Minh Thi Phan - Chapter 2 Core + Dunwich + Carcosa

What Is This?

This is a curated collection of 2-player deck pairs for Arkham Horror: The Card Game, built specifically around the following card pool:

No other products are used. Cards from The Circle Undone, The Forgotten Age, Edge of the Earth, The Scarlet Keys, etc. are not available and are not included in any deck.

Design Goals

1. Two-player focused. Every deck is designed as one half of a 2-player pair. Each pair has a clear role division: one fighter, one clue-finder. Solo play is noted where an investigator excels at it (Pete).

2. Core 2026 adapted. The 2026 Core Set replaced many classic cards. Decks are built around what actually exists — not legacy knowledge from old Core. Key losses (Dr. Milan Christopher, Flashlight, Lucky!, Beat Cop, Scavenging) are accounted for. Key gains (Fingerprint Kit, Scene of the Crime, Lesson Learned, Timely Intervention, Right Tool for the Job, Bodyguard) are fully utilized.

3. Chapter 2 starters integrated. The five Chapter 2 starter investigators (Tommy, Carolyn, André, Marie, Miguel) come with unique cards exclusive to their starters. These starters have restricted deckbuilding — Survivor+Neutral only, Seeker+Neutral only, etc. with no off-class splash. Decks built around them account for this limitation.

4. Campaign ready. Each deck includes an upgrade path for both Dunwich Legacy and Path to Carcosa campaigns. XP budgets are based on realistic campaign earnings (25-40 XP over 8 scenarios). Upgrades are ordered by priority, not by scenario.

Minh Thi Phan — Card Choice Breakdown

Assets (6 cards)

2x Magnifying Glass — Fast, +1 intellect while investigating. At 1 cost, this is the most efficient investigate boost in the game. Minh investigates at 5 (I4+1) with this out, enough for most locations. Unchanged from old Core.

2x Laboratory Assistant — Draw 2 cards on entry + permanent +2 hand size. This is Minh's engine enabler: more cards in hand means more skills to commit, which means more value from her ability (each committed card gains a wild icon). The +2 hand size prevents discard-to-hand-size from wasting cards. Old Core had this too, but it's even better now because the new skill cards are stronger.

2x Fieldwork — ptcp (The Path to Carcosa). No slot (Talent). After moving to a location with ≥1 clue, exhaust: +2 to your next skill test this phase. Minh at I4 + Fieldwork (+2) = I6, + Magnifying Glass = I7. Makes over-succeed trivial on most locations. The key improvement over Gather Intel: proactive and consistent instead of reactive and enemy-dependent.

Events (10 cards)

2x Working a Hunch — Fast, discover 1 clue, no test. Testless clues bypass The King in Yellow's restriction (you only need to worry about KiY during tests). Unchanged from old Core.

2x "Look what I found!" — Fast, when you fail an investigate test by 2 or less, discover 2 clues. Minh can deliberately under-commit to trigger this on shroud 5-6 locations (I4 - shroud 6 = fail by 2). Turns failures into 2-clue pickups. Available via Survivor 0-2 access.

2x Preposterous Sketches — dwlp (Essex County Express). Draw 3 cards if there are clues at your location. Massive hand refuel. At 2 cost, this is efficient draw that keeps the skill pipeline flowing. Easy condition to meet — Minh is always at locations with clues.

2x No Stone Unturned — ptcp (The Path to Carcosa). Search the top 6 cards of any investigator's deck at your location, draw 1. Finds Analytical Mind, Magnifying Glass, or whatever you need. Can also search Mark's deck for his weapon if he's struggling. Incredibly flexible.

2x Emergency Cache — Economy. Replaced by Mysterious Grimoire (2) in upgrades.

Skills (14 cards — 47% of deck)

2x Deduction — Extra clue on investigate success. Minh's ability adds a wild icon to the first card she commits, so Deduction effectively has intellect + wild on it. This means 2 clues per investigate action. The defining Seeker skill, unchanged from old Core.

2x Eureka! — ptcp (The Pallid Mask). Intellect icon + when committed, search top 3 cards of your deck and add 1 to your hand. Self-replacing commit that also filters your deck. Combined with Minh's free wild icon, this is a 2-icon commit that also draws. Outstanding.

2x Inquiring Mind — dwlp (Undimensioned and Unseen). Gains wild icons equal to the number of clues at your location (max 3). On a 3-clue location, this is a 3-wild-icon commit for free — better than Unexpected Courage. Minh's ability adds ANOTHER wild on top. Absurdly strong when it's on.

2x Perception — 2 intellect icons + draw on success. Investigate boost that replaces itself. Bread and butter.

2x Unexpected Courage — 2 wild icons. Flexible commit for any test. Minh's ability adds a third wild, making this effectively 3 icons.

2x Manual Dexterity — 2 agility icons + draw on success. Minh's primary self-defense when Mark isn't nearby. With her ability, this becomes 2 agility + 1 wild for evasion attempts (effective A2 + 3 icons = 5 agility). Upgrade target for Through the Cracks (2).

2x Timely Intervention — Core 2026 original. Willpower + agility + wild icons. Fortune/Survivor 0. Max 1 committed per test. The key innovation: you commit it AFTER revealing chaos tokens. Never wasted on an easy test — you see the result, then decide. With Minh's ability adding a wild, this becomes willpower + agility + wild + wild = 4 icons of reactive defense. Replaces Guts: Guts committed blindly with 2 willpower icons; Timely Intervention commits surgically with 3 diverse icons. Upgrade target for Studious (3) once Higher Education/A Test of Will cover defense.

Minh Thi Phan — Dunwich Upgrades