Quick Study for an Inquiring Mind

Card draw simulator

Odds: 0% – 0% – 0% more
Derived from
Roland Banks: Not a Single Investigate Action 72 57 7 1.0
Inspiration for
None yet

alexalansmith14 · 695

Thematic & unusual Rex Murphy build with a backstory. Designed for hoovering up clues, obviously :) Important notice — this deck is not META! I haven't tested it on Hard/Expert, but I doubt it will work as intended. This deck is for us role-players, not for you min-maxers. Sorry, lads!

Since this deck doesn't contain any fighting options, I'd suggest to partner up with a dedicated fighter, for example my Well Connected High Roller Jenny Barnes (a bit of a teaser — I'm working on Well Prepared Leo Anderson build to complement this one).

Rex couldn't stop mumbling to himself, staring into the whiskey glass with a vacant gaze. "Free from the past... Major changes in your life..." He angrily slammed his fist on the bar counter of a speakeasy. Seemed like this Anna Kaslow was nothing but an ordinary charlatan who somehow found out about his dismissal. "I'm sorry, but after the death of Mr. Fairmont our funding was cut and we have to stick to reporters who ... You know ... Bring not only stories, but at least some evidence..." Rex couldn't get the words of Doyle Jeffris, the editor-in-chief of Arkham Advertiser, out of his mind. That was why he went to a soothsayer. That's why he was drinking alone at speakeasy that day. He lost his job and had absolutely no clue what to do next.

"Hello... Mr. Murphy? A friend of mine told me that you're Rex Murphy, a reporter from Advertiser". Rex slowly raised his eyes from his glass and stared in surprise at the tall woman in a trench coat standing in front of him. "Former reporter", — muttered Rex and motioned for her to sit, looking down at his glass again.

"My name is Alice Luxley. I'm a detective at Arkham's police station". Rex's eyelid twitched. "Am I under arrest?"

"Fine, whatever. This day cannot get any worse".

"Not at all, I'm here for a private matter. The thing is... Well, it's even better if you left Advertiser. I was going to offer you a side gig but if you're available full time now..." Rex raised his eyes again and stared right at her face. "You want to offer me a job? Me? The infamous Loser of Arkham?"

Alice smirked. "Well, I have inquired about you..." Rex raised his eyebrow. "No-no, it's not what you think! I just happen to know a bartender and he told me that you drink here quite often, complaining about awesome stories you couldn't report because of lack of evidence". These words again. "At least some evidence..."

"But what if the reason you couldn't collect it is not because you're bad at your job, but because you didn't have the right tools?" Rex frowned. "Go on. What's the job?" Alice got serious. "I'm investigating a case connected with a religious cult rising up at French Hill and our forensics expert disappeared under mysterious circumstances. It's unclear if he was forced to leave the town or was abducted. But I have to finish this investigation. I need somebody with the attention for details, who can examine the scene of a crime, do a quick study and help me to connect the dots".

Rex felt as if every word she said filled him with a strange sensation. Was it hope? But it might have also been whiskey.

"The station will provide you with tools, like a fingerprint kit and a small folding camera... I just need to get the true understanding of the state of things, you know? An inquiring mind armed with good perception, deductive thinking and eidetic memory might be very handy. Oh and by the way, if we crack this case — you'll be paid in cache immediately. So, what do you think?"

Rex's eyes narrowed. "They need somebody to search for the truth..." He thought to himself. "But can they handle the truth?" Instead of answering, Rex got up and threw a couple of coins onto the bar counter.

"Maybe this Kaslow lady knew something in the end".

Piloting

Clues as resources

First of all, shout out to Lucaxiom and their Roland Banks: Not a Single Investigate Action deck. It taught me that, like everything in this game, clues can be a resources. And since (even tabooed) Rex is once of the best clue-gatherers in game, we can use his ability in various purposes.

Behold, one of the funniest combos of the game (again, thanks Lucaxiom for pointing this out). Quick Study + True Understanding means we get +4 on any treachery test, if we add Inquiring Mind — that's +7. All we need is to have 1 clue in our pocket. But... What if we go further?

