Rex Murphy: The Reporter

Rex’ story is one of the coolest backstories of all Arkham Files investigators. It has been made even more complete in the latest installment, which explains his analytical abilities are not just inherited in the gene pool, but more of a reaction he developed to deal with all the mishaps happening around him. 

Legacy: Rex’ design has been a nice balance of strong drawback caused by being cursed (in Eldritch Horror – for the entire game!) and an even stronger ability to counter this disadvantage. While in Eldritch you might consider him sort of an all-round investigator (who can be customized a bit with the starting upgrade of player’s choice), Arkham Horror’s design makes him a clue gathering gate closer (relying on sneaking into them past the monsters). His clue gathering side is once again brought back to live in AH:TCG, and he can also sneak quite well because…

 

Skill values: …due to his more balanced (compared to Daisy) skills, he can actually count on evading some monsters on his own more consistently. It comes at cost of 1 Intellect, which hurts a bit, as his special ability depends on passing the test with a wide margin (more about it in just a minute)¹. It is not the end of the world, however. He has access to plenty of intellect boosting cards, so manages to investigate very successfully. He is just not quite as great at using I’ve got a plan! or Mindover Matter. All in all, I believe Rex’ set of skills allows him to achieve his goals through slightly simpler means. As it’s often the case for me, I’d see more of a radical approach more efficient – Combat of 1 would allow to boost any of other 3 stats, and each one would have its benefits.

It is hard to comment on thematic value of his skills – he is sort of a bit fragile (though his Stamina is one higher than Daisy’s as he profits from Dunwich Legacy’s higher Sanity/Stamina total) non-fighting, clever dude. So I guess solid work here.

Strength

Theme

Special Ability: Oh my! Rex absolutely dominates here in all possible (sub)categories! First of all, the ability grants him an astonishing action-efficiency. It goes without saying, that doubling the result of a vast majority of actions he takes during a game creates a colossal advantage. As long as he spends most of the time investigating, he even dwarfs Daisy’s free action. Consider following example – if both he and Daisy spend one action on a tome and the rest investigating, Rex actually gets one clue more (provided he succeeds, obviously, both times triggering his ability). This is why he should spend as much time as possible investigating. It makes him a strong team player – his team members take care of all other threats, while he searches for evidence.

Rex' ability, while already superb has been made even stronger
by polish (miss)translation which omits "while investigating"

The ability also provides a very interesting gameplay experience – you balance the odds at each location, deciding if (usually it’s more of a question of “how?”) you want to aim for 2 clues. Since he’s almost destined to be built around Scavenging (more about it in 2-3 minutes)², it involves planning how to best use it and all the available icons in your hand. Therefore despite being just as one dimensional as Zoey, he feels so much more exciting to play.

Last, but not least, using this ability grants me great deal of nostalgia, as it is a very clever reimplementation of Rex’ original special ability from Arkham Horror. And they both make great sense thematically – he has a very analytic mind, thus adding things together quicker – drawing conclusions as well as linking one clue with whereabouts of the other³.

I am impressed and almost made speechless by Rex’ Elder Sign ability for so many reasons. Firstly, it introduces a choice. As you know, in my textbook choices in a game = good. And the choice is a very cool one. Sometimes it’s obvious you cannot afford to fail a test, but there are occasions, when you really feel torn between two options. Secondly, it adds to his theme of drawing cards (along with his signature card) and has a terrific interaction with his weakness (more about it in a minute)⁴. It is truly a blast!

Gameplay

Theme

Signature Cards: Seekers, as a class, do have some card-drawing capabilities (See: Old Book of Lore, Cryptic Research). Rex’ signature card fits this pattern nicely and creates a lovely interaction with his clue gathering ability. It also builds a clue gathering AND card drawing theme for the character (along with the Elder Sign effect). Its power is strongly correlated with the scenario clue-approach – in some scenarios you can reliably plan to use it, in other it’s very hard to make good use out of it. In this way it plays similarly to “I’ve got a plan” (more about it in a week)⁵. 

In his spare time, Rex enjoys painting graffiti

Generally speaking, card drawing abilities are very strong in card games, as they simply give you more options. AH:TCG does not differ from  the standard card game. In fact, drawing 3 cards with Search for the Truth is already a decent result and a fairly achievable one. Even if for some reasons (full hand?) you decide not to use it, its massive icons for sure will come in handy to help Rex trigger his ability

Rex’ Curse seemed to me to be a very clever design choice. It’ supposed to create an ever-reoccurring jinx, haunting Rex and nullifying his efforts. In the practice, however, it does not do much. Unless you’re very *khem* unlucky or playing a long scenario, your chances of seeing it more than once are rather slim. Even with some added draw potential of Rex you might easily not see the card at all.⁶ Secondly, quite often it doesn’t impact chances of passing the test too heavily. It can even help a bit, sometimes allowing you to pass by 2 or more (I admit, it’s a rare case). To be honest one of most impactful effects of the curse is an increased chance of triggering nasty Chaos Token effects (adding doom to the enemies etc.) as effects of both drawn tokens apply. Even so, some chance for extra negative results on top of causing you to fail one test is rather not something to be overly concerned about.

