Easy Mark

Rogue
Event

Trick.

Cost: 0. XP: 1.
Test Icons:

Myriad.

Gain 2 resources and draw 1 card.

After you play Easy Mark: Play another Easy Mark from your hand, at no cost.

Matt Bradbury
The Dream-Eaters #26.
Easy Mark
Reviews

This is an interesting one. Absent the reaction ability it’s already very close in function to Emergency Cache but with a draw ability in place of one card.

Now the set costs 1xp, the full set (which you will want) is 3 card slots and that reaction ability is pretty crucial. If you do not use the reaction it is effectively 2r for one action and a minor deck thinning. Begin to use the reaction and the card scales, 4r for an action as well as 2c thinning at two cards - 6r and 3c thinning at all three in hand.

Now the statistics are weighed against you if you’re trying to hold out for all three. Frankly you have even odds of even getting more than 1c in the first half of your deck, so that ability is quite unreliable. That’s mildly troublesome, as it means this is an economy card for the late game - generally when you want to be spending resources, not gaining them. The dream of getting all 3 is.... overly optimistic at best.

That being said a thin deck is a reliable deck. In addition this zero-cost economy card combos really well with certain recent additions to the Rogue pool. Double double makes even a single copy into a very potent card on its own, and crystallizer of dreams is happy to snap up extra icons for you.

I think it’s a good addition for an event rogue deck thats running double double and perhaps a bit sketchy outside. Probably pass on Sefina for whom it’s not a particularly high impact event, but slightly better for Tony, Skids, and Wendy.

Bonus points for anyone who get a Wendy deck to infinitely recur this for infinite cash.

Difrakt · 1035
How does Wendy infinitely recur this? Her Amulet puts it on the bottom of her deck (not discard) so it’s not a valid target for itself? That said, you could still play it three times from hand, drop Amulet, and play it three times from discard for a total 12 resources and 6 cards in three actions (minus Amulet cost). — Death by Chocolate · 912
If you get to the condition where your deck contains 1-2 easy marks, have Wendy’s amulet equipped, and one copy of easy mark in hand you can keep playing the marks as you draw them. It’s actually not as hard to set this up as it sounds, if you get to 1 card in deck and three easy marks in hand it is almost guaranteed to happen. — Difrakt · 1035
Okay, that’s fair. Run enough card draw to rip through your deck and then loop it. Nice. — Death by Chocolate · 912
Building a deck where I can have Easy Marks, Swift Reflexes and some Lucky!(2)s on the bottom of the deck I can have infinite actions! With Drawing Thin, Pickpocketing(2), Take Heart, Guts, Perception and Manual Dexterity to accelerate the combo. Seems pretty broken! :) — Venti · 1
Oh, that wouldn't work as infinite actions because I can only play Lucky! if I am failing a test. Please disconsider. — Venti · 1

If you are short of cash, XP and require significant set up this card can help you to pay for those core assets you desperatly need at a very cheep price (1XP for 3 copies). I have been testing this card in the 19XP enemy management decks (Leo A. and Rita Y.) that I will be taking to Arkham Nights 2019. In the context of stand alone mode where XP is very limited If you don't want more Weaknesses and multiplayer where you tend to have actions to spare (specially as the enemy manager) I would recommend this. On the other hand, If you have acces to Drawing Thin and ignore the updated Taboo List and/or if you alredy have Hot Streak in your deck, then you can definitely skip Easy Mark. Also the reaction effect is very sweet but is very unreliable so I rate this card considering that I will most likely be expending an action to play each copy of Easy Mark.

Alogon · 770

I've played a few decks with this card in them. They have value in decks that run Crystallizer of Dreams or event recursion (Sefina Rousseau, Wendy's Amulet). But outside of that, I'm underwhelmed. Usually I am most strapped for cash at the start of the scenario, where I need 10+ resources to get set up. Getting 2 resources and a card draw feels mediocre. When I don't need the money, I can choose to sit on this card until I draw more or really need the cash, but then it just feels mediocre again.

Other options:

  • Hot Streak: has a larger instant effect, but it struggles with needing to have the 5 resources to play it. Useful in opening hand or needs a bit of resource management once you draw into it.

  • Pay Day: viable in Finn Edwards and Tony Morgan

  • Another Day, Another Dollar: this seems to address the problem of when you need money upfront to help setup. But it's only 2 resources for 3XP. THREE XP! Is it that worth it? I don't know. I haven't played with it yet because the xp cost is so high, in a faction that already struggles to afford its high xp upgrades.

