Joe "The Book" Diamond (Well Prepared Necronomicon Guide)

For a special history and thematic breakdown of this deck, check out the companion article here: https://strengthinnumbersarkham.wordpress.com/2025/07/17/secrets-of-somewhere-else-joe-the-book-diamond/

Editor's Note: naturally, mere days before I plan to publish this decklist, Duke and Nick go and release a Taboo List that FORBIDS the central thematic and mechanical combo piece. Thanks, guys. But hey, if you're looking for a taste of the forbidden power without going too overboard, this deck is a wonderful way to experience the Necronomicon without breaking the game in half!

At least, not completely.

Hunch Deck

• 2x Knowledge is Power
• 2x Truth from Fiction
• 2x Working a Hunch
• 2x Preposterous Sketches
• 2x Shortcut
• 1x Unsolved Case

Intro

In a dingy P.I.'s office, in an obscure corner of Arkham, sits a man with a book in his head. Not just any man; not just any book. The secrets contained in his perfect, eidetic memory could destroy the world in the wrong hands.

Good thing his aren't the wrong hands.

Using a memorized copy of The Necronomicon, Joe Diamond stands opposed to everything that would threaten to destroy his city. Witches and warlocks, ghosts and demons, monsters of extraterrestrial and extradimensional origin alike–he's fought 'em all, and if they can be killed or banished, he's found a way. Cultists dream of extracting the terrible knowledge locked away in his mind, but to do that they'd have to get through Joe himself...

...and that's easier said than done!

The Deck

Hey everyone, and welcome back! Today I'm eminently pleased to reintroduce you to one of my oldest and most beloved decks!

The foundation of the whole thing is a now-classic combo. The Necronomicon (Petrus de Dacia Translation) is a mighty card, and having it in play offers you a diverse array of valuable effects–an emergency 3 damage, ranged clues, card draw, or (in this deck, most significantly) wild skill boosts. But today it's the effect it normally DOESN'T have while in play that will be pulling the most weight–its whopping five Intellect icons.

Thanks to the TFA talent Well Prepared, those five icons can become +5-10 to an intellect test each round, giving you the potential to massively oversucceed an investigate. And the biggest intellect oversuccess payoff in the game? Archaic Glyphs (Guiding Stones), which can turn every 2 skill value into an additional clue. Exhaust your Well Prepared, commit some double-icon cards, spend a few secrets off the Necronomicon for +2s, and this deck can easily clear 8- or 12-clue locations in a single test.

Which, by the way, feels amazing.

The rest of the deck is designed to support those core three cards. Given that it's an asset-heavy list, Ever Vigilant and Unearth the Ancients help you crank those cards into play much faster and more cheaply than you would otherwise be able to. Knowledge is Power works on both your Necronomicon effects and the crucial Glyphs test itself, allowing you to stretch your charge count and rack up some free actions. And Research Librarian is basically two extra copies of the Necronomicon, which in the lategame can also soak, continue to trigger your Astounding Revelations, and provide your Unearths a way to reduce some high shrouds. If you want to, I guess. High shrouds don't exactly worry you!

Finally, your Hawk-Eye Folding Cameras, though not necessarily the strongest hand slot items in Seeker, fit neatly into your Colts' extra slots while also thematically depicting Joe's eidetic memory and his ability to rapidly adapt to and solve new mysteries. Plus, I just think they're neat!

Campaign Mode

At level 0, obviously you don't have access to any of the three core combo cards. But that's ok! This lets you tell an extremely fun emergent story with your deck's arc over the course of the campaign.

At the beginning of his adventures, Joe "The Book" is an ordinary P.I. with a deck built around skills. Use Practice Makes Perfect and the classic suite of Seeker and Guardian compression/stat boost skills to clue and shoot as a nonmagical flex. This is an old and enjoyable deck archetype, but one that always feels strongest at low levels; fortunately, a change is coming.

Whether you're playing The Dunwich Legacy (and can therefore be directly exposed to the Necronomicon during the story) or not, at some point Joe reads Abdul Al-Hazred's dread codex. This is when you purchase The Necronomicon and the deck begins to pivot from a mundane flex into a magical cluever.

Your PMP and skills start to fall by the wayside as you adopt spellcraft and sorcery. You develop the ability to ward against the mythos and gain an encyclopedic knowledge of the weaknesses your monstrous foes are subject to. You might even master Keziah's formulae, and learn to step through time and space at-will!

Soon, you are a colt-wielding mage of considerable power, and the mythos will be shaking in its boots!

Variants

I've presented the classic form of the deck to you today, but there are a variety of other cards with a lot of cool thematic and mechanical potential you could potentially swap in!

• The Raven Quill is capable of doing the work of both Arcane Enlightenment and Research Librarian. If you go this route, you might take Whitton Greene as your ally instead, both to boost your stats and help tutor out the Quill as easily as you can the Necronomicon.

• I've always had a soft spot for The Eye of Truth, and it absolutely makes sense in Joe as his supreme, most powerful warding spell. If you can spare the xp or the slot, it will never let you down.

• I put Pocket Portal and Summoned Nightgaunt into the side deck because they both became story rewards during my time playing Joe that really contributed to his theme and playstyle. If you know how to get them, I highly recommend doing so!

• Hallowed Mirror and Shortcut both represent story beats in my journey with this deck, namely him singlehandedly acquiring TCU's corn husk doll and passing every single draw of Keziah's formulae. I highly recommend customizing your version of Joe with cards designed to represent story beats YOU encounter, emergent storytelling that defines your character. The cards serve you and your narrative–they can be anything with a bit of imagination!

Conclusion

Well folks, for the final time, we've made it to the end of a decklist (and if you don't know why I'm saying that, go check out the article I linked above)! I couldn't think of a better way to end than with the character who started it all, and I hope you have enjoyed the reintroduction!

It is my sincere hope that all my articles and character concepts across the years have brought you joy and inspiration, and that the projects I work on going forward continue to do the same. Thank you so much to everyone who has read and commented on my content, and I can't wait to see your own new inventions flood this site in years to come.

And with that, it has been my honor and privilege to be your host, ElseWhere. See you around!