Dear Lord, my 'stache DOES look fabulous

The card extends the gameplay in an annoying way, adding to the most important drawback of the chaos bag – time it takes to perform the physical act of randomizing the bag and drawing a token. It’s even more frustrating if you’re pulling one token after another.

Just to be on the safer side, should you expect a crucial (and rather hard) skill check coming soon, strongly consider using a choice to fail a skill check with the Elder Sign effect (provided you happen to draw it during the re-draw procedure), as it allows to both get rid of the curse and draw 3 cards.

The curse originally promises to deliver a very thematic experience, but seems to fail a bit in this regards (again – unless the scenario is one of the long ones).

 

Strength

Theme

Deckbuilding/Class: As one can easily predict, Rex has been designed as a Seeker. And this class definitely fits him very much. So much, that in fact I even somehow accept him as a pure Seeker. A Survivor subclass would fit him, too – even more so due to the Scavenging build – if not for so many Fortune cards which would still be unavailable for him due to his deckbuilding restriction (a super thematic one, by the way). While one can toy with different sub-variants of his Seeker/Neutral set of cards (Mind over Matter is, for instance not as a straightforward choice as for Daisy, while Manual Dexterity and Hyperawareness make much more sense), he seems to be designed with (ab)using Scavenging in mind, which almost forces to include 2 copies of Scavenging and at least one of Rabbit’s Foot. It definitely provides a powerful synergy, it limits reasonable variants (at least for now) available for Rex’ deck, though. 

Strength

Theme

Like his Dunwich friend, Zoey, Rex is designed with one job in mind. For Zoey it’s putting an end to the existence of wicked monsters. For Rex it’s discovering the horrible truth about sacrilege forces bringing doom to mankind. His power lies mostly within his ability, a clearly superb one (possibly the strongest special ability so far). He is yet another great Seeker character with a clear purpose and strong design. He definitely does best work in a team – the bigger the team, the better, as he can vacuum clean all the clues from a location in no time.

You can kill some giant vampire with this stake

Strength

Theme

All images are courtesy of cardgamedb.com and fantasyflightgames.com

¹Or more if you’re a slow reader.

²Again more if you’re a slow reader.

³Sometimes clues represent more of facts, information; sometimes they are more of concrete pieces of evidence you need to find or even objects you will use, or locate.

⁴I believe you’ve noticed the pattern already, haven’t you?

⁵Regardles of your reading pace.

⁶It is the case for all the personal weaknesses, I know. However Rex’ curse seem to require bit more in this regards – maybe it should start the game in play? Or would it be too harsh?

An (Un)likely Duet

Ladies and Gentleman,  humans and otherworldly creatures, welcome to first installment of the Duet Deck series!

As I mentioned in the introduction I play all my games in a two player setup with my lovely wife. Therefore we strive to create 2 matching decks. You can achieve this result in few different ways. The most straightforward one is to divide two main tasks of the game – investigating and fighting.

The specialization doesn’t necessarily have to be full. First of all, you have to split sometimes, so you need to be able to cover the other side of an investigator’s job, as well. Also, if your main assignment is suddenly not important (no skulls to crush around or maybe sudden appearance of a horrific being made picking up clues definitely a less urgent task) you need to be still useful, at least to a degree. Therefore price for full specialization might be hefty.

First duet to be presented to you might strike you as bit surprising. After all, Roland and Daisy share part of their deckbuilding options. However, for the base set they are pretty much the toughest fighter and the most curious mind. Additionally, as mentioned in my previous post neither of us cares deeply about Skids. 

Both decks are created with a certain balance in mind – with his ability and handful of investigation related cards Roland can pick up some clues (Ability and Evidence enable to gather some even in high shroud locations, read Roland’s part for some tricks). Daisy can dispatch minor enemies or offer some minor support with bosses as well, provided she draws some of the fight-related cards (more about drawing in the Daisy’s part).

Unfortunately, the decks cannot be created without 4(!) copies of Base Set (and also additional Shortcut from Dunwich Legacy) or some proxies, which is one of their major drawbacks.

