Toe to Toe

Event

Spirit. Tactic.

Cost: 0.

Guardian

Fight. This attack deals +1 damage and is automatically successful. As an additional cost to perform this attack, the chosen enemy makes an attack against you.

Sometimes, the only way out is through.
David Gaillet
Edge of the Earth Investigator Expansion #20.
Toe to Toe

FAQs

No faqs yet for this card.

Reviews

Does this work with drawing thin? Is this still considered “initiating a skill test”? If so this’ll be even more amazing with Calvin, because then you can just boost the difficulty of the test to draw cards or gain resources, while still knowing that you will win. Additional plus of using this in conjunction with Counterpunch to just annihilate a monster in a single action.

LilSmac · 8
Yes, this works with Drawing Thin and you could commit Vicious Blow to add damage. This trick also works with Miss Doyle. — elkeinkrad · 485
Wait, where's the skill test you're initiating here? I don't get how this works iwth Drawing Thin, or how you can commit skills — Lailah · 1
There is a bit of ambiguity because the text does not contain the word 'test'. — darkernectron · 8
It's quite late answer... but, I write why Toe to Toe generates the skill test. It's very simple. Toe to Toe states this attack is automatically successful. In this game, what the player success or fail is the skill test. No other game effect do NOT refers "succeed" or "fail". Thus, whenever the effect says "succeed" or "fail", it's always related to the skill test. — elkeinkrad · 485
In addition, Toe to Toe has Fight action designator. There is no statement that you do not skill test, so that you perform skill test like basic fight action. — elkeinkrad · 485

Surprised in the number of reviews that Carolyn or Vincent are not mentioned at all for this card as they are perhaps the best users of it. As test-less damage for them is really good... like really really good:

1) They have one less stat overall so get rewarded more for test-less actions

2) They have one more health/sanity overall so are more tanky for the enemies attack

3) They get rewarded for healing the damage/horror they took

4) They can combo it with Empirical Hypothesis's 1xp upgrade for when you take damage/horror to also draw a card from it

5) For Carolyn she can stick it on Stick to the Plan

So for example, watch as your Carolyn clears a nearby room full of cultists or helps the actual Guardian smack an annoying enemy into the discard pile on demand. All while she grabs a test-less clue, resource, and card per turn (Field Agent, Empirical Hypothesis, Ancient Stone). A support character than can free flex into a Guardian role a few times a scenario all the while actively keeping the act progress going with getting clues and keeping others alive is very strong and this card helps complete that.

McJames · 34

Daniela can use Toe to Toe on health damage enemy to instantly obliterate it without touching the chaos bag, by having the additional cost go to her Guard Dog. Spilled horrors can go to Precious Memento (Former Life) and spilled damages on Daniela if enemy hits harder than 1 damage required for the dog. Dog bites for 1 damage. Dog is considered "you". She is angry her dog is hurt and auto-whack for 1 damage. Then this Toe to Toe fight deals 2 damages, to the total of 4 damages which should kill most annoying enemies. The dog gets Bandages. Memento can be restored perhaps with Relic Hunter + Bangle of Jinxes to help over-succeeding, which would got jinxed as a part of Toe to Toe. The test to over-succeed can be the next Fight or Earthly Serenity (4), which its difficulty is 0 vs Daniela's 4 , which would also restore some chip damages/horrors off Daniela taken while distributing leftovers from the dog and the stone. Handy!

(This combo also needs only 2 packs : Revised Core and EotE Investigator.)

5argon · 9631
toe to toe itself will also always oversucceed — OrionAnderson · 66

Automatic stuff is good. Resist the attack with some soak because I'm not actually sure you're allowed to cancel it with cards like Dodge, because that's cancelling the "cost of taking at attack.

You can commit skill cards, Vicious Blow for example, Nathaniel Cho gets a bonus, Daniela Reyes obviously.

Note, this might seem a steep and risky price to pay for one hit, compared to playing Monster Slayer or One-Two Punch, but automatic hits are worth their weight in gold in hard and expert, where the chaos bag is like a coiled snake, full of terrible tokens.

Most incredibly, it's level 0, a whole heap of charactes can sneak this into their decks to reap the benefit.

Tsuruki23 · 2522
Amazing early game tech for . . . I forget his name, the Cursed Survivor who starts with all 0's. — OrionJA · 1
Calvin. — supertoasty · 38
I don’t see why you can’t use dodge against this… — gazzagames · 7
Also I think this exhausts the enemy as it is an attack not an AOO… which might also be useful… — gazzagames · 7
You can't use Dodge because being attacked is the cost of the free successful Fight. If you cancel the cost, you haven't paid for the product. (You can, however, cancel the damage or horror from the attack.) — supertoasty · 38
@gazzagames enemies do not exhaust because they attack, they exhaust as part of the enemy phase, which just happens to be after they attack in that phase. This card, and anything else that causes attacks of any kind, does not exhaust enemies unless otherwise specified. — Lasiace · 23
enemies do exhaust. Only AOO will not cause enemy exhausted. Other attack actions no matter what phase will cause the enemy exhausted~ — BoomEzreal · 8
See the FAQ, p — codemonkey · 1
Bloody hell...p. 13: Do enemies exhaust after making attacks of opportunity, retaliate attacks, or other attacks (via card effects)?No. Enemies only exhaust after attacking if they perform an attack during step 3.3 of the enemy phase. Unless otherwise noted, all other enemy attacks do not cause that enemy to exhaust. — codemonkey · 1
If you are able to defeat a monster with your attack when using this card, does the monster get to attack you back or is that part of the card cancelled? — HandsomeDust · 1
Being attacked is part of the cost, so it happens before you even get to do your attack. — Lasiace · 23
So another question then can you use counterpunch or similar effect on this attack… assume you can snd then get your auto success attack from toe to toe…. — gazzagames · 7
Yeah, counterpunch should work fine, since you're just interrupting an attack and not cancelling it or anything like that. — Lasiace · 23
what if the enemy is evaded first? still attacks? able to use this card? — Krysmopompas · 358

