Marksmanship

Firearms get a shot in the arm.

There are a lot of good things to say about Marksmanship. To be concise, this card is an action saver. At its best, it can save you over a turn of actions (MOVE to connecting location, ENGAGE an enemy off an ally/an aloof enemy, FIGHT for 2ish damage and FIGHT to finish off a foe) and at its worst, it saves you two actions, which is still really good.

It is a tactic, so it can be played off of Stick to the Plan, meaning you will always have it in your back pocket.

And really, the only thing that this requires of you is to run guns... which have gotten a lot better thanks to Venturer and Stick to the Plan (with Extra Ammo).

Oddly enough, this card is probably best in Rogue who can double or nothing with this and really put the hurt on a boss, from afar.

A great card, well worth the xp!

Oh and don't be fooled by the art. Don't use this with barricade and the springfield (my heart wants them to be playable!).

Myriad · 1226
Wait a second. Can you activate a Fight ability if there is no enemy at your location?. — Sacrillegal · 1
It is not entirely clear if you can use it to do that at the moment, but my money is on yes. — Myriad · 1226
@sacrillegal Even if the answer is technically no, the correct answer is yes. It's obviously intended for such situations, so I'm playing it that way until Matt Newman says otherwise. Also, both Zoey and Leo are two Guardians who can take DoN, making this very very good for them. I like this card a lot. — SGPrometheus · 847
the support card Springfield wanted.. makes it somewhat useful now, being able to attack from a connecting location with 4 damage — oCCult · 8
Springfield should have bonded a event card like this! — AquaDrehz · 204
Great penguin tech in EotE. Wuk! Wuk! Boom! Looking ahead might see a glow up on Elusive enemies in Hemlock Vale. — TheTrueEpicureInTheTerrible · 1
Question for y'all... Would Nathaniel Cho's +1 damage apply to this, seeing as this is an event that does damage? — Quantallar · 8
Scene of the Crime

HEADLINE: Guardians can gather clues?

This card is a game changer for guardians. Almost every guardian deck is improved by including this card (especially if they run On the Hunt).

It costs a fair bit, but its effect is profoundly powerful.

Running this card next to on the hunt gives you the ability to really turn up the gas. You draw the enemy (REALLY good odds of it), engage it and now can use your first action to gain two clues at a location.

No test, no attack of opportunity. No nothing.

That is almost a flashlight worth of clues with only one action rather than THREE (play flashlight and investigate twice) AND it dodges investigation restrictions AND attacks of opportunity AND doesn't require a token pull from the bag.

Like... seriously!?!

A great card in decks that want to run on the hunt (read as MOST GUARDIANS).

In fact, the only guardian who might not want it right away is some Mark builds which can run Working a Hunch.

Myriad · 1226
Maaan... That card in solo gator's hand and Restricted Hall in Miskatonic Museum... Just say hello to Hunting Horror and take the book just like that. Even you don't need to play with searching a monster to uncage the full potential of that card! Aaaand +1000 points of style for linking both Act 2b flavor texts and Scene of the Crime theme :D Amazing card. — KptMarchewa · 1
Doesn't seem like I can add this to decks yet, but I'm not sure why. — TheUnthinkable · 402
Sometimes I think they use darts to determine the resource cost of events. This should cost 3 or more, Marksmanship (in the same pack) should cost 1 or less. Costing them both at 2 is crazy... — duke_loves_biscuits · 1278
Guardians have enough trouble with resources that I don’t like seeing this be more expensive. I would rather see this as a level 1 or 2 card with the same effect. — Death by Chocolate · 1489
Does this combo with On the Hunt? That is, would On The Hunt be considered a "first action?" I'm thinking no, but would like some backup on that. — crymoricus · 252
On the hunt is fast, so doesn't cost an action — Talex · 1
Does Scene of the Crime work with Diana Stanley's signature ability since it is ignoring a game effect, the attack of opportunity? Seems like it does. — McV0id · 8
To call out one more combo -- Alice Luxley becomes a much better ally if you're running two copies of SOTC. Not only do you swipe two clues from underneath an enemy's nose, but then you punch that enemy in the nose as well! That works out to 2 clues and a damage for an action and two resources. Yum! — Mordenlordgrandison · 464
Does not != Ignore, McV0id. — MrGoldbee · 1489
Not only for guardians, this event combined with I've got a plan! and Deduction (2) means 4+ clues and a 3+ HP monster dead in one turn.. — forever_seeking · 13
Another rules question, can this be played with Parallel Roland's directive to make insight's fast? That would seem to violate "Play only as the first action", since it doesn't take an action right? — TrisJ1 · 8
Venturer

