Hurting for Clues | Chapter 2 Starter Guide

Hurting for Clues

This series provides 10 playtested decks using the Chapter 2 Core and new Starters, with each deck compatible for two player with at least 7 others (and working well at high player counts). Here Daniela uses Stalk Prey to spawn enemies, Lesson Learned and Detective Sherman to exploit those enemies for clues, and then Hunter's Instinct to recycle events. Oh, and she also still Sledgehammers bad guys into meaty paste (yes I did use "sledgehammer" as a verb...).

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Series Decks

At a Glance

Stats
Clue-finding:	★★★☆☆
Consistency:	★★★★☆
Enemy Management:	★★★★★
Encounter Defense:	★★★★☆
Survivability:	★★★★★
Simplicity:	★★★☆☆

Overview

• The Sherman tank: This deck is designed to incentivize dealing with enemies. Stalk Prey is used to spawn an enemy in and get a clue and a card for doing so (definitely a target for your opening hand), then if you draw a card with an enemy engaged (provoking an AoO) you get more clues with tanky Detective Sherman and Lesson Learned. You can then punish this AoO with your ability using Sledgehammer, even using the ability if you so choose - which comes in at a 9 test with Sherman. Hunter's Instinct gives further benefit from bad guys, recurring events such as Lesson Learned and Stalk Prey, or resource economy like Emergency Cache.

• That survival instinct: Daniela makes a lot of use out of her survival pool, using Same Old Thing to discount events, Extra Rations for healing, and then Do-or-Die for added recursion of assets or events. All of this gives a nice contrast to true blue Tommy!

• Super soaker: Detective Sherman (and before Sherman, Rookie Cop) provide horror soak, with one copy of Canteen meaning you're not reliant on Sherman alone to keep sane. Extra Rations keep Sherman healthy and makes In Harm's Way almost harmless. Sherman or Rookie Cop can soak for other investigators, letting you tank AoOs aimed at them to punish with a attack. In addition to enemy attacks, if you soak damage from treacheries with Sherman this also can provide a clue.

• Consistency: There's a 93% chance of drawing either a weapon or Right Tool for the Job in a hard mulligan. This is reasonable consistency, especially with further card draw from Overpower and Stalk Prey, and from drawing a card with an enemy engaged to punish with your ability. For clue finding consistency, "Make 'em sing" helps support.

• Encounter deck: The saving grace of this deck is Scrape By which allows Daniela to pass any test should she need to. Being able to recur this with Do-or-Die adds robustness. While other encounter options are a little thin on the ground, having one which is very strong convinced me to provide a 4 ★ encounter defense rating.

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Campaign starter and planned progression

If not playing with Tommy, you can replace an Overpower with a second copy of Right Tool for the Job if you choose. 0 XP deck is below (and link here):

A recommended order of purchases/upgrades is:

• Unexpected Courage → Scrape By

• 1 x Machete → 1 x Sledgehammer

• 1 x Rookie Cop → 1 x Detective Sherman

• 1 x Guts → 1 x Canteen

• 1 x Machete → 1 x Sledgehammer

• 1 x Rookie Cop → 1 x Detective Sherman

• Bandages → Extra Rations

Post-19 XP suggestions are:

• Overpower → Indomitable

• Vicious Blow → Vicious Blow ••

Explain Yourself!

The new starter decks added some really interesting event support for Daniela (including card draw and clues from Stalk Prey), with more clue support from allies as well. I wanted to capitalize on these events and also use recursion tech such as Hunter's Instinct. Clue tech really rounds Daniela off nicely, as she hits hard already for me there's a sense of diminishing returns in more damage capability.

In terms of what's missing, there's Bounty - but with Same Old Thing and Emergency Cache (which you can recur) you're wealthy enough (no Logan on a similar train of thought). If you're not also running Tommy, you could run a second copy of Right Tool for the Job, but equally it's not going to transform the deck. Scene of the Crime is alright, but I like all the other clue options - e.g. "Make 'em sing" - even more. While you could say 8 suitable events is low for Hunter's Instinct, in practice I think this works - especially as you can loop a single event over and over.

Compatability Matrix

Everyone likes a good matrix! Below are all the decks that are compatible at two player using one Chapter 2 Core and one 2026 Starter Deck set:

For higher player counts I've not 'compatabilized' the basic skills (Overpower, Manual Dexterity, Guts, Perception and Unexpected Courage). There are only 4 copies of each in the Chapter 2 core, enough for any two decks. If playing 3+ players and there's a clash, you can either:

• Swap with an appropriate level 0 class skill which that deck can use (e.g. On the Brink for Unexpected Courage).

• Swap with a class event or asset with matching or similar symbols (e.g. Working a Hunch for Perception).

• Swap with a different underused basic skill you still believe would be useful for the deck (e.g. Guts for Unexpected Courage).

• Proxy however you see fit (especially if you own Chapter 1 cards, just use the old school versions and remember the slight difference around who draws the card).

I empower you to do sensible things!

Final thoughts

We've already seen big damage Daniela, so this deck tries something new. I tested this deck on Hard difficulty, and with the Sledgehammer big boost and auto-clues it performed quite well.

As it stands, Guardian with Survivor splash is the only way to run both Stalk Prey and together with all the blue enemy clue tech (Lesson Learned, "Make 'em sing", Detective Sherman). This gives Daniela wild-eyed, hammer-wielding hunter vibes, which is neat and a nice change of pace from Tommy.

Any thoughts - drop them below!