Fire Bones' Rex Deck [Hard Core & Rougarou]

Very clever includes, i like this a lot.

Nice write up. Thanks for sharing!

thanks for pointing the scavenging attitude out. I felt into that same mindset but I realize when playing that I almost never used scavenging because I was busy getting killed by monsters.

Sweet list similar list that is a bit more event focused w/ Mind over Matter and "I've got a plan!" instead of Overpower and Manual Dexterity, (and a Dynamite Blast over Arcane Studies, hehe).

Have you tried a 1 of Research Librarian to get your Old Book of Lore more often on turn 1 and 2?

@arcv2, I originally had a Research Librarian in the deck but ended up ditching it. It isn't quite as critical for Rex as it is for Daisy, who is basically playing one turn down if she doesn't have a Tome. Those times I did not get my book, I still managed okay. Mostly because the deck is full of Cantrips and high-value assets, so if you aren't getting your books, you are probably getting something else useful.

I also originally had Mind over Matter in the deck, but found I just didn't have a use for the card when I had it in my hand. I literally had 14 resources at one point. So between Fire Axe and the other pump cards I just didn't use the card. That is one reason this version of the deck has 2 Emergency Caches, once I realized I didn't need certain cards, I was having trouble finding things to meet the 30-card requirement.

I don't have Miskatonic Museum, but I've Got a Plan looks pretty awesome! I would totally put that in this deck if I had it!

One further note on this deck. A common tactic I use is to burgle and invest 2 resources (Using Hyperawareness or Arcane Studies). This generally means you are investigating at a 7 or so. Assuming you have Milan, when you succeed you get 4 resources, so a net of 2 resources (considering the 2 you invested), and you generally succeed by 2, allowing you to get a clue anyway, and scavenge and item on later scenarios if you have slipped scavenging into the deck.

How do you use the axe? To push fight, or do you stay near 0 ressources to get +1 damage?

Also, what would you remove for Scavenging?

Just to push fight. I normally have loads of resources, which is why Mind over Matter just isn't very helpful. With the axe I can attack with 8 (very helpful on Hard!) for 3 resources, which is better than what I can get with Mind over Matter + pump cards.

It's a tough call as to what to remove for scavenging, and I think it has to depend on which investigator you are playing with (in terms of how crucial it is to get a Fire Axe early). I'd probably ditch a Burglary, but I would want at least 1 Cryptic Research in the deck to help speed my way at that point. If you were in 3-way play, then dropping a Fire Axe would make more sense.

I think when I played Rougarou with Zoey I dropped a Fire Axe for scavenging, and things went fine... not sure I'd always do it that way, though.

Basically, I recommend delaying Scavenging until you are sure it is worth it.

Why not use Physical Training instead of Arcane Studies? That way you can cover all four stats with resources.

He's covering fight with the axe, while only needing Hyperawareness or Arcane Studies in play, to boost his intellect.

I'm not sure about Scavenging, as it's a mid to late game card, when you've got some items in your discard pile. However, many scenarios don't need you to investiage later anymore and you're likely to have enough ressources for talents, too.

@useenmycarkeys, I like having two "pump" cards for my intellect, so using Arcane Studies lets me use only 1 Hyperawareness. As @Django indicates, I don't really need a pump card for attack, for the Fire Axe is very efficient for that.

I've found Scavenging useful in rough-and-tumble scenarios if I need to retrieve a Bulletproof Vest or Elder Sign Amulet.

That said, it really depends on how much xp you have to buy premium items with and whom you are partnering with. If you are going with just 1 Burglary or just 1 Fire Axe, knowing that it might mean more babysitting at the beginning of the scenario, then it can make you even more invincible later... but I would say that if you are borderline on it, keep the scavenging out.

Maybe I'll do some more experimentation on this, because I think it is really a difficult question. Maybe I'll try it out on Carnival, which I have not played yet.

SPOILERS AHEAD from CARNEVALE
Does this site have spoiler tags...?

I played carnevale yesterday in a 4 man group. I was playing jim and rex, the other player had agnes and zoey. But we barely won. Zoey had to die to advance the act (she was swarmed by monsters), while agnes got mad the turn before the rest won (thanks to Bulletproof Vest and Smoking Pipe they had another turn). However if anyone had failed their test in the last turn, the rest would've died too.

That's where i tested scavenging, however this map isn't very investigation heavy (there's lots of clues, but you don't really need them), so i couldn't make much use of it, as i already gathered many ressources with Burglary in the early game and zoey distributed them with Teamwork.

However one good thing about Scavenging compared to talents, you can also use the recycled items to commit to other player tests, which cannot be done with talents.

I just played Carnivale the other day as well. Zoey & Jim. We came out on top, but it was definitely touch and go!

I think in 3- or 4-player games, scavenging is an easy include, you can drop a fire axe. But in solo or pair play, I'm less willing to play with just 1 fire ax---but I think that is the card I chose to drop when I did go with scavenging.

Maybe next time I play this deck in a high-level scenario I'll consider using scavenging in place of arcane studies, but only if I have several Will-power items I can pull.

I removed Emergency Cache from my deck. Most cards here are pretty cheap and between Burglary and Dr. Milan Christopher, you'll soon be swimming in money, anyway.

Or do you need it as quick boost for the axe (i don't have the axe in my deck either, as other players fight)?

Wow, the recent expansions have really made Rex even more powerful. I've Got a Plan and Higher Education are extremely good for him!

