Card draw simulator
| Derived from |
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| None. Self-made deck here. |
| Inspiration for | ||||
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| maldição! | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 |
| Kōhaku, new campaign | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 |
Valentin1331 · 67517
Credit: Aleksander Karcz and Pixoloid Studios
Kōhaku Narukami is both a Blessing for your Team and a Curse for the Ancient Ones, by manipulating Blurse to his advantage without any impact on his group.
This Deck Guide mainly focuses on the Flex role with a full collection, and you will find all the following builds for Kōhaku in the "Make Your Own Deck!":
- Flex with Revised-only collection
- Cluever with Full or Revised-only collection
- Fighter with Full or Revised-only collection
- True Solo with Full or Revised-only collection
- Flex, Cluever or Fighter in a Bless-heavy team
- Core + Feast of Hemlock Vale Investigator Expansion only!
Check the "Make Your Own Deck!" section for all the links.
Please don't forget to press the ♥ if you like the Deck and the work that has been put into making it :)
This deck is designed to be played in any group, even if no one wants to use Blurse tech.
I rarely played Blurse decks because the prospect of forcing others to adapt their deck to mine is off-putting.
Most of us who own The Innsmouth Conspiracy did one Blurse run at some point, but after that, the only interaction we have with Blurse is because of Faustian Bargain or Accursed Follower.
And this expansion is a good illustration of this. Sure, all the other investigators have a bit of blurse tech they could use, but I would much rather play my Kōhaku Narukami deck next to an Alessandra Zorzi deck, or anyone else, and be able to tell my friend: Don't worry, you won't notice it.
And so that's the guiding principle of this deck:
Make sure that you won't leave tokens in the bag for your teammates.
Because even 3 and 3 can lead to annoying situations during the Mythos Phase.
Finally, don't be put off by the difficulty of this deck, especially when playing it during a campaign, as the complexity increases along with your experience playing it, and learning how to master The Folklorist is extremely satisfying.
As the new expansion comes out, it is time for some blind runs! I have been publishing deck guides for each investigator from the last 2 expansions, so this year, I decided to make it a little bit different. I asked other content creators to join in for the fun!
Here are the decks and resources related to each investigator:
- Wilson Richards
- Kate Winthrop
- Alessandra Zorzi
- Kōhaku Narukami
- Hank Samson
- Justin from PlayingBoardGames [Youtube & Twitch]
- The Youtube video presenting the Deck
- The ArkhamDB Deck
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Overview
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Main Strategy
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Blurse Management
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Turn and Sequence examples
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Other Cards
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Upgrade Path
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Make Your Own Deck!
| Difficulty: | ★★★★☆ |
| Enemy Management: | ★★★★☆ |
| Clue-getting: | ★★★★☆ |
| Encounter protection: | ★★★☆☆ |
| Survivability: | ★★★★★ |
| Economy: | ★★★★☆ |
| Card Drawing: | ★★★★☆ |
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Add tokens:
- with Kōhaku's ability.
- with Gabriel Carillo, Prismatic Spectacles, or Kōhaku's ability.
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Turn these tokens into benefits:
- means +2 skill value and no token pull once per turn thanks to the Ancient Covenant.
- means:
- Infinite charges or +1 damage with Armageddon.
- 2 clues with Prismatic Spectacles.
- 2 resources with The Key of Solomon.
- Infinite recursion of Read the Signs (2) / Spectral Razor (2).
- 2 testless damage with the Servant of Brass summoned by Seal of the Elders.
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Negate the modifier of tokens by committing 2 Fey.
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Store additional on Favor of the Moon for more benefits.
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Make sure that you only add as many as you can use in your turn.
Adding Tokens:
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If you know that you will need more Tokens than what your Assets/Promise of Power can generate, you can use Kōhaku Narukami's ability for a .
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Gabriel Carillo adds a for a card. Note that this is optional and doesn't require Gabriel to exhaust.
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The Prismatic Spectacles also add a when using them to investigate. Note that they only exhaust to get an additional clue.
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Promise of Power can generate a in a pinch.
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Deep Knowledge and Faustian Bargain add 2 tokens each.
Using your Tokens:
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Book of Living Myths can be used once a turn to pull a token:
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During an Armageddon test to either get your charge back (practically making Armageddon endless) or deal 3 damage in one attack.
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During a Prismatic Spectacles test to get 2 clues.
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During Read the Signs (2) or Spectral Razor (2) so you get it back to your hand at the end of your turn.
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On any other test in which you committed 2 Fey for a total of +2 , +4 skill value to this test.
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If you need more than one per turn, you have Favor of the Moon.
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This is really good to use Prismatic Spectacles to get 2 clues, and Read the Signs (2) the same turn, or attack twice this turn with Armageddon.
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Using Book of Living Myths and Favor of the Moon on the same test once is enough to trigger the Seal of the Elders and summon a Servant of Brass. From now on, a single Armageddon + attack is worth 5 damage!
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Don't forget to gain 1 resource when using a from the Favor of the Moon.
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The Key of Solomon is the last big consumer.
- Gaining 2 resources per turn pays for your setup and, even more importantly, your incessant use of Read the Signs (2) and Spectral Razor (2)
Adding Tokens:
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There is only one way in this deck to add tokens: Kōhaku's ability.
- Because Gabriel Carillo has the same window as Kōhaku you can chose which one to trigger first. If your bag has 1 / 0 , you can first activate Gabriel to reach 1/1 and then Kōhaku's ability to add a 2nd token.
