True, True Awakening | HC 7.5k Guide

True, True Awakening

I'm continuing my series using the Drowned City cards. Some combos are so powerful that they need to be played - Double, Double with True Awakening is just that...

Overview

• Double, Double with True Awakening gives a repeatable 4 cards and 2 testless clues for 0 resources and 1 card played (excluding Double, Double's own costs). While it sounds unassuming, realistically that's massive - clues and card advantage make the Arkham LCG world go round!

• As True Awakening gives clues for free, I wanted to lean into less testing. Extensive Research plus Dream-Enhancing Serum work wonders for this, with doubling Extensive Research being great! Hand sizes of 10+ are fairly common, giving Extensive Research an appropriate cost. Intel Report gives extra clues as well, and Lockpicks • allow you to pick up single clues effectively.

• Card draw is Easy Mark, Lucky Cigarette Case •••, Manual Dexterity ••, Blood-Rite, Emergency Cache ••, Counterespionage and the previously mentioned Dream-Enhancing Serum and True Awakening. These make the deck cycle often (usually twice in lengthier scenarios), with Jenny's access to Peter Sylvestre managing the horror. Along with your three copies of Blood-Rite, Short Rest provides useful 'dead cards' for the Dream-Enhancing Serum hand limit (dead cards is a bit of a disservice, as both the healing plus icons come in very handy).

• Emergency Cache •• and Easy Mark with Jenny's ability give loads of cash (especially when you Double, Double these). Searching for Izzie is annoying, but you can buy a strong investigate with Streetwise to help you succeed and Leo helps with the action cost. The previously mentioned Short Rest can heal off horror arising from mental trauma if you don't search for Izzie a few times.

• Enemy management is Bum's Rush for easier evading and damage. Further damage itself is Blood-Rite through Occult Lexicon and Sneak Attack - with Double, Double dealing up to 9 damage (Bum's Rush for the evade with damage, plus then 3 two damage cards with one doubled).

Campaign starter and planned progression

In the Thick of It makes this a 29 XP deck. I would recommend two physical trauma in case Searching for Izzie starts ruining your good time (True Awakening allows for healing in either case). I thought about Hot Streak a lot on this deck, but I think the card draw of Emergency Cache •• actually works much better. 0 XP deck is below (and link here).

Recommended order of purchases/upgrades is:

• 1 x Lockpicks → 1 x True Awakening

• 1 x Lockpicks → 1 x Lockpicks •

• Charisma

• 1 x Bank Job → Double, Double

• Streetwise

• 1 x Bank Job → 1 x Emergency Cache •• (19 XP here for standalones)

• 1 x Faustian Bargain → 1 x Emergency Cache ••

• 1 x Faustian Bargain → 1 x Counterespionage

• 1 x Lucky Cigarette Case → 1 x Lucky Cigarette Case •••

• Manual Dexterity → Manual Dexterity ••

Final thoughts

This deck is powerful - probably my strongest of the series alongside the Amanda deck - because here you really don't have to test very often. Particularly at two-player where the testless clues on offer here are substantial, I don't think I realised how strong this could be. Jenny is also the perfect investigator for the deck, as the extra resource per upkeep is very significant with a lot of your events costing two or multiples of two (e.g. Counterespionage and Intel Report costing 4 when paying for their add-ons).

In one on my playtests (Film Fatale), I managed to: cycle twice healing that horror with Peter, play Extensive Research and Intel Report (two clues) twice each, double double Sneak Attack, double double Emergency Cache •• and True Awakening multiple times, finish two Elites off with Blood-Rite, as well as do several successful tests with Lockpicks • and Bum's Rush. Double doubling your resource cards is frankly bonkers, and when I did draw Leo De Luca I could pay his steep cost without care.

I've wanted to make big-hand pay-to-win Jenny for a while, and with TDC and True Awakening it became so much easier. If you want a powerhouse deck, you won't be disappointed!