Rex Murphy
The Reporter

Investigator

Reporter.

Seeker
  • 3
  • 4
  • 2
  • 3
Health: 6. Sanity: 9.

After you succeed at a skill test by 2 or more while investigating: Discover 1 clue at your location.

effect: +2. You may instead choose to automatically fail this skill test to draw 3 cards.

"This time, nothing will stop me from getting at the truth!"
Cristi Balanescu
The Dunwich Legacy #2.

Latest Taboo

This card's ability gains: "(Limit once per round.)"

Rex Murphy - Back

Investigator

Deck Size: 30.

Deckbuilding Options: Seeker cards () level 0-5, Neutral cards level 0-5, up to five other level 0 cards from any other class.

Deckbuilding Requirements (do not count toward deck size): Search for the Truth, Rex's Curse, 1 random basic weakness.

Deckbuilding Restrictions: No Fortune cards.

When disaster strikes, Rex Murphy is usually on hand, suffering the consequences. After spending a day with Rex, even the most hardened skeptic will concede that the man is cursed. Anytime he had a lead on a good story, something would go wrong. That business in Innsmouth with the photographs that had blown out to sea. The tracks in Dunwich that had washed away in the rain just before he'd brought the sheriff. His terrible fortune has more than once exposed him to gruesome beasts and occult conspiracies. To survive, Rex has developed an inquisitive mind, keeping one step ahead of the next disaster.
Rex Murphy
Rex Murphy
Search for cards usable by this investigator

FAQs

(from the official FAQ or responses to the official rules question form)
  • NB: ArkhamDB now incorporates errata from the Arkham Horror FAQ in its card text, so the ArkhamDB text and the card image above differ, as the ArkhamDB text has been edited to contain this erratum (updated January 2022): Erratum: Rex Murphy's Deckbuilding Options should read: "... up to five other level 0 cards from any other classes (, , , and/or )." - FAQ, v.1.5, April 2019

  • List of Fortune cards that Rex cannot include in his deck.

  • You can only 'discover' a clue if there is a clue on your location.

  • You can use the reaction ability to discover a clue even if the successful investigation attempt would not result in discovering clues (e.g. when using Burglary).

  • If you are forced to redraw a chaos token due to Rex's Curse, and you draw , choosing to automatically fail the test results in the Curse being shuffled back into Rex's deck.

  • Automatic Success/Failure: Some card effects make an investigator automatically succeed or automatically fail a skill test. If this occurs, depending on the timing of such an effect, certain steps of the skill test may be skipped in their entirety.

    • If it is known that an investigator automatically succeeds or fails at a skill test before Step 3 (“Reveal Chaos Token”) occurs, that step is skipped, along with Step 4. No chaos token(s) are revealed from the chaos bag, and the investigator immediately moves to Step 5. All other steps of the skill test resolve as normal.
    • If a chaos token effect causes an investigator to automatically succeed or fail at a skill test, continue with Steps 3 and 4, as normal. - FAQ, v.1.7, March 2020
Last updated

Reviews

I don't normally leave reviews, but having the only review of Rex be negative just seemed wrong.

Rex is currently one of (if not the) strongest investigator in the game, and most of the community on places like Reddit, Facebook, and Discord agree (to the point where many people consider nerfing him in one way or another). While he definitely does have limitations, I'd like to go over exactly why Rex is top tier right now before I Delve Too Deep into his weaknesses.

To talk accurately about Rex, we first have to talk about Higher Education. Higher Education is without a doubt the most influential card in the game right now, as it drastically powers up the investigators who can take it (Rex and Daisy at time of writing). It provides both consistency and efficiency that's unparalleled in other classes, and the 5 card requirement is often negligible for Seekers who excel at card draw.

Higher Education is particularly important to Rex due to his passive ability, which is the main thing that takes him over the edge. Rex's passive allows him to save actions by picking up extra clues, and with no limiting factor he can potentially do this multiple times a turn. His naturally high of 4 and the boost from Higher Ed. means you can guarantee yourself a high probability of grabbing 2 clues over and over again. In 2-4 player games, Rex can hoover up all the clues almost single handed.

