Roland Banks - The Charismatic Detective

Card draw simulator

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Derived from
None. Self-made deck here.
Inspiration for
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loizh · 18

GENERAL INFO

This was my first try to build a deck completely on my own without looking at any other ones from this lovely site. This deck was also ment for my first solo OCTGN campaign (on Standard Difficulty). So it is also a good opportunity to publish my first deck on Arkham DB ;D

I wanted to try a Roland build and because he's having really low sanity and not much money I wanted to bolster him with a lot of cheap cards and also with a lot of ally cards (with sanity as high as it gets). That ment a lot of Seeker allies because the are cheap sanity buffs with useful onetime skills. I also wanted the deck to be fast and efficient (who doesn't :D) so I included Shortcut and Pathfinder as soon as I could...but I am getting ahead of myself

CARDS and CHOICES

Magnifying Glass VS Flashlight

I went with Magnifying Glass because a.) it is fast and b.) it is a bit cheaper. I understand that Flashlight has its merits but I was happy with this include but I will try it sometime with the other choice

Dr. Milan Christopher VS Beat Cop

Both cost 4 resources and both boost 1 stat I need in an solo investigator. In the end I'v chosen Dr. Milan Christopher because I thought I needed those extra resources he generates and also the boost to intellect is welcome.

Laboratory Assistant & Art Student

Booth are quite similar in cost and stats. The assistant replaced itself more or less and brings some sanity buffer to the table. And the student comes in handy for those shroud 4 or higher locations. If I would have to cut one from the deck I would trash the Lab Assistant because I don't care for the bigger handsize and the Art Student has one more skill icon and a more useful effect (for this deck).

Working a Hunch VS Deduction

Both are nice cards here. They both doesn't require an action (one is fast - the other one a skill). Deduction doesn't cost a resource (which is good for poor Roland) but a.) you have to win the test (which can be at some times difficult or AUTO FAIL) and b.) in Solo there is pretty often only 1 clue at the location. For those reasons I've included the more expensive but better (for this approach) Working a Hunch .

Shortcut

This card is really good in Roland in my opinion. It is pretty efficient because it is free and saves an import action if you need it to. Also with the fast keyword you can move to a location which has still clues on it while being engaged with an enemy to get the free clue after defeating it (with Roland Banks's special skill.

Evidence!

This was added also for those locations with more clues or if I can defeat two enemies on two different locations in one turn (because Rolands ability triggers only onetime during a round). After playing I think I might swap it for something different because it is really situational in Solo. Or upgrade it for something better after the first scenario because it really can help in the beginning. Any thoughts???

UPGRADES ~ Must haves

  • Charisma: For this deck a pretty obvious choice. When you already have your Dr. Milan Christopher out and want to soak some more Horror or get your clue with the Art Student it is just nice to have. I even considered putting a second one in but I am not sure if I have the time and resources to play thaaat many allies.
  • Pathfinder: At least for the second scenario in the core it is a really great card. Free movement in this big city is very powerful.

UPGRADES ~ Thoughts

  • Beat Cop: I ended up changing the two Dr. Milan Christopher for the LV2 Beat Cop for the third scenario and I think it was the right choice as the Cop helped me to get rid of some enemies rather quick.
  • Brother Xavier: Sounds real nice but he is just sooo expensive.
  • Police Badge: would be great for the actions and also for the boost in willpower but I went with Pathfinder instead.
  • Moment of Respite: Could be nice to get rid of the horror, but in the end it is also more on the expensive side.
  • Emergency Aid: After adding the Beat Cop I thought it would be nice to heal him to get more usage out of his awesome ability but I think it might be a bit too situational.
  • Keen Eye: Could be nice, but maybe also too expensive in the long run

CAMPAIGN PLAY

Could be spoilery

Scenario 1: R1

It went quite well. I cleared both the attic and the cellar and had some time left to prepare for the ghoul priest. With some dogdes and both Vicious Blow cards I didn't really needed Lita Chantler but I just wanted to grab her :). All in all I got lucky with no weakness pulls and some luck in my chaos cup, but I was happy nonetheless to get 6 Victory Points in the end. I decided to burn my house down because I thought that Lita Chantler would be a nice addition in the deck (she never showed up once afterwards!!!) and the start in Rivertown would save me an action in the next scenario. The MENTAL TRAUMA was pretty bad but I had my army of Assistants and Students for those occasions :)