What if we pack our deck with numerous additional-clue-providers and start dropping clues left & right only to re-discover it later? Let's see what combos this deck provides:

I know, I know, we need to pass the test and be up by 2 to get the best possible outcome, but imagine to pull this combo off, discover 6 clues in one action and then play Connect the Dots to get 2 more from another location... A man can dream!

Investigating with base 6 intellect

Okay, what about skill boosters? It's not easy to always be up by 2. There are 7 cards that give you passive intellect boost for investigation test:

It's obvious that Camera's value declines with every round, so if you haven't mulligan into it or haven't find in the first couple of rounds — forget about it. Death • XIII is awesome, and if you will play this deck in a campaign or won't mind another basic weakness for 20-th XP point — eventually swap Inquiring Mind for a second copy, you won't regret it. Alice and Kit are expensive, so we may need to crack a couple of complex cases to fund them.

Event-driven investigation

Let's see, what this deck offers to a player in terms of events without Eidetic Memory:

  • 8-10-12-14-... resources, depending on the shroud of the locations which you choose to play Crack the Case at
  • 6-8 testless clues, depending on if you manage to play Scene of the Crime in a good company
  • 4-8 cards, depending on a number of clues on you when you play Search for the Truth

...And then we throw Eidetic Memory in the mix. That means we can significantly increase any of those figures!

Let's see what Eidetic Memory has to offer if we copy:

Of course, we can't double'em all, we have to choose, plus some of the Insights have conditions to trigger or significant cost to play. And that's good, because this means flexibility. Also it enables some funny combos like "Toss Search for the Truth for skill icons to get all clues from a location in one action, play Crack the Case to get resources, play Connect the Dots to get even more clues and finally play Eidetic Memory to copy Search for the Truth and get 5 cards". Noice!

P.S. Reminder — Eidetic Memory can copy an Insight event in a discard pile of any investigator, not only the one who's playing it.

One skilled reporter

Skill cards of this deck offer:

  • 0-6 testless clues, depending on if you manage to succeed by 2 on investigation tests and succeed on scenario cards tests. Do not forget that agendas/acts and several cards that go to player decks (such as spoiler) are scenarios cards too!
  • 0-4 card draws, also if you manage to succeed

Inquiring Mind is a hell of a combo with Quick Study and True Understanding, but apart from that — it's the first candidate for further upgrades (like second Death • XIII or whatever).

Campaign starter

Why not include?..

You may wonder: "Where's Magnifying Glass / Dr. Milan Christopher / Mind over Matter / "I've got a plan!" / Shortcut / Higher Education, you genius?"

Well, this cards are exactly the way I've built Rex from the beginning. One day I asked myself "What if we still can play Rex without earlier staple Seeker cards?" I also wanted to exclude Deduction, but since I was building a deck which theme revolves around knowledge, study, research and detective work, Deduction belonged here.

Once again — this deck is not meant to be the best Rex deck ever. If you want superior version, swap Hawk-Eye Folding Camera => Magnifying Glass and Alice Luxley => Dr. Milan Christopher. If you will play it in a campaign, later you may add Higher Education and play classic Rex.

Cards for consideration

The deck seems so solid & thematic for me to find a slot for anything else. If you'll manage to squeeze it in, I would suggest the following cards for consideration:

Missing a pack or two?

  • The Miskatonic Museum — Second Wind will work just fine.
  • The Essex County Express — less free clues for you, eh? Downgrade to level-0 Deduction.
  • Undimensioned and Unseen — I'd suggest to upgrade Inquiring Mind to the second copy of Death • XIII anyway. Or — check previous section!
  • The Pallid Mask — you'll be missing Eureka!'s draw more than icons, so maybe Preposterous Sketches / No Stone Unturned?
  • Dim Carcosa — I won't say that Eidetic Memory is crucial for this deck, but it makes it way more fun to play. Working a Hunch for more testless clues maybe?
  • The Boundary Beyond, Threads of Fate, The Circle Undone, The Secret Name, The Wages of Sin — I'm not sure you'd want to play this deck without its core cards, so... No luck here.
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