Dream-Gate

Dream-Gate

Just want to point out the picture of Dream-Gate (Wondrous Journey) is wrong. This page shows Dream-Game (Pointless reality) twice. There's a sweet combo with Hawk-Eye Folding Camera and Vantage Point. You use your Gate Box, then Dream-Gate enters play. You play Vantage Point to move a clue to Dream-Gate and its shroud becomes 0. You investigate to remove the 'last clue' from your location and put a resource on Hawk-Eye Camera.

Ezhaeu · 50
yeah, I spent a couple minutes trying to understanding why people recommended those combos with a freakin shroud of 6-1=5, then realised it's not the correct picture — jd9000 · 73

Double, Double

Double, Double

Currently the deck builder allows you to put two of these in a deck. Being fuzzy on the rules for 'exceptional' I did that. Yes I realize it means I've been cheating for quite a few scenarios but I just want to say that having two copies in play is the most glorious thing I've seen in any game so far :p

jmccrary · 16
You could actually legally have two copies in play - one of your own, and one played from someone else's hand with You Owe Me One. — TheNameWasTaken · 3
Only if you don't care about losing friendships... — Sassenach · 179
Couldn't you use a second copy of You Owe Me One to take a third copy from a second (former) friend? — cb42 · 38
Depends on the investigator. It would need 3 arcane slots so it would have to be somebody with mystic access, although I guess Versatile is a thing. — Sassenach · 179
(1) Play 2 Sign Magicks as Sef, then steal 1 copy each from Jenny and Preston. Then have Skids give you his with Teamwork. (2) ???? (3) Profit? — bricklebrite · 518
Oops, Teamwork doesn't work on Rituals. I knew that card was crap! — bricklebrite · 518
Maybe play Double Double on "You Owe me One" to steal twice? I think that works. Now, if only we could figure out a way to get 5 copies in play... — bricklebrite · 518
The duplicated event still takes an action, so even with Leo you can only benefit from so many Doubles... unless of course you're using them all to double Ace in the Hole :p — jmccrary · 16
Why would the duplicated event still take an action? The trigger on Double Double tells you to play that card. See also Joey "the Rat" or "You owe me one". — Yenreb · 15
The duplicated event does not take an action. We have so many cards that work similarly that show this is the case- Easy Mark, Tony's Long Colt, Ever Vigilant, You Owe Me One, Joey, the list goes on. — StyxTBeuford · 13028
I think - I could be wrong- that @ jmccrary's point is that playing the event in the first place, before duplicating it, takes an action, so you need extra actions to use more than three Double Doubles/per turn. But honestly, if you've built your entire team around giving four copies of Double Double to Sefina, then I guess you're going to build in a way to use all four :). — bee123 · 31
Because it has the text "as if it were in your hand" and playing a non-fast event from hand requires an action, does that not mean the duplicate requires an action? — Halo99 · 1
It does not, as playing a card is not inherently an action. Playing is am action you can take, just like taking 1 resource is an action you can take. If a card tells you to gain a resource as a result of its effect, you dont pay an action for that resource. Same principle- this is a reaction trigger, and the effect is you get to play the event. It doesn’t take an action because its an effect that’s part of the react trigger. — StyxTBeuford · 13028
If you YOMO'd a couple of copies of this to Sefina, and were playing without the taboo list, you could get like a million extra actions with Ace in the Hole (by a million, I mean 12, because teams are generally limited to 4 players) — Zinjanthropus · 229

Calvin Wright

Calvin Wright

So, it felt wrong that the only review regarding Calvin was a negative one. As I'm writing this Dark Side of the Moon is the most recent pack and boy has Calvin gained a lot since his release back in the Forgotten Age.

Let me start off by saying: no, he is not the most powerful investigator in the game, probably not the strongest survivor either. But he is by no means weak or underpowered. His playstyle and strategy are very different, but he's a totally serviceable investigator.

In general, you should try to push the risk/reward with him: while you can use "Look what I found!" and Flashlight to get clues and Fire Axe to kill enemies without stats, Calvin is really at his best once he's got a 4-4-4-4 statline. With Cherished Keepsake and Leather Coat you can avoid getting killed, with Peter Sylvestre and the new Jessica Hyde acting as more powerful versions that take up an ally slot. If you want an ally that helps with your economy, Madame Labranche is perfectly fine with her 2/2 soak.

I think a lot of the tools I associate with Calvin appeared in The Circle Undone or later, leading to a lukewarm reception upon his first arrival. Cards like Meat Cleaver and "I've had worse…" are great, not to mention Five of Pentacles or Trial by Fire, two cards I think really push Calvin to the next level.

