"Destiny Draw" is a Yu-Gi-Oh term for drawing exactly what you had wanted and it is a great feeling! Underworld Support together with Parallel Back Skids deck-building requirements let you build a deck with only 20 cards.

Explanation for new comers to this game : Normal decks have around 30 cards. In typical deck, the scenario ends while you have around 5~10 cards in the deck. The problem is often that you don't get a certain weapon or expensive items you just bought until it is too late. Throughout the campaign, you may often feel like "This sucks, card X didn't come out at all this scenario, and the previous scenario it came out way too late!".

A deck with 20 cards is going to feel very different as you get to see every cards in the deck on every campaign, and even multiple times when deck reshuffles. You can count on finding a certain card reliably without costing many turns.

The deck is centered around extremely expensive exceptional cards : The Black Fan and The Red Clock. They worth the XP spent more than investigator with a larger deck because you see them often.

Other cards are now extremely consistent as well. Any combo you want to pull off, each draw can get you closer faster than any other decks.

The downside of this deck is limited attack power, Skids only have basic weapons and his parallel back no longer have access, so no more Beat Cop or Machete. But you will be surprised how you can assemble the same set of equipments each play as contrary to regular deck.

► 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)

It may not look like much especially that we can only buy 1 copy each, but high amount of exceptional items takes up all the XP fast.

Both Knife and Heavy Furs are disposable and are good in thin deck when it reshuffles. Your choice whether to be more offensive or more defensive, changing the Knife removal to Heavy Furs.

Unlike normal sized deck, you will see The Red Clock and Precious Memento once you purchased them. Therefore these came very early in purchase priority, unlike other decks. It is really satisfying to always see your expensive purchases coming up reliably.

Unscrupulous Loan can be replaced with Hot Streak if you want. The advantage is that you get to do it again when your deck loops back, but it gives you less money (since you spent 3 to play it) and cost 1 XP more.

This parallel Skids cannot use Police Badge unlike the regular deck-building requirements. Moxie takes that role. Granting is great for Savant. By filling Skid's weakest stat, Savant will start at . Wild!

Specializing

The above's recommendation makes him a generalist who could fight and investigate. Depending on your party members, you may skew Skids towards clueing or fighting by :

• Towards clue : Remove Backstab or Sneak Attack instead of Perception. You may also try replacing Leo De Luca with Gené Beauregard with spare XP.
• Towards fighting : Remove "Look what I found!" or Flashlight instead of Hard Knocks. This allows you to be independent of The Red Clock's timing and 20+ resources on The Black Fan in some nasty turn to add + on your own.

Empty investigator deck rule

To play this deck, you need to learn about this rule what to do when the deck runs out.

• Nothing happen when the deck is empty, until you want to draw from it.
  • This means if scenario effect instructs you to discard top of the deck while the deck is empty, you do not activate the reshuffle since it is not a drawing.
• You take the horror cost after you draw. (And finished resolving revelation effect if it is a weakness.)
• This horror is not direct. You can and should assign to Precious Memento.

Equipment stabilizing

If you had played this game for a bit, you will notice that it is hard for the deck to grant you cards in an order that you idealized. This deck's highlight is that you often ended up in the state you want due to its extreme consistency, for every scenario. Even if the cards coming up are out of order, it does not matter as much since the correct one will come soon after making order irrelevant. You just need to hold onto them for only a moment.

This is the ideal state :

• Hand 1
  • .41 Derringer •• or Flashlight first then...
  • Switchblade bumps it out once out of charge.
  • Knife Use the throwing move liberally, deck-out will revive this.
• Hand 2
  • The Black Fan ••• always.
• Body
  • Heavy Furs
• Accessory
  • The Red Clock ••
  • Precious Memento ••••
  • Relic Hunter ••• : Enables equipping both at the same time.
• In play
  • Unscrupulous Loan •••
  • Bruiser •••
• On hand
  • Money Talks ••
  • Savant •

The mission on the first cycle of your deck should be obtaining this state. Use gambling wisely to reserve enough money. Because of small deck, you can reliably plan your money ahead of time and get to spend them. Unlike normal sized deck, things you saved up for may not come at all.

(e.g. "I need to find 3 resources ASAP because Bruiser is coming up! Then I can use its discount to play my .41 Derringer(2)...")

Cards counting

Special ability of 20 cards deck is that you can count on "finding" a certain card in the deck by natural draw or draw action reliably. This is a very fun experience, and it rewards card counting, like knowing a regular suit of cards what was used up and what's left.

Normal decks would be a bit hopeless waiting for a certain card, and have to make do with the best of the current situation. It is not the same in this deck, you can actually wait for a certain card without costing that many turns.

For example, you have found a 5 shroud location that is critical to clear, and you know that "Look what I found!" is not yet going to the discard pile. There is very high chance that spending draw action (Which Leo De Luca and The Black Fan can support.) will be able to perform such "destiny draw".

