Adaptable

Adaptable

Almost everybody can take Down the Rabbit Hole now using Versatile and In the Thick of It. Though you don't purchase the cards you swap you should be able to swap Down the Rabbit Hole on and off your deck.

During upgrading you can first upgrade your cards with reduced xp cost, then swap Down the Rabbit Hole for another card an then buy new cards.

During next upgrading do the other way round, first buy then swap and upgrade if necessary.

You could even use Adaptable twice to do it on the same turn.

Or am I wrong and abuse this too much?

GrueneLupenAufheben · 140
This had been declined in the FAQ: If I purchase a permanent card for my deck, like Charon’s Obol ( 308), can I later remove it from my deck? Not unless an effect explicitly allows you to do so. Generally cards are only removed from your deck if you purchase a new card and must swap out an existing card in order to reach your investigator’s deck size. However, since Permanent cards do not count towards your deck size, they cannot be swapped out in this way. There is no rule which allows you to remove cards from your deck at will. — Susumu · 381
However, with Versatile it still might work. Let's say, you have access to neither Mystic nor Seeker cards level 0. Then you might be able to swap out DtRH for "Shrewd Analysis", because that becomes your one leagal "other class" card, and you have to remove DtRH for it. Any opinions on that? — Susumu · 381
Instead of trying to be clever, why not just give your investigators +10 XP at the start of the campaign? It's your game and if you want to break the rules, go for it. And if you want to play by the book, remember that the design intent of cards that reduce XP costs or give you XP (ie. In the Thick of It and Arcane Research) has always been to slap them with a hefty downside. Besides, Susumu is right. 'Permanent' is almost as absolute as 'cannot'. — thinsilver · 14
The more I think about this, the more I'm convinced that it works (but is clearly not an intended use). Adaptable gets around the "no way to remove permanents" restriction (which isn't really a restriction; it's just an observation about how the rules don't intrinsically provide a way to remove permanents) because it is an "effect that explicitly allows you to do so", as per the FAQ. Also, since 'swap' is distinct from 'purchase', I see no reason why versatile shouldn't be able to add an EotE permanent to your deck inbetween any two scenarios. — Tynian · 1
Err, sorry, when I said "no reason why versatile", I meant "no reason why adaptable". I always mix them up... — Tynian · 1
The rules state "A card with the permanent keyword still counts as being part of your deck." Adaptable lets you "swap up to two level 0 cards out of your deck." The rule mentioned by Susumu is generally for normal upgrades. The card rules always overwrite the rule book. Therefore Adaptable should let you swap permanents out for other cards. — SpicyNugy · 2
I am not sure how this works with Down the Rabbit Hole though. Can you chose the order these cards resolve? Can you use Rabbit Hole to upgrade a spell, switch Rabbit Hole out with Adaptable, upgrade another card at no penalty, switch Rabbit Hole back into the deck, and upgrade a second spell discounted? This obviously feels way too silly to be allowed. It is a fun thought experiment and the rules should be clarified. — SpicyNugy · 2
This is now explicitly covered in a "Rulebook Errata" FAQ entry (v. 2.0, p. 2, emphasis mine): Add the following bullet point: “Once added to your deck, permanent cards cannot be removed from your deck **or swapped out of your deck** unless explicitly stated otherwise.”" — JoshWVS · 9

Schoffner's Catalogue

Schoffner's Catalogue

I think one aspect wasn't mentioned so far by the other reviews: the Schoffner's Catalogue can pay for a second copy of itself, because it is also an item.

I think this has a fun combo potential with for example two Ice Axe(3) and Scavenging/Scavenging(2) in Minh Thi Phan. If you have two catalogues in play/discard, you will never run out of money for recursion of the axes or the second copy of the catalogue, provided once in a while you don't use your scavenge on an axe but to return an empty catalogue. Of course you have to find all this, but with the search-tech of and Minhs tendency for a lot of card draw its fairly doable.

Also the Backpack or better the Backpack(2) can dig deep to find all pieces exept scavenging. As a nice side effect it can also find other nice stuff like her favorite dairy or totem, which of course can also be paid by the trusty catalogue. As mentioned by others, you can even go for a dark horse-item-skill-build with this combo.

10erRingscheibe · 31
Yea, I agree. I bought a second copy of the catalogue from the first several times in my run as Yorick, and most times from the graveyard. The money was often gone again by my next turn. — Susumu · 381

Wine Cellar

Wine Cellar

Pretty hard to get to a cellar that isn't connected to the building in any way!

This location supposedly has a misprint. There is no way to get to it.

It looks like it was intended to connect to Victorian Halls so we played it as such.

