Tony the Strangler TCU Ironman

This Tony Morgan deck was designed for use during the Mythos Buster's Ironman run of TCU during Farkham Nights 2020.

The main role for this Tony deck is to be the primary killer in a multiplayer group, so most of the cards in the deck are meant to deal lots of damage, while conserving actions. However, due to the particular nature of TCU, which splits up investigators on several occasions, this deck also includes some clue-finding options, such as Followed and Intel Report.

At level 0, the "rig" for Tony is fairly straightforward. His main weapon is Switchblade, because it's cheap, fast, and reusable, but Mauser is a great backup option and his signature guns provide an alternative for times when you really need the consistent +1 damage. Tony's main weakness is his sanity, so I've included the Lonnie Ritter/Leather Jacket combination as a form of horror soak/healing. The remainder of the deck is filled out with several Guardian damage events, with the goal of ultimately upgrading to Double Double, allowing these events to do even more work with even fewer actions. (In the actual heat of Ironman, though, I was never able to upgrade to Double Double. See my upgrade notes below.)

UPGRADE PATH

First priorities (I took these after scenario one):

• Switchblade level 2: Since the Switchblade is Tony's main weapon, you'll want to upgrade it right away so that it is even more reliable. This is worth it even at the taboo cost.
• 2x Garrote Wire (replaces 2x Lucky Cigarette Case): Take this card, take it early, and watch it do work for you all game. Yes, two copies are worth it so that you draw it more consistently. This card is such a workhorse and gives the deck its name.
• 2x Easy Mark (replaces 2x Emergency Cache): This replaces the resource generation of Emergency Cache with something that gives you card draw as well, which also softens the blow of replacing Lucky Cig Case.

Next priorities (I took these after scenarios two and three):

• Charisma + x2 Delilah O'Rourke (replaces x2 Get Over Here!": Delilah helps to bring even more action-less damage to the table. Originally, I planned on replacing Lonnie outright, but I called an audible because Tony needed as much horror soak as possible, so I decided to change my plans and grab Charisma instead so that I could keep both Lonnie and Delilah.

Next priorities (I took these after scenarios four and five):

• x1 Haste (replaces x1 Mauser): Haste just helps to conserve actions even more and increase the potential damage output of Tony.

Next priorities (I took these after scenarios six and seven):

• Streetwise: This card never stopped being good, but it is much more approachable after the most recent FAQ reduced the xp cost. For TCU, Streetwise is extraordinarly handy for the last few scenarios, allowing Tony to be more flexy.
• x1 Another Day, Another Dollar: Especially at the end of a campaign, you want to make sure your setups are as fast and consistent as possible, and having extra resources helps.
• x1 Reliable (replaces x1 Counterpunch): Making the Switchblade even stronger is great for the end of a campaign, as enemies get tougher.

The upgrade I didn't get:

• Double Double: I had to prioritize other needs sadly under the pressure of Ironman, but if you are able to take it, Double Double can transform these Guardian events into real monsters.