Nathaniel Cho: A Versatile Double-Dipper with a Plan

Card draw simulator

Odds: 0% – 0% – 0% more
Derived from
Nathaniel Cho ("Fly like a Mi-Go, Sting like an Elder Thing" 4 3 0 1.0
Inspiration for
None yet

kodamojo · 217

By incorporating 3 cycles worth of player cards that includes The Scarlet Keys campaign, NATHANIEL CHO: A VERSATILE DOUBLE-DIPPER WITH A PLAN improves on my NATHANIEL CHO (FLY LIKE A MI-GO, STING LIKE AN ELDER THING) deck. This deck is a straight forward, no-nonsense, beat 'em up good deck that's fast, focused, and team-oriented. Here is the upgraded the optimal build

Upgrades

If a card has an upgrade, you can take it. But first, you'll want to make a couple improvements.

Versatile & Crystallizer of Dreams (2 xp)

This deck is shown with Versatile (2) in place, and that's where your first 2 xp goes. This will give you access to Crystallizer of Dreams, which is key to this build. Before the first game, remove any 4 events and then add them back with Versatile (2). Alternatively, if your group needs to share the investigating responsibilities, you can add Breach the Door ×2.

Is one copy of Versatile (2) enough if Crystallizer of Dreams is that important? With Backpack (especially Backpack) (2) and significant card drawn early, yes—you should still mulligan for this card, though. However, we found that you go through this deck pretty fast, so adding a second Versatile isn't crazy talk. (See below)

Priority Upgrades (13 + 11 xp)

There are a few cards you'll want to change before upgrading (in roughly this order). Once you have Versatile (2) and Crystallizer of Dreams in place, the deck is good to go, but the following are essential to an efficient and devastatingly effective deck.

I consider the next three urgent, but getting these can be delayed if xp needs to be spent elsewhere.

Optional Upgrades

I recommend the following upgrades before general events:

Alternate Deck Build

or: A SCOND VERSATILE? ARE YOU CRAZY?!?!?

Well...ok, so I haven't playtested this, but we ran through this deck way faster than Guardians are used to:

Furthermore, Stick to the Plan takes three cards out of your deck, and each Backpack can remove up to three—assuming 5 cards total are cached, that's what versatile adds; a second copy of Versatile would only feel like a net of five cards added. In this scenario you would definitely want to Upgrade to Backpack (2).

A second copy of Versatile adds a second copy of Crystallizer of Dreams, Prophetic, and Sleuth, and two other complimentary skills (I recommend Defensive Stance).

So while I do think it's sub-optimal (does adding a second copy of Versatile make it easier to draw than one copy with a thinner deck?), I don't think it's crazy talk. The deck progression will differ a bit.

5 comments

Jul 22, 2023 pekac45 · 1

The upgraded optimal build link links to the same deck as this one.

Jul 22, 2023 kodamojo · 217

@pekac45 Sorry about that. Link is fixed.

Jan 09, 2024 headmoths · 1

Just start a blind playthrough of TSK with this and a Norman deck, having fun! Is there a world in which you can fit Calling In Favours here? Piling up damage on a guard dog, then bouncing it back to hand to get Randall and play your boxing gloves seems pretty nice

Jan 20, 2024 kodamojo · 217

@headmoths I can't think of a way to optimize Versatile Double-Dipper with a Plan for ally churning. A 39 card deck would have 3 evenly distributed allies 12-13 cards apart; if you have one in your initial hand and shuffled then the other two would be 17 cards apart, if evenly distributed throughout the deck. It would only make sense to me if I could add 2 more allies (maybe Tetsuo Mori)...but, that's 2 allies + 2 calling in favors—so drop Backpacks for Mori ×2 and 2 other events or maybe Daring...or Flesh Ward, but that wrecks the upgrade path for the economy cards. There might be another deck with Guard Dog + Tetsuo + Grete + Xavier (and maybe even a med student) centered around Manipulate Destiny (which triggers Nathaniel's ) where the goal is to bounce allies until you have Grete and Xavier in the third act.

Jan 20, 2024 thebetterspidey · 1

Why no Safeguard?