Card draw simulator
| Derived from |
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| None. Self-made deck here. |
DadouXIII · 11172
Artiste Elusive
"Magnum Opus" Version - [Co-op & Solo]
Level 0 co-operative Rogue / Mystic deck for 2 investigators that relies on a big starting hand and a pool of semi-constant versatile Event cards, to avoid enemies or deal with them head-on, all while being decent at discovering clues. You will be spending a lot of time on your own, accomplishing objectives throughout the Scenario, while leaving the other investigator(s) to deal with the more direct confrontations.
Ideal co-op partners: Guardians and Seekers Roland, Zoey, Mark, Rex, Minh and exceptionally Yorick.
Current version 6.2 - Check out the Version History to see the incremental changes.
For a good Roland Banks co-op decklist to go with this one, click here.
Requires 2x Core Sets, the Dunwich Legacy and the Path to Carcosa Deluxe Expansions, the Blood on the Altar, The Unspeakable Oath and the Black Star Rise Mythos Packs.
Missing a pack or two? Check out the Missing Expansions section for card replacements.
Going in solo? Check out the Solo Experience section for tips.
Table of Contents
- Investigator Breakdown
- Deck Composition
- Weakness Mitigation
- Mulligan Guide
- Playstyle Guide
- Upgrade Guide
- Scenario Tips
- Solo Experience
- Card Alternatives
- Card Exclusions
- Missing Expansions
- Version History
Investigator Breakdown
Sefina Rousseau Rogue - Artist
- 4 Willpower (), 2 Intellect (), 2 Combat (), 4 Agility ()
- 5 Health, 9 Sanity
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Signature ability (1): Forced - When you would draw your opening hand: Draw 13 cards, instead. Choose up to 5 events to place beneath this card and keep 8 cards as your opening hand. Discard the rest. (You cannot mulligan.)
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Signature ability (2): Choose an event beneath this card and draw it. Does not provoke attacks of opportunity.
- Elder Sign () effect: +3. You may choose an event beneath this card and draw it.
Deckbuilding restrictions
- Access to all Rogue cards
- Access to all Neutral cards
- Access to Mystic cards of up to level 2
- Unique Event 3x The Painted World
- Unique weakness Stars of Hyades
Strengths
- Very high Sanity
- Decent at both discovering clues and fighting enemies
- Starts out stronger and more consistent
- Decent mobility
- Great economy
Weaknesses
- Very low Health
- Low and stats
- Bad starting hands can slow her down
- Recurring unique weakness
"When she awoke in her gallery, she knew it had been real."
Sefina Rousseau (The Path to Carcosa #3)
Deck Composition
Sefina has two ways to fight enemies: either through her stat, or through her stat
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2x Shrivelling A reliable damaging Spell Asset that will use Sefina's instead of when fighting. The +1 Damage bonus it gives during combat is absolutely essential in order to defeat enemies in one turn. Unfortunately it is limited to 4 uses, so try to save them for the more dangerous confrontations.
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2x Storm of Spirits A powerful Spell Event that will deal 2 damage to every enemy at your location. Could be considered to be the Mystic 's equivalent of Dynamite Blast. It's a great fit in a Sefina Rousseau deck because you will be able to play it multiple times via The Painted World, effectively clearing a location of multiple enemies. Bank it to copy it.
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2x Backstab Powerful but costly Event that will enable Sefina to fight with her stat instead of her stat. If it succeeds, it will deal a total of 3 damage, which means it will kill most enemies in one blow. Bank it to copy it.
- 2x Narrow Escape Fast and cheap event that will allow you to cancel an enemy's attack of oportunity, all while giving you a +2 bonus to your next skill test. Could be considered to be the Rogue 's equivalent of Dodge. At its worse, it will act just like a Manual Dexterity without the card draw, which is OK for Sefina. Bank it to draw it.
Although she can handle herself in a fight, Sefina is excellent at avoiding enemies. Her high makes her a natural at evading, and the deck includes a few cards to help her out even more
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2x Elusive Very powerful Fast Event that will allow you to disengage with ALL enemies at your location, and let you move to ANY other revealed location, provided it does not harbour any enemies. Use in case of emergency, or just to move from one side of the map to the other. Bank it to draw it.
- x2 Think on Your Feet A Fast Event that basically makes you evade and move before the enemy has a chance to spawn, which amounts to a discount of 2 actions. The location you can move to can even be unrevealed, as long as it is connecting.
This deck is also decent at discovering clues, thanks to the really good Mystic cards Sefina is allowed to use
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2x Rite of Seeking Excellent Spell Asset you can use to discover clues by using Sefina's stat instead of her stat. It's expensive however, and limited to 3 charges, so use them wisely.
- 2x Drawn to the Flame Excellent Event you can use to discover TWO clues from a location without worrying about the Shroud value.
The deck features a couple of powerful Ally Assets that really make a difference
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2x Arcane Initiate Cheap and useful Ally Asset which will allow Sefina to draw her powerful Spell Events, and more specifically, her unique The Painted World Events.
- 2x Dario El-Amin Powerful but expensive Ally Asset that will let you gain TWO resources for one action, and will grant you +1 bonus to both and while you are holding 10 or more resources, which is very easy to do with this deck.
