New Toys to Play With

Prior to the release of Dream Diary, Joe's abysmal willpower and evasion abilities held him back from full solo viability. With the addition of many extremely powerful seeker synergies, however, I have found Joe to be an exceptionally well-rounded investigator. The astounding revelation, Mr. Rook core provides a much needed steady flow of cash while also allowing Joe to find his key cards. Notably, Joe's ability to use no stone unturned for free makes this ability even more effective, giving Joe an opportunity to search again efficiently. The hunch deck provides a natural, steady flow of testless clues while also have plenty of utility with card draw and even damage prevention with delay the inevitable.

All of this, however, isn't anything new. After all, it seems like all I did was describe what Joe normally does. However, the introduction of Dream Diary allows Joe to shore up his subpar Willpower and Agility in a way he never could before and with impressive consistency to boot, thanks to the cards I mentioned above. All of this together results in an investigator that really can do everything and do it pretty damn well.

The Deck

At first glance, you'll see some seemingly unconventional omissions here, especially if you play primarily in multiplayer games. Simply due to the number of clues in play and the way the encounter deck is altered by player counts, some cards become more effective than others. Cards like Deduction become notably worse with the lack of two clue locations while cards like Fieldwork effectively allow you to get +2 intellect for nearly every clue. However, I think the best way to explain the choice of cards here is in the upgrade section as prior to upgrading, this deck functions more or less the same as any other Joe deck.

Upgrades

Top Priority Upgrades

• Dream Diary x2 -> Madman Diary - Essentially the core of the deck and is the enabler for everything else. With Dream Diary in play, every round gives you access to skill card with triple wild icons, which becomes 5 with the dream diary's effect. With such a huge stat bonus, even evasion and willpower boosts become possible for Joe. I think it will make more sense to examine the upgrade path of this deck.
• .45 Automatic -> Timeworn Brand - No Ammo! The main reason you take this, although the 4 damage swing is nice as well. Fighting with a baseline of 6 is great, and with the diary in play you'll have access to a 10(!) combat attack every round. Pretty sweet!

After these two upgrades, you'll have to decide whether you want Pendant of the Queen or Strange Solution (Obviously if you choose the latter, then you'll want the unupgraded version in your starter deck). You might ask, "why do I need either one of these in the first place? Isn't dream diary enough? Or, in the first place, Isn't evasion useless with a base stat of 2 agility and 4 combat?"

Here's the thing: In true solo, the one thing that you need to be ready for at all times are enemies. With everything else, like clues, you have time to set up and gather resources. Enemies, on the other hand are immediately threatening and punish you harder the slower you deal with them. Incidentally, playing with a single investigator means less encounters, less enemies, and less actions available. What does that mean, then? It means that evasion's ability to "deal" with an enemy in a single action represents huge savings in both actions and ammo spent (if you're using such a weapon). Taking assets that can guarantee or drastically improve your odds of succeeding in such tests will improve your tempo and your ability to escape sticky situations.

That being said...

Your two options

• Perception x2 and Enchanted Blade -> 3x Segment of Onyx + Relic Hunter

OR

• Unupgraded solution -> Strange Solution

The choice of which one to pick is interesting. I have only tested this deck with the pendant variant thus far, but knowing the disadvantages of one allows me to note the advantage of the other.

Advantages of Pendant of the Queen over Strange Solution

• Testless (probably the biggest upside; you'll definitely want this over strange solution on expert or hard, although I doubt this deck will cut it in the former)
• Exp wise is "cheaper" (in practice, you'll really find yourself wanting a Relic Hunter, but the ability to pick something this powerful for a single exp can't be ignored)
• Far more versatile - Allows you to teleport and pick up clues off of important locations.
• Can be used to evade enemies even outside of your location - Sort of goes hand-in-hand with the last point, but being able to evade enemies from locations away means you'll have an easier time setting up plays and positioning the board to your liking.

Advantages of Strange Solution over Pendant of the Queen

• Has an extra charge - This is quite a big deal, especially if you expect to evade often in a certain scenario or campaign
• Immediate setup - Obviously a huge deal here. Less rook charges needed to find the pieces means more time moving and advancing
• Slotless - with relic hunter, the exp cost for both is technically the same, but the point still stands
• Doesn't exhaust - This means you can evade more than one enemy a turn if need be and retreat to a better location.
• 2 resources cheaper - Might not seem like much, but with how tight money is in this deck, even with all of the amazing economy cards, Joe tends to only have just enough money to pay for all of his important assets. Going easy on the resource consumption is quite nice
• Can be charged with Emergency Cache - An interesting synergy to consider, especially given my previous point
• Extra synergy with Dream diary - Not really an advantage, as pendant is testless, but I just wanted to point out that combining this with the diary's Essence of the Dream allows you to evade with a whopping 10 (or 11 if you have Grisly Totem in play) agility.

On this particular topic, I'd like to hear which you think would be better, as I am still undecided myself. I find that the resource cost of pendant is quite noticeable compared to the solution and the setup time is quite long. However, almost every instance where I set up the pendant along with some core assets, I breezed through the remainder of the scenario.

Moving on...

High Priority Upgrades

• Shortcut x2 -> Pathfinder - Expensive, but invaluable. Pretty much your only way of improving your action economy.
• Unexpected Courage x2 or Perception if you haven't already gotten rid of it -> "I've had worse" - Great card, highly versatile. Resources, soak, and its fast. What's not to like?

