William Yorick was a blast to play, and I recently won a two-player Dunwich Legacy campaign with Daisy Walker so here are some observations for people considering our favorite actor-turned-gravedigger. This will be a slightly biased review towards multiplayer implications, as I exclusively play in 2-player or 4-player games. Yorick has real issues with consistent clue-gathering (i.e. investigating when he doesn't have tricks up his sleeve), so I think he's a better fit in multiplayer anyways.

This is going long, so here's a TL:DR:

Pros: ability provides flexibility and value, the combination of guardian/survivor can provide great burst potential, good enough stats (in a purely bodyguard role).

Cons: not a consistent clue-gatherer. Resource economy is an issue. Card draw comes down to drawing Rabbit's Foot or using off-turns with nothing to kill (in a multiplayer game).

Now for the long version (you've been warned)

Front of the card: Yorick has fine stats except for a lack of investigation; and a decent 'fighter/bodyguard/tank's healthy and sanity of 8/6. Whether you'd rather have 9 health and 5 sanity instead of the 8/6 split is up to you and your playstyle. His ability is incredibly impactful; letting you replay assets from your discard pile when you kill enemies. This gives him tremendous flexibility to meet different challenges any given scenario can present. At 0XP; this lets you recur Leather Coat and Cherished Keepsake for defense, First Aid for healing/support. Gravedigger's Shovel gives him guaranteed spot clue-gathering, Baseball Bat can be recurred after an unfortunate chaos bag pull. Lantern is an option, but I'm not sure if it's a great one (-1 shroud isn't great, and Yorick is well set up for dealing damage). Later in a campaign, you have access to Police Badge for bursty turns. Key of Ys because... it's the Key of Ys. Yorick's ability even synergizes with the Key's penalty of making you discard 10 cards off the top of your deck if it goes away. If you aren't satisfied with Teddy bears to protect your sanity, Elder Sign Amulet is a reasonable choice, especially at a resource cost of 2 and XP cost of 3. The only downsides of the ESA are that Cherished Keepsake is free (and it turns out saving resources is really important for late-game Yorick), and Police Badge takes up an accessory slot.

And that doesn't even cover allies. You can go in many different good directions with allies with Yorick. The upgraded Aquinnah can act as his 'boss-killer', along with the combination of baseball bat + Will to Survive. Baseball Bat + Will to survive + Police badge can deal 10 damage in a turn! Brother Xavier is a great sanity soaker and chaos bag-free damage source. Both Beat Cop varieties are reasonable choices. Charisma can be a great way to go with him.

Elder sign effect: +2 and if you win you get to return a card from your discard pile to your hand: +2 is nothing to complain about, and the bonus is great for grabbing Emergency Cache, which you're going to need to keep using his ability to the fullest.

Back of the card: Guardian 0-2 gives him access to great allies as previously mentioned. You don't get access to the best guardian weapons, but Yorick has alternate boss killing options at hand. Shotgun and Lightning Gun aside, you still have a great assortment of weapons. Both .45s, Machete, shovel, and baseball bat do work, and Yorick won't have to settle for inferior options like knives or kukris. Of course, Survivor 0-5 has benefits. Lucky!, "Look what I found!" (although his low investigate skill means he can easily fall below the requirements), Will to Survive is one of the best 'clutch' cards available. And for later scenarios Survivor brings some high-powered Exile cards such as Flare, Devil's Luck to help prevent backbreaking hits to health or sanity, and A Test of Will as a form of a Ward of Protection.

Signature cards: Another place where Yorick shines. Bury Them Deep removes an enemy from the encounter deck. This is handy in several scenarios to remove a particularly annoying baddie. And extra XP are always welcome. His weakness Graveyard Ghouls is not that big of a deal; usually just another enemy to add to the pile. There are worst-case scenarios to draw it, but you can say that about most weaknesses. As long as you have a weapon out, and especially with a good ally or two, the Ghouls are very manageable.

Mulligan strategy: It's very important for him to start with a weapon, so mulliganing events (minus emergency cache, probably) and skill cards for weapons is advised. Having an ally in your opening hand is an important secondary goal. It's hard to overstate just how good Leather Coats/Cherished Keepsakes are for him; if I have a weapon in my starting hand it's a good idea to mulligan for those.

I've already gushed about his strengths, so now I'll talk about weaknesses. As previously mentioned, he's no investigator. He can dig up the odd clue or two in a pinch, but it's night and day compared to a dedicated cluver, or even most 'generalist' investigators like Rogues and Wendy Adams with Lockpicks or Mystics with Rite of Seeking. So as a solo, probably not a good choice. But in a multiplayer campaign, his biggest weakness is his resource economy. His allies and assets aren't cheap, unless you want to run with Peter Sylvestre and/or Stray Cat. Madame Labranche as a secondary charisma ally may be a consideration; I wouldn't want her over a beat cop however. A real plan b (or plan a) for allies would be to save up for The Red-Gloved Man. You could kill something and play Red Gloved Man from the discard pile to boost investigate for some sneaky weakness mitigation. Graveyard shovel and Baseball Bat aren't expensive, but replaying them can be. In multiplayer, if you're not killing something, you're often going to be trading actions for resources, instead of helping to gather clues and advancing the act deck.

