A Witch and her Shrink: Carolyn Deck SUPER FUN!

Card draw simulator

Odds: 0% – 0% – 0% more
Derived from
None. Self-made deck here.
Inspiration for
TFA Clue and Healing Carolyn 0 0 0 1.0
TFA Clue and Healing Carolyn 1 0 0 2.0
Carolyn Deck | Multijugador Camino a Carcosa 0 0 0 1.0
Combo Carolyn Fern 1.0 0 0 0 1.0
Carolyn, Agnes and Wendy walk into a bar 0 0 0 1.0
Dr. Feelgood, PhD 0 1 0 2.0
Carolyn with Agnes: 28xp 0 0 0 1.0
Carolyn and Silas 0 0 0 1.0
Carolyn (and Agnes) Take on the Blob! - GenCon 2019 1 1 0 1.0
Carolyn Seeker Deck 2 person 0 0 0 2.0
Carolyn Seeker Deck 2 person 0 0 0 3.0
Carolyn Seeker Deck 2 person 0 0 0 4.0
Cluever Carolyn Fuels Agnes' Wrath 0 0 0 1.0
Carolyn Fern - Circle Undone 1 0 0 1.0
first deck 0 0 0 1.0
My First Deck 0 0 0 2.0
Asylum - Carolyn Fern Deck (Multiplayer) 0 0 0 1.0
Asylum - Carolyn Fern Deck (Multiplayer) 4 4 0 2.0
будет весело 0 0 0 1.0
A Witch and her Shrink: Carolyn Deck SUPER FUN! 0 0 0 2.0
A Witch and her Shrink: Carolyn Deck SUPER FUN! 0 0 0 3.0
A Witch and her Shrink: Carolyn Deck SUPER FUN! 0 0 0 4.0
A Witch and her Shrink: Carolyn Deck SUPER FUN! 0 0 0 5.0
A Witch and her Shrink: Carolyn Deck SUPER FUN! 0 0 0 6.0
Scared Clueless: Carolyn Deck 3 2 0 1.0
Carolyn for Heals 0 0 0 1.0
Carolyn 4 players 0 0 0 1.0
Carolyn Fern, Warrior Psychologist 3 2 0 1.0
Dynamic Duo - Carolyn and Agnes 25 16 0 1.0
Dynamic Duo - Agnes and Carolyn 24 12 0 1.0
Dynamic Duo - Agnes "Bad Blood" and Carolyn 12 5 0 1.0
A Witch and her Shrink: Carolyn Deck SUPER FUN! 0 0 0 1.0

FBones · 17965

NOTE: These decks are Taboo-friendly. They are not affected by the Taboo list: no Milan, no Machete, no Higher Education, no Streetwise, no Elusive. And yet they are still effective on Hard/Expert difficulty. (Though they will run into trouble on 1st scenario of TCU).

This is a special deck to be used as part of an Agnes & Carolyn Fern Combo (Agnes Deck Here) that is SUPER fun and pretty damn effective on Hard or even Expert difficulty. Using these decks (with 9xp each) we were 2 clues away from winning Rougarou the hard way on Hard difficulty, which is very difficult if you are only using 2 players. (Had we played the scenario using pre-existing knowledge we would have actually succeeded---we wasted two clues engaging Rougarou to find out what we needed to win, and then you have to use 2 more clues to engage again to win, and have 8 clues left over; we were 2 clues short because we engaged twice). Instead we just had to kill The Rougarou.

The basic idea is that you have a ton of direct damage ability, mostly from Agnes Baker special ability (which can be triggered at will from Forbidden Knowledge or Painkillers), but also from Alice Luxley's ability, and this is supported by Carolyn Fern's massive healing ability, which at the same time gives you tons of resources. Agnes does all the monster slaying. Carolyn does most of the clue finding---the only exception being that Agnes has 2 Drawn to the Flames to pick up clues on high shroud locations.

The upgraded Clarity of Mind is exceptionally good for Carolyn, because you can split the horror healing and each investigator gets a resource from Carolyn’s investigator ability.

Carolyn is exceptionally hard to balance, I was literally up to version 0.26 of her deck before I was happy with it. In addition to balancing clue-finding versus resources versus fighting and assets versus speed, you also have to balance how much healing to have and how to use your budget of 15 seeker/mystic cards.

