Clue Dropping, Show Stopping Trish - a HungryColquhoun deck

Clue Dropping, Show Stopping Trish

Overview

This deck uses the new clue-dropping tech on Trish, who in my opinion exploits it better than a lot of investigators because she can get an additional clue at locations with an enemy. By evading she has above average enemy management compared to Darrell and many other clue finders, making this very flexy. Thematically, clue dropping is also great for a spy - strategically leaking intelligence and misdirecting your pursuers.

An example of play would be an enemy spawns engaged with you, and then you drop a clue to evade them at a +3 with Quick Study. If you have both Research Notes in play, that one clue dropped is now worth three clues - one evidence on each of the notes and a further one you get courtesy of Trish's ability - which you test for at a 0. If you have both Press Passes out, then this also gives you two additional actions that turn. The great bit about this deck compared to other clue droppers is that even if you only have a single Research Notes, you still get a clue +1 from dropping a clue so long as there's an enemy at your location (with Kicking the Hornet's Nest allowing you to spawn one in while getting an additional clue and resources).

This deck hinges a bit on getting key assets out, which is another area where Trish excels. By upgrading Friends in Low Places, you can make it tutor both Items and Talents which - when paired with Captivating Discovery - means the tutoring in this deck is strong. Clever on Friends in Low Places is also absolutely fantastic - want to order a nice Easy Mark chain for yourself? Well now you can! On playtesting, Research Librarian is the best choice for an ally to kick the deck consistency into overdrive (while also acting as disposable soak and refunding himself through Astounding Revelation). Streetwise allows you to bag your initial clue (and an initial clue after advancing the Act deck) much more easily and makes you not solely reliant on your engine.

Otherwise, the resource generation in this deck is excellent (Another Day, Another Dollar, Emergency Cache, Easy Mark, Pickpocketing, Kicking the Hornet's Nest and Astounding Revelation), it handles the Encounter deck well (Logical Reasoning, Forewarned and Quick Study - the latter is non-unique so you can have two copies out and use one for encounter deck shenanigans) plus Trish can tank a lot of hits between Bizarre Diagnosis and Logical Reasoning.

That's it - it's a fairly simple deck, tilting full into Press Pass with Research Notes. But, it works well - give it a try and let me know what you think!

Advanced Strategies

• Misdirection. As a master of espionage, Trish bamboozles her enemies by strategically leaking intelligence (dropping a clue with Quick Study) - making her better at evading her pursuers. She then exploits her foe's bewilderment to find more secrets (using her ability and Research Notes to discover clues), and gains leads she wouldn't have done normally by posing as someone else (two actions from each Press Pass).

• Looking for Trouble. Trish creates opportunities by getting the attention of enemies (Kicking the Hornet's Nest), and then uses the Misdirection combo above. She does this in places where finding a lead would be tricky (high shroud locations).

• Three steps ahead. Trish is a master of planning, using her criminal contacts (Friends in Low Places) to keep herself informed and well resourced (using Clever to dictate the order of her deck, especially to chain Easy Mark).

What didn't make the cut

• Leo De Luca. I originally playtested this with Leo as I was really fond of the idea of a 6 action deck, however getting both Research Notes out more consistently is much more important, and so he was replaced with Research Librarian. Plus, he is damn costly, as we all know.

• Damning Testimony. Damning Testimony is pretty much made for Trish with her ability, however (!) it takes a hand slot and drinks XP. With this in mind, it didn't quite make the cut.

• Dr. William T. Maleson. William is undoubtedly a nice fit for this deck archetype, and he's cheap when upgraded, however he necessitates Charisma when used alongside Research Librarian (which I wouldn't ever recommend removing from the deck) plus there's some Encounter deck counterplay in here already.

• and Boosters. The +3 boost from Quick Study is typically enough for evade attempts, and Research Notes tests at a zero. Plus, Streetwise is more than adequate at getting an initial clue to activate your clue dropping, and you have a lot of as well as to commit. With all of this in mind, your base stats work well enough.

Campaign starter and planned progression

There's no In the Thick of It this time, which helps capitalise on the added bulkiness from both Logical Reasoning with Bizarre Diagnosis. If you do want to take In the Thick of It, you can have Easy Mark and one copy of Quick Study from the get-go. Starter deck is directly below (and link here):

A recommended order of XP purchases/upgrades is as follows:

• 2 x Manual Dexterity, 1 x Eureka! → 3 x Easy Mark

• 1 x Eureka!, 1 x Sneak By → 2 x Quick Study

• 1 x Sneak By → 1 x Forewarned

• Streetwise

• 2 x Deduction → 2 x Press Pass

• Friends in Low Places - Versatile - 'Item'

• Friends in Low Places - Clever

• Relic Hunter

• Another Day, Another Dollar

• 2 x Pickpocketing → 2 x Pickpocketing ••

Further upgrades and side deck

For the side deck, you can change Another Day, Another Dollar for a copy of Forewarned (swapping out another card as well to make the deck balance) if you think you're going to be rich enough - however I slightly prefer the added money. Forewarned would also be my first pick for an upgrade, and from there getting Experienced on Friends in Low Places is decent as well.

Final thoughts

I really, really like Trish for the clue dropping archetype as it synergises perfectly with her ability while also minimising its downsides (i.e. not too hampered when you only have a single copy of Research Notes in play, and not really dependent on Research Notes regardless due to Streetwise). While this deck started as a way to get a natural 6 actions with Leo and the Press Passes, on playtesting and dropping Leo for Research Librarian the consistency itself actually became a huge selling point. Try it out for yourself!