The Black Cat

Expensive, but absolutely worth it. Jim Culver in particular loves this cat, as it provides protection against a good chunk of the chaos bag when combined with his ability (plus his elder sign isn't so hot anyway). At 3/3 health/sanity and only two resources it also works well as a sturdy shield that has the potential to heal itself.

Jim can also get some more mileage out of it by using solemn vow & trumpet if necessary. — Difrakt · 1325
Seal of the elder sign can heal the cat — Django · 5163
Versatile

About Versatile

This card potentially adds some insane combo potential, though the increased deck size makes your deck less consistent so it's also less likely to draw the card(s) you've chosen. It's better for investigators with lots of draw/ search effects, be it through their classes or their own ability. It's also better for assets, as you benefit from these longer than one time use of skills or events (though some investigator abilties may change that like Silas).

My favorite targets

Leo De Luca: Gain another action but his ressource cost is pretty steep.

Mr. "Rook": Search your deck for important cards and get your weaknesses out early, so they don't surprise you later. He's considered OP for a reason and is very likely to hit the taboo list. Be aware he's unique, so conflicts with other investigators.

Peter Sylvestre: To compensate low sanity of your investigator.

Dr. Milan Christopher: Useful for any high investigator. Mystics can use him too, though they don't benefit from +1 .

Scavenging: It's great for any clue-er but useless for the class it's in, as all survivors have medium to low int. Most clue-ers are almost guaranteed to trigger it every round. Use it to recur an item with many matching symbols or ?. Reload items with charges, secrets, etc. by discarding and replaying them, like Ancient stones or Grotesque Statue. This also works for mystics with Sixth Sense and similar spells.

Alice Luxley: Similar to scavenging, least usefull in the class she's in. Kill some Rats while investigating or help your fighter. Her high ressource cost could be a problem.

Magnifying Glass: Cheap boost while investigating

David Renfield: Gain lots of ressources if used right and +1 . I recommend Calling in Favors or Smoking Pipe get rid of his doom.

Lone Wolf: Another source of income if you're alone or small team. Mostly useless with Safeguard.

Fire Axe, Meat Cleaver, Baseball Bat: 2 damage weapons not on the taboo list, each with their own disadvantage.

Drawing Thin: Ressources or cards if you can afford to fail some tests or you don't care about the higher difficulty. Can add more secrets to Ancient Stone 1 if you beat the higher difficulty (use Hyperawareness or similar cards to beat the difficulty)

Teamwork: Opens some crazy combos by switching ressources, (XP) items and allies.

Hallowed Mirror: Everyone can heal HP/ Sanity now.

St. Hubert's Key: +1 and but pretty expensive.

Solemn Vow: Combo with Jessica Hyde and/ or Peter Sylvestre to heal other investigators.

Mariner's Compass: Not very useful in survivor because they have very few boosts. Gets a lot better the higher your (obviously). So get 1 more clue each turn if you don't need many ressources. Compared to Fingerprint Kit it has no limit but does not provide +1.

Leather Jacket If your investigator has low health, this is a good alternative to Bulletproof Vest as it costs no action play.

Lonnie Ritter If you need sanity or stamina healing, lonnie is a very good investment as her healing does not cost an action, like most other assets. Her +1 is also a very good side effect. Just be aware that you need an asset with damage on it to trigger her ability, also see her card's page for details. Combine with Solemn Vow to heal the team.

