Zoey leading the Blind (one core friendly)

Just had to give you a heart straightaway for this great idea of creating a beginner friendly deck constisting of only 1 core set! I am pretty sure that any newcomer will like to play her. And as most people unfortunately gauge a game after playing it the first time with the degree of "success" they had, your deck will certainly recruit more Arkham partisans! Good job, Zoey!

The classes guardian and seeker are very beginner friendly, as both have clear roles, kill monsters (guardian) or gather clues (seeker). Most of the the time, these are the 2 things you need to win the game.

So it's also pretty clear whom to play with, either guardian or seeker, so both can over the others weakness. This also guaranties are pretty good first experience for both players, unless you're unlucky with the encouter deck.

@Django You're obviously right when it comes to roles, but this deck wants to achieve something different than standard pairing. This deck is a "companion deck" if you wish. In a way, it's like the Batman: battle-scarred protector that your second player doesn't deserve, but badly needs without him knowing so. You don't want your new investigator to feel like they are a one trick pony, you don't want to tell them "oh yeah, you just hover clues, I'lll play the control game here". This deck is different in such a way that it wants to guard the less experienced player, that may have much less thought-out deck. That's why I suggested "Ashcan" Pete for the pairing. So far with all the people I introduced to this game, Pete is all time favorite for newbies. He doesn't excell at anything in particular, so it's not about his technical ability, rather how he feels. And how he feels, is that he can always do something, plus while playing as Pete, you don't have to play in anticipation of unknown, you don't have to set up your playing field, as oposed to proper seekers and guardians. You can bite, you can sniff something out - that's why I suggested Pete: for them feels, not them brains.

@SynisillThis deck works both ways: it's good for the new players in that it's straightforward, but it also works when you want to do your best at protecting your fellow investigator that is new to the game. You know who I'm talking about, that one person that deep into 3rd agenda has no feel of urgency and uses his action to get unnecessary resorce. That's why it's all about "leading the blind"; this deck assumes your second player will be clumsy and mess things up from time to time, but that's fine - because you'll be there to make up for it.

Yes, i can very well imagine your charismatic gal patch up her unlucky fellow with a smoke in the corner of her mouth and telling him with an intense look that she is always looking after him and that he can do better next time!

My bad, somehow i got it the other way around, like this is the deck for new players and the question would be, what character should the other player use.

It's a nice idea though, there's so many cards now that can protect other players or yourself, i hadn't considered such a deck yet.

I'm wondering about the consitency of the deck however, because you got all cards only once. Do you draw the right card at the time...? Have you played this deck yet? You might add Preposterous Sketches, to restock cards, should you run out too qickly.

Regarding "TrAshcan" Pete, Scooby Duke is awesome. I've played him a few times and must say, you save so many actions by having a weapon in play from the start... you just need to protect him from nasty encounter cards or he might get sacrificed permanently.

@SynisillAs flavorful as it is, it DID make me feel somewhat uncomfortable when you put it that way. I guess I just suppressed Zoey's desires all along.

In all seriosuness, I'm up to date with Dunwich cycle with this deck. In last scenario I had the pleasure to draw all my weaknesses in first 4 turns of the game (one of which was Amnesia). And we still aced it somehow, to my surprise. Even with terrible draw for multiple turns, you can survive and control the board if you sacrifice your first turn for the setup. In terms of worst weakness for this deck, I'd say that Indebted must be the worst simply because it screws up your first turn so badly. If you get a Machete you're golden, but if you are forced to get it through Prepared for the Worst, suddenly having only 3 resources is crushing.

@Django My bad, I guess I should've put more emphasis on that aspect of the deck. Like I mentioned in other comment, I do in fact use this deck in my campaign. I wouldn't be showing this deck here at all, if it wasn't for the fishing provided by 2 copies of Prepared for the Worst. That card made huge difference as its purpose shifts throughout the game. From needing any weapon at the start of the game to needing your Big Bad Gun later on. Maybe I overvalued it, but during whole campaign so far, there was only one time it fished me nothing. If you've ever played with single core, you know how frustrating it is to not have a weapon as a guardian.

We can argue some cards being in here, for example Defiance. Is it really that good? Not really. Does it provide some very unique bad luck protection in a single moment that may win or lose you the game? It sure does. The greatest problem with having singles is when you can't do your job very well. Guardians, and especially Zoey, are complete if they have a weapon. After your first scenario, Keen Eye is there to make your life a lil bit easier. It may look clunky, but the key thing is you are good at dealing with encounter deck from the start, because encounter deck emphasises dealing with enemies and passing mostly willpower tests. And with that deck you can manage just that. The moment I'll have to deal with agility based tests, I might as well dig meself a comfy grave.

With only 1 core set i agree that preparation is necessary, but should you ever get a second one (or proxies like i do), i'd rather go with a second copy of both weapons. This saves you the ressource and action to play Prepared for the Worst, as you would've drawn a weapon otherwise. I had this card in my jenny deck for 6 games, but played it only once. In all other times, i had a weapon in starting hand.

tests usually deal physical damage, so it's not a real problem for zoey, with her high HP and mitigation you've included.

Keen Eye is the only permanent talent that boosts both game winning stats, so if you had more stuff to increase your income, you might become decent at investigation for a single turn. Spend 6 ressorces for +3 investigate for 3 actions or something like that.

Did you consider Shortcut or Elusive? The first lets you move with an enemy, but as "fast" does not provoke an OA. The second lets you leave an enemy when you're in a crisis or move closer to another player at the other side of the map. Especially helpful in big scenarios, like venice or boston.