"Skids" is viable...?

Card draw simulator

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exLupo · 8

This is a work in progress and I'm publishing it to pick up some feedback. I've thrown it at The Gathering and it seems fine but the holes in Skids' kit only really start getting filled once upgrades appear and some of the most relevant aren't even live yet.

The deck is designed to balance shortcomings and increase success percentage at the expense of higher risk action economy (see: .41 Derringer vs .45 Automatic). In the vein of reliability being paramount, I am a believer when it comes to turning resources into stats and leaving one-off overachiever cards (Daring Maneuver, Opportunist, Quick Thinking) out.

I'm nervous about not having any explicit Horror sinks/heals as I'm trying to keep a mind toward passing willpower checks through Physical Training and Dario El-Amin. Avoid instead of soak/heal; that's roguish, right?

I'm eager to give this a thorough workout once the planned cards are live as poor Skids gets no love and he needs all the help we can give him to get out of debt with his sanity intact.


Upgrade swap (vague order):
Adaptable•
Streetwise•••
Flashlight for Lockpicks•
Knife for Switchblade••
Leo De Luca to Dario El-Amin
Pickpocketing for Pickpocketing••
Machete to .45 Automatic••
Dodge for Lucky Dice••
Dodge for Hot Streak••••
Emergency Cache for Ever Vigilant•

5 comments

Oct 24, 2017 Magnificate · 1197

As for the spoilered D-card, isn't it quite incompatible with Physical Training? Anyway, how do you mark spoilers?

Oct 24, 2017 exLupo · 8

D doesn't feel incompatible but it does prevent Skids from using Physical Training and Streetwise as blow-the-lid-off resource dumps. It'll be tighter, more judicious feathering. With other generators in play, the resource acquisition game should turn into a three steps forward, one step back creep until you get where you're going. It's not easy early on but some of the higher XP picks should balance that out. Or, at least, that's the theory.

re spoiler: I used<span class="spoiler">spoiler stuff goes here</span>but I'm sure there's a better way. If anyone knows where to find a list of the markdowns used for this site, feel free to chime in.

Oct 27, 2017 DarthJoJo · 70

You've marked this deck as multiplayer, so it would help in giving a direction to our advice if we were to know your teammates and what sort of build they're using.

Knowing nothing else, I think you're making a mistake in putting so many weapons on Skids. That he has access to Guardian doesn't mean he's particularly good at fighting with a base combat of 3 and only Hard Knocks and Physical Training providing (bad) pumps. If you're committed to a fighter-build, I might suggest switching Machete for .45 Automatic and Knife for Sleight of Hand. Sleight also works with the Flashlight and is a solid tempo play at the right time.

Depending on the mobility of your teammates, you might also consider bring in Dynamite Blast through Adaptable after you buy Hot Streak. That's some solid damage you can afford.

Oct 27, 2017 exLupo · 8

@DarthJoJoYou've summed up my thoughts that lead me to this build. Skids is bad at everything important. He can't investigate, fight, or pass will checks unassisted so he needs a friend. Unfortunately, since he can't specialize, he needs to be a filler/generalist alongside either a proper cluefinder or fighter with cluefinding options. Who will join him? Anyone good, it doesn't matter. The goal of this experiment isn't to fill a Fight or Investigate roll in a group, because Skids can't currently fill either. The idea is to make Skids pull his weight as best he can. Shoot at easy targets, evasion tank hard ones, investigate low shroud locations, and open up the board.

His general lack of stats are why the +2/+0 combat cards are there in place of +1/+1 as I find it more economical over time to hit for one than have a riskier pull that may waste an action. The weapons, specifically with upgrades in mind, are there so he can clean up lesser foes and still land shots on larger enemies should the team try to fight them at all. Additionally, Physical Training isn't there to make him a fighter, it's there as a way to bank percentage increases for Will tests. It's not bad for Fight tests, either, and bonus cash can be thrown at Switchblade / .41 Derringer to turn a likely +2/+1. Suboptimal for a fighter build? Absolutely, but that isn't what this is.

This build is a bit weapon heavy and I think that's because I flat ignored Dynamite Blast. There's a baked in plan to replace Machete with .45 Automatic•• but swapping .41 Derringer for Switchblade•• (instead of Knife) and then replacing Knife with Dynamite Blast sounds solid.

I'm lukewarm on Sleight of Hand on Skids as you're using 2 draw (Sleight and Asset) and 1 resource to fast play a temporary asset. Conversely, Skids can lean on spending 1 draw (Asset) and 2 resource to extra-action play the same asset permanently. If I'm not going to charge-dump something powerful (Chicago Typewriter, Lightning Gun, Grotesque Statue, etc.) it feels like I'm losing one of the biggest up-sides to Sleight of Hand.

All of this, of course, falls on its face if Skids can't get his economy rolling. After upgrades, the total play cost (1 per Asset, All Events) is 28 with 13 returned before Lone Wolf, Pickpocketing, and maybe Dario El-Amin (who merits a whole side discussion). It shouldn't be hard to be cash heavy to fund his ability, Physical Training, Dario El-Amin, and any resource based board mechanics but if he can't get some flow, the build is left pretty anemic.

Oct 28, 2017 brdanner · 4

This build will really depend on your other investigator. He has decent fighting potential, particularly if you can get Charisma and either Beat Cop early in your campaign. I would recommend switching out your evasion cards for more straight up fighting and healing. Remove Elusive, Dodge, Stealth, and consder Overpower instead of Vicious Blow, which makes more sense with the Machete. Add in Emergency Aid and Smoking Pipe to soak up damage, and add Perception to build up his decent 3 . A great early addition to his deck would be Brother Xavier, who will be quite affordable in the midgame.