The Assassination of Atlach-Nacha by the Coward Leo Anderson

This is not a good deck. It is, at best, an acceptable deck. The best part of this deck is the name, and even that's a gross exaggeration. It failed to assassinate Atlach-Nacha. In fact, it didn't put a single damage on Atlach-Nacha or win the scenario. It was Finn's clues that did what work was done. But I digress.

I've always been intrigued by jank: whether certain cards were really as bad as they looked, whether they couldn't be made to work with the right support. Before this last campaign I decided it was time for the Springfield M1903 and Telescopic Sight to shine. Both have long fascinated me. Even with a buff courtesy of the taboo list, the Springfield still doesn't see play, and the Telescopic Sight sought to fill a longstanding demand from players for a sniper rifle and has only been met with antipathy. Could two terrible cards make one great flavor? Could enough mediocre and situational cards in support maybe make these playable? Maybe.

I began with Leo Anderson. Only Guardians can access the Springfield, and his Rogue off-class provided plenty of tricks for putting some distance between Leo and his targets. Cat Burglar and Think on Your Feet get you into Sight range on their own, and the original deck included Stealth (reduce an enemy to zero evade and even Leo can break engagement) and First Watch to pass enemy draws to my partner. Tetsuo Mori can draw either of my pet projects and Venturer keeps the Springfield's ammunition topped up. Basics covered.

I paired him with a good-stuff Finn Edwards to actually find the clues, progress the game and leave enemies behind for the Springfield. Also with Faustian Bargain and Deep Knowledge because I still need to draw my pieces and pay for them.

I chose The Web of Dreams to test because it's target rich, ramps the experience and includes some annoying aloof enemies in the final scenario.

The first three scenarios were some of my best runs of them ever. Only three total victory point locations missed total through them and several victory point enemies eliminated with ease. The campaign did end in ignominy against Atlach-Nacha, but we did come within a round of victory. With the right support, I was pleasantly surprised by the Springfield's effectiveness. With his free evade, Finn could engage enemies off Leo and leave them behind without too much of a tempo hit, a boost even with Pickpocketing down. Wouldn't mind seeing an extra ammo or a resource shaved off the cost, but it was more than playable.

Drew the Telescopic Sight every round and still didn't play it. Too expensive to put down, and the enemies I most wanted to target were Elite. Sight still shouldn't see play at 0 experience. I'm convinced it'll receive an upgrade in Return to Return to Circle Undone and very much hope it's a 2 experience for 2 resources and the same text minus the Elite rider. That could be played. It's a dream, but dreams are meant for eating.