Jenny Mk. 8 (#5: Blood on the Altar)

Jenny Mk. 8 is very similar to Mk. 7. This far into testing I'm set on the core idea behind the deck and I'm only twiddling with it. So, I'm keeping Delves and Machetes and I'll be relying on dual Adaptable same as earlier. I'm throwing out Double or Nothing. It's an immensely cool card to use, but it's expensive to use well. In exchange I'm slotting in Think on Your Feet for extra risk mitigation and an occassional free move. I'll be also using all five off-color card slots rather than the usual four and I'll be trying out some Exceptional cards. Ace in the Hole and The Gold Pocket Watch both seem very appealing, but Lucky Dice are also tempting and cheaper in terms of XP.

I'm also changing the formatting so that the title actually matches the scenario in which the deck was used.

Extracurricular Activity: R3. Professor Warren Rice was kidnapped! The Experiment was defeated! 6XP (The Experiment, Wizard of Yog-Sothoth, Orne Library, 2x Delve Too Deep)

Highlights: Overall, the scenario went poorly. I got lots of horror from the encounter cards and Wizard of Yog-Sothoth, to the point of needing to accept the Offer of Power. I didn't manage to find "Jazz" Mulligan at all. Fortunatelly, when Searching for Izzie appeared I could put it on the Student Union rather than on one of the closed-off locations. Jenny healed herself at the Union as The Experiment approached. I drew Internal Injury, but ignored it in favour of Jenny going after The Experiment. It turned out that Jenny needed those two extra actions, since the chaos bag wasn't too kind on her. Still, 6XP despite the overall poor performance is satisfying.

The House Always Wins: R3. Naomi has Jenny's back! Dr. Francis Morgan was kidnapped! 5XP (Clover Club Pit Boss, VIP Area, Art Gallery, Back Alley, Delve Too Deep)

Highlights: Textbook run! Think on Your Feet proved to be particularly useful, letting Jenny use the usually-dreaded enemy spawns to her advantage. In this scenario the distances are relatively big and Jenny doesn't really want to fight with criminals (who can be dealt with by monsters) or Conglomeration of Spheres (which can eat melee weapons). Saving Peter Clover is all about Fine Clothes, Elusive and "I'm outta here!". With these three the risk is minimal. BUT! Minimal doesn't mean zero, as Jenny learned to her chagrin. She waited for Conglomeration of Spheres to leave the Clover Club Bar, teleported-in via Elusive and had 3 actions to parley with Peter. Alas, the first two chaos tokens revealed were auto-fail and -4. Since "I'm outta here!" isn't fast Jenny had to wait until the next turn. Or rather the turn after that due to ill-timed Dissonant Voices!

Interlude I: Jenny rescued Dr. Henry Armitage!

The Miskatonic Museum: R1. Jenny destroyed the Necronomicon! 5XP (Exhibit Hall, Exhibit Hall, Exhibit Hall, Exhibit Hall, Exhibit Hall)

Highlights: Perfect! It literally couldn't had been better as Jenny gathered the grand total of 7XP. This scenario is all about knowing when to defeat and when to evade the Hunting Horror... >Blip<... I forgot that thing has Retaliate... I need to replay.

Actual Highlights: Yeah, I drew Crypt Chill as my first encounter with my only asset being Adam Lynch. Mercifully, Switchblade is fast and I had exactly one resource left, so I could sacrifice it to the chill and avoid adding to the chaos bag. This run was much tighter than the first time around, mainly because I was hit with Beyond the Veil and then numerous Passage into the Veil and Visions of Futures Past. Jenny was on the clock and worse the Restricted Hall was at the very bottom of the exhibit deck. Fortunatelly, I had good tokens against these discard effects, never drew Searching for Izzie and was able to bypass the Hunting Horror at the Restricted Hall via Drawn to the Flame.

The Essex County Express: R1. -3 Token added to the chaos bag! 1 Mental Trauma! 4XP (Engine Car, Parlor Car, 2x Delve Too Deep)

Highlights: Everything went well until Jenny reached the Engine Car. The odds cought up with her as the auto-fail token was revealed on Act 1b. I'd say Jenny should be used to dangling from the side of the engine with all the gutsy things she does and her daring escapes from monsters. Alas, mental trauma it shall be. There were around 6 turns in reserve, so I drew more cards to reach Delves and get extra XPs from them, meaning that I can spend 9XP in preparation for the next scenario. Perhaps Jenny should buy herself something pretty to cheer up?

Blood on the Altar: R3. Jenny banished Silas Bishop! Dr. Francis Morgan was sacrificed to Yog‑Sothoth! 4XP (The Hidden Chamber, 2 Bonus XP)

Highlights: It's as if the game was aware of Jenny's diminished mental health and kept throwing Eager for Death, Sordid and Silent and Rotting Remains at her. Thankfully, Jenny held firm and managed to finish the scenario without more trauma. Lots of time was wasted searching for the hidden chamber, but gathering clues inside went well with the help of copious amount of resources spent on Streetwise, some convenient Servant of Many Mouths and Drawn to the Flame. Seriously, that last card plays way better than it oughts to. I wonder if it really is that good or that the sample size is too small and I'm only seeing the better part of the curve. Sadly, even with that Jenny was too slow to save Dr. Francis Morgan. I'm sure the two of them would get on well and game-wise he'd be the second best ally for combat-focused Jenny. The best ally is of course Leo De Luca, who by the way avoided being Kidnapped! Twice.

Interlude II: Dr. Henry Armitage survived The Dunwich Legacy! Professor Warren Rice survived The Dunwich Legacy! Zebulon Whateley survived The Dunwich Legacy! Earl Sawyer survived The Dunwich Legacy!