Rex Murphy - Structure Deck Series ( Dunwich Legacy )

Hello Fellow investigators

Welcome to my structure deck series!

Concept

We finished with the core set and we decided to buy the whole Dunwich Cycle to feel the Arkham experience. We 'll discuss the new cards we added in our deck and which upgrade choices we take in solo and multiplayer.

I will focus on 19 XP upgrade routes since this is pretty much average in my Dunwich runs. I will also create decks of the Dunwich investigators and I will upgrade everyone setting as the final cycle The Forgotten Age. In the Circle Undone, Taboo List was introduced and I think you will already know the advantages/disadvantages of your favorite investigator in order to create your unique deck.

Let start with the show, shall we?

Rex Pros and Cons

Rex was considered to be one of the strongest investigators in the game at least before the taboo list. He considers himself unlucky that's why he can't add Fortune cards in his deck. But does he really need luck? Let's find out why Rex is better than Daisy for the investigation spot.

His biggest advantages are:

1) First and foremost his main ability. Unlike other investigators, he can use his ability with no limit per turn or phase. Roland can use his ability once per turn while Agnes once per phase. That means you can easily pick up 2 clues in every investigation action. Also you have a bunch of cards to help you succeed by 2 or more like Dr. Milan Christopher, Magnifying Glass and most important later on Higher Education. We want to use his ability all the time and most of our cards play around it. You won't see any autoclue cards in this deck like Working a Hunch or Art Student.

2) Good sanity (9). His average may cost him a few horrors early on but when you'll add Higher Education it wont be a problem.

3) Good resource economy. As far as it concerns about resource income your main focus will be Dr. Milan Christopher and Emergency Cache. In solo, you will have the option of Burglary we will discuss later. We will investigate a lot and we need Dr. Milan Christopher as fast as we can.

4) Good Draw economy. In order to use Higher Education we need 5 cards and Rex can get them pretty easily. Old Book of Lore can easily fill your hand with new cards. Laboratory Assistant is a good sanity shield and the hand size actually can be important since Rex really struggles with discarding cards during mid-end of a scenario. Even your ability can help you with card drawing.

5) His ability to move fast around locations.

6) Search for the Truth can be beneficial in a multiplayer game where you can gather loads of clues fast. But in the end, it is too situational just like "I've got a plan!". Especially in solo, you won't find any good time to properly use it so i would suggest if you don't really want to use it for getting the effect of Higher Education better spend it for its test icons.

His disadvantages are:

1) His ability to fight monsters. Rex really sucks at fighting and that makes him one of the hardest investigators to play Solo. On top of that his low health makes him fragile and vulnerable to difficult enemies. In solo, we need to sacrifice his mobility and evasion to add cards that will help him stand a chance against these monsters.

2) Rex's Curse is a pretty nasty weakness. While you have a pretty good drawing you don't want to thin your deck too much because of this card. It comes, again and again, to mess with your tests. Find a balance and the best way is to set up fast and get your key cards in play. Then play conservatively and don't forget to have at least 5 cards in your hand in order to pay resources for Higher Education.

Gameplay

Before we start mention/suggest cards lets talk about the new deckbuilding options the Dunwich investigators have and what criteria you should use to determine your card choices.

First and foremost the Dunwich Investigators have access to all classes and they can choose 5 cards from them. The criteria you should use are:

1) The most important is that you should choose cards that will impact your gameplay until the end of your campaign. You won't change them so better use their full potential.

2) Are you playing solo or Multiplayer? Some cards are great for solo, others for Multiplayer and some play well with specific investigator combinations.

3) Try to close the gap or neutralize your weaknesses/disadvantages as an investigator. Specific cards can help you with your low sanity or health or even boost greatly your signature ability where cards from your class cant.

Saying these let's talk about which cards I recommend for Rex and I will split them into two categories:

A) Multiplayer

1) 2x Dodge a great card to help Rex avoid these nasty enemies for at least 1 turn until the fighter of the group comes to engage them. You can use this card also to help a teammate if a boss is going to kill your main fighter. You will find this card pretty important especially in late scenarios where enemies become even harder.

2) 1x Elusive. Not much to say here. This card adds mobility around the map. You can grab clues from a faraway location. You can disengage from an enemy and let the other players deal with it.

3) 2x Ward of Protection. What can i say about this card? One of the best Lvl 0 cards in the game. A canceled Ancient Evils can give you an extra investigation phase before the agenda advances. Pretty crucial especially in Multiplayer.