The seeker card pool is perfectly suited to helping Rex go on a rampage. Dr. Milan Christopher helps him keep the Higher Ed. engine running, Magnifying Glass naturally works well with Higher Ed. as well, and Preposterous Sketches + Search for the Truth (and the occasional effect) provide hand filling support right from level 0. Splashing for Burglary can keep your pockets full while still grabbing clues due to Rex's ability, and being flush with cash makes Rex almost immune to any based treachery effects. Not only that, but having almost unlimited boosting capabilities makes Rex's Curse almost a non-factor.

Ok, so Rex has strong synergy with strong cards, but you might be asking yourself: can't the same be said for other 'gators too? Well, not really.

The difference is that almost all other 'gators are naturally limited in how often they can use their abilities. "Skids" O'Toole, Daisy Walker, Jenny Barnes, Marie Lambeau, and Roland Banks all have abilities that work only once a turn. Wendy Adams and "Ashcan" Pete can use their powers at the cost of cards, which are a limited resource. Similarly, Agnes Baker is limited by both time (once per phase) and her sanity. The only other 'gators without limits are Jim Culver (who has a low impact ability you can't play around) and Zoey Samaras, who is limited by the existence of enemies in the first place.

Rex is really the only 'gator who has no limit on his ability. He can theoretically get six clues in one turn, saving a total of three actions. This kind of efficiency simply isn't possible with other 'gators. And Rex currently has the card support to make this insane action efficiency a reality with stunning consistency.

But Rex does have a weakness: solo mode. Not that he can't hold his own, in fact I think seekers have more than enough help dealing with enemies through cards like Mind over Matter, "I've got a plan!", and Disc of Itzamna (which Rex can Scavenging back). Rather, Rex is heavily weakened by solo mode because there are simply fewer clues to grab. Any 1 location is "immune" to his powers, and generally speaking he won't be holding onto a ton of clues at once for things like Search for the Truth.

Still, I hope I've been able to illustrate just why Rex is insane in 2+ player games. As long as he's got a buddy to guard him, Rex makes short work of any clue-based scenario (which is quite nearly all of them).

MOON-E · 114
It's so bizarre that Rex doesn't have a "limit once per turn" on his special ability. That would put him roughly in line with the other investigators. — CaiusDrewart · 3117
Amazing! [Rex Murphy](/card/02002) with [Higher Education](/card/02187), [Magnifying Glass](/card/01030) and [Dr. Milan Christopher](/card/01033) pick up all the clues. First buy should be [Higher Education](/card/02187) that way [Rex Murphy](/card/02002) need no setup. Spend his 5 resources on boosting investigate and pickup clues right away. In multiplayer locations that have lots of clues Rex can sweep in with [Pathfinder](/card/02108) and [Shortcut](/card/02022) then [Deduction](/card/02150) + [Double or Nothing](/card/02026) and boots [Higher Education](/card/02187) to pick up 8 clues! Or [Burglary](/card/01045) + [Deduction](/card/02150) + [Double or Nothing](/card/02026) and boots [Higher Education](/card/02187) to pick up 6 clues and gain 6 resources. [Preposterous Sketches](/card/02186) and [Burglary](/card/01045) with [Double or Nothing](/card/02026) keeps [Rex Murphy](/card/02002) hand full and replenishes his resource pool. — Fireblaze · 2
Double or Nothing is a fortune card, so Rex can't use it. — MotoGato · 1
To be fair, an ally could be the one with a Double or Nothing in for @Fireblaze ‘s combo. That said Double or Nothing does NOT double Rex’s passive. Rex’s passive is not part of a successful check, it is a desperate ability after it. DoN resolves the EFFECTS of succeeding twice but you still only ACTUALLY succeed once, so Rex’s ability can only be triggered once. — Death by Chocolate · 1434

DO NOT PICK HIM! Use the Librarian instead because here comes the hate.

