Spirit Athame

Asset. Hand

Item. Relic. Weapon. Melee.

Cost: 3. XP: 1.

Mystic

During a skill test on a Spell card, exhaust Spirit Athame: You get +2 skill value for this test.

Exhaust Spirit Athame: Fight. You get +2 for this attack.

Chelsea Conlin
The Path to Carcosa #35.
Spirit Athame

FAQs

(from the official FAQ or responses to the official rules question form)

  • Q: What consistitutes a "skill test on a Spell card" for the purposes of cards like Spirit Athame and Grounded? A: A "skill test on a card" is any ability that directly prompts a skill test, either through the template "test skill (X)," or by initiating an action that is, in itself, a skill test (for example, any card with Fight, Evade, or Investigate action designators). - FAQ v1.2, Jan 2018.

  • Q: I would like you to clarify for me the term 'using' [This question came in French, was responded to via Google Translate, and addresses multiple different cards. See: Boxing Gloves, Ice Pick, Spirit Athame, Counterspell - Frank]. For example, if I exhaust Spirit Athame during an attack with a Spell on a Conglomeration of Spheres, do I have to discard Spirit Athame? A: If you exhaust Spirit Athame during a skill test on a Spell card (like Shrivelling), then no, you do not need to discard it when attacking Conglomeration of Spheres. You only discard Spirit Athame if you used/activated its Fight ability against Conglomeration of Spheres.

Last updated

Reviews

I have been guilty, gravely so, of underestimating this card. On its surface it doesn’t appear to do much, it’s in the growing list of +2 items which serve a secondary purpose, but in general without a +1 damage their function as weapons tend to be underwhelming. Even worse this card exhausts while fighting making it of even further limited use as a weapon

The +2 bonus is seemingly hamstrung by the same issues. The boost is only helping you with something you’re already good at, and still only once a turn. However in reality it’s a free, limited-scope guts every turn. Spread out over a whole scenario you’re looking at +10 or more, for 3r and an action. That’s some insane value and is almost guaranteed to save you a few tests if pulled early.

Note that it does compete with its hands-slot requirement. This isn’t so bad in Agnes, Akachi, Mystic Daisy or Sefina, but between his Trumpet and Grotesque Statue Jim may not be jumping to include a 4th and 5th hand item until mystic hand slot tech is printed. That being said the trumpet doesn’t show up in every game and it has good commit icons so there’s still justification if you only use the trumpet on occasion.

8/10

A solid, unassuming card that never steals the show but always has your back.

Difrakt · 1296
This and campaign allies like Lita might be used as backup.. — XehutL · 47
I used to think it's strong, for the reasons you pointed out. (Even with Lita, as a backup for fights.) But in the end, I removed one from my Agnes Deck and still wondering about completely cutting it from Sefina's fast improvements. Reason is : it boosts you at something you're already good at ! High level spells (which you want to buy as fast as possible) often gives you a natural +2/+3. And, with 4 or 5 base stat, it's unlikely that you will miss. Even if it were to happen, I prefer Holy Rosary or Peter S. (lvl2) to have a permanent boost. Only use I can see is in expert difficulty where +2 is nothing to look down at, even at 7-8. It other "fight" action is a big trap. Even with Lita. Basically, it gives you a +2 on something you might be bad at (Sefina is 2, Agnes is 2, Akachi is 3), so, you really might fail for good here. But... (3) cost means you could have played another damage staying power... Song of the dead isn't so good by itself, but is still better. All in one, I can only endorse Spirit Athame on high level difficulty. — Palefang · 69
3 years later, we are making our first blind run in TFA. @Palefang is exactly spot on, it boosts a stat you don't need to boost, and the secondary use is a trap. It should have been a good 0XP card to use with 0xp spells, but you'll prefer upgrading the spells instead of spending xp for this. Maybe taking 2 with Mateo at the start of a campaign, but ultimately it'll be replaced by more powerful cards. — NotSure · 22

Generally lackluster...but I'm gonna run this card with Favor of the Moon and the curse suite of spells Armageddon, Eye of Chaos, and/or Shroud of Shadows. The hand slot is uncontested for a battlemage, and the +2 skill value cancels out the modifier for the curse token you just released, while guaranteeing your bonus effect from the spell. Then you just pull a token like normal...should make 3-damage strikes (or 2-damage and a recharge) from Armageddon pretty reliable. It's just too bad that either use of the Athame causes it to exhaust, which interferes with repeated hits against a boss, or finishing off a mortally wounded foe. Still, it's a low-XP and only slightly janky way to "cancel" a curse token and gain a resource every turn...

