Ancient Covenant

Ancient Covenant

This seems extremely good, as long as you have some way of getting Bless tokens into the bag. It’s potentially one auto success per Round as long as you can pack the bag with good stuff. And, as a Permanent and no slot requirement, what do you have to lose?

Obviously, this is dependent on how easy it is for Survivors to get bless tokens in the Bag.

LivefromBenefitSt · 1067
Survivors do not need to be the ones getting blesses into the bag... they can pair with Sister Mary or any other player able to get tokens into the bag. — FBones · 19189
Father Mateo just get better and better. — rexhaha · 1
Well, you got 2XP to lose, but as a permanent it's guaranteed. Feels like it's best in 3+ player games; more likely to trigger. — fiatluxia · 66
But if you are drawing a bless token you are pretty likely to be succeeding at that test anyway (depending on how many bless/curse token are in the bag). It's main advantage is that it stops you drawing loads of bless tokens for one test and it's good for investigators who want to succeed by high numbers, eg Rogues. — EnglishLord · 1
@EnglishLord. Drawing a bless token will not be "pretty likely to succeeding" in forced tests against your lower stats, like that ones from treachery cards. I think those tests that would be the better cases for this card. — Venti · 1
I'm running this in a Stella deck teamed up w/ a Father Matteo who leans hard into the Blessed token tech (and has the Sacred Covenant), and it's been great. — KillerShrike · 1
I agree with EnglishLord, this probably does nothing most of the time. An extra +2 should make you suceed even on a test where you're +0. So it saves blesses on a potential double bless pull. — Nils · 1

Overpower

Overpower

I am not sold on this suite of cards, but others seem to love them, so let's discuss why. Three icons is a great boost, for one. 1-2 card draw is nice in Guardian, whose decks tend to be slow (Tommy, I am looking at you). Although, to be fair, spending 2 XP on a card with a chance of drawing two cards by overblowing a test seems... inefficient? 2 XP will get you Vicious Blow (2), which trades an icon and card draw for extra damage, or Leadership (2), if you prefer janky buffing of your fellow investigators. Don't tell me you love this card because of Practice Makes Perfect; all three level-2 Guardian skills are Practiced! Of course, Overpower (2) helps you land Vicious Blow (2) for bonus damage and cards, so, maybe if you have the XP, buy them all?

LivefromBenefitSt · 1067
To be honest I do love this card because of Practice Makes Perfect. Think about it: you PMP to draw this, commit it, succeed by 2, then draw 2 cards PLUS you draw this to commit to the next fight test. From PMP you manage to boost 2 fight tests by 3 each, and if you didnt need most of the boost, you draw up to 4 more cards. Now pretend you’re Joe Diamond and you also have Perception 2 for the same reason (run alongside Deduction, Vicious Blow, and maybe Take the Initiative to ensure you hit your targets). Or maybe you’re Mark Harrigan who can either PMP into this or The Home Front, either way a huge boost. The Practice trait matters a lot here. It will also matter a lot for Amanda Sharpe. — StyxTBeuford · 13028
I agree that the Practice Makes Perfect is a huge selling point, although I wouldn't count on it unless you do have a couple other Practiced Skills because PMP only searches I think 9 cards, is it? Overpower is particularly good for a Shotgun build where every skill icon could potentially be damage. The 2xp might feel a little steep, but it is a boon for any sub-class gators. — LaRoix · 1645
I've typically done PMP searches with somewhere around 4-6 potential targets per test- the 10 skills I take with Joe for example only have 6 valid targets as some are for investigates and some are for fights. 6 seems to work fine. For Mark Harrigan you could take Overpower, Vicious Blow, Take the Initiative, and then you also have The Home Front. A solid 7. So yeah, if you're running a PMP build you definitely have to lean into more than just Overpower, but Overpower is still a really good target in that build. — StyxTBeuford · 13028
The thing with fighting is that it’s usually time sensitive. Committing to a test so that all non-af tokens pass may often be worth it. For this reason a card which both gives you an excess of icons, and turns a succeed but two into a small refund is actually quite good. — Difrakt · 1311
Another point towards PMP is that, sure Leadership is Practiced too, but you don’t just want Practiced skills for PMP - you want consistency in the Practiced skills you run to fill a similar roll - i.e. strong investigation boosters or strong combat boosters. Overpower pairs well with Vicious Blow (and The Home Front) for consistent, thick, combat boosts. — Death by Chocolate · 1485

