Spooky Scary Spectral Friends

Card draw simulator

Odds: 0% – 0% – 0% more
Derived from
None. Self-made deck here.
Inspiration for
Spooky Scary Spectral Friends – Level 0 49 34 2 1.0
Spooky Scary Spectral Friends 1 0 1 1.0

ElseWhere · 3879

"It must be here, it must be..."

Mandy's eyes flicked along the rows of shelves with trained precision, but many of the old, worn books lacked titles, identifying markers, and even intact bindings. It would take hours to carefully examine each book and determine its provenance–hours she did not have, judging by the shouts from outside the room.

Sharply aware of her accelerating heartbeat, Mandy took several long, deep, slow breaths. Panic benefitted no-one save her opponents, and though the stakes here were higher than your average chess game, the principles were much the same.

Think fast but act with caution. Be ten steps ahead when you can, and when you can't...

...have a backup plan.

Mandy sat cross-legged on the floor and continued her slow breathing. She closed her eyes, and the sounds of the building around her sharpened...and then faded. She drifted in pleasant darkness, surrounded by the scent of knowledge, old parchment, and mildew–some of her favorite things.

There was a quiet thump. She opened her eyes.

One of the books jutted out slightly from the shelf, when before it had been flush with the other tomes. Mandy smiled and held out a hand as the book teetered and then slipped from the shelf, landing neatly in her outstretched palm.

"Thank you, my guardian angel." Mandy whispered, then stuffed the book in her bag and vaulted out the window, shimmying down the drainpipe to where Arthur was waiting below with the car.

Introducing Guided Mandy, a brilliant researcher who is aided by a posse of spirits in her quest for knowledge and the protection of humanity!

I knew the moment we received the Guided by the Unseen errata that the community had struck gold. The ability to trigger a search on EVERY TEST, with a chance at pulling out a useful skill, was remarkably powerful, even more so in Mandy who could search for two or dig twice as deep.

...but that's not the true power of this deck. In fact, during testing I didn't spend a single secret off Guided! So what was I using it for?

Guided by the Unseen allows you to perform a search (two searches if you have two out) on every test you perform–searches which can trigger Research effects. Mandy has a particularly powerful Research effect in her signature event, Occult Evidence, which allows her to discover a clue and then at a later date shuffle it back into her library for an action, or commit it as a wild icon.

So we're taking multiple fast searches during every test we perform, in order to have a chance at resources/secrets, icons/draw, or free clues. But I wanted more than just two free clues per cycle, so I added in the Curse subtheme!

Mandy's spectral allies may be extremely helpful in her work, but that doesn't mean the powers they draw on are entirely wholesome. So the more she uses them, the more she may curse the bag, which in turn powers up her Cryptic Grimoire. For every two secrets on the Grimoire, Mandy can shuffle Occult Evidence back into her deck at fast speed, allowing her to search for it again during her next test. Thanks to our lovely assistant Arthur Johnson and our keen insight, there are non-curse-related ways to refill the Grimoires, not to mention other fun targets for the fast plays like Glimpse the Unthinkable (to recycle our drawn Researches, even Occult Evidence!) and Unearth the Ancients.

She can also draw on the dark power by committing Fey to a test on which she activates her Favor of the Moon. Instead of going down -2 skill value, she can go neutral, two up with a second Fey, or even five up by using Blasphemous on the curse–and the Feys will be returned to her hand immediately anyway.

This Mandy's play style is basically to take as many tests as possible, using fast tests like Expose Weakness, Live and Learn, and Grimoire-boosted Unearth the Ancients, Winging It, and Fortuitous Discovery, triggering Guided by the Unseen on each one in the hopes of pulling out Occult Evidence. Then after the test ends Grimoire can shuffle the Evidence(s) back in to be ready for the next test!

Unlike many Seekers, this Mandy wants to avoid reshuffling if at all possible. She would rather reach a low deck size where she can consistently hit her Evidences and thus most reliably pull clues.

While testing her, I was able to complete Murder at the Excelsior Hotel true solo while only taking a single investigate action–the Evidences handled all the rest. She was a blast to play and felt very unique. In higher player counts, you can even make your friends happy by offering Guided on their tests–and because you're unlikely to spend its secrets on yourself, you can share that sweet ghost love around.

In true solo, the compression events can be swapped for more damage via "I've got a plan!", more resources and tests with Burning the Midnight Oil, more movement with Shortcut, or more general utility with Mind over Matter (although the double Fey combo allowed me to pass several high combat tests with ease during testing).

Well, that's all for today! Thanks for reading, and I hope Guided Mandy brings joy to other players as she has to me!

14 comments

Aug 05, 2021 Zinjanthropus · 223

This deck is amazing! Probably both the most interesting Mandy deck that I've seen, and the most interesting deck that I've seen.

