Lt. Wilson Stewart

Lt. Wilson Stewart

The "new" double-attribute based skill cards can make Lt. Wilson Stewart absolutely amazing.

Unlike other skills cards (like Strength in Numbers) which only gain icons while committed, these skill cards all have the added text: "While [Card] is in your hand ... it gains {skill 1} icons equal to {skill 2} and {skill 2} icons equal to {skill 1}"

"From FAQ - A: The abilities on skill cards are only active while they are being committed to a skill test, unless otherwise specified."

With just 4 and 4 , discarding Survey the Area to Lt. Wilson Stewart would draw 4 cards and gain you 4 resources at fast speed.

Daerthalus · 16
Blob has some real gamebreakers. — MrGoldbee · 1506
They don't have those icons in your discard pile, though? — housh · 171
Once a card is discarded, it's no longer in your hand, and doesn't have the additional icons... — fiatluxia · 69
Hmm ... I figured it counted the icons it had in hand since the card was discarded from hand. How would it work if you discarded [Essence of the Dream](/card/06113). The card is set aside instead of being put into the discard pile. — Daerthalus · 16
It's not clear, but we cannot resolve post-then effect since we didn't resolve pre-then effect successfully, IMO. — elkeinkrad · 513
Essence of the Dream is set aside. But we still can count the number of icons on it for the effect. The same is with these cards. Unnless you have some effect that states "when you would discard a card, leave it in your hand instead", I would consider that we count the number of icons in accordance of the actual place where the card is, and the card is in discard pile with no additional icons. — chrome · 69
These double skills definitely don't work with Wilson. They lose all icons the moment they enter your discard pile, and nothing in Wilson's text suggests that you do the counting before the discard. The situation with Essence is not as clear-cut, but I'd lean towards Essence not working with Wilson either. I'm pretty sure the post-then part only goes off if the pre-then part executed exactly as written, with no replacements. But I do have to admit I don't have a specific reference for that in mind. — TheNameWasTaken · 3

Heed the Dream

Heed the Dream

Ina 3 or 4 player game, this reads a bit like fast, look at 9 or 12 cards from the deck and pick one player to draw the 3/4 of them worst cards (because the cards aren't from your own deck they probably won't be optimal).

It actually compares pretty well even against Black Market (which itself is a very strong card). Compared to black market in a 3-4 investigator multiplayer game...

Pros
-Drawing cards is usually better than setting aside to use only for this turn
-Is free, black market costs 1 resource
-You get to look at 9 or 12 cards and pick from those, not just 5

Cons
-Drawing this in upkeep phase, you have to decide which pile before the mythos phase (black market happens at investigator phase when you have more info to decide better)
-Removing cards from your deck can rarely cripple your deck if it relies on key cards or combos
-You only get 3 or 4 cards instead of 5
-You cant use other investigator's card for combos

I think I'd play this in a 3 or 4 player game.
In a 1 or 2 player game, black market easily.
Or do both if you can/want, they're both good. More cards means more options, more icons for commit, more passed tests means more wins.

I think a lot of people know this but removing cards from the top of your deck is not usually considered a big detriment because you generally do not know what cards are coming up. As far as you the player is considered, a card removed from the top is the same as a card removed from the bottom, and possibly a card you would have never seen anyways (ignoring decks that cycle quickly).

fates · 54
Everyone draws their own cards from the chosen pile. — Yenreb · 15

Ceremonial Sickle

Ceremonial Sickle

Seems really weak for a 4xp card (alongside the investigate and evade equivalents), especially compared to the level 0.

Only gives +1 skill value (same as level 0) unless you want to exhaust it. That's not so bad when you combine it with sin eater but then it's a 10exp combo...and you're still only doing 2 damage a hit.

Thats all assuming you want the doom in the first place, if not then it seems like very small payoff for a potentially big risk.

fates · 54
I feel like moving the exhaust to the second option would make it have a better balance better especially against the last two four XP mystic combat options, (Armageddon & Brand) which both are significant upgrades — parkjensen · 1
Plus making it level 4 means Marie can't take it. Can we please get some decent doom cards for Marie already? — Pseudo Nymh · 67
Even if Marie could take this, Abyssal Tome is better for her anyways if she puts it under Elle. — MindControlMouse · 49

Summoned Servitor

Summoned Servitor

Absolute garbage, can't believe they even put this in the box as is.

At level 0 does literally nothing...what? Worse, it costs 2 resource, takes up 2 slots and you have to sacrifice another asset.

Put some XP in so it can now do base 4 tests... underwhelming much?