Hand's down Rex Murphy is the WORST investigator in the game (through Blood on the Altar). First of all, Rex's Curse is absolutely brutal. I cannot overstate how crippling his unique weakness is. You will doubt every decision you make while it's out, and it never really goes away. This transforms your turn into a painful and tedious experience, rather than a challenging risk/reward analysis. If you do manage to get rid of it (strategically failing?), then the likelihood of you drawing it again only increases as your deck gets thinner and thinner. Not being able to add fortune cards is just a slap in the face. Secondly,hHis investigator's ability is rarely triggered and is only useful at locations with multiple clues. Thirdly, "Oh hooray! I drew the Investigator Token! +2 or autofail to draw three cards?" Sheesh.

But what about his special card, Search for the Truth? Sure, it has three skill icons, but look at that ability. It only works when you stockpile clues - the exact opposite thing you want to do in this game. And you only get one use out of it! It's almost as if Rex was an inside joke at Fantasy Flight. Rex "Resign or Die" Murphy.

I thought I'd be getting into an exciting challenge by playing as Rex in standard solo mode, but I can't even get past Midnight Masks with him. I dare you to play him solo in The Midnight Masks scenario. If you can complete that scenario with more than half of the available victory points, then please please please post your deck. I've given up on him.

ADHiDef · 7367
Rex is a highly specialized character; he has an unsurpassed ability to pick up clues. If you can keep monsters off of him, he investigates with a ridiculous economy of actions. Yes, Rex may struggle a bit in a solo game, but he shines in multiplayer where other characters can shore up his weaknesses and locations often contain large stacks of clues that Rex can dutifully pursue. If you think he is a awful investigator, it is because you aren't using him properly. — NatesPromNight · 852
@NatesPromNight, He doesn't just struggle in solo mode; he dies or resigns (except for Core set Prologue where I'll admit he dominates). I'm not blind to the fact that he is supposed to be your clue-getter, but his weaknesses overwhelming trump his supposed strengths. In multiplayer, what you mean to say is Rex really shines in the early game. His curse hasn't shown up yet, there aren't any pesky enemies in the way, and the locations are still fresh with clues. My point is that as the game progresses, he becomes exponentially worse and worse in a way that no other investigator does (up through Blood on the Altar). Clues diminish. Enemies spawn and prevent him from investigating. Burglary requires him to be alone, but he always needs someone by his side to fight the enemies he inevitably encounters. And his curse is more and more likely to appear. And you seem to be forgetting that his ability only works if he passes the investigation test by 2 or more, which encourages you to overcommit resources. Think about it; even a shroud of 2 means that anything worse than 0 won't trigger his ability without help and you can't use Fortune cards to get around that after the fact. You've got to commit upfront. He's just not reliable. Daisy is light years better than Rex at clue-getting over the course of a campaign. 2x Deduction and Daisy is ready to kick some clue butt. If you can beat The Midnight Masks in solo mode on standard while earning half the available XP, then post your deck and I'll start taking you seriously. — ADHiDef · 7367
If you don't find him reliable, that's on you. In my group Rex routinely gathers up 5-6 clues a turn in the late game, something no other character can match. Higher education works exception well for him, and if you get Dr. Christopher out you can easily afford to burn at least one resources on every roll. Which means, against your hypothetical shroud of 2, he gets two clues per investigate on all but two draws. Yes, he struggles in solo, but in multiplayer (we have been playing three and four player games), we have been able to keep things off of him without much trouble. I like daisy, but if you are getting more clues with Daisy than with Rex in a multiplayer game, it is because you are playing Rex poorly. — NatesPromNight · 852
Post your deck — ADHiDef · 7367
You make good points. Admittedly I have only played him in 2-player and solo campaign. When you mentioned piles of clues, I was like "Huh?" But now I'm picking up what you're laying down. I'm ready to concede that his ability might even be INVALUABLE in a 4-player campaign, where clue-based advancement requirements are so high and there's a large even number of clues on every location. Maybe thats why Rex's Curse is so brutal and why he can't use fortune cards; FFG recognized how beastly he is at gathering clues in a 4-player campaign. There would also be enough investigators to keep enemies off of him. If there's already a Mystic in then party, then I'm ready to also concede that Rex would probably be a better choice than Daisy. But in a 3-player campaign, I'm still not convinced that he is the better Seeker than Daisy. That's why I'd like to