All In

A hellova payoff for the Double or Nothing combo rogue build and what really helps make the deck super powerful late-game. For those that haven't tried it, the idea is to find a test that you can pass by a lot, and then throw out a ton of cards on the skill test such as Quick Thinking, "Watch this!", Gregory Gry bets, and potentially either versions of Deduction or Vicious Blow or a Fingerprint Kit or super attack from Timeworn Brand, boosting your stat further potentially with Streetwise or other various skill cards, and then using Double or Nothing to double all the bonuses you get from succeeding. This combo can already be absolutely nuts when it goes off, scooping up an entire location's worth of clues or 1-shotting all but the most bulky of enemies while also giving you 2 extra actions and a ton of resources. But that combo was somewhat limited by the fact that you could generally only do it at max twice in one scenario since you would have to go through your entire deck to be able to get more copies of Double or Nothing, and without a ton of card draw or assistance from allies it might be difficult to even assemble it more than once.

Enter All In, which can be tacked onto that whole combo to, in addition to ALL the other stuff you'd already be getting, draw you 10 cards with all weaknesses shuffled back into your deck. This is a godsend in several ways. Firstly, drawing 10 cards is absolutely nuts, even if you have to discard during Upkeep (And you often do) it's very helpful to restock your hand with helpful cards. Secondly, it will often either draw you into being able to perform another combo or will get you pretty close to being able to do one. Finally, it draws through your deck and lets you reshuffle all your key combo pieces back into your deck so you can draw and play them again. This means that with good draws and long scenarios it's not unfeasable to get 3 or potentially more full combos off each scenario.

If all of this sounds completely insane, it's because it is and is likely what led to Double or Nothing getting hit on the taboo list. Even with the XP hit I still think this is definitely a powerful and certainly extremely fun way of playing Rogue, and if you feel safe enough to run Charon's Obol or you got a Mystic or two running Delve Too Deep it's still totally worth springing for. For decks that aren't running Double or Nothing though I'm not sure if All In quite gets there. There's just so many insane cards to spend XP on for Rogues such as Ace in the Hole or The Gold Pocket Watch if you're playing with 2-4 players that dropping 10 XP for two copies of this feels kinda weak.

Sylvee · 102
Wouldn't the "to a Max of 5" overrule being able to draw more than 5 cards from triggering All In twice (I'm not talking about other effects since they'd go off, simply doubling All In). If not what's the rationale that you can draw more than 5? — jdk5143 · 98
Each resolution of All In draws a maximum of 5 cards; and Double or Nothing causes All In to resolve twice. To put it another way, the "maximum of 5" on All In applies to its own effect, not the test as a whole. — Spritz · 69
I think the simple combo here is with Lockpicks or Suggestion where most Rogues are testing at 6 plus the many potential AGI static boosts that they will have in play. Typically I am at 8-10 when I play these in Jenny. All In adds another +2 so that is 10+ with very little setup and cards that remain in play. I will try to add this to one of Finn or Sefina when they take on TFA this month. XP isn't as much of an issue in that campaign. — The Lynx · 980
Just so you are aware, Finn can't take this, unfortunately (he would love this card if he could). — HelixPinnacle · 27
Jerome Davids

Not exactly the most comprehensive review here, but Jerome is really good. You get:

  • +1
  • The equivalent of Ward of Protection or Forewarned for the low low cost of 2 icons (you can even be a team player with this)
  • 4 horror soak (well 3, because you probably don't want him to die, but that's still quite a lot)

On top of that, he only costs 2 resources to install (two resources and a actually, but few allies can be played as a ).

That all being said, he's probably best for a cluever (because that's who wants that passive boost), and especially for the faction, because they tend to have the most icons.

Zinjanthropus · 229
Rex's Curse

Maxine Newman's clarification on the effects of the tokens:

This is a bit of a tricky situation so I will outline it step by step, as best I can. =)

Rex’s Curse triggers during Step 6, when you determine success/failure of the skill test. By that time, some chaos token effects will have already triggered. Chaos token effects that say “if you succeed" or "if you fail” will not have triggered yet, as Rex’s Curse interrupts the timing of those effects, but since Rex’s Curse does not cancel or ignore the token (like Wendy’s Amulet or Grotesque Statue does), the token will have created a delayed effect that will trigger during Step 7, regardless of whether the token is returned to the bag or not. Chaos token effects that simply have an effect (like “Place 1 doom on the nearest Cultist enemy,” for example) trigger during Step 4, before Rex’s Curse triggers.