Compare this to miss Doyle and it's night and day. You need to put around 7 or 8 exp (carapace, claws, dominance, dreaming call) and Miss Doyle would still be better.

fates · 54
The use case is significantly different, as when used correctly in some scenarios, the servitor can net you quite a lot of bonus actions. In Carcosa for example its basically a 2 cost super-Leo De Luca that requires some build around. — dezzmont · 223
Not to say its amazing, but it definitely isn't trash either. After all, a base 4 test is on par with a gator who is 'good' at something. — dezzmont · 223
Since free move is a bad thing? — bugiel_marek · 26
A base 4 skill I would say is not a good amount. 5 is when it gets good. — fates · 54
'base 4' is what most investigators start with, and it still gets your static boosts. Honestly don't know what game you're playing that you think a base 4 skill is unserviceable. — Lailah · 1
Some classes even have to make due with base 3 for things they are trying to specialize in! I understand that for mystics used to always playing base Willpower 5 and doing everything infinitely through willpower its quite the shock, but as a rogue main I would say 'come on in, the water is fine!' — dezzmont · 223
@fates Did you miss the part where the servitor takes an action without costing you one? Doyle's cat army is great, but they don't give you extra action economy. — Death by Chocolate · 1497
I do think the card should come with a single checkbox filled in though, even if it puts you into a 1 XP debt. It feels weird to need in the Thick of it for a card to do something. — Lailah · 1
Then again, I guess it's fine that it's a dead draw at first. The shotcaster is too. — Lailah · 1
This card has no free move (for the investigator). Even if you upgrade it, it still takes 2 slots and an asset discard. No comparison to Pathfinder. Surprise to see people defend this card, sacrifice so much for so little. 4 stat is alright if you play on easy I guess....but it's really not that good, if it was then we wouldn't need to play assets with buffs. Hard tests are 4 difficulty if not higher, chaos tokens range from 0 to -6. With no bonuses you're failing like 90% of the time. — fates · 54
You... do understand how base stat changes work, right? You still get your modifiers - eg magnifying lens, or St. Hubert's Key, Prophesiae Profanae and the like. A 4 stat is just... what an investigator usually gets - there are some who work with 3, or cheat away with a 1. How do you think Ashcan Pete, Joe Diamond, Leo, or Jenny get anything done? — Lailah · 1
I don't jump through 5 hoops to get to base 4 stat. — fates · 54
If you've added those cards - that is, jumped through 5 hoops (played a sacrifice for the thing, played the thing itself, played 3 boosters), you are testing at a base 4, but you are testing at a _final_ score of 7, as an additional action on your turn. Difficult to get all of those boosters in play, but quite a ceiling. — Lailah · 1
A lot of the above discourse is valid -- base 4 investigate with all your assets on top of that is solid. However, it misses the fact that mystics generally don't use non-willpower stats. Evading, fighting, or investigating is rarely going to be more than 4. I can see this being good in Luke, who'll have plenty of int boosts and commits, to squeeze out an extra clue and/or move every turn. Same with Lily and fighting. I see this being A LOT more popular in half-Mystics, since the Wings of Night + Dominance + one of the test options only brings it up to level 2 — cheezzywizz · 34
You’re not going to splash it in thoughtlessly, certainly. And sadly Lily has no use for it, because she needs to spend at least 1 XP for it to do something. Diana can use it and the hammer with Beat Cops, with or without a bandolier (astral mirror is technically also an option, but…) for her dagger. Amina is actually using a smaller base so she wants static boosts to help out. Marie theoretically could use it but that’s a bigger ask. Dexter also seems a candidate for it, and the Summon trait means he can tutor it with his assistant. It’s not going to win awards as the GOAT but it’s a solid card you can in fact use and have fun with. — Lailah · 1
Definitely someone that only plays on normal. This card is so good with Dexter, especially returning assets to your hand. — Kalarian · 1

Shrewd Analysis

Shrewd Analysis

There is a good synergy between this card and Vincent Lee deck's requirements.

The only eligible Strange Solution upgrade is the "Heal Damage" version.

You can basically upgrade a second copy of Strange Solution for free without loosing consistency.

filippo21daniele · 231
The problem is that this version of Strange Solution is a terrible card and I won't add it to Vincent's deck even if it is 0 xp, not to mention investing some time and actions to identify the solution and then to spend 3 XP on two its copies. The card cannot heal allies, it requires an action to play the asset and an action to trigger it later. You cannot divide heal between different investigators like Healing words do. Nonetheless your point is very correct and I would suggest to pay attention to the similar situation with Carolyn Fern and healing horror Ancient Stone upgrade. It is still not the top priority card for her IMO, but unlike Strange Solution it may be taken into consideration for the deck if you would like to do such a combo. — chrome · 69
This is of course the same as the long known and often applied Carolyn-AS:MiH-Combo. The thing is, "Ancient Stone: Mind in Harmony" seems like the way better card than "Restorative Concoction". Maybe, if there is a second seeker on the team, who wants to do the research anyway, it's worth it. Also in a single collection run of multiple investigators, Vincent might upgrade first, filtering out the concoction, then the other investigator has no risk of getting that version, should they use "Shrewd Analysis" as well. Of note, contrary to Caro, Vincent can also use this card for "Dream Diary", which I consider the best use case, as no version really sucks. ("Forbidden Tome" also has level 3 upgrades.) — Susumu · 383