Using Tokens:
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These tokens are then easy to pull with the Book of Living Myths, (as long as there is 1 more or a tie). This triggers the Ancient Covenant for a secured success since no other token is revealed.
- Starting a turn with a token can be helpful in case you draw treachery that justifies using your Book of Living Myths during the Mythos phase, like a Grasping Hands for instance.
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Because Read the Signs (2) and Spectral Razor (2) come back to your hand with any symbol, it is preferable to use a + Ancient Covenant when playing them to avoid the .
- If you have enough resources, or you are low in health/sanity, you can use The Key of Solomon to heal anyone at your location, , significantly decreasing the chances of anyone in your party being defeated.
Don't forget that Kōhaku Narukami's ability is optional, so you are not forced to use it. But overall, leaving tokens in the bag will most likely be appreciated unless your partner is Stella Clark.
Every turn will start by assessing your board state and what you need to do this round.
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Decide if you need to investigate, fight or anything else, and check the bag situation.
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Check how many generators you want to use: Gabriel Carillo if you need to draw, and Prismatic Spectacles if you need to investigate, or events like Deep Knowledge.
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Check how many consumers you have: Book of Living Myths, The Key of Solomon, Favor of the Moon in hand.
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Decide if you want to add a or a with Kōhaku's ability and start your turn.
Pro tip:
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It helps to pair cards: Gabriel and The Key of Solomon cancel one another's tokens.
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Then:
- Add a if you play any other card that adds to the bag (Prismatic Spectacles, Promise of Power, Deep Knowledge, Faustian Bargain).
- Add a to prevent if you want to play Spectral Razor (2) or Read the Signs (2).
- Otherwise, add a .
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Please use the Bless/Curse token counter provided by FFG in this box. It was designed explicitly for Kōhaku players and will make your experience playing him much more enjoyable.
During an investigation turn:
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Use Kōhaku's ability to add one to the bag.
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Use Gabriel Carillo to add one to the bag and draw one card.
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Use your Prismatic Spectacles to investigate, add 1 to the bag.
3.1. Use The Key of Solomon during the first window to pull a from the bag and gain 2 resources.
3.2. Commit 2 copies of Fey.
3.4. Test at 11 .
3.5 Use the Book of Living Myths to pull a , and reveal another token.
3.6 Discover 2 clues. -
Play Read the Signs (2).
4.1. Commit 2 copies of Fey.
4.3. Test at 13 .
4.2. Use Favor of the Moon to resolve a token, and reveal another token.
4.3. Discover 2 clues. -
Move away from this empty location.
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Get Read the Signs (2) back in your hand.
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Upkeep.
Results: +4 clues, 1 move, +2 cards, +1 resource, all played cards back in hand and 1 Favor of the Moon use consumed.
During a combat turn:
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Use Kōhaku's ability to add one to the bag.
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Use Gabriel Carillo and add one to the bag.
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Use your Armageddon to fight.
3.1. Use The Key of Solomon during the first window to pull a from the bag and gain 2 resources.
3.2. Commit 2 copies of Fey.
3.3. Test at 10 .
3.4. Use the Book of Living Myths to pull a , and reveal another token.
3.5. Deal 1 damage to the Servant of Brass to deal 2 damage to the enemy or any other enemy at a connecting location.
3.6 Deal 2 or 3 damage. -
Use another charge of Armageddon or play Spectral Razor (2).
4.1. Commit 2 copies of Fey.
4.2. Test at 11 or 9 .
4.3. Use Favor of the Moon to resolve a token.
4.4. Deal 1 damage to the Servant of Brass to deal 2 damage to the enemy.
4.5 Deal 2 to 3 damage. -
Repeat, move or investigate.
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Get Spectral Razor (2) back in your hand.
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Upkeep.
Results: 8 to 10 damage, one move, +2 cards, +1 resource, all cards back in hand, one Favor of the Moon use consumed, and up to 2 damage dealt to the Servant of Brass.
Important Notes:
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In practice, in 99,9% of the cases, adding the curse with Gabriel Carillo is immediately followed by the option to remove it with The Key of Solomon. So, you can save some hassle by just skipping the token part and exhaust The Key of Solomon to draw 1 card and 2 resources without interfering with the bag.
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There are 2 important other player windows that are good to know for using The Key of Solomon.
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The first one is just after any player draws 1 encounter card. This means that you can use it during the Mythos Phase before any test happens to remove a that is left from the previous turn and make sure it is not pulled during a test on a treachery card.
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The second one is when an investigator's turn begins, so before even Kōhaku and Gabriel's . This can help you manipulate the bag so you start your turn with the optimal situation for your plans.
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As you set up your board, you will, for instance, not necessarily use Gabriel Carillo's if you didn't find The Key of Solomon yet, so you do not overload the bag with you can't absorb.
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The Mulligan priorities to accelerate your set-up are:
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Backpack (2) (If you don't have it, do yourself a favour and proxy it with the level 0)
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Book of Living Myths so you can use tokens immediately with your Ancient Covenant and start succeeding tests.
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The Key of Solomon or Faustian Bargain to pay for your setup
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Deep Knowledge to get more cards.
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Spectral Razor in case you pull an early enemy or Armageddon if you also have the Book of Living Myths.
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Anything else goes back into your deck.
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Once set up, this deck is extraordinary by its consistency, dealing levels of damage main fighters often struggle to deliver while also picking up clues at a tempo expected to main cluevers. But because it is all very combo-y, it can take a little while to assemble all the puzzle pieces, and one missing can make the scenario really challenging. That's why the deck has a lot of draw and tutors.