The following cards contribute to Sefina's GREAT economy. While I placed it in the above section, the Dario El-Amin Ally's ability is also a factor
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2x Lone Wolf Amazing Asset that will allow you to generate an extra resource a turn, for a total of TWO resources a turn, as long as Sefina begins her investigator phase in a location with no other investigators.
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1x Emergency Cache Some of the Assets included in the deck that you will want to equip in the early game are quite expensive, so you will be glad to have this Event in case you don't draw any of your other economy cards. Use it to gain 3 additional resources.
- 2x Uncage the Soul Excellent Event that will let you immediatly play a Spell or Ritual from your hand, with a discount of THREE resources. At its worse, it will act just like a Guts without the card draw, which is OK for Sefina.
The rest of the cards offer a good amount utility
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2x Holy Rosary Amazing Asset that should be auto-included in any deck that runs Rite of Seeking and Shrivelling, since the +1 it adds makes a big difference during those skill tests. Also gives +2 Sanity, which is always helpful.
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2x Arcane Studies From mid-game to late-game, Lone Wolf and Dario El-Amin will make it so that you are swimming in resources, which is why this Asset is a perfect resource sink. Better than Hard Knocks, because it provides bonuses to TWO useful stats ( and ) instead of just one ().
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2x Ward of Protection Fast and cheap Event that will allow you to cancel the revelation effect of any non-weakness treachery card you draw, whether it's from the Encounter deck, or any other source. Bank it to copy it.
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2x Unexpected Courage Skill card to commit to any skill test for a +2 bonus, but does not come with the card draw.
- 3x The Painted World Sefina's personal Event, and literal star of the show. Play it as an exact copy of an Event that you banked during your starting draw, including its resource cost. Will basically allow you to play more than 2 copies of any banked Event.
"Whether focused through a mundane trinket or a mystical artifact, there is real power in faith all the same."
Holy Rosary (Core Set #59)
Weakness Mitigation
- Sefina Rousseau's personal Stars of Hyades weakness Sefina's personal weakness starts off as an annoyance, but gets worse the longer the Scenario goes on, because it will be more and more likely that you will draw it multiple times. Not only will this be slowing you down immensely, it will also hurt you with both Damage and Horror when your banked events are all gone. It's therefore recommended to complete Scenarios as quickly and efficiently as possible, and to draw the banked Events you deem critical for the Scenario before the weakness has a chance to remove them from the game.
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Sefina Rousseau's extremely low Health value Mitigated by her high stat and evasion cards such as Elusive, Narrow Escape and Think on Your Feet that let her avoid direct confrontation. It's therefore generally better to evade enemies rather than fight them.
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Sefina Rousseau's low stat Mitigated by cards like Shrivelling and Backstab which allow her to defeat enemies without using the stat.
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Sefina Rousseau's low Mitigated by the Rite of Seeking and Drawn to the Flame cards which allow her to discover clues without using the stat. The bonuses provided by Dario El-Amin and Arcane Studies also help.
- Sefina Rousseau's weakness to bad starting draws The way the deck is composed mitigates this to an extent: having 17 Events (other than The Painted World) gives a very high chance to draw and bank 5 of them during the starting draw, ideally each one of them unique.
"Too easy."
Manual Dexterity (Core Set #92)
Mulligan Guide
Sefina Rousseau works differently than other investigators because of her special ability: she simply cannot Mulligan. Instead, she draws 13 cards, can bank up to 5 Events under her investigator card to draw later or copy via The Painted World, and can keep up to 8 cards in her opening hand. This means she starts out stronger and more consistent than other investigators, and has an arsenal of versatile tools to use when she needs them, but a bad opening hand hurts her more than any other.
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Events you're generally going to want to bank in order to copy them later Backstab, Storm of Spirits, and Ward of Protection
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Events you're generally going to want to bank in order to draw when needed Elusive and Narrow Escape
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Events you would rather not bank and just have in the opening hand Emergency Cache, Uncage the Soul, Drawn to the Flame and Think on Your Feet
- It's not like you can Mulligan any starting cards (other than the weaknesses you draw), but here are the Assets you ideally want to have in your opening hand Shrivelling, Rite of Seeking, Lone Wolf, Arcane Initiate, Arcane Studies and The Painted World
"You can never be too prepared."
Emergency Cache (Core Set #88)
Playstyle Guide
Sefina Rousseau is considered to be one of the harder investigator to play, since she her unique ability gives her a LOT of options from the start of the Scenario. Not only that, but because her unique The Painted World Event is extremely situational, it can be difficult to figure out which is the right moment to use it. The fact is: she does not particularly excel at anything, but she is very good at adapting. The general strategy of this deck is to avoid most enemies adapt to any situation, whether it's Scenario-specific or not
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With Sefina, it is absolutely possible to be Lead Investigator, since you have enough tools in your arsenal to deal with almost any situation.
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With 17 Events in the deck (not including The Painted World), your starting hand should be most of the time: 5 unique banked Events, and 8 varied Assets, Events and Skills.
