Better Starter Decks - Daisy Walker

Introduction:

The Revised Core provides a much better ideal starting point than the original Core for whoever wishes to delve into the universe of Arkham Horror The Card Game. One of its many improvements is a very clean and logical distribution of the cards in several distinct packages. Among those are the five pre-made and ready-to-play investigator decks. As soon as this was announced, many expected them to be improved versions of the original starter decks, since the limitation of the single class cards no longer applies to the Revised Core. Alas all the prepackaged decks are exactly the same starter decks suggested in the old Core with no change whatsoever. It is commonly agreed upon that those decks are very underwhelming and that a much better distributions of the available cards can be achieved.

Objective:

This series of decks aims to provide a better alternative to the pre-made decks found in the Revised Core by redistributing the cards in a more sensible manner, while keeping them 100% compatible among each others and preserving their ready-to-play nature.

For the rest of the decks, follow these links:

• Roland Banks
• "Skids" O'Toole
• Agnes Baker
• Wendy Adams

Strategy Tips:

Daisy is an investigator gifted with an exceptionally high Intellect and this deck is heavily focused on making her efficient at gathering clues and supporting the group through various means. I do not suggest using this for true solo, as it lacks the means to efficiently deal with enemies. Daisy likes Tomes, both her ability and her effect don't do anything unless she has a Tome Asset in play, so getting at least one as soon as possible should be a priority. Old Book of Lore is what she should mainly aim to get, as getting extra cards every round for herself or a team member can drastically improve the efficiency of the group. Luckily Research Librarian can be very helpful for the purpose of finding it quickly. Dr. Milan Christopher is however a way more valuable ally, not only providing a constant boost, but also granting extra resources. So alongside a Tome asset you should hard mulligan in order to get him. Medical Texts is the other non weakness book in the deck, and while it's not a priority, Daisy eventually might need to use it in order to compensate for her very low health (but be aware of the risks). Working a Hunch can be used to gain a clue without even spending an action, and it can even overcome the obstacle of a Locked Door. Flashlight is not really necessary, but can help with a location under the effect of Obscuring Fog. Manual Dexterity can be enough to Evade enemies with a low Evade value, but it should mainly be used to protect her against cards like Grasping Hands. Unexpected Courage can provide the same boost, but it is very versatile and can be used for any kind of skill test. Hyperawareness can also boost , and between Dr. Milan and Emergency Cache Daisy shouldn't lack the resources. Blinding Light is another tool for Daisy to Evade, but It can also be used offensively to deal 1 damage. It is however Mind over Matter Daisy's best card in the deck if she needs to Evade or even Fight, since it allows her to use her excellent in place of both and until the end of the round. Knife isn't a very efficient weapon, but Daisy can still use it to kill weaker enemies like Swarm of Rats and she can use the second ability to eliminate a Ghoul Minion. Under the effect of Mind over Matter it could even be used against very strong enemies and deal a total of 4 damage in 3 actions. Ward of Protection and Scrying allow Daisy some degree of Encounter deck manipulation and protection, but the latter is very action costly and should only be used if the scenario allows it.

Suggested Upgrades:

Encyclopedia should be Daisy's first upgrade. It's an asset that can improve any skill for the duration of the whole investigation phase and she can use it with her additional action. It's the best Tome she can get and once in her deck it should become her main priority to play it. She mostly wants to use it on a team member. For example Skids can use extra to defeat enemies. If there are no enemies, can be chosen instead, so even Agnes can spend a whole turn with a modified score of 4. Disc of Itzamna can basically instantly eliminate an enemy before it can even spawn. It is limited to non-elite and won't really help with enemies that spawn in another location, but it's certainly worth its XP and resource cost. Cryptic Research has a very high XP cost, but acquiring 3 cards free of any resource or action cost can be a game changer. Next is Seeking Answers, which is excellent not only for the sake of gaining 2 clues in one action, but also to investigate a location without actually moving there, or a location under the effect of Obscuring Fog and Locked Door. Old Book of Lore is an improvement over the level 0 version, but it shouldn't be a priority. On the mystic side there aren't really many cards that Daisy wants to use. Rather, she might prefer to look among the neutral cards and get Bulletproof Vest in order to be on the safe side against damage. Charisma can be taken so that she can still play Research Librarian while Dr. Milan or a Story Asset Ally are already in play.

Replacing Cards:

The weakest cards in Daisy's deck are Scrying and Blinding Light. The former is too action costly and provides little benefit, the latter is difficult to use with her mediocre . Flashlight is not strictly necessary for her, as her is high enough already and she has several options to boost it when needed. Knife might be useful at the start of the campaign when there's relatively weak enemies, but as enemies become stronger and stronger, it becomes more and more useless and it can be replaced. Medical Texts can also be replaced by Bulletproof Vest, as Encyclopedia and Old Book of Lore are far better Tome options. Next on the line is Research Librarian especially if there's no Charisma.

Improving the Deck:

While this deck is primarily intended to be ready-to-play as is without any need for deckbuilding, it is certainly possible to improve it by taking cards from decks that aren't being used in your current campaign. In this case it is certainly a good idea to take skill cards from those, especially Perception and Guts. If Agnes's deck isn't used, Daisy can take Shrivelling in order to become a lot more proficient at fighting enemies. She should also replace Hyperawareness with Arcane Studies, since is generally more important. Holy Rosary provides a constant boost and extra sanity, and while Daisy doesn't generally need help with clues, Drawn to the Flame can still prove to be invaluable as it can bypass high shroud locations and Locked Door. If Roland's deck isn't used, Daisy should consider taking Deduction, because gaining clues faster is always useful. See the paragraph above to decide which cards to remove to make space.