
Pros:
- Strong signature cards (especially Dark Insight)
- Decent intellect and strength
- +1 resource/ +1 card activated effect is strong incentive to play ignore/cancel effects, since it often makes them free cantrips. This also makes her deck cycle faster.
- Access to cards, which increases her potential for combat
- Potential for 6 base willpower in late game
- She starts with 6 cards (with Dark Insight as one of them), and if you mulligan you can get up to 6 new cards!
- I think her signature weakness is not as devastating as many others. You can choose which cards to ditch and which to keep for 1 horror. This actually helps clear space for new additions. But it also favors not relying too heavily on her willpower (see below).
Cons:
- Very low starting willpower. This creates a conundrum because cards like Shrivelling will be very difficult to use for part of the game, and hard to justify with access to cards like Machete. Upgraded spells that boost willpower should be easier to use. If you do rely heavily on willpower, it incentivizes playing your cancel/ignore effects earlier, and even potentially wasting them instead of saving them for harsher threats.
- Why choose Diana Stanley to wield Machete when you can use other guardians with 4 or 5 strength? I think you have to make good use of her cards and 3 intellect to justify this.