Just a small observation from putting together a deck for Roland using this Directive: the restriction that you cannot fight more than twice per round doesn't prevent Roland from using other actions that deal damage.

So feel free to use Dynamite Blast. Or pull out your Kukri and after hitting with a fight action, spend another action to do one more damage. Not the most efficient compared to a .45 Automatic, however if Roland is going to be stuck with an enemy he could rack up three damage in one turn for his three actions and not waste any ammo.

If you using the parallel back for Roland, go ahead and use your +2 bonus to first evade, then play a Sneak Attack to deal damage (and have it be free if you are paired with the correct directive).

This card has Patrice Hathaway written all over it. 2 wild icons, an attainable cost for one of your power turns, and you've got all the bases covered for investigating AND fighting. The flexibility is great for Patrice--if she's in a tough fight, pump that to 7 and let the fur fly. Likewise, if she's alone, high-shroud locations with an of 7 are a piece of cake. Or split the difference with a full turn of 5's across the board. Just make sure you've got an asset down first to maximize your full potential.

This isn't something you'll mulligan for in your opening hand; it's a card you'll be very glad to see in midgame, and will want to recur with any number of Survivor tricks to carry you across the finish line at top speed.

Daniela Reyes plus this and some recursion in Dream Eaters = chef's kiss.

Guess I gotta write at least 200 characters worth of words. How's your day going? Mine's decent--I've got a hankering for some nachos.

This card came out about a year early! Daniela has a power triggered by getting attacked, she’s on the card, and this makes those attacks much less troublesome. Now, you can use this with other “get hit“ cards that will come in her arsenal, put some damage on a guard dog and be a testless bruiser. It’s expensive, but it’ll save you actions against weak foes like rats, wisps, or witches.

The Red Clock is interesting in that it can give you a lot of useful effects - but you'll want to play accordingly for them, since the timing of the effects may not be ideal. If you're seeing the first charge come up, here's hoping that you're in the right place to take advantage of that boosted skill check - either from a good fight, or from dealing with a harder challenge. If you're seeing the second charge come up, then plan on not moving earlier, so you can swing to the right place after. It's likely the third charge that you'll have the most luck with - it's almost always possible to find use for another action.

Many rogues can take it, but given how many tend to favor Lucky Cigarette Case in their builds, you'll want to make sure you're getting more use from it than from other cards, or are late enough that you're also able to grab Relic Hunter.

Special callouts go to those with Seeker access, including Finn Edwards, Trish Scarborough, and Ursula Downs, who can get it through relic access - as the other review has mentioned, Eldritch Sophist is capable of taking charges from this and putting them on other tools, allowing for perpetual use of it. Pendant of the Queen is probably the best use, but Divination, the versions of Archaic Glyphs and Arcane Insight can all benefit from the Seeker side access, and Blur, Suggestion, Obfuscation, and Decorated Skull can all benefit from the Rogue side.

There's also some synergy on the Mystic side, meaning it can combo in the hands of Dexter Drake, Sefina Rousseau, and Akachi Onyele, who can get it through Charge access - Mystics prefer to add charges to items, but this does mean that using Akachi's core ability/elder sign effect, Enraptured, or, if you're desperate, Recharge, you can try to manipulate the clock to an extra action or extra resources sooner. This might also be considered a source for Torrent of Power - not necessarily a good one, but it's charge-gaining nature makes it better than most, and that level of control does let you dip back down in preparation for whatever you'd like on your turn.

At a glance, I'm not convinced that it's worth 4 XP to have an exceptional item that takes up a common slot and could require more support - but it certainly has potential in the right hands.