Finn Edwards - Sleuth Criminal (Hard Mode, Dario = Lola)

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This is a high clue and evasion Finn build that i have been developing over a couple of weeks in several hard mode scenarios including both of the TFA openers. Thankfully it appears to be performing well. I typically pair it with someone with higher combat focus, though there is scope to go more generalised if needed.

Dario El-Amin is Lola Santiago.

The deck is shown here with a little xp to show the general direction/game plan of the deck long term. For a campaign legal starter:

• Lola Santiago (Dario El-Amin) & 1x Sneak Attack 2x Hard Knocks,
• Logical Reasoning Hyperawareness,
• And drop Adaptable, Streetwise & Charisma.

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OVERVIEW & MULLIGAN

High clue and evade focus build. Muligan hard for passive + boosts, and use these to generate cash via Milan & Burglary. Yet more cash can be gotten from "Watch this!", Lone Wolf, and later Pickpocketing (2). Cash then fuels:

• Streetwise enabling evasion and test encounter protection,
• action free auto clues via Lola Santiago, and
• Double or Nothing power plays where needed (Deduction optional but very nice).

Note that because you don't expect to use other than for encounter checks and likely 1 evade action on most turns, but you do expect to investigate at least twice most turns, passive + boosts are more important than +. Additionally because is associated with cash generation rather than cash spending (as is), it is harder to get stuck in a cash slump needing to kickstart your econ.

Smuggled Goods can be used to tutor Pickpocketing if you need draw, Burglary if you need cash, Finn's Trusty .38 for damage, Liquid Courage for sanity, or several of the illicit upgrades later on.

checks are handled by rolling with the punches. Save "You handle this one!" and if possible Unexpected Courage and later Sure Gamble for those which you feel you cant take on the chin. Common risks are:

• Lost actions - We are very action efficient so its ok,
• Asset loss - None are crucial, but most things have 2 copies and Smuggled Goods can recur) or
• Horror - You have 7 base sanity and a good few allies to soak. Liquid Courage if mainly for party support but does work if you dont mind losing the card. Logical Reasoning shown here is the flex slot (i usually use Deduction) but it also works

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UPGRADES

ive put these at the top as I know not everyone want to read the full blurb

PRIORTIES:

1. Streetwise
2. Adaptable
3. Use Adaptable to swap out Hyperawareness and 1x Hard Knocks for the out of faction card of your choice. I recommend: Deduction, Eureka! or Logical Reasoning.
4. Hard Knocks (1st) and 1x Manual Dexterity Lola Santiago (get a Charisma after the first)
5. Pickpocketing Pickpocketing (2)

OTHER UPGRADES (order of choice):

• Flashlights Lockpicks. They last longer and are tutorable via Smuggled Goods.

• Unexpected Courage Sure Gamble. Use primarily on tests that hit your sanity. If the token modifier is small let it through. you can take the hit. if its large reverse it and pass. Alternatively save it to (almost) guarantee that Double or Nothing power move.

• "Watch this!" Ace in the Hole.

• Key of Ys. Tbh ive used this card and its very OP. I would discuss with your group whether you want to go down this route, as it can take the fun away from the game. But if you must, this is one of the few ways to sure up his and offer a passive san soak while your at it. At very least it wont take your to ungodly places like it will your other stats, so you`ll slowly take some san hits and eventually drop it.... then ofc you can Scavenge it back...Annnnywaaaay....

DAMAGE BOOSTING UPGRADE PATHS:

• Sneak Attack/Manual Dexterity Sneak Attack (2). Better for multiplayer support or aloof enemies. Auto damage also skips the need to care about boosting so it saves slots, OR

• Sneak Attack/Manual Dexterity Lupara. Its ilicit so it is tutorable via Smuggled Goods. Optional supports, adapt in a few of the following Hard Knocks (accuracy) / Scavenging (recursion) and/or Sleight of Hand (ammo and action efficiency). I actually haven’t tested these as i usually go Sneak Attack, since i have damage comrades, but on paper they should work.

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DETAILED PILOTING

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YOUR FIRST SCENARIO

This will play slightly differently as we don’t have Streetwise yet so we’re relying on Hyperawareness and Hard Knocks. And we’ll have to make do without the glorious Lola.

This makes you mulgan a little different. Basically keep any of the following that you see:

• 1x Dr. Milan Christopher
• All Magnifying Glasss
• 1x Flashlight
• 1 of Hyperawareness (best) or Hard Knocks

If you miraculously have all these muligan the Flashlight. Basically you still want to get down as a priority, but you need to think about asap. Keep the Manual Dexteritys and Narrow Escapes as panic evade buttons if you didnt see Hyperawareness or Hard Knocks. But otherwise the deck will play roughly the same.

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CLUES & CASH

The investigation and cash engines here are heavilly intertwined.

• Passive + boosts. We have 6 of these in the deck across Magnifying Glass, Milan, and, with xp, Lola Santiago. As mentioned in the mulgan we want these asap.
• Flashlight/Lockpicks Arnt as good as Magnifying Glass due to single use per turn and non interaction with with Burglary. They are backups while you search for the Magnifying Glasss (especially the second one)
• Double or Nothing/Deduction let you pick up 2 clues at once (or 4 in combination). This is easier with Flashlight if you can zero the shroud, or Lockpicks since your # and will both be high (especially with Lola Santiago)
• Dr. Milan Christopher MVP. Milan plays a similar role to Streetwise in rogue as he does with Higher Ed in seeker, but has additional (and more interesting) synergy with Burglary, Double or Nothing and Lola Santiago. Note that Milan triggers on a successful Burglary granting 4 resources. Shooting the moon aside here, if you are short on cash you can afford to pay 2 to boost Streetwise on a Burglary test to net 2 for 1 action if needed which means Burglary doesn't fall out of favor on high shroud locations as it used to.
• Lola Santiago. Your only source of autoclue. This is important to bare in mind for locations that come with penulties for when investigating. Note that her ability is fast so you can still do it when engaged with an enemy.
• Lone Wolf, "Watch this!" and Pickpocketing (2) These provide alternative or supplementary cash as needed that should be self explanatory. Note that "Watch this!" can be Doubled, especially if you are Sure to pass, or if your packing Lockpicks to give you a base 10 investigation (12 with Lola Santiago).

