Grisly Totem

The card is amazing for Minh Thi Phan. For a skill-heavy Minh deck, the difference between having Analytical Mind in the opening hand or not is huge. The card basically acts as a 2nd/3rd copy of Analytical Mind, drastically increases the opening hand consistency. Not only is that the case, it can also be played alongside Analytical Mind, and potentially another copy of itself with Relic Hunter (and trust me, it's worth it). With that setup, Minh can draw 4 cards a round extremely consistently. It also means she can commit 4 cards each round consistently, each with 2-3 icons. It's enough to cover every other test the party makes, if not more.

Not only is the card strong, it is also very flexible. Often when I play as Minh, conversations like this come out:
Me: I can give you 2 icons.
Teammate: Great!
Me: ...Or 3. Or 4. Or 5.
Teammate: @.@
Me: ...And with a draw or two. Or none. Which one do you want?

As a side note, the card combos well with Archaic Glyphs and Ancient Stones, which are strong cards you want to include in your decks anyway.

For other , the card is decent. decks naturally include skill cards like Deduction, Eureka!, Inquiring Mind and Perception, so the card will always have some use. However, the upfront cost of 3 resources is steep. It usually is not as critical as -buffing assets like Fingerprint Kit or Dr. Milan Christopher, so you may find yourself delay playing it often enough, making it a low priority upgrade.

ak45 · 469
I think there's a case for this in Daisy as well. If running Old Book of Lore, Daisy can have a ton of card draw, which makes skill cards attractive, which suggests a card for taking this card for even more card draw. It's another kind of engine to Dr Milan/Higher Education, and it's not Taboo. — Katsue · 10
I'm deep in a Return to Carcosa on Hard as Minh and my first 6 EXP was spent on two copies of this card. Regret nothing, intend to include this whenever I can. Icon-heavy decks are kept turning by their ability to draw cards, and this is quite the useful solution to keep your hand flush with options. — Swekyde · 65
.45 Thompson

Leo Anderson wants you to say hello to his lil friend... OK, he's reloading!

This upgrade (featuring more bullets in the artwork than the original) seems like it might be the real reason why Sleight of Hand made it onto the mutated list of taboos.

By itself, we now have a quality +2 weapon that will almost pay for itself over its 5 shots. This lets us use it early in a scenario to wipe up mooks without losing tempo in the long run, and those click savings mean it can get seamlessly replaced later on for a boss-killer gun.

An obvious combo with Venturer means that the ally essentially ends up costing 1 resource (0 in Leo). Likewise it turns Extra Ammunition (from under Stick to the Plan) into even more resources. It also turns on Bandolier in case you're Roland Banks with a couple Hawk-Eye Folding Camera or something.

This is the Dr. Milan Christopher of weapons. That should speak volumes...

The_Wall · 288
Agree with you but I think Sleight of Hand + the BAR was probably the reason SOH is in a taboo list:) — Krysmopompas · 366
It's SOH legal again! — MrGoldbee · 1487
Just how would Reliable work with this? I mean, is there any benefit other than the +2 fight?? — tasman · 1
Tennessee Sour Mash

I don't know how good this will turn out to be, but I wanted to point out that the art changes from the original on these upgraded cards; apparently 3 XP buys you a little shot glass ( survivors just get more whiskey).

The main changes here are the addition of the fast trait, an extra +1 on the defensive buff, making your molotov cocktail attack deal +1 damage, and the card has a icon in case you're in to pitching your XP cards for checks.

I can see an argument for Jenny Barnes taking this at some point because miss moneybags plays it easily, hits 6s on her stats, and it represents a nice slot-free attack that leaves her hands free for her guns or Lockpicks or wotnot.

I tried Tennessee Sour Mash in Finn Edwards and have been mostly unimpressed, although it is another illicit card to search out or recur with Smuggled Goods. The small changes here just don't feel worthy of 3 XP that could be better spent on a Lola Santiago or something.

The_Wall · 288
I'd disagree, because getting Finn to 4 is much better than getting Finn to 3, and fast means you don't actually have to play it until you need to use it — Chitinid · 14
Although never mind, I forgot that fast assets can still only be played during your turn — Chitinid · 14
Survivor folks drink straight from bottle, there is no need for classy shot glass — 5argon · 11192
I want this card to work, I love the theme, and after three years trying to do so with Finn- arguably the investigator who'd gain the most benefit- and it just never makes the grade. It feels like this here would have been appropriate for the 0XP version. But for 3XP, I think I'd rather have Moxie(3) every time; it gives nearly everything, with more versatility and less up-front investment. — HanoverFist · 746
Enchanted Blade

Enchanted Blade has been hailed as a decent backup weapon to Machete because its damage buff goes off under different circumstances, its relic trait splats pesky Poltergeists, and it uses an arcane slot that wasn't ever getting filled anyway. So how much better is the straight guardian version?

Rather than extra copies of Machete, it might be more apt to think of this 3 XP beatstick as a miniature Timeworn Brand. The constant +2 makes fighting easier in general, and the timing on the charge trigger is simply perfect. Ensuring that charges will not be wasted is fantastic. Then there is that horror heal & card draw rider that might actually tempt you into overkilling something just for some tempo or to help mitigate the traditional blue investigator sanity defecit.

This card also marks the first time that guardians legitimately have multiple paths to weapon upgrades, because previously the big two-handed guns outstripped melee weapons in performance at high XP totals, whereas now it would be perfectly reasonable to dual-wield this and the Brand (especially with Ever Vigilant helping setup). Big guns will still do better in bursts but melee weapons now have multiple +2 options and no ammo constraints so at last the power gap is lessened.

The_Wall · 288
Swarm of Rats

A card most often seen as encounter filler in an early campaign scenario. On all but the weakest fight value investigators most likely to just consume an action to dispatch, or two if unlucky. At least it has hunter.

Also Often exploited to trigger specific — The_Wall · 288
Also often exploited to trigger specific interactions; for example Roland dragging one over to a high shroud location to splat it for a tough clue. — The_Wall · 288
Very good point that I missed. Never underestimate a guardian dragging a monster in handcuffs or otherwise to where they need it. — DoodleRaccoon · 3
You cannot cuff rats (and most monsters), they are not humanoid. But since they deal only one damage and no horror, the AOO is easy to take, even for Roland. — Susumu · 381