Solid Upgrades

• No Stone Unturned x2 -> No Stone Unturned Exceptional upgrade. Adds even more consistency to the deck, gives you a guaranteed 2 resources with Astounding Revelation, and becomes fast. Only downside is the exorbitant exp cost, but this card is definitely worth considering.
• Studious - More cards in your opening hand means more cards you can mulligan to draw the cards you really want. Really nice, although be wary of drawing Astounding Revelation in your mulligan.
• Magnifying Glass - The ability to retract this card from your hand slot is quite nice and the +1 intelligence can sometimes go a long way. The reason this isn't prioritized as highly is because Fieldwork already does what magnifying glass does better in most cases and is slotless. Most scenarios don't really require you to collect more than 6-8 clues (obviously there are exceptions, but generally speaking), most locations only have 1 clue on them (which makes fieldwork way better), and your hunch deck already covers about half of that with Working a Hunch and Scene of the Crime. Combined with dream diary and other skill cards, I think you'll find that this usually isn't necessary.
• Ever Vigilant - Truthfully, I haven't actually tested this card myself, but I'd imagine with the amount of card draw this deck naturally has, this card will be quite useful.

Other options (Including 0XP cards you can include in your starter deck)

• Higher Education - If you're playing with the taboo list then this will be quite an expensive purchase. However, the ability is quite useful in dealing with willpower tests in particular and with Joe's natural card draw and search abilities, having more than 5 in your hand will be easy. It is a little heavy on resource consumption, however.
• Emergency Cache - Interesting synergy with Strange Solution, as mentioned before
• Death • XIII - Mainly just for your opening hand, otherwise it's pretty mediocre
• Strange Solution - Obviously necessary if you plan on taking the upgrade
• Inquiring Mind - Basically an Unexpected Courage that's more situational. Up to you whether the extra icon is worth the inability to play it at crucial moments.
• Mind over Matter - Can help you evade in a pinch. Great in the starting scenario when you have no way of evading.
• Practice Makes Perfect - This card has a lot of potential with this deck. Cards like Perception, Take the Initiative and Vicious Blow are all targets for this card and this can be expanded further with additions like Overpower. Moreover, it lets you search and makes it more likely to draw Astounding Revelation. The only reason I didn't add it to my deck is simply because I didn't have access to the card during my testing. However, I'd imagine this would be an excellent addition to the deck.
• Steadfast - If you feel your deck is a little light on Willpower icons, then this is a card worth considering. Nice variety of icons to work with and works as a combat skill in a pinch.

The Hunch Deck

This is quite simple. In every game you'll want your hunch deck to be

2x Preposterous Sketches 2x Delay the Inevitable 2x Scene of the Crime 2x Working a Hunch 2x No Stone Unturned

A lot of advice is already available when it comes to which cards you want to put in your hunch deck, but I'll reiterate. You want to put cards that 1.) take advantage of the resource reduction and 2.) aren't finicky with play conditions and can be played in most situations. Not much else to say here, although you can play around with other options like Evidence! if you so see fit. Personally, I find this to be a highly reliable and versatile setup.

A note about Shrewd Analysis

Typically, this is not an asset you want to gamble with. Not being able to choose the upgrade that best synergizes with your deck's needs can be problematic. However, with how generically useful the dream diary upgrades are combined with Grisly Totem, Joe can still get value out of all of the potential upgrades. If you're starved for exp, then shrewd analysis is a legitimate option to gain another asset at a fraction of the cost. Joe naturally has good card draw in this deck with Preposterous Sketches, Mr. "Rook", and No Stone Unturned, which means that this diary and this diary still remain useful. Ideally however, you'll want the Madman for optimal setup.

Piloting

The core of this deck is simple: Set up and move. There are three core assets you'll want in play: A weapon of some sort, your diary, and either Pendant of the Queen or Strange Solution. You definitely want to keep a Mr. "Rook" in your starting hand, as he'll slowly generate resources with Astounding Revelation while also allowing you to find all the assets you need. Pathfinder, Grisly Totem, and Fieldwork are cards that aim to supplement what you're already doing and are strong, but aren't quite as essential. You should aim to prioritize your assets in this sort of order, but it is likely that your opening hand and search targets will determine which assets you put into play first.

For investigation, you'll primarily be relying on your hunch deck, your Dream Diary, and/or Fieldwork. It might not seem like enough, but you typically won't be gather more than 1 maybe 2 clues per round and all of these things refresh after the investigation phase. These bursts of intellect icons will carry you through your investigation needs.

For combat you'll want to rely on Timeworn Brand. Once in play, you'll be fine against most single enemy encounters and combined with Dream Diary you'll be able to deal with pretty much anything. You'll also have access to decent evasion with the extra icons from the Essence of the Dream as well as your supplemental evasion cards in strange solution and pendant.

You'll usually want to play Preposterous Sketches and No Stone Unturned whenever its available from your hunch deck. These cards are quite powerful when their resource costs are 0 and they have good synergy with the rest of your deck.

Otherwise, try to be efficient. Get setup quickly and move fast through the act. Joe's strengths really shine here, as the action compression from the hunch deck and his base stats are quite nicely placed. Take advantage of the low clue counts on locations with Crack the Case on a 4 shroud location and potentially get 8 resources off of a single location. You pretty much always want to take resources rather than an extra charge on Mr. "Rook" as well.

More tips

• If you're in a situation where its your last turn and you have to choose between investigating a location with 1 clue or putting an asset down/performing a scenario specific action, then you should pick putting down the asset. This way, cards like Scene of the Crime will activate.
• Don't waste time. Things like healing and having a huge board are secondary to your goal. Move as fast as you can and make sure you know what cards to prioritize.
• If playing on standard difficulty, make sure you look at the chaos bag to determine whether a test is worth taking. Don't waste time failing a test over and over!

Thanks for Reading!