The internet is lacking Core 2026 starter decks that work up to 4 players with no adjustments right now, so I wanted to fill this gap.

At a 4 player count and limited to Core 2026 only, cards will be scarce and you are forced to "team build" rather than deckbuild. If someone modifies their cards, there's a high chance that it is also someone else's good card. You can't really name each individual deck as anything in this limitation, so let's think of them together as a team. This is a "No Trish" team, with all her Rogue cards going to Dexter Drake and all her Seeker cards going to Joe Diamond. Daniela Reyes and Isabelle Barnes do have to share with each other, as well as with those other two members.

Pre-Built Team for 4P Core 2026 : This series is about a set of 4 Core 2026 investigator decks built together, taking every advantage of the cards donated from that known one missing Core investigator stated in the team name. They are automatically compatible with 2P or 3P games as well, as long as that one investigator stays missing.

NEWS : I'm now maintaining a one-stop destination of strictly beginner-friendly starter decks over at https://arkham-starter.com/starter, and even pre-built starter teams for 2, 3, or 4 players at https://arkham-starter.com/team. (That's why the site was named that in the first place.) Special thanks to all starter deck authors' contributions for making it possible!

Members

Since this works only as a team, the guide is the same for everyone. The decks are in their 0 XP state with upgrade cards prepared in the Side Deck, which makes sure you are not colliding with anyone even in the upgrades.

• Daniela Reyes : arkhamdb.com | arkham.build
  • Enemy : Great. Clue : A bit.
• Joe Diamond* : arkhamdb.com | arkham.build
  • Enemy : Good. Clue : Great.
• Dexter Drake* : arkhamdb.com | arkham.build
  • Enemy : Great (after 10 XP). Clue : A bit.
• Isabelle Barnes : arkhamdb.com | arkham.build
  • Enemy : Good. Clue : Good.

* = Obtained all cards from the missing member Trish Scarborough and can use them to their heart's content.

Stop! Have you played the pre-con yet?

Read this if you are a newcomer. Out of the box, the game comes with 5 playable decks, where each deck has 1 copy of every non-neutral card it can use. This is the most unopinionated, flexible way the game could make sure they work in 2, 3, or 4 player teams no matter who's picked, with no one taking each other's cards. (Even if this game went up to 5 players, that would still work.)

Obviously the performance is not ideal, and you will see cards that don't fit with what the investigator is good at, or even cards waiting for future non-Core products to fulfill their purpose, but you are forced to use them now! But performance isn't the purpose of these decks. I highly recommend that you play through Brethren of Ash at least once using the pre-con :

• Getting to know the investigators. Core Set investigators can use 2 classes, and they form a circular chain of classes. A very optimized deck might automatically lean into the primary class, and that removes the "wonders" that you could have stumbled onto. You won't know how far they can flex if you start with a deck that's too consistent.
• Table talk. Since there's only 1 copy of each class card in each deck, if your friend has overlapping class access with you, then when they see you play something, they learn as well and might get their own copy of that card soon. When a card doesn't work with your investigator, teamwork happens. You will come up with many more interesting, scrappy combos than an optimized team would.
• There's always a way out. If you play with the pre-con, you will surely be pushed toward certain less-than-ideal solutions throughout Brethren of Ash, which I think will get you hooked on the game.

That is, I wanted to make sure you know this pre-built team isn't intended to replace your first-time experience. Rather, this should be one example of an adjustment you can make. Double up copies of cards you agree with, keep one-ofs of cards you think are situational or want to share, and cut cards you don't like. That's deckbuilding / team building. Have fun!

The No Trish Team

Since Core 2026 investigators form a ring of classes, when Trish Scarborough is gone, the nutrients go to Joe Diamond and Dexter Drake.

The problem with the Core 2026 set is that only Trish Scarborough is good (and very good) at evasion. The game designers put a lot more emphasis on evasion than in the previous chapter of this game. So in this team, I need to get EVERYONE somehow able to evade, since unlike Fight, Evade needs engagement. If only a certain someone could evade, and they need to engage and then evade, that'd be a huge tempo loss. The loss of Trish also reduces investigation power.

Dexter Drake

For this deck we should start with Dexter, since this decision is quite bold. Because cards are limited and all Rogue cards are free to use, it is tempting to give him the less optimal suite of Thieves' Kit + M1903 Hammerless + Olivier Bishop + Sticky Fingers, and so Isabelle Barnes can have her full working suite of Cosmic Flame + Second Sight. Sure, 3 is not impressive, and his 5 is left unused. But we put up with it for the first scenario, because this deck's upgrade plan is to spend 10 XP (!) on 2x Cosmic Flame (5), and then your team will be cosmic flaming to victory with both Dexter and Isabelle. I decided to leave both Breaking and Entering in the collection, as you likely won't get +2 over-success even with Olivier Bishop, and Silver Tongue isn't getting +2 for 1 resource on it. The best evasion he can use is Silver Tongue + Sticky Fingers (since you'd get refunded the 1 resource you just spent) with Soul Link to push that limit. Soul Link evasion horror can be put on Cloak of Resonance to make a bit of forward progress, as well as Ward of Protection horror. This deck keeps 2x Silver Tongue until the end. Premonition can help avoid over-spending on evasion.

