By the Book: Daisy Solo through the Dunwich Legacy

In anticipation of The Path to Carcosa, I've been playing some solo runs through The Dunwich Legacy. This is my Daisy Walker run, and though it didn't end with delightful success, I felt the deck was strong and fun and I wanted to share it. You can of course click back through the various iterations of the deck - please do take a look and ask any questions you may have! Below I run through the deck concept, the biggest challenges Daisy solo might face, and some of the crucial cards and upgrades for the deck.

Deck concept: Post-Dunwich, Seeker has become one of the strongest factions to play solo with. Seekers are great at getting clues, which is never not essential, and with tools like "I've got a plan!", Shortcut, Old Book of Lore and Inquiring Mind, Daisy is able to handle much of what the encounter deck is going to throw at you through a combination of tricks, mobility and simply smashing tests. Furthermore, the upgrades available to Daisy - Mystic and Seeker in combination - lead to a lot of encounter deck mitigation. The plan then is to get OBoL down, get down either of the doctors, preferably Maleson early, and power through scenarios to victory, getting clues fast with a full hand of options.

Challenges: - Before this deck has Charisma and Higher Education, the combination of Milan and Maleson is hamstrung and the potency of Milan resources fuelling Higher Education is unavailable. This means that early scenarios can be particularly make-or-break for Daisy. Initially I thought Extracurricular Activity into The House Always Wins was the right way to go, but after some testing, it seems clear that the time pressure in THAW second is such that it's probably more advisable to do that first. Daisy wants time in THAW to be ready to slay Clover Club Pit Boss with clues, and potentially hoover up clues in various back-room locations. That's nigh impossible without the three turns of agenda 2a.

• Enemies. Maleson can mitigate an unlucky draw from the encounter deck that leaves Daisy face to face with a wizard or thug, but if he's not available, Daisy can be in some trouble. Mind over Matter is useful with dealing with non-essential enemies, and fighting your way clear with Shrivelling is possible too. But early in a scenario, if Daisy is not set up or doesn't have many clues for a good Plan-hit, an enemy can pose a serious problem. Multiple enemies can quickly become uncontrollable for Daisy, as she doesn't have the of a Guardian or any natural , like, say, Wendy. This particularly run of the campaign ended because I went from Lupine Thrall to Avian Thrall to Crazed Shoggoth - I could fight through two, but not all three. In sum: enemies are to be feared and to be prepared for with all urgency. If Maleson is in one's opening hand, playing him, getting a clue and positioning somewhere where you can potentially get that clue again is of paramount importance if the first off the encounter deck is potentially an enemy.

Key cards: 1. Dr. William T. Maleson is more powerful than I predicted, and I already thought he looked strong! 1 resource for 2 health and 2 sanity is ridiculous! And then handing the player a level of encounter-deck mitigation that is only rivalled by a level 5 Ward of Protection (with slightly less power). Sign me up any day of the week!

2. Pathfinder. Do you want a free move every turn? Ok!
3. Shrivelling in combination with Higher Education: let's fry brains. Ok!

Key Upgrades: I've mentioned these already, but having Maleson out in combination with Christopher, thanks to charisma, is mighty. Higher Education is incredible - which is not a groundbreaking observation but deserves to be said. Yes, it can be stopped if you play too many cards, but OBoL, Preposterous Sketches (not in the deck) and Cryptic Research all mitigate that drawback. I could have gone for Disc of Itzamna but opted to go more for damage than shuffling back enemies - between Plan and Shrivelling, that felt like good enemy-handling, particularly with Maleson as a pseudo-enemy handler.

Conclusion: If you want to play a solo investigate who is natural talented at grabbing clues, has an excellent ability and provides interesting ways of overcoming some of the obstacles of The Dunwich Legacy: try Daisy!

Campaign Log: Pretty skeletal here, I know. Notable delights were absolutely steaming through Blood on the Altar and then getting great use out of Zebulon Whateley in both Undimensioned and then Where Doom Awaits. He also feeds into fuelling a full hand, which Daisy loves.

1. The House Always Wins: R2

   • O'Bannion Gang has a bone to pick with us.
   • Dr Francis Morgan rescued.
   • 4xp

2. Extracurricular Activity: R2

   • Professor Warren Rice kidnapped.
   • The students were rescued.
   • 3xp
   • Dr Henry Armitage rescued.

3. The Miskatonic Museum: R2

   • Investigators failed to recover the Necronomicon.
   • 4xp

4. The Essex County Express: R1

   • 4 xp
   • -3 added

5. Blood on the Altar: R3

   • Investigators banished Silas Bishop
   • Professor Warren Rice sacrificed to Yog.
   • Four survived the Dunwich Legacy
   • 4xp

6. Undimensioned and Unseen: R1

   • 1 brood escaped into the wild
   • 4xp
7. Where Doom Awaits: R2
   • Killed by a Crazed Shoggoth