Arcane Barrier

Just going to drop the Additional Cost ruling here. In particular :

Additional costs do not have to be paid when a Forced effect or mandatory instruction (such as in the Campaign Guide, or on the back of an Act or Agenda card) requires an investigator to resolve an effect.

So if you were torn away forcibly from or to the location with the barrier, you just go. You are not forced to test, and therefore you cannot get to the discard/milling/cancel movement clause. e.g. You cannot use this to your advantage to purposefully fail the test and choose "cancel the effects of the move" to refuse to go/move away. (I did that in one play, kind of amusing the investigators are holding onto the barrier that was harming them earlier, lol)

5argon · 9342
Grievous Wound

Disclaimer: Pre-Scarlet Keys release review.

Another niche card that is a bit hard to understand for now. Tactic is one of the least interesting Trait since it only matters for Mark Harrigan but he already accesses 0-5, Chuck Fergus (so "Skids" O'Toole) but it's already fast and doesn't involve a test, Directive - Red Tape but again it's already fast and Sleuth but it's probably one of the least interesting 3-class talent.

So, why would you ever use this card??

The main issue is "At the end of the round", meaning after the enemy phase.

  • Daniela Reyes can automatically evade an enemy with her . Trigger it with the Mechanic's Wrench and attack with it, applying the wound. Since your turns are often a bit empty, applying a DoT to an enemy and leaving to engage another one is potentially really good. And on top of that, lvl 0 cards are not so hard to slot in her.
  • Survival Knife (0) if, for some reason, you are already considering getting some hits, you can now do so with a 3-hp enemy and kill it after you get attacked. It's not great, but if you planned on taking the Survival Knife already, then it's worth considering.
  • Butterfly Swords allow you to perform the first attack on an enemy and the second on another one. So you could technically do the smaller attack combined with Grievous Wound on a bigger enemy and the 2-damage attack to defeat a 2-hp enemy and evade the wounded enemy. That is a veeeery niche situation since it requires you to have 2 enemies in play, one that justifies this and that you are able to evade after... Let's see what other cards come in this pack. As of now, I see an opportunity here, but not enough yet for something viable.
  • As suggested in the comment by @Veronica212, "Skids" O'Toole could be somehow a bit interested, as he is more able than others to evade and leave the DoT behind. Cheap Shot (2) is a good way to add 1 damage and exhaust, and Switchblade, Enchanted Blade without using a charge as suggested. It doesn't save you much time unless you can change location and the enemy is not a hunter.
  • In the same vein, William Yorick could see use with Stunning Blow, attacking with a Gravedigger's Shovel, Fire Axe without going down to 0 resources, Meat Cleaver without spending the Horror, etc... The problem is that you need both Stunning Blow and Grievous Wound in your hand at the same time, which can be complicated with the little Draw ability of Yorick.
  • Honorable mention to Trusty Bullwhip would have been nice with this since you can attack, exhaust to evade and apply the bleeding.

Conclusion: As of now, except for Daniela Reyes, I wouldn't really consider this card yet, but that may change in the near future!

Valentin1331 · 66605
Hey Val! Appreciate you doing all these reviews. One thing I think you missed for this one is that in lower player counter, especially solo, I could see this in Skids? Stab an enemy with your unempowered Enchanted Blade, then evade them and leave them to bleed out slowly. Cheap and relatively efficient way to deal with a big-health enemy. — Veronica212 · 294
Since it is an event and trigger at the end of the upkeep phase he could easily deal 2 damage. The main problem might be the melee weapon — Tharzax · 1
I mean of course Nathaniel Cho. — Tharzax · 1
It's for foes who explode or go Aloof on you. — MrGoldbee · 1442
The main problem with both these both types and this card is that you usually engaged with the enemy and most guardians will have problems to escape them. — Tharzax · 1
Counterpoint: Tactic is the MOST interesting guardian trait because it lets you stash one under Stick to the Plan for guaranteed availability. Is that useful for this card in particular? Probably not. — Death by Chocolate · 1428
Our friends from Undimensional and Unseen will love this card: https://arkhamdb.com/card/02255. So now it would be as easy as dealing a single wound to big guy and watch (two of them, one per card copy) die. — bugiel_marek · 21
It’s worth noting Skids can use this with Dirty Fighting to deal with 2-3 hp enemies in one action. — MaximilienQC · 1
Now that Parallel Lines Pete came out, this card is quite insane on him. It's a recurrring vicious blow that doesn't work on Elites, but deal damage over time: Pete can watch them slowly die while he makes them dance with his guitar to heal horror or gain resources — HeroesOfTomorrow · 49
One in the Chamber

Disclaimer: Pre-Scarlet Keys release review.

This is quite a niche card. For it to work, you need a Firearm, of course, but also to be spending your latest Ammo, while still having at least one fight action to take.