You have limited card draw as well; it's just Rabbit's Foot and Prepared for the Worst. This means Yorick isn't well-equipped for poor opening draws. I found this out the hard way, mulliganing 5 cards without finding an ally nor a weapon during one scenario. It's really important in this game to get set up in the opening turn of a scenario.

In conclusion; Yorick is well-positioned in a specialist role for a 2-4 player group. You can cover for his weak investigate potential much better in that setting. Turns out the combination of guardian/survivor is incredibly good for fighting. His ability really elevates specific disposable cards, and is one of the better abilities in the game IMO. For people who want to play the monster killer/bodyguard role but want something a little different than a Guardian, Yorick is both fun and effective.

[Chorus]

I lost my teddy and I want to bring it back

Not in play anymore, I want to bring it back

I see the ghouls walk by dressed in their tattered clothes

Just have to turn my head and whack them in the nose

__

[Verse 1]

I see your discards but you haven’t got the knack

That badge and knife you spent, they’re never to coming back

I see people turn their heads and quickly look away

I cannot help it, I just need something to slay

__

[Guitar solo]

I look inside to see what’s in the latest pack

I see some red cards, I must have them to bring back

Maybe I`ll throw this spade away and face up to the facts

you get complacent when your whole rig just comes back

__

[Bridge]

Whats more my red trail can return a deeper blue

Ive used machete to recur a dog or two

__

[Bridge]

If I dig long enough into the setting sun

They wont be coming back after my job is done

__

[Chorus]

I used my red gloves and I want to bring him back

No low books anymore, and he’ll soak that big attack

Theres endless lanterns, baseball bats and Leather Clothes

Just have to hunt the deck and find myself some foes.

__

[Outro]

I wanna take it, take it back,

Back that’s right, good as gold

Dont wanna see the sun blotted out from the sky

I wanna take it, take it, take it, take it back

William Yorick is the one that I am excited about playing out of the box along with Sefina Rousseau (who reminds me of the way that Andromeda was played and provides you with so many options in the early game).

I think that he will play differently, and I can see him focusing on weapons that normally don't see a lot of play such as Knife, Baseball Bat and would likely also carry around a Gravedigger's Shovel or Lantern. He should be designed to stay resource light, but probably shouldn't be playing Dark Horse since he will need resources at a moments notice.

I think 2 good assets for him to consider would be Leather Coat and Stray Cat. These will be great cheap assets to retrieve after defeating an enemy when your Baseball Bat hasn't broken. He could even later be setup as a serious tank with Bulletproof Vest and Elder Sign Amulet if you so decide to go that route, but I probably won't do that myself.

I think he is one of the best people to take advantage of The Red-Gloved Man. He can recur him consistently after defeating enemies if he would like and has the resources to go grab him and bring him into play from survivor cards like A Chance Encounter or Flare even outside the turns where he defeats something. The only downside to bringing out The Red-Gloved Man with his ability is that it won't be for all 3 actions of his turn.

I do think he plays differently and I am excited to try him out.

I am really struggling to see why you would want to play as Yorrick currently. Firstly, his is terrible so even with some Survivor shenanigans I don't see him being able to really contribute to clue finding. Sure, he has access to Evidence! and can potentially recur Gravedigger's Shovel to find clues but the former is shared by all Guardians and the latter is extremely expensive for what is a heavily resource-starved combination of factions. He does have solid , which is nice, but he is extremely restricted by his main class. Whilst he does have access to a good selection of starting weapons he is going to fall off rather spectacularly later on as he cannot upgrade to more powerful weapons such as Lightning Gun, Shotgun or even Chicago Typewriter so will be attacking the late-campaign power enemies with around +2 and +1 damage which is nowhere near enough. Survivor's main strength is consistency and mitigating unfortunate Chaos Bag draws which will certainly make Yorrick effective at dealing with weak to medium power enemies but an actual Guardian can do this almost as well whilst also being able to upgrade their deck to deal with the more powerful enemies the encounter deck will spawn. His ability is definitely strong, but it forces him to play the card he wants to recur and since he lacks any real economy options he is almost guaranteed to be poor a lot of the time and unable or unwilling to take advantage of it. Recurring Lantern and Beat Cop for additional damage seem like they are probably his best options but since better damage output could be achieved with better weapons this is really just an expensive way to bring him up to something approaching parity with better combat characters. If Survivors gain access to a Shotgun or better weapon then he is suddenly much improved but I don't really see that happening as Survivors don't seem thematically to fit with the firearms that Guardians and Rogues have access to. Of course, maybe I am just way off on this evaluation so if you disagree please let me know!

