Investigator Insights Issue #1: Zoey Samaras!

November 08, 2019

Investigator Insights Issue #1: Zoey Samaras!

Welcome, Investigators, to the first issue of MUR’s Investigator Insights! In this blog, our goal is to introduce and work through in-game strategy, deckbuilding and themes as they pertain to a specific investigator. For the first issue, let's talk about an investigator introduced early on in The Dunwich Legacy, Zoey Samaras!

At age 6, Zoey was left an orphan after a fire consumed her home and the lives of her parents. As the fires overtook everything she knew, Zoey heard the voice of an entity claiming to be God. The entity told her that she had been chosen to perform His will-- to seek out and purge evil beings where they lurk in the darkness. After countless nights stalking fell beasts and unholy abominations, God had directed Zoey to Arkham, Massachusetts, where the voice told her she would receive her greatest challenge yet...

Role & Deckbuilding

Hard Fighter: Zoey functions best as the main fighter in a team. Her overall stats are exemplary and her deckbuilding only helps cement her as one of the more formidable fighters any team of investigators can include. Her 4 combat allows her to stave off the majority of monsters the mythos will throw at her, and 4 willpower means that she’s safe from even the most terrifying treacheries. Her high base willpower is important to note, as it sets her apart from some of her Guardian counterparts, such as Roland or Tommy and other popular fighters like Silas Marsh and William Yorick who might need assistance dealing with the sub-zero scare of a weapon shattering to Crypt Chill or being slowed down in an important fight due to Frozen In Fear.

Zoey’s health and sanity are actually the highest among all Guardians (Even 4 cycles later!) with a whopping 9 health and 6 sanity; Zoey can certainly deal with a staggering amount of punishment before needing to take time off to heal. Her 6 sanity is especially delightful, due to Guardians generally having problems handling the horrors of the mythos. Her innate ability to gain resources as enemies become engaged with her allows her to keep a steady income so that she can play the inherently expensive Guardian cards she needs for continued combat. In addition, her passive ability synergizes with her signature card Zoey’s Cross, giving her the ability to ‘ping’ weaker enemies to send them packing and to take more beefy monsters like (monster with 3 health) down a notch all without spending an action.

Though the investigator-specific Elder Sign ability is considered a statistically small boon, Zoey boasts one of the best combat-specific Elder Sign abilities in the game. Damage is what fighters need to effectively eradicate enemies, and between Zoey’s Cross and her Elder Sign ability, Zoey is at no shortage. A timely pull of the Elder Sign when pitted against a boss just after your Enchanted Blade ran out of mystical power can certainly feel like God’s will. Zoey’s raw damage potential is nicely complemented by the versatility her deckbuilding provides. Zoey can take up to 5 level 0 cards from any other class, which offers Zoey an incredible amount of flexibility. It can allow her to reliably lean into assisting your clue finder with obtaining clues or importing powerful off-class cards to further boost her ability to battle.

Deckbuilding:

Guardian Shell: As with most Guardians, Zoey will want the core of her deck to consist of ways to deal damage and cards that support her and her allies by means of healing, damage prevention and card draw. Hallowed Mirror and Emergency Aid are efficient healing options that will get investigators and allies out of sticky situations, and upgrading into the indispensable utility card Stand Together is a great way to assist your team. If you’re keen on upgrading into weapons that pack a punch, you might prefer to pick Flamethrower or Shotgun. Upgrading into big weapons can be a gambit, though, because in a 30 card deck, they might get stuck in the middle of your deck, so including a couple Always Be Prepared will help consistently find your firearms.

The Dunwich 5: If the Guardian cards that allow you to pick up clues such as Scene of the Crime and Evidence! Aren’t assisting your clue finder enough, using Zoey’s five off-class slots for cards like Sixth Sense and Drawn to the Flame take advantage of her great willpower. You may want to dip further into mystic and pick up a Holy Rosary or upgrade into Police Badge or Brother Xavier to raise her will to even greater numbers. If Zoey is having issues with dealing with swarms of enemies, she could consider including the powerful spell: Storm of Spirits (also known by MUR as "magic punch") to go along with a dynamite or two. She could take a Quick Thinking to gain an additional action without needing to include more situational cards like Taunt (2) or upgrade into Charisma and call on Leo de Luca to provide even more action.

Hunter of Evil: Sure, Zoey is a guardian and does share the incredibly versatile "Dunwich 5" with the other Dunwich investigators, but what sets Zoey apart from her combat-focused peers? How does Zoey perform in ways other fighters can't? Zoey has great strength in her passive ability to generate resources by engaging enemies. This allows her to dip into more resource-intensive cards like Dynamite and other big weapons that do "aoe" damage, or, area of effect damage. She has an inherent synergy with Taunt, when there are enough enemies around, so using it to your advantage when using Flamethrower or MK. 1 Grenades so that your allies can get to safety and you can turn your enemies into a smoking crater is highly advised. She can also make great use of Keen Eye due to her reliable resource generation, to help boost her beyond the even most threatening enemies. But how do these weapons of war mesh with Zoey’s lore or her theme? Answer: they don’t. Not really.

~ ~ ~

The Murder Chef: Zoey is hard at work at La Grenouille prepping tarragon and thyme to garnish a dish for a new guest her chef designated as a VIP. It’s early evening, and tonight, she’s working double-time. Her bus boy never showed up for his shift-- and what better time than when there’s a new big-name in town?

Zoey brushes the herbal remains from her fingers onto her apron as she hurriedly finishes plating the meal. She calls back to her Chef to inform him of her bussing the plate to the patron, but as her lips part to form the words, a wicked wind forces the small window above her prep station ajar. Her knuckles whiten. Her jaw tenses.

~ ~ ~

Preston watches as a thick covering of dark clouds overtakes the waning moon through the large bay window aside his table at La Grenouille. He rests his silverware lengthwise across the small hors d’oeuvres plate and feels a chill crawl up his neck.

“A terrible night for rain.” voices the woman across from him, clad in a creamy, silk dress.

“Darling, if it weren’t for your historic performance tonight, I might be urged to leave.'' he returns.

He’s about to remark on how lovely Patrice Hathaway’s perfectly pampered auburn hair is, when the sous-chef smashes through the door to the kitchen, in her hand: a butcher's knife stained with green blood. It was then that Preston realized: There is no one else in the room. The thirty individuals who had made their way to see Patrice perform Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 5 all vanished. They’re alone. The room was devoid of light, save the small candle between himself and Patrice and the sick, pale green light emanating from the kitchen behind Zoey…

~ ~ ~

Zoey has some of the most unique lore in The Arkham Files universe. She murders things… For God! Maybe she meets Preston and Patrice in an instance such as this, which leads to them being lost in the woods-- beginning The Circle Undone campaign. Or maybe she took in an orphan she saw cornered by unholy ghouls returning home from her work.

Ultimately, how you spin her lore and build her deck is up to you. We’ve included a list of other articles and videos to help you research Zoey further. If we’ve missed any notable resources, feel free to let us know at comments@mur.fm. Drop us a comment, let us know if this series is helping you learn about Arkham Horror The Card Game!

Maybe you’ll use the Dunwich 5 to build a thematic deck, complete with Meat Cleaver, “Let God Sort Them Out!” and Sixth Sense (acting as the voice of God, of course). Maybe you’ll narrate that she found a flamethrower in a shed, and now God is commanding her to purge the unholy abominations from the land. What we know here at MUR is that Zoey remains one of our favorite investigators to date, and we’ll be taking her into the dreamlands soon. Until then, thanks to all of you for reading, and we’ll catch you next article.