That being said, I believe that we can all agree on the fact that Vicious Blow is a must-have lvl 0 card for any main fighter Deck that has access to it. So if you pack at least 4 Firearms in your Deck, meaning you will use One in the Chamber at some point, how do these 2 compare?

Vicious Blow is simple: +1 , +1 damage on success, since you add it to another Attack.

One in the Chamber is fast, adds 1 Ammo, to your gun, which means at least +1 damage to an attack that would have been performed with bare hands, and +3 .

Results: Vicious Blow saves you one action only with enemies that have odd health, when One in the Chamber helps better (more ) with 4-health enemies and bigger, or if you are playing with 3-4 investigators and there are higher chances that you have to deal with more than 1 foe at the same time.

Compared to Extra Ammunition, you obviously get 2 less Ammo, but it is fast (meaning no AoO), and gives you a significant boost for the next attack, provided that you attack the same round. I see One in the Chamber like a great placeholder for Extra Ammunition for at least 2 thirds of the campaign.

The Firearms that are happy to have One in the Chamber are:

The happy users are: Leo Anderson/Tony Morgan/"Skids" O'Toole that have access to the "Succeed by X" guns or tend to also purchase massive Firearms. After that, any that is tempted to run the Shotgun like Sister Mary, Mark Harrigan, Holy Shotgun Tommy

Conclusion: Fair card, will see use in certain Decks that plan on using the Shotgun, or the set of Succeed by X Firearms. This will most likely be a placeholder for Extra Ammunition, which makes the upgrade a lesser priority.

Valentin1331 · 66605
probably also Joe with his colts if he wants to kill an enemy and recycle an insight event in his hunch deck — Tharzax · 1
I'd add that rogues can use Double double on it for 1) get 2 ammos and 2) get a +6 for the next attack. — AlexP · 248
Autofail on your last action and last ammo is really bad cause you need to play a new gun or ammo event while engaged next round. This card combined with galvanise will save you. — Django · 5063
Existential Riddle

Hey, it's my preview card! I had a lot of fun with this one, check out my preview video if you're interested.

This is a cheap and efficent enemy management tool that won't be able to deal with everything (watch out for Acolyte), but should help with your average annoying hunter. Very good card for solo as well.

Two particular interactions I want to highlight are Trish Scarborough and Power Word (the latter isn't on ArkhamDB yet), which lets you turn your riddle-solving enemy into a source of helpful clues or other convenience.

Veronica212 · 294
Finally, an (almost) unrestricted Parlay player-card. Nearest I can tell, this is the first card that would guarantee Parlay bonuses like Fine Clothes aren't wasted (unless a mission has only Elite foes, I know there's at least 1). Not nearly enough of a reason to run either/both by itself, but a nice first. — HanoverFist · 711
Hit and Run

Disclaimer: Pre-Scarlet Keys release review.

Hit and Run is the Ally version of Sleight of Hand, a card so good that it was in the first batch of tabooed cards and had a second taboo later on. The latest version is a 0-3 Item. Interestingly enough, Hit and Run does not come with a limit. Did not learn the lesson or that the jank is more contained?

Interesting Allies to play with Hit and Run:

/Neutral Allies:

  • Gregory Gry comes to mind immediately, play him, bet the 3 resources to each test you're about to perform and get him back in your hands for another round! $$$
  • Leo De Luca is the other obvious choice, H&R Leo, play Calling in Favors and dig any other Ally from your Deck for 2 resources since you are replacing a 6-cost Ally.
  • The Red-Gloved Man seems quite sick here too! You do not have him for the Mythos Phase when doing it this way, but you still have an extra round with a 6 base stat.
  • Priest of Two Faiths why not, to add a few to the Chaos Bag.
  • Anna Kaslow to find your Tarot Cards.

Other Classes:

Who would be interested in using it?

  • Big money Decks that would like to abuse Gregory Gry, with a + for being able to oversucceed.
  • Gators that would be interested in using the The Red-Gloved Man more often.
  • Gators with or access.

Besides our Ally monster, Charlie Kane, who is for the moment not necessarily tending towards , all this tends towards Preston Fairmont benefitting the most from Hit and Run for both the The Red-Gloved Man cycling and generating more resources with Gregory Gry.

Following are Trish Scarborough, Rex Murphy and Jenny Barnes that have access to the Allies that activate when coming to play.

Finally Leo Anderson and "Skids" O'Toole also benefit from the testless clue/damage, especially as they are likely to play these cards already anyways.

Conclusion: Not nearly as busted as untabooed Sleight of Hand, Hit and Run is nice, especially in combination with Calling in Favors to turn the Ally into research and a discount. Outside of this, there are not so many outstanding targets, but I'm sure that for every new Ally there is, we'll be thinking about this card again.

Valentin1331 · 66605
hit and run also very likely will block one attack of opportunity, cause that health and sanity on the ally might as well get used. — Zerogrim · 290
There’s also painkillers, smoking pipe and forbidden knowledge to put the allies stam/ sanity to good use. — Django · 5063