To consider the humble magnifying glass, in this or its level 0 form, one should keep in mind the way in which most act decks progress: the collection and spending of clues. Clues, barring a few tricks of a persuasion, or some exceptional luck, are found through successful investigation actions, using . And the magnifying glass provides a static +1 for those - and only those - actions. As such, it's a lovely card.

In its level 1 form, it costs 0 (a bargain!), can be played without spending an action because it's fast (double bargain!!) and boosts one of the core actions many investigators will be attempting (...triple bargain?!). While not as showy as some of the alternative clue-gathering techniques, such as those outlined above, or as potent as a Flashlight, which can reduce the shroud of some locations to 0, effectively ensuring success on any chaos token but , the magnifying glass is nonetheless reliable and inexhaustible - no charges, no uses, just steady +1 .

There's more: the upgraded version of this card comes with a which allows for quick pocketing of the glass. Given that it's free in resource- and action-cost to play, and then to return to hand, that's quite the boon. Why might one want to do that though? Perhaps hands are getting full and an investigator wants to bring out a gun, sword or book; perhaps there's a big test ahead, such as a parley action, in which you'd prefer to commit the magnifying glass for its icon; perhaps you're worried about being made to discard assets - there are plenty of such effects - and you'd rather hold on to the glass. More than anything else, it provides options: it may take up a hand slot, but it doesn't do so permanently, and if your investigator finds their role in the scenario shifting from combat to clues or vice versa, bingo, out/in comes the magnifying glass. Tip top.

It certainly looks menacing, but is the Kukri any good? I basically never want to attack without dealing additional damage, but at the cost of an additional action it hardly seems efficient. Compared to the only other Neutral Weapon in the game, Knife only costs 1 resource to play, but it does require an additional skill test to achieve the same effect as Kukri. The real cost of that actual skill test will depend heavily on the difficulty of your scenario. Still, I'd give the edge to Knife for it's one-time ability to throw it at the enemy for extra Combat and Damage.

If Knife is better, Kukri could still be considered to be a third or fourth copy of Knife to make sure your investigator never knocks on a door without a melee weapon in hand. But let's consider who would need extra blades. As we'll see shortly, the combat-oriented classes aren't lacking for other options, and even if the other classes are looking for extra damage, Seekers can use "I've got a plan!" and Mystics can use Shrivelling. Both of these are better options and more thematic.

Looking at the game's list of weapons, the Guardian and Rogue both get firearms, and the Survivor gets a Fire Axe. The Machete and Baseball Bat are also quite good, and depending on the purpose of the deck, these cards could be worth the reach out of faction. Finally, the Switchblade is a very interesting card that I doubt can be adequately compared to any of the other weapons because of how situational it's use is. "Skids" O'Toole and Agnes Baker both have a base combat of 3, so the Switchblade would probably need some help to hit most enemies.

In the end, despite the wicked curve of our Himalayan machete, the Kukri seems outclassed by almost all of our other options.

Something like old trusty, this 'un

The .45 is something of a template weapon: 4 resources provides 4 ammo, each shot giving +1 and +1 damage. That breaks down to 'pay 1, get +1 and hit for 2' which is no bad thing at all. Of course, the cost to play the card is not insignificant. If you draw the .45 late in a game, particularly if you're already set up with another weapon, perhaps even a different firearm, you might struggle to afford this. Yet the cost is a hallmark of the .45's reliability: there are no conditional clauses on this weapon. You get bang for your buck and each shot you take gives you the same bonuses.

The .45 also provides some of the boons we'd associate with a staple, reliable firearm. It can be reloaded with Extra Ammunition, have its ammunition double with Contraband (as though you had a second clip sitting in your pocket, useful for those times when you don't have a duplicate .45 ready and waiting...). We've also, at point of reviewing, seen two enemies who care how you attack them. This marvel rewards keeping your distance; something in the sky fears firearms. Neither of these last details are a reason to make the .45 a "must-include" in a dedicated combat-deck, but they are certainly points in its favour.

The icon on the card is a slight disappointment, in so far as if you're set up with another weapon, particularly as a dedicated fighter, you're probably not trying to evade too much. Perhaps an upgraded .45 might have and and provide further utility.

The three investigators who can take the .45 (discounting the fact that all Dunwich investigators can, plausibly) are Roland Banks, "Skids" O'Toole and Zoey Samaras. All have respectable , and appreciate the bonus from the .45. All have access to other guardian weapons, but will happily include the .45 to fill out the weapon slots of their deck. I suspect it will be some time before this card is not given consideration by any would-be fighter.

According to the Rules Reference, page 7:

• If an investigator takes damage or horror as a cost and reassigns any of it to an asset, the cost is still considered paid.

This rule therefore allows Painkillers to work alongside Peter Sylvestre, healing your investigator and putting the horror cost onto Peter to be healed off at the end of your turn. This combo allows typically low-health survivors to tank more effectively, and action-free once both cards are in play, although using up the supply doesn't discard Painkillers so it cannot just be spammed with Scavenging.

What is not immediately clear is just what can be healed. Since the card literally says "heal 1 damage" and doesn't specify from an investigator / ally / story asset / enemy / bulletproof vest, one interpretation is that any damage on any card in any location can be healed... expect errata soon. Or just Grim Rule it.

Why are cards called Flare in FFG LCGs always really strong? An event that can tutor, or make a strong attack, that even has a wild symbol for extra gravy, and all for just 1 XP! This will never be a dead card in your deck.

The tutor effect on Flare does indeed seem wonderful on paper, replacing the cost of the ally you search for with the 2 resources paid to play the event, provided you don't whiff. And do try not to whiff into Baron Samedi!

Poaching a fellow investigator's unique ally might seem like a mean thing to do but paying just 2 resources for Leo De Luca is good for the group as a whole no matter who ends up with it. If you are playing as the designated survivor and are teamed with a guardian, then it can also be beneficial to borrow that extra copy of Beat Cop, and the synergy with Teamwork should be obvious.

Speaking of synergy, this is yet another card that is going to work even better with the soon-to-be-released Charisma. We might start to see Aquinnah creeping into some decks alongside Peter in the near future, and this will mean that survivors like Ashcan will actually want to be lead investigator and collect and dig for some of those meaty storyline allies.

There are currently only three investigators that can purchase Flare, each having a different use for it.

Agnes Baker probably actually gets the best of it. The 5 attack for 3 damage will rival her Shrivelling (and Song of the Dead), letting her easily blow up those inconvenient Silver Twilight Acolyte that she otherwise had difficulty against. She can also use Scrying to check an ideal time to use the tutor, either on her own deck or another's, and she sometimes like to run Arcane Initiate or Peter Sylvestre regardless.

Wendy Adams likes events, and she can discard it for a check then play it later using Wendy's Amulet (the exile really isn't a problem because if you're low on cards then you likely don't have allies in your deck to search). However there are better options among the rogue cards for her to use to fight.

"Ashcan" Pete loves allies in general to help soak damage and horror, and also makes impressive use of anything that works as a backup to Duke for the option for a strong third attack in a turn. Between this and Hard Knocks he can fully expect to be able to dish out 7 damage in a nova turn.

So if you find yourself lost in the dark without any friends, go get your 80s disco flares on!