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EVADING, TESTS

is primarily provided through Streetwise fueled by investigation based cash. You don't expect to need to boost as often as since you rarely evade more than once a turn to evade, and encounter wont come up every turn.

• Lola Santiago offers a passive boost
• Skill pips these are available from Manual Dexterity, Narrow Escape, and "Watch this!". Once you have Streetwise use Manual Dexterity liberally to self replace until youve swapped it out via xp.
• Narrow Escape. Can be burned for pips, or used to boost an evade action as needed, just use the first action to investigate (and possibly take cash to pay for future Streetwises). The main value of this is in the ability to move engaged enemies to a location you dont plan to go back to and evade them off, especially those that add vengeance.
• Elusive. Can be used as a pseudo evade, and is particularly important with Caught Red-Handed if you draw it from a Pickpocketing draw and lack remaining actions to evade.

DRAW

• Pickpocketing Converts the free evade option into draw, and if you can get both down is very effective (note both can trigger from the same evade action). Upgrading to Pickpocketing (2) is vital not only for the cash option, but by making it fast to play it can be played while engaged with an enemy without attack of opportunity. And ofc it saves the install action too.
• Smuggled Goods Has many potential targets - Pickpocketing, Burglary, Lockpicks, Liquid Courage, Lupara, and Finn's Trusty .38. I actually seem to rarely draw it, but I would usually prioritise searching the deck unless something really vital got discarded.
• Manual Dexterity see pips above. use to self replace asap.

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DAMAGE This build doesnt deal alot of damage, but there is the option to bring them in via xp - See upgrades (Lupara/Sneak Attack).

• Finn's Trusty .38 is hard to use on hard as base 5 combat isnt reliable on anything above 2. You will often want to throw pips in to land it. "Watch this!", Sneak Attack, are your main options unless youre willing to burn an Unexpected Courage or Sure Gamble. Hard Knocks also gives it some more game if you chose to keep it. failing that you may need the occasional pip from a comrade.
• Sneak Attack/Backstab. After a few play throughs i rarely found i wanted Backstab over Sneak Attack, but I was running with a combat support Leo Anderson deck so your mileage may vary. Pick whichever you like best.

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THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM - CHECKS

In exchange for all these power moves you are going to take some knocks. 1 is simply going to mean you are going to take some blows. encounter tests frequently cause:

• Sanity hits per point failed by For example this - Here we can try to mitigate with Unexpected Courage/Sure Gamble. Or just take the hit. You have 7 sanity and a lot of allies. Liquid Courage or Logical Reasoning can be used to heal retrospectively. Just accept that you`ll lose a card if you use Liquid Courage. Alternatively if you are handing our Liquid Courage charges to others they may have spare to let you use.
• Asset loss on fail for example this. Here you are just going to have to lose an asset. We are talent heavy and these all have second copies, so this isnt that bad. Remember Flashlight/Lockpicks are also potentially sacrificial since they are only here to fill in while you search for Magnifying Glass. Finally while we have Burglary, Lone Wolf and Pickpocketing (2) we dont need all of them at once. They serve a similar purposes and are cheap. Let one go.
• Action loss for example this. This is an action efficient deck. Just take the hit unless you are in a really tight corner. There are a few exceptions. Frozen in Fear is public enemy No 1. If you expect it adapt in Logical Reasoning. Failing that you are going to have to hope to Unexpected Courage it off. Sure Gamble is much better here. Just wait until it will cause it to pass. Alternatively you will need pips from someone else.... OOOOORRR
• "You handle this one!" - The thematic MVP. But essential for those occasional really rough s. Just make sure you remind people that you cant come and evade that enemy off them if youre bogged down. And don't be afraid to return the favour when Leo Anderson passes you the test.

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NOTABLE ABSENSES

• Eavesdrop - This is hard to land before Streetwise and hard to justify the slots when you have other clue options. You could reasonably Adapt it in once the decks xp has fleshed it out a bit if you like it. Bare in mind it's quite expensive to use assuming youre paying 2 to Streetwise, or 4 if you`re using it on Double or Nothing. Also bare in mind the on Magnifying Glass wont help because its not an investigate. action.
• Logical Reasoning - Feel free to take this once you have Streetwise, or in place of Hyperawareness if playing on standard since you may not need the boosts as badly. Its been cut (at great reluctance) from the starting hand due to competition for slots.
• Peter Sylvestre - Simply not as good as Milan, See overview section discussion re . Though the sanity relief is nice, you really want the asap.
• Backstab - Optional over Elusive or Sneak Attack. Has nice synergy with Double or Nothing, lots of cash & Streetwise/Sure Gamble. I dropped it because i rarely used it. Also Lupara looks like its more fun longer term.
• Tooth of Eztli the boost wont be enough to pass tests but it could block a san hit here and there. the however will help you pass without needing Streetwise so it can save cash and provide draw. You also have the cash to afford it but sadly this blocks an important out of faction slot and there are better options.
• Leo De Luca I know, I know. But we are already ally heavy, we get 1 bonus action to evade with and effectively Lola Santiago gives us something similar to another investigate action a turn. What more do you need!... ok eventually take another Charisma and adapt him in if you must.