First Aid

Just an opinion.

What I like: There is not enough healing in the core set, so often times when you get low on health or sanity, you better book it or pray. The cost is reasonable, it doesn’t take up a slot, and you can use it on other investigators which could turn you into a little mini-healer which Agnes will love so she can ping a couple more times. The fact that it heals horror and damage is functionally useful. The will skill icon is great for both Roland and Skids right now, as they don’t have a very fun time with will based treacheries. Not needing a skill check to complete (medical texts) or a check to make it better (liquid courage) is also good in some situations.

What I don’t like: The action economy with this is abysmal. I understand, you’re not winning if you’re dying, but to just use it once you’ve spent two actions not making progress. I never feel like I have enough time to play it in solo, and even in multiplayer either the threats have been tackled evenly so there isn’t a dire need for it over something else or the situation is already so bad that spending those actions to recover won’t really help much. The scenarios are just too short in my eyes to warrant using this in most cases.

What it needs: Honestly, first aid needs more investigators like Agnes who care about taking some sort of damage or horror. It also needs other healing cards to stay out of the game. I would gladly take the risk on liquid courage over this, because healing two for a single action is much more reasonable even if it is only horror in that case. As time goes by I feel like healing options will only improve, and unless they are using first aid as a benchmark and everything else gets a risk or negative involved, first aid will fall to obscurity.

Scaling: Here’s where this card shines however. First Aid as it stands has the same level of power in all the difficulties, which gives it a slight edge. With no test needed to make it work and no test needed to get a benefit, it gets more reasonable as you up the difficulty. Easy and standard, I’m waiting for a better option but in hard and expert, this does seem a bit more reliable.

Doma0997 · 3
I agree on all points, especially re: action economy. For example, the proactive damage/horror control of Leather Coat/Holy Rosary is more action efficient than First Aid's reactive effect. For the same or lower cost, those cards can prevent 2 damage/horror for 1 action, where First Aid would require 3 actions to do so. And Elder Sign Amulet/Bulletproof Vest only increase this action advantage. True, those assets take up slots, but, for many investigators, their Body/Accesory slots are under-used. First Aid's advantages seem to be its flexibility in healing either damage or horror and its ability to heal other investigators. And for some investigators, it may be the only healing option. — Herumen · 1741
Elusive

The other review covers what this card does, but it doesn't communicate how lovely it is. It's fast and lets you pull agro that can save lives. Seriously. A single run of Carnevale of Horrors will make this card shine. I'd love an upgrade that causes exhaustion or reduces cost even further.

dranore · 16
You still did not nail the turbo uber maximum power of this card as it simply wins games :). I just went through core campaing with Skids. It was nuts. First scenario was finished with Elusive + Dynamite + Dynamite, with 3 ghouls eating flame. In 3rd scenario I comboed that with On The Lam to get rid of a whole Main Path Parachute Squad. On The Lam first, then engage them all, drag them to the forest them without a scratch, then Elusive and onto the Main Threat. — Onetribe · 343
Are they not elite enemies?(and therefore not susceptible to on the lam?) — Werewerf · 1
Emergency Cache

Sorry, not a review but a question: Where did this card come from? I can't seem to find it in my core sets? Edit: I see this card is no longer being displayed in the coreset list and has been moved to blood on the altar :)

mystery · 1
Then you've suffered a manufacturing defect and you should contact FFG and get them to send you copies. It's a core set card. — FarCryFromHuman · 1
No, this is not a core set card, this is the "exp" version which comes out in Blood on the Altar expansion. — Dreamspoiler · 1
Elder Sign Amulet

I don't think that these protective cards are getting enough love. It is hard to consider for three experience (along with Bulletproof Vest), but I think that these are definitely worth the purchases. I tend to lean towards including Elder Sign Amulet in Roland Banks's deck and "Skids" O'Toole's deck since they have such low sanity values that this can effectively double what you can sustain throughout the adventure.

You have to consider that the slot it is consuming is likely not even used. In my Roland Banks deck there is an absence of accessories. So, when adding this in there is no conflicting option to worry about when you draw it. It is never a dead draw card. Especially with the symbols that it comes with. Cards meant to keep you alive are not typically the fun cards, but they are the ones that get you the additional experience in the long run to survive and make it through the campaign and get the cards you really do want later.

Bronze · 187
SPOILER LAST SZENARIO: With this amulet and a beat cop, roland survives 3 (without "dodge") turns of attacks from the last boss, which can be enough for the rest of the team to win. — Django · 5162
Your opinion values a lot! I prefer solo playing using Rolan Banks, however it always ends up taking too much horror during the game and he is often defeated by insane. I think this item really helps player to keep low sanity characters going into next adventure good and healthy. — Anjack · 1
Grotesque Statue

There's something to be said for the simple cards. Tentacle mouth guy is one such card.

Let's look at the numbers: 2 resources for 4 charges and a single hand slot, plus a ? icon, for 4xp. All tasty apart from that xp cost, both because it limits which investigators have access to the statue, as well as being a hefty investment in itself. That said, cards don't at the moment tax hand slots particularly, so adding bonus hand items isn't particularly punishing. Moreover, while in a scenario, paying 2 for 4 'double' draws is incredible value. As with all abilities, it's optional, so you can pick which tests you want to use it (before drawing the chaos token). And, by way of comparison, consider Wendy's 'redraw' ability, which, yes, is theoretically limitless, but costs a card for each redraw and, crucially, does not allow a choice between the two tokens (the second replaces the first - and could be the very same as the first).

One simply shouldn't underestimate the potency of choosing to double dip into the chaos bag. Even on tests where an investigator is feeling confident, being able to choose, for example, a instead of a -1 to trigger further effects (such as Agnes's ability) or vice versa to avoid them is incredibly powerful - after all, the statue is in the same faction as spells, from Shrivelling to Blinding Light, which come with additional risks for non-numeric tokens. Choice is crucial here: a normal skill test requires an investigator to overcommit to aim to mitigate the vicissitudes of the chaos bag; an investigator with the grotesque statue can, in a pinch, give themselves options, and options = power.

zozo · 3006
As a side note for Agnes deck, the statue is discarded when empty- and can be recycled with scavenging. — Django · 5162
Jim can also use the scavenging recursion if he spends some of his splash slots. — Rastanor · 1
So wait if I use Jacqueline Fine + Grotesque statue(statue first), which clause of Statue gets increased? Do I choose 1 to resolve and ignore the other 3? Or do I choose 3 to resolve and ignore the other 1? — alphasquid · 1
There's an answer to that in the FAQ for Olive McBride. Basically, you must declare before you pull what effects you're going to activate, and on which token. For example, "I use Jacqueline's passive to pull three tokens, and on the third one I use the Statue". — jamalix · 1