Preston "Scrooge McDuck" Fairmont

Have you ever wanted to swim in a pool of coins ? To use the mere existence of that massive amount of cash to get things to go your way, without even spending it ? If so, this deck is for you ! Then you can go on adventures in the jungle, get kidnapped by aliens and travel through time ! Am I talking about Arkham Horror, or Duck Tales ? Who knows, it's madness !

The goal of this deck is simple : accumulate "big money" and rely on Well Connected(3) (or Well Connected) to gain massive bonuses on demand. The rest of the deck aims at 1) setting this up and 2) surviving until you are set up without being totally useless, mostly be auto-succeeding.

(I am only using the Revised Core Set, Circle Undone and Edge of the Earth because this is what I own. There are probably better cards in other sets, feel free to suggest them ! )

This deck is obviously not uber-powerful. It's probably not even the best strategy for Preston. Playing it solo is a challenge : you will be very vulnerable at first. But it's fun ! It's also very versatile : since you can apply the bonus from Well Connected to anything, you can overcome unexpected tests and challenges that your group could be ill-equipped to handle (a scenario-specific parley/location test that requires a stat that nobody invested in, or a particular enemy that needs to be evaded, etc)

The heart of this deck : Well Connected (especially (3)) (hereafter referred to as WC)

Upgrading to the 3xp version will be the first priority. (I even toyed with the idea of using In the Thick of It to get it immediately) With this deck, expect to end most scenarios sitting on 25-30 ressources. So your WC bonus will be around +7. Using it twice (for two different tests) for 2 ressources is a steal. When your hoard is not quite there, you can also pay 2 ressources to use WC twice for the same test.

Your best mate : Leo De Luca

He may be a criminal, but nothing illicit going on here, officer ! Leo is essential for this deck to run smoothly(ish). Since you need to spend an action to transfer funds from your Family Inheritance to your hoard, Leo's extra action will help.

Card draw

Without the ability to efficiently tutor WC, you will need to draw cards if you don't get it with your mulligan. Before your set-up is completed, you will likely fail most tests (either treacheries, or with "Look what I found!"). Rabbit's Foot will take advantage of this. If you have your fancy Track Shoes on, you can trigger them every time you move and expect to fail (agility 2 vs test 3), to draw more cards. (Remember that you can also use the shoes for their original purpose by using your WC bonus on demand to succeed instead) Once you purchase Drawing Thin (or if you don't use the taboo, right away), it will also get you cards when you trigger the shoes. You can instead use it for more money, but remember that the ressources will go through your Family Inheritance first.

Surviving

Decoy, Stray Cat and Elusive allow you to escape an enemy drawn too soon, especially in solo. Counterespionage should replace the cat after upgrading WC, to protect against treacheries and turn them into card draws. Money Talks, Trial by Fire and Lucky! will allow you to succeed at a critical test before your hoard is big enough, or to do more in a single turn.

Clueing

Flashlight and "Look what I found!" should be used to almost-auto-succed on shroud 2 locations, while Intel Report should be reserved for high shroud challenges.

Fighting

Since almost all Rogue weapons are illicit, we look to Survivor weapons. Meat Cleaver has the advantage of using only one hand and consistently dealing 2 damage. A true solo of this deck might want to add a Baseball Bat instead of a Decoy for more weapons.

Weaknesses

With your hoard, your signature Lodge "Debts" becomes really easy to get rid of ; just wait until the last possible moment to avoid lowering your WC bonus at the wrong time. It will occupy a card space in your hand until then. Just remember to keep an action to play Lodge "Debts" before resigning / winning / being defeated. If you get Paranoia for this deck, good luck...

Upgrading this deck

After upgrading Well Connected(3) and trading Stray Cat for Counterespionage, Drawing Thin should be the next purchase (replacing a card you find less useful). The Black Fan is at home in this deck (who else but Preston to use it ?), but not essential. Another Day, Another Dollar will get you started faster. Lucky!(2), Money Talks(2) and Leo De Luca(1) will get you cards or save you money. The rest will depend on the needs of your team. You could even try Earthly Serenity for healing, since you will be able to oversucceed and empty it in one go.