It seems like this Bob loves scavenging for random junks to upsell them. Short Supply creates this junk pile from the start, then he use his access to Lockpicks to oversucceeding at Scavenging easily to get various items, including many rare relics we add later in the upgrades.

► About "2 Packs Deck Guide"
　A series of decks made with the new distribution model in mind, requiring a Revised Core Set box + just 1 more Investigator Expansion box. ❄ character on the deck's name means the additional box it uses is Edge of the Earth Investigator Expansion.
　It maximizes the chance of newcomers being able to build and learn to play the game, enjoying the story on Standard difficulty ASAP. They can then get into deck-building later if they wished to do so. See other decks in the "2 Packs Deck Guide" series here.

2 Packs Team Compositions

2 Packs Deck Guide : Edge of the Earth series is now complete with the following decks :

• Daniela Reyes: ❄ 2 Packs Deck Guide : Burning Bruiser
• Daniela Reyes: ❄ 2 Packs Deck Guide : Tanking Cats and Dogs
• Norman Withers: ❄ 2 Packs Deck Guide : Double Icons in the Stars
• Norman Withers: ❄ 2 Packs Deck Guide : Norman the Miskatonic Tutor
• Monterey Jack: ❄ 2 Packs Deck Guide : The Underworld Bullwhip
• Lily Chen: ❄ 2 Packs Deck Guide : Lily the WILL AGI Battle-Mage
• Bob Jenkins: ❄ 2 Packs Deck Guide : Short Supply Scavenging
• Roland Banks: ❄ 2 Packs Deck Guide : Roland the Real, Authentic Spy
• Daisy Walker: ❄ 2 Packs Deck Guide : Guns and Books
• "Skids" O'Toole: ❄ 2 Packs Deck Guide : Destiny Draw
• Agnes Baker: ❄ 2 Packs Deck Guide : Agnes the "Mahou Shoujo"
• Wendy Adams: ❄ 2 Packs Deck Guide : Wendy Lovecrafting

To help assembling a party made entirely from just 2 packs, I have a tool that let you browse team compositions for 2 players, 3 players, and 4 players, that has manageable amount of card overlaps or even none at all. The result is sorted from low to high overlaps. Click here to see all team comps.

Upgrade guide

(View at arkham-starter.com)

• Lockpicks is the most important purchase since it will power Scavenging to get Item stuff back! Spend your 2 XP for these ASAP!
• .41 Derringer (2) is to replace Baseball Bat. Lockpicks can bump the gun out for Scavenging then you get a new set of ammo, and vice versa.
• The Red Clock and Precious Memento is your late game ultimate toys (also Item). Relic Hunter allows you to flex with multiple accessories while you are trying to recover the 3rd one in the discard pile.
• Cheat the System get it anytime you feel like. Also depends if you can get other colors from your teammates or not. Having resources from this is in order to prevent Greed.

Short Supply guide

Dump your deck instantly on start so Scavenging has something to dig immediately.

• If you are not the first player to go after scenario's start, you do not discard until your turn arrives. It occurs at the beginning of your turn.
• The worst card to have it discarded is Scavenging since that is the whole point of Short Supply. When you see 1 or 2 copies going away, you have to adjust your gameplay to be more careful accordingly.
• You should be happy when seeing Items get discarded, because you will now have a choice to select according to the current situation with Scavenging. Remember that Flashlight and Lockpicks, a very important tool for Scavenging, is also an Item.
• If you see your signature weakness Greed discarded, you may now play aggressively in term of remaining resources.
• If your signature Shrewd Dealings is gone, it would be less fun but not as impactful as 2x Scavenging gone.
• When you run out of deck, you can reshuffle back at cost of 1 horror as per the rule. This is the only option if you got bad Short Supply that you cannot scavenge. (If you can, then the deck won't run out that easily.)
  • Reshuffle rule states that taking horror came after reshuffling and drawing a card from your fresh deck. This detail maybe important if you are playing EotE campaign, where you may get Tekeli-li.
  • The horror taken is not direct. You can assign it to your assets.

Ways to use his ability

Bob's specialty is using the "Item" trait, which he has an extra action to play every turn.

• Play from other member's hand onto their play area. That is, it is as if they had played it themselves, however using Bob's extra action. This results in everyone in the team asking if Bob wants to use that extra action or not, if not, they show their Item card ("at any time" so you can show them even before deciding who goes first), then Bob should play first and use extra action to play so the main fighter has 3 full actions to do things.
• This "play for" strategy can even share the cost. Can be useful to help Guardian get an expensive weapon online fast.
• When Bob play Item for others onto their area, if that investigator is engaged, Bob can get around AoO that that investigator would have to take in order to equip Item. Normally fighter will have to anticipate encounters and gear up before bad stuff show up. With Bob, you have more flexibility to use your gear up actions to make progress then gear up later when enemy appears.
• The little paragraph at first basically says normally you are not supposed to just show your hand to Bob if you have anything useful, unless you meet up first. Player can violate this "immersion" rule, but it is pretty fun to follow it! Before you meet up, you can still say something like "Bob let's meet up, I have cool stuff you could use/I want you to pay for!" Without saying what cards are on your hand.

Ways to use his signature : Shrewd Dealings

Instantly turn your table into fruit salad because now everyone can have your Survivor and Rogue Item in play.