I was surprised how much I liked Wither. Initially I thought it was just a crappy excuse for a card, but in this deck I actually prefer to get it in my opening hand compared to Shrivelling. The point being that early on (before Agnes gets power-ups) failing on Hard difficulty is a real risk, and every time you fail with Shriveling you lose a precious ammo. But Wither does not have this issue. Given all the direct damage options, being limited to 1 damage at a time from Wither was not too bad.

Mulligan hard for Intellect boosters, Hypnotic Therapy, and cards that let you draw other cards. You are virtually assured of getting 1 booster as you have 7 in the deck, but you really want 2 so you can investigate as a 6 early on.

Note that Inspiring Presence lets you re-use Alice Luxley ability, so you can use it when you need to do two damage to an enemy.'s

Early upgrades are Clarity of Mind, Death • XIII(replace Fingerprint Kit), Pathfinder, and Well Prepared.

39 comments

May 27, 2019 TheBlackHorror · 16034

Great deck idea! I just started this pair in a new TCU campaign and I was surprised by how much I prefer Alice Luxley over the Mutated version of Milan. With the current cardpool, Carolyn continues to amaze me with how good she is. And, of course, paired with Agnes those two are dynamite. I will point out that, if you can get them both early, 2x Hawk-Eye Folding Cameras once the Fingerprint Kit is used combined with St. Hubert's Key can turn Carolyn into a Willpower/Intellect monster. I'm curious why you went only 1x Fingerprint Kit and suggest subbing it out later? It is a great way to double clue acquisition, so why no 2x Fingerprint Kit and use Death to replace the Mag Glasses? By the looks of the card cost I am guessing economy?

May 27, 2019 FBones · 17965

@TheBlackHorror, Yes, it is resource considerations, but it may also be another key difference between Standard and Hard. On Hard difficulty I really, really, really want Carolyn to get 2 intellect boosts early, and in bad situations that may require using a No Stone Unturned to find one of them. So in that bad-luck case of needing to use NSU I definitely need 1 of those 2 intellect boosters to be a magnifying glass (total cost = 7; 1 for mag, 2 for NSU, 4 for some other booster). That is much less of an early game hit than having to cough up 10 resources.

But there is another issue... Fingerprint kit is my list favorite of the options to get early (again, assuming Hard/Expert difficulty) because I'm more likely to waste a charge on it if I don't have other gear.

On Standard it would probably be less of a problem to only have 1 booster, and also less risk losing charges on Fingerprint kit.

May 28, 2019 Carkey · 1

What is the idea of having one Arcane Research in this deck? I myself have interpreted it only to have an effect with upgrading spell cards already in the deck, so with this build there would not be a single target for it.

May 28, 2019 FBones · 17965

@Carkey, Ah, I did not catch that! The idea here was twofold: 1) Cheapen Clarity of Mind and 2) give Carolyn a starting Trauma so she would have something to heal. In fact, I thought about going with 2 copies so she could take Thermos, but decided against it.

I believe you are completely right, though. Which means one should either start with Clarity of Mind or Arcane Research. I don't really like either of those options, but I would probably go with keeping Arcane Research and subbing Clarity of Mind in for Inspiring Presence, unless you were playing on Expert, in which case I would sub it for First Aid.

Jun 24, 2019 Django · 4859

I was wondering about the ressource curve of the deck. Do you think it can support Thermos instead of Liquid Courage? I'm also planning to take with 2x Arcane Research to get 2 sanity each time with carolyn and agnes.

Jun 28, 2019 alpha5099 · 50

Hiya. Love the deck. Just picked up TCU, can't wait to play through it once I'm caught up on scenarios. Question: how necessary do you feel Agnes is to this combo? Would another Mystic fit? I know there's some major synergy between Agnes' ability and Carolyn's, but I would rather play with one of the newer investigators.

Jun 28, 2019 Django · 4859

@alpha5099 I havent played TCU yet, but from my experience, run out of Shrivelling charges when they're primary fighters too quickly.

Agnes mitigates this with her own ability and horror healing (from carolyn).

For anyone else, Wither might be a solution but you'll run into trouble with high HP foes. You could also give carolyn 2x Meat Cleaver and 2x Physical Training, but i'm not sure if her ressources can support both and assets.

If the is Diana Stanley, start with Prepared for the Worst, Machete + Beat Cop and upgrade to Timeworn Brand ASAP, this solves all you needs on standard and maybe hard. Add Ace of Swords later.