B) Solo

1) 2x Shrivelling. Sooner or later in solo, you will need to fight with the monsters of Mythos. Your is better than your and it can be boosted further with Higher Education. If you wont be able to get Strange Solution then this card will be your only fight option along with Mind over Matter.

2) 1x Alyssa Graham. We are losing Ward of Protection, Dodge and Elusive. Alyssa is here to cover all these cards. Although she becomes more viable when we ll get our Charisma she really adds some insurance for Rex. First, she gives +1 and if you have her in play along with Dr. Milan Christopher (Charisma bought) that's +2 . Then she works like a weak Scrying. If you can handle the treachery card that is coming you can avoid the 1 doom. But if an enemy is on your way don't be afraid to use her while being careful not to advance the agenda.

3) 1x Burglary. This card actually is pretty bad for other investigators. But in a Rex deck is a pretty useful tool fueling you with resources while using Rex's main ability to grab 1 clue. This is pretty efficient to those 1-clue locations where you don't care about grabbing 2 clues at once. It helps you gain the wanted resources for your Higher Education.

4) 1x Lone Wolf. Burglary helps you greatly in solo but it also cost actions. And if you arent in a 1-clue location you won't be using it. Lone Wolf is more consistent in the long run especially if you play it at the beginning of your game. Having 3 sources of income (Lone Wolf, Burglary, Dr. Milan Christopher) Rex would be a wrecking ball of money.

C) Honorable Mentions

1) Scavenging A great addition in Rex's deck but...Not yet. In the next cycles, we will get some good item cards making Scavenging a pretty solid choice for Rex.

2) Fire Axe is a pretty good card. Rex economy can easily support it but when it comes between this card and Shrivelling then Higher Education always wins :P Also you can always upgrade to Strange Solution making this card worthless later in the campaign.

3) Dynamite Blast. A card that Rex can afford. It becomes even better if you have Elusive. Pick it only in a Two-mans Game where you can help your fellow fighter by dealing the final blows to the enemies since its expensive and you will only have a few opportunities to use it. Dodge is a better choice overall.

4) Rabbit's Foot. It makes a pretty nice combo with your elder sign ability. The thing is that this card can be good only at the beginning until you get your key cards. After that its a dead card since you want to reduce the odds of drawing Rex's Curse.

5) Think on Your Feet. Imagine having all these cards in your deck saving you movement actions and letting you freely move around the map. Crazy right? The flaw of this card is that you need an enemy to spawn in order to play it while the other cards you are free to play them and move around anytime.

Let's move fast onto our card choices. Magnifying Glass boosts your while investigating making your main ability more likely to succeed. Old Book of Lore helps you find your key cards faster if you dont have any in your opening hand.

Dr. Milan Christopher again is your most important card along with Higher Education. Laboratory Assistant use it when you clearly don't have Dr. Milan Christopher in play. With Charisma is a great addition since hand size really matters for Rex. You can swap it with Strange Solution if you 're going for the acidic ichor upgrade.

Hyperawareness is a great tool in the first scenarios until you get your Higher Education. Mind over Matter is your backup card for difficult situations. Shortcut just like Elusive is a great utility card saving you a movement action and helping you gather your clues quickly.

Finally, our skill cards will be mostly spent for and .

Upgrade Route

One playable route here I think for both solo and multiplayer.

Focus getting Higher Education as soon as possible.

Then swap 1x Hyperawareness 1x Pathfinder.

Add 1x Charisma. In multiplayer will help you have both Dr. Milan Christopher and Laboratory Assistant while in solo Alyssa Graham can be a great addition as your ally along with Dr. Milan.

These are your main priorities.

After these, you decide which cards you choose to upgrade 1st:

2x Deduction or 2x Cryptic Research depending if your group needs pretty fast draw power (for example a mystic ally).

In solo, you can always go for Strange Solution instead of Cryptic Research.

An honorable mention for later cycles when Scavenging will be viable is Disc of Itzamna. But for now, I suggest to avoid it.

Summary

Rex is pretty strong investigator with great plays. Gathering clues fast is his specialty and you will love him for that. You need to be careful with your draw engine and look for a balance between: "I need to have active Higher Education and Oh my God! My deck is too thin Rex's Curse will haunt me multiple times". Enjoyable in multiplayer, frustrating in solo, a great investigator overall.

I hope you liked this guide and we 'll continue with Ashcan Pete deck concept.

To be continued..