Mark Harrigan - 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.

Mark Harrigan — Card Choice Breakdown

Weapons (4 cards + 2 tutors)

2x Machete — Still the king of level-0 Guardian weapons. +1 combat, +1 damage if only one enemy engaged. Mark fights at 6 combat with Machete, killing 3-health enemies in 2 hits. The "only enemy" condition is rarely a problem because Mark is aggressive enough to clear enemies fast.

2x M1911 — Core 2026's replacement for .45 Automatic. Functionally identical: 4 ammo, +1 combat, +1 damage. Having 4 weapons in 30 cards means ~67% chance of seeing one in your opening 5, and with mulligan that rises to ~89%.

2x Right Tool for the Job — This card is WHY 4 weapons is enough. Search top 9 for any Tool or Weapon. Combined with 4 weapons, your effective probability of having a weapon by turn 2 is ~97%. This replaces the old strategy of running Prepared for the Worst, which only searched top 9 for weapons — Right Tool also finds tools, making it strictly better. This card is a Core 2026 original that didn't exist in old Core.

Allies & Assets (4 cards)

2x Bodyguard — Core 2026's replacement for Guard Dog. 2hp/1san soak, and when Bodyguard is defeated, deals 1 damage to an enemy at your location. The key difference from Guard Dog: Bodyguard can soak damage from attacks against ANY investigator at your location, meaning Mark can protect Minh. Each point of damage soaked triggers Mark's card draw (once per phase). At 3 cost, it's your primary damage soak.

2x Endurance — Core 2026's replacement for Physical Training. Spend 1 resource for +1 combat or +1 agility; spend 2 for +2. Unlike Physical Training (which boosted willpower/combat), Endurance trades willpower for agility. This hurts Mark's treachery defense but helps with agility-based encounter cards and the occasional evade. You compensate for the willpower loss with 2x Guts.

Events (14 cards)

2x Scene of the Crime — Core 2026 original. Discover 1 clue (2 if an enemy is at your location), no test required. Costs 2 and must be your first action. This is Mark's primary independent clue card — and since he's always near enemies, the 2-clue mode activates consistently. Old Core had nothing like this for Guardians.

2x Lesson Learned — Core 2026 original. Fast, triggered after an enemy attacks you: discover 1 clue at your location. No test, no action cost. Mark WANTS to get attacked (it triggers Sophie's damage → card draw), so this is essentially free clues. Old Core Guardians had no way to get testless clues reactively.

2x "Let me handle this!" — ptcp (The Path to Carcosa). When another investigator at your location draws an encounter card with a revelation effect, you take it instead and gain 1 resource. Protects Minh from treacheries that test willpower (she has W4, Mark has W3 but more health to absorb consequences). Also generates economy. Essential team card.

2x Bounty — Tommy Muldoon starter. Fast, gain resources equal to the defeated enemy's printed health. Mark kills a 3-health enemy → gains 3 resources. This is your primary economy engine and replaces Emergency Cache's role as the game progresses. Old Core had nothing equivalent.

2x Physical Fitness — Tommy Muldoon starter. Move to a connecting location + heal 2 damage. This does two things at once: tempo (free move) and Sophie management (heal damage to stay below the 5-damage threshold where Sophie flips). Old Core had no equivalent — First Aid healed but cost an action and didn't move you.

2x Shortcut — dwlp (The Dunwich Legacy). Fast: move an investigator at your location to a connecting location. Critical tech: Shortcut has the Tactic trait, making it legal for Mark via his "Tactic 0" deckbuilding option even though it's a Seeker card. This is one of the best action-compression cards in the game — free moves for you or Minh. Most deckbuilders miss this interaction.

2x Emergency Cache — Economy backup. Gets replaced first in upgrades.

Skills (6 cards)

2x Vicious Blow — +1 damage on a fight test you succeed at. Turns a 2-damage Machete hit into a 3-damage kill. Essential for action economy against 3+ health enemies.

2x Overpower — 2 combat icons + draw a card on success. Combat boost that replaces itself. Upgrade target for Vicious Blow (2).

2x Guts — 2 willpower icons + draw on success. Mark's primary treachery defense. With W3 base + 2 Guts icons = effective W5, enough to pass most treacheries. Critical because Endurance doesn't boost willpower (unlike old Physical Training).

Mark Harrigan — Dunwich Upgrades

Total: 11 XP core, 17 XP with luxury.