Jun 28, 2019 mdffs · 1

Between your Carolyn Fern and Agnes Baker decks you have 4x Deny Existence. Any suggestions on replacements for one or the other since I've only got 2?

Jun 28, 2019 Django · 4859

You could replace it with Ward of Protection (and upgrades) in Agnes for another use of her ability and potential horror to heal with carolyn.

Jul 03, 2019 mdffs · 1

Ward of Protection is already on FBone's Agnes

Jul 08, 2019 Django · 4859

For a new campaign with agnes and carolyn, i'm currently planning to hand Ancient Stone to agnes using Teamwork including my ressources. Agnes will do the test using 2x Drawing Thin and boost her with Arcane Studies.

Jul 08, 2019 FBones · 17965

@mdffs, There is no prohibition against having 2 copies of Deny Existence in both decks. Just proxy by using an off-color card with the same casting cost.

@Django Interesting idea!! What is your Agnes deck for this? Trying to think what I'd remove for Drawing Thin,

Jul 09, 2019 Django · 4859

Another player takes agnes, don't know how the final deck will look. We talked about each decks roles and some "mandatory" cards like fail to win combo and Arcane Studies. I guess i'd built the deck like this:

arkhamdb.com

Not sure if Uncage the Soul or Emergency Cache would be better with only 4 spells. But i like it for the 2 icons.

Jul 09, 2019 Sebbyboy · 1

I’m new to the game. I want to start playing Carcosa path with this investigator combo. After reading these decklists, I found that I need 3 painkiller cards and 4 Deny Existence... so I need more 2 of the same packs that contain these cards. Which other cards could I use instead of the excess copy? Also, why these decks countain 34 cards instead of 33? The decks must countain 30 cards + 1 basic weakness, 1 personal weakness and 1 personal boon card... thanks

Jul 11, 2019 Django · 4859

Permanent cards do not count toward deck size, like Arcane Research or Charisma. However they do occupy slots like carolyns 15 seeker/ mystic cards or lolas requirement of 7 cards from one class.

Have you ever played with proxies, like sleeving all cards while using a normal unused card as "back" so it looks the same while in your deck? Then printing those you're missing? Or taking a sheet of paper and writing the missing cards text and effect on it? Or use the upgraded version as replacement, it's easy to remember the difference.

Aug 10, 2019 IonFox · 1

Hi, sorey to bother you @FBones, was wondering if it would be possible to get a detailed upgrade tree, like what to take out for clarity of mind, pathfinder, etc.

Also what are your thoughts on the Forbidden Knowledge + Pete Sylvestre combo?

Oct 06, 2019 OhTheHorror56 · 1

I see that you have 2x Painkillers in Agnes's deck and 1 in Carolyn's. Do you have that many packs of Miskatonic? What would be some subs if I only have 1 copy of the card for both or either investigator?

Oct 06, 2019 OhTheHorror56 · 1

Also why St. Hubert's Key in Carolyn's deck and not in Agnes's? Simply because of the heal horror aspect?

Oct 06, 2019 crayne · 3

St. Hubert's Key is pretty expensive and reduces max sanity, so it's rather detrimental for agnes (reduces the times her ability can be used). Her is also too low to investigate with it, so Holy Rosary is beter for her relic slot.

On the other hand with carolyns higher , Magnifying Glass and Alice Luxley she can reliably investigate shroud 4+. Her higher base sanity also minimizes the chance of the key blowing up.

Oct 06, 2019 FBones · 17965

@OhTheHorror56, @crayne is right regarding St. Hubert's Key.

I forget what I used for proxies... any Rogue or Survivor card with a cost of 1 would work.

Oct 11, 2019 buzard · 1

I seem to be having a bad day. She has 3 cards that do not count towards her total of 30 cards. But 34 cards are in the deck. 34-3 = 31. None of the cards are permanents. There are 31 other cards???? Which of those 31 cards do not count.

Oct 11, 2019 FBones · 17965

@buzard, the 4 surplus cards are: Rational Thought, Arcane Research, Random Basic Weakness, and Hypnotherapy.

Oct 12, 2019 buzard · 1

Like I said, bad day. Thanks.

Mar 08, 2020 Spandrel53 · 8

I think she needs a couple meat cleavers in this build. You can always take horror to boost attack and heal it with each kill, getting a resource. Rational thought can also be healed with cleaver kills since it “may be healed as if it were on Carolyn”.

Mar 09, 2020 FBones · 17965

@Spandrel53, meat cleaver is not very reliable on harder difficulties. I'd rather have the hands for other tools.