Other cards worth remembering are :

• Backstab : Often 3 damage is a critical number. Find Manual Dexterity, Unexpected Courage, or Scout Ahead first to obtain good amount of icons to pull this move off.
• Money Talks •• : When you are stuck with ridiculous scenario test which rewards you a campaign-long effect, this can solve it.
• Cheat the System • : If you are missing just a bit more cash to get 20+ for The Black Fan and therefore granting you usable stats number, such as 4 .
• Bruiser •••, Precious Memento ••••, The Black Fan •••, The Red Clock ••••• : These are items you need to put all down in order to come "online".
• Bruiser •••
• Switchblade : This is the Flashlight / .41 Derringer "bumper", so you get a fresh copy when deck reshuffles.
• Knife : The +2 is unexpectedly handy for Skids with unboosted 3 .

Advanced cards?

Parallel Skids came with "Advanced" version of both signatures. I would take the normal version due to :

• On the Lam's normal version also provides for winning big in 3 resources gambling, the same as Advanced On the Lam.
• Paying for Advanced Hospital Debts can be risky, it may power down The Black Fan.

Weakness problems

In 20 cards deck, you will rapidly draw your weaknesses. (In Standalone Mode, you will have even more concentration of them.)

There is nothing more to say other than, good luck! However keep in mind that seeing weakness early can bring you peace of mind. (Until the deck reshuffles.)

Hospital Debts

This card stays in play even if you already paid everything. Therefore, it benefits us since the deck can cycle back all it wants, this weakness would not be encountered ever again. Handy!

Be careful of using your Unscrupulous Loan money to pay the debts, causing you unable to pay back the loan. Loan is 3 XP to repurchase but the debt worth 2 XP. (Beware of supernatural source of resource losses as well.)

Try using The Black Fan or Leo De Luca's action to gather money bit by bit before it even came up. (Remember the number 6.) For example when you are tempted to investigate 3 vs. 3 shroud with nothing else to do, that action is better off used to grab some money in anticipation of drawing the debt. (You will 100% draw it in thin deck.)

These 6 resources can be used to power The Black Fan until right before clearing the scenario or being defeated, then you pay the debt and safely power down the fan. (If you are really rich you may still have 20+ even after having paid the debt.)

How to deal with Paranoia

This is absolutely brutal because with 20 cards, your deck will reshuffle fast. Over and over, your resource would keep resetting to 0 multiple times in every scenario.

Not to mention Unscrupulous Loan stays on the play field, which make you unable to get 10 resources again the next round of deck. (And you cannot pay the loan now.)

Other than redrawing your weakness, I have prepared separated upgrade path and strategies if you want to take on this challenge :

• Hot Streak should replace Unscrupulous Loan (Cost 1 more). You can now gain back the resource on the new round of deck.
• Give up The Black Fan purchase and go for the ultimate version of The Red Clock (5) (It costs the same 6 XP.) This version allows you to have +4 skill value "on demand" compared with weaker version that you need to anticipate one turn prior. Instead of holding onto money to power The Black Fan, now you use them for pump cards : Hard Knocks + Moxie, and Money Talks.
• You can decide to upgrade Lucky! to Lucky! (2), to get the draw which is good for going though thin deck, reaching money recovery cards faster after hitting Paranoia. I would not choose to use his special "left the lower version" upgrade option, since it defeat the purpose of thin deck and dilute other cards.
• Do not replace Emergency Cache and Hard Knocks.
  • Emergency Cache : Together with Cheat the System to help fixing the loss on each iteration of deck. The upgraded Emergency Cache (2) is also an option, the same reason as Lucky! (2).
  • Hard Knocks : Dump your resources for pumps in anticipation of incoming Paranoia.
  • What to replace instead? Clue tools such as Flashlight, "Look what I found!", or Lucky! if your party has a dedicated clue finder, or either Backstab or Sneak Attack if you want to retain Skids's ability to get clues.
• Get Moxie earlier, for the same reason as keeping Hard Knocks, so you can pump before it dumps.
• If the deck is thinning and you know Paranoia is right around the corner, save up resources on The Red Clock and reset the clock once Paranoia had passed to get some starting resources.

Obtaining resources

Try to get 15+ to get The Black Fan's extra action.

From there, it is easier to climb to 20+ with resource action, where you finally get +1 to all skills, especially if you also have Leo De Luca, granting you 5 actions!

Having tons of actions does not equal quality action. Therefore these extra actions has great value if you spend them on something that does not require chaos bag pulling. (Move, Resource, Draw.)

Unscrupulous Loan •••, Cheat the System •

Needless to say, these cards are critical to set a new "baseline" of your money so you appears to need only a bit more to get The Black Fan's extra action.

Unscrupulous Loan stays in your control, you will not able to do it again when your deck resets. While you will likely see 2 or 3 Cheat the System in one scenario, which should grant you 3 resources each time.

