As the threats of the Mythos only continue to grow, the city of Arkham needs as much help as it can get. With Chapter Two launching with the new core set in just a couple months, the five core investigators—Daniela Reyes, Joe Diamond, Trish Scarborough, Dexter Drake, and Isabelle Barnes—are certainly going to have their hands full.

Thankfully, they’re not alone in the struggle against the Mythos.

During our In-Flight Report back in November, we revealed five new evergreen Investigator Decks for Arkham Horror: The Card Game. These decks will release shortly after the new core set and will help form the new foundation of the game going forward. Each one comes with a fully pre-built, ready-to-play deck featuring its title investigator, as well as a plethora of upgraded cards to help expand your deckbuilding options.

Today, we’re finally able to provide a closer look at what these new investigator decks have to offer, so without further ado, let’s kick things off with Tommy Muldoon!

 

The Officer

While he was working with the Boston Police Department, Tommy thought there was no such thing as real monsters. When he got loaned out to the sleepy river town of Arkham, he learned he couldn’t have been more wrong. That was almost a year ago at this point, and despite still being “the new guy,” he’s pretty sure he’s seen far more out on the beat than anyone else on the force. Now he’s working hard to prove he’s not a laughingstock to the rest of the police department, all while facing off against half the monsters of Arkham. And he’s learned that not all monsters have fangs and tentacles.

No longer a rookie, Tommy Muldoon (Tommy Muldoon, 1) returns to Arkham Horror as a Guardian investigator with new confidence and a new playstyle. While the previous version of Tommy focused more on taking hits with his assets, this new, seasoned version is all about packing serious heat with firearms. His innate abilities let him load extra ammo onto his Firearm assets, which works great with both big guns like his signature weapon Becky (Tommy Muldoon, 2) and little ones like the handy Service Revolver (Tommy Muldoon, 8).

As you might expect from his focus on firearms, Tommy will want to load his deck with lots of support cards in addition to the guns themselves. Thankfully, his pre-built deck comes with exactly that, such as the Protective Vest (Tommy Muldoon, 9), which offers a bit of armor in addition to helping Tommy arm himself quickly. You can use the vest to pull a Firearm asset out of your deck, or—if Tommy’s already got one equipped—you can grab an Upgrade card instead, such as the new Iron Sights (Tommy Muldoon, 13), which lets you take aim with your gun for a significant boost in accuracy. All that said, with such a hard emphasis on his guns and his propensity to face situations head-on, Tommy will need to be careful not to become a Loose Cannon (Tommy Muldoon, 3) and get his assets confiscated by the higher-ups!

 

The Psychologist

Carolyn Fern has listened to her patients share their dreams for years, many so vivid they seem like actual memories. But she never expected to experience such things herself. Visions of dark caves deep beneath the surface of the world, of alien creatures creeping in the shadows, and of thousands of strands of glistening spiderwebs. Is her mind trying to remind her of something she witnessed in her past? A place she went? Or is it trying to warn her of something dangerous, something otherworldly, or even something catastrophic still to come?

With her superb intellect and deep understanding of the human mind, Carolyn Fern (Carolyn Fern, 1) returns to the scene as a Seeker investigator. Originally a Guardian, this new version of Carolyn retains her focus on healing horror but otherwise takes a whole different approach to the game. Once per round, after you heal horror from an investigator or Ally asset through any means, Carolyn can automatically discover a clue at your location. This is a potent bit of action efficiency that allows you to split your attention without sacrificing your ability to get clues for the team, and when you equip Carolyn with her Experimental Psychology (Carolyn Fern, 2), she can even use that healing to boost an investigator’s next skill test by a solid amount.

Naturally, Carolyn can benefit from her own horror-healing, which pairs especially well with cards in her pre-built deck like the Dreamer’s Chronicle (Carolyn Fern, 5). By taking 1 horror, Carolyn can use the Chronicle to discover 2 clues at once, and then she can heal that horror with Experimental Psychology or a different card—such as a Psychology Student (Carolyn Fern, 8)—to immediately discover a third clue thanks to her innate ability. Pair that with Private Practice (Carolyn Fern, 7), and Carolyn will net herself some extra resources to help keep the engine going on later rounds. She just needs to make sure she doesn’t dream too deeply, or else the Unbroken Web (Carolyn Fern, 3) of the Dreamlands might halt her momentum at an inopportune moment!

 

The Film Star

When André turned 13, his parents scrounged up just enough money to buy him a ticket to the Central Paris Theatre. Enamored by the art form, André quickly became obsessed with the silver screen, working tirelessly to act his way to Hollywood. There, while filming A Cosmic Journey, he experienced inexplicable and world-altering happenings. As the lines between reality and fantasy began to blur in his mind, his peer and friend, Betsy Baxter, suggested a change of scenery. At her recommendation, André packed up and moved to the small town of Arkham, Massachusetts for a much-needed break.

Introducing André Patel (André Patel, 1), the latest (some may say greatest) Rogue investigator to join the Arkham Horror roster! First introduced as a supporting character in the Film Fatale Scenario Pack, André steals the show with a smile and a wink, showboating with the versatility befitting a man born for the silver screen. So long as he succeeds a skill test by 2 or more, his innate ability grants him an extra action once per round, and that can be any action he wants! This extremely flexible ability can be leveraged in all sorts of ways, and André’s got three (that’s right, three) signature skill cards to help ensure he wows the audience enough to trigger it each round: Know the Exit (André Patel, 2), Know the Line (André Patel, 3), and Know the Scene (André Patel, 4). Each of these skill cards can boost his skill test by up to 3 when committed correctly, ensuring that André doesn’t just succeed, he exceeds!

