Roland Banks: Remember. We, Will Be Watching.

Roland Banks, federal agent. Constantly under scrutiny. Restrained by regulations. Obliged with censoring the agency's black ops. One could almost think the greatest obstacle to triumphing over the mythos would be the bureaucracy that one dances to like a marionette. Can't respond with appropriate force. Can't bring your tools to bear without approval. Can't follow-up on leads without submitting a lengthy report.

But freedoms are like a co-joined lever. Restrict a liberty here, and acquire a liberty over there. Liberties like:

• Fast plays of insight cards allowing you to grab clues during the enemy and mythos phase.
• Evasion being viable now, despite a 2 character. Helps with covering for where your fight capabilities have been hampered.
• A steady stream of agency assistance (that means card draw).

Navigating official channels and coming out on top is a difficult task that is reflected in the difficulty of piloting this deck. Despite this, this deck has performed very well during playtesting, with equal parts enemy management and clue-grabbing. It main weakness is exposure to the encounter deck, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's proceed with outlining the cards in this deck first.

Our Choice Of Directives

In my eternal love for over-complicating things, I have chosen the three most involved directives: Red Tape, Due Diligence, and Seek the Truth. Pairing up these 3 leads to a play-style I like to call "enemy-dependant cluevering", AKA for this deck to work to full effect, you will require an enemy at your location, and preferably engaged with you. What you do then is as follows:

1.) Play an insight or tactic card with involves both a test, and the discovering of clues. If you do so, you can exhaust Red Tape to make it fast, which has the important effect of not triggering attacks of opportunity. This deck has 8 such cards, 2 of which (Winging It) are infinitely recurring, so you won't be lacking in such cards.

2.) Initiate the investigate or parley test, after which you get an immediate +2 to your skill value minimum by exhausting Due Diligence. Even on Burning the Midnight Oil, which no extra boosts (not even commits since Seek the Truth would likely still be obstructing your ability to commit any), you are investigating at 5 which is the bare minimum for reliable cluevering.

3.) If you succeed at the test, and you've discovered a clue while engaged with an enemy, you can complete the trifecta of exhausting directives by exhausting Due Diligence, netting you a card draw on top of the clues you gained.

Now, you're not going to be able to pull off this three part combo every round. Enemy-dependant cluevering is strictly worse than regular cluevering because it imposes many more restrictions that make it less reliable. There will be rounds where you simply do not draw an enemy for example, especially in lower player counts. And even if an enemy has been drawn, they may not be at a location with clues, or not near to your location. And even if you, an enemy, and clues all align at the same location, it is still an enemy at your location, demanding you deal with it or incur damage/horror penalties (or worse, like doom for example). Fortunately we have some tools that will facilitate enemy-dependant cluevering (referred to as EDC going forwards .

Tag 'em and Bag 'em

On the Hunt and Handcuffs are our EDC enablers. I think Handcuffs is one of my favourite guardian cards, though I concede that I restrict it usage to campaigns where humanoids are plentiful (namely, where the monsters of the campaigns usually have the humanoid trait too. The Forgotten Age and Innsmouth Conspiracy are especially good for this). Once you've neutered an enemy by attaching handcuffs to them, it's a simple matter of engaging them again for 1 action and voila, you now will always have an enemy engaged with you, with none of the downsides.

On the Hunt should be self explanatory, though there is one hidden benefit. Whenever you draw an enemy during the mythos phase, you are not drawing a treachery. Given Roland's 3, 5 sanity, and inability to commit skill cards so early in the round, his weakness to treacheries are especially acute, so to guarantee you draw an enemy is a protection in and of itself.

Now, while you'd like at least one enemy to stick around for EDC purposes, that doesn't mean we need to go easy on the rest.

Agency Approved

.45 Automatic and Enchanted Blade, supplemented with Roland's signature .38 Special, create a sufficient and un-complicated arsenal for which to dispatch enemies who have served their purpose or are too risky to keep around. There is a bit more to the decision to include each of them, but that's relevant to their upgraded versions, which will be discussed later.

And let's not forget our combat boost in Grete Wagner, a go to ally for a hybrid fighting/cleuvering role. Hybrid roles suffer from master-of-none syndrome. While you can provide a second gun hand when pressure mounts, or speed up clue gathering to win the scenario faster, 4 attack enemies and 4 shroud locations become a problem that more specialised roles are designed to overcome. Grete interestingly enough alleviates this issue in both halves of a hybrid role; test-less discovery of clues cares not for the shroud of locations, while her boost plus a weapon means 4 fight enemies go from formidable to beatable, just.

No wonder she costs 5 resources. So between her and your weapons, you're going to need a solid base of resources.

A Reliable Salary

Burning the Midnight Oil and Crack the Case provide the economy base of the level 0 version of this deck. They are, in a word, insufficient, but that's a chronic issue of guardians, and exp will give us a third card that will bring us above the poverty line.

