By Book or by Crook: "Skids" O'Toole

Why no machetes? Both of his weapons require ammo and that can be problem late game right? Derringer just doesn't see worth it in my opinion. Machete is probably the better option cost wise at a cost of 3 also without the need of ammo.

@bullettrang I prefer the .41 Derringer for its +2 . Since "Skids" will also be attacking enemies engaged with Daisy, this decreases the chance of hitting her. He may not get its +1 damage every time, but there is plenty of other direct damage in the deck. And, since his job is to deal with most of the enemies, he may often be engaged with more than one at a time, which would negate the +1 damage from Machete. True; for the same cost, Machete is permanent, but then, "Skids" usually doesn't have trouble with resources, so can often pump 3 or 4 rounds into an enemy, toss his gat, and ready a new one. As for the need for ammo, 1-2x Extra Ammunition would be my first upgrade and is easily attained after one scenario. In any case, running out of ammo doesn't mean he can't attack. Lastly, I prefer the .41 Derringer for flavor; which is pretty much what this game is about for me. Basically, I don't see "Skids" with a Machete, whereas Zoey Samaras, on the other hand, I can easily see wielding one. One unrelated change I would make is to replace Manual Dexterity or Overpower with 2x Guts, since "Skids" can have trouble with some of those treachery skill tests. Thanks for your comment.

This the duo I've been trying to build towards. Do you find you have enough resources without Burglary? Elder Sign abilities aren't exactly reliable, although Burglary isn't a guarantee either. Plus I'd want to fit in a Flashlight at that point as well, which goes against the 'pure' combat build you have outlined. I suppose if Daisy is gathering enough clues then Skids can use any 'downtime' not dealing with enemies to drips resources and that would be enough?

@chainsawashI am not the deck creator here but in my few recent games burglary was a must have. Especially in the first two scenarios with 1 shroud locations. (I realize later you can still investigate locations without clues, that's why the hallway in scenario 1 still has a shroud value). With 3 resources per action, you can easily throw down Leo De Luca after or dynamite. I used to be against it because it costed an action to play and another to investigate, but I now believe its a must have.

@chainsawash Yeah, you got it. Early in a scenario, or whenever enemies are few or none, "Skids" O'Toole can use an action to gain a resource. Later, when he's fighting/evading and making more skill checks, he'll usually draw a couple Elder Signs. Yeah, relying on his Elder Sign ability for resources is a bit of a crap-shoot, though it does fit his gambler persona. Burglary is certainly more reliable, but it begs for the addition of Flashlight and/or Perception. And, as you surmised, given his role in this deck, I didn't want to use deck space for investigation that could be used for combat, evasion, and damage. Paired with Daisy Walker, she can make up for him not investigating, and he can make up for her abysmal combat skills. Now, in a solo deck or when the investigators are planning to split up [see my "Blackjack & Black Magic" decks], I would definitely give "Skids" Burglary, Flashlight, and Perception in addition to his fighting/evasion cards, since he would need to be good at everything. And he is a particularly well-rounded investigator. It's almost a shame in this deck not to let him use his full potential. But, then, the goal was to pair two complementary investigators who can play to their strengths exclusively. Thanks for checking out my deck(s) and best of luck with yours!

Great deck! I'm just finished with the first scenario and have 6 points to spend. My wife and I ended up running Skids/Daisy as well, and after one playthrough I saw the same basic strategy as yours, Skids muscles while Daisy investigates. However, I only have 1 core (and the two side adventures). Can you make any recommendations on what you'd change from your decks with that in mind?

@johnald: Yep! "Skids" & Daisy is (are?) a fun pair to play with. True; playing with 1 Core doesn't really give you much deck-building flexibility, but there are some good cards to expand your decks coming up soon in "The Dunwich Legacy", some of which should enable some new strategies for this duo.

Assuming you're using the suggested Core decks for "Skids" & Daisy, I recommend the following 0-Level changes: Swap "Skids"' Guts with Daisy's Manual Dexterity, and replace Daisy's 2x Knife with 2x Unexpected Courage. This allows each to play to their strengths more consistently while still aiding each other.

For experience upgrades: First & foremost, I like Encyclopedia for Daisy and Police Badge for "Skids" [pickpocketed, perhaps?]. The former is a great card that can be used (and re-used each round) as Daisy's free Tome action, and the latter adds even more action advantage. Both can benefit either investigator and, combined, can give one of them 5 actions with +2 to one skill. Great for a last-minute scramble for clues or taking out several enemies... or one big one.

Otherwise, for Daisy, Disc of Itzamna has a nice effect as well as 3 test icons that can provide +2 or . Upgrading Magnifying Glass and/or Blinding Light are good, too. Mind Wipe is also an option that can help protect both investigators. For cards to replace when not upgrading to a new version of the same card: 1. Forbidden Knowledge, since Dr. Milan Christopher does a better job of providing resources and Daisy doesn't benefit from taking horror the way Agnes Baker does. 2. Hyperawareness, since she won't usually need its boost and Arcane Studies can give her the same boost.

Additional options for "Skids" include: Extra Ammunition [for the cost, pretty much a no-brainer] and either Bulletproof Vest since he will likely take a lot of damage and is not using his "body" slot, or Sure Gamble--a great card; even more so because it may be played after a chaos token is drawn. Cards to replace: Switchblade would be my first choice to go; then, one or both copies of Knife. Elusive could also be a candidate to replace, since using it will leave Daisy behind to be engaged by the evaded enemies.

Apologies for the long response. I do like thinking (and writing) about this stuff! Happy investigating! Would love to hear how your "Skids" & Daisy do on the rest of the Core scenarios.

@HerumenWow - thank you! I did cave and order a second core set but this will keep me occupied until it arrives :)

"Burglary is certainly more reliable, but it begs for the addition of Flashlight and/or Perception."

Actually it doesn't. You can't use Fashlight with Burglary. If you meant that you would toss the flashlights for the +1 int, that's terrible.

@dcjoker: Yeah, as one of the first decks I designed, I didn't realize at the time that Burglary & Flashlight were each distinct investigate actions and, thus, not playable together. Thanks for so tactfully pointing out this error.