Event

Item. Upgrade.

Cost: 3. XP: 3.

Guardian

Fast. Attach to a Firearm asset you control that takes up two hand slots. Attached asset cannot be used to attack enemies engaged with you.

When you perform a Fight action using attached asset, if you are engaged with no enemies, exhaust Telecopic Sight: This attack can target a non-Elite enemy at a connecting location. Ignore the aloof and retaliate keywords for this attack.

Tiziano Baracchi
Union and Disillusion #230.

Latest Taboo

This card loses the text: "Attached asset cannot be used to attack enemies engaged with you."

Telescopic Sight

FAQs

No faqs yet for this card.

Reviews

This card is just aggressively bad. Let's start with the functionality, because that's where all the other choices on the card fail to accurate reflect.

Telescopic Sight requires a two-handed firearm. Now that seems okay at first, but then you remember that Marksmanship allows you to do this with any gun. And it provides an extra damage to boot. Now you may make the case that Marksmanship is only one use. But at best, Telescopic Sight is one use per turn. Yes, it exhausts for some reason.

You cannot make the snipe shot at Elite targets. Typically Elites are the scariest enemies, and the ones you're least likely to want to end your turn engaged with. So being able to plink away at them from range would be useful. Naturally, they have taken that away from the card. Please note that Marksmanship does not have this problem.

You cannot shoot an enemy in your face. That's really bad when using a two-handed weapon, as it means you now need a Bandolier so you can carry a second weapon or an alternative means of removing an enemy from your face to be able to continue using your weapon. Please note again, Marksmanship does not have this problem. This is the entire reason Springfield M1903 is bad.

You also cannot shoot into a connecting location if an enemy is in your face period, even if they are not the target of the attack. As someone with a gun, this is often going to be a thing that happens when trying to kill enemies. Marksmanship still doesn't have this problem.

Finally as a card it has the no Will sampler platter of icons which isn't exactly where a Guardian wants to be. Cards without doubled icons are a hard sell for me, unless you're always intending to play them for their primary function. This one doesn't have a good primary function, so it should at least make up for the 3 XP cost with good icons (which it doesn't).

So I keep bringing up Marksmanship which in itself isn't exactly regarded as a stellar card. It's cheaper for a single use than the scope, does more damage than the scope, and requires less XP than the scope. And did I mention you can put it on Stick to the Plan? Two scopes is 6 XP, but Marksmanship plus Stick to the Plan is only 7 XP for the ability to guarantee you'll see the card. Still doesn't require a two-handed weapon either, it's going to work on your .45 Automatic (2) if you're a mad lad.

Swekyde · 65
I tend to think there has to be something coming up in a future cycle that will make this card viable. Not sure what that might be though, and sometimes cards are just bad. Still though, at 3xp with all the obvious drawbacks you just set out, Matt better have something in mind for it. My guess is that there's going to be an investigator coming up in a future cycle who will naturally tend towards a sniper style of play, or perhaps a guardian with a unique ability that gives them an extra hand slot. We do often see cards released at the back end of one campaign which are baffling until the next campaign comes out. — Sassenach · 179
I think there are a few interactions to consider that you’ve overlooked. First is the fact that it is fast. This means you don’t have to play it until it would actually be relevant. Yes the inability to shoot a threat in your face with your 2h weapon is a pain, but until the first time you actually need to snipe, you can avoid that hassle. Second is that it can still be used to shoot an aloof elite (and bypass its retaliate) in your space. The elite restriction is only on enemies in connecting locations - and the reusable ability to snipe elites would be so stupidly broken as to be unprintable (so, give it a couple cycles lol). Third, you contrast it with Marksmanship as an either/or, but it actually synergizes quite well with it. Marksmanship can provide an additional sniper shot on a turn, be used as a one-off before you put the sight down, or get a shot on an elite. It plays directly into the style you are already going for. Fourth, and this is a weird one - you can put a second telescopic sight on your gun so you can make two sniper shots in a round. It’s... weird, but not unreasonable. Fourth, their is a fair bit of synergy already in the card pool to help with the issues of monsters on your face: Hiding Spot is runable by Mark and Zoey (or a friend) and makes an excellent sniper perch. Leo can run Cat Burgalers to disengage+move before shooting. Leo and Zoey (or a friend) both have access to contraband to keep your MBAR juiced for an entire scenario. Oh yeah, the MBAR. It’s ability to deal the perfect amount of damage was already amazing, but also makes it the best sniper weapon as it can comfortably snipe big and small targets alike in a single action. Spoiled cards on this site have had typos before, but assuming the Mk1 Grenades really don’t take a hand slot - we’re looking at an excellent back up weapon for a sniper than handles a pile of local enemies, doesn’t require bandolier, and gets refilled with ECache3. Is Telescopic Sight a perfect card? No. But if it didn’t have limitations, it would be absurd. Is it a Guardian auto-include? Heck no. But it isn’t nearly the unplayable binder filler you make it out to be and enables a fun and interesting alternative deck style. — Death by Chocolate · 1447
I have to agree with Death by Chocolate here. This asset is rife with downsides, but it’s upsides are specifically designed to mitigate those downsides and the action economy on tap is immense. I think in an intelligently built and piloted deck it has the potential to be quite powerful. It is definitely an archetype card, not a genetically powerful one, but the archetype itself probably has a high skill ceiling. — Difrakt · 1282
How is the keyword massive not mentioned? Every so often a scenario will be capped off by a massive elite enemy. Your two-handed firearm equipped with this cannot attack that anymore. Massive enemies are always engaged with you(as long as they are ready) and this card's ability restricts you to non-elite enemies. Checking all 2 handed firearms, the cheapest option costs 4 resources and no exp, and most such firearms cost 6 resources and 3 exp. That's a huge heap of commitment to not fight "boss monsters" — Mataza · 19
I think that when you use the reaction ability you can only select a target one location away, it's not optional, otherwise it would say "may". This means ignoring the Aloof and Retaliate keyword is contingent with using the ability on a target one location away, you can't benefit from that against an enemy at your location. This means the only way to attack an Aloof Elite enemy with the attached weapon is for someone else to engaged that enemy first. Additionally you can't attack Elite Massive enemies unless they are exhausted first. — Killbray · 11525
Well it says "can" target the connecting location, so much like Marksmanship, you can still target an enemy on the same location. Now, of course, tele sight makes it so they can't be engaged with you, but if you got a buddy you are protecting on the same square you can shoot them off still, tele sight doesnt force you to move a square away to save them — the1armedbandit · 1
"it can still be used to shoot an aloof elite" Oh yes, the grand total of 27 of them across all campaigns, which means at best it might come up ONCE per campaign. And most Aloof Elites are enemies you can parley with anyway — HeroesOfTomorrow · 49

