Old Shotgun

I want to add that Old Shotgun really shines when used with Prepared for the Worst (attached on Stick to the Plan) to find and play it with 2 ammo. I have had lots of fun using it as one of my primary endgame weapons with parallel Roland (who can play Prepared for the Worst + the gun fast). Since Old Shotgun does not cost any resources, searching for it and playing it is essentially free. I usually stack a Custom Ammunition on it and think of it as a $3 weapon comes with 4 ammo that deals 1-4 damage (4 against monster enemies). Not a bad deal. With Custom Modifications Quicksilver Bullets, it can deal up to 5 damage. Pair the gun with Cleaning Kit and Well-Maintained for further mileage, and you can blow apart any enemy with ease."

liwl0115 · 52
I'm not sharp on the particulars of "while," but plain English reading of that to me suggests that Prepared for the Worst doesn't help Old Shotgun. You'd need Fight events, effects that directly add ammo, or effects that let you spend other things as ammo on Old Shotgun. You listed some pretty good options, I'm just not sure Prepared for the Worst is one of them. Hope I'm wrong cuz that's a neat synergy if PftW does work. — prezeden · 7
Pnakotic Manuscripts

This card is amazing in conjunction with Archaic Glyphs!

Going all in on Guiding Stones can clear a whole location's worth of clues in one go but runs the risk of the ol' tentacles. Not any more! In addition, if no tokens are drawn every two icons you add guarantees you another clue.

This is an 8 XP combo requiring a researched asset with limited charges on both. While it's on the upper end of the power curve I don't think it's inappropriate.

Lahsbee · 28
A cheaper alternative I've been getting a ton of use out of is Analysis. It's a practiced meaning you can commit it up to 4 times with the help of Practice Makes Perfect, which is all you need given the limited amount of charges. As well as the fact that if your skill value is high enough, any clues you might drop will get picked up again anyway. — MaleficMarby · 35
Also great, and available much earlier in a campaign. — Lahsbee · 28
"Watch this!"

This is a niche upgrade. Sure, you get +2 to the things you were testing before (foot/fist/brain), and you can put on book tests (which is great news if you’re Trish), but there are a lot of great cheaper rogue cards. I can see this fitting into Winifred once you pass 30 XP and have all the assets and events you’re looking for. You can spend up to three, which means spending zero is possible, but at that point, you spent 3XP to add a pip to unexpected courage.

MrGoldbee · 1512
It can be fun in a Dark horse deck: you keep taking resources during your upkeep (up to 3), at some point you commit "Watch this !" and spend all your resources, which gets you the Dark horse bonus (so you are at +4 for this test) and after the test you have a lot of resources to end your set-up. For example to play Leo de Luca. — AlexP · 300
This is not just an extra pip on Unexpected Courage: this is an Unexpected Courage that gives you cash. It's totally worth the exp on anyone that can buy it, beside Skids, who can turn the level 0 version of the card into the level 3 through Bestow Resolve. — HeroesOfTomorrow · 76
Mob Connections

In theory, I understand the idea. If you can play this and consistently discard illicit assets that are high value, you can then get them back and play them again. But in order to do that, you need to spend 4 XP, draw and play an exceptional card, have a reliably way of getting that illicit asset out of play, spend 2 resources and another action, and spend the resources/action to play that again? And then do that multiple times to really get value from it? The barrier to getting good use out of this is incredibly high.

It's made worse by the fact that this is in rogue - one of the classes where you can do the same thing and so much more by simply drawing through your deck again. Ace in the Hole, All In, Friends in Low Places, Lucky Cigarette Case, and so on all exist - if you're really relying on getting something illicit twice, you can do so by getting more cards.

And that's assuming that your illicit asset isn't important enough that you're throwing a second copy of it under Underworld Market, which is already a premium way of gaining access to illicit cards - a second copy of any other illicit card is still going to be a resource and action cheaper than trying to use this.

Is there a space for this somewhere? I suppose this could theoretically also go under Underworld Market, so you could do something involving using this, firing off a Gatling Gun at full power repeatedly, getting rid of it somehow, then spending a couple of actions to play it again and again. But making this worthwhile requires one of those 4+ card combos that needs to set you up for the rest of the game, and this just doesn't. I'm not sure I'd use this as 1 XP permanent, never mind a 4 XP, 1 Cost Asset.

This requires so much to do something so theoretically straightforward that you can hear survivor recursion cards laughing at all of the effort and resources it takes.

Ruduen · 1057
Maybe it's to show us that it's BAD to have mob connections. Or a trench knife — MrGoldbee · 1512
I think the synergy with Underworld Market is not bad, but then that's really the only use-case I see for the reasons you mentioned. — AlderSign · 447
you can combo it with joe the rat(3). He will give you the two resources and saves you the action to replay the item. — Adny · 1
Eldritch Brand

Does anyone know what would happen if I choose a spell such as Armageddon as my branded spell, and end up playing on a scenario that makes me start the game with fewer than 5 resources? per either the Indebted weakness as certain scenarios and campaigns can have you add a random basic weakness to your deck midway through campaigns

Example being, I am starting a custom scenario with 2 fewer resources per the setup instructions in this campaign,

What would happen with my branded spell Eldritch Brand since I no longer have the 4 required resources to pay for the branded spell before drawing my opening hand,

Would the spell stay in my deck and I just have to hope I end up drawing into it because I cannot meet the payment requirements?

Eldritch Brand

My best guess is that if you initiate the ability you search for the branded spell but can't play it. It's the "Once initiated, players must resolve as much of each aspect of the effect as they are able" business under "effects" in the rules. But triggered abilities are optional , so I guess not triggering eldritch brand and leaving the spell in your deck is always an option as well — bee123 · 31
Correct, the trigger is optional. Simply bad luck in your case. Better pick spell with less risk ;) — AlderSign · 447
awesome thanks for the clarification, was scratching my head with some buds as we went through a campaign. — MoistTwerkFart · 1
If you have such option, add Astounding revalation to your deck- you search your entire deck, so you immediality proc it and gain 2 resources :) — Pawiu14 · 214
That's a genius find with the Research cards! — AlderSign · 447
Does it actually work? It's the same wording as Stick to the plan, which doesn't work with the revelation. I remember something like you couldn't search your deck before the game atarts — Tharzax · 1
Yeah this doesnt work im afraid, the errata/faq document prevents abilities from triggering during searches before the game starts — NarkasisBroon · 13
Bummer :( At least Anna Kaslow provides. — AlderSign · 447