I am not going to go into specific cards or strategies. What I want to communicate here is why you would want to play William Yorick, and what you can expect when you decide to send him against all the horrors of Arkham and beyond.

No investigator is perfect, and William Yorick is no exception. He's no great cluever, even though he has plenty of Survivor tricks to get by in a pinch. He doesn't have access to the big blue weapons either. Economy can be an issue, but that's par for the course for most investigators, especially fighters. He is not the fine-tuned precision instrument that Roland Banks can be, nor is he the awesome overpowering sledgehammer that Mark Harrigan is. But no investigator can give you the visceral (almost sadomasochistic) satisfaction of enduring what the game throws at you, spitting in its face, and shoving it right back down its throat like Billy can.

Control is the name of the game here. Read that little under his stat-line again, and maybe a few more times if you really need to. It is exactly as amazing as it reads. Once he has an asset, it's never really lost to him, in hand, play, or discard. A card in the discard might even be best place for him, providing for some of the best action compression this side of a federal agent. This control is what separates him from his color counterpart Tommy Muldoon, who is so much more at the mercy of his draw, and does not gain tempo putting them into play.

The Gravedigger seems at times less a man and more some stitched-together Leather and Cotton golem come to make war on the monsters of the Mythos. Where so many combat investigators are one bad treachery test or token draw away from the edge of insanity, this failed actor can grind through the worst the game has, dealing damage and protecting his teammates all the while. Yorick is the rare investigator who can simply outlast the game.

Assault the mythos with your preferred assortment of cops, cats, and curiously resilient old ladies. Have a whirlwind romance with a witch hunter if that's what the script calls for. Pick your weapon. Any weapon. You have the strength to use it well, and the durability to make sure you'll be around to as long as your team needs. Your weakness is just another chance to fire your ability. Your signature benefits the entire team during and after every scenario.

Whether you want to comically fling your kitties at ghastly ghouls or dramatically wade into battle with nought but a friendly teddy bear in hand and righteous fury in your heart, William Yorick can play the part. Against all monsters, terrors, and horrors, he'll fight, till from his bones his flesh be hacked.

(This is probably just repeating other reviews but I would like to talk about William anyway).

William Yorick is my favorite investigator. No question about it, the Survivor/Guardian combo is great for the job of being the monster killer/bodyguard combo and the feeling you get from playing him is like no other investigator.

But why would you want to play Yorick? His card pool is good but he doesn’t have access to the big blue weapons. And Tommy has a better card pool with guardian 0-5 and almost all the survivor cards. Yorick’s stat line is pretty good 3 2 4 3, and 8 health and 6 sanity. He has 3’s in his defensive stats, 4 in his offensive stat and a 2 in the one he doesn’t want to use. This is means he will struggle to get clues and progress the investigation but you have cluevers to handle that so you can just focus on protecting them. His Elder sign effect is great +2 and return any card from your discard to your hand! While this is great, it’s unreliable. You do have survivor tricks to make this happen more often, but I don’t think any investigator should be picked because they have a good elder sign effect (except father Mateo).

No, the reason to play Yorick is because of his investigator ability. After you defeat an enemy play an asset from your discard pile (paying its cost). This ability is a absolute flavor win as well as being fun and powerful. Flavorfully our gravedigger plays assets from his “graveyard”, It’s great! From a gameplay perspective the ability is powerful, your “graveyard” becomes a second hand for assets (your elder sign can grab events and skills) and all you have to do is kill something. This ability is not just deck recursion but also action efficiency! Some great targets for this effect are: -Weapons (so you can fight) -Ally’s (because they’re powerful) -Cherished keepsake (free sanity soak) -Leather coat (free heath soak) -Knife (cheap weapon and a discard effect for a big hit) -Grave diggers shovel (cheap weapon and a discard effect for clue) -Mysterious raven (fast discard effect for clue) -Stray cat (fast discard for an auto evade) -Any card you can discard for an effect or discard themselves once they are empty -Any free card (because you still need to pay) -And any cards the game ever decides you need to discard because it wanted to “hurt” you

Actually the only cards you shouldn’t recur are expensive cards that don’t have arrival effects or discard effects (try to run cheap with Yorick)

So now that you know all about our favorite gravedigger and his ability the last thing to talk about is his role on the team. He is a monster killer and in turn a bodyguard with insane survive ability thanks to your ability. Partner up with your squishy cluever and keep them safe with your teddy bear in hand and old coat wrapped around you you’ll be able to take whatever the mythos has to throw at you, and with your choice of weapon weather it be a knife or chainsaw you can even throw whatever the mythos right back at it.

