Eulogy (Arkham Champions)

For the companion article to this decklist, complete with short fiction and more character depth, go here: https://strengthinnumbersarkham.wordpress.com/2022/07/25/arkham-champion-eulogy/

And for an explanation of the Arkham Champions concept, go here: https://strengthinnumbersarkham.wordpress.com/2022/04/22/the-index-of-arkham-champions/

Intro

Eloquent and educated above his station as a lowly gravedigger, William Yorick leaves a positive impression on everyone he meets–at least, when he's playing himself. In any of the thousand disguises he can employ during an investigation, you'll likely brush him off or, if you're particularly astute, get at most the sense that this stranger knows more than they're letting on. But if you're unlucky enough to earn a meeting with him in his role as relentless vigilante Eulogy, the encounter will likely be burned on your memory forever.

Deck Breakdown

Hey everyone, and welcome back to the Arkham Champions series, where I mix and match genres to create superheroes for the Lovecraftian '20s!

Today's hero is William Yorick, a.k.a Eulogy. Eulogy is the original Champion, as his deck concept predated the superhero thematics and any of the other characters. As a result, in the Champions lineup he takes on the role of team leader. Ironically, despite spending most of his time around the dead, Yorick is possibly the most well-adjusted socially on the main team, and his kindness and sincerity make him a good leader and charismatic investigator.

Though he doesn't fully know it, Yorick's powers are those of the same ghouls he fights–strength, speed, impressive damage resistance and especially enhanced senses and reflexes. In this deck those senses and reflexes are represented by his mask, the Bauta. As with all Champions, the mask forms the core of the deck's engine, as it allows him to investigate using his strength stat instead of intellect (themed as his ghoul-like senses of smell, sight, and hearing giving him an edge in looking for clues).

Now that he's investigating with such aplomb, Yorick can regularly trigger Scavenging to cycle his natural armor and the Ice Picks, which allow him to compress either investigates or fight actions, whichever he needs most at the time. He can also improvise weapons, represented here by the reliable Fire Extinguisher (which can also act as an emergency escape button when he needs to flee). Allies he's made in a variety of disguises help boost his stats, supplement his Scavenging loop, and deal with enemies in an emergency. Unlike many of his peers on the Champions roster, Eulogy has no problem dropping hints to local law enforcement, as long as he thinks they can handle the threats they'll face as a result.

As long as you only use Bauta to investigate, and spend one of your 2-3 Scavenging triggers to recur the mask each time you use it (since you can Scavenge a mask on the same investigate you spent it to change the test type), Yorick remains in control of his ghoulish powers. But should he need to spend the mask on a Will or Agility test, to escape some danger or steel his mind against the mythos, he may have to give in to his darker side and unleash Yorick's traditionally violent method of asset recursion, tearing through enemies to replay his mask and regain control. Alternatively, with enough willpower and saved-up experience (in the form of resources gained from playing the Bauta before) he may be able to investigate using intellect and re-enable the engine that way.

In Action

Although Eulogy can competently fight or investigate, and in a pinch even evade, he works best as a tanky hybrid who can supplement a primary in each role, so I recommend him in higher player counts. That being said, with a few tweaks in the direction of consistency I'm sure he could become a very solid solo investigator–one of the main benefits of the masks is that any investigator wearing them suddenly has a strong statline across the board.

In a larger team, though, Eulogy really shines as a mix of all possible roles, tanking with Precious Memento, dealing hefty damage when it's needed or picking up surprising amounts of clues with the Ice Picks, or sniping lone clues or enemies using Beat Cop and Professor William Webb. All the while his internal engine will churn away, generating resources to fuel his stat boosters and playing a few support cards when his allies need them.

Finally, Eulogy's nemesis weakness is the classic Graveyard Ghouls, which pose little threat to him. Although they can shut down his mask loop temporarily and grind his Ice Pick looping to a halt, as long as he has one of Fire Extinguisher, Ice Picks, or Brute Force available he can usually put them down in one back-breaking hit and return to business.

Conclusion

I actually wrestled for a long time over the last 10 or so cards in this deck, what exactly to include and in what quantity. A whole series of solid, complete, and very different builds phased in and out before I settled on this one, which captures a lot of elements from all of them. I think that speaks to an incredible amount of customizability in the core engine of the deck (Bauta, Scavenging, Ice Picks, and soak) that means you can tweak Eulgy in whatever direction your personal playstyle or campaign requires.

Want to go even harder on investigating? Swap in Fortuitous Discovery and clear entire locations in one action. Want to tank like a lunatic? Relic Hunter and a second Precious Memento will make you completely untouchable. If combat is more your speed and you want to see Eulogy unleash some truly absurd violence, there's always Chainsaw.

Appropriately for his character, Eulogy can be anything, or anyone, that his team needs him to be. But he'll always do his best to protect people, and he'll always be a strong hybrid with as much brains as he has brawn.

I hope you enjoyed this deck breakdown and that some of you take Eulogy for a performance on the streets of Arkham or beyond. Stay tuned for more decks exploring synergies with the Carnevale Masks, and more stories about Roaring Twenties superheroics–the curtain has not yet fallen on this series!