Combined with his regular ability, this also allows playing Item of anyone to anyone. Rainbow!

Look for cards with "Synergy" trait which benefits from having many colors in your control. Bob can make this worthwhile, especially when playing a multi-class card that grants multiple colors at once.

Also look out for 1-cost card, which would get discounted to 0. 0 is much better than 1 because it does not matter if treacheries unexpectedly drain your resource or something, you can always play it most of the time.

An example of good Shrewd Dealings card is to take Butterfly Swords from your fighter, since Bob has to add to the attack, he can easily join in the fight. (Though not for long, he loves his Lockpicks in his hand.) Look for more cards like this that seemed to be balanced because Rogue/Survivor cannot take it, but now Bob could. Deckbuilding requirements does not apply outside of deckbuilding!

Card tips

Flashlight

Generally helps with triggering Scavenging. When you have got Lockpicks, you can decide whether to remove this or not.

Play for other fighters early (e.g. the first few turns when you are still together) when they are not armed with big weapon just yet. The fighter can now drain 2 shroud locations together with you.

When that fighter equips a weapon while having your Flashlight, try to bump the Flashlight out so it go back to Bob's discard pile ready for Scavenging. Note that Flashlight is not automatically gone when out of battery, so bumping out is quite important.

Also per the rule, you cannot intentionally bump out Flashlight if you have an another hand free, when equipping 1 handed weapon. Guardian may have 2 handed weapon that make discarding your Flashlight easier.

Talisman of Protection

Great Item to help not dying from Greed, which you can Scavenging back.

Heavy Furs

I keep forgetting to use the "reroll" ability on this coat, so don't be like me.

If you get when using Baseball Bat, this can help keeping it. Other investigator would love to wear this as well.

Bandages

Ally healing is useful when that ally seems to be balanced by it taking damages. Try giving this to Guardian with Beat Cop or Guard Dog!

Note that it cannot do anything with horror. Only damage.

Remember to discard it once out of supplies, so you can Scavenging.

Schoffner's Catalogue

Bob get better deal since he can discount the play cost of catalog with Shrewd Dealings.

The 2nd paragraph means it is also possible for the other investigator to walk into your location, play an Item, then take the catalog out of your hand to pay for it. This can greatly shorten your prepare turn by using the catalog together.

(e.g. Bob's turn, he play Item for others with Shrewd Dealings discount and sharing money, perhaps using some of the catalog. Then other investigator's turn, they can still play Items using Bob's catalogue, make it run out of secrets, sending it quick to Bob's discard pile for Scavenging.)

"Hit me!"

The point is to try getting Scavenging without a lockpicks or a flashlight. If the first one you draw is 0 or -1, it is time to go for this card to let the negative takes you up to oversucceeding range. (Don't forget to calculate together with the first token draw. That's why it is best when you get 0 first.)

Elusive

Has no particular synergy with Bob or anything else until you get Gené Beauregard, then moving can be clutch.

.41 Derringer ••

Replaces Baseball Bat as your fighting weapon. When out of ammo, try bumping it out so you can Scavenging back.

Always remind yourself that Lockpicks is on Hand slot. 2x Derringer and 2x Lockpicks will replace each other in cycle while you Scavenging, granting you fresh guns and fresh lockpicks consistently.

Cheat the System •

Greed protector. Try getting many classes by using Bob's ability to get other investigator's assets.

Elder Sign Amulet •••

Greed protector. Purchase late game, after Precious Memento because that can also tank horrors.

Eon Chart •, Eon Chart ••••

• When you take "investigate" choice, you can use the one on your Flashlight or Lockpicks as well. Not just a "basic investigation" one.
• Move can combo with Gené Beauregard.
• The (4) version force you to take 2 choices. You cannot take just 1 choice.
• The (4) version you must take 2 different choices. It cannot be 2x moves, etc.

Gené Beauregard •••

This card is so versatile, it will depends on the campaign should you push or pull clues when you move.

Just don't confused about location, it talks about the location you ended up at after the move. (That location, and all connecting locations of that location. Nothing to do with the location you just left from before the move.)

Precious Memento ••••

Note that this is a "FUTURE LIFE" version. You can chose any you like. The first highlight of this card is it is an Item therefore you can recurse with Scavenging and repeatedly tank 3 3.

Second, the icon means Scavenging can turn this into infinite Unexpected Courage if you think you have enough tanking on you. Remember that committing will make it go to discard pile for Scavenging faster than playing it for soak.

Relic Hunter •••

Required so you can have Precious Memento and The Red Clock online at the same time. Also you may receive useful Accessory Item from other investigators, such as Holy Rosary.

The Red Clock ••

Fun cycling buff that I think the most useful is the first clock tick, the +3 skill value. Reason is obviously to ensure Scavenging success. It can be clutch if you can't quite get Lockpicks going just yet.

Also remember that .41 Derringer is also an excellent target to get that +3, since it could grant you an extra action!

The 2 moves and extra action are less important, which if the situation is tight I suggest you reset the clock often to get that +3.

2 moves can be great with Gené Beauregard, or generally to meet up with your other investigators for Schoffner's Catalogue party and Item exchange, or even help fixing weaknesses with your extra action clock tick.