True Understanding

True Understanding

Based on the following entry for Grounded, I think this can be committed not only to "Test [skill type] (difficulty)" tests printed on a scenario card, but also to actions which are themselves a skill test, if the action is being triggered "from an ability printed on a scenario card": arkhamdb.com

Q: What consistitutes a "skill test on a Spell card" for the purposes of cards like Spirit Athame and Grounded? A: A "skill test on a card" is any ability that directly prompts a skill test, either through the template "test skill (X)," or by initiating an action that is, in itself, a skill test (for example, any card with Fight, Evade, or Investigate action designators).

By this interpretation, some cards (not exhaustive) which do work with True Understanding: Green Room (https://arkhamdb.com/card/03055), The Man in the Pallid Mask (https://arkhamdb.com/card/03059), Spires of Carcosa (https://arkhamdb.com/card/03091), Reading Room (https://arkhamdb.com/card/03134), Searching for Izzie, Of Life and Death (https://arkhamdb.com/card/06301), Moon-Forest (https://arkhamdb.com/card/06218), arguably Feathered Serpent if you don't have a scepter (https://arkhamdb.com/card/53047), Cubic Ooze (https://arkhamdb.com/card/85041)

Yenreb · 15

Curse of Aeons

Curse of Aeons

It seems that Curse of Aeon helps you to find for Sixth Sense, or Song of the Dead. However, this card is too hard to utilize with thoes cards. What's problem?

First, it's hard to succeed with + . In general, token has -1/-2 modifier at the beginning of the game, and -4 modifier at the end of the game, in standard difficulty. It means that you need to test with +4 or higher at the beginning, or +6 or higher at the end.

Second, the probability is too low. You could check the probability in my review of Blessing of Isis; the probability of triggering with 10 bag is about 14% if no additional ability is used. Olive significantly increases the probability of triggering. However, you should resolve ++"one additional token" if you trigger Olive. For Blessing of Isis, your + could nullify additional token, whereas Curse of Aeon doesn't.

Of course, there are some advantages of this card:

  • Jim's is 0, so that he doesn't care about . His + = -2, and his Olive is just -2 + "one additional token".
  • Curse of Aeon can cap your chaos bag with lots of token; check the other review.
  • Curse of Aeon decreases probability. You can stop revealing tokens with 2 . It gives additional chance not to reveal if you can overcome +.
elkeinkrad · 498

Extra Ammunition

Extra Ammunition

The best guns in the game, things like Lightning Gun or Flamethrower, cost huge amounts of experience and have limited uses. Extra Ammunition is essentially buying 3rd and 4th copies of those guns for only 1xp and 2 resources. Guardians have access to cards like Stick to the Plan and Prepared for the Worst to thin out their decks and search for these big guns fairly reliably, and that makes it a straightforward inclusion to add Extra Ammunition to these decks as well.

With only 6 shots of lightning gun, you have to worry about how you're going to deal with the rest of the enemies in the game. With 12, you're feeling a lot more comfortable. This shouldn't be the first card you buy in a Big Guns Guardian deck, but it absolutely should be one of the cards you buy.

RatherIncoherent · 4
Don’t forget that since it’s a supply you can also get it with Backpack (especially the level 2 version) which will dig dee for your expensive guns, Emergency Cache’s to pay for them, and Extra Ammunitions to keep them full). — Death by Chocolate · 1484

Flare

Flare

Maybe this is not the worst card in the game. Maybe it is. Maybe it's genius. Selling your soul: 1xp per success is certainly in line with the ethos of this game. Tactically, you have to ask yourself: Are the benefits of this card worth 1XP per session? Maybe it is! Feels a little dirty doesn't it? That's Arkham.

Pro: It is a nice single use attack with sweet bonuses or around a 40% chance [depending on the size of your draw deck] to draw an ally - very tempting.

CON: It costs 1XP per success due to Exile.

EXILE - During campaign play, a card that has been exiled must be purchased again with experience points (between scenarios) if you wish to re-include it in your deck. If exiling 1 or more cards would reduce your deck below your investigator's deck size, when purchasing cards between scenarios, you must purchase cards so that a legal deck size is maintained (when purchasing cards in this manner, you may purchase level 0 cards for 0 experience cost until a legal deck size is reached).

