People responsible for chapter II have said that machete (core) was a card it was nearly impossible to balance around, because in many circumstances, it was infinite 2 damage. Now, for better or worse, there with the broken bottle (which costs less, but gives the same bonus and discards, and lets you hit an enemy engaged with the teammate).

If you have a signature weapon, it's better than machete now. Guns, with limited ammo, are better than taking a jungle cleaver to the streets of Arkham. It's still a must pick due to the incredibly narrow cardpool, but I don't see it surviving through the next two expansions in anything but a niche role. Which might be a reasonable thing for a level zero card.

This might seem like a one-to-one parallel Dr Milan Christopher, but it's harder to get. Chapter 2 doesn't have as severe an imbalance in economy as before (crack the case has become bounty, and there's no Midnight Oil), but $4 and a slot is still a lot. Seekers can get clues every turn in almost every scenario of the game. Some scenarios have only one enemy, or don't spawn them for a few turns... Or even punish you for killing them with Vengeance. It's still good and a reason to get charisma, but this guy might sit in your hand longer than you'd like.

This is a stone simple, mill your deck and get to the good stuff card. It has a trigger that's going to hit multiple times per game (even if your Guardians are at 100% efficiency, enemies will still spawn). You're trading a card and a dollar for two cards, a trade that gets better and better the more XP you put into your deck.

Pocket Telescope combines well with Professor William Webb. When the connecting location's shroud is lower, use Pocket Telescope, when your current location's shroud is lower, use Professor William Webb's ability instead. You may even be able to combine them to get a clue at your current location when the connecting location's shroud is lower. It's best when there's a nice item you'd like to recur.

Pretty strange basic weakness for an investigator who doesn't have any search mechanic. Joe Diamond isn't especially crazy about Right Tool for the Job anyway. It is also pretty mild and helps you lower the number of cards in your deck if you'll get rid of it just before the end of the scenario. Until then, you are free to cycle the Detective's Intuition like crazy to earn to pay the cost of this one.