Odd that no one mentioned the first card I would compare this to: Perseverance. Compared to that one, Talisman of Protection differs in the following ways:

Advantages:

• Does not have to be in your hand when needed
  • Cannot be discarded from your hand (e.g. via Chill from Below)
• Multiplayer applicability
• Item trait (many synergies in the game)
• access

Disadvantages:

• Does have to be in your play area when needed
  • Can be discarded from play (e.g. via Crypt Chill)
• Occupies a(n arcane) slot
• Only cancels 2 damage and/or horror
• Only 1 icon

The obvious stuff aside, often times when playing this card it "just" acts like insurance: It feels cool to have, but unless/until you need it it does NOTHING (aside from maybe soaking a Crypt Chill).

One interaction I found fixes this "problem" is with St. Hubert's Key: That card on the one hand accelerates the time until you get value from the Talisman, and on the other hand the Talisman helps keep the Key in play!

If you thought Rod of Carnamagos was not broken abusable enough read both cards again, carefully.

Yes, the Rod not only negates this weakness (there is a player window right before revealing chaos tokens), Glimpse the Void actually makes it even more potent (letting you reveal 6 tokens instead of 5)!

Haters will point out that the Rod exhausts, but that is only relevant if you do not transfigure into "Ashcan" Pete, hah!

Are you looking for an auto-success combo? Well stray no more, because here it might be!*

You need:

• A solid investigator: Luke Robinson ( access, connecting location bonus for multiplayer), Jacqueline Fine (token skimming), Agatha Crane ( access, cancel synergy), plus a few more mid fits.
• A way to improve the odds of revealing a , , , or token from the chaos bag: Olive McBride and/or Katarina Sojka.
• A means to get more Counterspell casts: Dayana Esperence.
• Resources to fund your repeated casting of Counterspell: Voice of Ra, Prophetic, ...
• Cards for recharging Dayana: Enraptured, Call the Beyond, Correlate All Its Contents, Eldritch Sophist, Truth from Fiction, Ariadne's Twine.
• Bonus symbol token negation: Defiance

Is it broken? Nah, requires some setup. Is it cool? 8-)

*Let's be honest, Katarina Sojka changed the tide here

Lily Chen's 15 experience milestones really suck for deckbuilding in standalone scenarios. I wonder if the designers had that in mind.

The first one is free, so no change here. But the rest scales weirdly:

• 1x Discipline (0 experience): The one you start with.
• 2x Discipline (15 experience): That brings you above the 9 experience threshold, forcing you to include an additional basic weakness in your deck.
• 3x Discipline (30 experience): This is somehow the worst case, because the difference between 29 and 30 experience is another extra basic weakness. If you want a deck with 3 Disciplines you then have to spend at least 10 experience more than you would have otherwise and take the extra basic weakness.
• 4x Discipline (45 experience): It's like with 2 Disciplines again: Having 4 in your deck forces you to go beyond 39 experience. Here it comes, another basic weakness...

I know taking the Disciplines and even spending experience in standalone scenarios is optional, but the different scaling mechanics just throw me off.

Oh, and that is me also just assuming building your deck in standalone mode with higher level cards even counts "For every 15 experience you've earned in total". So maybe, RAW, Lily even cannot play a standalone scenario with more than 1 Discipline in her deck...

I want to say that this card helps you progress and win scenarios in a way many others do not: It effectively boosts any skill directly.

What do I mean by that? Imagine having your Fingerprint Kit or Grim Memoir and 2x Magnifying Glass. But suddenly, your location has an important (very beneficial or even mandatory) test that is not an investigation. Great, the usual +4 you enjoy 90% of the time when using that skill are completely gone now.

Or you are "Ashcan" Pete with Duke, Boxing Gloves on his paws, clearing the path for you. Then, a Locked Door cock blocks your way and you see yourself standing against that with a wimpy 2 (or 3 , for that matter).

See, being able to approach any test the scenario throws at you* with at least 7 skill value (Lily's starts at 2) is a huge advantage that can cost other investigators so many actions, burning their skill cards and fighting the scenario's odds head to head.

*sans mythos phase