Winds of Power

Feel like your Flashlight(3) isn't magick enough? How about your Fine Clothes? With Winds of Power, you too can feel like a real mystic by adding charges to your assets.

Whats that? You want to know how to use them? Sure, the trick is OH IS THAT A DARK YOUNG OVER THERE? ... ... stomp stomp stomp ... ... SLAM ... car screeching noises

thathatguy · 2
(you can't put charges on Flashlight(3), because it has a uses ability with a different use type) — Thatwasademo · 58
(fine clothes works, though) — Thatwasademo · 58
Tool Belt can do that, maybe... — elkeinkrad · 499
Ectoplasmic Horror

This feels...weak?

Mystic fight actions by default do 2 damage base form, with the exception of sword cane, so this is a 1 action weakness. If we have a few testless damage events like Gaze of Ouraxsh, String of Curses (Self Combo), Sweeping Kick etc. this becomes a none issue. The ease of dealing with this is compounded with the low fight test your doing. Now what if you have only 1 or none of your slots filled? Then this is annoying, but your a mystic so that's highly unlikely. If you don't get this early there's a good chance both your slots are filled anyway and its a 2 fight 2 hp monster.

This is assuming your dealing with it, your fighter will MAUL this card. But let's say ONLY mystics can interact with this, It's still not that big of a deal. Finally, 1 horror? for a mystic? that seems wrong. Mystics eat horror like candy, and if you're Agnes you laugh at this card as it kills itself for almost free.

This only really hurts if your going with the "make every slot an arcane slot" build, which feels VERY underwhelming, and If you were doing that for fun build I'd say the build is gimping you enough as is, just re-roll the weakness.

As is, maybe errata this to do damage instead of horror?

. · 35
I feel like it should've been the other way around: the more slots you have filled, the more tokens you draw. Still, that wouldn't prevent a Guardian swooping in and killing it like any other enemy. — Nenananas · 258
I suppose the intention behind this monster is the additional token draw which might produce additional usual bad effects from your spell — Tharzax · 1
Also... I just realized that this card says "the first time you reveal". Not "each phase", "each turn", nothing — DrOGM · 25
I'm pretty sure that it means "each time you attack/evade, revela extra tokens for each empty slot" and its worded like that because only the first token each time triggers it — Jota · 7
Honestly, it's a little weird that they made that a static ability instead of a forced ability like the one on, say, Arkham Woods: Lakeside. — Thatwasademo · 58
Unsealed Phantasm

I'm not really sure where to put this but I think there's a transcription error in this card's stats here. It should be 5 fight, and 4 evade, not 4 fight and 5 evade. That isn't really a review tho, so I'll add a comment on the card itself. It's a big beefy enemy with a somewhat annoying effect but if you've got this far then someone in your team should really be able to handle big beefy enemies and it does at least stay dead once you defeat it- which is more than you can say for some campaign finale specific big beefy enemies. So it does have that going for it.

bee123 · 31
I have fixed it just now, but it will likely take a few weeks till the update. You can follow the link to GitHub near the bottom of the page and report issues there, too, if something like that comes to your notice. — Susumu · 371
It's been updated now. Thanks again for the report. — Susumu · 371
Abbess Allegria Di Biase

Ladies and Gentlemen: let me introduce you, to the best ally in the game

There are two main ways you lose in Arkham Horror LCG: either the encounter deck defeats you or you run out of time when the doomsday clock hits noon.

You mainly lose by time out because you wasted or did not have enough actions to complete the scenario.

And one of the main actions that consume the lion share of the limited amount you have every scenario is the dreaded concept of moving

That is why Shortcut is considered such an incredible card that is a mainstay in any seeker deck: spending a card (and no action, mind you) moving is considered INCREDIBLY powerful (especially because the level 0 version of shortcut also does not cause attacks of opportunity, allowing you to safely "drag" an enemy away, something that is not true for the level 2 version which, between that and the added cost of 1 resource, is significantly less popular) [Edit: People in the comments pointed out there is a difference between "taking" an action and "performing" an action: you always perform an action when you take it unless it is somehow nullified ot stopped, but you don't always need to take an action to perform it. Shortcut lv2 is an example of that, and Attacks of Opportunity care if you "take" an action, even if you are not spending actual actions to do it. If you perform the action, you do not get attacked, so the upgraded shortcut won't cause you to get smacked. You will STILL lose an action from Frozen in Fear however because it will trigger every time you perform an action at all, while base level Shortcut and Allegria do not make your perform a move action, they move you as an "effect"]