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In the Thick of It is a good way to start with Ancient Covenant, without which the deck really struggles. We choose 2 mental trauma.
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Backpack (2) is the unsung hero of many decks. It speeds up your set-up tremendously.
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A typical first turn is to add 1 with Kōhaku's ability, then play the Backpack (2), and immediately from it The Key of Solomon and Book of Living Myths, for 5 resources, and you get 2 resources back right after, during the other investigator's turn or the beginning of the enemy phase.
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While only hitting 1 target with the Backpack (2) may feel bad, the key combo pieces of this deck are so vital that it is still a good outcome. And if it whiffs, tell yourself that it means that you would have spent the equivalent of 12 turns (almost an entire scenario) without seeing your combo piece, so just by shuffling your deck, Backpack (2) is helping you already!
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Faustian Bargain is here because The Key of Solomon sometimes hides, and it makes the board really hard to set up.
- On top of that, it can help teammates and/or add 2 before you play a Favor of the Moon. Finally, it can even be committed to Armageddon, Read the Signs or Prismatic Spectacles.
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Guts and Perception are mostly here to support tests before you find Fey, and as cantrips to speed up the pace at which you hit your combo cards.
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Prescient is great in this deck because you secure some Symbol tokens each turn, so you can effectively use it to recur Read the Signs and Spectral Razor whenever you attack with Armageddon.
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Promise of Power helps with skills you are afraid to fail, like scenario tests or an early important test before you found Fey.
Level 0 Deck:
The early deck relies much more on the Ancient Covenant to secure one test per turn.
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Crystal Pendulum is a great addition since you know in advance, once per turn, how much you will succeed by.
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Scroll of Secrets is great to have some filtered draw. Even if it competes for the hand slot, their contribution to set up is very appreciated.
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Arcane Initiate is fantastic in this deck, and upgrading to Gabriel Carillo is almost only for the Lore. Finding your spells is extremely important, and she does it arguably better than the geometry teacher.
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Explosive Ward is a great way to have 2 testless damage in case you didn't find Armageddon yet. And even after, it is a solid 1-ping for early enemies.
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Because it is testless, it is also a great answer to Weeping Yurei.
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The icons are also great to commit to a Spectral Razor test.
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Speaking of testless damage, another option is Occult Lexicon, which has great flexibility:
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Draw, which can be found by the Arcane Initiate since Blood-Rite is a Spell.
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Resources in case you don't find Faustian Bargain.
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Testless damage, again, interesting against the Weeping Yurei.
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Diabolical Luck is a great way to deal with early , before you get Fey. The fact that it is reactive makes this card a 0 cost Lucky! for .
Luxury Upgrades:
After you reach the displayed version of the deck, the only valuable upgrades I could come up with are:
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Occult Reliquary + Eye of the Djinn
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Since we pull a every turn, the Eye of the Djinn is a great way to have a 4th action every turn with no downside.
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After adding the Eye of the Djinn, we have 4 colours, so we can use Close the Circle for 3 bonus actions or Call for Backup, which is one of the only cards that can heal Servant of Brass.
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Cards that didn't make the cut:
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Tempt Fate is probably one of the most surprising cards that is not in this deck. It is good in Kōhaku Narukami, but it does what I didn't want this deck to do: add more blurse in the bag than what I can reliably use and, therefore, increase the variance of tests for my whole team.
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Control Variable has been part of my testing, but it didn't give me enough value. The reason was mainly that this deck picks up clues 2 by 2, and clues are often X , which results in even numbers unless you play true solo. In this case, its worth increases significantly.
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Blasphemous Covenant is the one I tried the most, but the problem is that it leaves the in the bag. It can be helpful when you want to use the same Token for both Book of Living Myths and The Key of Solomon, but in practice, it mostly prevents us from clearing the bag.
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Guided by Faith is good, especially since we have the Ancient Covenant, but adding 2 in the bag can mess up our ability to control the bag by choosing at all time what token to add with Kōhaku's ability. The same reason explains why Purified is not in the deck.
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Mesmeric Influence, Mind Wipe and to a lesser extent Manipulate Destiny are great options to fight Weeping Yurei, but in practice, we either use Spectral Razor (which is great since it's Aloof) or we throw one Armageddon charge and accept to take 2 horror. The Key of Solomon can easily heal it anyway.
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Wicked Athame is good, but doesn't fit this deck. First of all, we almost never need additional charges on Armageddon, Armageddon can already deal with 2,3 and 4hp enemies quite well, and finally, our hands are already full with greater value.
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Beloved didn't make the cut because, with the Ancient Covenant, plays the same role, but is permanent and repeatable. It's not bad, but it's not good enough to justify a deck space.