Assets (13)	Events (8)	Skills (10)	Weaknesses (2)
1x Roland's .38 Special 2x .45 Automatic 2x Knife 2x Machete 2x Magnifying Glass 2x Beat Cop 2x Physical Training	2x Dodge 2x Emergency Cache 2x Evidence! 2x Shortcut	2x Deduction 2x Guts 2x Overpower 2x Unexpected Courage 2x Vicious Blow	1x Cover Up 1x Random Basic Weakness

Overview: Roland works as the main hitter, obviously. That’s why he gets 7 weapons (though 2 Knives are there just to ensure he gets a weapon of any kind and possibly work as a way of dealing damage without using ammo). He still manages clues very well.

Notable weaknesses: This deck is quite expansive, so you might find yourself struggling for resources. This explains some choices made with cards (read further to learn about some decisions I made). Obviously bad luck of draw can screw anyone, Roland suffers mostly if he fails to get a weapon, however this should be mitigatable with Daisy’s help.

Opening Hand: I'd heavily consider mulligan if I draw no weapon, as this makes the team way to vulnerable. 2 out of Beat Cop/Physical Training/Knife should be good enough, though - even more so as muliganing such a hand would hamper chances of drawing them at all. You shouldn’t be too concerned about not drawing any cards for investigating – Daisy should cover it well enough. 

Choices: You might be bit surprised with some selections I’ve made, particularly with the exclusions. Let’s consider them one by one. 

I gave up on Dr. Milan for 2 reasons – Beat Cop is crucial for the deck and while you might consider using both in solo decks or when tasked with picking up clues, here Roland’s main job is fighting. Also, as he is unique, it’d stop Daisy from using it. 

Flashlight was ditched to free a hand, in hopes that Magnifying Glass will prove to be good enough (and it mostly is – though 3^rd scenario complicates matters a bit).

I decided not to include Hyperawareness also for two reasons. First of all, Agility is not very useful for Roland. Secondly, Roland usually lacks resources, thus wouldn’t be able to spare some for boosting his Intellect. 

Dynamite Blast also missed the list due to its cost. I have also found it to be highly situational. You can’t use it to help Daisy with enemies engaged with her, as it’d cripple her health, too. You don’t want to use it on your location, neither. And it’s almost never worth to use it on single enemy, anyway.

Using it is not really a blast

Last, but not least, I chose Knife for the backup weapon instead of Kukri or a Blackjack. I did it mostly due to its second use. You can discard it before replacing with a better weapon/Magnifying Glass for a strong use. Also, if you’re unlucky enough to have to use it as your main weapon, you can always as a last resort throw it at your enemy and hope to get a new weapon soon. Blackjack’s only advantage of not damaging the teammate does not excite me too heavily, I wonder what your opinions are.

Tricks: My favorite trick is luring enemies on locations with clues. It can accomplish a variety of goals. Obviously, it allows you to use Roland’s ability. Moreover, it also enables play of Evidence (1 shot to kill the enemy AND get 2 clues!). Finally, you can use it to take full advantage of Roland's .38 Special. I do it on a regular basis in The Gathering – leaving just one clue to get an extra edge against Ghoul Priest. The clue is not even wasted – you pick it up upon killing him, securing location’s victory point! If you “just” aim for clues, you should obviously target high shroud location (or in other ways tougher to investigate as explained in post about Roland)

To spot this card's true potential I had to force myself
to put into into my deck for trying out

  While luring hunter enemies is easier (though comes at a price – they attack you upon meeting) you can very well use Shortcut to move when engaged at cost of 0 resources and 0 actions! It also doesn’t cause any Attacks of Opportunity. If needed, you can also move Daisy with the enemy engaged with her. Otherwise Shortcut provides a way to “store” an action and use it whenever necessary and turned out to be very effective, much more than I anticipated upon seeing the card.

Beat Cop can be used not only to finish off bigger fishes, but also to snipe out weak enemies without spending an action (especially the upgraded one).

Upgrades: First picks for me are 2 XP versions of Beat Cop, as it triples (!) the amount of damage you can deal with this card. For me, Police Badge comes in next; with a Will of 4 all regular encounter deck threats should be dealt with quite consistently.

Monsters devouring civilians? Not on my watch!

Upgraded Magnifying Glasses come very handy, too. Reduced cost is a plus, as with such an expensive deck every resource comes. Additionally, freeing hands whenever needed might provide you with a free slot for a weapon. Even if the hand won’t get free, you can commit the Magnifying Glass and gain some extra clues. Out of the low-cost cards Extra Ammunition is very useful for Roland, as he has 3 guns in his deck - I'd put it, removing Knife, or two.

