George's Boatload of Skills (Valentin1331)

This deck is my version of Valentin1331's pioneer deck.
Here is the link to their original deck: https://arkhamdb.com/decklist/view/53502/george-s-boatload-of-skills-tdc-blind-run-deck-guide-1.0

I made a few modifications to suit my own preferences.

• Research Librarian: In the early scenarios (0-10XP), I found myself relying on Nautical Charts to be able to gather clues reliably and quickly. Also, it was my primary discard enabler to trigger Geoge's ability during his turn. After playing a few games where they were in the bottom of my deck, I decided to add two copies of Research Librarian to improve my odds of drawing them early and reliably. I've been very pleased with this decision.

• Thorough Inquiry: In the early scenarios, I struggled to keep my hand well-stocked to gain beneficial discard effects, and to find key cards such as Nautical Charts, Cornered, and Artistic Inspiration. Thorough Inquiry draws a significant amount of cards, and it also is ok to tuck into your boat because it can be committed for 2 or 2. You can then get it back in your hand later if you want to play it via Grim Resolve.

• Take Heart: Keeping your hand stocked with cards and having some cash to pay for your assets in the early phase of a scenario is important. I like Take Heart because it's 2 cards and 2 resources for ZERO action! You're bound to lose a test, particularly a defensive encounter card test ( or ).

• Gift of Nodens: I chose to buy this card early (within my first 10XP) because I wanted to be able to recur my skills. It's a powerful card because it not only allows you to play your skills more often, but it also delays the reshuffling of your deck which means you get to delay potentially redrawing your weaknesses.

• Bound for the Horizon: I chose to buy this card early (within my first 13XP) because I wanted to gain more free movement so that I could improve my odds of completing a scenario in time.

• Overview

• Main Strategy

• Abuse your ability

• A boat full of tempo

• Other Cards

• Upgrade Path

• Final Thoughts

• Discard cards during as many phases as possible to abuse George's ability.

• Fill your boat with tempo-positive skills so that you can play them on a later test (or even possibly on the same test that you discarded it and put it into your boat using George's ability).

• Get clues 2 by 2 thanks to your many clue acceleration engines.

• Read Valentin1331's explanation here; my intention is not to plagiarize and take any credit for their much-appreciated work: https://arkhamdb.com/decklist/view/53502/george-s-boatload-of-skills-tdc-blind-run-deck-guide-1.0

Because you usually discard multiple cards during a round, it's important to keep your hand stocked; therefore, card draw is important. That's why upgraded cards like At a Crossroads, Unrelenting, and Last Chance are good for George.

Even at 0XP, cards like Take Heart, Resourceful, Thorough Inquiry, and Empirical Hypothesis pull their weight.

• Read Valentin1331's explanation here; my intention is not to plagiarize and take any credit for their much-appreciated work: https://arkhamdb.com/decklist/view/53502/george-s-boatload-of-skills-tdc-blind-run-deck-guide-1.0

• Read Valentin1331's explanation here; my intention is not to plagiarize and take any credit for their much-appreciated work: https://arkhamdb.com/decklist/view/53502/george-s-boatload-of-skills-tdc-blind-run-deck-guide-1.0

• Read Valentin1331's explanation here; my intention is not to plagiarize and take any credit for their much-appreciated work: https://arkhamdb.com/decklist/view/53502/george-s-boatload-of-skills-tdc-blind-run-deck-guide-1.0

They also explain what cards to prioritize playing first when gathering clues during your turn.

• In the Thick of It: Buy Cornered because this ensures that you have a discard enabler that can be used in any phase (and in each phase) of a round at your command. You can do what you like with the third XP.
  I saw the power of At a Crossroads in granting me the choice to either draw 3 cards immediately, or to take an action. With access to Resourceful and the ability to replay it throughout a scenario, I've managed to get some good value from At a Crossroads. But feel free to spend that last XP on whatever you value.

• Ascetic: In Valentin1331's description, they mention that they added this card to their deck list so that folks who die mid-campaign and want to bring in a new investigator with Ascetic may struggle to easily find low XP decks on arkhamdb. So I'm following in their footsteps by doing the same. In actuality, I did not play with this card in my starter deck.

• Anchor Chain: In my playthrough, I replaced Anchor chain with a different upgraded card. However, I found myself needing to evade enemies a few times most scenarios and I acknowledge that the ability to tap down an enemy for two turns can be impactful, as it not only frees George to investigate and move as he pleases, but it also can buy another fighter investigator some breathing room if they have too many enemies to deal with or if they are searching for a weapon.

  Next time I play George, I will keep the Anchor Chain in my deck and test it out. George only needs one [Nautical Charts](/card/11084) in play, which leaves an open hand slot for the Anchor Chain. With [Cornered](/card/04160) and [Artistic Inspiration](/card/11034), and other skill cards, it's easy to test at 6-8, meaning I can guarantee a success. Next time I play George, I think I'll keep one copy in my deck throughout the campaign to test.

Valentin1331 discusses other cards and it's worth reading here; https://arkhamdb.com/decklist/view/53502/george-s-boatload-of-skills-tdc-blind-run-deck-guide-1.0

Late Campaign

• True Survivor: Want to play your Innate skills more often and delay having to redraw your deck/weaknesses? Definitely! This deck is full of Innate skills. Buy one or both copies, as you see fit.

Link to the 0xp deck

Essential Cards (16XP)

• 1XP: At a Crossroads x1. Remove Thorough Inquiry x1.
• 2XP: Sharp Vision x2. Remove "Look what I found!" x2.
• 2XP: Brute Force x2. Remove Improvised Weapon x2.
• 5XP: Gift of Nodens x1. Remove Perception x1.
• 2XP: Cornered x1. Remove Anchor Chain x1.
• 2XP: Bound for the Horizon x1. Remove Thorough Inquiry x1.
• 2XP: Unrelenting x2. Unexpected Courage x2.

Luxury Cards

• 6XP: Last Chance x2. Remove Last Chance x2.
• 6XP: True Survivor x2. Remove Deduction x2.
• 3XP: Scrapper.

I really enjoyed playing George, and I'll definitely do so again. If you like an investigator that requires decision-making every turn, and rewards you with being able to gather clues two at a time and not need a fighter to babysit him every round, then consider George.

Again, thank you Valentin1331 for building this pioneer deck and sharing it with us on arkhamdb!

[To create your own guides, find Valentin1331's template here.] [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vWi3g82i65MV8p6c4VKkYbKDT2blkim4STZ4tpugCNI/edit?usp=sharing]