see your Rex deck. Maybe you could post what other investigators you would suggest to compliment him? As the number of players increases, the game appears to be better at accommodating hyper-specialization, and Rex is probably the most hyper-specialized investigator in the game (up through Blood on the Altar). From this discussion and from my experience, I'm convinced that hyper-specialization becomes more and more of a liability as the player count goes down and as the campaign progresses into a more diverse set of challenges. In my 2-player campaign, there just weren't enough ways to keep enemies off of him (friend was playing Roland), and we were often faced with a resign or die situation. When I switched to Daisy, Night of the Zealot became much more fun and much more manageable. Daisy can fend for herself in ways that Rex simply cannot. Book of Lore keeps her weaknesses in check too. We decided to progress into The Dunwich Legacy with Daisy instead of Rex. After that experience I wanted to know what the deal was with Rex. What could I do to make him work? I started experimenting in solo mode with him. The fact that you keep saying he "struggles" in solo mode tells me you have not played him in solo mode. He doesn't just struggle. Struggle would imply that he merely has a hard time winning. Again, play the core set through Midnight Masks on solo standard and tell me afterwards if you honestly think The Devourer Below is winnable. I just don't see how it's possible. If you can do it, please post your deck and teach me the ways of Rex. If I can replicate it, then I'll completely rewrite my original review. I admire you're commitment to championing this investigator. Even with all the concessions I'm willing to make in light of your arguments, at the end of the day, an investigator who's strength is dependent on the number of players, their ability to keep enemies off of him/her, the chance he/she doesn't draw his/her unique weakness, and the resolution requirements of the scenario (clue-based) - just isn't that good. — ADHiDef · 7367
I haven't played rex one or two player, so you are the expert on that front. I published the rex deck we use in our four play game, and will put up my Zoey deck as well. — NatesPromNight · 852
Rex is a fantastic character if played correctly. Zoey & Rex crush scenarios like mad. — FBones · 18812
scavenging and disc of itzamna makes rex wandering alone less frightening . And dont even tell me that with milan and burglary you dont have the economy for it . I utterly agree with previous posters , you play rex poorly . — Susu · 35
I've played Rex in 2, 3 and 4 players, and he's been amazing in each campaign. He pretty much managed BotA solo in our blind 3 player campaign. He can gather clues so well we think his ability is borderline broken and are considering nerfing it to once/turn, and I would probably not pick him up again in a future campaign (certainly not on standard). He also finds it easy to acquire a ton of cash to fuel both Higher Education and Hyperawareness, meaning he can reliably pass any test and boost past the negative side effect of having the curse out. — unitled · 2259
At first i also thought rex's curse destroyes him and his ability happens too rarely/ is too expensive. However i played him in a 4 man game and he ruled clue gathering. Even with his curse out, i often succeeded on checks when i didn't expect to. Rabbit's foot helps a lot to compensate the curse and with the seekers decks draw speed, you can easily have a full hand of cards, helping with any kind of situation. — Django · 5063
I personally love playing Rex. My friend and I have been playing a 2 person Dunwich campaign and we have been crushing. Essex County Express was a joke to us. I walked into the car grabbed the clues in a single turn and he opened the next car. Rinse, Repeat. — ironmule · 1
Reading this long after Rex was taboo'd and everyone talking about how broken Seeker is feels hillarious. — PowLee · 20
Indeed. I've been listening to old podcast episodes and a lot of card reviews are funny as hell. Many cards that were considered weak have since been nerfed. Stuff like this happens in a lot of card games. — Blackhaven · 3
@Blackhaven @PowLee Yeah! It really highlights how much easier it is to learn to play properly today. As a newcomer nowadays, just reading through card reviews here, maybe watching a couple of Youtube videos, will get you a rundown of concepts like "action economy", "draw consistency", and "maintaining tempo". In contrast, we can see that seven years ago when the game (and the player community) was still new, an insanely overpowered brokenly strong Investigator Ability can get a bad review.. because because back then there wasn't even the vaguest inkling of concepts that are now considered basics ("action compression" in this case). — Cyke · 1
Rex's curse is the weakest weakness ever. All it costs him in the end is one single lost action, that's it, nothing else. And you can't get rid of it strategically, just play as you were until you waste a single action. The only reason he curse was so brutal is because you tried to get rid of it "strategically". — Senji975310 · 1