| Cost | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In the Thick of It | → | Ancient Covenant •• | 2 XP | 2 XP | |
| In the Thick of It | → | Favor of the Moon • | 1 XP | 3 XP | |
| Core Upgrades | 3 XP | ||||
| Diabolical Luck | → | Fey • | 1 XP | 4 XP | |
| Diabolical Luck | → | Fey • | 1 XP | 5 XP | |
| Crystal Pendulum | → | Backpack •• | 2 XP | 7 XP | |
| Occult Lexicon | → | Backpack •• | 2 XP | 9 XP | |
| Scroll of Secrets | → | The Key of Solomon •••• | 4 XP | 13 XP | |
| Scroll of Secrets | → | The Key of Solomon •••• | 4 XP | 17 XP | |
| Explosive Ward | → | Favor of the Moon • | 1 XP | 18 XP | |
| Conistency Upgrades | 18 XP | ||||
| Crystal Pendulum | → | Prismatic Spectacles •• | 2 XP | 20 XP | |
| Arcane Initiate | → | Gabriel Carillo • | 1 XP | 21 XP | |
| Arcane Initiate | → | Gabriel Carillo • | 1 XP | 22 XP | |
| Explosive Ward | → | Seal of the Elders ••••• | 5 XP | 27 XP | |
| Spectral Razor | → | Spectral Razor •• | 2 XP | 29 XP | |
| Read the Signs | → | Read the Signs •• | 2 XP | 31 XP | |
| Luxury Upgrades | 31 XP | ||||
| + | Occult Reliquary ••• | 3 XP | 34 XP | ||
| Faustian Bargain | → | Eye of the Djinn •• | 4 XP | 38 XP | |
| Read the Signs | → | Read the Signs •• | 2 XP | 40 XP | |
| Spectral Razor | → | Spectral Razor •• | 2 XP | 42 XP | |
| Prescient | → | Close the Circle • | 1 XP | 43 XP |
For the following section, "Revised collection" means you have all the Investigator Expansions released in the Revised format at this deck's publishing date. This means everything EXCEPT The Dream Eaters and The Innsmouth Conspiracy. If you own these 2 expansions, you can refer to the Full collection decks.
Disclaimer: The following decks have not all been tested. Some of them are the results of pure theory-crafting. I am happy to get any feedback to improve them.
Flex build:
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Full collection: this is the deck displayed in the guide.
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Revised collection: If you don't have The Innsmouth Conspiracy yet, you are missing key pieces for this deck, notably Fey, Ancient Covenant and Armageddon.
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Strategy:
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0xp: Eldritch Initiation and Explosive Ward benefit from Occult Reliquary, which gives you an additional Arcane Slot from turn 1, which can then be changed to a Hand Slot when you need to hold 3 Hand items.
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19xp: At the beginning of your turn, generate a with Kōhaku's ability, and use the from Gabriel to get 2 resources with The Key of Solomon. This will give you enough resources to use Read the Signs (2) and Spectral Razor (2) every turn, and return it to your hand thanks to Book of Living Myths or Prescient.
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Full xp: When you have Recall the Future and you need to pull a for Prismatic Spectacles, call and it should be enough to mitigate the negative modifier.
Note that the complete Innsmouth Conspiracy campaign is currently available on the official website and in many places, so if you have a few bucks at hand, I would advise getting it, as it's also a really good campaign!
Cluever build:
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Full collection:
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Strategy: There's not much to say here. The deck is really similar to the one in the guide.
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Revised collection:
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Strategy: Occult Reliquary can give you an Arcane Slot from the start to get 3 cards out of Eldritch Initiation and then switches to a Hand Slot when you need to play a 3rd card there. The rest is token management, as explained in the above guide.
Fighter build:
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Full collection:
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Strategy: this build relies much more on the synergy, which is strong while also making everything more manageable for your team. Remember that Kōhaku's reaction is optional, so you don't need to add a every turn.
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Revised collection:
True Solo Build:
After a comment mentioning struggling with the Deck in True Solo, I made a particular declination of the deck dedicated to this play style, as I know it's hard for True Solo players to find some adequate decks.
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Full collection:
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0xp Deck with Upgrade Path
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Strategy: Book of Living Myths + Ancient Covenant once per turn / Gain resources with Faustian Bargain and Voice of Ra, and spend them on Arcane Studies to increase your skill value / Brute force tests with Skill cards like Promise of Power, Perception or Guts.
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Revised collection:
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Strategy: Occult Reliquary can be used to gain an additional Arcane Slot from the start of the scenario to get 3 cards from Eldritch Initiation or 3 damage from Explosive Ward. Only when you play a 3rd Hand Slot can you change Occult Reliquary's slot to Hand, decreasing the effectiveness of the above cards. But by then, you should be pretty comfortably set to win. Then the deck relies on getting resources to fuel Arcane Studies, and Recall the Future to compensate for tokens.
** Bless-heavy builds:
Playing in a team that leans heavily on tokens can heavily hinder your strategy. Kōhaku will only be able to add , and Book of Living Myths/The Key of Solomon will only pull tokens. This means that we cannot rely on the resources or on Armageddon / Prismatic Spectacles's abilities.
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Flex in a Bless-heavy Team:
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Strategy: In a blessed team, the are less penalising, and if they survive through the Mythos Phase, you can then use them for an additional action. Jewel of Aureolus pays for Read the Signs (2) and Spectral Razor (2). Rite of Equilibrium is one of the only cards that can heal Keeper of the Key (summoned by Seal of the Elders) for tons of testless clues. Arcane Research decreases the experience cost of all the Spells. Plan your upgrades to get the best out of it between each Scenario.
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Cluever in a Bless-heavy Team:
Same as above, playing in heavy team as a Cluever Kōhaku prevents you from using The Key of Solomon to pay for your spells, and Book of Living Myths to pull the for your Prismatic Spectacles. So we need to find alternate strategies.
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- Strategy: In a blessed team, the are less penalising, and if they survive through the Mythos Phase, you can then use them for an additional action. Jewel of Aureolus pays for Read the Signs (2). Rite of Equilibrium is one of the only cards that can heal Keeper of the Key (summoned by Seal of the Elders) for tons of testless clues. Arcane Research decreases the experience cost of all the Spells. Plan your upgrades to get the best out of it between each Scenario. Because the deck doesn't need a lot of experience, Fortune or Fate can be used in every scenario in the late campaign.
