.35 Winchester

FFG's ruling that tokens revealed during the action for Rod of Carnamagos count as "revealed during this attack" means you get a pre-test reveal of 5 tokens to see if you can pull a non-negative one once per round. If you can fill the bag with tokens, you have a good chance of getting the bonus damage (even better if you're Jim) without needing to run other tech like Olive McBride, Nkosi Mabati, Favor of the Sun, etc.

Two drawbacks: 1) Rod takes a hand slot so you either also need Occult Reliquary or two investigators (though they don't have to be in the same location); 2) Rod's original use is anti-synergistic with this as tokens lessen the chance of drawing a non-negative token. If you are using it to boost the Winchester rather than its original function, you don't need to upgrade it though another drawback is that you can only have one per deck.

Cool, another way to abuse the Rod, I have noth thought about. — Susumu · 334
Kōhaku Narukami

-This is an excerpt from my 'All for One' series of decks. If you'd like to see similar descriptions for other investigators, just search them up under my username.-

Kohaku puts the chaos in chaos bag! He's an oddball mystic with rather high intellect, meaning he doesn't necessarily need to rely on spells to solve his problems, and can even be a pretty good cluever with a few boosts. At its best, his ability can potentially net you a bless token and an extra action every turn. While the bonus action takes some extra doing to maintain consistency, the effects are very potent and beg to be played around by loading the bag up with as many "blurse" tokens as possible - and you should have no problems doing so, since Kohaku has access to basically any card with either effect (particularly if you also own the Innsmouth campaign).

As one might expect, loading up the chaos bag comes with the consequence of making draws very swingy. An investigator like Kohaku should have strategies to mitigate this, but any friends at the table might find this less than desirable if their deck hasn't been tailored around bless and/or curse. He also has abysmal agility, and a few badly timed treacheries like Grasping Hands could shred through your limited health if you don't have an answer ready.

Some archetypes that work well for this template:

  • The Folklorist - As should be clear by now, Kohaku wants to generate a lot of bless and curse tokens to get as many bonus actions as possible. What's not obvious is that you want your cards to generate more curses so you can use your ability exclusively on generating bless. This is because generating curses is a trade that gives you other benefits, but using your ability to generate curses is purely negative. It's much more efficient to use it on a positive effect like bless when you can control for it. That said, priority is going to be putting tokens in the bag, which is very easy with curse. The secondary goal will be using cards that make the most of those extra tokens.

  • "Lean Bag" Narukami - Maybe your other players let out an audible groan when you mention you'd like to play with curse tokens. Maybe you just want to play something more "traditional". You still want to take as many bonus actions as possible, but you want to keep the chaos bag light, especially when it comes to curses. Finding the right balance will take more finesse, but instead of cards that play off of drawing specific tokens, you can now focus on cards that make your extra actions more potent, such as with the following archetypes. It's also a great way to de-fang your weakness, Weeping Yurei.

  • Spell Slinger - While Kohaku won't be able to access most high level spells, there are more than enough resources available to give him some potency. He'll need some willpower boosts, and spell tech cards like Arcane Initiate are important to make it all efficient. If you have Innsmouth you can really go all in on some of the curse-based spells found there.

  • Cursed Cluever - Not many mystics start with 4 intellect, and there are actually a decent number of purple assets available to bump that number up even further. Conveniently, seekers have received some really solid curse support in Hemlock Vale, and this is very good news if you'd like Kohaku to do your snooping. All those cursed yellow cards provide Kohaku a very interesting niche as a primary cluever.

  • Uniquely effective and/or staple cards for Kohaku: Rod of Carnamagos, Ritual Candles, Wicked Athame, Ofuda, Alyssa Graham, Scrimshaw Charm, St. Hubert's Key, Absolution, Antediluvian Hymn, Control Variable, Guided by Faith, Hypnotic Gaze, Accursed, Diabolical Luck, Purified, Arcane Initiate, mystic permanents, basic mystic spell assets, Cat Mask, David Renfield, Flashlight, Olive McBride, Speak to the Dead, Drain Essence, Delve Too Deep, Emergency Cache, Ethereal Slip, Uncage the Soul, Voice of Ra, Ward of Protection, basic neutral skills, Ancestral Token

EzieBaikUben · 413
I played Kōhaku through my blind run of "Hemlock Vale", and he was very potent. You missed another staple on him. Hit: it is such a staple, that it is even mentioned on the back of his card! (Not under "Deckbuilding Requirements.) — Susumu · 334
* Hint, not Hit — Susumu · 334
Ups, you actually missed another staple as well: "Tempt Fate". There is really no reason to NOT put 2 copies of it into your Kōhaku deck! Besides: the Innsmouth set of spells are obviously the best for him. — Susumu · 334
* no reason unless of course, if you don't have Innsmouth in your collection. — Susumu · 334
@Susumu You got it! Unfortunately I have a big blind spot with Kohaku in that I don't own Innsmouth; but if anybody wants to complete the list I've started, all the power to them! The cards you mentioned do look very nice indeed! — EzieBaikUben · 413
Still, the card mentioned on Kōhaku's back side is from TFoHV. ;) — Susumu · 334
Hmmm, is it Ofuda? I had that one in the original deck. It's good, but I find it's easier to rely on generating more curses. Did you find it pretty helpful in your play, or do I just have the wrong card? — EzieBaikUben · 413
Tool Belt

Question: Tool Belt blanks the text box of the attached asset. The "Limit 1 per Investigator" is part of Pocket Multi Tool's text box. You should be able to attach 1 and have another one unattached in play so you can use one, then swap them and use the other one.

Even if you put the first copy on your tool belt, the second copy (the one that you're about to play) still has that text and thus can't enter play because it would conflict with the already existing one. — TheNameWasTaken · 3
Hawk-Eye Folding Camera

Do not know man, it saved me the ass with Amanda a couple of times in TCU with the extra sanity. The first time I was cursing my fate when I realized I got an extra sanity!!! :).

It takes time to build, but seekers main function is investigate.

Jargandona · 8
Sure, but it doesn't help investigate for a while, unlike Magnifying Glass, which is cheaper and fast. I think Hawk-Eye Folding Camera fits best in a build where you want the Willpower or you at least start at 5 int, so you're not struggling as much to investigate early. — DjMiniboss · 44