Even without going infinite, repeatedly reusing Solid Points for damage/Influence or 0-cost upgraded Good Intentions was highly effective. It was often going infinite by recycling Pale upgrades to Ergo (0-cost, Improvise a card from the discard pile) and Second Wind (0-cost, gain 1 action per 3 cards in the discard pile). I made a deck with two upgraded copies of.Swift Retort, I think? It's the card that improvises two 0-cost cards from the discard pile. (Being able to last longer and draw out a battle can also allow more upgrades, but the experimental build added fatigue to combat this, which is a feel-bad solution but probably a step in the right direction.)
Cards like Airtight or the upgrade to Fast Talk that adds 3 Composure can keep an Influence-based deck from taking any lasting damage to the Core Argument. The money you earn then snowballs to make the deck (and your battle deck) even better. A more resilient negotiation deck means you can ask for more money on every job, knowing that your Composure will minimize the risk.if you don't just quickly obliterate the extra money arguments with Flatter. Less Resolve damage taken means less money spent buying drinks to heal Resolve. Steady Composure gain. With recovery and healing being at a premium, especially at higher Prestige levels, a strategy that minimizes the Resolve damage you take quickly pulls ahead. Big damage through Good Impression, Beguile, or Intrigue. Flatter (from upgraded Sal's Instincts), is a huge payoff for having Influence, especially now that Overbear has been nerfed. Here are my main reasons for consistently going Diplomatic: I will add the disclaimer that I'm not sure if Hostile cards are just farther behind in the design process. In general, I do find that Diplomatic strategies in negotiation decks far more effective than Hostile strategies.