Enter Allegria: who for the admitedly high price of 4 resources (though for an ally it's quite a baseline cost). gives you a soak of 2/2 and the ability to move every round to a connecting location without spending an action, and said movement also does not provoke attacks of opportunity

That is asbsolutely bonkers good and unbelieveably versatile: you have an enemy on you and another one about to punch you in a connecting location with the hunter keyword? Just either move away from the hunter or engage him too if you can defeat both,

Got teleported one the other side of the map? Slowly crawl back there one move per turn as you do other stuff on the way or get immediately there with 4 moves

Need to do one last thing before resigning and only have 1 extra round to spare? That would usually leave you with 2 actions, 1 to move to the location you need to be to do what you need to do (if it is in a connecting location), another action to do it and one to move back and then going through the mythos phase before you can resign (Chuck Fergus shennanigans with "I'm outta here!", other types of free movements and extra actions not withstanding), with Abess? You can actually do that in one round!

That alone would be enough to make Allegria one of the best allies in the game sought by all classes but maybe Seeker who have a decent alternative that is cheaper in resoruces, does not occupy and ally slot but is not as versatile in return, she doesn't need anything else to be fairly broken on its own: and yet she does have another ability that comes up in multiplayer...

She is one of the few allies other investigator can use the ability of, even if they are not at her location (as long as they are in a connecting location.

Specifically Allegria can "push" another investigator out of her location or act as a rope and drag that investigator in the location the one controlling her is, as long as the moving investigator is in a connecting location

That is nothing short of amazing: this nun does not make it harder just for you to lose by running out of time, it also helps others with that. There are only few allies that are as versatile as Allegria in that regard, and most of those I can think of are just meat shields that can tank damage and horror for other investigator beside the one controlling them

I am not joking when I there is not investigator that doesn't want Allegria: Guardians can close the gap faster to reach enemies and lay the smackdown, Seeker can stack Pathfinder and get to place with clues at insane speed, Rogues get to evade an enemy and move away immediately (which is usually as good as killing them if they are not hunters), Mystics can drag themselves away from danger if they are not ready to face a threat and Survivor... Can do what Survivor usually do and get a free actionless move every turn I guess

The way Allegria synergises with every investigator goes from complementing them perfectly (Roland can beat up an enemy on a location with clues after Allegria helps him drag them there, Luke gets esentially a free Elusive that brings him to his Dream-Gate and Monterey Jack can cash out with his signature ability without even spending an action. Keep in mind all these investigator can also take Shortcut and Pathfinder to be able to get from one side of the map to the other in one turn without spending an action easily) to not synergising with them really, but allowing every single one of them to do what they do spending one less action moving every turn

While Allegria support is brilliant in multiplayer, I think where she truly shines is in single: this Nun singlehandely might make it possible for true solo investigator to not just get through the campaign, but actually win most scenarios, especially those with massive maps like in Innsmouth Cospiracy and Edge of the Earth

Althought I do have to admit: I might be a bit biased here. As an Italian man I am very proud to regard an Italian nun be one of the best cards in the game in my experience playing her.

Beata tu sia suora Allegria de Biase: sei veramente la più benedetta!

