An awesome card that the previous review gave me the idea to play alongside Purifying Corruption, Deny Existence and Ward of Protection in a Lily Chen deck, a combo also available for Zoey Samaras, Carolyn Fern, Sister Mary, Lola Hayes, Carson Sinclair and Amina Zidane. As i have to admit that i don't think it would be good to much of them, especially Carson and Zoey, i'll say that i didn't really study all possible combos with those guys, so maybe there's something to make of it?

As for this Lily deck, i also included Girish Kadakia, Spiritual Resolve and Hunter's Armor which in our four-player setup made wonders, and even more knowing one of my pals was playing Shrine of the Moirai regularly allowing to take back some useful thing, like Wards, Resolves or some Drawn to the Flame who were rendered totally inoffensive as soon as the combo was set. Damage and horror points were drowned in the amount of life healed without losing any actions, Ancient Evils and other usually bad news were ignored for the most of them, and enemies were still pulverised by the rest of Lily's capacities (in this place, a combo using Dragon Pole with Enchant Weapon and the echanted upgrade of the armor)

The way it helped Lily be more that the monomaniac fighter that she usually is was all alone a good enough reason to play it.

With the upcoming Collector permanent card, allowing any investigator to add a Relic/Charm asset of level 0-3 in his deck, i'm curious to see if and how it can be included in many other combos in the next months, and how much worth it can be.

The Sacrificial Beast only prevents you from gaining resources. So you can still move them. Here is a list of all cards allowing you to circumbent your weakness :

Bianca "Die Katz"
Investments
"I'll Pay You Back!"
The Red Clock (2) or (5)
"You've had worse..." (4)

Out of class solutions are not recommended, i would advice you to use your 5 out of class slots (if you use standard back) for better cards than those :
Archive of Conduits (bad idea, don't do this)
Ravenous Myconid
Forbidden Knowledge
Teamwork

You can also use resources from assest, for example an Antiquary or a Crafty will still resplenish their resources each round.

I'm surprised there isn't a review for this card, so I'll write my first one!

So, for 2 XP the card becomes fast, you get a free damage on an engaged enemy, AND you get +1 Skill Value on the test. It might seem a little lackluster on the surface level, but in reality... It's pretty good. It gaining fast makes it a big action saver, as when you play it you essentially get 3 actions (Playing it, the damage, and using it without exhausting). Meanwhile with Sword Cane you play it for one of your 3 actions and activate it's ability. I don't know about you, but I like getting some more bang for my XP.

I'd also like to point out that playing it basically is like using a Shrivelling charge as you get a free damage (who doesn't like free damage?) and the free attack from playing it, with an extra skill value. The extra skill value aspect of the card is also something not to scoff at. I mean, who doesn't like a boost when their testing?

This card is also a huge helper for mystics who may not have enough resources for their spells, or ran out of charges like Dexter Drake and Gloria Goldberg, while also being a handy card for other investigators like Norman Withers. Other reviews on Sword Cane also just apply to this card, with typically unused hand slots and is a good alternative if an enemy has 1 health left so you don't need to waste your charges! This card can definitely be a good upgrade at any point of a playthrough and should be considered if running Sword Cane!

The problem I encountered with this weakness and Frenzied is that it's either a non-issue if you're already doing what they ask you to do, or pretty much unsolvable if you're not. Having to use the specific action on the card insead of, say, oversucceeding an attempt made from another source, means that either you have a crapload of skill icons to drop into this (unlikely, if your deck is doing something else entirely) or no amount of XP will ever make you able to avoid the 1 damage-per-draw that this card will cost you. Packing heals is the only thing you can feasibly do, and even then you're not solving it, you're just delaying the inevitable trauma.

Since this is an "armor" asset, you can add a Hidden Pocket to it to give you an additional hand or accessory slot for an "illicit" asset.

If you bring any item in with I'll Take that, making it illicit, you can essentially get a free slot for almost any item in the game. Cheaper than a three xp cost Relic Hunter.