Burning the Midnight Oil is especially nice since it also enables the directive combo talked about further up, as a clue discovering insight card. Followed, Winging It, and Interrogate round out the remaining directive facilitating cards, and what Roland will be doing to earn his keep. A bit of extra from our weapons helps make Followed an easy test, while Grete Wagner is a remarkably convincing woman during interrogations.

That does leave a few outlier clue and insight cards, which we will touch upon now.

Old Bureaucracies Stuck in Their Ways

We're getting into the least justifiable inclusions of this deck, and the ones that I suggest you consider replacing them with cards you like more or feel are more powerful.

Evidence! and Scene of the Crime are the OG guardian cards for clue discovery, and they were defining cards in my previous Roland deck:

https://arkhamdb.com/decklist/view/19023/roland-banks-not-a-single-investigate-action-1.0.

In this deck, they don't quite work with the directive pipeline; Evidence! grants you a clue after an enemy is no longer at your location, and Scene of the Crime cannot actually be played fast with Red Tape, since it has to be played as the first action. However, both provide test-less cluevering, a gift that should not be snubbed, and one that we will lean into more going forward. You might think that test-less clue discovery would invalidate Due Diligence, but I can assure you that you'll want to use that directive more than once per round with the level 0 deck, and test-less clue grabs will curb that over demand. If nothing else, freeing up Due Diligence for a basic investigate or evade means it will never be obsolete.

Delve Too Deep on the other hand has been included purely for flavour purposes (and maybe because having a card of each class in one deck is satisfying). You might want to lean into it for more exp starved campaigns, like Dunwich, but other than that, you mileage may vary.

Here are a few insight/tactics replacements that you might want to consider:

• Persuasion (if so, also consider Fine Clothes).
• Guidance
• Drawn to the Flame
• Act of Desperation
• Fortuitous Discovery

Or something else entirely, like more staples. Just don't forget ample protection from the mythos. Speaking of which...

Smoking Saves Lives

Pity I cannot complete the federal agent outfit with Trench Coat. Smoking Pipe will have to stand on its own. That, plus Take the Initiative and Forewarned, completes the set of cards that offer hard protection against sudden, pre-mature retirement.

Smoking Pipe takes full advantage of the lop-sided health/sanity distribution that Roland has. And while you might find yourself reaching 1 or 2 remaining health in a scenario, there is secretly an upside for this; physical trauma means very little to a 9 health investigator, so if being defeated is unavoidable, you might be able to ensure you are defeated by damage, rather than horror.

Take the Initiative might seems out of place; you can't commit it while there are clues at your location unless you have discovered a clue that round. So how do you use it? With a little exploit from fast clue-grabbing, courtesy of Red Tape, which goes as follows:

You go last during the mythos phase. If at any point before you draw your encounter card, any investigator initiates a skill test, you now have a window of opportunity to play a fast card. Play any insight card that nets you clues, make it fast with Red Tape, and then when it comes to your encounter card draw, you will be allowed to commit Take the Initiative. Amazing.

A giant caveat. You cannot initiate a skill test during the resolution of other skill test, as per the rules. What happens instead is they get queued up. As an example of play, if Daisy Walker draw Rotting Remains, and you use Red Tape to play Burning the Midnight Oil during the window of opportunity within that test, the Rotting Remains test still goes ahead, with the Burning the Midnight Oil occurring upon it resolution. Critically, this means that you cannot play a card that discovers clues on a test during a test where you want to commit Take the Initiative, since you can only get the clue after the bad test has resolved. Test-less clue-grabbing on the other hand will work; more on that in the upgrade section.

Finally, Forewarned is a neat little bypass of the inability to commit to tests issue. For a slight bit of tempo loss, you can feel much safer while this is in your hand, as befitting an exp card. This leaves one final card to discuss; the other exp card bought with Roland's starting exp.

I can't Believe It's Not Tarot

Observed certainly doesn't look like a card that would ever feel at home in any particular deck; it's more of a nice garnish to any and every deck imaginable. In truth, you don't even need to start with Observed; you can put the exp elsewhere is you so wish.

However I do maintain that Parallel Roland should have this card in his deck eventually, since he lacks for 4 and 5xp options (RIP Michael Leigh and Agency Backup dreams )-: ). And since there is a tarot that offers extra exp, plus he is 1 only two investigators that can start with Observed from scenario 1, why not enjoy it in a starting deck for its novelty? Theme-wise, it fits snugly.

Plus, hybrid decks are particularly suited to making use of a variety of tarots; a bunch of them boost each of the stats, and Roland cares about all of the them, even on occasion.

That concludes the breakdown of the deck and how you pilot it. let's head to upgrades now.

Ever More Clandestine

There's a lot of room for upgrades that suit your personal preferences and campaign specific needs. Here, I'm going to outline only the upgrades that turn the whole directive combo and theming aspect of the deck up to eleven, with one magnum opus card that I cannot believe I found a home in a deck (kind of like Observed). Let start with some absolute must haves though:

1a.) Enchanted Blade Enchanted Blade (3) [6xp]

1b.) On the Hunt On the Hunt (3) [6xp]

Total: 12xp

These cards shore up some of the weaknesses that the level 0 deck simply cannot cover; horror-healing and resource generation respectively. Once Enchanted Blade (3) goes in, Smoking Pipe becomes obsolete and replaceable. And I cannot under-state how good On the Hunt (3) is; I didn't even know is searches the whole deck for an enemy when I got it during the playtest!