- Fighter in a Bless-heavy team:
Because the fighter build already leans towards tech, I recommend using the one above.
Core + FHV Investigator Campaign:
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Even with this small collection, a fun Kōhaku build is available for you!
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Strategy: At the beginning, use Wicked Athame on 3hp enemies to finish them and replenish your Shrivelling. As you gain experience, kill enemies with the Blessed Blade or Spectral Razor (2) and find clues with Prismatic Spectacles and Read the Signs (2) depending on if you want to add or remove / tokens from the bag.
| 69 comments |
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Feb 20, 2024 |
Feb 20, 2024This deck looks like a ton of fun |
Feb 21, 2024Thanks for organizing this project! I was having a lot of trouble wrapping my head around the wide range of options presented by Kōhaku’s deckbuilding. One possible correction: You mention Eye of the Djinn as helping during the mythos phase, but unless I’m missing a step, I don’t think this works—Eye’s reaction only triggers during your turn. |
Feb 21, 2024I´ve tried Kohaku the other day and I want to mention that Jewel of Aureolus really do a great work with this investigator, as it will give you 2 resources or a card each time you reveal a symbol. If you plan to abuse a bit more the Spectral Razor (2) / Read the signs (2), Jewel of Aureolus + Key of Solomon pays for a couple of these spells a turn. Also helps with the card draw early to find the set up pieces. True that it uses the accessory slot, you´ll have to switch the Prismatic Spectacles to Eye of Chaos or other investigation spell, or buy a Relic Hunter. I´ve played the deck with 32 XP so it´s really nice to see a lvl. 0 option and some new ideas I didn´t consider, as I plan to play it through Hemlok Vale. Thanks for your awesome work! |
Feb 21, 2024Why Blurse and not Cussing |
Feb 21, 2024I'm a fan, great work as always! I think it's interesting you've added cards that didn't make the cut as a section, will that be a permanent going forward or was it just because with Kōhaku specifically there's a lot of ways it can go? I've pulled that section from my decks now because I thought it was padding it out (though I suppose possibly it's just because people aren't very keen on my decks!). How was Seal of the Elders and did you find you saw it often enough? I really like the design but at 5 XP it feels a bit impractical. On a related deck I've got planned I've gone back to the old staple of Arcane Initiate to get the new Hemlock Vale spell tech (e.g. Read the Signs and Spectral Razor) out a bit better, but obviously there is a fair amount of card draw here so likely it balances? |
Feb 22, 2024
Seal of the Elders was great. One copy was perfect:
Regarding Arcane Initiate, I agree that she is great in this deck. I actually wrote that we upgrade to Gabriel Carillo mostly because of the love story between the 2 men, and it would be heartless to separate them. And last words, don't give up on your decks. I actually gave you hearts, but I think the timing was awkward, more than anything, and I suspect people will be more busy checking the new investigators at this point, but soon enough, there'll be a lot of interest in older investigators using the new content, I am sure! |
Feb 22, 2024
It's cool that Seal of the Elders works so well, it's makes me tempted to run something ridiculous like Favor of the Moon and Favor of the Sun at once with Olive McBride to get both servants to trigger - but it would be a bit of nightmare combo to pull off! That's a good call on Gabriel Carillo, I hadn't the made the connection with Kōhaku's blurb but he does feel almost like an auto-include with that in mind. Thanks for the kind words, I think this is the first time I've actively engaged with deckbuilding at the start of a cycle so hopefully I'll stumble on one or two combos people may not have thought of. I'll stick at it! |
Feb 22, 2024The deck looks really interesting! I wanted to try Kōhaku Narukami without hindering my allies with tokens, but I had trouble figuring out a suitable deck. This is exactly what I wanted! Can't wait to try it with a mostly clue focussed Alessandra and combat Hank. I really like several members of the wonderful Arkham community to come together and provide inspiration and a starting point for the new investigators. I'm eager to try the linked Kate and Wilson decks after playing with Kōhaku. |
Feb 23, 2024Thanks for the Deck. It is amazing and very fun to play. I have a question if anyone can help me: the tokens sealed on Favor of the moon are supposed to be still inside the bag? It is very important regarding how we use Kohaku's ability. |
Feb 23, 2024
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Feb 23, 2024
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Feb 23, 2024Great guide, as always Val. :) thank you for putting in the brainpower so people like me do not have to! |
Feb 24, 2024I'm having serious trouble passing the first scene of the first campaign, so I would rate this deck too weak to be playable |
Feb 24, 2024Thanks Having Ancient Covenant in scenario 1, as long as your draw your Book of Living Myths, you should be able to pass a good number of tests. But of course like many 0xp deck, the consistency to find your signature is not the best early in the game, so the outcome will be fluctuating. |
Feb 24, 2024I'm also really looking forward to play Kohaku for the new campaign. I like the feel of this deck. All I wonder is, how consistent it is. It seems to rely on lots of combos. |
Feb 24, 2024
Yet, as any other deck, especially in the first couple of scenarios, the cards can play tricks on you and this may things hard to deal with. |
Feb 25, 2024
I later tried in The Forgotten Age, chapter 1 & 2, it was also a real struggle. Might be due to my inferior experience and skill, but the issue I found:
In Chapter 2
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Feb 25, 2024Great deck idea if not my playstyle and theorycrafting. Just want to point out that unfortunately the Eye of the Djinn does not work during the mythos phase. It is unfortunate but doesn't work as mythos protection. But if there is a foot treachery in play you can take a test on during your turn, then yes, its lovely. Which is why i still consider Ward still quite important. |
Feb 25, 2024
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Feb 26, 2024
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Feb 26, 2024
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Feb 26, 2024Are you sure Blasphemous covenant wouldn't be a better fit for this deck? |
Feb 27, 2024
It is hard to assess what is happening without witnessing your game, and True Solo is especially swingy by nature. Pull 2 Grasping Hands and your game can end on turn 3, but I am going to try to give a few more explanations, though I doubt you will be playing the deck ever again... While not winning the first scenario is a bit of a bummer, it is sometimes worth continuing with the campaign, and this deck, as most combo decks, really take off after the combo pieces are added to the deck (what I call the Core Upgrades in the Upgrade Path, so in this case 18xp). As mentioned in my previous comment, this deck can be a bit slow at the beginning, and you are a bit relying on picking your cards at the right moment. Yet, 3 cards dedicated to resources is a normal average for decks, and 8 cards dedicated to drawing is on the really high end of the spectrum for any deck, so you are unlucky if you never find economy... In regards to your scenario 2, the upgrades are indeed given in chronological order, and I will add some details in my guide because I can understand the "feel bad" effect.