KakuRainbow · 97
Feels like this card is missing "Victorian Halls is connect to Wine Cellar" so we played it as such too. Kind of amusing to think that Luke can still get there right? — Tzyx · 1

Earthly Serenity

Earthly Serenity

This card really steps up in value when you play it with Dexter Drake. For 1 resource and 1 action, you can heal up to 4 damage/horror. Pretty powerful stuff. And then next turn you can throw it out for a Shrivelling and load up on horror all over again :D

If you have Showmanship down, you'll get a +2 to the test and be likely to spend all your charges in one go, even without any other Willpower boost.

KakuRainbow · 97

Geared Up

Geared Up

I will try to elaborate on the interaction with Backpack, and why it might or might not work.

This permanent creates a forced reaction, much like a the optional reaction skills on many cards, that allows you to play Item assets during its timing window. Backpack does its thing after it entered play.

One viewpoint is that you play all the items, then backpack triggers. The second viewpoint is that each items is played, then the play reaction is triggered, and then you can play further items.

The second viewpoint is directly countered by the 'Ability' rules, under triggered abilities, stating "A [icon] ability with a triggering condition beginning with the word "after..." may be used immediately after that triggering condition's impact upon the game state has resolved.". The Geared Up ability affects the game state. Therefor I conclude that Backpack only gets items after the Geared Up ability is already done.

I would argue that Schoffner's Catalogue does work with Geared Up, since there is no mention "after.." or any triggered ability.

Anyway, I still like it. If you have an item heavy deck, playing 3+ items at a discount is great!

Weges · 93
I don't know, where you got the quote about the "impact upon the game state". The RR in the version on arkhamDB states: "The word "after" refers to the moment immediately after the specified timing point or triggering condition has fully resolved." Backpack triggers "After Backpack enters play", so I would say, if you play Backpack with "Geared Up" and afterwards other cards, the timing point, when you could trigger Backpack's ability had already expired. — Susumu · 381
I am in the cannot play the items inside backpack with geared up camp. From the reading, geared up ability just triggered once when the first turn of the game begins. It is not a continuous effect. Which is unfortunate but maybe a higher exp version might be different. — FateACG · 1
As I know, the main issue is not this as written in this review, but whether playing occurs simultaneously or one at a time. If playing occurs simultaneously, backpack is triggered after playing chance is gone; if playing occurs one at a time, we can play items in backpack. — elkeinkrad · 500
Notice that Ever Vigilant clearly states "one at a time", but Gear Up doesn't. — elkeinkrad · 500
@susumu: This would be the case if the wording would be "then.. ". It's a subtle difference, but it determines whether things happen during another effect or after the whole effect that enabled the trigger. Take Dr. William T. Maleson for example; Imagine if the when was an after instead. Then that effect would make no sense, as the encounter would already have been draw and all effects of it resolved. — Weges · 93
I'm not entierly sure, that you can play items out of the Backpack, either. But what I am sure is that, if you can't and you don't play it as the last item, it will wiff triggering it's ability. If it would have a "then" printed on it, this would simply mean, that you can't play it earlier in the round at all. (Which you likely won't do in this case anyway.) Because it would need to trigger the ability. I also don't think, "Ever Vigilant" being a good referenc. There had been cases on inconsistent wording (sometimes clarifications added, sometimes not) on other cards in the game. But as I said, I'm not entierly sure, if you can use Backpack, then play other cards from it, myself. Honestly, I don't care that much, because I think, it is a trapcard either way. — Susumu · 381
I'm sort of with Susumu and sort of against. Until official ruling I am leaning towards "you can use backpack in the middle of playing items as part of the forced step" just because if you can't the card is clearly a trap, and I'd rather have a card that does something than one that doesn't do anything :-P — NarkasisBroon · 11
I don't think, it actually matter that much. You normally would just play the Backpack as last card and can trigger it then just fine. Regarding the question, if cards are played simultaneously or one at a time, I think, it is entierly impossible to play cards simultaneously, because playing cards is always an initiated sequence, you have to check play restrictions, determine and pay the cost(s), ect. This can't be all done simultaneaously for all cards. Unlike for example "drawing cards", where the RR explicetly states, that if you draw multiple cards, they are drawn simultaneously. — Susumu · 381
You could probably argue, that the backpacks reaction triggers when it enter the play and not when it was played. — Tharzax · 1
Weges, I diagree with you. I thik that if the when of Dr. William T. was an after it would be much better, because the when means you do not know what card is, after means you know what card is. I certainly think you can use backpack. Gear up is saying that at the moment of your first turn begins you can play cards. It is not an event card like ever vigilant that have a limited time. — condedooku · 2