Riot Whistle

This seemed underwhelming at first, especially since Zoey Samaras, who should benefit from this the most, finds it competing with her signature, and Relic Hunter feels like a heavy investment for something like this. But the more I think about it, the better it seems. Any turn where you make an engage action is one you'll be fighting, and any turn you're fighting will likely benefit from one more fight action, whether it's just in case you miss on the first, or whether the target needs multiple fights to take care of. Even if you don't end up using the spare action to fight, it can get a resource or a draw.

Inside of Zoey Samaras, it might be worth picking with intentions to upgrade to Relic Hunter - with it and her cross in play, not only can any one health enemy be killed instantly, any one health aloof enemy can be killed without tests or real actions.

Outside of her, there aren't many Guardian cards competing for the accessory slot. Hallowed Mirror is nice, but can only be taken at 1 copy, so is less likely to be drawn, and can be used up and replaced by any other accessories you might be using. Empty Vessel is similarly limited, and costs a significant chunk of XP. Unlike the mirror, it stays in play, though. Police Badge is also not a level 0 card, but it can be discarded for the whistle if you draw it, though I'm not sure what kind of situations that would be good in.

As a cross-class option it's less appealing - Mystics, and Innsmouth's own Sister Mary prefer their -boosting accessories, Survivors have cheap sanity soak that Yorick and Tommy really don't want to lose, and Seekers have plenty of good options, though Roland and Joe might give the whistle a look, depending on the build. It's probably worth looking at for people with a Rogue/Guardian pool, though - it can save a shot on a Colt Vest Pocket, or add a resource to a Pay Day turn, for instance.

Overall, I'd say it has most use in Zoey Samaras (alongside her cross), Mark Harrigan (alongside his mirror), and "Skids" O'Toole or Leo Anderson.

SSW · 216
It's much more useful in scenarios where there are a lot of aloof enemies -- PTC and TCU come to mind as having more than their share. — LivefromBenefitSt · 1075
It's most useful for Zoe but competes with her signature card. It's most flavorful for Tommy, but it can't compete with his teddy bear. If it didn't require an accessory slot it would be good enough for many 'gators to consider including it. Seems like another near-miss of a card to me. Instead of being a good pick for many, they nerfed it into a very situational or build around pick for a few. — KillerShrike · 1
If Zoey Samaras equip Riot Whistle and use Spectral Razor. Can it use Riot Whistle's action? — LuckyCat · 1
@LuckyCat No, spectral razor is a fight action, the engage is just a consequence of the fight. You can tell what actions a card falls under by looking at what words are bolded in the card text. — gp0923 · 1
with Edge of the Earth out now, I think Riot Whistle goes super well in Daniela builds - get an extra moment to pull an enemy off another investigator or counter Aloof-ness, have it swing at you, and watch it regret the crackback on your next turn when you whip out your Wrench. — supertoasty · 40
I could see a Kymani build that goes all in on enemy management using this. — Amante · 10
Alchemical Transmutation

It was sort of a trap..

I have to say it does have its user from now.

A guy who can transmute a trap into a trick, our new magic friend - Dexter Drake.

It's not only thematic, he really is built to use and even upgrade this card))

Blood Pact + Alchemical Transmutation Even on Expert nets you 4 resources, that he desperately needs.

Again. Almost every card in this game builds specifically towards a certain gator.

It's certainly fun to puzzle that out. Coz when you play - it becomes magical. Everything just fits.

ambiryan13 · 178
I think this card is a lot better for Dex than anyone else, especially it's upgrade. Mostly because it's an easy low difficulty will test he can use to compound Rogue effects onto (Lucky Cig Case, Momentum, Quick Thinking, Watch This, etc) — StyxTBeuford · 13043
Five of Pentacles

I love the attention to detail in the picture of this card: the bitten-off fingers of the bloodied hand and the fact that the "Five of Pentacles" card is upside down in this picture. I wanted to see the significance behind the choice of this specific card and apparently the standard reading of this card is fairly negative. On the other hand, the reversed reading goes like this:

"The Five of Pentacles reversed indicates an end to difficult times, particularly if you have recently suffered a major financial hit or job loss. You may find new sources of income, a new job, or someone has offered to help you out while you get back on your feet. You may be starting to feel as if life is worth living again and regaining your self-confidence. Finally, you can see a way out of your financial difficulties and your hope is renewed." (Biddy Tarot)

On the side note, I'm using it my Calvin Wright deck (https://arkhamdb.com/deck/view/1053350) and it is a blast, especially when drawn in the opening hand, effectively letting him stay alive a bit longer :)

red.hexapus · 28
Yeah this card is fantastic for Calvin and pretty much useless otherwise. It’s hard to justify this in Survivor since they already have Coat/Keepsake. Calvin of course actually gets an increase to his stats essentially. — StyxTBeuford · 13043
are you sure you don't want to take this and Anna Kaslow in Stella for that sweet 10/10 health/sanity :P — Zinjanthropus · 229
@Zinjanthropus Haven't played Stella much yet, but from what I've seen about her I'd rather stick to Granny Orne than Anna Kaslow ;) — red.hexapus · 28
Norman Withers

This is a guy, what I first thought Daisy Walker would be.

I now consider him one of the most secure seekers in the game:

The best way to start with him:

  1. 2 x Scrying
  2. Alyssa Graham
  3. 2 x Arcane Research

And then slowly build him in a killing machine. He still can search like no tomorrow, "seeing" everything that is coming is very helpful and introduces the strategic play. For the first time :)

He has very interesting restrictions in deckbuilding, so after you upgrade scrying, you can buy a 0 LVL spell and immediately upgrade it with arcane research.

And later even buy Blood Pact and some Moonlight Rituals.

Overall, very potent investigator, who can scry, discard the worst treachery or an enemy, and keep going like he didn't just forsee the future.

I'll end with a question: Can you scry, find a vengeful hound(or any weakness) there, put it on top and then use the free ability of Alyssa Graham to put it at the bottom of your deck?

ambiryan13 · 178
No to your question. There is no player between putting the card on top of your deck and Norman’s forced ability triggering it. — Django · 5142
Sry i meant no Player Window to trigger Alyssa between... — Django · 5142
@Django I thought so too. — ambiryan13 · 178
Foolishness

I think this is an underrated ally for Carolyn.

Although if you look closely, you might realize, why this cat is unbelievable great. Bear in mind, Carolyn's main ability and this little text from FAQ "Other card abilities or game effects do not resolve with the altered game state in mind; only the indicated ability/action." - you get:

If healing two horrors from Carolyn, but actually removing it from both her and her cat, you get two resources, instead of one. Clarity of Mind helps with that))

As a side note - FFG always makes better versions of the personal cards in the books :)

One other thing. You can give your partner investigator this card with Teamwork and heal horror from it as if it were you giving your partner even more resources and a chance of +1 to all skills. And that's totally thematic - like a cat would take your troubles away.

ambiryan13 · 178
I think people would like Foolishness just fine if you didn't have to take the accompanying weakness — Zinjanthropus · 229
Alyssa Graham helps with that :) — ambiryan13 · 178
"Carolyn Fern deck only." Can't share it. — MrGoldbee · 1483