St. Hubert's Blues (Reprise)

Version 2.0 of St. Hubert's Blues

Thanks to community comments, suggestions and extensive playtesting i made some adjustments to the decklist as well as added section about alternative card choices that can work here too. List of changes with reasoning can be seen below, cards explanation updated in line with changes made. I'm planning to add solo section but haven't played solo enough yet with this deck.

Introduction

Jim Culver deck meant for pair play in which Jim serves a role of main clue gatherer. Deck is capable of consistent clue gathering with high success rate at passing skill checks. Best partners for Jim are investigators focused on combat that can also contribute to advancing act deck via clues like Roland Banks. In higher player counts (3/4 players) Jim can take a role of secondary clue gatherer or play more independently as he has access to Shrivelling to defend himself.

List of changes

Dr. Milan Christopher Magnifying Glass (please note that this change is not reflected yet in the description as well as decklist but it was an afterthought)

Scavenging "Look what I found!"

Quantum Flux Astral Travel

Perception Defiance

Unfortunately Scavenging didn't work, this deck aims to take a little risk when it comes to testing skills and that doesn't go hand in hand with requirement to succeed by 2 or more. Replaying Grotesque Statue is also very action-taxing. "Look what I found!" provides more clue gathering power and two icons, also combos with Flashlight.

As much as i wanted to like Quantum Flux it's just to slow and too often was just sitting in my hand. It also shuffles back weaknesses and embarassingly that killed me once (second Final Rhapsody and some unlucky pulls from the bag). Astral Travel on the other hand was very useful during scenarios that required a lot of movement, and Jim lacks mobility. It can be played using Uncage the Soul and can really save a game sometimes.

Defiance over Perception is a change to go with theme of risking. Helpful during scenarios that have less special tokens so we can disable more.

Cards explanation/reasoning

(for other card choices please refer to Alternative card choices section)

• St. Hubert's Key - fantastic card for Jim, not only boosts intellect but also willpower which makes our favourite musician more resilient to encounter deck but also helps fighting with Shrivelling. Lowered sanity can be dangerous at times, but there are options to help with that.

• Alyssa Graham - boost but also in those dire times when none of the investigators is prepared for an upcoming enemy she can really save your bottom. On top of that she's a nice horror soak.

• Dr. Milan Christopher - another boost, this deck is pretty hungry for resources and Dr. Milan Christopher provides steady flow of cash for doing what we want i.e. clue gathering. Once he pays for himself don't be afraid to use him as horror sponge and discard especially if there is another one or Alyssa Graham in hand.

• Flashlight - very powerful card that almost ensures success on locations with 2 or less Shroud.

• Drawn to the Flame - tempo boost and really handy if we come across high shroud location.

• Emergency Cache - staple card for resource income, really handy as this deck packs quite a few expensive assets.

• Uncage the Soul - Guts+ , same skill icons minus draw but with cost reduction for spells. I like versatility of this card and we don't have to use resources to play Shrivelling.

• Sleight of Hand - reversed Calling in Favors for items with limited uses. Mainly used with Grotesque Statue(more on that card later), that gives us powerful turn without wasting charges and is much faster and safer than recurring Statue with Scavenging. It can also be used with Flashlight for one turn of near-guaranteed clearing location of clues.

• "Look what I found!" - two icons, a bit of action compression and a nice little combo with Flashlight.

• Ward of Protection - standard mystic protection, Jim has above average so this should be used mostly to cancel cards that test or .

• Astral Travel - occasional game saver, it's cost might be quite steep but it can be played using Uncage the Soul. But even playing it for it's full cost is worth saving several action otherwise spent on movement across the map. I'm slowly falling in love with this card.

• Shrivelling - staple mystic combat spell, with Key in play Jim fights at 5 and plenty of icons in the deck let him boost this even farther. Therefore Shrivelling should be used on tougher enemies to help our partner or in situations where he can't help you. Once Recharge is purchased you can use Shrivelling more liberally.

• Delve Too Deep - accelerates experience gain, once we purchase two copies of Grotesque Statue it can be ditched.

• Fearless - St. Hubert's Key lowers sanity so it's important to heal some horror here and there.

• Defiance, Unexpected Courage - for any unexpected or very difficult tests.

Alternative card choices

Dr. Milan Christopher Magnifying Glass. We lose a bit of economy and horror soak but we can have 3 static boosts at the same time without Charisma. Having Alyssa Graham, St. Hubert's Key and Magnifying Glass puts us at 6 and that's nothing to sneeze at. It's also a lot of cheaper and faster than playing Dr. Milan Christopher. Probably mandatory change if there is a seeker in a group as he will most likely play Dr. Milan Christopher.

"Look what I found!" Deduction This change is purely a matter of taste, i like "Look what I found!" a bit more but swapping it with Deduction doesn't really change much in my opinion.

Defiance/Fearless Rite of Seeking. Recommended for 3+ player count. In pair play or solo it's not worth it in my opinion as there are not that many clues but in 3/4 player setting this adds much needed clue gathering power.

Please note that 5th card slot for out of faction cards is very flexible in general, but i would dedicate it to help clue gathering unless playing solo.

Upgrades

• Grotesque Statue - you want this card ASAP, first 8 XP should be spent on two copies of this card. It helps with skill checks you normally wouldn't even take. Consistency this card gives is bonkers, sole reason Sleight of Hand is in this deck. In case i wasn't clear enough: this is top priority. Replaces Delve Too Deep.

• Charisma - having Alyssa Graham and Dr. Milan Christopher together in play is very powerful and gives a lot of safety in terms of horror soak. Next upgrade right after purchasing both Statues.

• Recharge - odds of discarding asset can be significantly lowered using Grotesque Statue and it can also recharge Statue itself. Even considering that sometimes you will have to discard an asset value that Recharge gives is insane, more uses out of Shrivelling and Grotesque Statue are invaluable. Almost always used on an empty asset (or second to last charge in case of Grotesque Statue). I'd drop either Uncage the Soul or Perception for it. 3rd most important upgrade.

• Shrivelling (3) or Shrivelling (5) - bonus is very useful, although if you're partner is doing his/her job 5XP version might be a bit of overkill, so stick with 3XP one.

• Replaces basic Shrivelling.

• Fearless - more horror healing, lower priority. Can be purchased should Jim acumulate any mental trauma.

• Ward of Protection - 2 xp upgrade, it can save your partner, very useful. 5 xp version is too expensive for my taste unless you have spare XP.

Beyond those cards everything else is a matter of taste.