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At the start of a Scenario, the first actions should be to equip your very valuable Assets, ideally Lone Wolf in order to get TWO resources per turn, and Arcane Initiate if you did not get to draw Rite of Seeking and/or Shrivelling. If you did, just equip them instead, and leave your Ally slot open for Dario El-Amin.
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Use your Arcane Initiate's ability to try and draw The Painted World, or your other Shrivelling, Rite of Seeking and Storm of Spirits Spell Events.
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Dario El-Amin will be good if you were unlucky and did not draw Lone Wolf in your starting hand, by providing you resources, and when you have 10 resources or more, a +1 bonus to both and .
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You can wait a bit before equiping the Holy Rosary, which will give you an edge during your fights, since it will give you a nice +1 to and two Sanity.
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You can also wait a bit before equiping your Arcane Studies Asset, but it will be a great resource sink in the mid-game, allowing you to spend your plentiful resources for a big boost to your and .
- Even if you did not draw an ideal starting hand, you should still have drawn a good variety of Assets and Events that will still let you perform during the Scenario, just adapt accordingly. That is the key-word of this deck: Adapt.
You will find yourself almost playing Solo, even if you are playing with your co-op partner, since the deck is decent at doing basically everything
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Depending on your opening hand, you will either be discovering clues, or defeating enemies. If you find yourself able to do both (for example by drawing both Shrivelling and Rite of Seeking), you will be able to go off on your own to accomplish the Scenario objectives.
- Don't go too far off in case your co-op partner needs your help, and you can always use Elusive to come back to them fast.
Only investigate locations with Rite of Seeking equipped, in order to use your high stat instead of your low stat when drawing from the chaos bag
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Successful investigation tests will let you discover TWO clues from your location.
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But the Spell Event comes with a price: drawing a bad (, , , or ) token will immediately end your turn, so it's best to use it as your last action if possible to minimise the damage.
- If you need to discover clues in a hurry, simply use the Drawn to the Flame Event, but be ready to deal with the drawn Encounter card. Ward of Protection is in the deck to make sure you will be able to deal with the nastiest Treachery Encounter cards.
You have multiple options if you need to defeat enemies
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Shrivelling will let you directly fight enemies, by using your high instead of your low stat. You will take 1 horror if you draw a bad token, but it's nothing, since Sefina has so much Sanity.
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You can also fight enemies with Backstab, which will make use of your high stat instead of your low stat. If successful, the attack will deal a total of 3 Damage, which will deal with almost all enemies in one blow. Since this is only a one-off Event, it's a good idea to bank it and copy it with The Painted World.
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If you need to fight multiple enemies at the same time, you can use Storm of Spirits to deal 2 Damage to all enemies at your location. You can use it multiple times if you copy it with The Painted World, effectively clearing the room of all enemies. A bad token will deal 1 damage to all investigators at your location, so be careful.
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Narrow Escape will be useful in case you need to do something that will cause an attack of opportunity while engaged to an enemy. You can also just trigger an attack of opportunity to get the +2 bonus to skill tests. Otherwise, you can just commit it to an test, since it comes with two pips.
- You will get better results when using your spells if you also have the bonuses from the Holy Rosary, Dario El-Amin, or Arcane Studies.
If you ever need to avoid combat, Sefina has a few good options available to her
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Sefina's high stat makes her very good at just evading enemies.
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Think on Your Feet will technically let you evade an enemy and move once, before it even engages you. That's a 2 action discount, and no evade test is needed, so the results are guaranteed.
- Your very powerful Elusive Event will let you disengage from ALL engaged enemies, and let you move to ANY revealed location. You can still use it even if no enemies are engaged to you. Use it if you are in deep trouble (multiple enemies, low Health/Sanity, etc.), or just to zip across the map if you are in a hurry to accomplish a Scenario objective or help your co-op partner.
Resources will never be an issue to Sefina, since both the Rogue and Mystic cards are available to her
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Uncage the Soul can reduce the cost of the costly Shrivelling, Rite of Seeking and Storm of Spirits Spell Events by THREE resources. If you don't need it, you can just commit to a skill test, since it comes with 2 pips.
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The star of the show though, is Lone Wolf, since it will basically double your resource income through the game, provided you don't begin your turn next to another investigator (really easy to do when going second). Starting from mid-game on, resources will never be a problem, and you'll be happy to sink them into Arcane Studies to boost your stats in case of tough skill tests.
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The awesome Ally Asset Dario El-Amin is also perfect in this deck, because it can serve as a replacement to Lone Wolf if you don't draw it early. If you already have Lone Wolf equipped, then you will be benefiting from the +1 and bonuses, which is active as long as you keep more than 10 resources on you.
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The Emergency Cache Event will grant 3 you resources when needed, and you can even copy it with The Painted World to use it more than twice (although this will probably not be needed). It is especially useful in the early game, since cards you want to equip from the start of the Scenario are quite costly.
- Try to never use the gain 1 resource action: it's generally the worst action you can take in the game, and it's even worst with Sefina since it's so easy for her to get resources. Instead, use your actions for other, more important things, such as moving, fighting and discovering clues.
