This card is, I think, deceptively good. Much like Inquiring Mind its effectively a conditional 3 wild icons with a hoop to jump through- if you want better than Unexpected Courage, you need to earn it. Having three science or tool assets is theoretically a meaningful condition, but lets dig into it.

For starters, Darrell Simmons and Kate Winthrop will probably always be taking this over Unexpected Courage. They start with tool/science assets in play, so its a no-brainer. But for everyone else we need to start asking: what is the cost of getting Science or Tool assets on the board? Even just with Hemlock Vale and a Revised Core, this isn't going to be tough. Magnifying Glass or its upgrade stand out most here as cheap, highly effective Tool assets. Chemistry Set, Ravenous Myconid and Steady-Handed provide good options too.

Those with a bigger collection though will want to look to Scarlet Keys: Empirical Hypothesis is the standout here, but an upgraded Fingerprint Kit or more niche cards like Alchemical Distillation, Lab Coat or Surgical Kit are also worth considering as options.

Tool and Science aren't traits with a terribly deep card pool, and that might make Well-Funded seem limited in its usage. It is fortunate, then, that the traits it covers contain some of the cheapest, most effective assets in the Seeker arsenal, even from level 0. So don't worry about it! Go down to Miskatonic University, ask them to give you a research grant to study the local fishmen population, and show them your hypothesis under a couple of magnifying glasses. When you run into trouble, comfort yourself with the knowledge you have so, so much grant money.

This is a terrible upgrade. The level zero version is great. It is a weak dynamite that doesn't hurt you or your allies and includes an optional elusive at the end. I've done 14 damage with the level zero version.

Sure, this can do a lot more damage with the upgrade, but the test will be much more difficult and it is only better in boss fights. I fear this was priced at 5xp based on what it could do, not what it will do in 99% of scenarios.

Do I understand correctly that the second option is only valid for tokens? It would've been kind of nice if the card said "the attacked enemy takes 1 damage" in order to make the attack sort-of-autofail-proof, with is in line with Survivor identity. As it stands, if you're playing this card, chances are you're running some amount of recursion so it's not really worth the xp cost over the base version, imo.

I think this card is fine particularly with Akachi Onyele in 2-handed solo*.

I dont think your going to use all the charges on this card (1 or 2) will probably do the trick (as that's 3 actions). Its not always helpful but losing a turn (2 or 3 actions) to not lose a gator seems worthwhile in a scenario that is spamming horror.

You dont have to wait until youre on the brink to use the card if you are in a scenario that is pressing a series of horror attacks threatening one of your gators you can be proactive (as you may need to replace the arcane slot later).

Again I particularly like this with Akachi Onyele as you can get one or two uses out of the card and than moves the charges to Angered Spirits or swap the card back out with Spirit-Speaker

I dont think the Arcane slots are that big of an issue as you have 2. Simply replace this with the card you need or replace the Arcane slot thats least helpful/empty with this card late game if you are desperate for healing.

Some cards that work well with this card: Prophetic, Uncage the Soul, Torrent of Power...comboing some of these cards trivializes the downside of the card (2-cost and slotting). If some of those cards are already in your deck this add isnt half bad.

Since this is a level 0 card its an easy replacement later on in the campaign: Earthly Serenity.

note: I am still fairly new to the game and providing the review from the perspective of a primarily 2-handed solo player - so take the review with that in mind.

I really love this card for Carson, but also generally for any Guardian who may have some downtime and and spare resources. Carson's ability has generally shown that giving actions to someone else is pretty powerful when yours are less useful. This gives 3 actions to someone else for 2 resources 2 actions and a card. Its perfectly fine for a level 0 card. The true value here is in getting extra value out of Safeguard 0, because it turns giving a move to someone else, moving both of you. But beware that Safeguard 2 has different text and won't work here. I've personally always held that I just don't think the Safeguard upgrade is rarely useful. Safeguard 0 lets you manipulate movement outside of the allied player's turn. So if you're abusing Shortcut 0 or this, or Carson's extra action, or a few other things, disincentivises upgrading Safeguard.

I can see upgrading out of this of course. Its probably not lasting until the end of the campaign. But if you were taking Scene of the Crime, or Evidence, you may want to consider this. This is a sneaky +2 action total card, and worth consideration if you have the money.