Ursula Downs: 2 Fast 2 Curious

Hi everyone!

This is the Ursula Downs deck that I've been running through The Forgotten Age in my video series on YouTube. The first episode introducing the deck can be found here:

https://youtu.be/ZYxaTB7L1Nc

This deck aims to set up and start investigating very quickly, relying on Fingerprint Kit and Deduction to really get rolling. Emergency Cache and Crack the Case can boost resources quickly, while Eureka! and Mr. "Rook" help with searching for key cards.

Fast off the line: Mulligan guidance

Ursula likes to get moving and get investigating. Fingerprint Kit is the most important card for accelerating her clue acquisition, as it both boosts investigations and grants additional clues. Remember that Ursula's special ability can let her activate her Kit without spending an action.

Mr. "Rook" and Emergency Cache are probably the next most important, to gather the cards she wants and be able to pay for them. Then, getting a Tooth of Eztli is excellent for both the card draw it provides and that boost to 4 and 5 when dealing with Treacheries, extra important if she is the primary explorer in The Forgotten Age.

It's the driver: Play tips

Let others handle the monsters. Ursula's job is to get to the most remote locations on the board quickly and grab the clues needed to advance the Act. That being said, her 4 means that she is free to zip through danger, with Trench Coat, Fieldwork, and Hyperawareness to boost her evasion tests. Also, Inquiring Mind and Unexpected Courage are very flexible for dealing with all sorts of tests that happen while Ursula is busy exploring.

Eventually, Ursula's weakness Call of the Unknown is going to come up. Don't let it slow you down! Choose locations that she's heading towards anyways and don't backtrack just to hold off the Call. This deck has two copies of Logical Reasoning to recover from the Call, and since the horror is not direct, an empty Mr. "Rook" is an excellent soak for it.

Special modifications: Upgrade suggestions

I've made a bunch of upgrades in the video series, but here are a few important ones:

Charon's Obol for if you're feeling lucky.

Pathfinder for reusable extra moves. The efficiency of Pathfinder is out of this world. Remove Hyperawareness for these.

Shortcut L2 is great for placing on central locations that Ursula will have to visit multiple times, and it also helps the group move faster.

Deduction L2 for even faster clue-gathering!

I've avoided taking Higher Education in the video series so far, because this deck can run low on resources once it's gotten started, but every Seeker should at least consider adding this.

Studious is incredibly efficient for its XP cost, allowing any Seeker who has it (or two of it!) to grab their important cards early and dig harder for support pieces like Emergency Cache.

Once you have Studious, Death • XIII can reliably boost Ursula's even further, as the odds of seeing one in the opening hand get pretty high.

Relic Hunter really opens up some fun options for grabbing really cool Relics like Lucky Dice, Crystalline Elder Sign, or Grotesque Statue, among others. Also note that Tooth of Eztli is not unique, so Relic Hunter lets her double up on the Treachery protection.

Emergency Cache L3 is surprisingly effective in this deck, simply because it can be used to reload a Fingerprint Kit! I'll also note here that if Ursula has taken some trauma on her journeys and could use a Thermos to stay in the game, the Cache can reload that too.

And finally, Cryptic Research helps this deck do everything it wants to do but faster. This card is the nitrous oxide turbocharger. It's worth noting that Call of the Unknown doesn't do anything on the turn you draw it, so Ursula can freely blow through her deck and deal with the blowout later.

If you want to try a fast and furious Seeker that moves around the board, give this deck a try!