Asset

Item. Illicit.

Cost: 2. XP: 3.

Survivor

Uses (3 supplies).

Exhaust Tennessee Sour Mash and spend 1 supply: You get +2 for a skill test on a treachery card.

Discard Tennessee Sour Mash: Fight. You get +3 for this attack. If this attack succeeds against a non-Elite enemy, automatically evade it.

Greg Bobrowski
For the Greater Good #191.
Tennessee Sour Mash

FAQs

(from the official FAQ or responses to the official rules question form)
  • Automatic Success/Failure & Automatic Evasion: Some card effects make an investigator automatically succeed or automatically fail a skill test. If this occurs, depending on the timing of such an effect, certain steps of the skill test may be skipped in their entirety.
    • If it is known that an investigator automatically succeeds or fails at a skill test before Step 3 (“Reveal Chaos Token”) occurs, that step is skipped, along with Step 4. No chaos token(s) are revealed from the chaos bag, and the investigator immediately moves to Step 5. All other steps of the skill test resolve as normal.
    • If a chaos token effect causes an investigator to automatically succeed or fail at a skill test, continue with Steps 3 and 4, as normal.
    • If an ability “automatically evades” 1 or more enemies, this is not the same as automatically succeeding at an evasion attempt. As per the entry on “Evade” in the Rules Reference, if an ability automatically evades 1 or more enemies, no skill test is made for the evasion attempt whatsoever. Consequentially, because no skill test is made, it is not considered a “successful” evasion. The investigator simply follows the steps for evading an enemy (exhausting it and breaking its engagement).
    • For example: Patrice uses the ability on Hope, which reads: “ If Hope is ready, exhaust or discard him: Evade. Attempt to evade with a base value of 5. (If you discarded Hope, this test is automatically successful.)” If Patrice chooses to discard Hope, the skill test automatically succeeds before chaos tokens are revealed; therefore Steps 3 and 4 of the skill test are skipped. However, the skill test still takes place. Cards may still be committed to the test, and the investigator’s total modified skill value is still determined, as it may have some bearing on other card abilities. However, if Patrice instead uses the ability on Stray Cat, which reads: “ Discard Stray Cat: Automatically evade a non-Elite enemy at your location,” no skill test is made whatsoever. - FAQ, v.1.7, March 2020
Last updated

Reviews

The survivor version of this upgrade is clearly worse than the rogue version. Fast is better than -1 cost. +3 willpower twice is definitely better than +2 willpower three times. And evasion that is limited to non-elites is a quite large limitation, and causing a point of damage when you evade is only useful some of the time, and you have to wait until you have made three, rather than two, separate willpower skill checks before it is efficient to use this power; whereas the +1 damage of the rogue version is actually quite helpful and useful. I’d much rather take the rogue upgrade than this one, and since the basic version of this card is terrible, I wouldn't take the rogue upgrade either because it still isn't good enough.

The designers may have made the survivor version of the card weaker because they knew survivors had access to cards like Scavenging which only work on Items, and are always looking for good new Items. But they needn't have worried, this card is plenty unimpressive even if you do have Scavenging.

ChristopherA · 104
I have looking for any sort of way to justify this card as I also love it thematically. I can only think of one current benefit to this card if you are determined to play it. As it takes no specific slot, it can be sacrificed to Crypt Chill if I doesn’t manage to save you on the Will check. I’m the future there may also be a benefit if number of items in play count toward some effect. I’m constantly hearing how Survivors don’t really get a lot of use out of having a bunch of experience but I think this card would have a better chance at 1 XP and then maybe 3 Cost. It’s even almost laughable that the icons to commit on a skill check give it no reason to carry even once, let alone having two in a deck. That’s all I have to add. — Staticalchemist · 1

You need this card only you're playing with a campaign with high Will test.

Pay-out

  • 3 Exp
  • 1 Action with 2 Resource

Benefit

  • +2 Will (3 Times for Treachery only)
  • 1 high change to auto evade a non-elite enemy

However, survivor can use Cherished Keepsake, the cheapest horror soak or Nothing Left to Lose to prepare for incoming treachery with 5 Card and 5 Resource

"Ashcan" Pete can play Moonstone with the same price.

It's hard to squeeze this card for the full-potential because you need to play it before the treachery appeared. Then wait for 3 another treachery card.

Verdict

AquaDrehz · 197
Yeah, I'm not really sure who wants Survivor Sour Mash. I can sort of see Rogue Sour Mash, as that gives +3, is fast, and is in the faction with the lowest willpower, but even that one hasn't made the cut for me, yet. It's a shame, as I like the card a lot thematically. — Zinjanthropus · 223
Yorick maybe? I know the Teddy Bear is a thing, but boosting Willpower for 3 tests seems better than OK and may help mitigate the other bad things that Will test Treacheries can do besides deal horror. The +3 Fight action + auto evade seems pretty useful to either finish off an enemy with an odd amount of health or evade a non-hunter enemy and leave them behind. At 2 cost it is relatively cheap for Billy to replay as well. IDK, seems like a cool option. — Blitzer81 · 2