"That Crawford Tillinghast should ever have studied science and philosophy was a mistake. These things should be left to the frigid and impersonal investigator, for they offer two equally tragic alternatives to the man of feeling and action."
     –H.P. Lovecraft, From Beyond

Tragedy frequently awaits the investigators of Arkham Horror: The Card Game, no matter how feeling or frigid they may be. This shouldn't come as much of a surprise; their investigations typically lead them straight into matters of the foulest cults and elder gods. Murder, mystery, and madness are to be expected.

All the same, there's plenty of cause for these investigators to study science and philosophy—or to train at firearms, practice their sleight of hand, or give voice to the strange incantations they find in the thick, dusty tomes that so long lay hidden in the secret libraries of forgotten orders. We can consider each of these practices aligned with one or more of the different investigator classes in the Arkham LCG®, and each of the different classes leads to a different set of strengths.

Today, we review these classes and their impact upon the game's rules for deck-building.

Investigative Idiosyncrasies

Each of the game's investigators belongs to one of five classes, each of which is associated with a variety of player cards that grant it a distinct flavor and identity.

While the cards belonging to these five classes create meaningful differences between the game's investigators—and their strengths and weaknesses—some player cards are not affiliated with any class. These neutral cards are mostly skill cards and a variety of tools that any investigator might be happy to utilize—a Knife (Core Set, 86), a Flashlight (Core Set, 87), or a Bulletproof Vest (Core Set, 94). They won't typically improve upon the strengths of your class cards, but they may very well shore up some of your investigator's deficiencies.

Puzzling Together the Pieces

For all the flavor they grant the game's investigators, the different classes don't exist in a vacuum. They find their expression in the decks you build.

In the Arkham LCG, deckbuilding starts with your choice of investigator. You're stepping into a realm that touches on both the traditional roleplaying and card gaming experiences, and your choice of investigator is the nexus of it all. This is because you become that investigator in the game, and your deck becomes an extension of his or her talents, tools, personality, allies, and other resources.

Your deck is also an extension of your investigator's weaknesses. As one of the game's investigators, you must not only overcome the challenges presented by cultists, monsters, magic, and madness, you must also rise above the ghosts of your past, or your obsession with dark knowledge, or your fears of abandonment—or any of the other weaknesses that round out the game's characters.

You are what your cards make you. Which path will you follow along your investigations?

Naturally, since we don't choose our weaknesses, you'll find your investigator's required weaknesses listed on the back of his or her card, along with all your other deckbuilding requirements. For example, if you were to play as Wendy Adams,  you would be required to create a deck of exactly thirty cards. Since Wendy is a Survivor with some Roguish tendencies, her thirty-card deck can potentially include Survivor and neutral cards of any level—zero to five—as well as Rogue cards of levels zero, one, or two.

Of course, these level restrictions don't come into play as Wendy first begins investigating. At the beginning of a campaign, your investigator usually starts with zero experience, meaning you have no experience with which to access any leveled-up cards. Furthermore, you cannot include more than two copies of a given card by title, meaning that if you start with two copies of Lucky! in your deck and decide to spend two of your experience to purchase a level-two version of the card (Core Set, 84), you have to remove one of the level zero copies.

To this mix of thirty cards, Wendy's investigator card introduces several other Deckbuilding Requirements that do not count toward your deck size. First, you must add Wendy's Amulet (Core Set, 14), which you'll likely be happy to include. But you'll also have to add Wendy's unique weakness, Abandoned and Alone (Core Set, 15). This card comes with the Revelation ability, which means you must resolve it as soon as it's drawn; then it deals two direct horror and removes all the cards in your discard pile from the game. Wendy's past is not something she wishes to revisit. Finally, Wendy's investigator card forces you to add another basic weakness to your deck, chosen at random from the available options.

Mutations and Madness

As we have discussed in the game's announcement, on the website, and in our preview on campaign play, your investigations in the Arkham LCG are likely to lead you through multiple layers of mystery. At each step, after the resolution of a new adventure, you have the opportunity to make some adjustments to your deck.

You won't be able to change the cards listed in your investigator's Deckbuilding Requirements, nor will you be able to shake any of the new weaknesses you might accumulate along the way, but you will have the opportunity to purchase other tools and talents, spending the experience you have gained to do so.

Wendy's player spends eight experience to make some significant upates to her deck.

You've already seen that, between adventures, you can spend your experience to purchase higher level cards and add them to your deck. However, it's worth noting that you can also purchase new level zero cards, but purchasing one of these still requires the expenditure of one experience. You may change your deck, and your personality may also change, but only as you grow through or are affected by your experiences. This means that by the end of an Arkham Horror: The Card Game campaign, your deck will serve as a physical manifestation of your investigator's scars, studies, and achievements.

How Will You Arm Yourself Against Madness?

Confronted by cultists and conspiracies in a world of supernatural, Lovecraftian horror, how will you prepare yourself for survival? Will you delve for answers amid dusty old tomes? Will you arm yourself with a pair of .45s? Will you dare invoke the arcane powers you've managed to uncover? Will you trust your luck?

Deckbuilding in Arkham Horror: The Card Game isn't just a process that prepares you for play. It's an experience that deepens throughout the course of your campaign and helps define your encounters with otherworldly horrors. Your decisions matter, so choose wisely!

The many terrors of Arkham Horror: The Card Game are nearly upon us. Head to your local retailer and pre-order your copy today!