Aug 05, 2021 ElseWhere · 3879

@ZinjanthropusThank you so much!! I was really excited by the original concept, because it felt like a twist on what Mandy does in a very unusual way. Then during testing it worked out so well! I feel like Curses can be a bit of a parasitic mechanic, so I was worried about that too, but I was able to keep them decently locked down with Favor and control their release (or negate the downside with my Covenant) so I think the table wouldn't be too upset about it.

Aug 06, 2021 chirubime · 25393

I loved watching Makima play this deck during our Egil playthrough. It was really fun.

Aug 06, 2021 kimlip · 1

What are your thoughts on Glimpse the Unthinkable? I feel like it really cuts both ways. When you get to play it for free off Grimoire, it feels like a really nice way to shuffle back bricked research cards and/or Occult Evidence you found. But, at the same time, it feels like such a double-edged sword to also often draw into your researches when don't filter draw via searches.

Whenever I play an investigator with even 2-3 Astounding Revelation in the deck, I get so conservative during mulligans that I think I would find Glimpse equally daunting to play.

Aug 06, 2021 ElseWhere · 3879

@chirubime I was actual chatting with Makima throughout my last deck test! She had some great tips from her experience with Guided Mandy, but ultimately the decks ended up being quite different (since hers doesn't run ways to reshuffled Occult Evidence at fast speed). We can certainly agree on the power of Guided in Mandy though!

@kimlipGlimpse is a mixed bag, but also a bit of a pet card of mine. I think in this case the speed at which I burn through research effects (thanks to two Guided triggers per test) means that my odds are almost always very good, and luck has been pretty kind to me so far. I typically try to sandbag the card until I have both Occult Evidences in hand (and an extra research I accidentally drew, if possible), so I can save an action/two secrets shuffling them both back in.

Another advantage that speaks to your experience with research: I feel as though I can mulligan pretty freely with Glimpse in the deck, because even if I get a research off my redraws (ugh) I at least know I can eventually shuffle it back in using a Glimpse.

Aug 06, 2021 FractalMind · 36

@ElseWhereGreat deck! Can you share a level 0 version of the deck?

Aug 07, 2021 ElseWhere · 3879

@FractalMindYour wish is my command! Here is Spooky Mandy pre-spookification: arkhamdb.com

Aug 08, 2021 arkhamproxy · 1

Cool deck idea! Winging It isn't an Insight, so can't be used with Cryptic Grimoire, though. Do you recommend an alternate card or is it still worth using even without being fast?

Aug 08, 2021 ElseWhere · 3879

@arkhamproxyOh dear! That’s my mistake. Honestly I was including it mostly to slow the rate at which my deck runs out, since Spooky Mandy wants to stay at a low deck size for a while to near-guarantee her Guided Evidence clues. So yes, even without being made fast I’d say it is worthwhile, since it both slows your cycle and has clue compression. But you could absolutely swap it out for something else if you cared less about that.

Additionally, making other events fast is a lower priority than making the Evidences fast, just generally speaking.

Aug 21, 2021 yeojin · 1

are there red insights good for her? I wonder if Lucky or live and learn is better since they are fast and don't need to play into the grimoire

Aug 23, 2021 ElseWhere · 3879

@yeojinFortuitous Discovery is the only red insight we have so far, and I do like it a lot in this deck for compression. At lower player counts, though, it can absolutely be cut for something like Seeking Answers or utility cards like Mind over Matter, etc.

Because the goal of this deck is to take as many tests as possible, Live and Learn is WAY better than Lucky!, because it allows me to get double the Guided triggers rather than just passing the test (and passing honestly isn't a huge priority for me, since my autoclues are more efficient than testing). Plus, Mandy unfortunately cannot take the level 2 or 3 Luckies that replace themselves.

Sep 07, 2021 Harryp19 · 1

Spooky scary spectral friends
send shivers down your spine
They search your deck, find some clues
and seal that doom tonight

Spooky scary spectral friends
can cause such a screech
You'll shake at their surprising finds
and shocking discoveries.

Sep 07, 2021 ElseWhere · 3879

@Harryp19you are my new favorite person.

May 11, 2022 ElseWhere · 3879

Update: having played through a couple campaigns I have some switches for the deck.

Even upgraded, Truth from Fiction is just not worth it. At low XP you can switch it for Perception, and at high XP the eternally-amazing No Stone Unturned is your friend.

Arthur Johnson in his native form is also not worth the heavy resource cost, despite his nice soak. Research Librarian (rethemed to still be Arthur, naturally) will instead guarantee research and a tome, or knock out your signature weakness.

Lastly, I haven't figured out what to swap for it yet if anything, but Eon Chart is an incredible card for anyone, especially a deck that loves taking more tests whenever possible, so it's definitely a worthwhile consideration.