Ursula Downs: Only Investigate

As an effort to make Ursula Downs the primary clue-grabber in any multi-player campaign, this deck seeks to have her investigate three times every round; anything less than that is sub-optimal. With stiff competition as a main cluever from 5 investigators like Daisy Walker, Mandy Thompson, and Norman Withers, or the burst investigative power of Rex Murphy (even after being nerfed), she will have to investigate often and in high shroud locations in order to come into her own. We will be outlining how this deck will put her on par with the others below:

The inspiration for this archetype came from her special ability. The action compression that she provides got me thinking; what if we could fold all actions that detract from grabbing clues (gaining resources, drawing cards, playing assets, moving to a connecting location) into her investigations, or else make them fast actions instead? The most popular seeker ally, Dr. Milan Christopher, does this for resource acquisition already, so we will include him, and start fleshing out the rest of the deck.

We'll start off with Ursula's signature suite of cards; Shortcut, Vantage Point, and Fieldwork. Fieldwork isn't fast, but it's somewhat necessary to help pierce high shroud locations that she might struggle with otherwise, so we'll excuse it's inclusion for now. The other two are fast, and thus suits our strategy nicely.

As for other assets, we need permanent boosting cards, as she'll be testing like there's no tomorrow. Dr. Milan Christopher already helps in this regard, as does Magnifying Glass which is fast as well, which is a bonus. Flashlight is not quite permanent, but is close enough and adds more consistency to our deck; having six assets that help towards investigating ensures we're likely to draw at least on of them early on.

Now for the odd cards out. First, Mr. "Rook", who is our action-efficient card draw, boasting three draws for one action. He could be replaced with Preposterous Sketches or Tooth of Eztli, since both provide a comparable action to card-draw ratio, but I will be sticking to Mr. "Rook" for his synergy with Calling in Favors, which is another action compression card, and the fact that Ursula's signature weakness isn't that debilitating, compared to other seekers.

Second, Archaic Glyphs, which is going to be our second deck-defining card once upgraded to the Markings of Isis variant. Where Dr. Milan Christopher will gain resources while investigating, Markings of Isis will be playing assets while investigating. It will be a slog to translate the Glyphs in the first place, wasting 4 actions and three cards to do so, but the pay-off will be immense; all our assets would gain the fast keyword and make the three investigates a round, every round claim less hyperbole and more a real possibility.

As for the rest of the deck, of the ten events included, six are fast, one performs an investigate action, so can be played in the same action as moving, thanks to Ursula's special ability, and Calling in Favors compresses a draw action and a play action into one, refreshes Mr. Rook's secrets, and alleviates the overused ally slot somewhat, at least until Charisma comes out. Seeking Answers prevents a situation where you'd need to move twice to get to a location with clues, or a situation where Call of the Unknown mandates you move away from a clue-rich location. Crack the Case supplements your economy, and doesn't need more justification than that.

And skill cards are obviously action efficient, so we'll be dipping into the skill card pool heavily. Deduction and Eureka's inclusion should be obvious; Curiosity and Inquiring Mind serve three purposes; defensive tests against the encounter deck, addition assistance with high-shroud locations, and most interestingly, high rolling Markings of Isis to bring out a more expensive asset, usually an ally, which Calling in Favors will general keep your hand stocked with one.

A final mention goes to upgrading this deck. Markings of Isis is only mandated upgrade you need, and one Charisma is heavily recommended. Alongside safe options like permanents or upgraded cards (Magnifying Glass, Shortcut, Deduction, and one Studious), you will require 22xp for the lot. After that, an accessory won't go amiss since your accessory slot is free; I'd recommend either Jewel of Aureolus or Hemispheric Map, though the upgraded Grisly Totem might be a shout. And after that, stick to cards with built-in move or investigate actions, or ones that contain the fast keyword, and you'll be fine.