The very first card of the pack and I'm already impressed. While not flashy or splashy, this is a workhorse card that warrants consideration in any deck that wants to fight.

Its timing restriction is a bit of an issue; I can imagine (and have played) scenarios where the tank starts every round engaged with an enemy, which would make playing this tricky. I think you have to reconsider how you and your allies engage things if this is in-hand and you want to play it. In solo play, you don't have that option.

Its setback aside, this is usually a cheaper Emergency Aid that also draws you a card. You're drawing treacheries most of the time in any given scenario, even with two On the Hunts in your deck, and many of those can cause you damage with or without a test. Even if they don't, your role as monster-puncher generally means you soak a few hits, and as Mark you'll be pinging yourself every so often anyhow.

In short, it contends with Emergency Aid for damage healing, which is a good spot to be in, even though it can only heal you. The fact that it cycles is what really tips it for me, pushing this from being an iffy grab to a solid pick.

It is worth noting that Lola's weakness, "Crisis of Identity," can effectively negate this card (and certainly whatever strategy you'd cooked up, forcing you to discard the very card you'd hoped to play), if picked up during the forced draw. If there's still two CoDs lurking around in your deck, make sure you don't burn your Investigator ability to fast switch roles before playing this in crisis situations.

The obvious comparison to this card is Backstab. "It's the Survivor backstab", I hear you say. And Backstab is a kinda-average card: OK but a little clumsy and quite expensive, so the temptation is to think that Waylay fits into that category, but it's a far superior card for many reasons.

Firstly it can do more than 3 damage. Frequently you will do four, five, or even six damage with it. That's great.

Secondly it's "attacking" on the evade value rather than the fight value. There are lots and lots and lots of creatures that have a weaker evade than fight. The above two-cases provide a ton of monsters of which Waylay is a great target for. Almost every scenario has some, many of which provide XP. You'd be surprised what isn't actually elite.

Next is the fact that it's not technically an attack action, nor is it technically doing any damage. This might seem strange, but it gets around certain edge-cases, some of which are niche, but some of which are significant, or common. (You do also need to be aware that as it isn't a "fight", it will provoke if there are other enemies engaged with you. Stay safe heroes).

Lastly it has better icons. Double-anything is usually good, and here we're getting something that matches with our Agility (presumably we like Agility, as we're chosing this). Obvious heroes are Wendy, but it is excellent in Finn also, who can set it up with his free evades.

So, here we are in the Forgotten Age cycle, nobody has yet reviewed Cat Burglar. He must be useless, right? I mean, look at his abilities - adds to your Agility, but then lets you avoid having to make Evade actions. That is contradictory. 4 Resources seems expensive. And, worst - if you can take Cat Burglar, you could also take Leo De Luca, one of the finest allies in the game.

And yet - he is fantastic. Testless disengage and move, against multiple enemies. Yes, Leo Anderson can runaway like a little girl despite his appalling agility. Even agile investigators like "Skids" O'Toole or Wendy Adams can benefit. Surrounded by lots of enemies? Can't evade them all? Hit Cat Burglar and get the hell outta there.

Consider the card Elusive, which is generally considered as pretty strong. Elusive has advantages in being fast, cheaper, and can take you to any revealed location with no enemies. However, Cat Burglar can do any connecting location - even unrevealed and and occupied - and you get this every turn.

On top of this, you get an agility bonus. Wendy can beef up her for those funny events. Backstab, with added criminality. And a 2/2 damage soak. Suddenly, it doesn't seem so expensive.

So, why don't we see more Cat Burglar in play? Well, I think this is 'cos he's in the same faction as Leo De Luca. More actions is very powerful, and against Leo De Luca, I just don't think the Cat Burglar stacks up, even in an evasion-heavy (so far) cycle like Forgotten Age. If you're trying to just move, or investigate, or play a card, Cat Burglar doesn't do anything for you, while Leo De Luca does.

However ... Charisma is a thing. You can play them both, and enjoy being able to just move away from any enemies, and still have 3 actions. I've done this in a few decks - "Skids" O'Toole and Jenny Barnes - and it just allows you to slip past enemies. It's very powerful against Brood of Yog-Sothoth in Undimensioned and Unseen, and in my opinion, pretty much breaks The Organist.

And for Leo Anderson, Cat Burglar seems a strong pick - giving him alternatives to just killing things. Moreover, Cat Burglar is non-unique; he could have 2. Need to run away from the Harbinger of Valusia? Cat Burglar is your friend.

So not, perhaps, your first-choice ally - but an excellent secondary one with some awesome uses when enemies start to mount up and it's time to bravely run away.

This is an cheap (if clunky) option for horror healing that gains new life as a combo piece for "by-two" Rogues. The ability to trigger an easy test at will provides fodder for "Watch this!" and Lucky Cigarette Case - in combination with Double or Nothing and a willpower talent, a rogue can potentially win six cash in a single test of whiskey-shooting ability.

On a separate note, I absolutely love that the cards for drinking, smoking, and gambling all work together to promote a play style based on risk-taking - what a resonant design!