Boxing Gloves

Boxing Gloves

If you are going with Boxing Gloves, you might as well go all the way. With an extra + and an extra 3-card dig for your next Spirit, who wouldn't like this? To be fair, anyone with a burning need for a hand slot, but you knew that when you started down the boxing path.

It's sad that "Ashcan" and Calvin can't take them, but then, Nathaniel doesn't complain that he can't buy a Chainsaw, does he?

LivefromBenefitSt · 1067
Here's a wild thought, how about these packed into a lvl 2 bandolier? There is a +2 fight and a +1 heed for 4/5. Costly, but yum. — Gentleman Robot · 1

Dynamite Blast

Dynamite Blast

Fast and flexible, this furious force will frighten, fluster, and even finish foul fiends!

I mean, you like the level-0 version a lot; I've seen your decks. A lot of you upgrade to the level-2 version. For just one more XP, you can lay out the same old hurt on a pile of enemies, but now you can do it in any fast action window -- you can kill or weaken a big enemy just before your Seeker has to pass through that location, you can finish off a VP enemy and still sprint to the Resign location, you can make the Royal Emissary regret moving next to you.

If you like blowing things up, this lets you blow them up just a little faster. If you don't have anything to blow up, the double icons are a nice backup (although spending 3XP for double icons is a bit much).

LivefromBenefitSt · 1067
Probably the best thing about this is that you can use it during the enemy phase after a hunter enemy moves, allowing you to "bunch up" an extra enemy. — OrionJA · 1

Physical Training

Physical Training

Let's compare! All boost and +1 for 1 resource. All are Assets that need to be played, generally costing 1 action.

Physical Training 2 resources to play, icons
Physical Training (2) 2 XP, 0 resources to play, icons
This card is 4 XP, costs 2 resources to play, icons, and gets 2 recurring resources for boosting.

Pros

  • They all boost things most Guardians want boosted; while they tend to have 4-5 , there are a lot of enemies with difficulties that high, so pumping is nice. Similarly, Guardians tend to have 3-4 and there are a lot of 4-5 Treacheries.
  • For the level 2 and 4 versions,resources are turned into bonuses immediately.
  • Recurring resources are great; there will rarely be a turn where playing them won't help, and they can preserve using cards for icons, since Guardian tends to have sort of weak card draw.
  • Levels 2 and 4 combo well with Well Prepared.
  • They are slotless Assets, something that slot-starved Guardians will appreciate.
  • Lots of Assets protect Guardians from Treacheries like Crypt Chill and Corrosion. That's not a happy use, but better to lose your booster rather than your weapon while you are engaged....

Cons

  • They aren't permanent.
  • They don't help with Guardians' really weak and .
  • They are expensive to run, and Guardians have weak economies, although the Nathaniel Cho deck has offered some alternatives, and Big Money Leo is a thing.
  • They are expensive, and Guardians already have a lot of other Assets to spend XP and resources on.

In general, if you want to "pay to pass," all of these are decent cards and give a clear progression to build up to the Level-4 version, which is definitely the best of the lot, assuming you have the XP to spare.

TL;DR AH:TCG is a land of contrasts, and some deck styles and play preferences will like these and others won't.

LivefromBenefitSt · 1067
I like talents... I know some people don't, but I find they work pretty well, at least in multiplayer. The auto refill of 2 resources will save you quite a lot in the long run. And let's not forget how much you need to have easy access to Combat Icons when you're running the al'mighty Shotgun. — LaRoix · 1645