This deck is very heavy in Events, in order to fully take advantage of Sefina's Event banking power
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Having 17 Events makes it so that you will always almost bank 5 unique Events when drawing your starting hand.
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However, this also means that there is not much room for Skill cards.
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Narrow Escape is an Event that will also act like the Manual Dexterity Skill if you need it.
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On the flip side, Uncage the Soul is your replacement for the Guts Skill.
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I have kept Unexpected Courage in the deck, because 2 pips are always useful, but they can definitely be replaced.
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Sefina's personal The Painted World card will allow you to copy Events which you have banked at the start of the Scenario. It's generally best to copy Backstab, Storm of Spirits and Ward of Protection, but that can change depending on the Scenario.
- You can also bank Events without copying them later, and just to draw them when needed, such as Elusive, Think on Your Feet and Narrow Escape.
Sefina's Stars of Hyades unique weakness starts as a mild annoyance, but can become terrible as your deck is emptied
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The weakness does not get discarded after being resolved, it goes back into your deck, and it is not uncommon that you will be drawing it 3 to 4 times a game (unless you get lucky). Every time you draw it, it represents a huge tempo loss: 1 card draw wasted, and 1 banked card lost until you start losing Health and Sanity.
- If you ever need to draw a card, make sure it is the first action of your turn, but I would avoid it: since Sefina starts with 8 cards in hand, and has a reliable pool of (hopefully) 5 unique Events to draw from, drawing a card is not as good as for other investigators. You are also incentivised keep your deck as full as possible, so you do not draw your unique Stars of Hyades weakness repeatedly. Instead, use your actions for other, more important things, such as moving, fighting and discovering clues.
"Sometimes, the most selfless acts can come from the strangest places."
Unexpected Courage (Core Set #93)
Upgrade Guide
Recommended upgrade priority 1 > 2 > 3 > 4
- Priority 1: 5 xp total
- Priority 2: 7 xp total
- Priority 3: 10 xp total
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Priority 4: 5 xp total
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-2x Arcane Studies +2x Spirit Athame • : Since you will be upgrading into Streetwise, you will no longer be needing Arcane Studies in your deck. Replace them by the amazing Spirit Athame, a great Asset that will occupy the free hand slots, will give you a +2 bonus to skill tests when casting spells, and will act as Sefina's rat killer. Priority 1
- +1x Streetwise ••• : The Rogue Permanent Asset will allow you to get a +3 bonus to your and/or values for every 2 resources you spend, for one skill test. Great for Parley actions, for evading enemies, and for playing Backstab. Does not need to be drawn, paid for or played, you'll be glad to have it in the deck. Replaces Arcane Studies as a resource sink. Priority 1
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+1 Charisma ••• : With 4 Ally Assets competing for the one Ally Slot available, this Permanent Asset will allow you to equip BOTH Dario El-Amin and the Arcane Initiate Ally Assets simultaneously, to great effect. Also good if you need to take control of a Scenario Ally Asset and you already have one equipped. Best of all, it doesn't count towards your deck size, and you start the Scenarios with it already in play. Priority 2
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-1x Narrow Escape +1x Lucky Dice •••• : Great Exceptional Asset that will let you reroll chaos tokens, provided you pay the resources. Will keep working as long as you don't draw the token. Priority 2
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-1x Narrow Escape +1x Sure Gamble ••• : Amazing Event that will let you transform failures into successes by transforming the '-' from a negative token into a '+'. Pricy in XP, but awesome to have in your Event bank. Priority 3
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-1x Think on Your Feet +1x Sure Gamble ••• : See above. Priority 3
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-1x Emergency Cache +1x Hot Streak •••• : Not a priority since resources will not be a problem in most cases, but good to have nonetheless: provides 10 resources for the cost of 3, meaning a net gain of 7. More than twice the amount awarded by Emergency Cache. Priority 3
- -1x Think on Your Feet +1 Cheat Death ••••• : If you've been getting a lot of experience through your campaign, you could pay for a copy of Cheat Death. Will save you from getting defeated and move you to a safe location. Will help if you are having a hard time with the end game. I believe it can be copied with The Painted World, so this is extra good for Sefina. Priority 4
"Do not exceed the recommended dosage."
Painkillers (The Miskatonic Museum #117)
Scenario Tips
While this section obviously contains gameplay spoilers, I've written it in a way so there are no story spoilers, which includes not saying much about victory conditions.
That said, I do recommend trying each Scenario at least once before consulting this section, so you don't ruin the surprises!
Curtain Call
Coming Soon!
The Last King
Coming Soon!
Echoes of the Past
Coming Soon!
The Unspeakable Oath
Coming Soon!
A Phantom of Truth
Coming Soon!
The Pallid Mask
Coming Soon!
Black Star Rise
Coming Soon!
Dim Carcosa
Coming Soon!
""I win again! Sorry sugar, it's just not your night."
Hot Streak (Core Set #57)
Solo Experience
No changes needed, this deck is 100% Solo viable.
Sefina Rousseau is good at defeating/evading enemies and decent at discovering clues, and this deck uses cards that fit perfectly in a solo playstyle, such as Lone Wolf.
If there is one thing you could do, is tech in 1x or 2x Painkillers, if you are having problems dealing with Sefina's low Health.
