Cursed Dexter

Dexter Drake: Cursed Dexter

Primary enemy manager for a two-player Innsmouth Conspiracy run where both investigators pile curses into the bag. Rod of Carnamagos locks enemies down anywhere on the map, curse spells finish them off, and Eye of Chaos covers the clue gap. Dexter's ability keeps the board fresh by cycling spent assets out for new ones.

How Dexter Plays

5 2 3 2, 6 health, 8 sanity. Every test that matters runs on .

• Ability: once per round on your turn, discard an asset you control to play a different-titled asset from hand at 1 less cost. Treat every asset on the table as fuel. An empty spell, a soaked-up Grounded, an Arcane Initiate carrying doom, or a Leather Jacket all turn into a free-action play of whatever you need next.
• Spent assets are ammo. Spells with uses don't discard when they run dry, so leave them out and trade them in later.
• : +2, return an asset to hand, then draw 1. You must return an asset to draw (official ruling). Return an empty spell to reset its charges, or a Priest/Initiate to replay its enter-play effect.
• Fast assets are the best fuel. Discarding a Fast asset costs nothing to rebuild: replay it later without an action. That's how Leather Jacket and Grounded effectively make any asset Fast.

Card Breakdown

Enemy Management

• Rod of Carnamagos (0) → Rod of Carnamagos (2): The deck's engine. , targets a non-Elite enemy at any location, and every among the 5 revealed attaches a Rot with the (2). The (0) only attaches one random Rot, so upgrade it first. In practice it lands most of the time with both players feeding the bag.
• The Rots: Abyssal (can't attack) and Virescent (can't move) are the lockdown pair. Scarlet ticks damage at round end, Aember pays out resources on defeat, Putrescent softens an enemy for your partner. Don't leave a rotted enemy alone forever. It's controlled, not dead, and the Rods can only hold about two enemies at a time.
• Armageddon (0) → Armageddon (4): Main damage spell. Each revealed deals 1 more damage to an enemy at your location or refills a charge. In a curse-heavy bag this rarely runs out.
• Azure Flame (0) → Azure Flame (3): Backup damage. The Rod can't touch Elites and only locks two things down reliably, so you need a second way to finish enemies. Its drawback triggers on , +1, and 0, not curses, so it stays reliable when the bag is full.
• Shrivelling (3): Low priority. Optional if you're leaning fully into enemy control; the slot can go elsewhere.

Combo: Rod Mid-Test

Fire the Rod during the player window of an Armageddon or Eye of Chaos test. Per FAQ, curses revealed by the Rod count as revealed during that test, so each one triggers the spell's curse bonus (extra damage, extra clues, or charges) and attaches a Rot. The Rod's tokens have no modifier and don't affect the test's actual result.

Commit Accursed first to add up to 3 more curses before the Rod fires, and those curses count as 0 if you pull one for the real reveal.

Clues

• Eye of Chaos (0) → Eye of Chaos (4): The "some cluver" part of the role. Investigates on , takes 2 clues on success, and each curse grabs a clue from a connecting location or refills a charge. Pairs with the Rod combo above.

Curse Generation & Mitigation

Both players add curses, so watch the 10-token cap. Too many and the generators stop working.

• Accursed: Adds curses and protects the test you commit it to. Save it for important tests.
• Promise of Power: Four icons for 1 curse. If the bag is capped you take 2 horror instead, so it gets worse as the scenario goes on.
• Diabolical Luck: Excellent mitigation because you don't commit it in advance. Pull a curse, drop it in from hand, and the test usually succeeds anyway.
• False Covenant: Permanent. Cancels a curse revealed by any investigator at your location, so it protects your partner too. Buy it at deck creation with In the Thick of It.
• Faustian Bargain: 5 resources split across investigators at your location for 2 curses. Unplayable once the bag is near cap, so run only 1 later.
• Priest of Two Faiths: 3 bless on entry, then a curse every upkeep or it leaves. Loads the bag and you don't mind when it goes. When you have enough curses, let it discard or trade it in with Dexter's ability.

Combo: Doom Laundering

Cat Mask refills its offerings whenever doom lands on a card with no doom. Arcane Initiate enters with doom, and Blood Pact adds doom to itself.

1. Play Initiate (or use Blood Pact for the first time). Cat Mask refills.
2. Use Initiate to dig for a spell.
3. Discard Initiate to Dexter's ability to play that spell. The doom leaves with it.