Tommy Muldoon straps on his Flamethrower. Then he bolts on the Telescopic Sight.

As he is engaged with no enemies, Tommy uses the replacement targeting restriction to take aim at an enemy at an adjacent location. He commits a card. During the player window before success is determined, he taunts a different enemy two locations away. That enemy runs in to engage and Tommy tries to kick it in the face. The kick misses, but the enemy trips. The attack on the first enemy is successful and deals no damage; instead the flames from the thrower incinerate the second, now engaged enemy. The original enemy is stunned by the stupidity of it all.

CombStranger · 264
This basically works, but a note on timing: Per FAQ 1.17, if you would initiate a skill test during a skill test, that test doesn't happen until after the other skill test (or the action containing it) is over. That means "Get over here!"'s attack doesn't happen until after the flamethrower does. — Thatwasademo · 58
Unfortunately, I don't think this works quite as intended, apart from the nested test issue that the first commenter noted, a voluntary instruction on Telescopic Sight cannot override the mandatory targeting of Flamethrower. However, the mid-fight playing of get over here completely works. — Sycopath · 1

With the latest taboo (summer 2021), telescopic sight goes from an extremely situational card that you have to build around… To a situational card you have to build around. It's still a 3xp card you can’t use on others, and it can only trigger off a half dozen cards in guardian, and many of those start at three XP. (You can use it on Becky, the Thompson or the Winchester, but those are slim pickings.)

At its best, this is marksman on tap. Campaigns like Dunwich love spawning aloof enemies and putting them nearby, or regular enemies ahead of you. Same thing with the Innsmouth Conspiracy, although a hiding space or two will make this much more viable. (Oddly, you can use your telescopic scope while driving at 50 mph.)

But it’s a puzzle piece, and if you bring this, you’ll probably want extra ammo, enchant weapon for more damage, blessed ammunition, and well-maintained. And without two or three other players, you simply won’t have the enemy density to make this worthwhile compared to get over here or the riot whistle. Pair with Trish, Rita or Winnie for easier targets and less misfiring.

MrGoldbee · 1447

In case if you're wondering "Which firearms this can be used with?" — here's a link to handy list.

It's funny to think about Jenny's Twins or Joe's colts with a telescopic sight...

UPD 06/28/2021: WOW! New Taboo is a game changer, they've dropped "Attached asset cannot be used to attack enemies engaged with you." part, so we can attach this to a Lightning Gun and go bananas!

Handguns with sighs are possible but signature can’t change player, so that’ll never happen — Django · 5070
It can certainly be made to happen with You Owe Me One! — suika · 9385
@ suika: the example in the RR is with Roland's gun and "Teamwork", but this certainly also aplies to "You Owe Me One!" An investigator cannot control another investigator's signature cards. — Susumu · 366
I see, Jenny of course could potentially "You Owe me the Telescopic Sight" on her gun. — Susumu · 366
@Susumu and so could Joe using Versatile to include “You Owe Me One!” — Death by Chocolate · 1447
Scoped Shotgun. What is this, Call Of Duty? — Thornstromb · 64