I find Calvin performs best in a flexible role that focuses more on enemy management but can get clues in a pinch. Survivor doesn't have a ton of clue acceleration and he's got access to some great weapons. Cough, Meat Cleaver, cough.

For his Spirit cards, please don't underestimate the value of these. Ward of Protection and Ward of Protection, Stand Together, "I've had worse…", Heroic Rescue, with Dream-Eaters also giving us Self-Sacrifice and Solemn Vow.

So, yeah. If you aren't sold on Calvin Wright, give him a shot. He might surprise you.

Veronica212 · 299
I agree, he’s respectable. I don’t think he’s amazing or top tier or anything like that, but with proper play he does fine. There are just a lot of cards out there that make it pretty easy and safe for him to sustain 4s and 5s in his stats. — CaiusDrewart · 3170
The other way in which Calvin shines is by being able to rush head first into danger. Not only this, early game he wants to take damage and horror to power him up. He really helps to mittagate those horrible starts that we all get sometimes when there's multiple enemies at the end of round one, for example. This is quite an esoteric skill that's hard to quantify but very fun to play. — Snakesfighting · 94
I had Calvin at 6/6/6/6 with "Dark Horse", the survivor tarot card etc. He single handedly saved the party. Calvin is ineffective as a solo investigator, but late game with other investigators, he can be a savior. — Lorkan · 7
I just had a vision of Calvin roaming the streets of Carcosa.... — Lindan · 1
The only way Calvin ever surprised me is seeing a Survivor performing badly with a level 0 deck — HeroesOfTomorrow · 53

Sawed-Off Shotgun

Sawed-Off Shotgun

The lack of combat boost really limits this card, especially on hard or expert level. If the original Shotgun is also an option, it is usually better, as in comparison it gives +3 twice for only 2 resources more. The sawed-off is only better if you can succeed by 6, which is very difficult indeed for most enemies that you might want a big weapon to fight. For s without access to cards, all but perhaps the most buffed Tony Morgan would prefer Chicago Typewriter and .45 Thompson over the sawed-off, both also capable of dealing 12 damage but much more likely to do so.

jmmeye3 · 628
you're forgetting that Sure Gamble exists and can all but guarantee hitting at 6. — Difrakt · 1304
Rogues have access to a lot more skill bumps than other classes. I don't think the lack of a +3 is going to hurt. — Calprinicus · 6008
I agree. The card would be challenging to pull off for a Guardian, but Rogue's are tricky. Although, if you have the Sawed Off and you don't have Sure Gamble or something similar, you may be waiting around until you can set up the shot. Conversely, getting a shot off with the regular Shotgun is easy enough for Guardians who have combat icons up to wazoo. — LaRoix · 1645
I just noticed this unexpectedly a one-handed weapon. That does make a little better! — jmmeye3 · 628
With Sharpshooter (in the Winifred Habbamock pack), the attack now tests agility and you can boost it with Streetwise, Cunning, Manual dexterity, ... — AlexP · 252
Another interesting point about the sawed-off is that you sleight of hand this out if you're playing with the taboo list. It also won't compete with Lockpicks, for instance. — Zinjanthropus · 229
Yes, I’m coming around to the sawed off. The fact that it one takes one hand slot helps it fill a really nice overachieving role. My review was published before it was clear that it was one-handed, which does make a big difference! Also, my comparison with Shotgun is a moot point because I don’t think any investigator could choose either of these (only one is going to be an option) — jmmeye3 · 628
Well connected friendly — Laerthes · 1

Extensive Research

Extensive Research

It's really cool that we get a card art featuring 2 playable investigators, and we even get a little dialog between them.

Without any hand size buffs at it's best this card is a Scene of the Crime which is probably my favourite card and it will see more play than this one. Seekers already have access to so many ways to deal with high shroud value location that extensive research just doesn't feel reliable enough.

This card can work with Joe Diamond hunch deck because of the 2 resource discount. In other decks - not really

Squadcore · 20
If you want to get technical, you don’t need hand size buffs to get this to zero since you can draw cards during your turn (and don’t discard down until the upkeep), but in practice, yeah, you probably aren’t going to see it that cheap reliably without a handsize deck. — Death by Chocolate · 1473
Honorable mention: Dream-Enhancing Serum — Csys · 1
Could work in a draw focused seeker with following cards: lab assistant, above serum, lucid dreaming, stone unturned, cryptic research, prep sketches and its upgrade, eurek, any myriad cards — Django · 5094
Oh wow that’s cute I didn’t realize that Mandy and Minh Thi were on there. Wish there was a little bit more like that — Elecyan · 1
It’s good when you don’t want to deal with the locked door at your location because you have 1 combat and your grunt is clear across the map. — togetic271 · 5