It's fine! Obviously, this is great for Mandy. And I dare say for a 40 card deck which I think is the best number for her.

I found that later in the scenario, I got no Research abilities, these replenish them, and basically with Easy Marks - 40 cards becomes 30, and aIso faster.

Don't judge it too harshly, so cards are made for certain characters. These are the ones for Miss Thompson.

This is a very situational card, as unlike something like Blinding Light or Bind Monster, you need to spend two full actions to evade the enemy (one to play Handcuffs, and another to use its Evade ability). In addition, it only works on Humanoid enemies. Given most campaign's tendencies to bounce between scenarios with a lot of humans and little/none at all, it's hard to justify, with the notable exceptions of The Circle Undone & Murder at the Excelsior Hotel. Even in Circle Undone I only put one in my most recent deck, but if you're a low-agility character going into it like Leo Anderson, Joe Diamond, or Roland Banks and your team doesn't already have a good way to evade enemies, it may surprise you and be the best card in your deck for a scenario or two!

Another minor thing to mention is that this can be a great enabler for a few cards like Interrogate, Scene of the Crime, and Eavesdrop - with Interrogate & Scene you can engage and drag the enemy around with you (while taking no attacks), whereas Eavesdrop will only work for the location that you originally handcuffed them since it references an unengaged enemy rather than an exhausted one.

Veeery niche. A full hand of 8 cards means this costs you 5 resources, maaaybe 4 if you can sneak one in before playing it. The upgrade means it comfortably costs 3, which you could tolerate, but 5 resources, even 4, is too much. The only way to get that down further is to either manically shove your hand full right before playing it or building your deck to accommodate a higher hand-size, and at that point, you're Harvey Walters. Yea, you could argue that there are some cards like Dream-Enhancing Serum that you could play this off of, but in many cases, you'll end up having to sit around waiting for the stars to align before this card becomes affordable, and I just don't think two clues are worth sitting on your hand(s) that long for.

Now you could also add this if you shower your Seeker in resources, then go all out with Extensive Research, Higher Education, etc., and I'd be interested to see a resource-heavy Seeker like that (without using Milan just to keep it interesting ;) ). On average, though, Harvey's really the only one to add this to. And he really does love this card because it plays NATURALLY for him, and that's the ultimate takeaway from this review.

The upgrade, however, is not quite so picky.....

Some maladies you die with, some you die of. We spawned a few of these during our run through Innsmouth, and if they’re on the rogue or the guardian, they don’t do much harm. Most mystics won’t care either. The deck is fierce, and this one can stay with you all game, and if you’re investigating with lockpicks or a spell, it probably isn’t worth the action to get rid of. (There’s a similar treachery in the forgotten age, but that campaign does a lot more direct damage and it gets harder and harder to remove. This one stays a static three unless your willpower also goes down.)

On the seeker though, this can be disastrous, and word of protection or guts will help you get rid of it.

Ashcan Pete used to have the reputation of someone good in the early parts of a campaign but faded in the stretch. Yet there’s a class of survivor cards, less popular than the fail to succeed or discard/recycle focused ones. It’s another group, call them “aspirational.”

Essential to Calvin, they also work extremely well for Ashcan Pete. The desperation series can go into play immediately if you use your out of class slots to add Saint Hubert’s key. Duke will provide you additional soak, and Peter Sylvestre is vital.

The desperation series, it should be noted, don’t require the person taking the test to have three or fewer sanity, just that you do. Panic spreads; rise to the occasion and against all odds prove it. So go mad, and go faster.