Do not like you have to hold onto exp if you have 1 or 2 left over; go ahead a buy other upgrades. But every time you hit a multiple of 3 experience, these cards should be prioritized over all others.

2.) .45 Automatic .45 Automatic (2) [4xp]

This is the last investment into better weapons we'll make for the rest of the campaign, in part because level 4 and 5 weapons are not available (I mean, I guess you could take Timeworn Brand, but that's boring). Despite that being it for weapon, it is better to get them sooner rather than later. You'll be exposing yourself to many an enemy all campaign; it is prudent to bring equipment you can rely on.

That's it for essentials. Now to start cooking with gas:

3.) Smoking Pipe On the Trail (1) On the Trail (3) [6xp]

On the Trail (1) is a weird but wonderful card that can help you close the distance on pesky enemies that refuse to spawn at an investigator's location, or for nabbing difficult clues because, as I have alluded to, we are investing into test-less clue grabbing that alleviate Roland's mediocre intellect.

On the Trail (3) is even better, not just because you get both effects and double the clues, but if you end up at the location of the enemy you chose, the discover a clue at an enemy's location, which is good news for Seek the Truth.

4.) Scene of the Crime Under Surveillance [2xp]

this card is a steep ask for 3 resources, but a guaranteed combo is Under Surveillance into On the Hunt, which given the trick of playing a fast card during the mythos phase, can be pulled of while their both still in your hand, leaving nothing to chance.

On top of that, given how EDC requires a lot of enemy manipulation, there is probably going to to be a few instances where you'll move while engaged, triggering an attack of opportunity. A small price to pay for the significant tempo of the directive combo, but you can get more for your trouble by slapping Under Surveillance down before you do. And a double-evaded enemy is very malleable and be be kept around for many round while you use him to trigger your directives.

5.) Followed Lesson Learned [4xp]

As mentioned in the Under Surveillance section, you are probably going to be taking a fair few attacks during your investigation. And also like Under Surveillance, Lesson Learned can get you test-less clues for your trouble.

6.) Winging It Seeking Answers (2) [4xp]

We don't take lvl 0 Seeking Answers because it's a difficult test to pass, and we don't get much benefit for remote investigation over standard investigation. By the time Seeking Answers enters our deck however, we should be much more competent as investigations, plus its a two clue for one card deal, remote or otherwise.

7.) Grete Wagner Grete Wagner (3) [6xp]

The boost is highly desired, as it the remote cluevering capability. By this point, many experience points in, you'll likely be clearing locations of clues very quickly. As a result, being able to grab clues from connecting locations will prevent you from having to move quite as much to keep up with the clue vacuum that is your deck (this retroactively applies to Seeking Answers too).

Total: 38xp

That concludes the main body of upgrades. I'll list off some quick honourable mentions before I reveal the magnum Opus:

8a.) Delve Too Deep Forewarned [1xp]

Naturally, Delve Too Deep shouldn't be in your deck by the end of the campaign. It is up to you when you choose to acquire the second copy of Forewarned; you are in no hurry.

8b.) Evidence! Evidence! (1) [2xp]

Evidence! (1) exists. It's almost identical to Evidence!. If you have 1 exp left over, this is an option that exists.

8c.) ??? "I've got a plan!" [4xp]

This one isn't strictly necessary. Rather, it is dependant on how your group is doing for damage. If they lack killing potential, then a quick "I've got a plan!" should fill in some of that shortage. Don't forget you can play it fast with Red Tape, which actually opens an interesting counter to hunting enemies. There is a window of opportunity between enemies moving via the hunter keyword and them attacking, which is a window you can play "I've got a plan!" and dispatch an enemy during the enemy phase before it can lay a tentacle on it.

And now. For the true MVP of the deck:

Interrogate Burn After Reading

This card is perfect in every way for this deck: the theme is on point, it's test-less cluevering, it's an insight card, and it provides an outlet for any excess experience you might have from parallel Roland, Delve Too Deep, and Observed.

I cannot believe I found a home for this unorthodox card, but here we are. In fact, this deck and upgrade path could very well be called "un-orthodox" cards the deck: Observed, Lesson Learned, Followed, On the Trail, Under Surveillance. It makes me so happy, since I pride myself on utilizing every card.

And what's more, Burn After Reading truly sets Roland and parallel Roland apart. The other parallel investigators have yet to fully distinguish themselves in my eyes. But Roland Banks? The character that made me fall in love with the guardian class in the first place? He has truly evolved from my old, simple build using guardian and seeker cards.

Conclusion

So there you have it. A difficult rewarding, thematic, and most importantly, interesting deck for the very first investigator that existed in this game. Who would've thought? As always, I want all the questions, comments, critiques and reviews you care to share. See you next time.