Pilfer

No reviews yet, for this shiny new Wini card? Let me add my thoughts!

Mechcanically, this card is straightforward. Spend one action, 4 resources, and use your agility to look for 3 clues instead of the usual 1. Keep in mind, it's not to be overlooked that this has the Trick attribute, so Rita Young can grab it despite it being a card rather than . Another high-ish agility survivor would be Wendy Adams, who could choose to take this as well.

Inside the Rogue pool, there any many who could take this, and of course it fits nicely with our intended aviatrix, Winifred Habbamock, as she has a base 5 agility.

As far as click compression goes, this card feels in line with the usual suspects like "Look what I found!" (here you get more clues, for arguably the same number of actions), Deduction (quite a bit more cost here, but we're not in the class so things can't be that easy to get extra clues), or Scene of the Crime (again, higher cost and an investigate action instead of a freebie, but a chance at getting 1-2 more clues).

The hard pill to swallow here might be the cost of 4 just to take an Investigate action, which may auto-fail on you. If you're playing games with low player counts, you also might not have a need for 3 clues from one location, which makes this card situational and less valuable. However, if you're like me, and play in many 2-4 player games, this card feels like a solid fit for your high-agility characters, especially if you can synergize with it.

In a four-player game, it's not unlikely for a location to have 8 clues on it, so why not Double or Nothing when you've already placed The Skeleton Key. In that case, you are attaching the key for 1 action and playing this event for 1 action, plus the 7 resources to get both out. That's hefty. But with double or nothing, you're now nearly guaranteed to get 6 clues off the location, which feels like a win. Maybe you even use Gregory Gry to get you some resources back at the same time? Then let's say you only spent 5 resources because you used Sleight of Hand to get the key out? Now we're talking.

Is it a perfect card? No, and I wouldn't throw it in a solo deck most of the time. But in multiplayer, particular with 3-4 players, I think it helps if you're building a flexible rogue who can help grab clues for the team.

Giffdev · 85
It's really good in Rita, though 4-cost is pretty hefty for her if you don't take Drawing Thin. At least she can also take Easy Mark. — Zinjanthropus · 229
And now Sneak By — StyxTBeuford · 13028
Perception

I... don't know about this. I mean, it's less flexible than Inquiring Mind (at least early in the scenario). If you overplay it, you can get 2 cards, but you are better off playing Preposterous Sketches (2) if you want cards. Maybe Amanda Sharpe likes this, or for the higher-difficulty Chaos Bags,

Or pair it with Deduction (2) as part of your Practice Makes Perfect package. Of the entire cycle of lvl 2 upgrades to the original neutral skills, I think this one is the most relevant (followed by Overpower for certain niche decks). — Death by Chocolate · 1485
This is muuuuch better than Sketches. Boost intellect on an important test, like a Deduction 2 test, and then get a bunch of cards to replenish it. Pretty much every Seeker deck still takes Perception, and the upgrade is just more rewards for doing what you already want to. — StyxTBeuford · 13028
And yeah, the synergy with the very powerful Practice Makes Perfect bumps it up to a 10. — StyxTBeuford · 13028
I would agree that this is better than Sketches. No action cost, +3 to the most common type of test, Practice Makes Perfect, obvs. You could also combo with Double or Nothing in certain decks (currently Rogue Mandy, eventually Trish) — Zinjanthropus · 229
I mean, it depends. If you want clues, you'll spend that XP on Deduction (Perception + Deduction (2) will give +4, 1 card, and 2-3 clues while Perception (2) + Deduction will give +4, 1-2 cards, and 2 clues). If you want cards, you just go with Sketches (2) or, more likely, Feed the Mind (0) or (3). If you really want cards, I suppose, you could go with Feed the Mind _ Perception (2) and probably draw 5 cards. Doing that with Feed the Mind (3) of course, is likely to get you horror, unless your hand is empty.... My point being, that it's situational, and XP is finite. — LivefromBenefitSt · 1067
I straight up disagree that you take Sketches 2 over this. And sure, XP is finite, but I think the general rule is, if you already were taking Perception, take its upgrade. In 3-4 players, sure, Deduction first makes sense. Below that? This beats Sketches easily. — StyxTBeuford · 13028
I agree that Perception (2) is not a priority upgrade, but I am almost always looking for how to squeeze more xp into my deck as I near the end of a campaign, and this is an easy pick. And regarding Sketches (0 or 2) I almost never want to be spending an action drawing cards (even 3 cards) if I could be spending my actions advancing the game instead (especially when I can squeeze some fast draws in on top). — Death by Chocolate · 1485
Especially in Seeker, where I would regularly find a chunk of my deck locked up with level 0 cards. 2xRook, 3xRabbi, 2xEureka, 2xPMP, 2xPerception) is 11 deck slots I wouldn't upgrade/replace, but this helps with 2 of them. — Death by Chocolate · 1485
Yeah, Sketches requires both that you have a clue on a location and that you spend an action. This is just gas in the clue getting engine. — StyxTBeuford · 13028
Seeking Answers

It's 2 XP. but it's better than Working a Hunch (except in Joe) and less complicated than either version of Extensive Research. The ability to grab clues from more than one location is gold in Solo. It's cheaper than Working a Hunch, and will find a comfortable home in Roland, assuming he isn't spending all his XP on weapons.....

