Bodyguard Extraordinaire!

DECK CONCEPT

Primary fighter. Boxing Gloves means that he wants Fight events. Willpower is average, so needs some Will-boosting cards.

Low Intellect means he won't be Investigating. Clue-gathering will happen from enemy management (Scene of the Crime, Lesson Learned), Grete Wagner.

Sanity 6 means that he needs some form of management. Randall Cho is a 3-sanity soak. I included Hallowed Mirror because of its versatility (health and/or horror) and its ability to heal any investigator/ally that may be in need.

I like "Let me handle this!" because it helps take strong enemies off of non-fighters, or a treachery with a +2 bonus.

Note: I don't have any cards from cycles starting Dream-Eaters onward.

CORE CARDS

Enemy management: Boxing Gloves, Monster Slayer, One-Two Punch, Prepared for the Worst, Machete. With XP: Boxing Gloves, "Get over here!".

Clue gathering cards: Scene of the Crime, With XP: Lesson Learned.

Will boosts: Steadfast, Take the Initiative, Guts.

Economy: Clean Them Out, (Fight + Economy). With XP: "I've had worse…".

Health & Sanity management: an ally, Dodge. With XP: "I've had worse…"

Utility: "Let me handle this!",

OPENING HAND / MULLIGAN GUIDE

You MUST have a weapon. If your opening hand contains no weapons but has Randall Cho or Prepared for the Worst, keep one Randall Cho is better) and mulligan the rest. If you only have Machete, it's ok to get you through the early game until you find your Boxing Gloves.

Then, prioritize clue-gathering cards.

UPGRADES

4xp -> IN: Lesson Learned x2 OUT: Evidence! x2. Gives 2 clues instead of 1, and is easier to trigger (take an attack of opportunity vs killing an enemy)

2xp -> IN: "I've had worse…" OUT: Stand Together. Grants Nathaniel the same 2 resources while also preventing 2 damage (health and/or horror). I value that more than being able to get 2 resources at will, and also giving another investigator 2 resources.

6xp -> IN: Boxing Gloves x2. OUT: Boxing Gloves. +2 instead of +1 to attacks. Searches top 9 cards instead of 6. Costs 1 resource less.

2xp -> IN: "I've had worse…" OUT: Stand Together

4xp -> IN: "Get over here!" x2 OUT: Glory x2. Potential to save a few actions; the enemy moves to you, engages you, and you get to Fight. The card is Fast, so it takes no actions itself. It can be played in other phases, which triggers Nathaniel's +1 damage ability again.

2xp -> IN: Counterpunch. OUT: Dodge. Killing the enemy before they damage you is more proactive then just cancelling their attack. Also, this triggers +1 damage from Nathaniel's ability and can be tutored with Boxing Gloves.

2xp -> IN: Mano a Mano. x2 OUT: Dodge. Testless 2 damage (3 if you want to use Nathaniel's ability for that phase). Kills 2-3 Health enemies in one action. Dodge sits in my hand too often. I have 2 copies of "I've had worse…" and 1 Counterpunch to mitigate swings. Also, Lesson Learned requires that damage be placed, so Dodge doesn't help there.

2xp ->IN: Counterpunch. OUT: Guts.

4xp ->IN: Mk 1 Grenades. OUT:Machete. Grenades is hands-free, so you can use with Boxing Gloves equipped. Machete is a card present to tie you over until you get Boxing Gloves. Grenades, unlike Machete, are useful at any point in a scenario. Plus, if a swarm forms, you can use Prepared for the Worst or Randall Cho to tutor it.

4xp ->IN: Beat Cop x2. OUT: Grete Wagner. Grete under-performed this entire campaign. Going into the last scenario, I likely will want more damage instead of clues because campaigns tend to end in epic boss fights.


Cards you can replace with upgrades

Evidence!: there are better clue-gathering cards.

Glory: Eventually card draw is less important than a level-up card. And Boxing Gloves levelled up allows you to search through 9 cards for a Spirit card, reducing the impact of drawing 2 cards.

Stand Together: "I've had worse…" doubles up as economy and damage management.

Guts: Eventually becomes less powerful compared to a level-up card.

Grete Wagner: still testing her. Not sure if she is the best ally for Nathaniel. Maybe Beat Cop.


Cards I'm intrigued by

Galvanize to untap Boxing Gloves or Grete Wagner and get an extra Fight action.

Physical Training to improve his Will and boost the occasional fight (usually against Elites)

Beat Cop: If you are going all-in on being the fighter, this gives you more damage.

Police Badge: +1 Will (now set to 4) and gives you extra actions when you need them.

Moment of Respite: Spirit card that can be gained from Boxing Gloves.

Stick to the Plan + Ever Vigilant

GAMES I'VE PLAYED

Paired with Preston Fairmont, for The Circle Undone campaign. Story is that Nathaniel owes money for his brother's medical bills, and so he took Preston's job. His assignment is to protect Preston as Preston investigates his family's inheritance and his family's association with the Silver Twilight Lodge.

Random Weakness: Indebted. Fits with the story above.

Experience: Nathaniel is a pretty good fighter. He is able to do some big damage, but not on the same level as a Big Guns style deck. His big damage happens in bursts. Struggles with Will tests, so definitely needs ways of boosting it. Can only gather clues through enemies, so he flounders when there are no enemies. Usually had 5-8 cards in hand. Boxing Gloves gets a card, and if there are no enemies, oftentimes drawing cards is what Nathaniel chooses to do.

I found 3 weapons + 2 tutors (Prepared for the Worst + Randall Cho) was very sufficient. Mulligan aggressively for your weapon.

Cards that are under-performing:

Guts: Bringing a Will check to 5 is not good enough to guarantee a pass, so not really worth it. I'd rather have a 3rd pip than the potential to draw a card. Steadfast and Take the Initiative are worth 3 pips, and are more flexible than just for a Will test.

Grete Wagner. in TCU, I haven't been able to trigger her clue-gathering ability in the first 3 scenarios. There are not many enemies in the encounter deck.

Scenario 1: not many enemies (only 4-5 witches)

Scenario 2 (At Death's Doorstep): combat doesn't occur until the Spectral locations, which by then clues are less important.

Scenario 3 (The Secret Name): Only 3-4 Rats + Jenkins. Maybe just my luck; I always got enemies on locations that were already empty of clues. The Elite enemies are better evaded than fought, and they usually appear when clues are gone.

Rest of Scenarios: combat keeps happening on areas with no clues (Preston hoovers them up quickly. Cultists spawn at empty locations, which generally have no clues mid-scenario.