So overall, I think it's good to look at the part that I call "Core Upgrades" in the Upgrade Path and to understand that a card that is in your deck or that you purchase at the end of a scenario may be a key component to a combo that you will get very soon, and the beginning of the campaign is more about assembling the building blocks. PS: you are not "forced" to add a with Kōhaku Narukami's ability, it is a and by the rules, these are optional.
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Mar 03, 2024Gonna try a variant on the 0 (well 3) XP version of this deck soon for a 2P run through HV. With two of the must-find combo pieces in this deck being Tome-traited, did you ever consider going Versatile for Research Librarian over Backpack (2)? The full-deck search might provide some peace of mind. I get that it makes other combo pieces hard to find, but those pieces feel completely stalled if you can’t find a way to guarantee a , so I’m anxious. |
Mar 03, 2024Actually, I have another question: Unless I’m missing something, it seems like this deck only gets 6 turns of full power (where it has 2 guaranteed pulls per turn), because 2 x Favor of the Moon = 6. Are you tearing through the deck fast enough to be playing Favor of the Moon repeatedly? Or is 6 turns enough to clutch out the scenario? Or am I missing something? (As far as I can tell, only Shrine of the Moirai can recur Favor of the Moon without cycling.) I feel I must be missing something because you have mentioned finding Eye of the Djinn appealing. But in my mind, I feel it would be hard to make full use of 3 actions per turn, let alone 4. What are you doing with the other 2 actions each turn? Investigating with Prismatic Spectacles? |
Mar 03, 2024
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Mar 04, 2024Hey No spoilers, but you shouldn't struggle too much finding your Book of Living Myths in FHV, and I didn't consider Versatile because the deck is actually decently reliable the way it is, and Versatile would enhance the chances of finding Book of Living Myths and The Key of Solomon, but decrease the chance of finding all the other essential cards. Yet, you could add cantrips to reduce the negative load on the deck, such as Tempt Fate, Overpower (for Spectral Razor tests), and why not 1 Control Variable. Also, remember that even if you don't find the Book of Living Myths, the deck has a lot of draws, and Favor of the Moon can be used as a backup for a few turns while you keep digging. Speaking of the devil, 6 turns of Favor of the Moon felt more than enough in my playthroughs because, in practice, you often spend some actions doing other things than investigating/fighting, like moving, dealing with treacheries/weaknesses, or using scenario/location specific triggers ". And even when you are out of Favor of the Moon's tokens, you can use your Spectral Razor (2) and Read the Signs (2) one last time, even if it doesn't come back to your hand. So, in theory, you should be able to use these spells (or their tempo equivalent with Prismatic Spectacles/Armageddon) for a combined number of 12 times (6 times with Favor of the Moon, 2 times with Prescient and 4 times when playing each copy and discarding it after). In my experience, that is more tempo than any scenario needs. |
Mar 04, 2024I'm running this through FHV atm, and already cannot say enough about Tempt Fate. It's more Fast-speed bag manipulation, Snagging an extra action on turns when you need it has served me well multiple times now, not to mention it is a cantrip so it also helps find the combo pieces. I haven't finished the playthrough so I can't give my complete thoughts, but so far I would definitely try to find room for Tempt Fate when playing this deck :) |
Mar 04, 2024
Alas, after all this noodling about keeping the bag clean, BOTH players have drawn Dread Curse as their Random Basic Weakness! So I'll likely be diverging more toward -rewarding gameplay soon, e.g. Rod of Carnamagos (2) and Armageddon (4). |
Mar 04, 2024Thanks As for Tempt Fate, it was a hard choice to cut it, hence its paragraph in "Other Cards" to explain why it is not in the deck... Out of curiosity, what did you cut in the deck to slot it in?
