Ugh. This thing. It’s just high enough difficulty to eat your skill icons, and the effect is immensely punishing. Losing 10% of your deck is no fun, and the “draw each weakness” is just icing on the cake. Screw you, Merging Realities!

The other review for this card is completely accurate, but I just want to give some statistics to help people decide if they want to use this. Using the standard difficulty Night of the Zealot chaos token pool, here are your odds:

1. 29% - no indicated symbols - 1 resource
2. 49% - 1 indicated symbol - 3 resources
3. 17% - 2 indicated symbols - 5 resources
4. 2% - 3 indicated symbols - 7 resources

Average: 2.75 resources.

This is slightly less than Emergency Cache, and more random. But it does have the willpower skill icon. Also, the odds are altered when the chaos token pool is different from NotZ, or (as noted in the other review, when you use effects to reveal more tokens (like Jacqueline Fine, Olive McBride, etc).

I wanted to write something up about this card, because I've left some negative impressions on it in a different review and I want to clarify some things. I still think, for a LOT of investigators, this card is just worse than A Test of Will 1. Let's actually just break all 3 of them down for a second:

A Test of Will - Pay a card and a resource for the chance to cancel a revelation on a treachery.

A Test of Will 1 - Pay a card, a resource, and an experience point (proactively) to cancel a revelation on a treachery.

A Test of Will 2 - Pay a card to cancel a revelation on a treachery, with some chance that you will have to spend 2 XP after the scenario if you want to use it again.

The breakdown for me is pretty simple: most investigators who want this version will want to upgrade to the level 2 version. Investigators who want the level 1 version DO NOT AT ALL want this version or the level 2 version. This is almost centrally an issue of Willpower. Low will investigators can't pass these tests but are still personally crippled by encounter cards (think Preston Fairmont or Tony Morgan or Finn Edwards), and they will therefore take the level 1 version, probably later in the campaign, for some personal defense. Investigators who can consistently pass the will check have high will and are therefore less inclined to needing to cancel a treachery, so this becomes more of a support card at higher counts. Consistently being able to pass the check means that there's not much value in spending the 1 XP to guarantee the check passes, but it may be worth 2 XP for both the 1 resource savings and the insurance it provides you in cancelling one treachery you otherwise would've failed (the 1 XP version might do this if it so happens you purchase it right before the scenario you would have failed the check, but most of the time this wont be true). Obviously, by scenario 8, the level 1 iteration is almost strictly better than the level 2.

I say almost because there's one very easy to overlook side to this card, which is that, unlike Test of Will 1, it offers a test. That matters in Survivor because failing tests often means you get things. If you Take Heart a Test of Will test, you're usually happy regardless if it passes or fails. If you're Stella Clark in particular, Test of Will level 0 basically reads "1 card, 1 resource. On standard: 50/50 you either cancel the treachery or take an extra action this turn (and draw a card probably because Rabbit's Foot)". You could even intentionally Draw Thin to increase the odds of failure and make some extra cash (with DT and Rabbit's Foot, you recoup the cost of Test of Will and make back a resource). Now, this is all a bit less helpful in solo where you're less likely to encounter a treachery that doesn't already have a test most rounds, but in a group setting you could more quickly find a target, letting you either support a teammate, or at least profit for trying. These investigators are probably best off sticking to the level 0 version, as failing is not something you want to gamble 2 XP on.

All of that is to say, I think Test of Will level 0 is a pretty niche card. There are certainly some investigators that could use it for support, but it's very inconsistent support that isn't really recouped even with Rabbit's Foot out. I could see some versions of Agnes Baker or Patrice Hathaway running it as group support, sure. I think Stella Clark is by far the best home for it.

Given the ever-increasing card pool which can overwhelm new players, I thought it would be helpful to write a review of this core set card, which is mentioned in nearly every review for other accessories (and many non- accessories!). Those just starting out with their collection ought to understand how good this card still is, and why it's used as a standard against which all its challengers are measured.