You should definitely consider an Elder Sign Amulet, even before 2nd copy of Extra Ammo (if your experience allows it). It competes with the badge for a slot, but it's not a huge issue. Even if you happen to draw both, you’re not stuck with a dead card. You can either commit one of them (quite strong set of a Wild icon and a Will icon) or use Badge’s ability first. Roland’s sanity is on the lower end, the amulet comes handy especially if he suffers a mental trauma (due to a defeat or failing his terrible weakness). To make room for both badge and amulet, you can get rid of Guts.

Shotgun is hard to pull off, as it occupies both hands.

Assets (16)	Events (9)	Skills (6)	Weaknesses
1x Daisy's Tote Bag 2x Magnifying Glass 2x Medical Texts 2x Old Book of Lore 2x Shrivelling 2x Holy Rosary 2x Dr. Milan Christopher 1x Research Librarian 2x Arcane Studies	2x Blinding Light 2x Emergency Cache 2x Mind over Matter 1x Shortcut 2x Ward of Protection	2x Deduction 2x Guts 2x Unexpected Courage	1x Random Basic Weakness 1x The Necronomicon

Overview: Daisy’s deck is heavily focused on clue gathering and support. It’s filled with tomes, out of which Old Book of Lore is the key one, allowing picking up missing cards.

Notable weaknesses: Deck relies quite heavily on pulling Old Book of Lore early on. Once you have it, you can mitigate lack of luck for both you and Roland, but you need to get it first. Therefore…

Opening Hand: I almost always mulligan if I don’t get OBoL (Or Research Librarian) . If you draw an otherwise asset full hand and Roland was also lucky enough to secure a strong weapon, you might keep it. I’d still spend an action for drawing a card every now and then until one of above is secured.

Almost a custom made card for Daisy

 

Choices: I went with bit of a spellcasting thrown into the mix, hence Arcane Studies (truly for Will mostly, as Daisy consistently manages even shroud of 4, thanks to her other assets), Guts and Holy Rosary are added to ensure successful casting. Daisy’s Agility is very low, so I decided to give up on any Evade attempts (unless with Blinding Light) so no boosts for Agility are included (No Hyperawareness, Manual Dexterity etc.) You should be able to either draw some means of dealing with minor opponents or wait for Roland to come and help.

Guts in both decks can be used on either of Investigators, sometimes helping the other in need. I chose Guts over Fearless, as the extra icon comes in handy much more often (Daisy’s Sanity is high anyway). Being able to for sure pass the test for Shriveling is of higher importance.

I gave up on Drawn to the Flame, as it typically only saves one action (Daisy should be able to pick up clues using regular means anyway), only generating issues. Flashlight wasn’t included as with Daisy’s high Intellect it would have been an unnecessary overkill.

Tricks: Use Old Book of Lore at all times. Use it to secure Dr. Milan as early as possible, with his boost and the resources he provides you’ll be set-up for a whole scenario. Whenever possible, help Roland dig for weapons, Vicious Blows etc. 

Also ensure to have some means for dealing with enemies, also using OBoL.

Later on you can use Encyclopedia, even taking a hit for it, to boost your Combat and kill an enemy. If enemy-free, you might boost Roland’s Combat (if he’s face against a boss, or found himself without a weapon and surrounded by enemies or even Intellect (so you both will vacuum-clean all the clues lying around.

Quick look into the book and Daisy gets super strong for few minutes.

 

Research Librarian serves multiple purposes, increases chances of drawing OBoL, works as a Wild Card book to be summoned from the deck according to your needs and provides extra Stamina. Once he’s out, sacrifice him at the first opportunity, to make room for Dr. Milan.

You can play Shortcut to move into Roland’s location with impunity, even if engaged with an enemy.

Upgrades: First picks are 2 Encyclopedias. Upgraded Blinding Light is also a strong choice due to increased damage output. I wouldn’t consider taking 1 XP version of Magnifying Glass, it basically only reduces the cost, you’re going to run with it in your hand anyway.

Later on you have to choose between Cryptic Research and Bulletproof Vest. I’d pick at least one copy of each.

It’s not easy to give up on anything to make space for new cards. I ditched one copy of Medical Texts and Guts for Encyclopedias. To decide, what to get rid of next, you must check yourself, which cards didn’t prove useful enough (In my case it was Shortcut and later on the librarian, as Cryptic Research provides enough deck searching capabilities and he’s quite useless, if drawn after playing Dr. Milan, anyway).

Extra Notes:  On one hand Roland can benefit dearly of Daisy’s toms and Cryptic research. On the other, they are both versatile enough to manage even if split. Therefore you have 2 options of playing them and should adapt your approach based on what the current game status is. 

Teamwork and planning are the key!

 It is, surprisingly, the most efficient team we’ve used so far. Stay tuned for next ones, though! Should you decide to try them out, let me know the outcome! 

 All images are courtesy of cardgamedb.com and fantasyflightgames.com