Coup de Grâce

The most amazing thing about this card is that 5 point-blank shots to the skull deals only 1 damage. Who wants to pay 2 resources for an effect endowed in every investigator (to attack for 1)? And to top it off, your turn is now over. Terrible.

jmmeye3 · 632
Still a worthwhile consideration if you'd otherwise run Overpower. Testless damage is nice. — StyxTBeuford · 13051
Testless damage, and card draw? On a harder difficulty, the testless damage could come in handy. — cb42 · 38
You forgot the fact that the damage is testless...and that you can hit with this aloof enemies... — Alogon · 1145
Not terrible - the number of times that a rogue has to use a bullet to ensure Str is high enough to land that one damage, vs. a card like this that saves the bullet and draws a card... It's not going to be the solution to every fight, but it's definitely of value to a lower Str rogue. — Time4Tiddy · 249
I do like this for aloof enemies, though it's a bit awkward for Whippoorwills (since it ends your turn). Still better than having to engage them, though — Zinjanthropus · 231
Decoy

From the suit of favor cards (Decoy, Intel Report and Small Favor) Decoy is a relative step down from Intel Report.

Evading is not a typical issue for a , so that's already unfavourable, it also will not affect elites unlike Cunning Distraction. Finally, because the Evade text is Bolded it will not provoke attacks. So, a breakdown:

  • 1 evade at the cost of 1 action, a card and 2 resources is iffy efficiency for a , a few characters will need/like the guaranteed nature of the event. The unique factor of the card shoots up a mile because you can use it in the name of a friend in trouble.
  • 2 evades immediately makes the card more interesting, you can dig out a character that's in a heap of trouble or 2 separate friends who both drew enemies simultaneously, giving them breathing space, very strong in duo.
  • Ranged evading is obviously mostly useful in multiplayer, you can dig out your friends or delay a stalking hunter, this is one of those cases where you'll often choose to just evade 1 enemy, it's still a great effect.

Not affecting elites and being printed in the specialised faction are negative points to this card, it's still good for Preston Fairmont and very helpful in multiplayer.

Tsuruki23 · 2581
Good for anyone with access to Rogue cards but with bad evade. Jenny likes it since her evade isn't special, Preston likes ti because he's Preston, and Leo obviously likes it with his 1 Agility, though it competes against other mobility cards like Think on Your Feet and Elusive. — StyxTBeuford · 13051
Also, Rogues are getting an investigator with low agility next expansion with Tony Morgan. Granted, he’d rather kill than evade, but as part of a supportive toolkit, it’s something to consider. — Death by Chocolate · 1484
You also don't need to be engaged with the enemy you're evading, so in some cases it will save an action (particularly in multiplayer). It also can make an aloof enemy available to attack without evading it first, which can be situationally useful in multiplayer, though unfortunately MitPM is Elite. — Zinjanthropus · 231
Aloof enemies can't be attacked while they're exhausted. From the rules: — yikesdotgov · 2
"An investigator cannot attack an aloof enemy while that enemy is not engaged with an investigator." — yikesdotgov · 2
@cikozen exhausted =/= cannot be engaged. You can engage an exhausted enemy. — adran06 · 19
I think this card gets more value in Finn Edwards since it doesn't cost him an action. — AlderSign · 416
Intel Report

This suit of cards, (Decoy, Small Favor, Intel Report) has its ups and downs, Intel Report is definitely among the ups.

This card is essentially 3 in one:

  • 1 card, 2 resources and 1 action is an unimpressive trade for 1 clue. Serves as a solo niche that can pull the clue from a high shroud spot.
  • 2 clues for 2 more resources is very reasonable, the card might be printed with just this ability and it'd see play. 2 clues clears a lot of locations in duo and deals with the vast majority of hard spots in solo.
  • Clues at range is very circumstantial. It's nearly useless solo since locations don't typically have clues on them unless you visit them, thus you'd need to backtrack or flee a location for it to have clues. Note the combo with Think on Your Feet. This effect is way better in multiplayer where you can effectively complete locations that a friend revealed.

Grab Intel Report if you're the designated clue dude, if your name is Preston Fairmont, or if you worry that the team might choke on clue focused maps.

Shout out for Intel Report in a Rex Murphy deck.

Tsuruki23 · 2581
An amazing clue grabbing tool that almost all Rogues should take in my opinion. Perhaps the exception is Finn with his 4 intellect. But Jenny and Preston pay for it easily, Sefina can copy it, and even Skids can use it in a pinch. I don't agree with it in Rex though since he's probably going to get more clues just by investigating in the long run anyway. — StyxTBeuford · 13051
True, but when you're the lone clue dude in a duo or trio, and all your friends are too busy or unable to get their clues, you can reach out and do it yourself ;) — Tsuruki23 · 2581
I supposed it's another tool for stationary "Connect the Dots" Rex. Thematically I have no idea what's going on but mechanically I love it. — StyxTBeuford · 13051
Enchanted Blade

TL:DR: Extremely self sufficient weapon, great for 3 characters who want to focus on or if they just want a backup alternative to Shrivelling.

characters typically run weapons, don't, ergo the disparity in buzz for the two variants of this upgrade.