Isabelle Barnes

Isabelle gets a comfortable full set of 2x Cosmic Flame + 2x Second Sight + 2x Jim Culver, along with the Lucky Charm + Cloak of Resonance damage-pinging technique. To emphasize evasion, this deck will not remove Slippery, so when Dexter tries to go for a big evade with Silver Tongue, that exhaust sticks for one more round. You can also commit it on your own if you have Timely Intervention ready in hand. "Shove off!" are removed after scenario 1, and Timely Intervention can help with that test too. Premonition can be a good way to ensure evasion however much it takes. Hunter's Instinct is used to replay Premonition, Emergency Cache, and "Look what I found!".

Daniela Reyes

Since Isabelle is on Jim Culver with her full suite of spells, Daniela uses Logan Hastings + Aleksey Saburov in this deck, which will be better after Charisma. She shares 1x of Endurance with Joe Diamond, so both can go broke and get a last-ditch evasion. She also shares 1x of Bodyguard with Joe, and both will get one upgraded version as well. The 1x Hunter's Instinct that Isabelle shared with her could be used to replay Emergency Cache, Lesson Learned, or Scene of the Crime. 1x Right Tool for the Job is also shared with Joe because Joe got a lot of Seeker Tool assets from the absent Trish Scarborough, which I want this card to hit.

Joe Diamond

Joe gets 2x Machete, as 2x M1911 are better on Daniela when she uses her to attack unengaged enemies that just hit others. 1x Endurance is for late-game evasion, when Dorothy Simmons gets more resources than he needs. Along with Hand-Crank Flashlight, Joe gets all the Seeker hand assets in the game with the absence of Trish. Other than Emergency Cache, there are no resource-boosting cards. To play Fingerprint Kit and still have some to spare, you will want to mulligan for and play Dorothy Simmons early, and hope your work brings you more resources.

Upgrades

Daniela Reyes

Charisma is a Logan Hastings + Aleksey Saburov enabler after preferably one Bodyguard (2) has already been defeated. 2x Scrape By is Daniela's best evasion card and will likely succeed even on some 5 monsters! Use either Aleksey Saburov or Meat Cleaver to help with the horror cost, and don't use it when it's only her bare 5 sanity. The rest are straightforward weapon improvements, though with that 2x Scrape By, it likely means you will not have Sledgehammer (3) in the 2nd scenario, or will just barely get it with a perfect play of the 1st scenario. Isabelle Barnes can use Timely Intervention to get unlikely evasion with her 3 , so I think it's fine to let Daniela have all Scrape By.

Joe Diamond

I think Joe is not in immediate need of Charisma, since Laboratory Assistant and Bodyguard (2) can go get defeated fast before transitioning to Dorothy Simmons. In this team, which lacks evasion, I prioritize 2x Through the Cracks (2) first. (You'll need 3 clues to get 8 .) 2x Local Map are removed because they are a non-bo with Right Tool for the Job, unlike Fingerprint Kit. 2x Counterattack could be considered a sort of evasion supplement card, by not evading but canceling the attack instead.

Dexter Drake

Dexter spends 10 XP to patch his completely missing Cosmic Flame at the start with 2x Cosmic Flame (5) (meanwhile Isabelle Barnes is also using her 2x Cosmic Flame). Then Sticky Fingers (2) saves a setup action, along with a Fast keyword that you can have some fun with using his and Prestidigitation, and an additional commit in a pinch. Mask of Silenus can help you push your luck with evasion as well as get horror onto Cloak of Resonance. I've considered a 2nd Mask of Silenus but couldn't find any other card I'm willing to remove, so the plan ends here. (It'd be insane if Dexter could use Another Day, Another Dollar ...)

Isabelle Barnes

Because Trish isn't here, Isabelle is going the way of Old Compass (2) + "Look what I found!" + Timely Intervention + On the Brink (2) + Hunter's Instinct combo to help out with clues. Notably, I wanted to keep both On the Brink (2) and Unexpected Courage so you can even combine commits to get on anything she wants to do. 2x Fearless (2) still come first, so I can be more comfortable about removing Bandages and reducing Jumpsuit to one copy, due to fear of Breaking Point checking for too much horror.