"Skids" O'Toole - Structure Deck Series ( Core Set )

Hello Fellow investigators

Welcome to my structure deck series!

Concept

Since the game contains a large pool of cards and this might seem a bit confusing for newer players I decided to create some deck ideas of old investigators in the game. With the new product of starter decks coming on the way, it gave me a reason to create some decklists through every cycle.

I 'm going to give you an upgrade list for everyone through every cycle. After our beloved Wendy Adams we continue with our "Skids" O'Toole from the core set and I'll progress his deck through Dunwich, Carcosa, etc..

Let start with the show, shall we?

"Skids" O'Toole Pros and Cons

Our criminal with the tools to efficiently kill or evade enemies. With the second highest Health in the core set, he can stand a few hits. His of 4 helps him to evade enemies pretty easily while his and skill are in a good spot too.

Where he shines is his ability to do an extra action at the cost of two resources which is a good trade. This extra action means you can use it as an extra combat test, investigate the last clue on a location or draw that card you need so much.

On the Lam is pretty situational and most of the time I found my self use it for the test icons instead of its actual use. It comes in handy, especially in those high shroud locations.

On the other hand, he lacks (2) combined with his low sanity (6) some treacheries may be quite deadly for Skids. Be careful and prepare your hand and assets to succeed on these tests or at least soak the horror hits.

Let's talk about Hospital Debts. Let's face it! In solo most of the times you won't be able to pay the resources with the current card pool so it's better for you to pay no attention especially at the end of the scenario. In multiplayer other investigators can pay the two resources for you like in Roland's Cover Up. Either way, this weakness doesn't hurt you immediately like Agnes Dark Memory but in the long run in big campaigns like Dunwich. Let's hope you won't draw it at all during your scenarios.

I will mention one more disadvantage in solo while in multiplayer games it isn't. That's his investigation in high shroud locations (4) where you're gonna need specific cards from the deck in order to succeed. Plan ahead and have these cards in your hand when you are going to enter these locations.

Gameplay

Before I speak for my card choices I have two honorable mentions! Why not any Leo De Luca or Burglary especially with the current card pool? Well, Leo De Luca costs 6 resources which means even if you have him on your starting hand it will cost you one action to gain a resource and an action to play him leaving you with anything else but him(most expensive card in the core set). Skids' ability to add an extra action costs 2 so in order for Leo De Luca to start paying off must pass at least 3 turns. In those three turns, you might lose him from a treachery card so every resource and action you spend for him go to waste. Same thing with Burglary. It costs one action to put it on the play and one more action to activate it. Not only that, but you also want to be fast and efficient and don't wanna stuck a whole round on a low shroud location just to gather 3 resources.

Personally I prefer Leo De Luca in Wendy Adams deck where you can combine him with her Will to Survive for 4 skill tests without the fear of the chaos bag <3. If you want Leo De Luca in your deck feel free to swap Guard Dog with him.

On to our deck shall we?

Try to get on your hand Flashlight to quickly investigate the low shroud locations and Physical Training in order to protect your sanity from tests. Pickpocketing and your skill cards are your draw engine. Try to keep Evidence!, On the Lam and Unexpected Courage for the high shroud locations since you won't have many chances to investigate them successfully.

Elusive with Dynamite Blast can be a nice finisher in multiple enemies. Machete is your main weapon and your ally Doggo Guard Dog is there to protect you in the first scenario cause we swap him with some good upgrade allies. Finally, Backstab is your boss killer and boost it with the Manual Dexterity.

Ideal First Hand: Physical Training (prio), Flashlight (prio solo game), Machete, Guard Dog, Emergency Cache

Upgrade route

Hot Streak will boost your Physical Training and Skids ability so we focus getting this card before the 3rd scenario. Your upgrade order should be:

2x Guard Dog 2x Beat Cop

1x Elusive 1x Cat Burglar

1x Elusive 1x Hot Streak

From there you can mess with your XP. You can swap 1x Pickpocketing with Police Badge to boost your willpower or discard it to reach at least 5 actions in one turn (6 if you activate Skids ability). It can be even more efficient to use it on Wendy Adams with Will to Survive on her hand. I definitely recommend going for 2x Police Badge in a multiplayer game.

Last but not least if you feel unlucky go for Sure Gamble but it's too situational for those -4 or -5 tokens. You have better options to spend your XP than this card like Elder Sign Amulet.

Summary

"Skids" O'Toole is good at killing monsters and pull some good combos at the end game. He is so much fun and easy to play with. But in multiplayer you will find other core investigators do the killing job better than Skids (Roland, Agnes).

Nevertheless, you will have a very good first taste of what rogue class is capable of doing in the other cycles. I hope you like this guide and we'll continue with his Dunwich deck build.

To be continued..