Preposterous Sketches

I disagree with the previous reviewer that this is binder fodder. It's not an amazing card, but it's certainly playable and I've run it in quite a few Seeker decks on Hard/Expert. (Admittedly cycling it out later in the campaign when I get more XP). There are two main reasons for running it.

  1. Higher Education
  2. Dr. Milan Christopher

Both of these are the strongest seeker cards in the game, and you're probably running both (If not, why not? Tell Finn the good Doctor is yours!). Dr Milan is often giving you a surplus of cash that even Higher Education doesn't drain. Additionally Higher Education needs 5 cards in hand and if you go through a period of encounter card, pressure, you might quickly need to fill you hand-up again. In such a scenario, if you were going to be clicking for a card anyway, the sketches come good.

The previous reviewer suggests that, because the sketches actually do very little (if you were clicking for a card anyway, their net effect is a free action to swap 2 resources for a card), this is bad as they've used a slot in your deck. But the opposite is true - this is deck thinning, and this is good! Cards that replace themselves at very little or zero cost, are making it more likely you will draw into the cards you have spent real XP on (or 0XP cards that are just boss). And seekers have lots of high-impact cards that mean they like thinning. The sketches aren't truly free thinning, you have to spend the 2 resources for the bonus card, but they are pretty close.

Yes, you do need to be aware if there are weaknesses left in your deck, but this is a general part of card-draw and play-management within the game, not specific to the sketches. Eg, if you have a enemy basic weakness and your guardian has already played, or is busy, then drawing is much worse. I don't think one should be discounting draw effects just because sometimes draw can be bad. Drawing cards is, in general, a good thing and we should be constructing decks that want to draw (especially when we can control when that draw happens).

Backpack exists, yes, and Backpack is stronger if you have the deck to support it (lots of items, or specific high-value items you need to find). Without that scenario, and faced with the common Seeker scenario of wanting cards and having money, the sketches do have a slot in the Seeker playbook.

With this card, I feel, you can commit heavier to certain tests without the fear of Higher Education going offline. So on paper I like this but only in the early stages of the deck. — Hellnas · 1
Honestly i have no idea why FFG didn't call this card "Cryptic Research" with a cost of 0 XP. I always include it in seeker decks, when i'm going to get the 4 XP version. Though i often prefer "laboratory assistent" as additional damage/horror soak and no condition. Yesterday we played Labyrinth in 4 player mode and 5 allies died on my side (2x art student, 2x laboratory assistent, 1x guard dog). — Django · 5164
Good point. They could have used the artwork on this though, as it's better, so maybe they should have made the Cryptic Research the 4XP sketches. — duke_loves_biscuits · 1285
I've played the card in my early low XP Rexx Murphy deck along with Burglary. It worked quite well at converting excess resources generated from Burglary into cards, but as I earned XP it was replaced by Cryptic Research. Nonetheless, I do believe it is pretty weak for other investigators. Spending 1 card, 1 action and two resources to draw 3 cards is overall disadvantageous. You spend 4 of your "resources" (1 card/1 action/ 2 resources) to get 3 "resources" (3 cards). So unless you're overflowing with cash, have extra action you don't know what to do with or absolutely need to dig for a certain card, you're usually better off running a "draw a card" skill card instead. — Daerthalus · 16
it's debatable how much deck thinning is worth in Arkham, due to the presence of weaknesses in the deck — jd9000 · 77
Second Wind

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.