"I don't mind being on my own. That’s when I do my best work."
Lone Wolf (Blood on the Altar #188)
Card Alternatives
Depending on the Scenario, your co-op partner(s), or your own preference, it is possible to shift the deck's focus by switching a few cards while still keeping the same feel. You can also do it in between Scenarios, if you want to "tech" up to counter specific situations.
If you are having problems dealing with difficult tokens from certain Scenarios:
- -2x Unexpected Courage +2x Defiance
If you find yourself often short on resources:
- -1x Storm of Spirits +1x Emergency Cache
If you are having problems dealing with Sefina's low Health:
- -1x Dario El-Amin +1x Painkillers
- -1x Storm of Spirits +1x Painkillers
"Bullets are one thing... twelve-inch fangs quite another."
Bulletproof Vest (Core Set #94)
Card Exclusions
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No Cheap Shot Acts like an Evade action with a +2 bonus that also deals 1 Damage, for 2 resources. No thanks.
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No Stealth Sefina already has enough tools to evade enemies.
- No If you succeed by 2 or more cards I honestly find these cards quite gimmicky and inconsistent, even more with Sefina, since she has the luxury of being able to use some great Mystic cards. I'd say they need a whole deck tailored around them to work properly, and there is no room for that here.
"When you turn on the charm, it could light the entire town."
Charisma (The Essex County Express #158)
Missing Expansions
Missing The Dunwich Legacy
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-2x Rite of Seeking +2x Flashlight
- -2x Think on Your Feet +2 Guts
Missing Blood on the Altar
- -2x Lone Wolf +1x Emergency Cache, +1x Burglary
Missing The Unspeakable Oath
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-2x Dario El-Amin +2x Leo De Luca
- -2x Storm of Spirits +2x Sneak Attack
Missing Black Star Rise
- -2x Narrow Escape +2 Manual Dexterity
"We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far." H. P. Lovecraft, "The Call of Cthulhu."
Drawn to the Flame (Core Set #64)
Version History
v0.1 - The Path to Carcosa
- 2x Rite of Seeking
- 2x Shrivelling
- 2x Holy Rosary
- 2x Leo De Luca
- 1x Painkillers
- 1x Lone Wolf
- 1x Stealth
- 1x Pickpocketing
- 2x Backstab
- 2x Drawn to the Flame
- 2x Elusive
- 2x Emergency Cache
- 2x Sneak Attack
- 1x Think on Your Feet
- 2x Ward of Protection
- 2x Fearless
- 2x Guts
- 2x Manual Dexterity
- 2x Unexpected Courage
v0.2
- Removed 2x Leo De Luca
- Removed 2x Fearless
- Removed 1x Stealth
- Removed 1x Liquid Courage
- Added 2x Alyssa Graham
- Added 2x Blinding Light
- Added 1x Lone Wolf
- Added 1x Think on Your Feet
v0.3
- Removed 1x Painkillers
- Added 1x Arcane Studies
v0.4
- Removed 2x Guts
- Removed 2x Manual Dexterity
- Added 2x Uncage the Soul
- Added 1x Leo De Luca
- Added 1x Arcane Studies
v0.6
- Removed 2x Alyssa Graham
- Added 2x Arcane Initiate
v1.0
- Removed 2x Arcane Initiate
- Added 2x Alyssa Graham
v2.0 - The Unspeakable Oath
- Removed 1x Blinding Light
- Added 1x Calling in Favors
v3.0 - A Phantom of Truth
- Removed 1x Blinding Light
- Added 1x Quantum Flux
v4.0 - The Pallid Mask
- Removed 1x Calling in Favors
- Added 1x Quantum Flux
v5.0 - Black Star Rise
- Removed 2x Quantum Flux
- Removed 1x Leo De Luca
- Added 2x Narrow Escape
- Added 1x Dario El-Amin
v6.0 - Dim Carcosa
- Removed 2x Alyssa Graham
- Removed 2x Sneak Attack
- Added 2x Arcane Initiate
- Added 2x Storm of Spirits
v6.1
- Removed 1x Storm of Spirits
- Added 1x Dario El-Amin
v6.2
- Removed 1x Emergency Cache
- Added 1x Storm of Spirits
Acknowledgements
- Thank you to FFG for providing the gorgeous investigator art and images.
- All other art made by me.
| 44 comments |
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Apr 17, 2018 |
Apr 17, 2018Sorry. That should say Hubert’s key over rosary |
Apr 17, 2018What are your thoughts on Lockpicks for odd clues and/or St. Huber's key ? |
Apr 17, 2018
I ran many different variations of Sefina Rousseau decks to find one I felt really fit together, and I did try out both Leo De Luca and St. Hubert's Key.
Thanks my take on the whole Dario vs Leo at least :) Can't comment on David Renfield yet, he seemed a bit too dangerous to me, but I will try him out since people seem to like including it with Sefina.
St. Hubert's Key is a great replacement to Holy Rosary, but since I am playing with Dario instead of Leo, the extra +1 and +1 bring much less value. I'd say that if you insist in playing Leo, then go ahead and switch out the Rosary for Hubert's Key. Although now, I really am inspired to try a Hubert's Key + Renfield combo, see how it goes.
