I really don't like how this card has no downside thematically. There really should -2 to max sanity, draw encounter card, add a madness or something to reflect the mind-shattering properties of the book.

I disagree with people with people saying Smite the Wicked is a punishing weakness. If anything, Smite the Wicked, while it is not as tame as Arrogance and Whispers from the Deep, it's one of the few weakness which is very likely to be beneficial to the player.

Spawning a monster is a very punishing effect on average because monsters tend to be deadlier and more time consuming than treacheries, and it is a monster you MUST defeat, otherwise you will suffer a mental trauma, which can lead to quite a conondrum if you only have few turns to complete the scenario and the weakness spawns a very dangerous monster. There is also the possibility of you drawing this JUST before you were about to win and now you have to spend more time to catch up with a monster in order to defeat it and avoid suffering Trauma.

But these situations I have described are the absolute worst case scenarios, because you have to consider this weakness in the context of what Investigator it belongs and how their gameplans go, to understand why it is really not that bad:

1) Zoey is one of the best fighters among investigators, but she can't investigate for a damn without proper tools like Sixth Sense, so her main job is to defeat enemies. She GAINS cash facing enemies too, so she is encouraged to be highly aggresive. Chances are, Smite the Wicked won't affect her too much by spwaning an extra monster because Zoey will already have murdered most of them. And mind you! If she did actually murder every monster and then she draws her weakness, it will just discard the whole encounter deck and reshuffle it, failing to resolve before discarding itself. VERY RARELY a weakness fails to harm you in any tangible way, and unlike signature weaknesses like Rookie Mistake or Caught Red-Handed, it doesn't reshuffle itself when it cannot trigger its full effect.

2) Many enemies are designed to be a roadblock to the player, they are supposed to prevent them from acting and advancing the scenario. That means it is very likely an enemy spawned by Smite the Wicked will impede your progress and get into Zoey's range. Sure, it can definetly land on an Aloof enemy on the other side of the map, but that is a rarity compared to attaching itself to Hunter that will come your way anyway from across the map.

3) Maps that are structured as hallways are a rarity, more often than not, they take the form of a circular, squared or otherwise compact area, so enemies summoned by Smite the Wicked don't usually spawn that far away, especially if Zoey is at the centre of the map when she draws her weakness. Also if any effect that changes the map would cause enemies to get discarded for any reason, then Smite the Wicked would also get discarded. The only situations where this weakness actually get scary, are in Edge of the Earth and Innsmouth Cospiracy, because of how HUGE the maps in the scenarios of those expansions tend to be.

Now with "why I think this weakness is not that bad" out of the way, let's talk about the main reason why I think this weakness can be a boon in the circumstances

Easy answer: it DISCARDS encounter cards while searching for an enemy.

Like I cannot understate how powerful that is: you have absolutely no control when it happens or how it happens, but the whole fact this is has a chance to discard 1 or MORE very nasty trecheries like, say, Ancient Evils, is downright incredible!

On the Hunt is already considered a decent card on its own because it can make a Guardian deal with an enemy instead of a treachery, which is a preferred outcome, its level up version even more so. So what about a version that straight up DISCARDS encounter cards in exchange of a drawback if you don't defeat an enemy?

I will say that this aspect of Smite The Wicked is less noticeable in 4 players because you are likely to go through the encounter deck multiple times, but in situations where there is a low player count of 2 or you are playing Zoey solo, this weakness can and WILL save your hide sometimes.

In conclusion, those are my thoughts on Smite the Wicked: it is a weakness I will be far happier to deal with than the absolute amount of drek that is Searching for Izzie or ACTUAL campaign ending threats like Abandoned and Alone and Dark Memory. The only time where I think Smite the Wicked is truly horrible to deal with is in Forgotten Age, as it has a chance to attach itself to Vegeance enemies, but that has less to do with Smite the Wicked being dangerous on its own more with Forgotten Age being designed like absolute crap.

"Welcome to today's group, I'm Dr. Fern. Now, you've each experienced different, yet equally devastating personal disasters. Perhaps sharing would help?"

"... I was stabbed, shot, dyin'... I swear I had maybe 1 drop of blood left. Suddenly... I had a flashback to the Somme. The bodies... my friends! And... something... Sophie I'm so sorry..."

"nnngh.... I... can't talk. I know the Spell that Ends Everything. Twice I almost spoke it, but resisted... and... it's EATING MY MIND..."

"Who cares if you do. The world is so cursed, it can't get worse. You know... after a life with the church, when I count my blessings, all I think is "There is no god."

"There is. A blind idiot god. I wanted to stop him, I stole 4 spells from the Lodge to... he... he KNOWS. Wants them back, but I can't... I... sob ... we're all gonna die..."

........

"Mr. Simmons, it's your turn?"

"... uh..."

This card seems like a good value for most survivor investigators, because if you really need the 4 damage can rebuy it with all the experience you havent spent. This card is terrible in tommy muldoon. You dont trigger his ability, and he needs his experience. Survivors with extra experience, yes tommy, no.

"Market" might suggests off-class Asset shenanigans and you start planning team gymnastics in order to use this card, which is fun. But it is also simple to enjoy this card without extensive strategy meeting : Just check out your friend's deck if they contains Enemy Phase / Mythos Phase reactive Fast Event cards or not then you can decide on your own to purchase this card. (Effect lasts until your next Investigation Phase.)

It basically widens the card's coverage to the max. Sometimes that card can only be used on self, then Black Market turns it to anyone. Sometimes that card says you can use it for friends at the same location, Black Market makes it even more flexible who would pay the card's cost. Also they became open information, not often you get to say WE ALL have Lucky! / Ward of Protection in Investigation Phase.

5 cards is quite a wide search in a thin deck game like this (5/25 in the first round, but after some time had passed you have better odds.) Check that player's discard pile if what you are aiming for are gone or not before going for it and hope they are not on their hand. Some examples from the Revised Core Set :

• Lucky! : Ultimate team-wide "insurance" for Mythos Phase, since if players prior tests and pass normally this card would stay for the next player that draws encounter. It is even more flexible than Lucky! (3) that requires same location.
• Dodge : Already can be used to a friend at the same location, now it works remotely as well. You can also use it right now in Investigation Phase to bypass AoO to do things, or try a risky hit against Retaliate. Some encounter cards order enemy to attack an unfortunate investigator (like checking Prey, or lowest-something, that is not the player) now anyone can stylishly dodge that.
• "I've had worse…" (4) : Valid complaints about this card that rarely something higher than 2 lands on the player to justify Lv. 4 version. Now that it covers everyone's Mythos Phase draw, much higher chance to nullify nasty fail-by on someone's weak stats and get 3+ resources. (Or to deal with enemy attacking/Retaliating 2+2.)
• Ward of Protection (0) : Upgrade to almost-Ward of Protection (2), now it does not matter who got Ancient Evils. (But that player must pay small price of 1 resource + 1 horror.) It is even better than the real Lv.2 version if you want to cancel Revelation on Peril card!

PS: "One at a time, reveal cards from the top of any investigator deck(s)" : You can even stop revealing when you found your desired target and switch to someone else's deck for the remaining cards. The more colorful your team composition is, the more choices you can cook up the market to perfection.