Once you get Higher Education, you can drop Arcane Studies. I'd try to get Charisma so you can have Library Researcher to allow you a bigger hand limit.

Played an experience modified, version of this a couple days ago running through The Essex County Express and Rex was a beast. He blew threw the clues that are meant to slow you down and I left all combat to my friend.

Granted different setups might have been different but damn, was it easy.

How would you pair this deck with Zoey? What deck did you use for Zoey? Having a hard time decking Zoey since there's a lot of overlap (Fire Axe, Shortcut, Guts, Manual Dexterity, Unexpected Courage, etc)

@willsaidthis deck requires 2 cores, so Manual Dexterity, Guts, and Unexpected Courage should not be an issue. You should have enough of those for each investigator to get 2.

It should be straight-forward to construct Zoey. Just give her tons of weapons so she can protect Rex prior to his getting his kit out. Maybe throw in some healing as well to help keep Rex alive.

For Zoey's Out-of-faction cards, I'd suggest something like: 1 x Liquid Courage 2 x Delve Two Deep 2 x Ward of Protection

Good includes for Zoey beyond weapons and standard stuff are: Teamwork (Rex can give her his cash or an extra Fire Axe) Stand Together (to help Rex keep his card count up)

Also, Rex will want to play Strange Solution [not included in this older deck list.]

One big note: now that Higher Education is out, there is no need for Arcane Studies, go for a scavenging instead.

What would you change in this deck now that we have all of dunwich legacy released?

There is no longer any need for Arcane Studies since Higher Education lets you push up your will power.

And of course Strange Solution now has more value.

I would add Strange Solution and "I've got a plan!" and Inquiring Mind, remove Hyperawareness, Unexpected Courage, Overpower. If you need more space, I'd probably drop Deduction as well.

And instead of Arcane Studies I'd start with 1 Scavenging.

What's your experiecne, combining Dr. Milan Christopher and Fire Axe? Can you get the damage bonus reliably of do you often have more than 3 and must decide to "waste" them with Higher Education?

@Django, sadly, when I played this deck there was no Higher Education. But yes, Rex does run into an issue where he has so many resources that he only gets 1 damage from Fire Axe. I've seriously had over 10 resources on him.

But I paired him with Zoey, so the Fire Axe was just so he could take care of himself when he had to.

I see, that's what i suspected from our 2 player games, hhe player with milan hat lot's of ressources.

However milan's ability is optional, so you may choose to stay at 3 ressources instead.

Another question, have you tried rex with 2x Mind over Matter, 2x "I've got a plan!" and 2x acid?

@Django, About a month or two ago I stopped playing Seekers entirely. But I would definitely play at least 1x "I've got a Plan" (2 if playing solo). The reason I did not go with Mind over Matter in this deck is that I typically used that card essentially to evade, and if that is the reason you are using it, then you may as well just play Manual Dexterity.

However, playing solo I would definitely go with Mind over Matter instead, if only to break down Locked Door or other niche uses.

As mentioned in my comment to @Sydtrack, I would definitely put Strange Solution in here. And I think the acid version makes sense.

@Sydtrack, I just noticed that I replied to you (see above) but did not put your name in the response, so you may not have gotten an alert.

@FBoneswhy did you stop player seekers?

You stopped playing seekers? You also think they're OP?

@willsaid and @Django, a couple of reasons... mostly I just think it is more challenging to play without them. Especially Rex with Higher Education. They really should limit his special ability to just 1 use per turn. Rex was already mega-powerful with this deck before HE and I've got a Plan.

HE not only makes Rex super-powerful as a clue gatherer, it took away the one vulnerability he had: his mediocre willpower and no way to boost it in faction. It just made Rex a monster.

Secondly, if you are always playing a Seeker, it really limits the deck/investigator combination you run. I've had tons of fun coming up with deck combinations that don't use Seekers. For example, I think Roland & Jim is one of the best (non-seeker) pairs in the game... but you would never know that listening to people's general views on Jim.

Yes, that's true. We played dunwich with two seekers (daisy focused on magic and a custom investigator similar to rex but other ability) and it was rather easy, compared to other playthroughs.

Mind you, were too afraid to play on hard, but were trying all characters in idfferent combinations, at some point. We don't mind having seekers in the team, though.

Looking at Path of Carcosa, would this deck benefit from Fieldwork?

@Captain Midnight, definitely. Fieldwork is just another example of how Seekers seem to get super-powered cards.

since there have been some other expansions have been released, does anyone has some good upgrade ideas for this deck?

I second @Kyulaany further input would be great

Does @FBonesor anyone have a suggestion to replace "Shortcut"? the two copies I have are used in my planned Zoey Deck for my first playthrough in a few years and was planning zoey/rex game. I see its on the early retire list so figured id drop it from this deck if possible.

@SpicyLobster, what do you mean by "early retire list"

@SpicyLobster, oh, I see what you mean. This deck is so out of date now that I should probably just redo the whole thing!

As an initial guess, Fieldwork may be a good card to add... or just the simple Inquiring Mind.

@FBonesThanks, im just picking this game back up and trying to get back into playing. Ive got the 2 core sets, the full dunwhich and just picked up the carcosa box so looking for a solid 1-2 punch to remind me how fun it is :) I got no idea what makes a good deck anymore.

"Good" being subjective, suppose it revolves around efficieny, having fun or both. For me, the minimum for both is to choose the deck focus (combat, clues or both) and built around that. Maybe add some campaign specific stuff (evade for FA and TCU). And cards you think will be fun.

How is this deck for dunwich campaign?