The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Card draw simulator

Odds: 0% – 0% – 0% more
Derived from
None. Self-made deck here.
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mattastrophic · 3018

This is a decklist that I have played through The Beard's Cyclopean Foundations fan-made campaign brought to you by the wonderful folks at Mysterious Chanting: https://mysteriouschanting.wordpress.com/2021/05/29/cyclopean-foundations-campaign/

This calamitious cluttering of cards is the result of a focus on a heavily-flexible generalist build which can perform combat or investigation as needed while generally leveraging a heck of a lot of skill icons of all kinds. Forced Learning lets Lola draw what she needs at the time and discard what she doesn't, as there are no keystones that she requires to operate effectively. Moonstone and Winging It make excellent discard fodder as well. Even moreso if she hangs onto them for when Crisis of Identity, Tabooed to be changeable into a good thing, comes calling.

As for upgrades, Lola is perhaps the most flexible and responsive of all investigators when it comes to spending XP on what the group needs at the time. Stronger weaponry like .41 Derringer for extra actions, excellent allies like Lola Santiago, excellent movement like Safeguard or Shortcut, damage reduction in "I've had worse…", everything's on the table for Miss Hayes. I personally got great mileage out of Sweeping Kick and Delilah O'Rourke, for example.

So if you want to put together a pile of massive talent, give Lola Hayes a try!

2 comments

Jan 27, 2023 PJFrigate · 265

Nice! I think Forced Learning does more for her than the taboo did. Not only does it make meeting the 7 cards x 3 classes requirement easier to satisfy (for me, at least), but it makes it more likely she'll add a card to hand that is immediately useful. Just curious: Did you take Level 0 Rogue cards in anticipation of deck upgrades? If not, might it make sense to replace them with Guardian and Survivor alternatives? I always try to build Lola with only three classes (plus neutral)--I'd make that two, if her deckbuilding allowed for it. Also, are you finding Short Supply to be effective in this deck? I'm probably missing something obvious, but with only 7 of ~50 cards being retrievable by only two Winging It, the mental math isn't working for me. No disrespect intended: I'm always eager to learn from the undisputed Lola guru.

Jan 28, 2023 mattastrophic · 3018

Hi there!

I admit, this decklist isn't as polished as some of my previous ones, and I don't have a real breakdown of the card choices... I just wanted to get it up there mainly.

Ever since Edge of the Earth and Forced Learning arrived, I've been playing it everywhere I can, because I thoroughly enjoy the ever-flexible playstyle, and having room for all sorts of skills (19 here!) and events. It does mean, though, that I have been moving towards decklists that don't have tight combos, so it's difficult to express a gameplan beyond "keep what you need at the time, discard what you don't, and give your friends a high-five when you discard a Winging It."

As for Short Supply, that one deserves more of an explanation than I included. It's for Synergy fuel. Between Forced Learning, Short Supply, and Adaptable at 1xp, that's 3/5 classes already, making Gang Up deal four damage, Cheat the System give three resources, and Strength in Numbers give four wild icons. Any more, such as from a Guardian or Mystic asset, is just extra strong.

As for the Rogue cards, I really like the Derringer for some reason, I guess because there are very few actually-solid 0xp one-handed weapons in my opinion. I really wish FFG would give Guardians another pistol someday. Rogue also has Easy Mark, Adaptable, Cheat the System, as well as the super strong Delilah O'Rourke and Lola Santiago as mentioned above, so I think Rogue makes a great role to hang out in. Also, Breaking and Entering is just so much action compression, and it even got an upgrade in Keys! Since we are a generalist who enjoys boosting multiple stats, any two-stat event is going to be very good for us. Spectral Razor and Read the Signs is the start of a whole Mystic route you could go down.

Anyways, if you want to cut Rogue and you've identified a good replacement for the Derringer for your playstyle, go for it. Lonnie Ritter is a tough one to replace, though, because there really aren't many Combat-boosting 0xp allies. Grete Wagner is probably our candidate, that being said. Or you can leave in Lonnie at first and go down the Jessica Hype/Peter S/Charisma route.

Ha, there are so many routes you can take with Lola!