Having an extra action each round opens up a lot of doors, especially for a Rogue investigator, and André’s pre-built deck has plenty of tools to take advantage of it. Standing Center Stage (André Patel, 7) works particularly well with André’s playstyle, giving him a boost that scales to the number of actions he’s performed that round. This can help him over-succeed to trigger his innate ability, or it can be used during his bonus action for a whopping +4 to the test. Speaking of over-succeeding, the Polished Cane (André Patel, 13) lets André use his considerable agility while fighting a foe, potentially allowing him to automatically evade them as well. So long as André keeps succeeding, the wealthy benefactor Marcus Sengstacke (André Patel, 12) will keep funding his efforts, and he won’t succumb to the Weight of the World (André Patel, 5) on his shoulders. After all, a star like André Patel simply can’t afford to fail.

 

The Entertainer

When Marie discovered her Grand-Mère’s dark and sordid legacy of blood magic, she did her best to ignore it. It was much easier to just sing in the smoky lounges and packed nightclubs of Arkham, and far less dangerous. But then times got tough. As crowds thinned and patrons grew surly, Marie found herself embracing her Grand-Mère’s powers to sway her audience, quieting the rowdy ones and enticing the wealthier amongst them to open their wallets. Relying on her dangerous powers increasingly often, Marie felt they were becoming a necessary tool to get through the day. Surely there would be no cost for this newfound power…right?

Hard times call for harder resolve, and Marie Lambeau (Marie Lambeau, 1) returns to the scene ready to rise to the challenge. As a Mystic investigator, Marie’s playstyle revolves around risk and reward, but unlike her previous version—which focused on placing doom on her own cards in exchange for benefits—this new version of Marie is all about turning her pain into power. Whenever damage is placed on Marie’s investigator card—from any source—she immediately draws 2 cards and chooses one to keep. This helps her keep her options open, and since the ability can be triggered once per phase, she can even benefit from it while fending off the hazards of the Mythos.

Marie’s ability can lead to some pretty impressive sequences during a round. With her Grand-Mère’s Charm (Marie Lambeau, 2), Marie can deal herself 1 direct damage (triggering her ability and netting her an extra card) while also replenishing a charge on one of her assets. This charge can get her an extra use out of one of her spells, such as Shadowmeld (Marie Lambeau, 11), which can let her both evade an enemy and move to a new location in the same action. If you play Spiritual Charm (Marie Lambeau, 16) before using Shadowmeld, Marie can net herself an impressive amount of resources before she vanishes, which in turn can help her pay for a pricier bit of magic, such as Infuse Life (Marie Lambeau, 14). This sequence allows Marie to keep her momentum going no matter how much damage she takes, just so long as she isn’t being Called to Guinée (Marie Lambeau, 3)—always remember that power comes at a price!

 

The Rancher

Miguel never thought he’d find himself managing a stockyard. Having left his native Argentina, he has worked tirelessly to save up enough money to bring his husband Guillermo and their daughter Adonia to Arkham. But now his business is at risk; something has been killing the livestock at night, leaving mutilated corpses in its wake. Stranger still, it’s not even killing them for food. But Miguel is more than capable of fighting back: he has tracked this mysterious predator into the local woods, intent on catching it once and for all.

Last but certainly not least, we have newcomer Miguel de la Cruz (Miguel de la Cruz, 1) joining the Arkham Horror playable roster as a Survivor investigator. Even horrific monstrosities can fall prey to a hunter’s traps, and Miguel’s traps are second to none, a fact embodied by his abilities. His innate ability grants him an extra action that he can use to play an event each round—any event, including ones that synergize well with his Trap and Trick events. And you’ll want to play plenty of those, because Miguel’s Elder Sign ability lets him return expended Trap and Trick cards to his hand, ensuring that he always has something he can use to harry the monsters of the Mythos.

Each Trap and Trick event in Miguel’s deck attaches to your location, most often triggering their effects when an enemy enters that location. Take Lie in Wait (Miguel de la Cruz, 16), for example, which lets you spring a surprise attack on any enemy that enters its space—even if you’re currently somewhere else on the map! This works especially well with Miguel’s Knapsack (Miguel de la Cruz, 2), which lets him set up his traps on connecting locations before any enemy is bearing down on him. He can also use his knapsack to set up a Hidden Shelter (Miguel de la Cruz, 15) to give his fellow investigators a much-needed safe space away from danger, or even utilize some Guerilla Tactics (Miguel de la Cruz, 14) to fight or evade an enemy from up to 2 locations away. All these hunting tools are a necessity if Miguel ever wants to bring down the Feline Hybrid (Miguel de la Cruz, 3) plaguing his ranch, since normal methods won’t work on such a malicious fiend. Still, if anyone’s got the grit, determination, and patience to trap the biggest beasts in Arkham, it’s Miguel de la Cruz.

 

Evergreen Investigating

With these five investigators joining those from the new core set, new players and veterans alike will have a strong backbone for their collection as we kick off Chapter Two for the game. Look forward to adding the Tommy Muldoon, Carolyn Fern, André Patel, Marie Lambeau, and Miguel de la Cruz Investigator Decks to your Arkham Horror collection when they arrive this April!

 

Written by Peter Schumacher