Rex Murphy: Hoover of Clues (with a Side of Murder and Loot)

This deck was designed to suck up as many clues as possible as quickly as possible--ideally 4+ per turn. Although Rex is actually able to do some pretty serious murdering with "I've Got a Plan", he needs another investigator adept at killing nearby (see my Zoey Double Down/Double Murder deck.

With Dr. Milan Christopher and Magnifying Glass, he's at six for investigating. Hyperawareness (which I typically don't like) helps to consistently allow him to trigger his ability. The first target for upgrading should be Higher Education.

Two other key prices of the deck are splashed in. The first is Burglary. This is a pretty sure lock for 3 resources per turn (4 with Milan). Plus, if you're successful by 2+, gain a clue too.

The other key piece is Scavenging. It's simply efficient, even if it's rarely used. Most investigations, you'll be succeeding by 2+ for Rex's ability. With Scavenging, you'll also be able to pull item cards discard. Early targets would be Flashlight, Leather Coat, and Magnifying glass (if you lose it). Leather Coat is especially good for repeatedly soaking damage. Later campaign targets are Disc of Itzamna and one of the upgraded Strange Solutions. Being able recycle the fighting Strange Solution makes him a potent fighter.

Targets for upgrades in priority order: Higher Education, Pathfinder, Disc of Itzamna, and Strange Solution (maybe earlier depending on when you discover the solution), and Cryptic Research. You want things that allow you to investigate as much as possible and with the greatest success. Higher Education ensures that you're +2 on every investigation. Pathfinder allows you to move for free once a turn, which means more actions for investigating. Disc of Itzamna keeps enemies at bay. Strange Solution let's you effectively deal with enemies if they do arrive and your partner is busy. Cryptic Research helps you find your pieces you need and, more importantly, keep your hand up to five or more for Higher Education.

Cards you'll be able to dump are: Hyperawareness, Flashlight, Dr. William T Maleson, and perhaps Seeking Answers.

With a partner to support with dealing with enemies, Rex is near unstoppable. He's almost too good. You'll be constantly scratching your head and checking the rules to make sure you're not cheating. You're not--he's that good.

---UPDATE (Dunwich Legacy completed)---

Here are the changes that the deck underwent throughout the campaign as I upgraded cards, in roughly the order I added them. Below that are my musings about which cards worked well overall and which didn't.

Additions: Higher Education (3 xp); Pathfinder x 2 (1 xp each); Disc of Itzamna x 2 (2 xp each); Strange Solution Acidic Ichor (4 xp); Cryptic Research (4 xp); Bulletproof Vest (3 xp); Magnifying Glass x 2 (1xp each); Deduction (2 xp); Expose Weakness x 2 (1xp each)

Removals:

Hyperawareness x 2; Dr. William T. Maleson; Flashlight x 2; Strange Solution; Seeking Answers x 2; Perception; Deduction; Magnifying Glass x 2

The cards that I trashed for new cards in general just weren't useful. Hyperawareness was obsoleted by the all powerful Higher Education. Maleson was potentially good even for the cheap damage soak; however, Dr. Milan Christopher was way too good to delay putting him out. Flashlights just weren't needed, particularly after Higher Education and always felt inefficient in actions and resources to put them into play. Seeking Answers were just too situational to be useful. They're not bad, but they were the least useful of the rest of my cards. The one Perception was hard to give up, but something had to go. The rest of the removals were straight upgrades.

Higher Education was the MVP of the deck and is probably just overpowered. Milan Christopher takes second place with Burglary and Pathfinder following up. Never underestimate the usefulness of I've Got a Plan. Those did quite a bit of murdering. Mind Over Matter was somewhat less useful but got me out of jams a few times.

Scavenging wasn't as great as I thought it would be; however, that could just be how things played out for me. I don't know if I ever scavenged anything other than a Disc once or twice. Still useful to have, though.

The acidic Strange Solution also made Rex a potent fighter; though, he often needed the support of Zoey for enemies with fight of 4+ with no other way to boost (except potentially Inquiring Mind).

The last several upgrades were just dumps of xp. I didn't have much else to get, and I didn't want to sacrifice cards. Expose Weakness had pretty huge potential with my Zoey deck or to pair with Strange Solution. I just never drew it in the right situation having bought it so late on the campaign (going into the last scenario). The upgraded Magnifying Glasses have some value in that they cost zero resources rather that one. More importantly, you can pull it back into your hand to help you get to five cards for Higher Education.

All in all, the deck worked really well, especially paired with my Zoey deck. They absolutely murdered the first five scenarios before having more of a fight in the final three. I'd be hard pressed to change much in either the initial deck or the upgrades. Ditching the flashlights for some more Seeker cards might be the only target. I'd consider cards that help with card draw, but probably not in the Dunwich campaign...not to spoil anything.