  • Gregory Gry: takes up the valuable ally slot, which is usually preferred for an ally that supports the deck's purpose (Lonnie Ritter in Tony Morgan decks for the +1 Strength, Peter Sylvestre or Dr. Milan Christopher in Finn Edwards decks, etc).

  • Lone Wolf and Investments: good economy cards.

Maybe I'm playing this card inefficiently? Or maybe I'm expecting too much from it?
I see reviews from players that praise this card highly, making it sound like an almost auto-include for Rogues, and I'm not quite understanding the why. 2 resources and a card, vs 3 resources from Emergency Cache. If resources are what you need (which is what I usually need in my decks), then why is Easy Mark so "amazing"?

VanyelAshke · 155
This is an autoinclude for Rogues, or more specifically anyone with level 1 Rogue access, because it replaces itself and because it only costs 1 XP for all three copies. It is the most efficient economy card in Rogue. — StyxTBeuford · 12524
I also, for what it’s worth, do take Gry but never Investments or Lone Wolf (unless it’s a big money build). Hot Steak is fine for Sef. At level 0 econ you can take Faustian Bargain and Gry, but the appeal of Easy Mark is that it’s super action efficient because it replaces itself (and in an already draw heavy deck it becomes even better). Rogues have the second best draw of any class thanks to Lucky Cig Case. — StyxTBeuford · 12524
Oh, and I never take Pay Day, and I even wrote a review for it. Outside of a Borrowed Time deck, it’s very very bad. — StyxTBeuford · 12524
Agreed on Pay Day; Borrowed Time or some other shenanigans (Skids + Ace in the Hole) is the only place to consider Pay Day. For Easy Mark, I'll keep playing with it. Another "tender point" with the card is that it takes up 3 slots. Most decks are only 30 cards, and its hard enough pack everything you want into 30 cards. Now, you need to do the same in 29 cards. I am probably just under-evaluating Easy Mark. I'll keep playing it. — VanyelAshke · 155
Except it’s 3 slots that all replace themselves. You are making your deck tighter which is a major benefit. Mandy Thompson is considered incredibly powerful, but she gives you the deckbuilding choice of 30, 40, or 50 cards. All the most ridiculously OP Mandy decks opt for 30 cards because it makes it way easier to find your best cards sooner. Easy Mark is a small version of that, as is Three Aces from the same cycle. — StyxTBeuford · 12524
I don't follow why it is an autoinclude just because it replaces itself. You still need to spend an action to play it, so it feels like you need a deck that is able to reliably find more than 1 copy at a time. By that logic, wouldn't the whole set of Guts, Manual Dexterity, Perception and Overpower also be autoinclude since they replace themselves as well (with no action spent either)? — flamebreak · 19
@ flamebreak: I would say, the core cantrips are really strong, too. But you still need to pass a test with them. Still, I almost autoinclude "Guts" in mystics, "Perception" in seekers, and so on. "Easy Mark" replaces itself without a test. It also synergizes particularly well with the crystalliser and Chuck, who potentially makes the card fast even without the reaction trigger. (Unless you need his ability on another card this round.) — Susumu · 156

The more I use this card the more I make a mental note to include it in more decks, it just is incapable of under-performing, it has so many forms.

  • "when you would draw a card discard this card to gain 2 resources" well that's just a better* cryptic writings.
  • "when you need money, also draw a card" cards are good, so very very good.
  • "need neither, no problem, int tests are done every turn in every game ever, and agility tests aren't exactly rare either" the dead draw of emergency *I don't want any more* cache is real.
  • "Got that really annoying 1 XP and/or some cards you put in for the first level of the campaign" well myriad solves both these issues amazingly.

and my most recent damn moment.

"you need tons of commits and have a crystalizer of dreams in play already?" well how about this icon and the top card of your deck, with all the other bonuses you get from playing it.

O yea and there a line of text about being able to play it three times in a row or something, that's cool too I guess, but given you can play it fast with chuck who even needs that?

Zerogrim · 203
A must-have if you are considering Double double: it makes your deck 6 cards smaller for just 1XP (so that you can keep cycling it) — Gandalph · 26
I still very much believe this card is just worth taking on any deck that can hold it. — StyxTBeuford · 12524