Jack receives a Grant to bring some Field Samples to the lab for Analysis and Decipher an Hypothesis

Credit: Adam Lane, Steve Hamilton, Diana Martínez and Cristi Balanescu

Introduction:

I never really found a MoJack deck that truly satisfied me, not even the one I published on release. His 4 base requires some work, his ability incentivises you to move instead of investigating and his card pool is tough with only 5 cards in the strongest lvl 0 card pool and no access to the strongest high-level card pool.
I was really excited to look at the new TSK cards with Jack in mind, looking at what could work for him. It took me a while, but I finally found the hidden gem for him!

Disclaimer:

This deck may have a higher or lower peak performance based on the scenario.

• The fact that you can only explore when your location is empty in The Depth of Yoth impacts the ceiling of the deck both in limiting moving actions and preventing you from leaving a clue at each location.

• Smaller maps also limit the capacity of the deck.

• On the other side of the spectrum, bigger maps allow you to dash through the map and then collect tons of clues in one action with Deciphered Reality. For instance, it is quite easy to collect 9 clues in one action in Midnight Mask.

This series is a celebration of the 20k points on ArkhamDB to thank you all for all the support received.
Click here to see all the previous decks. I will keep releasing a new standalone-ready deck concept every week on Friday, so stay tuned and keep pressing the ♥ button if you want to see more!

Let me know which investigators you want to see next in the comment!

Table of Contents:

• Overview

• Main Strategy

• Bring Samples to the Lab

• Get rewarded for your discoveries

• Other Cards

• Upgrade Path

• Make Your Own Deck!

Overview:

Main Strategy:

• Use the Alchemical Distillation to get both: move 2 locations and add a charge to the Pendant of the Queen to get a clue each turn at any location.

• Make sure to leave 1 clue at every visited location and get them all in one go with Deciphered Reality.

• Pile up resources to use Well Connected and Money Talks to succeed any test.

Bring Samples to the Lab:

• Whitton Greene and Dr. Milan Christopher bring you to 6

  • Whitton Greene (2) does not only bring you a static icon, but she also helps you find the Segments of Onyx as you open up locations, allowing you to build your Pendant of the Queen at a record pace.

  • Once you have the Pendant of the Queen on the table, you now need Alchemical Distillation to make the best out of it

  • By succeeding by 2 or more, you are allowed to pick 2 options. Daring Maneuver is a safety net to guarantee success by 2 criteria.

  • Moving twice allows us to open new locations, helping you find the Segment of Onyx with Whitton and trigger your ability.

  • Adding a charge to the Pendant of the Queen allows you to turn that Alchemical Distillation test into a remote clue or an evade at any location.

  • As the Pendant of the Queen can collect clues at any location, it is easy to leave exactly 1 clue at every revealed location, allowing for a perfect situation for Deciphered Reality. This brings back all the tempo you spent moving instead of getting clues at the beginning of a scenario.

  • If you find it earlier, feel free to burn supplies of the Alchemical Distillation before you get the Pendant of the Queen and draw 2 cards with it, which will help to find your building blocks.

Get rewarded for your discoveries:

The best way to secure the Alchemical Distillation test on your first action is through the big money archetype:

• Dr. Milan Christopher rewards you for investigating

  • It is good to note that Dr. Milan Christopher shines less in this deck than your average because a significant number of clues will be obtained via the Pendant of the Queen and the Alchemical Distillation test is not an investigation.

• Crack the Case, Faustian Bargain and "Watch this!" allow for some burst income, especially during setup.

• Counting the upkeep, your ability and Lone Wolf, you are at 3 resources per turn.

• Well Connected and Money Talks reward you for getting that rich.

  • Well Connected is the best way to guarantee oversuccess at your Alchemical Distillation test. This will also help trigger Empirical Hypothesis each turn.

  • Money Talks is perfect for making any test trivial by the second half of the scenario. The most common use is for tests, but its versatility is surprisingly helpful.

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Other Cards:

• Trusty Bullwhip is a perfect use of our second hand slot. It helps deal with smaller enemies or evade enemies with a lower fight.

• "You handle this one!" is another way to deal with nasty treacheries, especially before you make enough money to fuel Money Talks.

• Daring Maneuver secures the Alchemical Distillation success by 2 when you are still setting up. Perception is another support for this.

• Quick Thinking finally is probably the one skill with the best value.

Later upgrades:

• A second copy of Deciphered Reality gives you another chance at having that "bang" moment of grabbing everything you've left behind, which is often useful based on the scenario. Alternatively, it helps when you pull the on your first try.

• We upgrade Empirical Hypothesis to get Field Research as it's by far the easiest to meet in Jack.

  • Since we now have 2 achievable hypotheses, we can upgrade to Alternative Hypothesis and collect another clue each turn. First, do the success by 3 hypothesis, meet it on your Alchemical Distillation by using Well Connected on this test and then choose the 3-shroud one that you will meet as you move twice as a result of the test.

  • Now that we're drowning in evidence, we can use them with Irrefutable Proof to get clues!

• Emergency Cache (3) is great in this deck for its versatility: gain resources with no and with a card back, or add Supplies to Alchemical Distillation based on what you need most.

• Unearth the Ancients (2) is always a blast, using an investigation that you would do anyways and turn it into tempo. Your second Alchemical Distillation and Empirical Hypothesis are the best target, in my opinion.

• Calming Distillate on the Alchemical Distillation supports the low at the end of a campaign when you may have quite some trauma.

• Perception (2) is good at succeeding the Alchemical Distillation test easier, and getting more cards in return.

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Upgrade Path:

Link to the 0xp deck

(View at arkham-starter.com)

Link to the full xp deck

To create your own guides, find the template I have created here