MARY POPPINS, DAY ONE

Converges to the published deck at 34 XP

"We're on the brink of an Adventure. Don't spoil it by asking questions!"

— Mary Poppins

This is the campaign version of the published deck: mostly the same 30 cards from scenario 1 up to the end of the deck.

The trick is that every big XP card here has a level-0 (or level-1) self. You are mostly upgrading cards you were already drawing, which means no "will I even see my shiny new card this scenario?". This is a consistent nanny. Only two new cards enter the deck across the whole campaign (The Star and Girish) — and both at the end of the XP track.

THE THICK OF IT: FIRST 3 XP

"Don't stand there staring. Best foot forward."

Creation XP is used to (i) reduce draw volatility and (ii) deliver immediate action compression to the table:

• Volatility: if you were to get a high-level card in a not-so-drawy deck, its single copy would appear in roughly two thirds of scenarios (critical mainly in the first scenarios). Instead, we are getting three action-compression level-1 events.
• Action compression:
  • Cosmic Revelation ×2 (1 XP each) — 1 action, 0 resources: every investigator draws a card or plays a revealed one. At a full table that's 4 effects for 1 action — net +3 actions per play (+2 at three players), +6 across the pair, and the whole table gets paid, not just Mary.
  • Ever Vigilant (1) (1 XP) — 1 action, 0 resources: up to 3 assets from her hand at −1 each. Three play-actions become one (+2), the discounts are three resource-actions she never takes (+3) and, of course, there is the cost of the card itself, since we still do not have our Carpet Bag: ~4 actions of compression in a single card. If your mulligan is decent, you can derive full value from it on turn 1. Mind you: Ever Vigilant (1) does not apply to your kids just yet, only to your own assets. Anyhow, that's a net 4 actions you'll have free to grant your kids.

Trauma should be x2 physical most of the time, due to your weakness. Exceptions are campaign-specific and basic weakness-specific (some campaigns are notorious for providing abundant amounts of gratuitous damage).

Note: if you do not want to take In the Thick of It, these cards should be the first upgrades in the Value Track (explained below). Nevertheless, I do recommend it - you have enough soak to weather the first scenarios until your heavier assets are well set up.

SCENARIO SPENDING: TWO TRACKS

I tried to make a linear XP track, but could not come up with one; instead, what crystallized while revising the way I played this deck is that it has two tracks. How fast you will go in each of them depends wildly on the campaign you are playing and on the performance of your team.

They are:

1. a reactive track that is basically our nanny-investigator bulking up soak for your kids; and
2. a value track that is used to drive more actions, resources and draws to your kids.

THE REACTIVE TRACK

"Why, it's the most disgraceful sight I've ever seen, or my name isn't Mary Poppins."

If your teammates kids are taking a damage/horror beating, if your coats or Obsidian Bracelets were spent too fast for comfort, if somebody took trauma, or if you know the campaign is brutal, advance here. You are looking to get more soak on board as fast as you can.

This track is helped by Refine x1, which you can use in your time off. And, remember: the first upgrade you do to your coat is just one checkbox, so, if you get it during the first scenario, you most certainly should put the second coat into play and leave the Obsidian Bracelets to your kids.

THE VALUE TRACK

"Then do get on with it, please."

If your teammates kids are holding fine without you throwing yourself in front of anything; if the coats and Obsidian Bracelets are ending scenarios at comfortable levels: don't buy more soak nobody is using. Advance here instead: you are looking to make the household richer and more consistent as fast as you can.

Note: When in doubt, this should be your "default" track. Trust me, you will know for sure whether the kids are getting lambasted hard enough so that you need to advance the other track faster.

This track starts with your carpet bag, which should hold:

• First slot: Heroic Rescue or First Watch (team protection you didn't have to draw — my suggestion stands with the latter) or Emergency Cache for your hungry deck.
• Second slot: for Ever Vigilant (1) (1 XP), naturally: this is INSANE consistency that will make sure you are well set up for your nannying duties.
• Third slot goes to... Refine! Given it is a Supply-traited card, make sure to stuff it in your bag. This will slowly advance your Reactive Track as well.