10_mark_harrigan_v2

Mark Harrigan — Card Choice Breakdown

Weapons (4 cards + 2 tutors)

2x Machete — Still the king of level-0 Guardian weapons. +1 combat, +1 damage if only one enemy engaged. Mark fights at 6 combat with Machete, killing 3-health enemies in 2 hits. The "only enemy" condition is rarely a problem because Mark is aggressive enough to clear enemies fast.

2x M1911 — Core 2026's replacement for .45 Automatic. Functionally identical: 4 ammo, +1 combat, +1 damage. Having 4 weapons in 30 cards means ~67% chance of seeing one in your opening 5, and with mulligan that rises to ~89%.

2x Right Tool for the Job — This card is WHY 4 weapons is enough. Search top 9 for any Tool or Weapon. Combined with 4 weapons, your effective probability of having a weapon by turn 2 is ~97%. This replaces the old strategy of running Prepared for the Worst, which only searched top 9 for weapons — Right Tool also finds tools, making it strictly better. This card is a Core 2026 original that didn't exist in old Core.

Allies & Assets (4 cards)

2x Bodyguard — Core 2026's replacement for Guard Dog. 2hp/1san soak, and when Bodyguard is defeated, deals 1 damage to an enemy at your location. The key difference from Guard Dog: Bodyguard can soak damage from attacks against ANY investigator at your location, meaning Mark can protect Minh. Each point of damage soaked triggers Mark's card draw (once per phase). At 3 cost, it's your primary damage soak.

2x Endurance — Core 2026's replacement for Physical Training. Spend 1 resource for +1 combat or +1 agility; spend 2 for +2. Unlike Physical Training (which boosted willpower/combat), Endurance trades willpower for agility. This hurts Mark's treachery defense but helps with agility-based encounter cards and the occasional evade. You compensate for the willpower loss with 2x Guts.

Events (14 cards)

2x Scene of the Crime — Core 2026 original. Discover 1 clue (2 if an enemy is at your location), no test required. Costs 2 and must be your first action. This is Mark's primary independent clue card — and since he's always near enemies, the 2-clue mode activates consistently. Old Core had nothing like this for Guardians.

2x Lesson Learned — Core 2026 original. Fast, triggered after an enemy attacks you: discover 1 clue at your location. No test, no action cost. Mark WANTS to get attacked (it triggers Sophie's damage → card draw), so this is essentially free clues. Old Core Guardians had no way to get testless clues reactively.

2x "Let me handle this!" — ptcp (The Path to Carcosa). When another investigator at your location draws an encounter card with a revelation effect, you take it instead and gain 1 resource. Protects Minh from treacheries that test willpower (she has W4, Mark has W3 but more health to absorb consequences). Also generates economy. Essential team card.

2x Bounty — Tommy Muldoon starter. Fast, gain resources equal to the defeated enemy's printed health. Mark kills a 3-health enemy → gains 3 resources. This is your primary economy engine and replaces Emergency Cache's role as the game progresses. Old Core had nothing equivalent.

2x Physical Fitness — Tommy Muldoon starter. Move to a connecting location + heal 2 damage. This does two things at once: tempo (free move) and Sophie management (heal damage to stay below the 5-damage threshold where Sophie flips). Old Core had no equivalent — First Aid healed but cost an action and didn't move you.

2x Shortcut — dwlp (The Dunwich Legacy). Fast: move an investigator at your location to a connecting location. Critical tech: Shortcut has the Tactic trait, making it legal for Mark via his "Tactic 0" deckbuilding option even though it's a Seeker card. This is one of the best action-compression cards in the game — free moves for you or Minh. Most deckbuilders miss this interaction.

2x Emergency Cache — Economy backup. Gets replaced first in upgrades.

Skills (6 cards)

2x Vicious Blow — +1 damage on a fight test you succeed at. Turns a 2-damage Machete hit into a 3-damage kill. Essential for action economy against 3+ health enemies.

2x Overpower — 2 combat icons + draw a card on success. Combat boost that replaces itself. Upgrade target for Vicious Blow (2).

2x Guts — 2 willpower icons + draw on success. Mark's primary treachery defense. With W3 base + 2 Guts icons = effective W5, enough to pass most treacheries. Critical because Endurance doesn't boost willpower (unlike old Physical Training).