At the very start of the cycle, this Sefina deck had a whole other direction, where I focused much more on her Rogue side than her Mystic side. I was upgrading the 2x Rite of Seeking into 2x Lockpicks, and the 2x Initiates into 2x Cat Burglar. But as the cycle went on, more and more Mystic cards that were really good for Sefina came out, and the Mystic route became more viable. If you wish to have both Lockpics and Rite on you, then that will mean replacing Events, and you don't want to do that so as to not lower your chances of banking 5 unique events at the start of the game. That's actually why I really like having Dario in the deck, his +1 bonus is a big deal, and makes it possible to investitage and get an odd clue from a low shroud location. |
Apr 17, 2018
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Apr 18, 2018
I'm not a huge fan of Recharge for a couple of reasons
Now with that said, Recharge is by itself a good replacement to Uncage the Soul
So where does that leave us?
So in conclusion, I'd say that if you are having trouble gathering clues with Sefina, then I'd say upgrading your 2x Uncage the Soul into 2x Recharge for 4 experience is a viable choice. I could add this the Upgrade Guide as a Priority 3 choice. In my opinion, I would rather spend those 4 experience points to buy a good set of Lucky Dice. I apologize about the wall of text :P |
Apr 18, 2018
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Apr 21, 2018Thanks for your experience. And I have two questions. First, when I am engaging with an enemy, can I use Sefina Rousseau's skill to draw a Elusive and play it at once to avoid the attack for drawing this card? If I can't, then I don't think banking Elusive to draw it is the best choice. Another question is that if I want to take Delve Too Deep, which card should I remove? I play AH LCG in a four-people group, so victory point is important. |
Apr 21, 2018
Drawing a banked Event does not cause an attack of oportunity, so drawing Elusive while engaged to an enemy will not cause the said enemy to attack you. Also, since Elusive is Fast, you will be able to use it imediatly without consequence. If you want to include 2x Delve Too Deep in the deck, I suggest taking out 1x Narrow Escape and 1x Think on Your Feet.
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Apr 22, 2018Your guides are incredible. But like a spoiled child I will ask for more! Both your guides recommend teaming up with a Survivor, will you be doing a Pete or Yorick deck at some point? |
Apr 22, 2018
I'm glad you enjoy them, I put a lot of work into them, so it's always nice to hear it's appreciated. My next deck will indeed be a Survivor deck, and I will be working on it through the next cycle. It will be a Calvin Wright deck :) |
Apr 23, 2018Great work! Thank you. |
May 04, 2018I'm almost done with a solo playthrough of this deck on Standard Path to Carcosa. Just thought I'd drop my thoughts in on this for you as feedback. I'm playing pure solo so basically everything I say should be read with that in mind. Overall, really enjoyed the deck, loved the premise and enjoyed the execution a lot. Generally a fairly well-rounded solo build, I never had significant trouble getting to key elements like Rite of Seeking and Shrivelling with the trusty Arcane Initiate on hand. I did occasionally feel very slow if I drew very bad opening hands, but truly bad hands were very rare and I experience more variance in general with Mystics as so much of their power is tied up in big power cards like Shrivelling, so you feel very stunted without them. Overall just a facet of the Mystic design rather than anything specific to the deck. Money was a constant and very big issue for me. Lone Wolf was good in the games I got it going, but your suggestion of a second Emergency Cache felt essential. Playing true solo then I rarely ever got Dario to the point at which he activated his bonus skill boosts, although his resource pull was still useful in the absence of Lone Wolf. If there was a second player and the pressure was a little less then perhaps I'd have had more time to develop Dario more consistently, but true solo you're frequently very up against time with no one to cover for you, so Dario almost always felt like a luxury except in long scenarios. That said, I thought the theme of Dario as the seedy investor working with Sefina as a forger was excellent and I genuinely felt the card deserved to be in there as the games where it worked then it REALLY paid off. However, the issue with money generation ended up cascading into other things. Between spending on Shrivelling, Rite of Seeking and making use of Streetwise along with events here and there, I definitely felt like I could just about stay afloat in terms of those costs, but I almost never felt like I had the money for the bells and whistles like Lucky Dice, Spirit Athame or even Sure Gamble. This was partly the time pressure of solo play and partly the cash flow problem. I felt like all those upgrades absolutely deserved to be in the deck, but it was so difficult to actually get the cash for them consistently, so I'd recommend making Hot Streak a higher upgrade priority in pure solo and definitely having the second emergency cache. Like I said, I suspect these aspects probably work better in games with 2+ investigators. Streetwise was excellent in the deck. Mystic in pure solo suffers from this weird problem where you have to investigate for single clues quite a lot, but their knowledge stat is frequently terrible, which makes Rite of Seeking feel like expensive overkill in most instances. Streetwise gave me the option to be able to pick up individual clues without using up expensive and limited Rite of Seeking charges; or if I wanted to avoid using Drawn to the Flame in those instances. I want to say that Lockpicks would alleviate the single clue issue, but realistically you'd have to replace Rite of Seeking altogether in that instance I think, because of how costly Lockpicks are to play. However, if you make that trade then you've got less targets for Uncage the Soul, weakening the