With an Axe and a Chainsaw, LumberWill Chops Enemies Down. With Careful Preparation and a Memento, LumberWill Finds Clues.

Credit: Results for Hipster Investigator on Google Image

I always liked the idea of the Chainsaw but never could find a home for it, which was a shame because it's definitely S-Tier for theme and fun. So after having it as a card of the day on the Mythos Busters discord, it was time for me to accept the challenge and try it out. The results were beyond expectations with my 4th Yorick deck!

Following the success of the 20k Series and the 30k Series, the 40k Series will display the last decks of the series, which I hope everyone enjoyed!

Click here to see all the previous decks. I will keep releasing a new standalone-ready deck concept every week on Friday, so stay tuned and keep supporting the Series by pressing the ♥ button if you want to see more!

• Overview

• Changelog

• Main Strategy

• "Enemies are like trees. Better chopped in pieces than standing in your way."

• Out in the Woods with Nothing but a Memento and Your Pup

• A Good Logger is a Smart Logger

• Other Cards

• Upgrade Path

• May 7, 2024 - Considering the new Hemlock Vale
  As it was asked in a comment here, I add this info here so people can access it. If I would play this deck today, I would probably play it slightly differently.

  • Since Plucky (3) already soaks Horror, I would consider getting a second copy instead of Precious Memento since the damage is already managed by the dog.
    And with the accessory slot now free, I would enjoy unlimited Chainsaw supplies thanks to recycling of Cleaning Kit (0).
  • Then, Long Shot would definitely find some space instead of Lucky!, and maybe some Strong-Armed further down the road.
  • In the early deck, Wolf Mask is a winner for sure, and maybe one Pushed to the Limit to compensate for Short Supply.

• Cut down your enemies with a Chainsaw or your Runic Axe

• Use Precious Memento and Guard Dog (2), recycled with your ability to tank a lot of damage.

• Pump your with Plucky (3) or using Well Prepared on it/Precious Memento to get a few clues.

• Fell your enemies with your 2 favourite logging tools: Runic Axe and Chainsaw.

  • Runic Axe is your backup weapon, it does an excellent job as a support and can sometimes last a whole game without any issues.

  • Don't forget that you can spend 2 charges in one fight action to get both the boost and the damage, or if you only need to deal one damage, only spend a charge for the boost. Well Prepared will eventually save a lot of charges.

  • But the real juice comes with the Chainsaw, that you can cycle on enemies with Yorick's ability.

  • If you use your last supply on an enemy, replace the Chainsaw with a Runic Axe from your discard pile or your hand. If this triggers an AoO, the Guard Dog is here for this.

  • If you run out of supplies mid-fight, the best case scenario is to finish the enemy with Act of Desperation to recycle the Chainsaw on the same test or let the Guard Dog finish the work. If not enough, play a Runic Axe and tank the AoO.

• You don't always have to fight against enemies. If you only need to deal one damage and can afford it, a move action will trigger an attack of opportunity on your dogs which can finish the enemy or save a precious Chainsaw supply.

Overall, it takes a bit of juggling, but with a hard mulligan for a weapon, Prepared for the Worst or At a Crossroads, and Short Supply having high chances of placing a weapon in your discard pile, you should be able to get one on the board early and then Emergency Cache and Schoffner's Catalogue finance your cycling.

The life of a LumberWill can sometimes feel lonely, so what's better than a pupper to stray from the path with?

• Guard Dog plays many roles in this deck:

  • Free engage actions

  • Damage/Horror soak

  • Aggressive tempo acceleration for the final damage

• To supplement the dog, we opt for a Precious Memento that heals damage upon big successes.

  • Thanks to Well Prepared, the deck will oversucceed regularly, giving you a free damage heal per turn.

  • If you need to, you can always load the Memento and cycle it with your ability, though it is better to do this with the dogs.

You may ask: "Why not use the one that heals the horror instead?"

