What a loaded card!

One of the main issue the basic version of "Watch this!" had was that it was only worth using on skill checks you were likely to pass, which for most Rogues would be only Agility, as it is their usual best stat, while their second best, Intellect, cannot benefit from the basic skill card in normal circumstances, lacking the matching icon.

Enter the level 3 version of the card , which simply converts all of the skill icons into wilds, that can be commited to any skill check!

That makes the card ludicrously easy to use, and makes it easier to fulfill the clause to get cash from it, as you can commit it to whatever trivial skill check you run accross

But what is great about this is that it turns "Watch This!" from exclusively a utility/economy card to a mix between utility, economy AND defense, as the three wilds are immensely more helpful to deal with treacheries than the lone Will pip of the basic version.

This gives the card amazing versatility: if you don't care about money, you can just use this to save your butt against a bad treachery that would punish you badly for failing its test!

Some people compare it as being an overpriced upgrade to Unexpected Courage, and I couldn't disagree more: the combination of both its resource genration and skill bonus, makes this much, much more versatile than UC, and far easier to slot in and use in many situations. You sometimes have to choose between skill cards that either give you strong effects (like Vicious Blow) and cards that provide high skill bonus for a number of situations (like Survey the Area) but "Watch this!" does BOTH at once, which is far more value than what most skills have to offer, and its versatility makes it that much easier to cut down the need to run similiar cards to fulfill different functions. It makes your deck more compact by combining multiple uses of different skills into one card and give you the option to replace overlapping skills with something different.

That is without considering the great synergy it has with other Rogue cards, and the "overachiever" archetype: it can help you reach a high result to trivialise your next test with Momentum, give you 3 wilds you can look for with either Daredevil (a card which really likes finding wilds that are eligible to any test) and make it more likely for you to get max draw with All In

I don't think this is a luxury upgrade at all: I think this is definetly worth considering for any Rogue that has access to it and is running the basic version or Unexpected Courage, or is making heavy usage of Rogue skills. It's just a brilliant card that is ludicrously easy to use and slot in any deck, which is what all skills should aspire to be.

Rod of Animalism seems niche, and it is. It has two core flaws that make it challenging to play:

1) It's hard for it to pay for itself since you need to get it into play before you play your creatures. If you're playing enough creature allies to want it, odds are high that you end up drawing the creatures before you get the rod.

2) It's always in constant competition with Charisma. Yes, charisma costs two more xp for half as many ally slots, but it's a permanent, which guarantees you reliability, frees up a slot in your deck, takes no action to draw, resources to play, or actions to play. Those are all incredibly significant advantages for Charisma.

There are, however, a handful of investigators that can make it work.

William Yorick can make use of it in a creature-recursion deck making use of his ability to recycle cheap assets to let him search for clues with Mysterious Raven, evade with the Stray Cat, and kill enemies to keep endlessly recycling with the Guard Dog. In a Yorick creature deck, you're much more likely to be playing your allies over and over again, and having 0-cost items in your discard is incredibly valuable for Yorick. You are still likely better off with Charisma, so it's important to note that you are likely only aiming for the rod if you have other allies you are excited to play with Yorick, and there are plenty of amazing allies he has access to. Imagine a Yorick deck with Pete Sylvester as a horror soak in his main ally slot, a Mysterious Raven that can be endlessly recycled for testless, actionless clues with the raven's downside fully mitigated by Pete's endless resolve, that still has space for a beat cop or a story ally. Comboing Pete with the raven essentially means that Yorick has an ability that says "play Evidence for free every time you kill an enemy".

Daniela Reyes can make this card work for two reasons: she already has 3 incredible allies that she really wants to play with in Aquinnah, Pete Sylvester, and Jessica Hyde, which would already take two charismas to make work. At the same time, many of the available creature allies are uniquely good for her. Two guard dogs are absolutely essential for Daniela, as they work seamlessly with her ability. Unfortunately, the remaining creatures are somewhat lackluster for her. Miss Doyle could find a place with Augur to mitigate Daniela's 1 book. Here, it's not a case of Charisma vs. Rod of Animalism so much as a question of whether it's worth adding a Rod of Animalism on top of the two charismas you were already planning to have.

Charlie Kane loves allies, and will already be including double charismas as one of his first upgrades. Six allies is lovely, but eight is even better. Miss Doyle (whose accompanying cat does not take up an ally slot) is uniquely excellent in a Charlie deck, with all three cats potentially being useful depending on your build. Unfortunately, the Black Cat, isn't actually a creature, so you really need another animal or two to make it worth picking up. Could be excellent in the rare case when you pick up a creature story asset like Anyu, aka the only sled dog that isn't a trap, or in a monster-hunter build where you can actually make use of the improved guard dog. In a Charlie deck, the rod is probably never going to pay for itself; it's really just a way of getting even more allies.

Here's hoping they eventually create a Rod of Animalism(4) that becomes a permanent, Miskatonic Archeology Funding style, which would dramatically improve this card and make it a viable alternative to charisma for anyone who wants to include a few creatures in their deck instead of just for a handful of investigators.

Don’t overlook how this card deals damage on an evasion test.

It’s natural to look at a spell card like Blinding Light and intuit that it can just as easily evade as it can kill an Acolyte or a Whippoorwill. But it’s less natural to look at this card and think “alternative way to deal damage with .

Certainly worth consideration for investigators like Wendy, Finn, or Rita.

I want to add that Old Shotgun really shines when used with Prepared for the Worst (attached on Stick to the Plan) to find and play it with 2 ammo. I have had lots of fun using it as one of my primary endgame weapons with parallel Roland (who can play Prepared for the Worst + the gun fast). Since Old Shotgun does not cost any resources, searching for it and playing it is essentially free. I usually stack a Custom Ammunition on it and think of it as a $3 weapon comes with 4 ammo that deals 1-4 damage (4 against monster enemies). Not a bad deal. With Custom Modifications Quicksilver Bullets, it can deal up to 5 damage. Pair the gun with Cleaning Kit and Well-Maintained for further mileage, and you can blow apart any enemy with ease."

This card is amazing in conjunction with Archaic Glyphs!

Going all in on Guiding Stones can clear a whole location's worth of clues in one go but runs the risk of the ol' tentacles. Not any more! In addition, if no tokens are drawn every two icons you add guarantees you another clue.

This is an 8 XP combo requiring a researched asset with limited charges on both. While it's on the upper end of the power curve I don't think it's inappropriate.