Nathaniel Cho: A Versatile Double-Dipper with a Plan (optima

By incorporating 3 cycles worth of player cards that includes The Scarlet Keys campaign, NATHANIEL CHO: A VERSATILE DOUBLE-DIPPER WITH A PLAN improves on my NATHANIEL CHO (FLY LIKE A MI-GO, STING LIKE AN ELDER THING) deck. This deck is a straight forward, no-nonsense, beat 'em up good deck that's fast, focused, and team-oriented. Here is the the base deck

Upgrades

If a card has an upgrade, you can take it. But first, you'll want to make a couple improvements.

Versatile & Crystallizer of Dreams (2 xp)

This deck is shown with Versatile (2) in place, and that's where your first 2 xp goes. This will give you access to Crystallizer of Dreams, which is key to this build. Before the first game, remove any 4 events and then add them back with Versatile (2). Alternatively, if your group needs to share the investigating responsibilities, you can add Breach the Door ×2.

Is one copy of Versatile (2) enough if Crystallizer of Dreams is that important? With Backpack (especially Backpack) (2) and significant card drawn early, yes—you should still mulligan for this card, though. However, we found that you go through this deck pretty fast, so adding a second Versatile isn't crazy talk. (See below)

Priority Upgrades (13 + 11 xp)

There are a few cards you'll want to change before upgrading (in roughly this order). Once you have Versatile (2) and Crystallizer of Dreams in place, the deck is good to go, but the following are essential to an efficient and devastatingly effective deck.

• STICK TO THE PLAN (3*2) :: See below for strategies.
• SECOND WIND → EVER VIGILANT (1) :: Always have this under Stick to the Plan for a speedy rollout of assets.
• EMERGENCY CACHE → PROPHETIC (3):: 18 of your starting deck of 35 cards is a Spirit. event. If you want to upgrade to Emergency Cache or second copy of Prophetic, get rid of Glory.
• EMERGENCY CACHE → SLEUTH (3):: 14 of your starting deck of 35 cards is a Tactic. event. If you want to upgrade to Emergency Cache or second copy of Sleuth, get rid of Glory.

I consider the next three urgent, but getting these can be delayed if xp needs to be spent elsewhere.

• FLESH WARD ⇉ BESTOW RESOLVE (2) :: This increases the value of Crystallizer of Dreams
• SECOND WIND → MOMENT OF RESPITE (3) :: You need to protect your brain more than your heart, and always with the card draw.
• GUARD DOG ⇉ GUARD DOG (2):: A Engage. and horror sink? Yes, please.

Optional Upgrades

I recommend the following upgrades before general events:

• CHARISMA (3):: Have both Guard Dogs out at once.
• ONE-TWO PUNCH → ONE-TWO PUNCH (5) :: Your biggest gun, goes under Stick to the Plan
• BOXING GLOVES ⇉ BOXING GLOVES (3)
• BACKPACK ⇉ BACKPACK (2)
• DODGE ⇉ DODGE (2)
• VICIOUS BLOW ⇉ VICIOUS BLOW (2)
• EMERGENCY CACHE ⇉ EMERGENCY CACHE (2)

Alternate Deck Build

or: A SCOND VERSATILE? ARE YOU CRAZY?!?!?

Well...ok, so I haven't playtested this, but we ran through this deck way faster than Guardians are used to:

• Card draw at the end of the round.
• Tutoring your deck with Boxing Gloves.
• Glory, Second Wind, Moment of Respite, Daring, and Emergency Cache all draw cards.

Furthermore, Stick to the Plan takes three cards out of your deck, and each Backpack can remove up to three—assuming 5 cards total are cached, that's what versatile adds; a second copy of Versatile would only feel like a net of five cards added. In this scenario you would definitely want to keep Emergency Cache.

A second copy of Versatile adds a second copy of Crystallizer of Dreams, Prophetic, and Sleuth, and two other complimentary skills (I recommend Defensive Stance).

So while I do think it's sub-optimal (does adding a second copy of Versatile make it easier to draw than one copy with a thinner deck?), I don't think it's crazy talk. The deck progression will differ a bit.