Only take for a deck that has a superb effect.

Akachi Onyele and Father Mateo have super powerful effects so they are obvious benefactors. Father Mateo especially likes this since he has a choice of benefits in addition to an "Automatic success" result.

An incredible trump card to play against a key opponent, a game-stopping treachery like Locked Door or to gain tempo during crunch-time. This card is as varied as the important tests that may come up. In single player try to hold onto this for those tests that you just aren't geared for (Aforementioned Locked Door is a good example of something that just screws over a . In multiplayer the card also gains a new niche as a way to net easy, no-risk kills on enemies engaged with your friends.

Don't forget that you can boost a buddy, characters like "Skids" O'Toole, Finn Edwards, Silas Marsh or Zoey Samaras all get massive benefits, some of which really kick off with foreknowledge (Like Zoey's damage buff, which is incredibly powerful when you can plan and account for it, all of a sudden she can one-shot a major threat.).

It's expensive XP-wise, but this can be used to address Marie Lambeau's weakness, Baron Samedi. Since a star allows you to add doom, you can speed up the Baron's exit by a full round. Pushing him out 1 turn sooner means you can get rid of him on agendas that would advance at 3 or 4, while otherwise you need at least a buffer of at least 6. Getting 3 doom on the Baron over 3 separate rounds is surprisingly hard.

Expensive. I think this card is waiting for an investigator who can take it who has a bomb elder sign.

As is, I can't really think of many reasons to take it, outside of multiplayer. 5 for a (probably) auto-success is okay?

Very team comp dependent. Some investigators love it, some of your buddies will love it. I think it is waiting for its moment to shine.

If you know Ragnarok Online (damn I feel old), this card turns your into a Soul Linker. Kinda sad alone. Selfless and painful to build such a character (takes a chunk of 5, 10 XP from your plan). But it unlocks a special ability differently for each character that make their mouth water.

+X effect became strategic (can "snipe" an exact disadvantage number and win), turning into a kind of pass-a-test effect you usually see in Exile card. For example, Agnes Baker gets a boost for each horror. Normally you will not think "Let's take this test at 3 disadvantage. I have 3 horror. If I get , I pass the test!", you will boost to at least equal or higher before taking it. Therefore these effects works no different from 0 token in a character without over-succeed mechanics. With this card, your current horror count becomes strategic element. Basically turns Agnes's ability into something like : "If you take a test at disadvantage no higher than your horror, this test is automatically successful. (limit once per game)" Now that sounds a bit better.

But, these success sniping for "pure +X" investigator aren't the core target of this card. The highlight is when it also has situational side effect that was normally left to being doubly lucky. (Lucky to get in the first place, and also happened to benefit from it.) This card can give new look to the ability. I have looked at some that seems impactful beyond succeeding a single test :

• Core
  • "Skids" O'Toole : Guaranteed +2 resources since you can plan for success. You can chain into something you lack 2 resources or less on your hand, like expensive Event you need to use mid-fight.
• Dunwich
  • Zoey Samaras : Automatic damage depending on your weapon +1, at up to -1 disadvantage. Aims for an exact killing blow at will.
  • Rex Murphy : Can plan to perform a test that is inconsequential to failure to draw 3 cards. (Or benefit from failure, like Rabbit's Foot)
  • "Ashcan" Pete : Deal 2 "automatic damage" with Duke as long as disadvantage is no higher than 2, with potential for an attack and one more discard-ready attack that you can put in your commits. (Just Duke 3 times in one turn without ammo limit.)
• Carcosa
  • Minh Thi Phan : Try and Try Again that works for everyone. Snipe the over-succeed criteria for the powerful 2XP Dunwich commits with the +1 and even get them back.
  • Sefina Rousseau : Compress actions and plan with all your events. (e.g. Start with evade and immediately get an event that do stuff to exhausted enemy.)
  • William Yorick : Revive a card without any limitation at exact timing you want, like 1-2 XP Guardian events/skills that Resourceful cannot get.
  • Akachi Onyele : Anything with 1 charge left can be used twice, or leading into something that was previously out of charge.
• The Forgotten Age
  • Ursula Downs : When you know you have to move away after, e.g. after getting the last clue.
  • Finn Edwards : Make sure you get 2 over and make sure there is a clue to pick.
  • Father Mateo : Plan for a turn that an additional action matters.
• The Circle Undone
  • Joe Diamond : Pop after you just used high value Insight.
  • Diana Stanley : Pop after you just used high value cancels.
  • Rita Young : Make sure you can take advantage of an entire round limit, e.g. pop in mythos phase.
• The Dream-Eaters
  • Tommy Muldoon : Make sure you have 2 damage/horror to move and also a target of the move.
  • Patrice Hathaway : You can be selective on timing to reset the deck with good stuff you just used, or after you had dealt with the weakness to left it in the discard.
• Innsmouth
  • Trish Scarborough : Make sure that this is an investigation.
  • Dexter Drake : Plan the shenanigans in higher complexity.
  • Silas Marsh : Pick a special effect commit since you already know you will succeed. (by what amount)
• Edge of the Earth
  • Lily Chen : Supercharge Discipline which has a built-in test to be usable twice, knowing it will flip back right now.
  • Daniela Reyes : Merges the Mechanic's Wrench to her effect. You can tailor made any custom follow-up attack knowing that it will automatically succeed, in addition to her regular counter attack tricks.
• Starter
  • Nathaniel Cho : When you have high value event to get back.
  • Winifred Habbamock : Plan for multiple of 2 point over-succeed.
• Scarlet Keys?
  • Carson Sinclair : Stick to someone that is going to get -ed.
  • Amina Zidane : Make some doom plays in comfort of knowing you can then drain all of them to Sin-Eater to eat?
  • Charlie Kane : Pop on an exact test that you exhausted Bonnie Walsh. Make multiple plays with Chuck Fergus, Michael Leigh, etc.
  • Vincent Lee : Make sure there is something to heal.

The most broken elder sign effect with this is probably Winifred Habbamock. Play your entire „overachieve“ combo, have your mystic friend commit this, profit, take it all back. Really can win a scenario for you.

You can really force it, too by putting Word of Command in your deck. If you haven’t already Wini & Jaqueline Fine is a combo you should try! ;)

It is funny that nobody mentioned two of the most powerful elder signs reactions.

Jim Culver: take out an elder sign a transform it in a skull (0). With this you can force multiple reactions, like getting another clue with sixth sense or an additional damage with either****.

However, the most effective combo I got was

• Song of the dead plus eldritch inspiration for a 5 damage without test...
• An additional card as I activated crystal pendulum...
• Heal an horror with the trumpet.

Wendy parallel: the additional two curse tokens and a +2 (w/o effect). It could be extremely powerful.

• Do you have Armageddon 4xp? You get two additional damage (for a total of 4) or two additional charges.
• Do you have eye of chaos 4xp? Two clues plus another two somewhere else.