Déjà Vu

The card starts with "In between two scenarios of a campaign," That makes me wonder if, mid-campaign, I'm playing though a side-story, am I not allowed to repurchase exiled cards before starting the side story, after finishing it, or both? Or is it considered a 'scenario of the campaign' for this purpose?

khoshekh · 8
It's strange, that they changed the wording compared to "Adaptable", where it is "In between each game of a campaign". However, the rules booklet of every Standalone scenario states, that you treat it "as if it was part of the campaign", if you are adding it to one. So there is no reason for me to believe, this card could not be used in that case. — Susumu · 382
If you aren't playing the scenario in standalone mode, and you paid the 2XP entry fee, the scenario is part of the campaign. — KingsGambit · 15
Enchanted Blade

The level 0 Enchanted Blade is a staple that sees play as a two-of in the vast majority of Guardian decks at my table. You can tell the designers worked hard to make sure this upgrade would have special appeal to Guardian players. Everyone knows that Guardians are a bit soft to horror and (Soldiers excepted) a bit short on card draw. This card addresses both issues. And everyone knows how bad it feels to spend ammo only to draw the autofail and miss. That will never happen with this upgrade. Plus, this card is just cool.

All that said, this card basically never sees play in my group. Why is that? Well, the main problem with Enchanted Blade is that it's a mid-tier weapon, and that's a really awkward spot to be in this game. Think of it this way. If you're a Guardian playing the classic Guardian role of protecting your teammates and hunting down monsters, your weapon is very likely the most important card in your deck. It's going to have the biggest impact of any card in your deck on the effectiveness of your Fight actions--and those actions are what makes or breaks your success as a character.

So, when you're shopping for weapons, why would you settle for anything but the best? It makes so much more sense to save up a bit and get the truly amazing weapons, like the Flamethrower or the Lightning Gun. The extra damage and to-hit granted by those weapons just does so much to make your character stronger. Enchanted Blade dealing a measly 2 damage per action (and that at most 3 times) just can't hold a candle to the power of the 5 XP weapons. And, once you have your superweapons, it just doesn't make much sense to spend 3-6 XP on what would basically be a sidearm or a backup weapon. If you have Enchanted Blade and Flamethrower in your deck, and draw them both, Enchanted Blade will probably do literally nothing for you that scenario. That's not a good return on an XP card. It would be much better to spend XP on cards that would complement your superweapon, like Stick to the Plan or Stand Together or Custom Ammunition or what have you.

And yes, I'm aware that Bandolier exists. But if you already have one super-great weapon in play, do you really need to spend a lot of resources and XP to get a worse weapon in play to go alongside that? Probably not.

Enchanted Blade is not the only card to fall victim to this complex. The upgraded Blackjack and the Taboo'd Machete face similar issues. It's not that these are weak cards--Machete was famously dominant back when it cost 0 XP. But they're not as strong as other options for your primary weapon, and people usually aren't willing to spend XP on backups.

That leaves Enchanted Blade with only a very small niche. It is one-handed, so if for some reason you really, really need that extra hand slot (perhaps you're a solo Guardian who wants a Flashlight but is allergic to the Timeworn Brand), you can justify it. But in multiplayer, for the focused Guardian, this card just isn't really up to the task.

CaiusDrewart · 3200
Roland can pair it with his gun & Dr Elli. — MrGoldbee · 1496
big super weapons are nice and powerful at hitting once very well, but survival knife (2) shows that sometimes more is better, I think as more people try the wild power of survival knife we will see enchanted blade and similar powerhouse one handed weapons see a fair bit more play. — Zerogrim · 296
"You can tell the designers worked hard to make sure this upgrade would have special appeal to Guardian players." But that's at least something. Thy Mystics got a weapon, that fights with fist and uses up an arcane slot. I must admit, I was jealouse to the Guardian blade! — Susumu · 382
Survival Knife (2) most certainly fall short of the big guns. — suika · 9508
Eblade (3) does has a niche where once you've gotten your big gun and the support for it, you might consider this as a backup weapon. If you have a standard loadout of 2x Flamethrower + support and 2x Eblade (0) as backup weapon, upgrading to Eblade (3) isn't the worst idea as the draw can help you find your Flamethrower. 6 damage is still rather low though at endgame though especially can't be reloaded by normal means...you'd rather want a 3rd big gun (or the Brand, or the new Holy Spear) instead if XP permits. — suika · 9508
I think one other thing to add to this review is that only Lola and Ursula have access to this and not flamethrower. If this were level 2 it might have a cool niche in secondary guardians, but alas not — NarkasisBroon · 11
You are right in that the threshold between starting weapons and the big guns is too small so the incentive to pick up an improved 2 damager is not very high. However, I will add that the biggest shame with this card is that Carolyn can't take it. The fact that it heals horror is a slap in the face and probably the biggest oversight in the game. — LaRoix · 1646
One other thing, with the new Enchant Weapon in Light in the Fog, some of these low to middle tier weapons maintain some longer validity. You get effectively the same benefit for the same XP and resource cost. The only downside being you'd need to locate two cards in your deck instead of one. — LaRoix · 1646
@LaRoix: I agree that Enchant Weapon is an exciting card that has the potential to make mid-tier weapons stronger. Enchanted Blade III specifically is probably not a great target though, because it's so low on charges and difficult to reload. — CaiusDrewart · 3200
@Zerogrim @suika: I have played with the XP Survival Knife quite a bit. My verdict is that it's fine, it can get the job done, and if you're looking for some variety in your Guardian builds, go ahead and try it. But I would agree with suika that it is far less effective than the big-gun builds. — CaiusDrewart · 3200
@susumu: Haha, I totally agree about the Mystic upgrade to Enchanted Blade. At least for how I like to play Mystics, that card is pretty much a non-starter. — CaiusDrewart · 3200
Ironically, the Mystic version is arguably better for Guardians than the Guardian version. — suika · 9508
The funny thing is I actually like E Blade 3 a lot as a generically useful side arm. This alongside Timeworn Brand works pretty well in TCU for instance. In higher counts, I think you would splurge for Flamethrower, but as far as melee options go, this one is pretty incredible in low count games. The horror heal and card draw, the extra damage, and all of that essentially being a response to a known outcome instead of having to be spend before hand, makes it a very precise and helpful weapon. I think Bandoliering for this is absolutely worth it. — StyxTBeuford · 13052
No Stone Unturned

