This has been updated to match my "Signature Weakness Project." I have done my best to make sure that the original content isn't altered too much, out of respect for any comments.

Another flavorful signature weakness. Looking at the two elements, the effect and the discard condition, we get:

The effect: Stella takes a damage if she initiates a test of 4 difficulty or higher. The Encounter Deck isn't shy about tossing out 4- and 5-difficulty tests, and it's pretty easy to get into a fight with Enemies with a 4 Fight and/or Evade. In Solo, the is just enough of a cost that you have some serious thinking to do when this pops out of a Rabbit's Foot draw....

The discard condition: . That is all. It does get discarded, but Stella is not all that likely to deck herself.

All in all, this is a below average signature weakness. it shuts down Stella's shenanigans until you can clear it, but it is unlikely to cost you the scenario or campaigns.

A medium-troublesome Treachery, this rises to aggravating in Stella's decks, since, you know, she wants to fail (at least some of the time). It's not too hard to get rid of, but is a huge tempo hit in Solo. Still, it's no Overzealous...

As noted above, this looks best in Stella or Wendy with Leo, where you can leverage the -1 difficulty more than once. It's not terrible in anyone who can take it, but it gets better with more actions.

There aren't that many "at the start of your Turn" tests, so the "During or before" usually triggers only once. (It might make playing "A Thousand Shapes of Horror" unpleasant, but you are unlikely to have bought 2 of these before the second scenario).

Wendy could try to get extra actions with .41 Derringer (2) (unlikely with her ) or Haste. Quick Thinking works (assuming you play it during your turn; if you play it during someone else's turner Quick Learner doesn't have any affect at all).

I do wish there was a way to synergize this with Eldritch Sophist, just for the chess theme.

In addition to the considerations of the level 0 Robes, which I've written a review for, for 2 XP you get the following:

• Cost is reduced by 1
• A icon for your trouble
• "Playing that card does not provoke attacks of opportunity."

That last one is the big ticket item. We've all been in this situation: you didn't get Shrivelling in your opening hand, your apprentice is truant, and then you finally draw it during Upkeep, just for an enemy to spawn on you in the next phase. In the past, you used to dread these situations, especially if that enemy had some other nasty Forced effect if it hits you. Now you just laugh.

Sadly, these robes have the disadvantage of being in the Mystic card pool, which tends to be the most competitive in terms of upgrades. Of course, you can always Delve Too Deep or do a little Arcane Research.

EDIT: The cost reduction is actually also really nice and worth emphasizing. You're not just saving 1 resource on this upgrade--you're lowering the buy-in for a card that saves 1 on the first spell you play per round. That's a lot of savings.

DeathbyChocolate's inspired jankery aside, 4 XP and 4 Resources are nothing to sneeze at, but a more or less guaranteed 9 damage, plus bonus effectiveness from Oops!, Oops! (2), and/or Act of Desperation allowing you to get maybe 20 damage across 2 turns is pretty good for a Survivor combo. And, with Scrounge for Supplies and Resourceful, you might be able to get most of the parts of the combo back in your hand for another go.

Slightly more seriously, comparing it to Old Hunting Rifle, its +1 XP, + 1 Resource, and -1 seems about right for its considerably better consistency. I have my doubts the 1 Damage Fail effect will be used much except in dire emergencies, but it's nice to have options.

I don't see Ashcan, Wendy, or Patrice packing this (although a chainsaw in a viol case is a striking image), but Silas and Yorick might well consider a trip to the hardware store, with Stella and Rita more on the fence.

After running Chainsaw Yorick for a few weeks, let's consider the case of Chainsaw Yorick:

Good Stuff

• He is a beast with this thing. 3x 6 3 damage is very nice. He demolishes most normal enemies with ease and can take on Elites and Bosses like, well, a boss.
• It combos very well with Act of Desperation and Live and Learn, getting hits in and reloading the damage machine.
• With his access, Tetsuo Mori, and Prepared for the Worst help you find the saw, and Vicious Blow and Vicious Blow (2) and help you deal with 4 and 5 health enemies. Well Prepared works amazingly well with the Chainsaw's out. (If you can get Veda Whitsley as an ally, she;'s amazing, too.) A singleton Scene of the Crime has been very clutch.
• Yorick's ability works very well for juggling saws, as long as you can find a 2 Health enemy to kill with Act of Desperation. His ability gets other stuff back from discard (supplementing). Resourceful

Bad Stuff

• It's hard to keep Yorick's resources where you want them. If you can finagle enough Act of Desperation plays, the saw pretty much keeps paying for itself, but you also need to get down Well Prepared, Tetsuo Mori, and pay for some events (it's the only way you are getting clues), so he doesn't always have the resources he needs.
• The saw taking both hands means that, while Yorick is going to kill and kill and kill, he is going to collect approximately no clues unless the shrouds are very low. No Flashlight, Lantern, or Old Keyring for this guy! Well Prepared can help with this occasionally.
• Running a fighting deck with 2-3 weapons is an exercise in luck and nerves. Tetsuo Mori and Prepared for the Worst (or Backpack (2) can help find the saws, but they cost resources, which orick needs to get the saw into play or recover from misfortune. Vicious Blow and/or Brute Force can fill the gap a bit.
• You live in terror of any treachery that consumes Assets or prevents their play. Chainsaw Yorick without a Chainsaw only has some Shakespeare to fight the Mythos.

Kind of Useless Stuff

• Oops! is not as good as expected. With 6-7 attacks, Yorick doesn't miss that often, and, when he does, he often doesn't have 2 resources to spare. This can be mitigated a bit with Drawing Thin, but then you are including cards to include other cards, and you only have so much deck space. I suspect with Stella's lower combat (and better use of Drawing Thin), it might be more effective.
• Emergency Cache (3) looked very promising, but it actually has a slightly lower damage rate than Act of Desperation for reloading the saw, and it puts you in danger of Attacks of Opportunity. In a lot of TFA scenarios, Yorick is engaged with enemies pretty much constantly, so it's hard to find a moment to play Events.
• Relentless seemed promising, but, in TFA at least, there are a lot of 3 Health enemies to chop up, and you want to save the 2 Health enemies to fuel Act of Desperation, so you overkill less often that seems likely. After some fussing, there just wasn't a place for it in the deck. (Sorry DAAAN, I tried.)