Shroud of Shadows

It is very interesting that if a curse token is revealed (and the enemy isn't hunter) you would effectively "evade" him anyway, even failing the test. I am still not sure if a Mystic should change a investigate or fight slot for a evade one, since I never tried Mists of Rlyeh, but is a interesting alternative.

Venti · 1
The enemy would move with you, so the curse token doesn't really evade it unless you succeed. — davilimap · 283
Yeah, if you move while an enemy is in your threat area it remains in your threat area and thus moves to your new location with you. That said, you could use this to get away from Massive enemies. — Thatwasademo · 58
Or closer to your Fighter friend who hasn't taken his turn yet so he can engage and kill it. — benevolentgamemaster · 1
Surprising Find

It's fine! Obviously, this is great for Mandy. And I dare say for a 40 card deck which I think is the best number for her.

I found that later in the scenario, I got no Research abilities, these replenish them, and basically with Easy Marks - 40 cards becomes 30, and aIso faster.

Don't judge it too harshly, so cards are made for certain characters. These are the ones for Miss Thompson.

ambiryan13 · 179
Or literally anyone else who searches their deck every turn. I haven't actually played them in Mandy yet, but any Seeker or secondary Seeker who goes deep on search will enjoy this card. — Death by Chocolate · 1490
Agreed. Used this in Trish, it was awesome ;-) — NarkasisBroon · 13
If you find this using Practice Makes Perfect, does it get committed to that test? — PanicMoon · 2
No, PanicMoon, the text states that you commit it to THE NEXT TEST, so if you get it while performing a skill test, it will only be commited to the next one. — anjopec · 76
Handcuffs

This is a very situational card, as unlike something like Blinding Light or Bind Monster, you need to spend two full actions to evade the enemy (one to play Handcuffs, and another to use its Evade ability). In addition, it only works on Humanoid enemies. Given most campaign's tendencies to bounce between scenarios with a lot of humans and little/none at all, it's hard to justify, with the notable exceptions of The Circle Undone & Murder at the Excelsior Hotel. Even in Circle Undone I only put one in my most recent deck, but if you're a low-agility character going into it like Leo Anderson, Joe Diamond, or Roland Banks and your team doesn't already have a good way to evade enemies, it may surprise you and be the best card in your deck for a scenario or two!

Another minor thing to mention is that this can be a great enabler for a few cards like Interrogate, Scene of the Crime, and Eavesdrop - with Interrogate & Scene you can engage and drag the enemy around with you (while taking no attacks), whereas Eavesdrop will only work for the location that you originally handcuffed them since it references an unengaged enemy rather than an exhausted one.

Gammrar · 9
It's a good answer to Nat Cho's signature weakness as it gets rid of him in 2 actions and 1 test instead of 3 actions and possibly 3 tests. And it prevents him being a problem for the rest of the scenario — NarkasisBroon · 13
If Trish engages a handcuffed enemy she can use her ability all day — Django · 5171
Extensive Research

Veeery niche. A full hand of 8 cards means this costs you 5 resources, maaaybe 4 if you can sneak one in before playing it. The upgrade means it comfortably costs 3, which you could tolerate, but 5 resources, even 4, is too much. The only way to get that down further is to either manically shove your hand full right before playing it or building your deck to accommodate a higher hand-size, and at that point, you're Harvey Walters. Yea, you could argue that there are some cards like Dream-Enhancing Serum that you could play this off of, but in many cases, you'll end up having to sit around waiting for the stars to align before this card becomes affordable, and I just don't think two clues are worth sitting on your hand(s) that long for.

Now you could also add this if you shower your Seeker in resources, then go all out with Extensive Research, Higher Education, etc., and I'd be interested to see a resource-heavy Seeker like that (without using Milan just to keep it interesting ;) ). On average, though, Harvey's really the only one to add this to. And he really does love this card because it plays NATURALLY for him, and that's the ultimate takeaway from this review.

The upgrade, however, is not quite so picky.....

TheDoc37 · 468
It starts at 10 bucks for Joe3 — MrGoldbee · 1497
Ah, I didn't realize that Joe's hunch deck at -2 cost. Joe's a good exception to the average cost, then, as he can play it as low as 2, but it's still good to keep in mind that you'd have to ensure you have a pretty full hand in the same phase that you randomly reveal Extensive Research on top. — TheDoc37 · 468
Innsmouth Look

Some maladies you die with, some you die of. We spawned a few of these during our run through Innsmouth, and if they’re on the rogue or the guardian, they don’t do much harm. Most mystics won’t care either. The deck is fierce, and this one can stay with you all game, and if you’re investigating with lockpicks or a spell, it probably isn’t worth the action to get rid of. (There’s a similar treachery in the forgotten age, but that campaign does a lot more direct damage and it gets harder and harder to remove. This one stays a static three unless your willpower also goes down.)

On the seeker though, this can be disastrous, and word of protection or guts will help you get rid of it.

MrGoldbee · 1497
I feel like most seekers have decent will, but that often puts you in a bad spot where you feel like you can get rid of it, but then you get unlucky or you don't commit enough to the test, and now you're dumping several actions and too many cards on something that should have been one action. At least the test on Frozen in Fear is automatic. — SGPrometheus · 855
At least you can sing “You’ve got the look; you’ve got the look” when your teammate draws it.... — LivefromBenefitSt · 1091
LOL @ Live — MrGoldbee · 1497