Surprised to find there's no review for such a staple card! No Stone Unturned offers some support tutoring ability to help yourself and teammates find setup pieces. However, at only 6 cards searched for 2 resources and an action, no stoned unturned is rarely worth the price of admission unless it comboes with your investigator particularly well (Mandy and Joe Diamond's Hunch deck come to mind).

toddwords · 4
I agree. It's okay in most decks that can take it, but fantastic for Joe and Mandy. No Stone Unturned(5) is bonkers good for any seeker (any even better for Joe and Mandy), but 5 XP is a tall ask. — DrMChristopher · 509
Blood-Rite

Automatic, test-free damage is premium, especially on a level 0 card. This is especially great early in the campaign, where there tend to be a fair number of 1 or 2-health enemies this will completely wipe out for you. And remember that testless damage doesn't require engagement, which makes this highly efficient against things like Whippoorwills. Why the Seekers of all classes should get this effect I'm not sure, but hey, I guess it's consistent with stuff like Ancient Stone and The Necronomicon.

Now, strong as Blood-Rite is, Occult Lexicon won't find a home in every Seeker deck. It takes up a hand slot and therefore competes with investigation assets like Magnifying Glass. Multiplayer Seekers who can rely on teammates to deal with enemies may well skip it. But this is a great boon to solo Seekers. And even in multiplayer, testless damage is just so so good on higher difficulties. And of course, beyond the testless damage, Blood-Rite will also help you by drawing cards or gaining resources if you need that. It's a really nice effect for a level 0 card.

That said, I hate Blood-Rite, and do my best to avoid playing it. Why? Well, my answer can be summed up in one word: "thusly."

Seriously, "thusly discarded"? Who wrote the rules text on this card? What was wrong with "in this way"? Enchanted Blade does not say "thusly spent." Taunt does not say "thusly engaged." Twilight Blade does not say "to thusly play or commit a card." All for good reason. "Thusly" is absurd.

I cannot recommend playing this card. That will conclude this review.

CaiusDrewart · 3200
Would you say you have thusly concluded that you cannot recommend playing Blood-Rite? — suika · 9508
It might be there to clarify, that cards discarded by Blood-Rite drawing into Paranoia do not work thusly. — Susumu · 382
I meant of course Amnesia. — Susumu · 382
@suika: I would say no such thing ;) — CaiusDrewart · 3200
Sacrifice

This can offer good card draw when combined with Taboo Scroll of Secrets. Once you have Scroll of Secrets in play for a single resource and action, you will get 3 cards from Scroll (or a discarded weakness). And then, since Scroll of Secrets is a Mystic card (multi-class cards count as cards of both classes), you can get three more cards/resources with Sacrifice at a cost of one more action.

It nets out as two actions for a gain of three cards, but it is better than it sounds since there is flexibility in getting resources instead, it filters out weaknesses and it overall helps you move through your deck quickly.

One obvious downside is that it takes 3 rounds to payoff since Scroll of Secrets exhausts after each use.

xemxi · 12
As a Mystic you will have Mystic assets in play regardless of their cost. This card nets you the same, whether you sacrifice your Scroll or your Shrivelling. Sure, the Scroll was cheaper to play, but you probably would have played your Shrivelling as well anyway. — Susumu · 382
If you're Agnes, Marie, or Patrice, you can also Scavenge the taboo Scroll after discarding it. The other downside, though, is that it isn't spell traited so you can't tutor it with Arcane Initiate. — Zinjanthropus · 231