I feel like this game doesn't facilitate tinkering with lvl 0 cards once you are in campaign.

However this card can offer some investigators at least 5 XP discount for doing so. (Basically swapping a total of 6 cards) I'm in search of truth here and hopefully I can shine a light on Adaptable.

I have been delving in the deck-building of this game for a long time now and here's where it lead me:

4 investigator have a particular predilection towards a card like Adaptable. (Technically 5 - Lola Hayes - Unfortunately I have no desire to play her)

1. Jenny Barnes can take any 5 lvl 0 cards and at early levels she doesn't have the support of Lola Santiago. Once she gets there, 2x Art Students and 2x Working a Hunch are no longer needed. And we can swap those for 2x Deduction. And since there are two spots open for any class cards, why don't we protect a rogue with 2x Ward of Protection? The last two were tricky to figure out and took me by surprise. 2x Daring Maneuver were in a pool of cards I couldn't quite place. Why would anybody use them instead of any Neutral skills? Well, .41 Derringer allows you to take additional actions if you succeed by 3 or more. So with cards Sure Gamble and Daring Maneuver we can ensure we get there. Hence this is a later swap.

2. "Skids" O'Toole. I'm currently returning to Carcosa with him and Patrice Hathaway, and I have always underestimated "Skids" O'Toole as a potent investigator. I playtested him a bunch and he is not the worst by any means. Cat Burglar is the first guy he meets walking out of prison. And somehow he get's interested in ancient relics such as Ornate Bow. A small tangent. The first two cards I would instantly want is Venturer and Bandolier. To carry Lockpicks with a Bow. (Venturer instead of Contraband which was used with .35 Winchester) 2x Narrow Escape and you can safely reload Ornate Bow in front of an enemy (I also suggest using Crystallizer of Dreams here). Again the last two came quite late. Swapping 2x Scene of the Crime for 2x Followed gives us a variety of options when and where to find clues.

3. Leo Anderson. Here is a similar trick as with "Skids" O'Toole. As soon as we get M1918 BAR we would want to supplement it with 1x Contraband, 1x Venturer and 1x Bandolier. M1918 BAR provides us with just enough damage, yet the bonus of strength is not the best against low health enemies. 1x "Eat lead!" can go a long way to handle that problem. Swapping 2x Scene of the Crime for 2x Followed gives us a variety of options when and where to find clues. Same as Skids.

4. Finn Edwards is a juicy one. He is closer to Jenny Barnes with the ideas. He wants a great rogue ally to fight like an assassin. Delilah O'Rourke! Early we want neutral skills for more consistency - 2x Manual Dexterity and 2x Overpower. Once we get the boosts from out fellow assassin we can branch in better lower value skills such as 2x Hatchet Man and 1x Opportunist. And we are in Syndicate now so we need a proper Trench Coat too. All of this is supported by Streetwise and 2x Pay Day. Early in his life Finn was getting 2x Lucky! with his drinking (Liquid Courage). Once he graduated to Liquid Courage he chose his own path of staying sane (above 5 sanity). So 2x Lucky! swapped for Fight or Flight and Practice Makes Perfect. 2x Momentum are Practiced skills as are 2x Hatchet Man.

This is the only card that can help you continue with the same investigators in another campaign after you win one, as it can heal your physical or mental traumas. If you are lucky enough (≈15% each new scenario), you will be able to recover the traumas you get in the final scenarios.

Parallel Investigator Challenge Scenario rule states that you can upgrade your pair of signatures in between any scenario. For all Roland decks there is no downside to do it on the transition to the final scenario, since fixing Advanced Cover Up does not matter anymore. (Unless the ending mental trauma would drive you insane, and you really care about your investigator's wellbeing post-campaign.)

I would like to add a new perspective to □ Tripwire. Players might think of a time bomb trip wire with 1 count by combining with □ Improved Timer and □□□□ Explosive Device (additional 5 XP investment). But you can stop at just □ Tripwire. By eliminating any enemy appearing in the same turn they appear utilizing -1 Fight, -1 Evade, the trap lasts indefinitely! If you want to put minimal XP in the trap this is a strong 1 XP wonder.

My friend was attempting to left □□□□ Explosive Device around with some timer and Resign, leaving the rest of the team to lure enemies to the bomb and fight using the reduced fight and evade. It was a cool but unfortunately the rule says the trap must be removed following that player's elimination (resign). (Same for attached Map the Area, Breach the Door, etc.)

Control of Attachments : Player retain control of the card attached to location (which is a scenario/encounter card).

Elimination : The cards he or she controls in play and all of the cards in his or her out-of-play areas (such as hand, deck, discard pile) are removed from the game. Any card that player owns but does not control that is in play remains in play, but if that card leaves play it is removed from the game. (The trap is both owned and in control, so it will not get remain in play.)

This is my favourite card in the Scarlet Keys pack (among many great cards).

Why?

• It's flexible: Customisable offers lots of ways to lean into a card giving lots of replayability in future campaigns.
• It's powerful. It's REALLY powerful.
• It's a puzzle. If you manage to get 3 enemies with Power Word in play, managing them all each round is a challenge, and sometimes a negotiation with other players. When you solve the puzzle, the benefits are huge. Sometimes the "solution" means an investigator has to compromise in some other way.
• It's a story. I play AHLCG for the RPG moments and this card creates many. I had turns where I Commanded 3 enemies to do things to my will, then blew them all up with Storm of Spirits, followed by an Ethereal Slip across the map to victory.

But more than anything, it's the best card because It's ALL those things combined. There are many great cards in the game, that do one or another thing very well. Consider Grizzled. It's hugely powerful, and flexible, but, in the end, it boils down to "just" an incredible Skill card.

And that's why I love Power Word because it enables us to enjoy every aspect of what makes a great card, in one place.