You get the Mask refill and the spell search without the doom sticking around.

Economy, Draw & Support

• Cat Mask: +2 or on demand. Limit 1 Mask per investigator. See the doom combo above.
• Arcane Initiate (0) → Arcane Initiate (3): Disposable ally. Digs for spells, then becomes fuel. The (3) costs 0 and can take 2 horror instead of doom. Very low priority upgrade.
• Deliverance: You take every encounter card this mythos phase (first one surges) and skip the next encounter draw entirely. That gives the team two investigation phases back to back with no mythos cards between them. Max twice per game. Not essential, but very strong team support and a lot of fun.
• Charisma: Second ally slot for Initiate plus Priest. Not required; the allies are disposable anyway.

Defense

• Grounded: Fast, free soak plus +1 on all Spell tests. When it's nearly full, discard it to Dexter's ability and replay a fresh one later. Amazing soak.
• Leather Jacket: Fast body armor. Doubles as fuel: discard it to Dexter-play anything at Fast speed, then put it back on for free. Run 2 if you take physical trauma from In the Thick of It.
• Holy Rosary: Static and sanity soak. Replaces Blood Pact (0)'s doom-costed boosts.
• Blood Pact (3): Permanent, so it never clogs a draw. Pure excess-XP pick. Doom is the cost, so use it late when the agenda clock doesn't matter. The first use also refills Cat Mask.

Permanents

• In the Thick of It: 2 trauma for 3 XP at deck creation. Spent on False Covenant and Favor of the Moon so the curse mitigation is live from scenario 1, where a strong start pays off in Innsmouth.
• The Great Work: +1 XP per scenario. Fun, not necessary. If Dexter is defeated, the homunculus takes over for the rest of the campaign.
• Down the Rabbit Hole: Barely used. Fine to cut.

Innsmouth Extras

• Waveworn Idol: Campaign reward from Devil Reef. Free actions whenever the flood level changes or a Deep One spawns at your location. Doesn't count toward deck size.

Signatures & Weaknesses

• Showmanship: +2 to all skills on a newly played asset's abilities that round. Dexter-play a spell, then fire it immediately at +2.
• Occult Scraps: A very soft weakness. It can't be played with a play action, but Dexter's ability plays it fine at cost 0. Get it out of hand (-2 ) into play (-1), then discard it as fuel on a later activation. The Rod isn't a skill test, so the penalty never touches your main tool. Costs you one ability use.
• The 13th Vision: Basic weakness. Fail ties hurts less when Diabolical Luck and Accursed are carrying tests. Spend to clear it at a quiet moment.

Starting Deck Only

• Favor of the Moon: Seals up to 3 curses out of the bag, then feeds one into a test on demand. Guarantees a curse trigger on Armageddon or Eye and pays 1 resource each time.
• Decorated Skull: Early economy. Charges off enemies and allies dying at your location, including your own disposable allies.
• Scroll of Prophecies: Early draw for you or your partner. Leaves once Deliverance covers team support.
• Blood Pact (0): Cheap boost and a Cat Mask refill. Replaced by Holy Rosary.

Mulligan

• Hunt: Rod of Carnamagos, then a fight spell (Armageddon or Azure Flame).
• Keep: Cat Mask, Leather Jacket or Grounded (cheap fuel), Accursed, Faustian Bargain if you're short on resources.
• Ship: Eye of Chaos (expensive, not your first job), Promise of Power, Diabolical Luck, Deliverance.

Upgrade Path

• Rod first. The second copy is redundancy (it's unique), so Rod (2) turns up early and stays up.
• Grounded replaces Jacket and Skull as the soak-and-fuel package. Keep one Jacket.
• Priest takes over curse loading from Faustian Bargain and Favor of the Moon. Its bless also helps your partner's tests.
• Deliverance replaces Scroll's team support with something bigger.
• Charisma only matters once both Priest and Initiate want to be out together.
• XP math: totals are printed costs. Down the Rabbit Hole adds +1 per new card copy (10 copies here) and takes 1 off the first two upgrades after each scenario. The Great Work adds 1 XP per scenario.
• Waveworn Idol comes free from Devil Reef if you earn it.

Side Deck

Tech options: Occult Reliquary or Arcane Experience for a third spell slot, Flute of the Outer Gods for more enemy control, Spiritual Healing to clear In the Thick of It trauma. Shroud of Shadows was considered but didn't make the cut.