

In addition to this, Zoey is able to bring comfort to her weary allies, skewing the cosmic balance of the universe towards the light by filling the bag with Bless tokens, helping her allies pass tests or fuel their own divine magic. Her worn and well-loved Bible brings solace to her and to those she fights alongside, while her guardian angel ensures that the grace the team draws upon does not fade from their lives. Zoey is also able to repulse the worst assaults of the Ancient Ones through sheer force of will and faith alone.

Her skills and strengths are not limited to the metaphysical, however. She is also a clever and experienced combatant, and makes sure she is always prepared for...emergencies and contingency plans.

Zoey's Plan in this deck consists of Dynamite Blast, Ever Vigilant, and "Get over here!". Sadly she cannot attach Enchant Weapon to Stick to the Plan, but with the help of Overpower, Tempt Fate, and Glory, as well as starting with a deck size of 29 (or less if she Backpacks promptly) she will hit it and her preferred weapon swiftly. If you are worried about being weaponless in the early game, swapping "Get over here!" for Prepared for the Worst and/or hard mulliganing for the Cleavers should keep you armed and ready.

You will typically want to save your Favor of the Sun triggers for when you've already drawn a Bless on a combat test where you need extra damage, in which case you'll be able to trigger Blessing of Isis for Zoey's Elder Sign–which is powerful, but normally far too hard to make consistent. Not so anymore!

Nephthys will also usually be restoring blesses to the bag, but if you wanted to alter the deck to include more generation (Righteous Hunt, Keep Faith) she could probably more consistently afford to spend Blesses for damage instead.

I hope you enjoy bringing the justice of the Lord to those cruel monsters who seek only pain, death, and misery for humanity! Draw your weapons, whisper your prayers, and pocket your Bible, for God's agent is with the sheep tonight, and all wolves would do well to flee the fold until morning.

Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle.

Psalm 144:1