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Mar 05, 2024I noticed that the True Solo version doesn’t use Read the Signs. Why is that, just out of curiosity? I have my suspicions, but would rather defer to the expert (or at least someone with more experience than me—not a high bar to clear, to be honest.) |
Mar 06, 2024
In 2+ players, it's different because the vast majority of locations will at least have 2 clues on them, so Read the Signs is way more useful. |
Mar 07, 2024
However, re-reading the “combat turn” section brought up an entirely different issue that’s more of a straight rules question. In the sequence that’s listed, wouldn’t Kohaku’s add a to the bag instead of a because Gabriel added a ? Based on how simultaneous abilities work, I could see it going either way. |
Mar 09, 2024I think this deck is probably the best way to play Kohaku. I made slight adjustments to he the primary cluer and it has performed really well. It's also probably the most tedious build I've ever played and I don't think I'm a fan of kohaku. Its not too bad, until you play with someone else who generates a ton of bless. Then it becomes difficult to keep track of where you are in the bag with the bless/curse tokens. The counter included in FHV is mandatory when playing this deck with someone else using blurse. Overall it's a brilliant beautiful deck that unearths a playstyle I just simply don't like, but recognize it as effective. |
Mar 10, 2024Good stuff! Thanks for taking the time to build variants for the Revised and Solo players. I noticed that David Renfield is still on the upgrade path on the Revised True Solo list instead of Emergency Cache. I'm guessing upgrading Emergency Cache to Gabriel Carillo still works since we have Jewel of Aureolus ? Or do we prioritize upgrading Arcane Initiate to Gabriel Carillo and doing Emergency Cache to Recall the Future later? |
Mar 13, 2024
I would recommend swapping Emergency Cache for Gabriel Carillo at first, even if it means having 2 Draw allies. Better to have too much than not enough draw. |
Mar 14, 2024Thank you for these decks! I'm going to be testing your flex revised collection only deck and I'm a little confused about the strategy section. You mention shrivelling/azure flame but I don't see it in any of the revised collection decks? |
Mar 15, 2024Thanks Let me know how it went once you are done!! :) |
Mar 16, 2024
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Mar 16, 2024
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Mar 18, 2024Hey In true solo, I would recommend using this version: arkhamdb.com If you do NOT have The Dream Eaters and The Innsmouth Conspiracy cards, then this version is for you: arkhamdb.com The "versions" 0.7, 0.8 are irrelevant as they indicate how many times I have been editing the decks up until now. If I change something in the deck description right now, the number will go up. For the Revised Collection deck, the second one, the attacks are performed by events and by Blood-Rite, which you get with the Occult Lexicon. This is not ideal, but in true solo, you are less likely to draw an enemy, and this should be fine until you get Spectral Razor (2). |
Mar 20, 2024Such a nice and complete guide! Have you tried Cryptic Grimoire? Stirring up trouble? Ríastrad? … and more obiously, Rod of Carnamagos? |
Mar 21, 2024Hey I haven't tried Cryptic Grimoire because the deck is only aiming at pulling 1 per turn, and so that would mean perform research, use one of the most precious slots and 11xp (2 Grimoires and Occult Reliquary) to cancel an encounter card every 5 turns. The Insight one is not so useful in this deck, so I won't mention it. For Stirring Up Trouble, it wouldn't work in this deck because what I am trying to achieve is to remain extremely low in added to the bag. This card is a good option if you are in a team that does not care about tokens, and still, Kōhaku is already really good at getting clues with Prismatic Spectacles and Read the Signs. It's the same for Riastrad, Spectral Razor is already doing a great job and we are trying to not add many to the bag to not impact our teammates. And because we almost never have laying around in the bag, Rod of Carnamagos is not made for this deck. It is actually really unfortunate that the Rod is printed in the same box as an investigator that has a Hand Slot signature (Book of Living Myths) and a Hand Slot must have (The Key of Solomon)... That leaves little space for the Rod... So altogether, these are all great suggestions, but in a deck that adds more to the bag, in true solo or in a team that is prepared to deal with tokens. My approach to Kōhaku on the other hand, was to build a blurse deck that impacts the chaos bag as little as possible for my group. This is why, for instance, I am not playing Tempt Fate, because even after gaining an additional action with my ability, I don't want to leave even a single in the bag. |
Mar 31, 2024It took a while, but I've finally had some time to play the deck for four scenario's
All in all I really like the deck. For me it does the most imporant thing a deck can do and that is being fun to play. However, due to some bad luck -- the Book of Living Myths and Backpack not showing up -- it did underperform somewhat. The Alessandra Zorzi and Hank Samson I'm playing with were more effective, with me having little to do when going third in the round. I'm eager to play the deck more and hopefully get better results! This might not be the place, but I do have two rules questions. 1) Does the count as a symbol for cards like Prescient and the upgraded Read the Signs and Spectral Razor? 2) What is the last possible window I can play Tempt Fate so I can use Kōhaku Narukami to gain an extra action? Can I play it at the start of my turn before the triggers, or do I need to play it before my turn, e.g. during the turn of an investigator before me? |
Apr 02, 2024Awesome guide, as usual. Trying this in a FHV campaign and having a blast. Just to nitpick : i think your "During an investigation turn: " numbers are wrong ? Shouldn't they be " 3.4 Test at 11" and "4.3 Test at 13" ? |
Apr 04, 2024
Thanks again for the detailed feedback and I cannot wait to hear how your last scenarios went!