Money from the loan should not be used until you obtained 15+ where you can get more money with The Black Fan. Leo De Luca (Pay 6) and Bruiser (Pay 3) are probably instances where it worth dipping into the loan money temporarily, because they can set you up for success.

Once you have Bruiser down, each time Cheat the System came up you get a fast 3 resources. Remember that the deck probably cycles 1 or more time in a scenario, the 2nd time hopefully you will have Bruiser online already.

The Red Clock ••, The Red Clock •••••

Resetting the clock (in an attempt to get the awesome +3 skill value next turn) will grant you resources.

Note that the +3 skill test can be used for gambling ability as well.

Gambling

In an unsure turn, you can try your luck by gambling by 1. Take note of special token effects as well as your little gambling addict could doom your party if not careful.

Use Unexpected Courage, Manual Dexterity, and Scout Ahead to gamble 3 and try to win big. Note that Scout Ahead is never replaced from the deck, its sole purpose is to give you for the gamble more often.

On the Lam also gives a massive 3 for gambling. While cannot revive this card back, the deck recycling should allow you to have it again once more.

"Polishing" Precious Memento

The trick is using his gambling to initiate a no-action test at 1 difficulty or even 0 in an attempt to get horror heal from the stone.

When you put damages on the stone, it maybe harder to heal than horror. However if you are richer than 20 you can try to gamble for 3 resources without any commit, and beg for the bag to fail you big. It feels like paying 3 resources to heal 1, which sometimes needed to continue tanking critical damages. If you do succeed? You are happy from your reward money anyways!

The deck will cycle 1 or 2 times. Each time, try putting the horror deck reshuffling cost on this stone. (It is not direct.)

The Red Clock tricks

The highlight of this card is the +3 skill value on the next test, which is an enabler for .41 Derringer (2) to get an extra action, or for Switchblade to get the coveted critical hit. (Bruiser also support this.)

You should try to read the future and reset the clock before you think you would need that +3, because the turn you reset you will not get any buff.

It is also handy for pulling off a clean Backstab.

The last tech is that you may intentionally not taking any test (do not gambling either) in attempt to take the +3 to your next treachery draw. You maybe able to dodge bad tests more often this way. (Try it when your sanity is getting to critical level.)

Elder Sign

When drawing , you can "revive" cards of level 0, 1, and 2. I found that Savant is often the target so you can avoid treachery one more time.

If you are rich already then Money Talks is a no brainer.

Card with no level cannot be revived. (White opaque thing instead of empty 5 pips.)

Cards that became good in thin deck

Knife

This card is not a bad card in this deck since Skids's 3 often benefits a lot when getting +2 from the knife throw.

Small deck size will allow you to get back your thrown knife for 1 or 2 more times in a scenario.

You can put down Switchblade in its place even mid-fight after throwing.

Switchblade

This weapon was the laughing stock of core set, since asking for +2 over-success from a while the weapon not giving any bonus is ridiculous.

But this Parallel Back Skids with Underworld Support, with only 2 packs available really lacks powerful weapon. One copy of .41 Derringer (2) isn't going to cut it. We need to make this tiny knife work.

• Timing with The Red Clock may grant 1 attack that deals 2 damage. (+3 or +4 ) This is better than it sounds, since it is a repeatable source of +1 damage.
• Bruiser can support getting over-succeed once per turn. (Granting +2 .)
• The Black Fan with 20+ resources adds 1 more .
• Lastly, pumping money into Hard Knocks while you still have it. (Replaced on upgrades.)

This card serves an another purpose, it is to take out .41 Derringer and Flashlight that is out of uses. (They are much harder to discard from play area than you think.) When 20 cards runs out, you will want both in the discard pile instead of stuck on you. "Fast" also make it action efficient to do so.

Note! Per the rules, if The Black Fan isn't on your other hand yet and you have 1 free hand, you cannot voluntarily play Switchblade onto the hand with dead gun/flashlight. It must go to the free hand. (But finding the fan should not be too difficult given the deck size.)

If you have the Dunwich Legacy Investigator Expansion, try slot in the upgraded version!

Flashlight

Your 3 investigations of happiness will come again soon once the deck reshuffles! This card is so good it is never replaced. "Look what I found!" is perhaps worth replacing more than this card but I would keep both.

Make sure to use up the battery and try bumping it out with Switchblade or .41 Derringer before the deck runs out.

Scout Ahead

The main attraction of this card is icon rather than its effects.

I say this card became great in thin deck because it allows you to have 2x Manual Dexterity under constraint of Underworld Support. The is useful for Sneak Attack, evade setup for Backstab, and gambling. Thinking this way, Scout Ahead is pretty offensive! It is never removed because of this reason.

In rare case, you maybe able to use the 3x move. Keep in mind that if you do so while engaged, you take 1 Attack of Opportunity, not 3. (Due to one "Move action" in bold.)