overall deck structure/economy. In multiplayer I'd never make that trade because Rite of Seeking is perfect for those bigger clue locations that're much more common, but solo felt like it might be helpful. Maybe just a marginal change though in the context of the whole deck. Good 'ol Flashlight might actually be the best option? Storm of Spirits was a bit lacklustre. Again, true solo rarely provides instances where you have multiple enemies on you. If it's in the deck as redundancy for damage effects then I think that's fine, but it would definitely be one of my first choices to cut in a pure solo list, probably for an extra Emergency Cache. I found myself making less use of Think On Your Feet than I wanted, there were often times where I could activate it but I just didn't want to - I'm guessing you felt similar as it's one of the things that comes out for upgrades? It's funny because I really, really liked having it available as utility, but I only rarely found instances where I wanted to use it. Elusive and Ward of Protection were fantastic, but they're well-known power staples so that's no surprise. Having both Shrivelling and Backstab was also excellent just for the availability of 2 and 3 damage effects to handle any monster regardless of hit point value - particularly because they both play to Sefina's strongest attributes. I felt your upgrade path was great, with the exception of the economy issues I already mentioned. The one other thing that did feel off for me was Charisma as high as priority one, but that's mostly because I was finding it so hard to find the money for Dario in many instances, so I didn't need both allies at once as I'd usually be ready to replace the Initiate with him by the mid-late game of the scenario if I'd managed to save up the cash and had already got all the use I needed out of the Initiate. The times when I most wanted Charisma was with really bad opening draws where I hadn't got any of Shrivelling, Rite of Seeking or Lone Wolf, but planning around those outlier instances is probably not worth having Charisma earlier when compared to getting Hot Streak sooner so you have the cash you need to make Dario work. Great deck design and write up overall. I think that most of the things I felt were an issue were a product of solo play rather than anything else. I really enjoyed playing the deck, but I would just look to tweak the economy somehow specifically for pure solo play and I suspect that your suggestion of -1x Storm of Spirits and +1x Emergency Cache would improve things a lot. The issue with Rite of Seeking might be worth moving to Flashlight, but with a fixed economy then Streetwise by itself would probably be fine. Getting Hot Streak as an upgrade would probably be another good suggestion - before Lucky Dice I think? Move Charisma later as well? Really great job though, I appreciate your hard work putting this together a lot! Good luck for your Calvin deck! |
May 04, 2018Oh and one other thing, Arcane Initiate was insanely good. It always is in Mystic decks, but the fact it can pull The Painted World as well really improves the hit rate of it and gives you amazing card draw to fuel checks and so on. The one extra horror soak is just gravy really, I'd still play this card even without that aspect. The doom token literally never made a difference, even if I played it right out on turn one. |
May 04, 2018Oh and another thing! I was just thinking about why I didn't make such great use of Think On Your Feet and I think it might be to do with the fact that quite a lot of enemies in The Path To Carcosa frequently spawn in places that aren't necessarily where you are. The number of times I was like "oh excellent, an enemy on me so I can get a free move... Oh wait, it's spawning elsewhere." Happened far too much for my liking! Also, reading your version history, I can see why Quantum Flux never made the cut. I never really came close to running out of deck, even when I was using Arcane Initiate every round from the start. Stars of Hyades never popped up more than twice in a scenario. Occasionally it would discard something nice, but I honestly felt that it was a fairly tame signature weakness overall. |
May 04, 2018
First of all, I want to thank you for your awesome review / description of your experiences with the deck. I play-tested it a lot to get it to its current form, but in the end I am just one person, and there is so much playing I can do. Your own experiences with this deck is invaluable, so it's really great that you took the time to write it up. Now a few points:
Both this deck and the Roland deck will continued to be updated throughout the new cycle, and of course, we are all looking forward to the new investigators, especially Calvin Wright which I am planning to build a deck for ;) Thanks again for the support and the feedback! |
May 04, 2018
I appreciate you taking the time to reply to my comments in such depth :-) I forgot to mention that all of my changes are probably best in your Solo section for anyone looking to do that, I appreciate the original design was with 2+ investigators in mind. Rite of Seeking in 2+ player is mostly good because the other person can typically handle individual clues quite well, but Rite of Seeking allows for that burst clue gathering and thus matches up really nicely with someone that can do individual clues well. I've not done the Dunwich campaign on solo, so I can't remember how many locations would only have 1 clue on at a time, but in Carcosa most scenarios were predominantly single clue locations. The good news is that Sefina doesn't struggle for hand slots for the trusty Flashlight if that was the route you'd think would be best :-) Of course, the other advantage that Storm of Spirits has over Sneak Attack is that you don't have to do the evade test before playing, thus saving you actions. I actually think it's still better than Sneak Attack because it's much more action-efficient (you have to do evade and then play Sneak Attack as an event action, when you can just play Storm of Spirits straight out) and synergises better with the rest of