Are you saying that shortcut (2) provokes an attack of opportunity? Because only actions can do that, and shortcut(2) doesn't take an action to play or activate. — zrayak · 86
I may not understood the ruling fully, so someone can correct me if I am wrong, but from what I read in the FaQ of Shortcut level 2, you are still performing a basic action as a free action when you trigger that card, and so it apparently behaves like you took an action beside actually spending an action. They did specify that you would still lose one action if you trigger shortcut level 2 when you are Frozen in Fear for example, so I don't think it's unreasonable to think it would cause attacks of opportunity. It is similar in a sense to Ursula's ability. Because it specifies that after you move you can take an investigation action, you do still take AoPs if you are engaged when you do, in spite of you triggering a reaction instead of an action — HeroesOfTomorrow · 54
I also thought Shortcut (2) didn't cause AoO, but you're making me doubt... Still, I'd argue it's an insane card because it can earn you so many additional actions. Even if you only use it 3 times (e.g. in a 3 player game, each player uses it once), that would still be equivalent to Ace in the Hole, which is 6 XP. Seekers are usually swimming in resources so that 1 extra is really negligible. Also, the best ally in the game by far is obviously our OG hero Lita Chantler ;) — Nenananas · 258
The Frozen in Fear ruling is ... certainly new, but it doesn't affect AOO since AOO are about actions "taken", and the very FAQ entry that ruling is about is about distinguishing between actions taken and actions performed. FAQ Game Play 1.1 still applies, as long as nothing is increasing Shortcut (2)'s cost. — Thatwasademo · 58
Shortcut (2) has the bold move-Action designator. So you perform a move action with all consequences even if this action is fast. — Tharzax · 1
("Attacks of Opportunity are only triggered when 1 or more of an investigator’s actions are being spent or used to trigger an ability or action. abilities with a bold action designator do not provoke attacks of opportunity.") — Thatwasademo · 58
*{Free Trigger} abilities with... — Thatwasademo · 58
Note that any time you're instructed to "Perform" or "Resolve" an action also shouldn't provoke attacks of opportunity since the AOO rule uses the words "takes an action", again per the very FAQ that's being cited to produce the (imo) unintuitive result that Shortcut (2) counts for Frozen in Fear, but Free Triggers in particular are explicitly called out in the FAQ. — Thatwasademo · 58
@Thatwasademo I'll edit my review: gotta say, there is a reason why "actionless action" are among my most disliked aspects in AH LCG, together with player windows for free action: they both feel needlessly complex mechanics you need to actually actively study to comprehend. I did notice how "Frozen in Fear" specifically says actions you "perform", while Ursula's sheets says to "take" an action in spite of not consuming one of her three actions. It doesn't help that in the italian translation of the game they use "effetua(re)" both in place of "perform" AND "take" (The later should be "Fare"). Frozen in Fear and Riot Whistle both use in italian "effetua" instead of different verbs like in english — HeroesOfTomorrow · 54
Déjà Vu

I haven't tried Exile survivor yet, so take my opinion with a grain of salt: I might be full of it and I'll edit this review if I change my mind

This card is hot garbage

Permanents that grant you exp or exp discounts are better bought at the start of a campaign: this usually does not actually come up because most cards that grant you that bonus usually MUST be added at the start (with a price attached to them): In the Thick of It, Arcane Studies, Down the Rabbit Hole. The only excpetions that I can think about is Charon's Obol, which can be bought whenever you have 2 exp to spare and Observed for 4 exp sometimes can grant you free exp; still, to get the most of these cards you must buy them as soon as you complete your first scenario if you can spare the exp

That means, you have to have 5 exp ready after you immediately complete the first level of a campaign to use Déjà Vu: I think it is possible to accumulate enough exp in every starting scenario of any campaign to purchase it, but the price is not cheap, that likely means you will not have enough exp to actually buy anything else but 1 or 2 cards. If you actually do not get enough exp to buy Deja Vu, you either must save what you got until you complete the next scenario (and get NO CARDS beside any story asset you won) or give up and just spend the exp on something else and forget about this permanent

But that's not the only problem Deja Vu has: like the high exp cost already is a deal breaker but it gets worse.

Almost every exile card (which is different from "remove from the game") is above level 0, which means it needs exp to be added to your deck, exp you just burnt buying this bloody cat

That means not only you spend A LOT of exp for something you cannot properly use until you get enough exp to actually buy some damn cards that exile, but it also means it takes forever for Deja Vu to actually pay itself in, because the exp discount does not stack, you cannot reduce the cost in exp of any card above level one further, like A Test of Will, Fire Extinguisher, Fortune or Fate, Stroke of Luck and Unscrupulous Loan (if you are unlucky to lose it). You would need to rebuy up to 3 exile cards between 3 scenarios to finally break even and reap some benefits!

