Card draw simulator
| Derived from |
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| None. Self-made deck here. |
| Inspiration for |
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| None yet |
Kal · 560
I always thought Vincent Lee had really interesting deckbuilding rules. It seemed like he was intended to be a flex fighter/cluever, but once I sat down and started experimenting with him I realized he's much more effective when played as a standard Seeker, at least in a two player game.
This deck was designed for a two-handed solo run of The Feast of Hemlock Vale on Hard, alongside Diana Stanley.
The partner deck can be found here. That article also contains a more detailed campaign report.
If you want to skip ahead to see the final version of this deck, it can be found here.
The Deck
When I was building Diana's deck I flicked through my Guardian cards and came across Helping Hand. It looked like a pretty bad card, but surely, I thought, there must be a way to make it work, right?
Its main issue is that it does nothing by itself. It's a pure combo card and it's only as good as the cards you commit alongside it. Ideally, you want to use it with cards that have a lot of skill icons, and in the level zero pool only skill cards tend to fit that description.
Even then, there's only a relatively small subset of skill cards which have two of the same icon or more, so you're limited first by the number of worthwhile partner cards and second by your ability to get them out of your deck and into your hand. Thus, heavy card draw seems like another soft requirement to make this card worth its slot.
Vincent Lee provides a way around these issues with his signature card, On the Mend. He can add it to his hand regularly, so you will always have a decent card to commit alongside Helping Hand, and he also has exactly the right amount of Seeker access necessary to build a top notch skill-focused deck archetype.
The Cards
Dream Diary: This card is the world's most obvious auto-include for a Helping Hand deck. The level zero version is costly to use but it will be your first upgrade target, after which your Essence of the Dream will be added to your hand at the beginning of each of your turns for the rest of the campaign.
This card is your #1 mulligan target in every game, and incidentally that's the reason this deck doesn't use Death • XIII.
Grisly Totem: This is another auto-include, since Helping Hand will double the extra icon this card adds. You can put this card into play in every prelude using Tad's General Store, at least if you don't need to use it to find your Dream Diary.
Magnifying Glass: I say it in every one of my deck articles but this is one of the most powerful cards in the game. You'll only ever be able to have one in play, but the second copy is still useful for discarding all the various treachery cards that attach themselves to your items.
Bandages: A Vincent Lee staple and one of the most reliable ways to get On the Mend into your hand for the entire campaign.
Mouse Mask: This card is fantastic in the first two scenarios due to their mechanics enabling its token replenishment but after that its usefulness completely drops off so it will be removed.
Bizarre Diagnosis: This card is here mostly so you can deal with your weakness efficiently (Wounded Bystander) and you should always keep a copy in hand until it shows up. There aren't a lot of good level zero healing cards though so it's still quite a useful card.
An interesting thing about this campaign is that clues aren't generally tied directly to act advancement, so dropping one is less of a tempo hit than might be the case in other campaigns. Also, some scenarios (notably The Longest Night and Fate of the Vale) will have you asking yourself, what exactly is the value of a single clue?
Crack the Case: Vincent's deck has a pretty low resource curve but one copy of this card is still a worthwhile inclusion to mitigate economic variance.
Second Wind: This card offers a proactive way to get On the Mend into your hand, and by replacing itself it helps you draw more skill cards.
Shortcut: If you don't add this card to every one of your decks that has Seeker access there needs to be a very good reason. As with the Magnifying Glass it's not particularly flashy, but it is one of the game's best cards. I could speak volumes about its versatility, but I won't, because this article will be long enough already.
Thorough Inquiry: One copy of this proved extremely useful during testing for restocking an empty hand. I started off running two copies but it felt like, well, one too many.
Deduction, Perception, Eureka!: These cards speak for themselves, though I will say Eureka gives you a very powerful effect for a level zero card.
Sharp Vision, Resourceful: These two cards go hand-in-hand because Sharp Vision justifies the inclusion of Resourceful even if its the only valid target for it in the deck. You could also bring back your Bandages but, given the choice, you probably shouldn't.
In the Thick of It: It should probably go without saying you take two physical trauma from this (and so does Diana).
The Campaign
As mentioned earlier, Diana's deck article contains a more in-depth campaign report. For Vincent I'll just mention a few things in each scenario specific to his game plan.
This is the campaign path I chose:
- The Lost Sister.
- The Twisted Hollow.
- Hemlock House.
- The Longest Night.
- The Silent Heath.
- Fate of the Vale.
The XP totals mentioned in this section are from the final full run through the campaign and they will include prelude XP once it becomes relevant.
Scenario One: The Lost Sister
Diana's deck doesn't have a single card capable of grabbing clues, but that's fine because once this deck was tuned properly it didn't need any help.
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Diana will use the parley ability on Akwan to prevent the Rocky Shoreline from showing up, so all you need to do is methodically clear every location until you find the two objectives.
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You can keep Calcification around for an extra turn or two if you have Bandages in play and don't have a better way to grab On the Mend.