(Edit: 12/1/19, Ornate Bow)

This card starts off fine and only grows better with time. Levelled up guns can be very powerful and this card keeps them around longer, whether its a Lightning Gun or just a .45 Automatic. Dont forget that "Skids" O'Toole can use this to fuel a Lupara or .41 Derringer. There's also the power combo of Venturer + Ornate Bow to get 2 shots without stopping to reload.

So the effect is good, worth the price even, 3 extra ammo tokens and a bit of expendable tank that you'll actually be glad to kill-off when he's empty, this means that the occupied Ally slot is less of an issue since you don't need Venturer to stick around.

To further integrate Venturer in a deck consider Inspiring Presence to speed up how quickly you reload a gun or even Calling in Favors to juggle him with Beat Cop and refund the charges. A charisma based Roland Banks deck with Beat Cop, Venturer and Dr. Milan Christopher actually plays very smoothly (And Leo Anderson similarly so with Leo De Luca).

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Obviously you need targets if you pick this for your deck, firearms are the obvious target, the less obvious ones include: Strange Solution, Lockpicks, First Aid and Flashlight. There's also Painkillers, Smoking Pipe and Liquid Courage but those usually don't warrant Venturer charges.

Strange Solution is an interesting standout in that lineup, if you're playing Rex Murphy then keep this interesting interaction in mind.

Tsuruki23 · 2577
You can also put supplies on him with Emergency Cache (3) and then turn those supplies into more ammo. — SGPrometheus · 847
This card is one that makes me hope Guardians get a card like Uncage the Soul, but it can only be used on allies. It would increase Venturer's (and other allies) playability outside of rogue and Zoey builds. — Myriad · 1226
On skips you should also mention Typewriter (4) and .41 Derringer (2). You can also use him on assets of other players, so William Yorrick could use him on Mark Harrigans guns.. — Django · 5155
@Myriad Uncage the Flesh? That would be terrifically good. — SGPrometheus · 847
I thought bow is maximum 1 arrow, there was stated — vak36 · 1
@vak36 Yes it's maximum 1 ammo, but Venturer allows you to reload the bow without spending an action. — snacc · 1020
Backpack

After trying this card a bit i'm actually very impressed.

This is a hybrid sort of card, it's a Tutor that actually searches for cards in bulk. That makes Backpack a weird sort of cross between Preposterous Sketches and Prepared for the Worst. So, what exactly does it do?

First off, this is a tutor effect. If you have powerful items or supply cards like Lightning Gun, Key of Ys, Strange Solution or The Gold Pocket Watch then this thing greatly hastens the rate at which you get them in play. This effect can be absolutely worth it even if you have only a moderate number of targets in your deck overall.

Second, this is a "bulk" tutor, it doesn't just hit some small and limited pool of key cards, it hits a variety of helpful cards like Emergency Cache, Knife and Flashlight, this has the double effect of A: drawing cards and thus shrinking your deck. B: Getting chaff and gunk out of your deck, thus shrinking it. The latter effect is actually better than it sounds, often you're looking to draw an important event or asset (Rite of Seeking for example or "I've got a plan!") and getting all your Flashlights and Emergency Caches out of the way can be invaluable, especially since these cards don't occupy hand space and thus don't mess with you when you're drawing aggressively.