SGPrometheus · 849
In my opinion, this is one of those cute cards that you like but you can't find a slot for them, just like Trusted. — matt88 · 3228
It also has Spirit trait so it can be taken by Calvin, although I'm not sure about its usefulness in his deck - maybe any more experienced Calvin player will tell something about that? — KptMarchewa · 1
Looks pretty efficient as far as healing goes in this game. But I'm usually not looking for damage healing from my Guardians. The main exceptions would be a) if I'm playing Mark (he'll take this for sure) and b) if I'm playing The Forgotten Age. Otherwise, you just don't need this. — CaiusDrewart · 3200
Nice with the Smoking Pipe. Not even Guardians can take the pain from dumping all their horror damage into regular damage but this card bridges that particular gap. — Tsuruki23 · 2581
@KptMarchewa: Healing in Calvin is not usually the way to go for him. You're far better off with prevention or soaking. — Darthcaboose · 286
The new Sister Mary is an excellent candidate for this card -- a guardian who starts with 5 health. Parallel Daisy might like it, too, as would some other off-class or low-health guardians (like Caroline Fern). — Mordenlordgrandison · 464
Smoking Pipe and Second Wind is a good early combo for Nate Cho, but I’m finding that eventually I’ll be growing out of it with I’ve Had Worse which is more flexible, still a Spirit card, costs zero time and money to set up and nets you resources to boot. — Krysmopompas · 367
Key card for Sister Mary. — An_Undecayed_Whately · 1337
... Key card for Sister Mary: cheap and draws a card, can shore up her health in a pinch. Even better is to reset all the damage on the Guardian Angel, so it can put more Bless tokens in the bag and further soak for nearby allies! — An_Undecayed_Whately · 1337
@An_Undecayed_Whately Second Wind cannot heal Guardian Angel. Still a good card for Sister Mary though. — snacc · 1021
Improvisation

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.

Good point! Combo abuse is real. For my last LoL I built the Seeker/Boss Killer deck (Lupara with DoN, Quick Thinking, Fight or Flight and Red-Gloved Man, additionally .45 and Ace in the Hole, potential to hit for 20dmg in one turn) and my plan was ruined by Impro -> CoI draw (-8dmg since i had no switch after Lupara) and autofail during a second shot (-6dmg). I was sad as i've been waiting for that moment of glory the whole week but also pretty excited about my discovery :) — KptMarchewa · 1
will to survive? — Django · 5164
Crisis of Identity doesn't discard cards from your hand, only from play. A big part of playing Lola is trying to NEVER DRAW when you could lose a bunch of assets from Crisis of Identity. I agree, Improv doesn't exactly make that easy. — duke_loves_biscuits · 1285
Fantastic, but expensive card in both resource and exp. Of course an option worth considering, I just prefer another ones for her. — KptMarchewa · 1
@duke_loves_biscuits you're right. The point is that CoI drawn by Impro can abuse a plan by unwelcome switch. — KptMarchewa · 1
Use any version of "scrying" to know the next 3 cards in advance, when going for such a big move. I know big girls don't (s)cry, but sometimes it's necessary. — Django · 5164
@KptMarchawa, but @duke_loves_biscuits point is that what @Sarkazein said ‘forcing to discard the very card you’d hope to play’ is not a thing that can happen (unless draw into Amnesia >.< ). — Death by Chocolate · 1484
The gap between the helpfulness of Lola's signature cards and the harmfulness of her weaknesses is just so big. Poor Lola. — CaiusDrewart · 3200
It's notable how this card is worth AT LEAST 2 XP being effectively a fast Emergency Cache (2), making the best signature card any investigator could have had, while that mandatory card draw can totally ruin your day. Good point with Scrying. It can totally help in such situations. Scrying (3) is probably the better choice for action economy. — matt88 · 3228
In my opinion CoI doesn't need to be scried as any other weakness usually doesn't need to be scried. Scrying sees a very little play in most decks and I don't see a reason to put it in Lola's deck as well - especially with her role mechanism. Impro is not only a fast EC (2), it is also Unexpected Courage in one card - sweet! — KptMarchewa · 1
Scrying is def of value in Lola. Scrying (3) is far superior but even Scrying (0) has play, and buying a few turns of colour-swap knowledge can be worth an action. (And this is coming from someone who generally hates Scrying (0) and dies a little inside every time my Agnes buddy plays it). — duke_loves_biscuits · 1285
I consider a fast EC (2) to be pretty weak for a signature card. I mean, it's perfectly efficient, you'll take it in your deck, but it's not remotely gamebreaking (while her weakness is.) — CaiusDrewart · 3200
I wish Lola's special card instead offered some kind of deck searching, so she could be the combo-centric investigator she was always meant to be. That would be way more exciting. — CaiusDrewart · 3200
To be honest, I'm just curious how much you base either on your experience or pure theory - I'm playing and testing her for a half year (my definitely favourite gator) and I have completely differend opinion about her weakness and, generally, her conception- in most cases (with a properly built deck and careful playstyle) it is only a dead draw, even if I hit it when I'm in a role with 1-2 assets i wouldn't call it "gamebreaking". And no, her deckbuilding power is definitely not being combo-centric - role mechanism just kills it. It is possibility to take any powerful card in game (not each will work well, but many will) and possibility to prepare well to literally every scenario with Adaptable. And, of course, a plenty of fun with her deckbuilding and mechanics :) — KptMarchewa · 1
Agreed, my experience playing Lola is that she is fun and versatile but benefits far more from individually impactful cards than cross-class combos. Between her oversized deck and the role mechanic, they are very unreliable and clunky to pull off. — Death by Chocolate · 1484
@KptMarchewa: I've taken Lola through Carcosa once, and she's been at the table with other players several times. So I have some experience with her, although I wouldn't call myself an expert with her. I found her weakness enormously troubling. And yeah, she's not a combo investigator, though I wish she was. I wasn't using Adaptable when I played her, since I was playing Carcosa blind. — CaiusDrewart · 3200
@KptMarchewa: In my experience (and the rest of my group who've played her) her role mechanic has been much more frustrating than fun. She's also an investigator who--at least in my opinion--falls off quite a bit at higher difficulties, so that was another problem for us. However, I can definitely see how some people would enjoy the unique challenges and variety of options that she presents. I'm glad you've had more positive experiences with her! :) — CaiusDrewart · 3200
Brofist! :D Fortunately AH LCG is not a competitive game so everyone can play with gator he just likes. You like taking a challenge (nice BGG expert guide btw!) while I like playing with mechanics I'm interested in even if they are underpowered (although reaching the best DL resolution with Lola solo on standard difficulty is not a big problem for me which is not so bad imo). — KptMarchewa · 1
I have a question regarding fast cards I'm hoping someone can help with. The text for Lola states "Switch your role. Until the end of your turn, reduce the resource cost of the next card you play of your role by 3. Draw 1 card" - the question is: is it possible to play another fast card between the switching of roles and the forced card draw? — rex · 1
You cannot. You have to resolve all of Improvisation before you get another window to initiate a free "lightning bolt" action. — mattastrophic · 3326
Waylay

