O'Toole's Corollary: On a Razor's Edge

"Is that a glint of steel?" --Last words of William Joseph, an acolyte of the Black Goat

Although one would think that as a rogue "Skids" O'Toole prefers to slip past his enemies, that would be a poor assessment. Rather, "Skids" O'Toole thrives in the moment to moment pace of hand-to-hand combat with cultists, thugs, ghouls, and minions of the darkness. And this deck shines a spotlight on his damage dealing capabilities.

First, we naturally eschew evasion focused cards and instead look for cost-efficient assets that bolster his fighting capabilities. We won't be reloading our weapons, and therefore, we eschew the handguns like the .45 Automatic or the .41 Derringer. Three of the razor-edged weapons (Machete, Knife, and Switchblade) are used here because they generally offer cheap, repeatable damage bonuses. Of course, the .41 Derringer becomes an option if we gain enough experience to incorporate Sure Gamble. A Vicious Blow or two helps make the attacks with these cards more effective. And Sneak Attack offers additional direct damage when we do need to evade an enemy.

Turning to our allies, the Guard Dog is a strong choice because it adds damage without needing to succeed on a skill test. On the other hand, Leo De Luca provides additional actions. These actions can offer more attacks or card draws. But, the extra action shines when combined with Burglary to generate additional resources each turn.

We next import Physical Training to bolster our attack power with the resources we generate while offering a way to increase our willpower too. Skids' agility is already above average so Hard Knocks doesn't offer as much as PT in this deck. There is an option to also include it; however, deck slots are slight. If you do decide to put it in, #Overpower might be dropped.

On the Lam helps us avoid taking too much damage. But, since we likely will take damage, we likewise import First Aid as an all around option to defuse any physical or mental trauma received during the campaign. Note that it can be action intensive so you may need to spread the healing over a few turns.

Finally, Dynamite Blast and Elusive provide a potentially powerful one-two punch to pile on the damage should the enemies begin to pile up.

This deck wants to pair with a strong clue hound such as Daisy Walker. However, it can still work well with any other investigation focused player.

When leveling up, you will want to focus on snagging Sure Gamble early. Turning the tide on a test can be strong. After that, Hot Streak is tempting, but the Guardian class Police Badge may be stronger because it offers even more actions, which in turn provide more chances to damage enemies.