Desperate Roland can't escape CARCOSA (DTTF runner-up)

This Roland deck is my submission to the "Return to Carcosa" deckbuilding contest from the Drawn to the Flame podcast (restricted to cards from the base set, Path to Carcosa, and Circle Undone cycles.) (EDIT: Results are in, and this deck landed as the runner-up!) It's a "desperate"-themed build, with a juicy little thematic twist that I'll get to in a bit. Try as he might, Roland simply can't escape CARCOSA.

The "desperate" theme works well for Roland with his base 5 sanity, so I've included 3 of the desperate skills for him to take advantage of. To help cover his sanity, he's got Something Worth Fighting For, Agency Backup, Alice Luxley, and Scientific Theory. That seems like a lot, but it's still never enough to clear his mind of CARCOSA.

You'll notice that this is rather weapon-light for a Guardian deck - only the .45 Automatics in addition to his signature weapon. That's because the deck lays out damage in other ways - Occult Lexicon, Agency Backup, Alice Luxley, and Ambush give you a flexible buffet of options for conquering enemies. But even still, it's not enough to rescue Roland from the denizens of CARCOSA.

This deck also leans into Roland's inclination to be prepared for any scenario. Stick to the Plan stacks Shortcut (2), Ambush, and On the Hunt for maximum flexibility. Research Librarian into Old Book of Lore helps set up card combos, as does Calling in Favors (which also heals up Agency Backup in a pinch.) Still, no amount of preparedness could save Roland's mind from CARCOSA.

And finally, the twist, the secret theme, the inspiration for the deck: As mentioned above, Roland's mind is forever lost to CARCOSA. Every single card in the deck (yes, including Roland's signature cards) begins with a letter found in the word CARCOSA.

Thanks to DTTF for running the competition, and congrats to the winner (The Curious Case of Norman Dexter Withers - go look it up!)