How to Use ArkhamDB & ArkhamCards in 2026: Build Legal Decks, Sync Campaigns, and Spend XP Correctly

Open ArkhamDB when the question is about cards or a deck. Open ArkhamCards when the question is about the campaign state.

ArkhamDB is a web database, deck builder, public deck library, rules reference, and API-backed card archive. ArkhamCards integrates with ArkhamDB and adds scenario setup, resolution, campaign logs, chaos-bag management, deck upgrades, card search, and a digital chaos bag. Both are community tools. Neither outranks the current Fantasy Flight rules reference or FAQ.

In ArkhamDB, mark the Core Set, investigator expansions, campaign expansions, and standalone products you own. Public decks often use cards from years of releases. Without a collection filter, the site can recommend a beautiful machine whose most important gears live in six boxes you do not have.

1. Create or sign in to an ArkhamDB account.
2. Open My Collection.
3. Select the exact products you own, including the correct Core era.
4. Choose the current Taboo List only if your group is using it.
5. Save one collection-aware search before browsing public decks.

Taboo is optional campaign balance guidance, not a secret requirement for your first game. A beginner should learn the printed cards before volunteering for extra errata.

A public decklist is a field report, not a prescription. Before clicking Clone, read the investigator role, player count, campaign, collection, Taboo setting, opening-hand advice, and upgrade notes. A 29-XP showcase may still contain an excellent 0-XP starting list in its description; the headline number alone does not tell you whether the author documented the path from scenario one.

Margo's six-question decklist audit

1. What job does this investigator perform? Primary clue finder, enemy manager, flexible support, or solo generalist are different assignments.
2. What player count was tested? A four-player specialist can look helpless in true solo without being a bad deck.
3. Can your collection build the level-zero version? Missing one economy card or signature interaction can change the whole engine.
4. Is the list using the same Taboo environment? XP costs and card text can differ.
5. Does the author explain the mulligan? A strong list tells you what the first two turns are trying to accomplish.
6. Is there an upgrade path? Look for the starting deck, cards out, cards in, and the reason for each purchase.

Clone the list, preserve the author credit and original link, then draw at least five sample opening hands. Note dead cards, missing resources, and hands that cannot contribute by turn two. Change the smallest number of cards that solves a repeated problem. That is adaptation. Rebuilding the entire list after one ugly draw is just the encounter deck winning before setup.

Choose the investigator first. Read the back of the investigator card or ArkhamDB's deckbuilding panel carefully: class access, level range, trait permissions, off-class slots, required signatures, and random basic weakness are the actual constitution of the deck.

The five jobs to check

• Economy: enough resources or cost reduction to play the hand.
• Setup: assets or skills that make the investigator functional early.
• Clues: a repeatable way to advance the act.
• Enemies: fight, evade, manage, or reliably depend on a teammate.
• Protection: answers to treacheries, damage, horror, or failed key tests.

Fork a public deck instead of silently editing someone else's record. Save a baseline copy, then draw sample hands. Mulligan signatures and weaknesses as the rules require, and ask whether the opening can become useful in two turns rather than whether it contains the deck's fanciest card.

ArkhamCards can connect to ArkhamDB, import a saved deck, and carry it through a campaign. Sync only after the ArkhamDB version is legal and saved. If you import while still casually swapping cards, you create two records and a future argument with yourself.

1. Connect the correct ArkhamDB account.
2. Import or select the saved investigator deck.
3. Create or join the campaign.
4. Confirm investigator, deck version, difficulty, and chaos-bag contents.
5. Keep the physical deck and digital record on the same version.

ArkhamCards is free and ad-free. Its campaign screens guide setup and resolution, but the physical scenario guide and current official FAQ remain useful at the table.

One player can run a campaign locally, but a group should decide who owns the shared record before the first agenda advances. ArkhamCards accounts and ArkhamDB accounts are separate. Every investigator who wants to update a private ArkhamDB deck should connect the correct account on their own device, while the campaign itself must be shared or uploaded rather than left as a local-only file.