the deck (Arcane Initiate, Uncage the Soul). If your intent with Storm of Spirits was as an extra damage source to ensure some was drawn then you absolutely should keep it in, no need to switch to Sneak Attack at all in my opinion. It's utility as an area of effect spell, while generally unnecessary in solo, I don't think is worth sacrificing for Sneak Attack, which synergises worse and is less action efficient. I think what I was originally trying to ask about Storm of Spirits was whether you wanted it for extra damage consistency, which I think your response has indicated to me that you do, in which case I feel keeping it is fine. I forgot that Charisma also helps manage story Allies too. I'd say that Carcosa isn't too big of a deal for that, but I totally understand that issue in Dunwich. Probably keep Charisma as a higher priority in Dunwich, but I think you can get by without it from a story perspective in Carcosa. If you're thinking of cutting Dario to a one-of then you might be able to take Charisma out of the upgrades altogether and save yourself a bit of experience for other things (second Hot Streak?) Because you can use Dario as a mid-late game replacement for Arcane Initiate, as you'll probably have got all the use you needed out of the Initiate by then anyway, so you don't need Charisma to allow them both in play. |
May 06, 2018
Did 3-4 solo plays and Flashlight is defintely a good fit. I will hold off releasing the next version until the next cycle starts (should be May 10th) so it can benefit from the new cards :) |
May 28, 2018
I was just wondering why Charon's Obol isn't considered for xp. (Not sure how to link cards in comments). |
May 30, 2018
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May 31, 2018I'm looking up many different venues at the moment, but I really think it's best to maintain between 16 to 18 Events in Sefina's deck :) |
May 31, 2018I usually avoid cards like Charon's Obol and Delve Too Deep in my decks, as fun as they are. In my opinion, they belong in Challenge decks, not general decks. You should also be able to get all the XP you need to max out this deck without them :) |
Jun 18, 2018Great writeup and very thorough. Thanks! |
Jun 19, 2018
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Jun 19, 2018
Thanks. I've checked the original EN Rules Reference and it's there. I was checking in my local language and couldn't find it at the beginning. Then I noticed that they've translated the word "Permanent" different on the card and Rules book :) Thank you! |
Jul 29, 2018Sorry for the newb question, but how does Lone Wolf generate 2 resources per turn? |
Jul 30, 2018
It doesn't by itself, the author's referring to the fact that Lone Wolf in combination with the standard one resource you get at the end of each round means you're getting two per round over the whole round (once from Lone Wolf at the start of your turn and one in Upkeep Phase). |
Jul 30, 2018Of course, I was just stuck in thinking it was from a card effect I'm missing. Thanks mate. |
Sep 22, 2018hi nice sefina deck. what do u think about 1x Quantum Flux in this deck? |
Sep 29, 2018Do you have a guide on or suggested sites on how to do all the cool formatting you do in your notes? |
Oct 28, 2018Hi everyone. Sorry I've been away form the game those passed 6 months, it has been a very busy period in my life :) I'm back in it though, and I will be back to making decklist and the formatting guide I promised I would make :)
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Dec 05, 2018So, I am playing the deck atm in carcossa. I did 2 changes, and also upgraded in a different order. I am now in last carcossa scenario (will finish next tuesday) That said, I think Sefina is not optimal for 3 player games. I didnt even drew to many scenarios a good cash start, so often I am low cash. Also the skilltests become really hard in late scenarios on hard, and I cant upgrade shrivveling or seeking. Generally, the deck had less impact the farther we got into the campaign. Also maybe hard is a level to high for Safina (still beat every scenario so far). |
May 06, 2019hi well, I just made an account to say, well done! really enjoyed the write-up. |
Jul 16, 2019Curious, did an event get published since you put out this deck that you think would be a good replacement for Think on Your Feet? Any new upgrade targets you recommend? Thanks for taking the time to write this up! |
Oct 06, 2019What do you think about "Double, Double"? |
Apr 07, 2020Dadou - come back to Arkham LCG!!! |
Aug 14, 2020Okay I know that this deck is 2 years old and I'll be lucky if anyone even sees this but I just wanted to say:
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Dec 17, 2020
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Jan 01, 2022Definitely super duper late, but I have been playing Carcosa with Yorick (my wife) and we've been having a lot of fun. I used Leo instead of Dario, and I didn't get Storm of Spirits until later in the campaign as we are trying to play in order of packs release. Otherwise the deck is insanely fun and we've been having a great time. We're playing on standard and we find that there are just enough choices to keep things close. The health is definitely an issue and I've kept painkillers in my deck as well. Overall, can't recommend this list enough paired with "William Yorick - Nervous Wrecking Machine (Hard Mode)". |
Oct 05, 2023Is Ace in the Hole such a bad card that it isn't used or is it simply too expensive for a standard campaign? I figured with the ability to use it multiple times with The Painted World makes a lot of sense? |
Oct 05, 2023Yea nevermind, I just stumbled upon the "non-exceptional" part |
I’m not sure about Dario here. If ur looking to click for 2 resources Leo is more versatile (just click for 1 resource twice). If your taking Dario for the stats then your likely to struggle early campaign before you get hotstreaks. Especially with just 1 emergency cashe.
If your after the stats then you probably want Hubert’s key if books matter to you. Or there is always renfield for will (and a lot more money).