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.

The significant downside here is you may not use it against elite(s).. — XehutL · 48
Of course. But the point is, there are lots of big bad monsters that are not elite. Surprisingly many. See all of the hotlinks above, and many more. — duke_loves_biscuits · 1285
Still, I would compare it rather to Sneak Attack than Backstab - as they are IMO more close to themselves.. — XehutL · 48
Both comparisons are lacking... id rather view it as a card on it’s own. Backstab only needs one evade test to succeed, while this card needs at least 2. — Django · 5164
I think Backstab is good comparison, because both of these cards will be used to kill something big in one go. — matt88 · 3228
Cat Burglar

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.

AndyB · 956
Yes, a very strong card. It would help if there were more cards (like Lockpicks) that let you leverage Agility to do other things than just escape from monsters. We'll probably see more of that down the line. But even as things are Cat Burglar is useful. — CaiusDrewart · 3200
Evading enemies is a 2 edged sword... I've played a speed based character in a 4 player game (no fight option) and it wasn't very pleasent. I've lost at least 2-3 turns keeping enemies busy, until our fighter could take care of them. However in FA i guess it's a better to evade or you'll gain lots of vengeance points, so there the cat burglar shines. — Django · 5164
Another disadvantage about him, he does not exhaust enemies. So hunters will come after you and attack. — Django · 5164
Yes, you do have to move further away from hunters, so they can't just hunt straight after you. And I don't think a speed-based character works so well in 4 player games either; fewer places to escape to, and they can't all keep up. — AndyB · 956
While I agree that De Luca is better, unfortunately there is almost always someone else using him. Two of my 4 player party use Cat Burglar and I can honestly say that we would have failed our Carnevale run if it wasn't for them. While he may not be the best ally he is certainly one of my favorites. — BobSov · 1
If only his ability could be activated with Finn Edward's free evade action... — Runic · 1
I wonder, do you have to be engaged with enemies to activate his move ability? Maybe you just disengage with the 0 enemies engaged with you and move. This makes is a free move action every turn, which makes him just like Leo except your extra action must be a move. — lockque · 1
As he takes an action to activate, you are not really getting an extra action @lockque — fran · 1
you could maybe get more out of [Haste](https://arkhamdb.com/card/06239) — zarathustra · 1
This guy on Edge of the Earth - especially last scenario - is killer — Krysmopompas · 367
Cat Burglar is also a great Fox Mask replenisher. — flamebreak · 27