It’s not really better than Working a Hunch I dont think, in the hunch deck. You can always just WaH whichever location is more problematic. It is a good hunch though, and is much better than the level 0 version. — StyxTBeuford · 13028
Don't underestimate the power of an actionless, testless clue, especially on higher difficulties. — TheDoc37 · 468
No doubt, it's a good card, though not technically actionless or testless. But the ability to investigate any one location and grab the two most troublesome clues nearby will saves you actions almost always. — StyxTBeuford · 13028
@StyxBeuford I'm pretty sure TheDoc37 was referring to WaH in their comment. — Death by Chocolate · 1485
"I've got a plan!"

Like the 0-level version, this is a bit situational, but the extra may be worth it, as a protection for high combat enemies (plus the 2 vs 3 Resources cost). It's a possible replacement for Strange Solution, although it's a bit more expensive, resource-wise, and only one-use. On the other hand, 8 XP for the the Solution is also a lot that could be spent elsewhere, if you only need a hit or two.

I think the -1 cost is actually pretty huge, but it probably depends on the deck. — Zinjanthropus · 229
For 2 XP you get several upgrades here. -1 cost, +2 Intellect to the test, and +1 Intellect pip if committed. If you needed a plan anyway, I think it's a great upgrade (especially if you found it useful, but hard to make hit). And if you didn't pack the level 0 version and regretted it, might as well spend 1 more XP to buy this instead of backfilling the level 0. OTOH, if you've got a plan already and aren't finding it useful, or it's useful but don't think you need the boost, the XP might be better spent elsewhere. — Yenreb · 15
Please note that the plan is cheap enough that Joe can act on his gut with this plan with no additional costs! — ironbrw · 17
It's also cheap enough for using the 2 resources to pay from either Sleuther (being a Tactic) or Crafty (beging an Insight) if you're out of resources. Probably you don't need the 2 Uses for boosting your skill because this card does it by itself. — Miroque · 25
Question about the wording ”intellect instead of might”, is that just new wording that stems from a newer card pack (old Dunwich cycle vs Harvey Walters), or does it have any meaningful application to use? — legobil · 4
Cryptic Writings

This is very nice, but mostly in Big Hand decks. Harvey probably finds the XP worth it, but I think a lot of other investigators prefer the Level-0 version, unless they find themselves with XP to burn.

On editing (mysteriously, fixing a display error took me under 200 characters): The Reaction ability is a pretty interesting mechanic (as opposed, say, to just making the card Fast), and very thematic for Harvey or any other Big Draw investigator. It's very rare an investigator wouldn't want to get 2-4 resources during their turn, but are their other actions where this would be fun or interesting? Probably not Fight or Evade, but maybe a card that triggers an Investigation, Draw, or Play?

Disagree, this is just pure gravy in any deck that has lots of draw, not just big hand, which is basically any Seeker and will definitely include the Rogue 5, Seeker 2 Trish Scarborough. Lucky Cig Case and All In plus this = perfect engine. — StyxTBeuford · 13028
That's assuming that XP ois infinite. 2 XP gets a lot of great stuff in every class, so you want to make sure you are landing 4 resources every time. There are plenty of Seekers who end uo with fairly thin hands. — LivefromBenefitSt · 1067
2XP to effectively thin your deck by a card and 3 resources you otherwise wouldnt (actionless!) is ridiculously powerful. I think if you reliably trigger the original, you take the upgrade every time. — StyxTBeuford · 13028
I dunno; do most investigators prefer this to, say, the upgraded version of Deduction? Maybe if you play Solo all the time.... — LivefromBenefitSt · 1067
I dont understand why the two are at odds. Deduction 2 is probably taken before this in 3-4 player, probably not 2 and def not 1. — StyxTBeuford · 13028
I think the conflict is with Crack the Case, which is pretty easy for most Seekers to pull off for at least 3 resources and never costs an action. This costs 2 XP and runs the risk of being drawn during upkeep or post-mulligan, turning into an Emergency Cache or couple of icons. I think it's a bit terrible at 2 XP, really. — housh · 171
I'm actually mistaken in thinking it thins your deck since you still draw it instead of another card, so it's not like Astounding Rev. You're right, CtC competes really heavily with this. Still I think a very strong card and worth looking at if CtC gets taboo'd or if you need more resources. — StyxTBeuford · 13028