Surprising Find

Skill

Fortune. Research.

XP: 1.

Seeker

Myriad.

When you search your deck and Surprising Find is among the searched cards: Put it into play in your play area. You must commit it to the next eligible skill test you perform. If that test is successful, draw 1 card. (Max one Research ability per search.)

Jesse Mead
Where the Gods Dwell #278.
Surprising Find

FAQs

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

Q: What happens if you trigger the Research ability on Surprising Find during a skill test, but before committing cards? (for example, by using Guided by the Unseen, No Stone Unturned, Practice Makes Perfect, non-taboo Mr. "Rook", or Knowledge is Power on Old Book of Lore during the player window before step 2 of the skill test.) Does Surprising Find get committed to the current test, or does it need to wait until the next time a test begins? A: The next time. To satisfy the condition “the next eligible skill test” on Surprising Find, you must commit it to an eligible skill test that was not already initiated. If it’s discovered during a skill test, it must be committed to that skill test. (September 2023)

Last updated

Reviews

Meh.

This thing directly competes with Astounding Revelation and +1's are easier to come by than chunky resource boosts and bonus secrets.

What Surprising Find does is thin your deck to a rather insane level, it's what you do to mitigate the decision to build a 50 card Mandy Thompson deck or if a lengthy campaign has stuffed your deck that was already using Astounding Revelation with half a dozen extra weaknesses and story cards.

The fact that you dont draw an extra card unless you hit it with a search effect is a real problem for this thing. It'd actually be somewhat playable if the Draw were'nt locked into the search.

So, outside of 50-card Mandy, stay away.

Tsuruki23 · 2527
I took it in "Parallel Skids" and it was great. He can't take "Astounding Revelation", but can trigger searches with Lockpicks and PMP. Incredible value, to play with much more than 3 Aces. — Susumu · 366
I meant of cource LCC (3) instead of Lockpicks, but they help for deep searches. — Susumu · 366
I would avoid this card with Mandy as we want to avoid drawing cards as much as possible with her. I think Surprising Find goes great in a Practice-Makes-Perfect deck with Amanda Sharpe. — Portwills · 1

It's fine! Obviously, this is great for Mandy. And I dare say for a 40 card deck which I think is the best number for her.

I found that later in the scenario, I got no Research abilities, these replenish them, and basically with Easy Marks - 40 cards becomes 30, and aIso faster.

Don't judge it too harshly, so cards are made for certain characters. These are the ones for Miss Thompson.

ambiryan13 · 177
Or literally anyone else who searches their deck every turn. I haven't actually played them in Mandy yet, but any Seeker or secondary Seeker who goes deep on search will enjoy this card. — Death by Chocolate · 1447
Agreed. Used this in Trish, it was awesome ;-) — NarkasisBroon · 10
If you find this using Practice Makes Perfect, does it get committed to that test? — PanicMoon · 2
No, PanicMoon, the text states that you commit it to THE NEXT TEST, so if you get it while performing a skill test, it will only be commited to the next one. — anjopec · 74

I want to emphasize, what I have already mentioned in a comment to another review: this is a great card for parallel Skids! First and foremost, because he can take this as a Fortune, but not Astounding Revelation. Also, he has no access to Ancestral Knowledge, which might very well be another nail in the coffin for most other investigators interested in this card. If any of the cards get randomly attached to the permanent, they lose their purpose.

This card was insane for Skids before the current taboo, which removes Three Aces from the game after used. I think, I assembled them 4 or 5 times in a single scenario of The City of Archives, with the help of Practice Makes Perfect and a certain location of that scenario. But even if you now don't go PMP with Skids (which you probably still should), he has great search potential with Lucky Cigarette Case (3) alone, and Surprising Find will make cycle through his slim deck so much faster.

Susumu · 366

Note that the September 2023 FAQ entry stating that "If it's discovered during a skill test, it must be committed to that skill test" is not entirely accurate, at least according to this response from FFG:

Q: "Hello! If I see Surprising Find when I search my top three cards from Eureka! During ST.7, does the Surprising Find commit to the current test and draw me a card for its success?"

A: "Thank you for your interest in Arkham Horror: The Card Game. No. Eureka’s ability resolves after the point in which you can commit Surprising Find to the skill test; there is no longer an eligible skill test for it to be committed to. You’d have to commit Surprising Find to a future test. Feel free to reach out to us if any more questions arise!"

In other words, there appears to be an indefinite moment between ST.3 - ST.7 in which the current skill test ceases to be "the next" skill test.

Holy Outlaw · 268
It's not about it ceasing to be "the next test" it just simply doesn't allow you to break the normal rules of a skill test by committing more cards after it is already over. — Spamamdorf · 5
No, that’s not the reason. On 4/5/24, I asked, “ Hello! I hear that you have ruled that if Surprising Find is discovered during a skill test, it must be committed to that skill test. Would that be true even if it were discovered by Practice Makes Perfect in the window after cards are committed in ST.2? Thank you.” FFG answered on 9/4/24, “ Yes, Surprising Find must be committed to that test, because its own ability says to do so. Through the Golden Rule, card abilities can override the default rules of play, including how cards are normally committed during step 2 of a skill test.” — Holy Outlaw · 268
Note that the skill test is not over until after ST.8 and the question is about ST.7. If the current test is “the next test” during ST.1 - ST.3, and if the 9/4/24 ruling that Surprising Find commits immediately and waits for nothing is accurate, there must be some indeterminate moment between ST.3 - ST.7 at which the current test ceases to be “the next.” — Holy Outlaw · 268
Writing on behalf of a friend, whose name is The English Language. The current skill test is never the next skill test. Not in ST.1, not in ST.7, and not in ST.22. Rulings to the contrary are too stupid to waste brain space or word count on. That is all. — Eudaimonea · 5
You said "no" then proceeded to not at all disagree with what I said. The ruling you listed says Practice makes Perfect breaks the rules and allows you to commit a card when played, Surprising Find does not have an effect that asks you to break the rules of skill test timing on its own. If it makes it easier for you: try to think of it as "the next time you are allowed to commit this card, you must". — Spamamdorf · 5
I think we’re talking past each other a little. The ruling I quoted says that if Practice Makes Perfect finds Surprising Find *after* the part of the skill test when cards are committed, it still commits. After ST.2, there is no window when cards commit, and Practice Makes Perfect does not commit Surprising Find, so the part of your most recent response I don’t understand is, even if I read this card the way you suggest—which would be an errata, not an interpretation—when does that “next time” arise? During ST.3? ST.4? ST.5? When is the magic moment, if not during ST.2, when cards are committed via standard means? — Holy Outlaw · 268
We're not talking past each other, you just aren't parsing the words in my post. Cards can make exceptions to rules, this card does not make one, PmP does. — Spamamdorf · 5
I encourage you to re-read FFG's ruling from my first response to you. It says that the text of Surprising Find requires it to commit. Then I encourage you to re-read all of your statements in this thread, which declare that Practice Makes Perfect requires Surprising Find to commit. — Holy Outlaw · 268