Edit: Added Leather Jacket and Lonnie Ritter

Django · 5163
A few corrections: Carolyn and Finn can already take Milan, though they have limited deck space for L0 seeker cards. Also, Scavenging can only target item assets, which does not include Wither. — Zinjanthropus · 230
Drawing thin is now taboo, it’s a fair card to take but it’s 2 to 3XP — MrGoldbee · 1492
I feel like this card was actually made in response to myriad. The extra off-class cards is cute, but what I really care about is having enough room for spiritual resolve and solemn vow. — SGPrometheus · 847
@Zinjanthropus: Thanks, i removed Carolyn and Finn. Regarding scavenging, i meant that Wither triggers scavenging, not that it can be returned to your hand. — Django · 5163
@MrGoldbee: Drawing thin is 5 XP with Versatile and taboo, but in some decks it can be worth it. — Django · 5163
In that case, I think you mean Sixth Sense, rather than Wither ;) — Zinjanthropus · 230
I meant the one that let's you investigate. Wait you're right. Thanks again. — Django · 5163
Often in this game, your difference between losing and winning can be in a single skill test. So lucky, for example, can be at least so strong as a "upgrade" on some asset that occupies some slot. — Venti · 1
Recharge

This review is solely for Jacqueline Fine, as the card is obviously much better than its predecessor for other mystics who cannot afford to lose their spell/relic asset (unless they're running Premonition effects but that's another story).

It gives you the safety of not actually losing your Grotesque Statue or Seal of the Seventh Sign like its cheaper version. But still, when you're playing Jacqueline, you are much more safe in playing Recharge 2 than any other mystic thanks to your own ability, so the only reason you would upgrade this is to get one more measly charge...

Here's where the actual value of the card lies: it is a spell, and with Arcane Research you can upgrade your level 2 into level 4 for free over the course of 2 scenarios. Unless you've built your deck around 7 upgradable spells at the start and have no research to spare.

Erdjo · 328
Here’s a question. For this card you’re simply revealing a token, not taking a test. Premonition specifies “next test”, and Defiance similarly refers to a test. Do they even work here? — Krysmopompas · 366
correction: Premonition good, but Defiance refers to a test. I stand corrected! — Krysmopompas · 366
In case you REALLY need 2 uses of your spell and reveal a skull / cultist / ... you have the option to play Eldritch Inspiration. — AlexP · 285
could eldritch inspiration be used to get you 4 charges? it is still an effect that takes place after a chaos token is revealed.... just a bit longer after — Phoenixbadger · 199
Prophesy

This is worse than 'Unexpected Courage' as a standalone card. You just can't consistently time important checks to get that extra '?' icon. It isn't hard to use it with two icons though, so it's not that much worse.

But unlike 'Unexpected Courage', 'Prophesy' can be tutored by 'Practice Makes Perfect.' An investigator with access to just the seeker and mystic pools has a pretty shallow pool of practiced skills with 'Perception' and 'Deduction' as the obvious standouts.

With 4 targets in a 30-something card deck, the odds of missing a search with PMP are significant—especially if you've already played PMP once. So if you want to be sure you won't waste that card and possibly fail the skill test, 'Prophesy' is a reasonable addition. For my part, I've done this in a Mandy Thompson deck and have not been disappointed.

I wouldn't look at this card in any other situation though.

time_cube · 4
Upcoming Amanda Sharpe also probably wants it as it’s a fair choice to throw under her even at 1 icon. — StyxTBeuford · 13050
Neither Rain nor Snow

Listen, and understand. Stella Clark is out there, she can't be bargained with, she can't be reasoned with, she doesn't feel pity or remorse or fear, and she absolutely will not die............EVER.

If for some reason you feel like 3 copies of this aren't enough, upgrade into Grisly Totem (3) and become the immovable object.

