Trish Scarborough - Danger Girl

This is the deck after Versatile is purchased. For the starter deck, you can hold back a single copy of any four events; the important card is the off-class Winging It. Important enough to dilute the deck, you ask? Well, Versatile is making room for the myriad Easy Mark - each of which will draw a replacement card (though taking an action you can chain them, and Chuck Fergus could make this fast). What's more, Backpack will usually pull 2-3 cards out of your deck (almost 25% of the deck is items).

Priority Upgrades (19xp)

If you wanted to simplify matters, you could just include 2 copies of Chuck Fergus (instead of Lola Santiago), obviating the need for Charisma and making the priority upgrades 18xp. Consider Charon's Obol if you have a rock solid group of investigators - the risk of defeat is minimal.

• Versatile (2)
• Charisma (3)
• Dr. Milan Christopher → Chuck Fergus (5)
• Dr. Milan Christopher → Lola Santiago (3)
• Seeking Answers → Easy Mark (1)
• Shortcut → Easy Mark (1)
• Working a Hunch → Easy Mark (1)
• Tennessee Sour Mash → Tennessee Sour Mash (3)

Optional Upgrades

These optional upgrades can be fit in whenever you have an opportunity. Of these, you might prioritize Moment of Respite (especially if you have trauma).

• Lockpicks ⇉ Lockpicks (1)
• Lockpicks → The Skeleton Key (4)
• Backpack ⇉ Backpack (2)
• Pickpocketing → Pickpocketing
• Sneak Attack → Moment of Respite (3)
• Sneak By) → Moment of Respite (3)
• Seeking Answers → Seeking Answers (2)
• Shortcut → Shortcut (2)
• Sneak Attack ⇉ Sneak Attack (2)
• Deduction ⇉ Deduction (2)

Opening Hand

Mulligan for Backpack, but go ahead and keep Cryptographic Cipher and Crystallizer of Dreams if you get it. It's not the worst thing to get stuck with Pickpocketing, either. If I had to pick the ideal opening hand, however:

• Backpack
• Dr. Milan Christopher / Chuck Fergus
• Pickpocketing
• Eureka!
• Winging It

Your priorities for Backpack:

• Crystallizer of Dreams
• Cryptographic Cipher
• Tennessee Sour Mash

Substitutions

The deck was pooled to leverage Trish's natural ability, and then to synergize with Chuck Fergus - priority was given to testless (preferrable fast) clue "discovery", then Investigate. events, and then Evade. events only if the card contributed. Damage is testless.

If you are looking for substitutions, sub in events with .

LOCKPICKS VS MAG GLASS: This is something I've gone back and forth on. Logic and optimization dictates that Magnifying Glass synergizes better in a deck with Investigate. assets and events, it costs less than Lockpicks yet is still an item and fast to boot. So why lockpicks?

Because the opportunity to leverage and is too attractive. Because in most scenarios, there's one or two times I'd prefer to investigate with a 8 than 5, especially on Hard mode; inevitably once The Skeleton Key is in play but left at another location or otherwise can't be bothered to attach it. Also, with Lola Santiago in play Trish runs 10 with lockpicks.

However, I'm back on the mag train at the moment. So it comes down to preference and scenario.

NO STONE UNTURNED: There is a version of this deck that includes No Stone Unturned and some other "search your deck" events (to grab a single Chuck), and subbing Astounding Revelation for Easy Mark; I judged the current iteration better optimized.

INTEL REPORT: Intel Report was in the the first iterations of this deck. It was ultimately replaced with a combination of Shortcut and Working a Hunch. Shortcut has a commit, and Working a Hunch is fast. As a *Fortune. Service." Chuck Fergus can't accommodate you (as thematic as that would be), and with a total cost of 4 for potentially 3 clues it was just to situational and pricey (especially once Dr. Milan Christopher is gone) to see action consistently enough to warrant its inclusion. Nonetheless, there could be a place for it.

Strategy

• Trish has two weak spots: her 6 Sanity and 2 . Protect those with a combination of Tennessee Sour Mash, allies, and Moment of Respite, but realize that sometimes you're going to tank a treachery or accept an Attack of Opportunity in order to get a clue and belatedly evade (see Shadow Agents].
• When engaged, use the Cryptographic Cipher ability to gain 1 clue and automatic evade.
• When engaged on a moderately high shroud location, investigate to trigger an Attack of Opportunity , then cancelling that attack with Narrow Escape to get a +2 skill value for 1 clue and automatic evade.
• Bonus clue if you can manage to use Seeking Answers with either of the above.
• When successful investgating with Seeking Answers, choose a location with an enemy to trigger Trish's . You can do similar with Intel Report without the test,
• These are all fast cards or : Cryptographic Cipher, In the Shadows, Narrow Escape, Shortcut, and Working a Hunch; Pickpocketing is a ability. Chuck Fergus can turn any of the following into fast actions: Eavesdrop, Slip Away, Sneak Attack, Sneak By, Winging It, & Easy Mark. That's up to 20 cards or 2/3 the deck.
• Your only real defense against tests on treachery cards is Tennessee Sour Mash. Upgrade it asap; you'll have 7 commits under Crystallizer of Dreams plus your second copy of Crystallizer: In the Shadows, Shortcut ×2, Eureka! ×2, Moment of Respite ×2.
• With a 3 , Guardian of the Crystallizer shouldn't be a real problem to evade. However, save your Sneak Attack for the occasion; then poke it by using Narrow Escape and/or throwing as many commits as you can.
• Trish can get a maximum of 4 clues using Deduction and her . I have not found it necessary to contrive this since it's easier to get 3 clues multiple times in a scenario, but bear this in mind once you get more fully upgraded.
• Winging It is the gift that keeps on giving.