Jenny w/ Friends, Cash, and Toys [Guide] [Multi-Player]

This is a deck that I built during a four-player blind play-through of The Path to Carcosa, on regular difficulty, which included a side trip to Venice (Carneval of Horrors). It is not a highly-optimized min/max deck. It's been fun to play and I haven't noticed a lot of ally-heavy Jenny decks so I thought I'd share...

For reference, my working cardpool: 2xCore, All of Dunwich, All of Carcosa, All of Forgotten Age, Dream-Eaters Deluxe.

The Concept

For my group, Jenny needed to be a switch-hitter; she would be the secondary clue-gathering investigator and contribute to enemy mitigation primarily by evasion. I decided early on to try out build that used Dario El-Amin and Leo De Luca together with Calling in Favors. The goal was to build some passive buffs and an income that could support on-demand boosts, primarily through Streetwise.

In the first scenario, I enjoyed success by getting Dario's buff working with St. Hubert's Key to scoop up clues. As I built, I noticed myself adding Charisma with more allies, along with some valuable relics (the "Toys"). I also learned how a non-fighter can contribute powerfully to team success with key evasions empowered by Streetwise.

The deck started here: https://arkhamdb.com/deck/view/546080

Jenny's Potential - Some potential outcomes for this deck:

• 5-6-3-5 stats with 3 income
• 5-6-3-4 with 3 income and 4 actions
• 4-5-3-4 with 3 income and 4 actions and a free move

Overview

• PRIMARY ROLE: ....................... Clue-Gathering
• SECONDARY ROLE: ................. Enemy Evasion
• COMPLEXITY: ........................... Moderate
• SETUP TIME: ............................ 2-3 Turns (typically)
• THEMATIC FEEL: ...................... Wealthy Independent Jack-of-all-Trades
• CLUEING: .................................. Good
• ENEMY HANDLING: ................. Good (via Evasion)
• ENCOUNTER PROTECTION: .... Decent (weakness: Willpower)
• PHYSICAL DEFENCES: .............. Ally Soak
• MENTAL DEFENCES: ................ Ally Soak
• TEAM SUPPORT: ...................... 3 extra actions per scenario

The Cards

Resource-Gathering - This deck is all about the money. You need cash to pay for all the allies and their toys. Jenny's two resources per turn help, but won't be enough. Thankfully the deck includes a lot of options, including

• Dario El-Amin - an action for 2 resources
• Burglary - later replaced by Pickpocketing
• Lone Wolf - Jenny with Lone Wolf and Dario can net 5 resources per turn without a skill test involved
• "Watch this!" - commonly combo'd with Double or Nothing and/or Premonition

The Allies - Each of the possible allies brings something great to the table, along with providing valuable damage soak. With two copies of Charisma, and Calling in Favors there's a lot of fun with friends...

• Dario El-Amin - Valuable passive boosts and a way to generate income. Works best with Leo also in play.
• Leo De Luca - an extra action is just so nice
• Lola Santiago - passive boosts on the two skills this build uses the most
• Cat Burglar - a passive evasion plus an escape clause
• Abbess Allegria Di Biase - Free moves are always welcome, especially if I have to search for Izzie
• Dr. Elli Horowitz - (optional) Hopefully will bring at least one of the toys with her.

The Toys (many of them Relics) - A toolbox of valuable assets that help in different circumstances

• Charon's Obol - chose it pretty early so I was able to pile up the XP. Risky, but less so in a 4-player game I think.
• The Gold Pocket Watch - Wow. Amazing.
• Lucky Dice - Haven't used it at all; not sure I would buy it again but in concept a good help
• Ornate Bow - The latest addition for when I need to kill enemies rather than simply evade. Leo De Luca helps make reloading less painful. Gotta drop my clue-gathering tools to use it though.
• The Skeleton Key - The downside of costing actions somewhat mitigated by Leo De Luca, this card can be clutch and it helps your friends investigate as well.
• St. Hubert's Key - Features two static stat buffs and comes with a free 2-Sanity heal!
• Jenny's Twin .45s - Usually commit this card.
• Lockpicks - It's great but only once per turn.
• Flashlight - Yes, still relevant.
• Gilded Volto Lets me have a better chance to pass one test per game, plus save an action playing another asset.

The Boosts - Key cards that help ensure success

• Streetwise - The classic Rogue Permanent
• Fieldwork - Super useful when moving around the map scooping clues
• High Roller - As long as you don't roll craps it's great!
• Premonition - You know how good it feels to KNOW what you're going to pull? You can avoid wasting those precious cards or resources. It's a good team support; half the time I played it for other investigators.

Off-class Choices - Jenny may include up to 5 off-class level-0 cards and this is an area I have experimented with during the campaign. Still not sure I have an "optimal" setup but here's some of the cards I've tried out. I've pretty much liked them all, so I'd say it's really about personal preference.

• St. Hubert's Key - two passive stat boosts and a free sanity heal
• Premonition - knowing you're going to succeed (or fail) saves key resources/cards for future tests. Such an awesome card.
• Dr. Elli Horowitz
• Fieldwork
• Physical Training - Useful in the early campaign, less so as Jenny gets more "mature"
• Magnifying Glass - Started the campaign with them, upgraded to Lockpicks

Not sure about...

Already mentioned Lucky Dice. Not sure I would buy that again. Also, I'm not convinced trying to add enemy-slaying with the Ornate Bow late the in campaign was a good idea. If I did it again, I would focus on other things like another Lola Santiago and for sure another Sure Gamble

Piloting The Deck

Mulligan Strategy - For my starting hand, I'm looking for at least one Ally (ideally Dario or Leo) and at least one Income-Boost (ideally Lone Wolf). Best case, I'd also see a second ally and/or Calling In Favors. I've tested the starting draw and mulligan a ton and really like how it typically ends up.

Key Steps

• Build Income (Lone Wolf, Dario, etc.)
• Build Passive Boosts (St. Hubert's Key, Dario, Lola, etc.)
• Play with the Toys (Skeleton Key, Gold Packet Watch, etc.)
• Spend the Cash to Dominate the Game

Final Note Hope you have fun with it! I had a blast playing Jenny...