Put these six facts in one place

1. Campaign and version: confirm the exact campaign, difficulty, and scenario.
2. Investigator record: attach the correct saved deck and its current upgrade version.
3. Rules environment: agree on printed rules, current Grimoire or legacy FAQ, and whether Taboo is active.
4. Persistent state: verify trauma, earned weaknesses, story assets, supplies, and campaign-log entries.
5. Chaos bag: make the physical bag and digital record match, then decide which one is authoritative for draws.
6. Post-game owner: name the person who reads resolution aloud and the players who claim XP on their own accounts.

Do not create a fresh upgraded deck after every scenario. ArkhamDB's upgrade workflow is designed to keep versions attached to the original deck, and ArkhamCards can pull the newest saved upgrade. When a deck appears stale, refresh or pull from ArkhamDB before duplicating anything. The three-minute audit feels fussy only until it prevents forty minutes of reconstruction.

Create the campaign, select difficulty, and verify the starting chaos bag against the campaign guide. During resolution, enter only what the scenario tells you to record. Do not browse future scenario text or options to make the record look complete; incomplete information is part of Arkham's design.

After each scenario, confirm trauma, story assets or weaknesses, earned XP, campaign-log entries, and token changes. If the app and printed guide appear to disagree, stop and check whether the app has the newest content update and whether you selected the correct campaign version.

The safest upgrade ritual is short enough to repeat every time:

1. Resolve the scenario completely.
2. Record earned XP and all campaign changes.
3. Save or snapshot the current deck.
4. Claim the XP inside the campaign.
5. Purchase upgrades and record cards removed.
6. Confirm the deck remains legal.
7. Draw five opening hands before the next session.

Spend XP on the bottleneck the last scenario exposed: economy, action compression, clue pace, enemy control, or protection. The most expensive card in the class is not automatically the upgrade your investigator needs.

The deck says illegal

Check investigator deckbuilding requirements, card level, class access, required signatures, weakness count, and the selected Taboo List. Also confirm that the exact product is marked in My Collection. If a repackaged Chapter One product does not expose expected cards, verify that the equivalent legacy release format is not affecting the collection filter before assuming the cards differ.

A public deck shows 20–50 XP

Read the author's notes before leaving. Many experienced builders publish the finished target first and link the 0-XP list or upgrade path in the write-up. If neither exists, treat the list as inspiration rather than a beginner-ready campaign deck.

A new card is missing

Update ArkhamCards, refresh ArkhamDB, confirm the product is selected in your collection, and verify its official release status. Community databases may update after announcement or release, especially during a product-line transition. A preview or preorder image is not automatically a live card record.

The campaign deck and ArkhamDB deck disagree

Refresh the ArkhamCards deck list or use its pull-from-ArkhamDB action after saving the upgrade in place on ArkhamDB. If the records have already diverged, decide which saved version is authoritative, export or snapshot it, then re-import deliberately. Do not repair two decks one card at a time while tired.

Two devices do not show the same campaign

Confirm that both players are signed into ArkhamCards, not merely ArkhamDB, and that the campaign is uploaded or shared instead of stored only on one device. Private deck changes still require the credentials of the investigator's own ArkhamDB account.

XP is wrong

Review the scenario resolution and campaign-log entries before touching the deck. If the number changed after an upgrade, compare the pre-upgrade deck version with cards purchased, removed, exiled, or discounted. Claiming XP is not the same action as spending it.

The app and a forum answer disagree

For current Chapter Two play, check the Arkham Grimoire, campaign guide, and card text. Use the legacy Rules Reference and FAQ when older content specifically calls for them. Forum explanations can teach the reasoning; official documents settle the ruling.

Start with a compatible Core Set and sleeve the player deck that gets shuffled every session. Upgrade the chaos bag when readability or wear becomes annoying. Premium storage belongs later, when the collection has earned a permanent room in the house.

Each product below uses a direct Amazon affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate, Puzzlewick earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.