Harvester of Sorrow

There are a lot of ways to approach Yorick's unique ability, but this build attempts to take a lean, focused approach to Yorick by focusing on what Yorick does best: reduce, reuse, and recycle. What we end up with is a deck that can pump out plenty of damage while holding its own weight in the cluever department.

Suggested Updates: Echoes from the Past

• -1 "If it bleeds..."
• +1 Cherished Keepsake
• Optional: -1 Fine Clothes; +1 Cherished Keepsake

If you're playing Carcosa I recommend keeping the extra Fine Clothes. Cherished Keepsake also renders the choice between Elder Sign Amulet and Police Badge moot; just stick to the Police Badge and grab Relic Hunter instead of Moment of Respite. If you want to experiment with Plucky, try swapping out a copy of Guts or Perception.

Creeping Death (Piloting Instructions and Deck Breakdown)

The decks basic operation is pretty straightforward: kill things with Knife/Gravedigger's Shovel, find clues with Lantern/"Look what I found!", and then recur them with Yorick's , , and Resourceful. If you need to squeeze out more offence, utilize Vicious Blow, Guard Dog, Beat Cop(2), and Aquinnah(3).

Our main target for Yorick's reaction is Knife, though we do have a host of other valid targets. However, these other targets are expensive so be mindful about "popping" them too liberally lest our bank account Fade to Black red. Pop 'em when you need to, otherwise keep them on the board!

Killing is My Business... and Business is Good (how we slay our enemies)

At first glance Yorick appears to lack the big guns to mow down the big baddies from the beyond. This is somewhat true, but for most applications you'll have all the offence you need in Knife and Vicious Blow(2). These two cards alone provide you upwards of 8 combat and 4 damage, and you can recur both via Yorick's and ; all for the low low price of 1 resource and 2 xp. Eat your heart out Lightning Gun!

Gravedigger's Shovel is also worth a mention. While it doesn't have the +1 damage we often look for in weapons, it does have a nice +2 bonus. If you have the Shovel in one hand and a Knife in another, use the Shovel to whittle a 3+ health enemy down and finish it off with the Knife's discard action. Lantern, Guard Dog, and Beat Cop(2) can provide additional support where needed.

This is not enough to be your group's Duke-A-number-1 fighter while the rest are puny little Seekers who didn't pick up Strange Solution. However, it is enough in (1) solo, (2) each member of the group is packing some heat to support Yorick.

The Thing That Should Not Be (Yes, Yorick can get clues too!)

Yorick's pitiful 2 is righted by a number of cards, starting with Lantern (a less potent, but reusable, Flashlight) and Gravedigger's Shovel (when you want to grab that 1 clue off a high shroud location). What is really important about Lantern though is it is usually enough to put us within spitting distance of using "Look what I found!" and Lucky!. All of these cards are valid targets for Resourceful (and Yorick's ).

Leather Rebel (Dressing for the Occassion)

Yorick currently has 3 viable options for level 0 dress wear: Fine Clothes, Bandolier, and Leather Coat. I prefer Fine Clothes for two reasons. First, it provides a crucial sanity point that may or may not save your mind. Second, it comes in handy for scenarios where Parley tests are a plenty.

Where neither of the above are called for, Bandolier is a great option. An issue with Yorick is we often want lots of gear on hand to use and pop but we struggle keeping enough "Load(ed)" or "ReLoad(ing") after an encounter. Bandolier helps relieve these issues.

Leather Coat is perfectly servicable where physical damage is more common than horror. However, I would generally opt for Fine Clothes or Bandolier instead.

You've Got Another Thing Coming (Mulligan Guide)

Early Campaign

Your first priority is looking for a weapon, preferably Knife > Gravedigger's Shovel > Lantern. Next priority is Vicious Blow. After that, look for Lantern, "Look what I found!", Perception, etc to start finding some clues.

Mid-Late Campaign

Look for Ever Vigilant and a host of assets to play. We should be able to play 3 assets with this first action and our starting 5 resources.

Peace Sells... but Whose Buying? (Upgrade Instructions)

1. Vicious Blow x2 Vicious Blow(2) x2

2. Guard Dog x2 Beat Cop(2) or Aquinnah(3) x2

3. Emergency Cache x2 Ever Vigilant x2

4. Dodge Police Badge or Elder Sign Amulet

5. "If it bleeds..." Moment of Respite

6. Unexpected Courage x2 Stroke of Luck x2

Pick up Scrapper and upgrade to Lucky!(2)somewhere in between. Charisma is also worth a pick up if your deck is saddled by useful story assets like Lita Chantler and Dr. Francis Morgan. Consider also picking up Emergency Cache(2) to shore up our economy.

Regarding Police Badge vs. Elder Sign Amulet, both are fantastic assets for Yorick and your choice will likely depend on your needs. Do you need action economy or a sanity buffer? If you feel that your sanity is under assault, consider the Elder Sign Amulet. However, the Police Badge shores up our (which often helps us avoid taking horror) and can be discarded to slay a nasty enemy.

Much of the same applies to Beat Cop(2) vs. Aquinnah(3). Both are fine choices, the former providing more consistent extra damage output while the latter provides an extra sanity buffer. Decisions... decisions...

I recommend sticking to Elder Sign Amulet and Aquinnah on Easy/Standard, and Police Badge and Beat Cop on Hard/Expert.

Rust in Peace (ie what we're not buying / including)

As tempting as it is to fill our deck up with amazing allies like Brother Xavier and The Red-Gloved Man (or other discard assets), be mindful that Yorick's economy options are quite limited. We basically have Ever Vigilant and Emergency Cache and that's it. Paying for these cards constantly, even without the assets we are recurring, would put a tremendous strain on our wallet and we may not even always be able to realize on the benefit (as is the case with The Red-Gloved Man). That's why are following KISS: Keep It Simple Stupid.

We also want to keep all those neutral skill cards in our deck if only to help thin our deck to the cards we are looking for. Avoid removing them if you can.