Doom Curious? Ask Jim

This is a follow-up to my intro to doom deck, which can be found here: https://arkhamdb.com/deck/view/2723575. Jim ratchets up the complexity but also presents what I hope you will find to be an intriguing way to make the most of what he brings to the table. Like the Pete deck, and for reasons similar to those I mentioned in that writeup, this deck is designed for true solo play.

This deck uses Dowsing Rod (and later the much stronger Dowsing Rod) for investigating, and a series of testless damage events for fighting.

Beware that this build doesn't have Evade solutions, nor does it a have cheap way to repeatedly perform Investigate, Fight, or Evade tests, so it's better suited to some campaigns than others.

Jim's Willpower of only 4 and his mediocre signature card (close to useless in true solo) make it beneficial to avoid as many skill tests as possible. This is especially true in combat, where repeatedly failing fight tests and then hoping to fall back on his 2 Agility is a recipe for frustration.

Combat (4.5/5):

The Scarlet Keys brought us a couple Mystic Event testless combat gems: Explosive Ward and String of Curses. In this deck, we exploit the latter with Dayana Esperence and some some ways to add secrets to her.

It takes a bit of setup, but String on Dayana allows you to repeatedly defeat ANY non-elite foes (regardless of health, immunities, etc.) with two testless actions, while tossing in numerous autoevades and an autoclues. Between two Dayanas, two Crack the Case, and two Enraptured, you can eliminate six such foes per scenario. And the doom comes off almost as soon as it goes on!

If you don't get this combo set up right away, or you don't want to waste secrets on 1 or 2 health enemies, you can fall back on Explosive Ward.

Spectral Razor is your final fallback for non-elite enemies, but since it also deals some damage to Elite enemies (unlike Ward and String), I try to hold it back for the boss fight whenever possible. Elite enemies are also why Jim carries the Abyssal Tome. In an ideal scenario (so to speak), Jim will only use the Tome for a scenario-clinching boss fight, when loading it with doom likely has fewer downsides.

Investigation (3/5):

Use the Dowsing Rod on one-clue locations and Read the Signs on two-clue locations. In a pinch, Jim's 3 Intellect might get you by on a couple early tests. Note: Enraptured is there to add a secret to Dayana--you really want to pass when you commit it, so use it to boost a 1-shroud test or as on a Read the Signs test. (You could also commit it to a Dowsing Rod test where you choose to combine it with the +1 intellect boost, testing at 5.)

Economy (4/5):

Dayana-dependent decks are expensive by nature, and while String of Curses is your goal combo, it may be that those cards are stuck at the bottom of your draw pile and you have to get repeated uses out of more expensive Events. Lone Wolfand Crack the Case are cheap insurance. The Robes of Endless Night reduce spell costs, but they are slow and require an up-front resource investment--they might make more sense if they are the only asset you draw early.

Card Draw (3/5):

I always found Crystal Pendulum took too much actual game time to calculate and was too easy to forget about checking every round. Then I realized that it's much easier just to predict the value of the token you'll draw than to calculate the most likely pass/fail amount. With Jim treating the modifier on Skulls as 0, and the the total number of Skulls and 0 tokens (and maybe other symbols counting as 0), Jim gets the Pendulum to fire roughly 35% of the time by just predicting a 0 pass/fail value every time.

Vitality (4.5/5):

Starting with a 7/8 split, each Dayana providing 3/1, the Robes adding 2/0, and being able to play Jim's Trumpet either before you need to overwrite it with the Tome or after the Rod has outlived its usefulness, you likely don't need healing in this deck.

Action Efficiency (4/5):

Dowsing Rod is Ursula Downs (literally) on a stick. Crystal Pendulum gives you passive (albeit unpredictable and unfiltered) card draw. Also consider that you'll succeed in about 98% of attacks. String of Curses does a little bit of everything. It would be great if you never need to play Moonlight Ritual or Truth from Fiction, but they are nice safety nets.

The Level 0 Deck:

--Sixth Sense can stand in for Dowsing Rod as this is a solo build (though it will make Explosive Ward less powerful).

--I wouldn't have a problem subbing David Renfield for Dayana Esperence and ignoring the taboo since I don't think this deck has a way to "break" him the way the taboo list anticipates.

Upgrades:

You could start with two trauma (maybe both on Health, or 1/1) to start with Dayana. In any case, two Dayanas and at least one Abyssal Tome should be your priorities. Dowsing Rod is a much better card than the basic version. Upgraded Guts adds some much-needed draw potential. The "Side Deck" list provides more food for thought.

Other Cards to Consider:

--St. Hubert's Key may seem ideal in Jim, but Crystal Pendulum is essentially this deck's only card draw power.

--A spell asset for investigating: Definitely "safer" and no less reliable than the Dowsing Rod, but so...boring. More basic skill cards: I would love the additional card draw and safety margin on basic Intellect and Combat checks, but I don't know what to cut to make room.

--Down the Rabbit Hole: I went back and forth on this. I think it roughly evens out in the long run, but there no Level 0 versions of a couple essential cards, I think it would slow you down too much early in a campaign.

--Another static Willpower boost: If you can find a way to fit one in, please let me know! Investigating at 5 (when the Pendulum is out) is...marginal. Six would feel SO much better.

--A different investigator: I'll admit this deck doesn't change the common belief that there is no Jim deck that at least one 5 Willpower Mystic likely can't play better. But I DO think this deck is fun to play, doesn't bog you down with a slow economy, and makes Jim's 4 Willpower somewhat less of an issue than "traditional" Mystic builds.

I'd be grateful for your feedback and ideas!