Lotharun · 2
I don't think Flare is anywhere in contention for worst card in the game. It's pretty solid because searching for allies and not having to pay for them is very very strong, especially with higher level allies. — StyxTBeuford · 13051
With Deja Vu it doesn't cost anything (nearly). — bugiel_marek · 24
2$ for a friend's Leo de Luca OR a big attack? — MrGoldbee · 1493
@bugiel_marek Good point! But yeah - deja Vu itself is 5xp, so that's something else to consider for value. If you create an exile deck and build around Deja Vu, then I could see that working nicely. I think that's point with DeJa Vu. Me, I was looking for a way to get an Ally quickly into Agnes' hand and she does not have access to Deja Vu. — Lotharun · 2
Flare is easily the best of the exile set. If you want to look at maybe the worst card in the game, check out the fire extinguisher. — SSW · 217
Lotharun: You may already know this but since you said "draw" twice (once in your review & once in your reply), just in case you didn't realize: Flare says "Put into play". You're not just drawing! You search, draw, and put into play for NO additional cost, all as part of using the Flare. That's the beauty of it- you didn't only just find Leo De Luca or Agency Backup- you also got them into play for a cheap 2R. — HanoverFist · 756
Can I play Flare and refuse to take the ally I have drawn and just discard Flare? For example - I have 2 copies - Peter Sylvestre and 2 copies of Leo De Luca, and from the start I came and I played Peter Sylvestre, and now I'm looking for Leo De Luca using Flare, but I find the 2nd copy of Peter Sylvestre, so I have to take Peter and replace him, and expel Flare? I would like to skip the 2nd copy of the same ally so as not to exile Flare, and be able to play it another time. — LTT · 1
In case the question is still relevant, and you check it out here: in general you would have to resolve a target of your search, if you find one. For reference see Agnes Baker's "Dark Memory", which she has to take from a search with "Arcane Initiate", should she not find a second spell among the three cards. With unique (*) allies, like Peter, if they are already in play, the search would wiff. Because: "There can be no more than one instance of each unique card, by title, in play at any given time." A second Stray Cat or Beat Cop, you would need to take. — Susumu · 382

Shrewd Analysis

Shrewd Analysis

Sorry, but I don't see one question: "Anytime you upgrade a card with the (Unidentified) or (Untranslated) subtitle, you may upgrade a second copy of that card at no experience cost. If you do, the two upgraded versions are chosen at random from among the eligible options. (You must still meet all deckbuilding restrictions.)" let's say I have 2 strange solutions. Do you need to have identified both strange solution before making the upgrade in order to be able to upgrade both, or does the second strange solution have not only 0 XP cost but also does not need to be identified?

--EDIT 2021-09-08: Writing information in the campaign log is

  1. Effective for the whole campaign
  2. Valid for all investigators taking part into the campaign. This means that:
    • Several investigator can upgrade the strange solution (or another), even if only one "Identify the solution"

--EDIT 2021-10-27: remved part about my false interpretation of XP spared by shrewd analysis

el_kloklo · 1
I answer my own question, actually you never need to identify the second strange solution, the note you have written "identified the strange solution" does not go away when you upgrade a strange solution, no matter shrewd analysis or not. — el_kloklo · 1
Sidenote since its a campaign log note only one player has to do it per campaign... I think. — Zerogrim · 296
It must be recorded once per campaign. So other players can also upgrade without identityng — Django · 5164
I would record ist under earned story assets in the campaign log. So in my opinion every investigator have to solve it on its own. — Tharzax · 1
Identified cards aren't story assets. They say to write it in the campaign log. All investigators use the same campaign log, so any investigator can upgrade so long as one has identified it. — zrayak · 87
But we are not talking about card. We are talking about a condition for the purchase. In my opinion this is some part of a story so I write it under the assets/weakness section for each investigator in the log. And at least in the German translation they have chosen the singular for you. — Tharzax · 1
The effect instructs you to record a particular text in the campaign log. To upgrade the card the requirement is that the campaign log contains that same text. Who logged it isn't recorded, either by player or character, and isn't material to the upgrade condition. The tense of 'you' within the bit of text is irrelevant because it's a log entry being transcribed verbatim and checked for verbatim. — Yenreb · 15
Contrast with Doomed, which does specify to record its bit of text in the story assets and weaknesses section for your investigator, not in the campaign log generally. — Yenreb · 15
I like the idea of a side quest with a proper bounty (and i would never share ist with my lazy seeker colleague). But since the text didn't say where you should write it in the log each group have to find their own way ;) — Tharzax · 1
No they don't. When a card or scenario instruction tells you to write something in the campaign log, you write it in the body of the campaign log. The campaign assets section is only there to help with bookkeeping, and is not a place to write anything you are instructed to write in the campaign log. — zrayak · 87
You mean bookkeeping like the information that I'm allowed to upgrade my elixir or book? The weakness doomed works in the same way: you check if the phrase is written in the log (under assets) and if the condition is fulfilled you upgrade the card. — Tharzax · 1
Bookkeeping as in who's deck contains which story assets (as in, the ones the campaign gave you, like Lita Chandler). Doomed is written in the main campaign log, because it is a campaign event that a something is checking against. Because there is only one copy of doomed, it wouldn't even affect another investigator, so there's no reason to write it somewhere else. — zrayak · 87
Actually looking at it again, Doomed does specify using the earned story assets/weaknesses section to record doom approaches. Since translating/identifying don't specify, that just further cements that they are to be recorded in the main campaign log for anyone to use — zrayak · 87