What I find interesting/weird/funny is that, if you play on hexpert and reveal the skull during act 1 and fail, you can choose one of the victory enemies and simply discard it. Which is bad if you are after xp, but you still essentially ignore the penalty of the token. shrug
The card is a very effective way to get clues from locations with high shroud even without removing the doom. However, the taboo on Signum Crucis makes it a great combination with this card on earlier scenarios. With this and Fortune or Fate you can net your team 2 extra turns per scenario.
The effect of this card is great when conditions are right. There needs to be two or more clues on the location and an enemy you can allow to persist for an action to get full value. If you have the pictured Alice Luxley in play, you can even do one damage to an enemy. But in practice Scene of the Crime often languishes in your hand while the perfect moments elude you.
If there is no enemy at your location it's two resources and an action for one clue. This is a reasonable and unimpressive transaction. If the clue is otherwise difficult to get thanks to some treachery or your investigator's low , it's a little better. It is easy to commit it for one or one . But using Scene of the Crime outside of its perfect situation always feels like a mediocre effect with a painful opportunity cost, especially considering what you could've had.
The temptation to engineer the situation this card demands--for example, evading an enemy you could have killed, or absorbing an attack during the enemy phase--will be strong. But going out of your way for this card quickly diminishes its promised efficiency.
Free movement abilities that allow you to enter the perfect situation from outside make this much easier and safer. On the Hunt, mentioned in the old review, can also work, though sometimes you will not be at liberty to expend an action depending on what enemy you get. These combo plays are often not quite as good as they feel since it's now two cards for two clues, but it's better than just holding the card in your hand.
The Mythos seems to take particular pleasure in scuttling perfect Scene of the Crime setups. So take Scene of the Crime and enjoy those special times when it goes off. But be prepared for it to sit sullenly in you hand while you have other priorities.
I'm getting confused about the "Limit 5 cards" - I was trying to compare it to Diana and Gloria but wording is different every time - can I still use the ability when there are 5 cards under him and discard one of the previous ones?
Of course Michael wants to play as many Firearm assets as possible to trigger his investigator reaction ability more often, but I wonder if this weakness is really such a drawback if you have means to - intended - draw (them) back. What it means besides crippling him if checked by the cops at an unfortunate time, it is for one highly probable that you have some more guns in your hand anyway (waiting to be played), but what's more, shuffling the ones in play into your deck means you get a free ammo replenishment on all of them!