Okay, first off start with the basics. everyone knows that you shouldn't do Rex Murphy solo. You have been warned.

2ndly, it is really hard to get all of the cultists in midnight masks.

When playing a game with Rex Murphy you need to consider the following: 1. do I have someone to cover me? 2. is this scenario about clue gathering? if the answer to both of these is yes, then you will be pretty successful.

Rex's curse: To bypass the effects of this, what you need to do is always stack the odds in your favor. Have higher education and 5 or more cards in you hand with plenty of resources to feed it. It also helps if you have lots of cards that you can commit. this way, once you draw the second token you will have a very good chance of success.

Rex is all about clue gathering which makes him awesome for scenarios like Essex county express. There will be some monsters that your buddy can't get to fast enough so you want to pack I've got a plan.

hogwashed · 9
also, I will be releasing a Rex Murphy deck that I have been working on as soon as we finish Dunwhich Legacy. — hogwashed · 9
Rex solo is a waste of his ability, as there's often only 1 clue, so don't get to use it. The more players, the better his ability gets. Anything that makes him move for free is great to make more use of his ability. — Django · 5063
you mean like shortcut and quick thinking? — hogwashed · 9
There is Rex Murphy trick that you can pick up two clues with one action. (Django refers to it) Like Shortcut and Pathfinder. It turns Rex into a strong Solo character. Explained: You do a search action in one location. You succeed. Then you play shortcut. You know find one clue in the first, and one clue in the destination location. — aramhorror · 700
To clarify this a bit more: Wherever you initiate the Investigate action is where you're committing to pick clues up from. So, for example, if you started an Investigate action in Room A, you will only pick up clues from Room A. However, Rex Murphy's action triggers when a skill test while investigating succeeds by 2 or more and it only cares about where Rex Murphy is at the moment! — Darthcaboose · 281
@aramhorror @Darthcaboose It took me a bit of reading cards and rules to wrap my head around this combo, but in the end I think it works mostly as described. The one key detail you both left out is that you have to gamble a bit since the only free trigger windows between initiatiating and completing the test happen BEFORE the token is drawn. You have to commit to the Shortcut or Pathfinder before you know the results of the test. — Death by Chocolate · 1434

Rex is one of the best specialized investigators in the game even now with all the new investigators he is still incredibly high rated. There is no other investigator that can discover as many clues as him per turn. That being said please do not use him in a solo campaign unless you are a seasoned player who is looking for a decent challenge. My suggestion is to pair him with a guardian like Zoey, Mark, or Tommy in a 2 player campaign. There is nothing quite like a good ole fashioned escort mission destroying evil while rex mops up the clues.

Rex was already A tier, but he bumps towards high A/S with scarlet keys just because of that passive.

Remember that concealed cards can be discovered by also discovering a clue at a location. Card effects like dynamite that damage everything at a location for free can expose (although can only expose 1), so other card effects that instead discover clues can also expose instead (effects like Working a Hunch, Deduction and Pendant of the Queen can expose concealment).

The wording on Rex's ability then also allows him to expose a conceal, while doing what he would normally be doing anyway. This gives him a nice tempo boost, especially in TSK where the timers are quite short.

Overall, once a good gator, always a good gator.

drjones87 · 188