Introduction

Through my own playthroughs and discussions with friends, I've noticed that the Illicit archetype in Rouge is often underestimated.

However, in this Tony Morgan deck centered around Illicit cards, the trait demonstrates incredibly high synergy and a very high skill ceiling.

This deck offers Rogue players—especially dedicated Fighters/Enemy Management—a fresh alternative to the standard builds that rely on Friends in Low Places or heavy #Trick and #Favor event playstyles.

Below, I’ll briefly introduce the core combos of this deck.

The Core Engine

Underworld Market

First and foremost, the heart of the Illicit archetype: Underworld Market establishes the underlying logic for how this deck functions.Many Rogue investigators often hesitate to take on the role of the primary Fighter, preferring instead to act as a Flex (capable of both fighting and investigating, but perhaps lacking a high ceiling in either) using various events. I have no intention of criticizing that playstyle; however, this deck provides a dedicated roadmap for Rogue Fighters like Tony Morgan or Michael McGlen.

The Key Combo

This combo starts with Sleight of Hand,which is one of the irreplaceable cores of this deck. (Note: With the release of the new Core Set in Spring 2026, the new card #prestidigitation gives us a functionally similar but even more powerful option. Once available, I highly recommend adding it to the builds.)

Firstly，play Sleight of Hand.Put into play any firearm that takes up 2 Hand slots. Personally, the .45 Thompson is an excellent choice.

In traditional Rogue builds, a common frustration occurs when you are holding damage-boosting skills or Sleight of Hand, but the weapon you need just won't show up. Conversely, when you are short on funds and desperately need economy cards, you end up drawing a generic gun you can't afford to play.

Underworld Market solves this problem perfectly. Even with terrible luck, you are guaranteed to draw your big guns within the first five turns. You then use Sleight of Hand to cheat out the big gun, fire three shots, and thanks to the effect of Sleight of Hand, the gun returns to your hand at the end of the turn. You’ve spent the ammo, but you haven’t paid a single resource.

Once the gun returns to your hand, we have two excellent options:

Use Act of Desperation. You can "sell" the gun (still using the .45 Thompson example) to net 6 resources, while also attacking with +6 Combat and dealing +1 Damage.

Apart from that You can also use the Rogue asset— Mob Connections to tuck the large weapon underneath it, ensuring a sustainable flow of resources.

The Cycle 10 ally, Robert Castaigne, is also a fantastic choice that synergizes extremely well with various SMGs and firearms. When our big gun returns to hand due to Sleight of Hand, we can trigger Robert's ability to fire a shot for free.

Both the Sawed-Off Shotgun and the previously mentioned .45 Thompson are perfect for this effect. After using Robert's ability, you can even play the weapon again properly to save an Action. I highly recommend including him in this deck.

Beyond the high-quality weapons that serve as ammunition for the Underworld Market, the Illicit package includes premium asset-events like Bank Job and excellent assets like Fence. These cards make Tony’s already generous action economy even richer, making him more flexible and significantly more fun to play.

English is not my native language, so please forgive any grammatical errors. I hope you enjoy reading this guide!

Most of this build was developed through testing and exchanges with my friends. If there are similarities to other decks, it is purely coincidental.

I look forward to discussing this further with you in the comments section!