The Extraordinary Adventures of Ursula Downs

Card draw simulator

Odds: 0% – 0% – 0% more
Derived from
None. Self-made deck here.
Inspiration for
My Ursula 0 0 0 1.0

Croaker13 · 2646

This is a slightly modified version of the deck I'm using to run through The Forgotten Age on solo (standard difficulty). So far it's been going quite well.

The basic game plan is to power through the scenario before it has the time to kill you. Between her investigator ability and all the seeker tricks available to her, Ursula is probably the fastest clue-gatherer in solo, so this should be possible.

Hyperawareness is for adding that last point needed to take you to two above your target number. The deck doesn't run a lot of economy, so don't go overboard.

You want to evade most enemies, but the deck does include a few combat tricks in Mind over Matter and "I've got a plan!". The two Overpower are primarily for killing rats and other small critters. If you find that you are going up against a lot of two-health enemies, you might want to consider switching to a pair of knives.

I've found Tooth of Eztli to be a surprisingly great addition, but I'm less keen The Chthonian Stone. Maybe it'll become more useful later in the campaign (or on hard/expert difficulty) when the bad-stuff tokens start to hurt more.

The short term plan is to upgrade to Strange Solution (Acidic Ichor) ASAP. Towards that end I'm running Charon's Obol, but I realize that it's an acquired taste.

I'm not sure where to go from there, so I might simply try to find out what the Ancient Stone does. Otherwise I'll probably go for some of the usual suspects: Pathfinder, upgraded Magnifying Glass, Disc of Itzamna and Forewarned. Maybe The Gold Pocket Watch if I find myself with a lot of XP to spare.

Update: I almost forgot this, but level 3 Emergency Cache is obviously a great include, as it allows you to refill the Acidic Ichor.

Update 2: After doing a bit more playtesting I definitely recommend switching The two Chthonian Stones for an ally. Dr. Milan Christopher is probably the best choice. Maybe you could switch a single Chthonian Stone and a Tooth of Eztli, if you want a bit more diversity.

10 comments

May 14, 2018 TBAndersen · 2

I want to say a big thank you for this deck! I’ve managed to get out alive of the temple solo. I upgraded to Obol, Pathfinder and the Ancient Stones. I got lucky to play Jake pretty early on..and his ability is a godsend when you’r one the move! Keep up the good work.

May 15, 2018 serre · 26

with running charon's obol i think you might wanna play more allies for more survivability.

May 15, 2018 Croaker13 · 2646

@TBAndersen: Thank you. I'm happy to hear that you've gotten some use out of it.

@serre: You are not wrong, though it obviously depends on one's aversion towards starting the campaign over from scratch if things go south.

The obvious choice would be to exchange the two copies of The Chthonian Stone for either Dr. Milan Christopher or Dr. William T. Maleson. I think both could be good additions, but I'm personally leaning towards Dr. William T. Maleson - both for the reduced cost and additional damage soak.

May 15, 2018 serre · 26

could go for elli -> allows you to fetch a relic like the discs or pocket watch eventually. I think the cthonian stones might be interesting when you reach further down in the campaign but not at start. If playing with backpack dr milan christopher gives you resources and probably no resource issues to play your relics.
i als would remove the overpowers.. i see why for the solo play. but with 1 + 2 might icons you have 3 base combat, i do not think their are easy enemy's to kill. go for more evasion. I also use archaic glyphs instead of strange solutions just because thematically its more obvious for an explorer then solving a science thing..

May 15, 2018 Croaker13 · 2646

You are quite right that, initially, the two Overpower are conditionally useful at best (unless the campaign starts to throw more Swarms of Rats or similar at us), and you could absolutely argue for switching them for a Mind over Matter and an Inquiring Mind (or whatever).

However, they are just as much there for when you get the identified Strange Solution, at which point they'll help you hit the really big enemies.

If you run Archaic Glyphs instead of Strange Solution (and I like your reasoning BTW), this obviously doesn't apply.

May 15, 2018 StartWithTheName · 64412

I would be inclined to retain the solution if you think you need a damage option for now. While I personally love the evade glyphs in general i dont think they work for ursula that well when she can just take evade augmentation (Manual Dexterity/Hyperawareness). While there is a bit of a thematic disconnect with science, i would perhaps say the Glyphs (magic/arcane) have a similar issue. Utilmately we can fill the thematic gaps with our imagination. The solution can just as easily be something she once scrapped off a rock that turned out to be corrosive. Its likely a moot point in the long run when we see what the Ancient Stones do. Theyre bound to be at least a decent combo with her simply from a game design perspective of them being relic traited and so comboing with all the relic support

May 15, 2018 StartWithTheName · 64412

Nice deck btw

May 16, 2018 Croaker13 · 2646

Many thanks.

When I play true solo (especially in a blind run), I usually try to aim for a reasonably balanced build, so I fully agree with you that, from a mechanical point of view, Strange Solution is preferable to Archaic Glyphs in this case.

I can see the argument against it from a thematic standpoint (though I don't necessarily agree), but ultimately, this is a game where double-wielding Magnifying Glasses provides a tangible benefit, so a I'm willing to accept a certain amount of thematic disconnect.

I'm very much looking forward to seeing what the Ancient Stone does, but unless it literally says "you win the scenario", I'm probably still going to run Strange Solution. That said, I see no reason why we can't have both :-)

Mar 25, 2019 ilu2112 · 1691

@Croaker13 What would you say about Ornate Bow? Did you test it?

I am looking for a nice deck to run through TFA and I am considering to use this one as a base. I am done with my own creations :F

Mar 25, 2019 Croaker13 · 2646

@ilu2112Ornate Bow wasn't out when I made the deck, so I never tried it out here. It makes a lot of sense for the deck though, especially if you go with Dr. Elli Horowitz as an ally. Otherwise maybe only as a one-off.