First of all, new players need to understand just how valuable constant skill buffs are, even if they're just a +1. On a close skill test on Standard difficulty--say if you're 1 below, matching, or 1 above--a +1 can swing your chances by roughly 20-30%. Aim higher and the bonus gradually becomes less significant, but still provides safety until you hit the ceiling. 2 above is usually considered the sweet spot in Standard, and seasoned players will commit cards (or spend resources if they have a talent out) to hit it. Every time you make a test that you're getting a constant +1 buff to, that buff gains incremental value--one less card you have to throw away, or one less resource spent, to attain an optimal chance of success. It becomes even better when the bonus is unconditional, as it is for Holy Rosary (compare to Magnifying Glass, which gives you +1 , but only if you're doing a specific action).

And as far as constant unconditional buffs go, Holy Rosary is a bargain at 2 resources--not just because that's cheap compared to other buffing assets, but also because it has increased value in its home faction. If you've at least skimmed the card pool, you may have noticed a couple themes. First, their main stat is and they have a whole bunch of cards that allow them to use willpower for actions that would normally test other skills. And that's the main appeal of Mystics for many players: using only one stat and a handful of spells, you can do anything the other factions can do. So for a fully kitted Mystic, +1 is near equivalent to a +1 in everything.

The other theme you may have noticed is that Mystics like to take risks and make sacrifices in exchange for their power. While they tend to have high sanity, and high willpower to guard that sanity, you'll probably end up taking your fair share of horror [semi-]voluntarily using things like Shrivelling, Clairvoyance, Ward of Protection, Forbidden Knowledge, Agnes Baker's ability, or even Arcane Research. So that's where Holy Rosary's other effect comes in: having assets you can assign horror to is especially valuable in this faction. Mind the rosary will only be able to take 1 horror if you want to keep it in play, so you should only hit it for 2 if you're in danger of being defeated.

All that's really left to convince you of the value of this card is to see how some other accessories measure up. There are a lot, and there are only bound to be more, so I'll just stick with the other two level 0 accessories we have so far, as they're the most direct competitors.

St. Hubert's Key: Also boosts , has a somewhat complex sanity interaction that is essentially equal to +2 sanity, but is double the cost, and you have less control over when it's discarded. It's also unique, which usually won't matter unless someone else has a copy or you're wanting to double up with Relic Hunter for some reason (sorry, no -4 sanity for you).

Crystal Pendulum: Nearly identical, except instead of 2 sanity you have a chance to draw an extra card once per round. Getting the card draw requires math and luck, so it's a much more complex and much less consistent secondary property, unless you also have cards in your deck that manipulate the chaos bag, which lots of the newer Mystic cards can do.

Beyond that, I'll briefly say this: almost every other accessory a Mystic can take is fantastic, for specific deck archetypes or combos, while Holy Rosary is going to be good no matter what kind of Mystic deck you build. It's a cheap straightforward go-to for anyone who can take it.

I want to briefly sing the praises of this workhorse card. While it's more expensive sibling Logical Reasoning (4) never quite seems to live up to its 4 XP cost, the humble level-0 version is a must include in any Seeker deck where you are paired with a low investigator. You might find the 2 horror healing or 2 icons useful for yourself, but that ability to top up your friend's shaky Sanity or clear a Terror that is hamstringing them is invaluable, always assuming you can keep a clue on hand.

It obviously only works on Terrors in threat areas, which leaves out a lot of nasty cards, but the valid targets are well worth targeting.

Useful targets:

• Death Approaches -- scenario-specific
• Deceptive Memories -- scenario-specific
• Disquieting Dreams -- scenario-specific
• Dissonant Voices -- since it only lasts a round, kind of an extravagant spend
• Frozen in Fear -- maybe the best target, since it can absolutely ruin a low- investigator
• Glimpse of the Underworld -- easy but painful to discard; maybe not worth 2 resources
• Glowing Eyes -- scenario-specific
• Idle Hands -- a weird treachery that your high-health/low-sanity friend might actually like
• Melancholy
• Night Terrors
• Painful Reflection
• Realm of Torment
• The Shadow Behind You -- scenario-specific
• Torturous Chords -- scenario-specific
• Unhallowed Country *Violent Commands
• Yithian Presence -- scenario-specific

There are others, but they are Hidden, so, while you can use Logical Reasoning to clear them on yourself, you can't help partners. This card just keeps getting more useful as more Terrors get released. It would be nice to have a Blessed version to do something similar for Hexes and/or Curses, which also hang around and make you miserable.