Thankfully the majority of exile cards ARE level 1, so they are relatively cheap, but it does make harder to keep any card above that cost given you may have to also pay an 1 or 2 exp of your own pocket

But we are not done yet ladies and gentleman, because there is one obvious cavet that essentially leaves this card dead in the water.

It only works if a card gets exiled, of course, but sometimes you don't want or need to exile a card:

-You may just not get damage or horrified enough to lose Leather Coat or Cherished Keepsake.

-You may not find an ally with Flare

-You may not need to use Stroke of Luck effect to actually pass a skill check

-You may always pass the test of the level 2 version of A Test of Will to not need to rebuy it (or you may never need to use the level 1 version)

-You may never need to cancel that much damage or horror with Devil's Luck

-You may not take enough horror to lose Guiding Spirit

-You may not need to prevent doom with Fortune or Fate

-You may not need to use Burn After Reading (even though you DEFINETLY should use it if you purchased Deja Vu, because it synergises so well with it giving you another target for the exp discount)

-You may not need to use the exile effect of either Fire Extinguisher

-You may not have failed enough skill checks to justify using Lifeline or don't need the extra actions anyway

-You HOPEFULLY won't lose Unscrupulous Loan

Keep in mind, it's more likely for something to be exiled the more cards you put in your deck that can get exiled, but those cost exp you just spent for this guy who scratched your sofa and pissed in the living room

There is a reason why Charon's Obol is considered a staple for most rogue decks: I do not agree because the unpredictability of the campaign might catch you off guard and cause you to lose all your deck progress in one fell swop, but on a replay, once you know what the game is gonna throw at you, it's without a doubt one of the strongest cards in the game. Just pay itself out in the time frame of one scenario and scales so well. Sure unlike the Obol, you can stack Deja Vu twice, but that would be one of the biggest meme decks I ever seen to spend a total of 10 exp on permanents that do nothing until you get 6 more or so

About the only good thing I can say about this card, is that the visual joke with Stray Cat is actually quite subtle and clever

I think in exile decks it's good, and it really shines in campaigns that don't dish out tons of exp, survivors, towards the end of the campaign don't have really have anything to spend exp wise. So using exp to repurchase exile cards for powerful effects is good. And I also believe charon's obol is good because it grants exp to the class that will never have enough. — Therealestize · 73
Granted, survivors maybe actually overflowing with exp,because of this card. Because they have a werid upgrade arc. As opposed to rogues aka the Exceptional keyword. I think if you play into exile it will work. Wendy and Rita have access to some rogue cards. It may help save exp for them. — Therealestize · 73
Try reviewing cards you have played :). — MrGoldbee · 1470
@MrGoldBee Try leaving less passive aggressive comments — HeroesOfTomorrow · 54
I wasn't fully convinced until you mentioned you might not even exile the cards you want back. This is very true, as most exile cards have been balanced around the fact that you only need to exile them at a crucial point. It will never reach Charon's Obol level of usability, but I still think it can find it's home in specific builds like a Burn After Reading deck. Also, praying for an investigator who synergizes with exile. — Nenananas · 258
@Nenananas I definetly do agree with you that: if you are planning to use Deja Vu, Burn After Reading is probably the first exile card you include: it helps break even with the cost Deja Vu far faster than other exile cards. Exile as an archetype feels kinda half-baked given there are only around 15 cards survivor can put to use, and some of them are just leveled up version of level 0 cards or other exile cards, bringing the number even lower. You cannot really build an "exile" deck, it feels like something more complementary than a main build. Having a survivor investigator specialised in exiling would make the archetype really shine (as it would introducing more exile cards or cards that interact with exiling). I remember seeing a fanmade survivor investigator whose whole gimmick was interacting with and making the most of exiling cards, I think he was a firefighter or something... — HeroesOfTomorrow · 54
Not sure why you would make such a big deal out of all exile cards costing at least 1 xp since 1) this card reduces cost, can't do that on a card with no cost, and 2) how would free exile cards even work. It's also very wrong to suggest you NEED to but this after scenario 1. At the EARLIEST, you should buy it after scenario 2 (though you can even wait until scenario 3) until AFTER you've already bought and exiled some cards. — Qemdo11 · 1