Upgrades:

Scenario 2: R1

With my newly purchased Pathfinder I zipped around on the map like crazy and I ended up getting 4 of the 6 cultists (7 Victory Points). Which is a personal highscore for me. Especially in solo :D - I nearly got 5 but played some stupid moves and ended up 1 action short to get Victoria Devereux. I was even able to finish my personal weakness which decided to show up. And as I didn't want to start with only 3 sanity into the final scenario I was happy that I had the time to finish that bastard :). I wasn't really sure what to upgrade here so maybe you have some insights or recommondations ;) - I've chosen the Beat Cop as mentioned above and a Shotgun (which you've guessed right - never showed up in the final scenario)

Upgrades:

Scenario 3: R1

I've broken the ritual! Whoopwhoop! I never have gotten that outcome before! :D But it was really really close. I had a Ravenous Ghoul spawning on the Ritual Site and had to choose if wanted to get some AOO for trying to stop the ritual or to fight the guy with currently no weapon - but then the Agenda would have advance for the last time and I would've been in some serious trouble probably. In the end it was a gamble since Rolands stats for stopping the ritual are not his best and I had exactly one card for each test to boost me to a +2. But I guess I was lucky :D :D :D

Thanks for reading all that - Hope you enjoyed some parts of it

6 comments

Jun 26, 2017 Synisill · 795

Congratulations for your win here! I guess with your overwhelming success in scenario 2, you had at least one whole more round to investigate in scenario 3. Your choice of cards was very well planned - i doubt a bit that you never looked at other decks before here - but i don't doubt your big success at the end! I love it when things get so extremely close. This is the material for the good stories.... Too bad you could not make use of your shotgun....

Jun 27, 2017 loizh · 18

Thank you very much! And sorry if my ramblings were misleading (not a native speaker ;D). For what I meant with my first deck I build completely on my own I probably should clarifiy my usual approach.

I normally just pick a deck from the deck list and modify it a bit for two reasons. 1. It takes time to build stuff which I don't have that much of right now. 2. As I was playing mostly with new people or my girlfriend who is not interested in building (but at least in playing with me) I have to provide most of the decks and I normally don't "trust" myself yet enough to build fun and cohesive decks for them so that they have a good time with the game.

This time around I said to myself: Just open the damn deck builder and never look at anything else until it is finished. As I did some netdecking before and also listening to the "classic" podcasts I of course get my inspirations for cards or general deck ideas. But the whole "composition" (what exactly and how many) is my own.

For the most people this won't be something special but for me (who mostly netdecked before) it was something cool 8)

Jun 27, 2017 Synisill · 795

It's cool! I mean you even took the time to format your write-up well. The only time i played Roland was in a 4-player-match so far - and he became insane in The Midnight Masks, because a buddy needed him in the Graveyard.... Meaning: i can't tell if this build is good or not, but it looks decent to me.

Perhaps it is a good idea to introduce her to deckbuilding by showing her some of the weapons she could include and ask her, which ones she would like to prefer. Same with some chosen events - she will probably feel more bonded to cards she chose herself than a predefined deck where she had no say at all. Try to give her little decisions (and add complemental cards yourself), so perhaps she will discover her interest in deckbuilding..... This only works, of course, if you are willing to embark together with a non-perfect build.

Jun 27, 2017 Synisill · 795

One sentence was missing there. At the start of the 2nd paragraph i was addressing your GF, it is great that she is willing to delve into this Lovecraftian horror...

Jun 27, 2017 loizh · 18

Thanks for the suggestions. I might try it once we finish our current campaign. I kinda do a similiar approach with upgrading. I lay all cards which are available for her in front of her and tell her some things about them. But she always makes the decision. But I am not sure she cares that much :D. But I won't give up.

And yeah I also don't have that much experience with Roland builds. I only played with him once with his starter deck for my first run through the Core Campaign and went mad pretty soon :)

Jun 27, 2017 Synisill · 795

hahaha! You have my commiseration there! As we have the same (bad) experience, perhaps it would be wise to include some horror prevention Smoking Pipe? It is unlikely that Roland passes his will tests.....