Jim Culver's Carcosa Crescendo

This deck is for a 2-player run through Carcosa on Standard. Jim was chosen due to the three tokens in the Chaos Bag, and for his 9 sanity/signature card Jim's Trumpet, since Carcosa loves to dish out horror.

Like most mystics, Jim is going to count on Shrivelling and Rite of Seeking to do most of his attacking and investigating, and Arcane Initiate plus Scrying will help him find them.

Once those cards are out, you can replace Arcane Initiate with David Renfield to boost your , and putting the St. Hubert's Key on the table will boost it even further. This puts you at a whopping 6, enough to pass most tests without boosting, especially since there are three s in the Chaos Bag. This lets you use Double or Nothing to much greater affect, perfect for dealing 4 damage or scooping up 4 clues in a single action!

Inquiring Mind is a flex card that can be used for anything, while "I'm outta here!" gives you two pips for a certain location in The Pallid Mask, as well as allowing you to resign in that scenario (and The Unspeakable Oath) without having to cross the map.

Uncage the Soul makes playing your vital spells much less expensive, while Blinding Light helps you evade if you find yourself in a tight spot. Delve Too Deep in conjunction with Ward of Protection gets you a free XP or two per scenario, which will be essential to upgrade quickly into more powerful cards.

Spirit Athame is a good initial upgrade, as it gives Jim 5 to fight weaker enemies without having to waste a Shrivelling charge, plus it boosts his spells by giving him an ADDITIONAL 2. Upgrading into Scrying makes searching your deck for a spell a free action, and Grotesque Statue greatly increases your chances of succeeding a vital test. Book of Shadows keeps your spells online longer, and an upgraded Blinding Light gives you a more powerful evade action, in addition to dealing an extra damage upon success.

As far as which cards to replace, it's safe to get rid of Fine Clothes after The Last King, and Delve Too Deep after you can afford both Grotesque Statues. Perception and one copy of Double or Nothing could also be replaced.