Erdjo · 328
If I understand the mechanics correctly, "Neither Rain nor Snow" would not be returned to your hand by Grisly Totem, because the return is an effect of the failed test, which is cancelled by the skill card. — Gobblegobble · 1
Incorrect. Since they have the same triggers, you can choose the order that the card effects trigger. — brandonglee123 · 1
For example, suppose you commit "Take Heart", "Neither Rain nor Snow", and use the effects of Grisly Totem (3) on a nasty encounter card and autofail. You can choose to trigger Take Heart first, then Grisly Totem, then Neither Rain Nor Snow to cancel the encounter card failure! — brandonglee123 · 1
But if you trigger grisly totem first and return NRNS back to hand, does NRNS still cancel failure effects? — niklas1meyer · 1
niklas1meyer: As I understand it, unlike Silas' ability or Try and Try again, Grisly Totem resolves during step 7 of the skill test, which is "apply skill test results." Given the wording of Grisly Totem and Neither Rain Nor Snow are both "if this skill test fails," I would assume that cancelling the effects of the failed test would also resolve during step 7, meaning that you could also get them both to trigger. I don't know for sure though. The combo is confirmed to work with Take Heart, at least. — Zinjanthropus · 230
For additional silliness, you could maybe try to convince a mystic friend to commit Seal of the Elder Sign to the test, thereby guaranteeing that you could fail the test, heal 1 damage and 1 horror, cancel the results of the failed test, return NRNS to hand, then get an extra action. Probably not worth it, though. — Zinjanthropus · 230
Can someone clarify what "all effects of the failed test" mean. Does that include effects that would trigger if I drew one of the special curse tokens (cultist, for instance) that might trigger something like taking horror, discarding cards from my hand, etc.? or only effects directly related to a card (like a treachery) — Giffdev · 85
@Giffdev If a token says, "If you fail, take 1 horror," and you would fail the test, don't apply those effects, as they are a result of the failed test. Likewise, Retaliate and Alert won't be triggered on failed attacks/evades. — SGPrometheus · 847
The most powerful part of this card isn't the wilds. It's the ability to basically ignore any encounter cards that involves a test. And it can be committed to someone else's test. These should Only be used vs Treachery cards. — Taevus · 783
Is this card can cancel retaliate or alert or miss attack to other? — williamz · 1
If you fail after commiting this do you get to trigger Stella's investigator ability? (Since it's "after" the test) — OnTheNightrain · 8
You cancel the effects of failure; you don't cancel the fact that you failed. — SGPrometheus · 847
I'm willing to wait on an FAQ clarificiation of timing this to selectively cancel effects, but tangential to that: How the heck do you expect to be regularly getting this back with Grisly Totem - you just gave yourself +4 to the test! — Death by Chocolate · 1489
So if you were to use this on A Test of Will (2) and you were to fail, would NRNS prevent you from having to exile it? — Wolfyjevjev · 1
@Death By Chocolate: There is Drawing Thin. @Wolfyjevjev: As I understand it you can, in fact, cancel the Exile effect of on that card, as it's the result of a failed test. — Zinjanthropus · 230
Does this card cancel getting horror from remains ? So is the respective sentence on rotting remains an "effect of a failed test" ? — fallaway · 1
Yes, if you commit this to a Rotting Remains you are not taking horror if you fail. I do want to add that you CAN'T combine this with the Survivor Grisly Totem, since both cards have the same timing window (step 6) AND they are mutually exclusive. Which is to say, if you fire the ability on the Totem, you return NRNS to your hand, and then you can — Veronica212 · 300
Continued: you can't trigger Neither Rain Nor Snow since it is no longer committed. If you instead use the ability on NRNS first, you end up canceling the ability of the totem to return NRNS to your hand. — Veronica212 · 300
wern212 - as long Rotting Remains are going to be failed and you have already chosen to use GT choosing another icon with committed NRNS for this test, You can with no problem return that card to Your hand. Card has been committed, during and before you did fail this test and it is not any more after you failed. Timing for resolve of negating negative effects and getting card back are timed on same moment and therefore you can chose what is going to be first. — Bany · 14
Wern is correct. If you choose to trigger the effect of NRNS first, it will cancel the effect of GT just as it cancels any other effect. There's just one inaccuracy, "if successful"/"if it fails" effects are resolved at Step 7, not Step 6. — Killbray · 12431
Does NSNR cancel "Look what I found!" or not? — h2ovn · 1
No it doesn't cancel "Look what I found" because that isn't an effect of a failed skill test at all. Look what I found is just something that you play in reaction to failing a skill test and therefore it is resolved at St.6. Meanwhile NSNR can only be resolved on St.7. — Killbray · 12431