Ursula Downs - 29 XP Standalone - Ornate Bow

Ursula is one of my favorite investigators due to her explorer background and that she can take care of herself unlike some Seekers. This build strongly sets her up to do that while still collecting a lot of clues.

The expectation is that this deck will be played in a 3 or 4 player standalone scenario at Dice Tower Cruise and Tantrum Con on Standard difficulty. Ursula should be strong enough that the team could include a second Seeker and really fly through scenarios. I think this deck will do well on Hard but the Ornate Bow might be difficult to hit enemies since it would be a 6 with just a few skill cards to boost it higher. I have included Grisly Totem and Fieldwork in a previous deck to boost the Bow but those cards are in Carcosa and Circle Undone and I am not bringing those expansions on this trip.

This deck is setup for extra movement, being independent, shroud reduction for both Ursula and her teammates and enough flexible skill cards to boost her two weaknesses. Her biggest weakness will be horror from the treachery deck and fighting at a 6 with the Ornate Bow on Hard Difficulty.

Expansions Included - basically this includes the Core, Dunwich and what I am buying (already bought) during my trip to the US this month. I am leaving entire boxes of content at home just in case something happens to my Arkham while traveling.

1. Core Set
2. Dunwich
3. Forgotten Age
4. Return to Carcosa

Here is an earlier version of the Ursula's L0 deck that I used for Carcosa with Leo. Ursula was fantastic in that campaign on Hard mode. I might make a few changes to that deck especially since I have a few new cards (the rest of Forgotten Age) but that should give you an idea of Ursula's starting deck for a campaign. https://arkhamdb.com/decklist/view/17489/ursula-downs-ornate-bow-thematic-v2-1.0

Relics

Ursula is all about the Relics and that is something that makes her so much fun to play. Ursula transforms from a non-fighter into taking out enemies with the Ornate Bow. This transformation comes at a small price to her becoming a clue powerhouse but it allows her to not need a Guardian standing over her.

1. Dr. Elli Horowitz searches her deck and holds onto one relic for her. The goal is to find the Ornate Bow but there are 8 relics in this Standalone deck so Elli will definitely find something.
2. Ornate Bow - probably my favorite weapon in the game. It isn't overpowered but rather that it allows some that couldn't fight effectively a chance at doing some damage each round.
3. Otherworldly Compass - I am still undecided after upgrading to the Compass in two campaigns at just how strong it actually is. It should always give at least a -1 shroud and -2 can be common especially if you Pathfinder back and forth using the free investigate. I thought it was very important that Elli would be holding an investigating tool if Ursula needed to hold the Bow herself. The Bow is nice but Ursula's job is to gather clues.
4. Hemispheric Map - This is a new card for and it looks like it will be quite powerful but inconsistent. This would probably be one of the last upgrades that I would make in a normal campaign.
5. The Skeleton Key - This is another new card for me but it seems very powerful. I am a little concerned about game tempo since it takes an action to attach and detach it but I expect to play in larger groups at the conventions and everyone can benefit from the shroud reduction.
6. I had a little extra XP so I included one Elder Sign Amulet as an emergency horror soak just in case Ursula got in trouble. This deck overall doesn't contain much horror soak nor encounter deck protection.

The Disc of Itzamna was a last second cut for the Hemispheric Map since it looks like Ursula is covered for enemy management.

Enemy Management Ursula is actually really, really strong at killing things with the Ornate Bow and I've Got a Plan. At least for a Seeker. It will obviously be nice if there is a teammate to take out the enemies and allow her to use every action to investigate but it isn't a problem if she gets split up from the team.

1. Kill them with the Ornate Bow and "I've got a plan!"
2. Evade them with Ursula's 4 plus many or icons.

Investigating Clues

Ursula is pretty good at investigating clues before adding the Seeker tools. She also has several cards that can help other investigators gather clues with shroud reduction but the lack of Carcosa cards eliminated one of my favorite Seeker upgrades.

1. Arcane Insight isn't in the deck (no Carcosa cards) but I found that it works really well in with Ursula since it stacks with her other Seeker tools. I really like this card with Ursula. It also combos really well with Fingerprint Kit.
2. Otherworldly Compass should give a -1 or -2 shroud on most investigations but it exhausts and can only be used once. I don't think I would use this over Flashlight except for this being a relic focused deck with Dr. Elli Horowitz.
3. The Skeleton Key requires an action to attach and detach but it allows all investigators to test against a 1 shroud.
4. Vantage Point is a new card for me but it can be played during any turn for a -1 shroud.
5. Deduction picks up extra clues
6. The boring and simple Flashlight - Shroud reduction is a powerful tool and it isn't a very big loss if it doesn't get played during a scenario. It is very powerful early scenario though since Ursula can use it to quickly clear off any shroud locations other than a 5. It also has a finite time to use it when the better items are drawn.

Extra Movement

Pathfinder is one of my favorite Seeker cards since it allows for an extra move each turn and combos really well with Ursula's free investigate action. I wanted to include Shortcut(2) to speed up the rest of the team but it is in Carcosa and I didn't bring any of those cards along.

Encounter Deck and Horror Management

Ursula only has one ally (Jake is nothing more than skill icons) and doesn't have many options to boost above a 3. I wanted to include Forewarned but that is a Carcosa card so I included 1x Elder Sign Amulet as a late play if Horror becomes an issue.

Let me know your thoughts on this Ursula deck. I think it is highly thematic of an explorer and should work great as a really strong all around investigator.