This card is considerably better when you're using it in a Sign Magick deck. You don't need to waste actions activating this anymore, just use it in conjunction with a spell you're already using! The same can be said for other under-used spells such as Clarity of Mind etc. That's more of a note about Sign Magick, but it's still worth mentioning!
At five XP and seven resources, you absolutely have to build your deck around agency backup. It’s not incidental, it should be critical.
Thematically, this card is Roland Banks pulling out all the stops. No more skulking: it’s time to meet force with force. It can give him clues or some sanity soak, and with Hallowed Mirror he can keep it going even longer.
Zoey would have to pick up some rogue economy cards to afford this.
But this is the card Tommy players salivate over. Calling in Favors to make it happen, then using them up to get cash back. (The last damage/horror can even come from someone else at your location, giving you eight resources, three damage and three clues per use.)
Pair this with the The Star • XVII for truly ludicrous results.
Arkham has a grudge against healing. I'm of the opinion that the usual theorycrafting arguments against slotting healing are overly simplistic; they ignore the fact that while healing does not directly help you win, there are times when the game simply becomes an endurance test and soak alone can't save you. There are also investigators who can put it to much better use than others, and interactions with other cards that can elevate it even further. Nevertheless, healing has historically been very weak and/or inefficient, and at the end of the day if you're going to slot it, it better be really good.
And this one is good! For 2 resources and an action, you heal 1/1 AND get a 1/1 soak. That's hard to compete with at level 0.
"But how can an ally be better than a slotless asset, like First Aid, or an event?". Because that problem is an opportunity in disguise!
Just a few examples:
You may have noticed I've only mentioned investigators. I might be missing something but apart from working with Miskatonic Archaeology Funding I don't really see this contending in decks. That may change but for the time being I think the only seeker interested would be Joe Diamond, and he's half guardian anyway, and has other ways of staying alive.
Meanwhile, the combos are simply off the wall. In addition to working great with investigator abilities in this faction which I mentioned above, let's not forget the growing pool of allies who turn pain into gain. Beat Cop, Guard Dog, Grete Wagner, and the ultimate Agency Backup would all appreciate a medic. This is a lot like First Aid of course, which can be used multiple times instead of just having an instantaneous effect, but requires XP and another action to play and doesn't combo in the ways previously mentioned.
There is of course a cost not printed here, but one that looms over us all when we consider slotting allies, and that's the human cost. Is it high time Arkham's best and brightest stepped up and started helping with this eldritch horror problem? Should we perhaps consider not placing Massachusetts' next generation of medical professionals in harm's way? Do they get course credit? You decide!
DEFINITELY a lot milder than Norman's other weakness, which wasn't too much to deal with in its own right. is generally the cost to rid oneself of a weakness, so this fits right in there, and you probably are going to get rid of this as fast as possible - I mean, look at its effect, why would you NOT - so if this spends more than a turn plaguing you, you're... probably doing something wrong. No offense.
In any case, the Livre d'Eibon is so much better than Split the Angle, so it's a small price to pay for a MUCH better Signature.
When one thinks of "attacking with ," their mind immediately turns to the undisputed King of the Relics, the Ornate Bow - and Ornate Bow the whip is not. Sure, you don't need to reload it every round, and it's got fast, but... that's about it. And to be honest, that's to be expected, since the Bow is a deck staple of its own right, and the Whip is more of a supplementary card for Jack, getting him out of a pinch with any creepy crawlies by either delivering some more pain than usual or binding them up for a bit with a free evasion. Basically, what I'm saying is that if I go a game committing the Whip to a different test as a slightly more buff Manual Dexterity rather than playing it, then that would be fine with me.
Maybe if a certain runner could make use of it then it would be better, but alas - you can't use Signatures that aren't yours. Sigh.