Third, if you're looking for particular cards (as is usually the case when you slot tutors), even if you don't hit all three cards it is still probably a decent play. If you hit just one card, if that card is something like Lightning Gun, then it was still probably a fine play. If you don't draw the thing you're looking for, or nothing at all! then it was still probably a good play because at least the deck is shuffled, thus your chance of drawing the thing you need quickly is refreshed. In other words: Either you get what you wanted or you get a "re-roll" on the odds of drawing it soon.

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So, how many items/supplies do you need to warrant backpack?

I've tried some item heavy dudes like William Yorick and folks with just normal item amounts. Generally I lend higher priority to backpack when there's upgraded targets in the mix. As a rule I found that hitting just 2 targets is perfectly acceptable.

12-14 viable targets I think is the maximum in a viable deck, it'd be something like William Yorick with Cherished Keepsake and Leather Coat in his deck.

10-11 viable targets is the upper average for most decks, generally that assumes 4-6 hand items, Emergency Cache an accessory and/or some unique item like Decorated Skull or Investigator strengths.

8-9 viable targets is the absolute minimum and I'dd only recommend it if there's cards in there like Key of Ys, Strange Solution or The Gold Pocket Watch that are really powerful and can't be tutored with Prepared for the Worst for some reason.

Tsuruki23 · 2577
I think this is great for most Guardian decks since it can find your expensive weapons AND Emergency cache to play them. It can also find Extra Ammunition and Contraband for those fun Shotgun Leo decks. — SGPrometheus · 847
Just be aware of the slot conflict with backpack and bandolier in guardian decks. — Django · 5155
Does anyone know if it's possible to play Moonstone from backpack? The card text only forbids you from playing or committing it from your hand, but backpack states that you're playing it as if it were in your hand. The FAQ text on "as if" effects doesn't really clarify this, for me. — Zinjanthropus · 230
@Zinjanthropus The text on backpack states "may be played as if they were in your hand", so I think Moonstone would still not be playable. — snacc · 1020
Sorry I just noticed you said in your comment about the "as if" rule. I've looked it up here: https://arkhamdb.com/rules#As_If - I think the "as if" rule here means you are following all rules for playing a card "from your hand". This rule is definitely not the simplest one imo! — snacc · 1020
Finn Edwards

(Updated 12/1/19: Forgotten age complete.)

----If a wall of text doesn't appeal to you, then: TL:DR: Mitigate Finn Edwards's terrible by playing Peter Sylvestre and/or Logical Reasoning, his relatively high health and low-intensity weakness combine to make him tougher than he looks.---

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Finn Edwards, this guy is so capable! Did you look at his of just a measly 1 and think "Nooo way José!"? Well take another look, you might be pleasantly surprised.

First off, this guy is the ultimate jack-of-all-trades, but he's still able to master one (or even two).

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An of 4 lets him pull up clues very quickly. Although he can't quite deck out his clue gathering the way a can he can still bring cards like Lockpicks, Flashlight, Deduction and/or Dr. Milan Christopher to enhance his ability to pry up clues quickly.

You don't even need those other cards to tackle difficult locations if you just get Streetwise, a card that can really put Dr. Milan Christopher's extra cash to use. You really can build a powerful clue-specialist Finn Edwards by leveling into Lockpicks and/or Lola Santiago and with his access to weapons and he can protect himself while he's at it.

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A of 3, like "Skids" O'Tooles, is only half-passable if you want to focus on combat, especially since you don't have access to Vicious Blow or Beat Cop. Even so, you still have access to all the weapons as well as the bow so that still means that you can do outright brutal attacks once in a while.

The "2+ above" archetype actually functions rather nicely for Finn Edwards, Daring Maneuver can trigger his effect as well as the triggers on .41 Derringer, Quick Thinking, Lockpicks and/or Switchblade and you can tie it all together with Fight or Flight to get that massive buff needed to reliably (and cheaply) trigger all those 2+ effects repeatedly in a big boss killing round (or to kill a mob of enemies, which tends to be a problem that evade-action-using investigators tend to face!).

If you want to lean into the combat role then you can level up into Lupara or even Chicago Typewriter. Remember to bring Hard Knocks if this is the route you wind up going.