So if you’re like me and your job is to protect your less equipped friends from the things that go bump in the night and stand strong as a bulwark against the darkness. Or You feel goosebumps rise as you defiantly hold you’re own against a eldritch monstrosity and “whisper gimme your best shot”. Give Willam a try, you’ll like him.

I am finishing up playing a campaign with this guy, I've never played him before and I kinded of questioned the viability of him as the main monster slayer, I never really experience playing survivors until recently and seeing the type of cards he takes,I was curious on how he performs. I guess I am extremely glad I decided to play him with a full collection. Especially with cards from the innmouth conspiracy.

Survivors, hands down, are the best when it comes to bless tech, and their ability to laugh at the discard pile makes this staggering. Ancient Covenant paired with favor of the sun is a power couple. Keep faith is excellent at generating the needed bless token to fuel your bless tech. This I knew from testing with other survivors.

My basic weakness I got for him was paranoia. A pretty bad weakness for somebody who wants to play play,play. I thought I was gonna have a lot of trouble paying for the items that he needed to be the monster masher, and I probably would have if his ability didn't allow him to play AN asset from his discard, or he didn't have guardian access.

Enter Rite of Sanctification.

I can fill the bag up with tons of bless token, so filling the 5 count is easy, the -2 is pretty bonkers, since it doesn't care what card your playing for. Keep faith? Free. Key of ys? 1 buck. Hunting rifle? 1 buck. Favor of the sun? Free. It also discards itself, so I can kill a target, and bring it back, ready for more discounts. The same is with Favor of the sun, play it back for more guarantees. There wasn't a monster I couldn't kill, a card I couldn't play. I had 6 resources, pulled paranoia during upkeep, and could still play weapons and event cards. It's silly, and strong.

If you haven't tried a bless yorick build, try it. It's loads of fun!

Some example cases of using Yorick's to replay an asset that could defeat the enemy as well as itself going to the discard pile :

• Knife : Discard Knife: Fight. You get +2 for this attack. This attack deals +1 damage.
• Beat Cop : Discard Beat Cop: Deal 1 damage to an enemy at your location.
• Lantern : Discard Lantern: Deal 1 damage to an enemy at your location. This action does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

Can play the same Knife/Cop/Lantern from discard pile if the attack defeated an enemy, since discard before colon sign is the cost, while the effect is occurring it is already in the discard pile.

• Beat Cop (2) Exhaust Beat Cop and deal 1 damage to it: Deal 1 damage to an enemy at your location.
• Aquinnah : When an enemy attacks you, exhaust Aquinnah and deal 1 horror to her: Deal that enemy's damage to another enemy at your location, instead. (You still take horror dealt by the attack.)

Can play the same cop/Aquinnah from discard pile if the self damage/horror is lethal to the cop/Aquinnah and 1 damage also defeats an enemy. Self-damage/horror before the colon sign is the cost and is completely resolved including putting the cop/Aquinnah to the discard pile. Only after that you deal 1 damage to the enemy.

• Guard Dog : When an enemy attack deals damage to Guard Dog: Deal 1 damage to the attacking enemy.
• Brother Xavier : When Brother Xavier is defeated: Deal 2 damage to an enemy at your location.

Cannot play the same dog when using reaction on its last health to defeat an enemy. Since enemy's damage is not the cost of this reaction trigger. The dog and the enemy are waiting to go to the discard pile together as an impact of the "when". "When" is always after the condition but before the impact, it is not possible to partially wait for dog + enemy to impact (go to discard) before adding in Yorick . Xavier works similarly.

• Baseball Bat : Fight. You get +2 for this attack. This attack deals +1 damage. If a or symbol is revealed during this attack, discard Baseball Bat after the attack resolves.

Cannot replay the bat as Yorick on ST.7 but the bat is discarded on ST.8. (Timings)

Special mention : Graveyard Ghouls - He can trigger on defeating it. Graveyard Ghouls stops engaging him at the same ST.7 as his , card can now leave his discard pile.

What do you do if you draw the elder sign chaos token and the only card in your discard pile is your weakness?

The character card says: "If this test is successful, return 1 card from your discard pile to your hand." It doesn't seem to be optional, yet, what do you do with a weakness in your hand? Is this effectively "drawing" the weakness, meaning you have to resolve it? Or does it just sit in your hand until you're over your hand-size limit and then you can discard it? Or do you just ignore the elder sign effect in this situation?

This is my review of this card. It inspired the above version of "Paint it Black," and I love this version. I sang it the whole way through and it was awesome, so this card is awesome.

[bonus chorus] It seems my review needs two-hundred words or more

I'll write this nonsense and I'll hope it meets the score

I bet you think this is not relevant at all

Well here's a quarter now go find someone to call

nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah

...