An interesting interaction I just happened upon and didn't see mentioned elsewhere: if I'm not mistaken, you should still be able to attach Weakness events to the Crystallizer after playing them! This could be cool tech for builds that go through their deck at least twice per scenario to prevent having to play the Weakness a second time.

Matching weaknesses here: arkhamdb.com arkhamdb.com

Q: Does the Mouse Mask recharge after Luke Robinson triggers the Gate Box which puts into play Dream-Gate: Wondrous Journey? How about when the signature weakness Detached from Reality puts the other Dream-Gate: Pointless Reality into play?
A: Yes to both; in both cases, Dream-Gate is “put into play,” replenishing an offering on Mouse Mask.
Note: Not sure how to add this to the FAQs section above, but this is the official answer I got from FFG.

Can I use astral mirror's action to play an item into one of my hand slots with salvage?

No. The ability on Astral Mirror allows you to specifically play an asset into one of your hand slots, and does not allow you to play an event, even if resolving that event would put an asset into one of your hand slots.

Sincerely,

Alex Werner, FFG Game Rules Specialist

One of the most basic and safest ways a card can be upgraded is a 1 cost reduction for 1 XP. With this, we can see this card is only on-par with its XP pricing. That said, taking a card down to 0 Cost is massive in ways that aren't always obvious. I've had many turns where I held onto the level 0 version simply so I could use the resources for a critical asset. Being able to play a card fast for no Cost means the card is almost never a dead card in hand.

In addition, certain investigators can also get some absurd benefits from it since it's fast. Wendy Adams with her amulet for example can use the card's Double Willpower icons for a skill test, then almost immediately use it for the effect, or simply use it as discard fodder for her Investigator ability.

That said, there are many cards that end up being higher priority purchases for a lot of decks, but don't overlook this one in a blessed deck.

As mentioned sevaral times, this is a staple for Calvin. I usually spilt the trauma 1 and 1 with him, but realized during my last play that it might be more efficent to split it 2 - 0 as you will never test at zero, it will always be a base 1. So I guess the type of 2 trauma you decide on taking is dependent upon your role when undertaking the BOSS that is Calvin.