Agnes - Bad Habits

Agnes has been drawn to the flame and delved to deep, consequently she has seen things she can never un-see. The painkillers quickly went from being a crutch to a constant as the headaches became more frequent and unforgiving. The smoking pipe though, that came later. An affectation and a comfort. A gift from her unlikely dealer, Peter Sylvestre.

Who would suspect the golden boy of such tragic distractions?

Their's is a complicated friendship. She, the supplier of terrifying stories that lend Peter a worldliness that he otherwise lacks. He, the supplier of alternative medicines to salve Agnes' frayed psyche. The arrangement, though undeniably self destructive, is the only way either can find stability amongst the horror.

Premise:

The aim of the deck is to maximise Agnes' ability consistently without allowing her to succumb to horror. It also aims to provide a certain amount of synergy between includes as discussed below.

Arcane Initiate:

Beyond the obvious search for Shrivelling Arcane Initiate allows certain plays like searching for that Ward of Protection before you play a Drawn to the Flame or a clutch Blinding Light. If you've reached the end of your turn without using them then having a quick nose for Ward of Protection before the Mythos phase is always helpful. The odds aren't phenomenal but it's better then simply not having cards available.

The doom they supply can be managed either through playing them at the end of an agenda, killing them with a Smoking Pipe before the start of the mythos phase (roleplay that interaction), or simply playing the favoured ally; Peter Sylvestre.

Peter Sylvestre:

Before upgrade he rounds out Agnes' Evade to help against the encounter deck. His ability can help soak unwanted horror past the first taken each phase. Once upgraded Peter Sylvestre becomes Agnes' best friend.

He can go so far as to completely soak the hit from dark memory once every other turn. By splitting the horror with Peter Sylvestre Dark Memory can become a constant, more manageable, trigger for Agnes' ability should the need arise; her beast mode.

If Agnes needs healing but can't suffer the horror hit from Painkillers that round then he can absorb that too.

Painkillers/Forbidden Knowledge/Smoking Pipe:

Painkillers obviously allow Agnes to fire her ability for free in player action windows outside of her turn. Paired with Forbidden Knowledge she can churn out a significant amount of damage each round. Simply having 4 cards that provide this ability mean she is fairly consistent when it comes to providing a source of damage early on.

Smoking Pipe helps her recover from burning so bright.

The ability to shuffle between damage and horror to meet the demands of a scenario while providing a benefit for doing so make her more flexible then most.

Drawn to the flame/Rite of Seeking:

A fairly minimal suite for investigating. When forced to choose I think I prefer Rite of Seeking over "Look what I found!" as it has some synergy with Arcane Initiate and Heirloom of Hyperborea. Agnes can generally afford at least one with the resources from Forbidden Knowledge. While Rite of Seeking is far from guaranteed the chances of it succeeding are favourable with Agnes. I would still save my Lucky! for use with it simply because Agnes' opportunities for dealing guaranteed damage eclipse her opportunities to gather clues, the arguably more important activity.

As discussed above, Drawn to the Flame couples well with Ward of Protection and can be reserved for high shroud locations or situations where you need to succeed.

Upgrading:

I have not thought too much about upgrades or experimented much to that effect. Upgrading Peter Sylvestre asap is advised. Beyond that I like the Elder Sign Amulet (possibly instead of a blinding light) to augment Agnes' ability and upgraded Lucky!.