Jack Brings Samples to the Lab|20k Series|Deck Guide

Card draw simulator

Odds: 0% – 0% – 0% more
Derived from
None. Self-made deck here.
Inspiration for
lab samples Jack (0xp) (clone) with changes to taste 1 0 0 1.0
Clue - Jack takes some samples to the lab (Full xp) (clone) 0 0 0 1.0
Jack takes some samples to the lab (0xp) (clone) 0 0 0 1.0

Valentin1331 · 55083

Jack receives a Grant to bring some Field Samples to the lab for Analysis and Decipher an Hypothesis

Screenshot-2023-03-17-at-11-28-51.png

Credit: Adam Lane, Steve Hamilton, Diana Martínez and Cristi Balanescu


Introduction:

I never really found a MoJack deck that truly satisfied me, not even the one I published on release. His 4 base requires some work, his ability incentivises you to move instead of investigating and his card pool is tough with only 5 cards in the strongest lvl 0 card pool and no access to the strongest high-level card pool.
I was really excited to look at the new TSK cards with Jack in mind, looking at what could work for him. It took me a while, but I finally found the hidden gem for him!


Disclaimer:

This deck may have a higher or lower peak performance based on the scenario.

  • The fact that you can only explore when your location is empty in The Depth of Yoth impacts the ceiling of the deck both in limiting moving actions and preventing you from leaving a clue at each location.

  • Smaller maps also limit the capacity of the deck.

  • On the other side of the spectrum, bigger maps allow you to dash through the map and then collect tons of clues in one action with Deciphered Reality. For instance, it is quite easy to collect 9 clues in one action in Midnight Mask.


This series is a celebration of the 20k points on ArkhamDB to thank you all for all the support received.
Click here to see all the previous decks. I will keep releasing a new standalone-ready deck concept every week on Friday, so stay tuned and keep pressing the button if you want to see more!

Let me know which investigators you want to see next in the comment!


Table of Contents:

  • Overview

  • Main Strategy

  • Bring Samples to the Lab

  • Get rewarded for your discoveries

  • Other Cards

  • Upgrade Path

  • Make Your Own Deck!


Overview:

 
Difficulty: ★★★★☆
Enemy Management: ★★★☆☆
Clue-getting: ★★★★★
Encounter protection: ★★☆☆☆
Survivability: ★★★☆☆
Economy: ★★★★★
Card Drawing: ★★★★★

Main Strategy:


Bring Samples to the Lab:


Get rewarded for your discoveries:

The best way to secure the Alchemical Distillation test on your first action is through the big money archetype:

Other Cards:

Later upgrades:

  • A second copy of Deciphered Reality gives you another chance at having that "bang" moment of grabbing everything you've left behind, which is often useful based on the scenario. Alternatively, it helps when you pull the on your first try.

  • We upgrade Empirical Hypothesis to get Field Research as it's by far the easiest to meet in Jack.

    • Since we now have 2 achievable hypotheses, we can upgrade to Alternative Hypothesis and collect another clue each turn. First, do the success by 3 hypothesis, meet it on your Alchemical Distillation by using Well Connected on this test and then choose the 3-shroud one that you will meet as you move twice as a result of the test.

    • Now that we're drowning in evidence, we can use them with Irrefutable Proof to get clues!

  • Emergency Cache (3) is great in this deck for its versatility: gain resources with no and with a card back, or add Supplies to Alchemical Distillation based on what you need most.

  • Unearth the Ancients (2) is always a blast, using an investigation that you would do anyways and turn it into tempo. Your second Alchemical Distillation and Empirical Hypothesis are the best target, in my opinion.

  • Calming Distillate on the Alchemical Distillation supports the low at the end of a campaign when you may have quite some trauma.

  • Perception (2) is good at succeeding the Alchemical Distillation test easier, and getting more cards in return.


Upgrade Path:

Link to the 0xp deck


 Cost  Total
   In the Thick of It  →  ☑ Enlightening Distillate 1 XP 1 XP
   In the Thick of It  →  ☑ Quickening Distillate 1 XP 2 XP
   In the Thick of It  →  Segment of Onyx 1 XP 3 XP
   In the Thick of It  →  Segment of Onyx 0 XP 3 XP
   In the Thick of It  →  Segment of Onyx 0 XP 3 XP
 
Core Upgrades 3 XP
   Alchemical Distillation    ☑☑☑☑☑ Perfected 5 XP 8 XP
   Alchemical Distillation    ☑☑ Refined 2 XP 10 XP
   Manual Dexterity  →  Whitton Greene •• 2 XP 12 XP
   Manual Dexterity  →  Whitton Greene •• 2 XP 14 XP
    →  Charisma ••• 3 XP 17 XP
   Lone Wolf  →  Deciphered Reality ••••• 5 XP 22 XP
   Faustian Bargain  →  Unearth the Ancients •• 2 XP 24 XP
 
Luxury Upgrades 24 XP
   Faustian Bargain  →  Deciphered Reality ••••• 5 XP 29 XP
   Crack the Case  →  Emergency Cache ••• 3 XP 32 XP
   Crack the Case  →  Emergency Cache ••• 3 XP 35 XP
   Empirical Hypothesis    ☑ Field Research 1 XP 36 XP
   Empirical Hypothesis    ☑☑☑☑ Alternative Hypothesis 4 XP 40 XP
   Empirical Hypothesis    ☑☑☑ Irrefutable Proof 3 XP 43 XP
   Perception    Perception •• 2 XP 45 XP
   Perception    Perception •• 2 XP 47 XP
   Alchemical Distillation    ☑ Calming Distillate 1 XP 48 XP

(View at arkham-starter.com)


Link to the full xp deck



To create your own guides, find the template I have created here

4 comments

Mar 21, 2023 Hypon · 1

how is this 5/5 clue getting? this could never work on hard difficulty, because you would be testing +1/+2 on book tests to get a single clue

Mar 21, 2023 Valentin1331 · 55083

Thanks for your comment :)

I actually tested the deck in Hard, and it crushed it.

First part: you're going really fast to 6 , which is a very normal place to test for most main .

Then one clue per turn comes from the Alchemical Distillation test that fills in the Pendant of the Queen, which makes any high difficulty location accessible from a distance, allowing you to focus your basic investigations on lower shroud locations.

A lot of icons are present on your cards in case you need it, and finally, Well Connected does a great job at passing you higher difficulty tests.

Long story short, you should be able to get the clues from 4+ shroud locations from a distance with Pendant of the Queen, and testing with +3 is what I usually aim for hard.

I hope that helps you understand better where I'm coming from.
For the record, testing with Midnight Mask, I "captured" the 6 cultists 3 times in a row in hard, for instance.

Mar 28, 2023 lastbrohican · 1

The version tested against the Midnight Masks was the deck posted above with 22xp?

Mar 29, 2023 Valentin1331 · 55083

@lastbrohican that is correct, I sometimes use this scenario as a standalone as it has a lot of variety tests and requirements with a good balance of clues and combat. Finally, similarly as Depths of Yoth, I can see a sort of scoring in it :)