Mark Harrigan, Soldier With A New Cause

So, your intelligence recon team consists of three people and your seeker is -- Preston Fairmont (at level zero). What's a soldier on such a mission going to do?

Why, he would bring Flashlights, of course; stuffing as many as he possibly can (i.e. two) into his coat pockets!

Okay, back up the flashlight train here. Let's suppose there was a need for extra stealth on this mission, and casting light about randomly in the dark would draw unwanted attention. Mark would, therefore, draw upon his tactical expertise, using known Shortcuts, to approach a Scene of the Crime to quickly assess that location for important information. If he runs into some ne'er do wells, however, he could put his combat skills to good use by Interrogating Handcuffed culprits to find out what they know. Even if a captured enemy collapses under the strain of such questioning, they might still provide Evidence!

But, make no mistake; Mark is neither unprepared nor afraid of combat. In fact, he is always Prepared for the Worst and carries several weapons for different situations. His preferred weapon, a Machete with finely tooled blade and leather bound handle, has served him well for many years. He also carries his service weapon, a .32 Colt, and is a good shot should he need to use it.

However, if some reason, he can't use either weapon (he gets disarmed, or his firearm runs out of ammo), he knows how to use any objects around him as Improvised Weapons, in an Act of Desperation, to fight dangeruos enemies. Whatever his weapon, knows how to place a truly Vicious Blow to take out his enemies.

Mark has made some good allies in Arkham, like Officer Muldoon, a local Beat Cop he has befriended. Together, they have rousted many nefarious cultists of the streets. Between both pairs of sharp eyes, they might find an Emergency Cache or two which might help get them through difficult circumstances.

Lastly, Mark carries a Smoking Pipe that, when used, will eases his mental torment over Sophie's tragic and horrifying death and soothes the pain of his Shell Shock that still lingers from his time in the Great War.

In the end, though, it will be Mark Harrigan's Unexpected Courage and his ability to Take the Initiative that will help him win the battle on The Home Front of the city of Arkham.

Narrative aside, this deck actually was built for a three player game in which Preston really is the primary Clue-ver. Mark, along with Diana Stanley a Contrite Sorceress he has teamed up with, have to play interception for Preston, as well as succeed at back up Clue gathering. The inclusion of the above clue discovery cards really help with that, though.

It turns out that this deck also works quite well in four player games, and has even gathered more clues than other characters at times (which is weird for a non Roland guardian, I know.)

This deck has been tested in "The Gathering" from "Return to Night of the Zealot", the first two scenarios of "Return to the Dunwich Legacy" along with "The Witching Hour" in "The Circle Undone." One thing that sticks out so far, is that even with a bad opening draw (e.g. no weapons or drawing The Tower- XVI as was the case in the latter scenario) the deck has a low enough cost curve, that it can still get things done.

One might question the lack of out of class Tactic cards, and there a few that might be nice for this deck. Winging It is a great card and worked pretty nicely in the first iteration of this deck. However, Flashlight is actually a better card for Mark as it lowers a location's shroud by 2 instead of merely 1. But better still are Interrogate and Scene of the Crime. because Mark can gather just as many clues with fewer actions with the latter two cards (and up to four of them are test-less!) than with Flashlight. Further, Interrogate is a great card for Mark, with his high Fight stat.

I've run Elusive in other Mark decks, but he rather likes being with enemies instead of getting away from them. Shortcut, on the other hand, works really well with cards like Scene of the Crime, allowing him to get to a location with an enemy before he take his first action. Still, one can't have too many Fast movement cards.

Other cards, like Sneak Attack and Coup de Grace could be useful and might replace some of those clue gathering cards if one has a real Seeker-type in the group. However, there are a number of tactics that do not work at all in a Mark Harrigan deck. (And not just Barricade!)

When applying XP to the zero level deck, make the following changes:

• Add the permanent card, Stick to the Plan, for 3xp. (6 for exceptional.)
• Add the permanent card, Keen eye, for 3xp.
• Replace .32 Colt with M1918 Bar for 4 XP each.
• Replace Handcuffs with Ever Vigilant for 1xp each.
• Replace Improvised Weapon with Extra Ammunition for 1xp each.
• Replace Prepared for the Worst or Take the Initiative with "I've Had Worse..." for 4xp.
• Upgrade Beat Cop to 2xp version: Beat Cop.
• Upgrade Vicious Blow to 2xp Version: Vicious Blow.

The order in which experience should be spent depends on how many Victory Points one gets after a scenario. In one play through, I picked up Stick to the Plan first. In another, I upgraded Beat Cops first because I only had 4xp.

A note about Handcuffs: I have found in play through, though, that this is actually an iffy card. It requires two actions to get any use out of it; one to play and one to use it. (It came in handy on Goat Spawns, though.) I've actually replaced it with Somethihg Worth Fighting For a new play through, as this card is a nice Zero level alternative to Elder Sign Amulet. Also, I swapped both using experience in one game when Mark got himself some mental trauma.

In conclusion, this is a fun deck to play. It makes Mark far more than just a monster basher. I realize that any guardian (and Joe Diamond) could use Interrogate effectively, but Mark unquestionably makes the best use of this card. Further, Improvised Weapon and Act of Desperation play very well with his Fight ability; the latter is great fun to use with an emptied fire arm or even one in your hand! I've found the deck is quite capable even when don't get the cards you want when you want them and have enjoyed playing it a lot.

Thanks for reading!