I would like to argue that Enchanted Blade is no slouch, even compared to it's very impressive cousin. Three characters in-class, Diana Stanley, Jim Culver and Akachi Onyele have 3, with blade in hand they fight at 5, by spending charges they fight at 6 or 7, this is by using the mechanics of the blade all by itself, no support required! With some very light support, a couple skills like Overpower and/or Vicious Blow you can fill a support fighter role killing off a few 2-4 hp threats. It's terrific solo where the self sufficiency is key.

The charge mechanic is very efficient, you basically have a +5 base attack and 4 vicious blows on retainer. You can kill 2 3hp threats in 2 attacks, or 2 4hp threats in 4 attacks. The relatively few charges reinforces the support combat role, you can defend yourself in solo or multiplayer or perhaps spend the entire weapon to beat a boss, but it's a one and done deal with probably no backups. I kid! You still have a copy of Shrivelling right!? Not to mention the infinite number of buffed 1-damage attacks.

Point of reference, a fully charged Enchanted Blade attack is 1 from being exactly as powerful as a Lightning Gun shot, you get 2 shots at the cost 3 resources!

There is a big, obvious downside. characters love their Arcane slots. Jim and Diana don't mind too much, their isn't that impressive anyway, but Akachi likes to play the Rosary game so I doubt sacrificing card slots and XP for a card interests her much.

P.S, the sheer power of a fully charged Enchanted Blade can even make fighting work for a 2 character, obviously it'll require a little bit of card support, Agnes Baker with her cards or a certain brand of Norman Withers can actually be very hard-viable with a sword-fighting build.

Tsuruki23 · 2581
I love this weapon with Jim and the things you can do with it, throw scavenging and rite of seeking or clairvoyance and you can get it back, to discard it play a card or even sacrifice it and get your money back. If you want to see it more often add two copies and two doctor ellies and is out almost always and with the bonus points of being sloot free and cost free :) — xemacm · 20
Well-Maintained

Well-Maintained is a card multiplier, it's power is strictly dependent on the card you apply it to so evaluating Well-Maintained in vacuum is HARD. Even so, here are some notes to keep in mind:

  • It returns the cards to your hand when discarded, this means that cards that do not self-discard are not returned till manually or unintentionally discarded. The card is missing a clause that let's it discard the attached asset, in my mind.
  • There are several treacheries that discard assets, such as Crypt Chill, that Well-Maintained helps you defend against.
  • Costs are not refunded so you still must be able to pay for the asset again, an issue mostly for the big guns.
  • Custom Ammunition and Reliable are the only/most important Upgrades to be released so far.

The most immediate way to read Well-Maintained is to assume it's meant for a big gun, but there are lots of cards that operate far more smoothly within the bounds of the wording. For example:

There are lots of items that don't discard but still work good with Well-Maintained, it just requires an extra step to execute on, to recurse an empty gun you need to play something else over it in the slot, for example a Flashlight or another copy of the gun, this is still a rather slow process so I wouldn't pick Well-Maintained for this purpose exclusively, Extra Ammunition is a much better option for reloading guns! But, when you have some of the other cards mentioned above, and/or one or both of the upgrade cards, Well-Maintained becomes a much more impressive addition.

Finally there's a couple more combos that are absolutely worth your attention:

Tsuruki23 · 2581
Does well maintained return itself to your hand? — Django · 5163
@Django It does not; it specifically says "other" upgrade cards. — SGPrometheus · 847
Could I have 2 of them to return both? — trazoM · 9
Limit 1 per asset, so no. — TheNameWasTaken · 3
For Skidds and Tony, this combos really nicely with Joey "The Rat" (3). Free trigger to 'discard' it back to your hand plus 2 resources to help play it back out - maybe even Fast. — Death by Chocolate · 1484
From the rules; "A defeated asset is placed on its owner's discard pile." So not discarded. Making it worse on bulletproof vest and the like. — Rafael_Rupert · 1
Going past a slot limit (like the 1 accessory slot) does make you discard assets of that slot untill you are not longer over it. So that can trigger this. — Rafael_Rupert · 1
Wilson loves this. Had some fun dual wielding Hatchets for kicks — Mdrog2 · 1
I may of missed something here but .45 Thompson, Roland's .38 Special, etc don't have the word "discard" so can't be used with this, the rule book says removed from play?? — MattDu · 1
@MattDu you can discard them by playing a card that bumps it out of the hand slot — Uberdolphin · 1
Yes — SemiSecretSquirrel · 127