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When it's time to enter the boss's lair, you can use Shortcut on Diana to send her in, then use the Act ability to pull the boss into the daylight, then you can move into the Fungal Cave and start clearing it.
The Lost Sister: 7XP gained, 8XP in total (including 1XP from In the Thick of It).
Upgrades
Added:
2 x Dream Diary: We take the shroud one here because it's the easiest to activate.
6XP spent, 2XP left (looking back on it, there isn't a single upgrade in this deck worth less than 3XP).
Scenario Two: The Twisted Hollow
Vincent takes the Vale Lantern here, and ideally you should make use of it every turn. Note that you don't have to be the one entering the new location to be able to trigger it.
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If there aren't any enemies in the Pursuit Zone then feel free to run headfirst into a new location when the lantern is exhausted. Just mind the horror hit if you leave Diana in the dark.
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Save Dr. Rosa Marquez's codex ability for the final act. I usually start by using the lantern twice (with Bertie Musgrave's ability) to expose two adjacent locations, then I'll use Dr Marquez on one of the furthest locations.
The Twisted Hollow: 7XP gained, (+2XP left over = 9XP in total).
Upgrades
Removed:
1 x Mouse Mask: The next scenario is Hemlock House and all of its locations are already revealed and in play, so the mask's value kind of drops off a cliff.
Added:
2 x Grisly Totem: This is lowkey one of the most powerful cards in the game. I know I keep saying that, but yellow cards really are something else. This card directly improves your chances of passing a test, then it indirectly improves your chances of passing future tests by providing you with more cards.
If you actually chart all the probabilities of the token bags from each scenario you may be surprised at exactly how significant a +1 boost is. To be fair, it often doesn't matter outside particular break points, but this is a seriously good card.
1 x Surgical Kit: Vincent doesn't often use the double action ability on this card but it's still a great option to have. It provides a much-needed source of horror heal, and additional card draw.
9XP spent, 0XP left.
Scenario Three: Hemlock House
This one is very straightforward.
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Stay on the ground floor until you've collected all the clues from the VP locations (and probably the Foyer as well). Seal each location as you go, and try not to end your turn on an unsealed location to avoid the tempo hit from Out of the Walls flipping it.
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There's no need to do William Hemlock's parley test. Diana will grab Judith Park at the beginning of the game, then later when you're both upstairs you can resolve the codex entry that requires them to be at the same location.
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Once you seal seven locations the boss will spawn. Diana should be ready and waiting for it, and once it's defeated the scenario will end and you'll get the maximum possible XP.
Hemlock House: 10XP gained.
Upgrades
Removed:
1 x Mouse Mask: The other copy.
Added:
1 x Surgical Kit: Also the other copy. The next scenario is The Longest Night, and the kit's double action heal will most likely come in very handy.
1 x Ancestral Knowledge: This is the premier tech piece for a skill-focused Seeker deck. These are the cards we'll add:
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2 x Analysis: The token scales all the way up to -9 during the next scenario and its clues aren't used to progress the game; they're more of a consumable resource so dropping one isn't that big of an issue. This logic holds true for the finale as well.
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2 x Transmogrify: There are a number of enemies in the next scenario that can only take one damage at a time, so defeating them can be very costly in terms of actions. This card neatly takes care of these enemies in a single action (or two if its Aloof).
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1 x Crack the Case: A second copy of this will be more relevant for the scenario after The Longest Night where we'll add a couple of expensive assets.
9XP spent, 1XP left.
Scenario Four: The Longest Night
This is the hardest scenario in the campaign if you want to claim the maximum XP reward, which is always my goal. Both decks have been tuned with this scenario in mind but it's still always a significant challenge.
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Diana will start near the Ursine Hybrid and I usually put my cluever at the south farm location and place the initial decoy on it. Your first objective is to find the two locations where you can start a Fire!, but you should take the time to grab as many clues as possible because later on you probably won't be able to move around freely.
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Light the fires and place and maintain barriers in front of them. This will take care of most of the high-HP enemies if they happen to spawn in those lanes.
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Try to have enough spare health and sanity at all times to take the hit from Endless Night. This is where the Surgical Kit comes in handy.
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At some point you may have to hole up at The Farmhouse and tank as many enemies as you can to avoid them damaging The Captives. Hopefully your healing will get you through it.
The Longest Night: 7XP gained (+1XP left over = 8XP in total).
Upgrades
Removed:
2 x Transmogrify: It was useful for The Longest Night but it's a dead draw for the rest of the campaign.
Added:
2 x Girish Kadakia: This is a really powerful ally for anyone, but for Vincent it also allows him to grab a copy of On the Mend when it heals damage.
8XP spent, 0XP left.
Scenario Five: The Silent Heath
This scenario can deal insane amounts of damage and horror. Good thing Girish Kadakia is with us!
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During the prelude, try to mulligan for Dr. Rosa Marquez (get the Dream Diary from the Vale Schoolhouse) and put her into play on your first turn.