How does this card (and similar cards that bait enemies into attacking) work with the enemy keyword elusive?

"If a ready enemy with the elusive keyword attacks or is attacked, after that attack resolves, that enemy immediately disengages from all investigators, moves to a connecting location (with no investigators, if able), and exhausts. This effect occurs whether the enemy was engaged with the attacking investigator or not."

It seems as though it would immediately make the enemy move away before you can finish resolving the rest of the card. But I'm not really sure.

bewm_wiggler · 2
The FAQ for Weeping Yurei says you still get to finish the attack if you draw a token that causes it attack you and activate elusive during the skilltest. — Uffruption · 102

How does this work with swarming enemies? Let's say Daniela is facing a swarming 2 enemy (that's 3 enemies total), can she chooses just one of them to attack her to play this card, or the 3 of them?

Thanks in advance

Balin · 33
x) Each swarm card attacks separately when enemies attack DURING THE ENEMY PHASE. x) Each swarm card can be attacked or dealt damage separately, but the host enemy cannot be defeated while it still has swarm cards underneath it. x) The host enemy and all of its swarm cards move, engage, and exhaust as a single entity. => So, no. A swarm enemy does not generally attack as a single entry. It's always usefull reading the keyword in the Rules Reference to clear this questions. — Susumu · 363
Do you mean it's just one enemy attack in this case, or three attacks total? I didn't fully understand your answer, sorry, English is not my first language — Balin · 33
Of course, this does not mean, that you will not get an AoO from each swarm card, should you trigger it. But that's because each swarm card count as a single enemy. You won't get an attack from other enemies, you are engaged with, from this card. Just the one, you are attacking. And you can even put extra damage on other swarm cards, without them having attack you, hence the swarm keyword allows that. — Susumu · 363
Ok, now I got it. Thanks! — Balin · 33
Swarm enemies attack each of there own. If the last paragraph I quoted would be "The host enemy and all of its swarm cards move, engage, ATTACK and exhaust as a single entity", this would be different. — Susumu · 363
Hey, if each swarm card attacks in enemy phase, so Daniela can hit each swarm and host with her ablility? Am I right? — Pawiu14 · 184
Yup — MrGoldbee · 1443
Does the enemy get exhausted after the attack? — Atshen · 7
If the monster dies from this damage, does it still strike back? — IceMagician · 1
@IceMagician The enemy attacks you first, because it is part of the cost. — snacc · 980

I just wanted to add a little note of great value here, since the other reviews here already cover it nicely: when an enemy attacks, they exhaust and do not attack again in the enemy phase. They do stay engaged. Exhausted enemies do not make attacks of opportunity.

Imagine you go toe to toe with an enemy, then you you become besties for the rest of the round because they stick with you even when walking!

It’s weird an I like it. Please correct me if I’m wrong! See rules for enemy phase for the exhaust rule.

Weges · 86
The enemy does not exhaust due to Toe to Toe. The enemy exhaust only if they attack during eneny phase 3.3. All other attack does not cause exhaustion. — elkeinkrad · 485
It seems that another review covers Daniel's ability, but it's not common case. — elkeinkrad · 485
Yeah, it would make Daniela's ability to evade totaly moot and AoO much less of an issue, if the enemy would exhaust when attacking outside of enemy phase as well. Note, that they semi-erratad "Watcher's Grasp" in the Return to Box, because this card let the Watcher exhaust, because it attacks, as if it were the enemy phase. — Susumu · 363

Hank Samson wants, at least that's my believe, flip his investigator card as soon as possible. Since this is done by taking dmg/horror Toe to Teo may be of great use to him. Not only it gets the job done → kill/damage enemy but also gets him closer to flipping his investigator card.

bugiel_marek · 21
You want to flip your card LATE...because you do it too early, you lose. — MrGoldbee · 1443
So long as you properly set up some soak, when you flip your card shouldn't be much of an issue. Survivors have both infinite horror and damage soak in their allies so it shouldnt be hard to stay alive after flipping early. — Spamamdorf · 4
Depends of the campaign. FoHV has quite a bit of direct damage and horror. — Susumu · 363
I think I agree with @Spamamdorf here. Having 5/5 asks to be ready for an early flip anyhow. Luckily survivor got tools for it (Peter & Jessica) and couple of prevents in the form of events. But @Susumu has a point, campaigns with a lot of direct dmg/horror may pose some problems to this - rush to flip - approach. — bugiel_marek · 21
And if you find this approach: flip asap feasible, then you can speed it up with In the Thick of It. This allows you to grab 2 copies of Jessica for the very first scenario. — bugiel_marek · 21