Pinchers · 129
Equip 2! — Time4Tiddy · 245
Generally lackluster?? It’s definitely more ‘boring but (very) practical’. The biggest downside to this card is that they printed arcane research (IMO a way overpowered card). — Difrakt · 1296
Exhausting is also a problem. Having 2 in play helps but I’d rather have a swordcane another hand slot — Django · 5072
It has its downsides but it’s still an extra 2 icons on the test you’re most likely to take every turn for 1xp. It doesn’t compete with sword cane, it competes with the innate bonus of level 5 spells, at a minuscule fraction of the cost. — Difrakt · 1296
I'd run this OR Sword Cane, but not both. SC lets you hit for 1 damage or evade; an item for mages who DON'T want to fight. This lets you hit for 1 damage, or treat your (level 0 or 3) attack spell as being 2 levels higher, as Difrakt quite rightly pointed out. I wouldn't consider that to be worth 3 resources, a card, an action, and a hand slot if I wasn't running curse tokens. — Pinchers · 129
The level 5 skills provide more action compression and don't require taking another play action, a card, and 3 resources. It's hardly comparable. — suika · 9413
*spells — suika · 9413

A solid pick for Diana Stanley if you're building clue focused. In my deck I went from enchanted blade to this. I'm trading off a bit of damage but gaining flexibility. We're also freeing up an arcane slot.

This is great for killing 1 hp enemies like cultist and rats etc getting your base fight upto 5. When you don't have to worry about enemies because your teams fighter has things handled you get a +2 on your spells which is really helpful if you haven't maxed the number of cards under you. The core argument of "boosting something you're already good at" is exactly where this is so good. There will be some turns diana isn't as good at what she's supposed to be good at (willpower). This can also cover your back when your weakness cleans out your stored up cards. Lastly it can be dual wielded for a bigger one time boost or two uses. This should either be before you get your signature weapon or in conjunction with Bandolier.

Bandolier (2) is another place you could make solid use of packing spirit athame alongside your signature & enchanted blade. This lets you get a bigger fight boost than the base enchanted blade and allows saving the charges for when you really need it. The bonus from Bandolier(2) is a welcome one for increasing your base heads. Possibly more of a play on a flex build.

I like sixth sense on diana so I don't have to worry about charges once setup and I also use Alchemical Transmutation to make me money to afford the plethora of expensive assets I run. The spirit athame works great with both of these.

Tacomental · 21
The main issue of Athame on Diana is she often wants to run Ritual Candles for various reasons (Ex: Dark Prophecy, comboing Defiance and Olive McBride, and she REALLY wants her signature blade as well to let her double play her plethora of cancel effects (which often take up deck slots for event spells that take tests, which Athame would want to assist), and on top of it once Diana gets rolling she needs less help on passing tests than any other wizard due to her 'base' WP of 6. I definitely think Diana would probably get the most use out of the melee aspect of this, but her signature is just at good at rat punching and if your going an 'eldritch Knight' Diana your probably minimizing spells that require tests overall. — dezzmont · 212
Defiance is as weak in Diana, as in other mystics, because it triggers her abbility only, if she actually draws the token, she said "No" to. Olive and "Dark Prophecy" would increase the odds to do so, but I think, there are better Allies for her, and you can trigger her ability only once per phase, which would be done by "Dark Prophecy" on it's own. Hence, I never even considered the "Ritual Candles" for her, though they sure are thematic fitting. She sure loves her "Twilight Blade", but as a one off, she will not see it in every game. I also don't think, it warrants running "Prepared for the Worst", because the chance to wiff is real high, but then "Spirit Athame" would be still be a reasonable card to slot to up the chance not to whiff. I still think, "Well Prepared" is the better XP option to buff her tests, but "Spirit Athame" is not bad for her, and I did run it in some decks. — Susumu · 366