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Visit the Ashen Slope first (taking the 2-damage hit) and pass Mother Rachel's test for the codex XP using your Essence of the Dream (and possibly a Helping Hand). Grab the two clues, then return to the Pearl Estate Ruins and grab its one clue, and then you should have four in total (with one from the prelude) to advance the Act.
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Let Diana use the new Act ability to draw the cards beneath the two cleared locations and head to the Crystal Grove. Clear it, then use Dr Marquez's second codex ability to look at the card beneath one of the unrevealed locations. Every bit of tempo counts for this scenario and this ability is better used on these locations than the actual caves.
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Now that you've made use of her ability you can replace her with Girish Kadakia.
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You should be able to hold onto each Crystal Remains you find until you have all three, but if you need to use the Crystal Grove to drop them off early then do so, it's just a slight tempo loss.
The Silent Heath: 16XP gained (7XP plus 9XP from the two preludes).
Upgrades
Removed:
2 x Bizarre Diagnosis: This card is less useful with the Surgical Kit around but it still had great icons so it was worth keeping. Now, though, we need to make room for a couple of new cards.
Added:
2 x Gené Beauregard: During the second act of the finale you need to clear three Cave locations of their clues, and this card gives you a very efficient way to do just that. Gene's +1 also helps you generate higher test values, which is important throughout the scenario.
A cute alternative here is The Black Cat since the symbol tokens in the final bag have very steep modifiers and Diana is running Seal of the Elder Sign. The only problem here is that the cat can't do anything about the token and there are three of them in the bag.
Even if it could intercept them, though, Gene is probably still a better pick for pure efficiency.
1 x Studious: During the first act your skill values are equal to your hand size (up to five) so having more cards and/or drawing more cards is a valuable advantage. This card is also good for improving your mulligan, which is important for critical cards like Dream Diary.
1 x Charisma: Unfortunately, though, we need to spend the last 3XP on this instead of a second copy of Studious so that Girish and Gene can both be in play at the same time (when the third act begins, you put Dr. Rosa Marquez into play from anywhere and she doesn't take up an ally slot).
16XP spent, 0XP left.
Scenario Six: Fate of the Vale
A lot of our card upgrades over the course of the campaign have been made with this scenario in mind, so it's time to put the deck to the test.
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Helping Hand has a fun interaction with the icon-doubling ability on Shattered Self. You can generate some truly ludicrous test values here, but if you reveal both "true" investigator cards at the same time you can only draw one of them so you'll have to go through the whole deck again to find the other one.
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You'll get Theo Peters when Act 2 begins and you can use his codex ability to pull a location out of the Abyss.
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If you have Gené Beauregard and the cave location you enter only has two clues you can move one of them on entry and then on the following turn you can move the second one as you leave, saving you actions and resources by not having to investigate.
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With your abundance of skill cards (including Analysis) plus Girish Kadakia, and support from Diana which includes Premonition, Counterspell, and Seal of the Elder Sign, you shouldn't have too much trouble burning through the Abyss, and then it's just a simple matter of tanking all the elite enemies for a turn to advance the final act.
The investigators win the campaign!
Final Thoughts
When I began building this deck I was pretty sure I'd have to specialize Vincent for clue grabbing, but I did briefly take a look at his combat options. I can see how he could add some damage with a flex build, but the lack of any high level weapons really prevents him from being any kind of main fighter.
That was fine, however, because he turned out to be a more powerful cluever than I anticipated. Having access to Sharp Vision is a significant power spike for any Seeker, and with Grisly Totem and Ancestral Knowledge feeding him cards (not to mention the Dream Diary and his On the Mend) he was easily as efficient as any other Seeker I've played.
His healing abilities required a bit of deck space, but probably less than you would typically reserve for enemy management cards. The nature of most of the scenarios in FHV means you don't really need to worry about direct enemy engagement much anyway so I never felt like I needed to assign any deck slots to it (apart from Transmogrify in The Longest Night).
His healing was also effective, and rewarding thanks to On the Mend. He gets a lot of mileage out of Bandages and the Surgical Kit was obviously designed for him, but even with the value provided by his signature card I found a lighter touch was best when it came to adding healing cards. Or, to put it another way, only take the good ones.
I spent a fair bit of time with Archaic Glyphs in his starting deck and it wasn't too much of a burden for him to research that alongside the diary (the diary was actually very easy to take care of thanks to Helping Hand) in The Lost Sister.
The idea was to take Archaic Glyphs for clue compression because it fit naturally with the big test value theme of the deck. The problem was that you would then have to do the second scenario with the base level glyphs because Dream Diary was the more important upgrade. And The Twisted Path really demands an optimized deck if you want any kind of consistency with it.
I think the Guiding Stones could anchor a fine alternative build, but that's an experiment for another day. The other card I wish I could've taken was Gray's Anatomy because it looks like fun, but it's really more of a support-focused Vincent card.
It's hard to pull that role off in a duo, but I've been meaning to try a double flex partnership for a long time. Who knows what The Drowned City may bring.