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An of 4 lets you do all the fun agility stuff "Skids" O'Toole and Wendy Adams can get up to. Finn Edwards can combine the trio of Streetwise, Waylay and Backstab to eradicate some threats, access to Peter Sylvestre makes tactics even more reliable and syncs well with the free evade per round, combine Backstab, Streetwise and Double or Nothing to deal a chunk of damage to a boss.

I highly recommend a powerful deck with Pickpocketing (levelup version only! the unlevelled one is crappy). Lockspicks are an obvious choice to gain a combined base investigate value of +8. Go ahead and try Eavesdrop but honestly that card was a big Miss for me, so many stars need to align for that card to deliver the goods. Dumb Luck is a standout card in my opinion for Finn Edwards specifically, he is sensitive to bad treacheries and this way you can essentially turn your free roundly evade into a one-turn buffer against the encounter deck. It's a bit like playing On the Hunt in a Roland Banks deck.

Whether you're chasing clues or hunting enemies the free evade each round means Pickpocketing and Manual Dexterity will always be useful.

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So, that leaves us with the pitiful of 1. This number is LOW.

Most characters with such a low rely on Guts and Unexpected Courage and such to cover themselves and lessen the impact of all those "Take X horror" checks, but for Finn Edwards this is not an effective defense, especially on harder modes. A 2 character stands a reasonable chance to make a 3 difficulty check (Rotting Remains) by playing a Guts into it, and even if you get a -2 token you're still only taking 1 horror, Finn Edwards in the same spot is more likely to take 1+ damage than not, even with the committed skill cards.

So, at this point it is less important to try and make the check than it is to manage the damage, and for that we have some unexpectedly good options. Peter Sylvestre is a very efficient method to mitigate this weakness and he buffs your agility too. The other issue we might face is one card in particular, Frozen in Fear, to counteract this threat you can slot Logical Reasoning, even when Frozen in Fear isn't in play you can still use it to recover the damage you'll inevitably take, or, just use Adaptable to swap Logical Reasoning for something else when you know Frozen in Fear isn't a danger. It is a saving grace that Finn Edwards has a very respectable 7 sanity stat and his unique weakness doesn't force any on him.

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So, ability wise this dude is very flexible, depending on your card choices you can build him as a cluehound or a fighter, whatever you decide to focus on you will very probably be evading a lot in the meantime. Even as a fighter you can play Pickpocketing and use your free roundly evade to generate resources. Don't forget that leaving unimportant enemies and locations undefeated and uninvestigated is often the best course of action, especially since you can evade them for free if you need to come back to them for some reason.

The ability is frustratingly unlikely to help much, as you probably know at this point the numerical + on these abilities is irrelevant (you never attempt a test if you cant succeed on a 0 anyway!), enemies who you've evaded refresh before the mythos phase so the one time where a free + would be useful (against tests!) the + wont be around anymore, the second half (the free clue!) is the useful element of this , it doesn't trigger often but when it does you'll be ever so glad.

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Now for deck limitations. Take note that Finn Edwards doesn't have access to level 4+ cards, that means no Cheat Death and no The Gold Pocket Watch, no Suggestion and no Hot Streak, you have the unique ability to select any Illicit card which at the moment only means that you can still get Chicago Typewriter.

Out of faction you can grab some or cards, you can only pick five cards total so choose carefully.

From you can get Dr. Milan Christopher, Deduction, Shortcut, Logical Reasoning and/or Working a Hunch. In multiplayer especially it is important that you're able to pick up clues quickly and empty out 2-clue locations before you get bogged down in damage control. Logical Reasoning is worth special mention since this lone card is your only answer to Frozen in Fear.

From you can get Cherished Keepsake, Dig Deep, Peter Sylvestre, Scavenging, "Look what I found!", Winging It, Lucky!, Dumb Luck, Waylay, Fight or Flight and Survival Instinct. Obviously every card that interacts with your evasion synergizes with Finn Edwards's free evade actions but Peter Sylvestre and Fight or Flight are worth special mention, the former as a superb way to mitigate incoming horror and the latter to turn the inevitable horror you suffer into an incredible strength.