Mar 18, 2020 buzard · 1

Thank you for taking the time to think about Wither. I kept looking it and feeling I was overlooking at something important. Then I realized this is one of very few mystic cards that can not backfire on you. Drawing an icon reduces the fight and evade of the enemy. Drawing an icon helps, when was the last time that happened? And you don't need any charges, it always fires off.

Jul 17, 2020 Susumu · 329

I was thinking about doing a Carolyn deck with Arcane Research myself. She has two targets with "Deny Existence" and "Clarity of Mind". Yet, you did not put the later in the deck, but talk about it. Are you aiming at first upgrading DE, then adding level 0 CoM with "Versatile"? Also, I'm a bit surprised, that none of the two ladies has something going with the football dude.

Jul 17, 2020 FBones · 17965

@Susumu, the reason the deck does not have CoM in it was that I misconstrued how the card worked. I mentioned this in an earlier, comment to be honest, I don't understand what I wrote in that comment...

Carolyn Fern cannot take Peter Sylvestre. Agnes might want to take the upgraded version, but note that it does not trigger Carolyn Fern's ability.

Jul 17, 2020 Susumu · 329

Thanks for the reply. Carolyn could definitely take Peter. It's the first entry in the official FAQ on her page: Q: How broad is "heals horror" meant to be interpreted? Cheat Death, Peter Sylvestre, are these intended to be attainable by Carolyn? Is it basically any card that uses "heals # horror"? A: Correct! If it heals horror, Carolyn can take it. It seems to me, he is really popular in Agnes as well as Carolyn decks, so it was a bit surprising for me, that you picked him in neither. But of course, he does not have to be in either.

Jul 17, 2020 FBones · 17965

@Susumu, right I forgot about Carolyn's special deck building options. I generally do not put Pete(0) into decks because---as good as healing horror is---there are generally better allies available. But Peter Sylvestre (2) is very good and I think he would be a good choice for either once you pick up Charisma.

But note that once Carolyn gets Hypnotic Therapy or Clarity of Mind you don't tend to really need much in the way of horror healing through Peter Sylvestre. That is why I prefer Alice Luxley for Carolyn Fern and David Renfield or Arcane Initiate for Agnes.

Jul 26, 2020 Inflammashield · 1

Awesome deck idea! My friend and I are about to try this combo out. I'm curious about your upgrade path. How much xp do you expect to earn throughout an average campaign? What do you swap in/out as you progress? Thanks!

Aug 02, 2020 cjtightpant · 1

Not sure it’s been covered already but to leverage Arcane Research, you have to have included the base level of CoM and then upgrade from the level zero cards to get the discount. Just realized this myself recently.

Dec 28, 2020 mymilrisus · 1

Pathfinder is affected by the taboo list. It now costs 3 instead of 1. It still seems like a worthwhile upgrade, because this deck is so action-dependent.

Nov 03, 2021 Achire · 471

Thank you for this deck. I played it for Dream-Eaters (with the above clarity of mind correction) and it worked beautifully. I normally try to build my own decks, but I was having a very hard time with Carolyn. Using your deck made me realize I was over-using her healing ability and not giving her enough clue-finding power.

Mar 12, 2022 tsnouffer · 1

Doesn't this deck severely violate her "up to 15 other Seeker and/or Mystic cards level 0-1" building limitation? I count 19 for that total.

Mar 12, 2022 Susumu · 329

St. Hubert's Key and Logical Reasoning don't count, as they can heal horror.

Mar 12, 2022 Susumu · 329

Note that the two copies of Deny Existence, once upgraded, won't count as well. So the upgrades would free up 2 additional slots for potentially 2 additional "other" or cards.

Mar 12, 2022 tsnouffer · 1

Ah, I see. I needed to read her building requirements sequentially. Thanks!

Mar 13, 2022 Susumu · 329

The important factor is the word "other". It means, that this part of her card pool only counts cards, that are not covered in any other deckbuilding options. There is a clarification in recent FAQs. It reads:

If one of the categories of an investigator’s deckbuilding options contains the word "other" in it, cards only fall into this category if they fall into no other category. (For example, if an investigator’s deckbuilding options reads: "Guardian cards level 0–5, up to 10 other Weapon cards," then a Guardian card with the Weapon trait would not occupy one of those 10 limited slots, because it first falls into the unlimited Guardian category).