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Apr 21, 2024Hey! This looks cool to play :) I don’t have the Jaqueline Fine deck - what would be good options in place of Prescient and Voice of Ra? Thanks! |
Apr 22, 2024Hey Also, can you give more details about your collection? Do you own The Innsmouth Conspiracy? |
Apr 23, 2024
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Apr 24, 2024Thanks
I hope that helps and let me know how it goes for you! |
Apr 26, 2024
I might be missing something here, but without the upgraded read the signs and spectral razor returning to your hand so that you can add your willpower to your intellect/fights stats, is it not very limited what you can do per turn as once you use them, you are mainly clueing/fighting with your basic stats? My fear and what happened yesterday is that once I used the skill to pass some tests and I tried to investigate or even fight with armagedon, it was not that easy to pass the test, and I could not really use my curse tokens because it would mean failing. (playing on expert doesnt help either) I know that until we get both feys its harder, but even then sometimes you will do tests without the guaranteed curse token so you can't commit them, and there are high chances of failing. How do you overcome this situation on early scenarios? |
Apr 29, 2024
The keyword in your comment is "Expert". Not every deck is tailored for expert, and especially not at every level of experience. As the name suggests it, Expert is made to crush you, no matter the deck. There are some strategies: stat-ball, no-test, overcommitting etc... but those are often unoptimised for other difficulty levels. For instance, it may be worth investigating every time at shroud + 8 in expert, when it's an absolute waste in Standard. The space used by cards to boost your skill value to this level would then be better allocated to more tempo acceleration. With this in mind, I test my decks in Standhard (Standard symbol token effects and hard chaos bag). About this deck especially, it tends to be a little weak in the first scenario, which is a common issue for combo decks, but there is still one thing that should save you in Expert: Ancient Covenant. |
May 14, 2024I like the idea of this deck very much and will definitely try it out. I was going to change quite a few things tho, but the more I think about that, the more I lean towards this version. However, I think I will cut 2x Guts and 2x Prescient for 2x Tempt Fate and maybe 2x Deny Existence. The only proactive tests you can do here are with Armageddon. Tempt Fate seems like a must have. Free card recycle + action is what you want, it's just too good to pass. But I get it, it's always hard to cut anything in any build. I will also try more greedy approach with 2x Arcane Research instead of In the Thick of It |
May 15, 2024Hey On a more serious note, I invite you to read the previous comments, as some found tests rather hard to pass, even with Guts, and I could also feel that base 4 was a hard place to start, hence 2 guts taking a very precious space in the deck list. On the other hand, removing Prescient is probably the best call to add Tempt Fate. I have a section about tempt fate in the guide, and some people in the comments already mentioned it. The reason why I keep Prescient is because the more I play, the more I value consistency over burst, and Prescient proved very valuable when for one reason, I needed Spectral Razor back in my hand. I probably would have lost at least one scenario if it wasn’t there, and I am not sure I can tell the same about Tempt Fate. |
May 17, 2024It is the year 2736. |
May 17, 2024
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May 23, 2024Just completed Hemlock with this deck. I have to say it's one of the most interesting investigator I have played. I like to use new/different cards that I never played before. I had all the upgrades but was not really able to reach full engine power like described here, especially combos with the curses. The main issue was passing test. Not only you need, the book, the armageddon, etc. but it's also really difficult to pass test unless you also have 1-2 fey. Only one scenario I was able to get everything I need - but without giving to much spoilers it wad for a scenario I could not use the engine... That said even without the perfect engine this deck was powerful and most importantly fun to play. Ancient convenant, upgraded spectral razors and the keys of Solomon have been my MVPs. |
Jun 03, 2024This deck is really great focusing on clues. Combine it with ||Jim Culver to take care of all the enemies with Book of Living Myths to save tokens from Favor of the Moon. Also having 4x Fey and Blasphemous Covenant at the same location gets you to ridiculous skill values... I replaced the combat options here with Token of Faith, Nephthys, Spirit of Humanity and Favor of the Sun for some real usage for Ancient Covenant and Seal of the Elders. |
Jun 08, 2024I don't understand this part of the guide: Add (bless) to prevent (auto-fail) if you want to play Spectral Razor (2). How does bless prevents autofail? I thought autofail triggers returning Spectral Razor to your hand. Is prevention in combination with Covenant ? |
Jun 08, 2024If you draw during any test you can use Ancient Covenant to end the test without drawing more tokens (1/ round). |
Jul 31, 2024This may be a dumb question but why do your 0 xp decks cost 3 xp? |
Jul 31, 2024
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Jul 31, 2024In the Thick of It is an autoinclude. There are no 0xp decks anymore :) |
Aug 26, 2024
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Aug 26, 2024This is flex deck, not cluever (Spectral Razor 2 and Nephthys can do a lot of killing). I don't remember the 3rd character we had who was the main cluever. If you're wondering why i had 91 xp at the end, we usually play 2-3 side quests and have a house rule that works like a harder version of delve too deep and grants 4 VP at the end of each.
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Aug 26, 2024Probably one of the most fun decks I’ve ever played! It does run out of steam as the main fighter in 2-player games, 2x3 charges of Armageddon go away too quickly, but with higher counts, it’s a phenomenal flex build. Thanks a bunch for posting this one! |
Nov 01, 2024One thing I haven't been able to tell is how this deck would work when you've got a deep blurse investment on your team already; Presumably, it blocks Prismatic Spectacles, Faustian Bargain, and Deep Knowledge from being useful; do we hope Key of Solomon can open up space for us to activate our own Blurse effects here? |
Nov 13, 2024Hey! Do you have the original image for this deck without the edits? |
Cool flex deck! Since you’re not on Deny Existence, it might be worth mentioning that you can leave a in the bag to pass a Grasping Hands during the mythos phase with Book of Living Myths and Ancient Covenant.