Edit: Also, heads up, Drawing Thin is not a terrible 1-of.

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As for other cards? Backpack is worth a special mention since Finn Edwards gets two separate strength cards and both of them can be hit by Backpack's tutor effect. You can easily have six hand items (weapons, Flashlights and Lockpicks), you very likely have Emergency Cache and with the strengths that brings you to 10 Items/supplies not counting backpacks themselves, a perfectly reasonable number to try and tutor. If you want to play with Leo De Luca then Charisma might be a good early choice so you dont have to skip on Dr. Milan Christopher's extra funds or Peter Sylvestre's tank, there's also Lola Santiago who sindle handedly skyrockets your abilities in the clue and Evasion departments. There's always Ornate Bow but between 3 and every single weapon I dont think it's worth both hand slots.

Talking about strengths and weaknesses. Finn's Trusty .38 isn't a bad weapon at all, the engagement requirement can be a snag though so I highly recommend you supplement this thing with other weapons. Smuggled Goods lets you fish out the weapons you decide to go with, dont forget that this card may target either the discard or the deck, and if you pick the deck you'll get to shuffle it in and play it again later, this means that you can fish out your weapon of choice (or, interestingly, Pickpocketing) and then recurse it later.

Finally is perhaps one of the most lenient character weaknesses in the game, Caught Red-Handed. If you draw this card in the upkeep phase don't forget that they wont attack you yet, so you have plenty of time to evade whatever foe you might have attracted. Also, "Connecting location" means adjacent locations, so enemies wont start scooting towards you all over the map. Dont forget that the card doesn't go into the discard unless an enemy actually moves, if an enemy at your spot readies and engages you that still wont discard the card. The only real time this card really gets you in trouble is when you draw it during your round after evading something at your location, for example after you trigger a Pickpocketing. Perhaps the most unfortunate element of this weakness is the probability that it will cost you several card draws throughout a scenario since it wont be triggering hunter moves all that often, even if it hits you two or three times in a scenario it is still probably going to be less impactful then most other weaknesses in the game.

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All in all, Finn Edwards is a powerful and flexible character, he sacrifices a particular defensive aspect but instead he's able to consistently contribute clues, neutralized threats and progress. Thanks to the fact that Finn Edwards's weakness is so manageable he can focus on mitigating the damage he takes from the encounter deck.

Tsuruki23 · 2577
I just read through all of this review, and it was very useful. Many aspects you address are good deckbuilding tips in general. — Lateralis · 7
I don't understand the limitation on his card pool. He would be better off if they justvlet him use level 0 to 5 rogue cards, instead of 0 to 3 rogue and 0 to 5 illicit. It's a handicap for no reason. I think it's absolutely ridiculous and poor design on the investigator. It makes no sense. — Durpstatus · 1
Well, this design choice is probably intended to push you away from Hot streak (4), in order to differentiate from money heavy decks. The flex cards are a powerful deckbuilding option and the statline is to die for, I'm guessing they thought he would be too strong. — Tsuruki23 · 2577
I initially thought that his Rogue restriction eliminated the Chicago Typewriter (4) big damage dealer but it is an Illicit card. The restriction is kind of strange since it only eliminates Hot Streak (4), Gold Pocket Watch, Cheat Death, Suggestion, DoubleDouble and All In for cards up to Circle Undone. I can't wait to play him since he looks like a fun character to play. — The Lynx · 993
The more annoying thing than the limit to Rogue cards, at least to me, is that there really aren't many illicit cards that aren't already rogue cards. Maybe eventually we'll get some more and his deckbuilding will get more interesting. That being said L0 — Zinjanthropus · 230
That being said, L0 Survivor and Seeker cards are definitely a pretty powerful set of cards to dig into even if you only get 5 slots. — Zinjanthropus · 230
so its total of 5 slots for seker and survial - not 5 for each? may be silly to ask but im not that good in english — miraculix · 1
That would be fine total, since it says and /or — flooze · 7