After you return the chaos token and draw a new chaos token from Rex’s Curse, the sequence returns to Step 3, and you should follow the sequence in order as normal.

So, in your example:

  • You draw the cultist token during step 3. During step 4, you place 1 doom on the nearest cultist, as part of the token’s effect.
  • When you would pass the test (during step 6), you return the revealed chaos token to the bag and reveal a new chaos token. This returns you to step 3 of the sequence.
  • You draw another cultist token! Poor Rex. During step 4, you place another doom on the nearest cultist.
  • Step 6 rolls around again and you pass the test, so Rex’s Curse remains in play.

Had you revealed a chaos token that says “If you succeed / if you fail” during your first reveal, it might go like this:

  • You draw the hypothetical token during step 3. It says “if you fail, take 1 horror.” This creates a delayed effect that will deal you 1 horror during step 7 if you fail the test.
  • When you would pass the test (during step 6), you return the revealed chaos token to the bag and reveal a new chaos token. This returns you to step 3 of the sequence.
  • You draw another hypothetical token. This creates another delayed effect that will deal you 1 horror during step 7 if you fail.
  • If you failed this hypothetical test, during step 7, you would take 2 horror (one from each of the tokens).

I hope this clears things up. Cheers!

Casalderrey · 261
Moonlight Ritual

1.

With de Vermis you relive your past,

And Alyssa's got next turn's forecast,

But both, you'll allow,

Drop a deuce on your 'now.'

Let the moon clear the crap you've amassed!

2.

The debt on that Pact that you made

Has come due, and it needs to be paid.

You’ll dry up like a prune—

But wait there’s the moon!

Kneel, sinner, and pray for its aid.

3.

Twice now damnation you’ve dared,

And twice has your black soul been spared.

But now you and Dave

Are ripe for the grave.

For three pardons no deck is prepared.

Cryptic Research

If you are wondering how strong this card is, just imagine that it says for no resources and no actions, an investigator at your location draws 10% of their deck. Yeah, I'd say that is pretty good.

Currently, only 6 investigators can take this (every Seeker except Norman). Among them, the hardest thing about taking Cryptic Research is choosing to prioritize this. 4XP is a lot of XP to spend on a card and Seekers have a lot of places they could be spending their XP. Add to that the fact that Seekers have a lot of card draw even with no XP at all. It's truly not hard to draw through your entire deck with Seeker, even with no XP at all. If you are worried about redundancy, then think of it this way: Cryptic Research could help you consolidate some card drawing power into one card, leaving you more space to add other effects.

However, don't neglect the multiplayer possibilities. There are other factions that have a hell of a time drawing cards, Guardians in particular. If you are doing a classic Seeker + Guardian multiplayer campaign, this can help your Guardian draw through their deck to get cards they need, while you draw through your own deck with your own tools.

Soloclue · 2604
But here’s a different way of looking at this card: you’re paying 2xp per card draw for two free card draws (the third card draw merely replaces the drawing of this card) which is not a terribly strong card for lvl 4. There are fringe benefits but for anything other than giving your allies some card draw there are generally better options (Glimpse the Unthinkable, No Stone Unturned etc) — Difrakt · 1304
I think the multiplayer support aspect shouldn't be overlooked. I think it's fair to compare it to NSU 5, and unless you're Mandy Thompson there's a fair debate as to which is more worthwhile. — StyxTBeuford · 13028
NSU 5 is a *very* pale comparison though. It's hard to overstate exactly how much more powerful an unrestricted tutor is than a few card draws. NSU 5 is a copy of the most useful card, in any deck at your location, right now. CR is a random 3 cards, no guarantee that any of them will be useful at all. There's a reason that Mandy is considered one of the most powerful investigators at the moment and for similar reasons NSU 5 isin pretty much every situation better than CR 4. — Difrakt · 1304
I still think it depends. For someone like Roland Banks, getting a weapon they can't find right now is a big deal. For someone like Silas or Minh though? So many of their cards are cantrips anyway and do more or less the same thing, and we do have more cards now that synergize with keeping your hand size large. I think most of the time NSU 5 is probably better, but I think it's closer than you realize. 3 cards deep, especially if their deck is already thin, is likely to either get you the same card NSU 5 would've gotten you or at least several options that are possibly close to it. In a game like MTG where card draw is rare and the decks are twice the size, tutors are massively powerful. In Arkham, people cycle their decks all the time and it's not even weird to see it happen multiple times a scenario. — StyxTBeuford · 13028