• The reason is that Plucky (3) and Guard Dog will also absorb a little bit of horror, and you don't want to deal more than one damage at a time on the Guard Dog or lose your Plucky (3) to a single damage. Furthermore, it is far cheaper to spam your to recycle Plucky (3) than Guard Dog.

Because the game is a race against the clock, being able to scoop clues when there are no enemies can really make a difference.

• Well Prepared can target both Precious Memento or Plucky (3) for 2 times +2 each turn.

• Plucky (3) will give you a static boost, bringing you to 3 skill values, and offers you the possibility to sink some extra resources if you can afford it.

  • The deck will feel low on resources at the start, but especially with Act of Desperation, it is easy to reach 10+ resources by half-game.

  • The situation can change rapidly, so always keep some resource security and some secrets on a Schoffner's Catalogue if you need to recycle a weapon or a Guard Dog, as they are pricy.

• Don't forget Lucky!, which will also save you a few failed investigations here and there.

  ---

• I already spoke about Schoffner's Catalogue, and they are an auto-include in William Yorick. They cycle with his ability and pay for the weapon cycling.

• Short Supply is a consistency enabler. Adding some assets in the discard pile makes Yorick's ability interesting from turn 1.

  • Resourceful will help pick up some good cards that may have ended up in the discard. Targets include: At a Crossroads, Lucky! or even some assets at the beginning like Plucky (3) or Chainsaw. Feel free to commit the Precious Memento at the beginning of a scenario to pass a Resourceful test before using your ability on it later.

  • Because some of our most important cards are not , we will upgrade Resourceful into Salvage to be able to target a Runic Axe during set up, or for cash, once we have enough weapons, and fuel Plucky (3).

• Ever Vigilant is just pure value because there are many assets. It brings both tempo and resources, which are the 2 most important things early in the game.

• Live and Learn is a good one-of for the ideal situation when:

  • You fail the Chainsaw, get either the supply back or the damage, based on what you need most (probably the first), and do the test again to succeed. It's a feel-good card that is situational but should happen more or less every game.

• Daring and Overpower are essential in the deck, especially at the beginning when you do not have Well Prepared on the table yet. The draw is also helpful for finding your good cards.

• Vicious Blow can save a supply/charge on your weapons or even at the very beginning of a scenario, help you fist fight to play your first weapon from your discard pile.

• Take Heart comes because with 2 bases , it is relatively easy to fail a test, and both cards and resources are crucial in the early game.

Upgrades:

• A second Chainsaw is of course the next purchase for this deck.

• Backpack (2) is the obvious and insane, especially in Yorick, replacement for Prepared for the Worst.

• Emergency Cache (3) offers the possibility to refuel the Chainsaw directly! This will give your Schoffner's Catalogue a breather and give you more space to play other assets from your discard pile.

• Eucatastrophe is a great way to leverage Yorick's ridiculous . Wait for the or start a basic investigation, pick a -2 or worse, get a clue and any card from your discard pile.

• Upgrading the Runic Axe with Saga to replenish 2 charges each turn will heavily increase the consistency of the last remaining copy of Runic Axe. Inscription of the Elders is another really good option to get a few clues over the course of a game.

• Salvage is a better Resourceful in this deck.

  • Setting up a weapon as early as possible is your main concern, and this card will increase consistency by getting one directly, removing from the game one that is in your discard pile to pay for one in your hand or to get a Schoffner's Catalogue out of your discard pile to pay a weapon in your hand.

  • A side use is during the late game to get resources out of a weapon that will not be used anymore and place them into Plucky to get clues or pass tests.

• Overpower (2) will help with getting more cards out of your deck, and Vicious Blow (2) will save a few supplies/charges/tempo here and there.

• A Charisma can help having 2 dogs on the table. It's a bit overkill, but if you're having too much xp...

• Another option is Scrapper, which will enable you to spend your resources on all 4 skills.

Link to the 0xp deck

(View at arkham-starter.com)

Link to the full xp deck

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