Call for Backup

Event

Favor. Synergy.

Cost: 1. XP: 2.

Neutral

One at a time, in any order, if you control a...

- card, you may move to a connecting location.

- card, deal 1 damage to an enemy at your location.

- card, discover 1 clue at your location.

- card, heal 1 horror from any card.

- card, heal 1 damage from any card.

Adam Schumpert
Edge of the Earth Investigator Expansion #129.
Call for Backup

FAQs

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

  • Q: Do neutral cards count as a class for the purposes of Synergy cards? A: No. Neutral is not a class; it indicates a card that does not have a class. - Edge of the Earth Investigator Expansion Frequently Asked Questions section

  • Q: Can Call for Backup used to remove damage / horror from locations (or other unusual cards) that can have damage / horror placed on them for scenario mechanic reasons? Can it be used to heal damage/horror from cards without health/sanity? (E.g. The Necronomicon) A: Unless explicitly stated otherwise, cards without a health value cannot have damage healed from them, and cards without a sanity value cannot have horror healed from them. When Call for Backup states that it can heal “any card”, that card must be able to be healed. The Necronomicon cannot be healed. (October 2022)

Last updated

Reviews

An extra synergy card so that the payoffs for those cards aren't simply two copies of a one-use event (or asset or skill). Instead, it's two copies of two events.

At maximum capacity, it's a solid enough event. Move, deal one damage, pick up a clue and heal 1 damage and horror from any card is very solid. But it takes a lot to get there, and though it's the expansion of multiclass cards, it's still pretty hard to find a way to enable every class with useful multiclass cards. Add in team-play and cards like Teamwork and Black Market and it gets a fair bit easier, but it's still hard to plan around completely, and takes a while to ramp up.

Over all, I think you mostly want to run this card if you have access to either multiple good synergy cards due to a subclass, if you already have reasons to be running the tri-class cards, or if you synergise with the effects on the card. Ursula with any rogue card in play can get a free clue and an investigate, and pop some easy healing in for good measure if you build for it. Trish Scarborough will always see this card as a move, then pick up either two clues or evade an enemy for free, as long as you included Shrewd Analysis in your deck at no cost. That's probably good enough without tacking on some healing or damage. Nathaniel Cho sees one damage as two, which makes it a bit punchier. His limited deckbuilding means he can struggle to max it out, but he also very much likes Gang Up, so there's a reason to try and make it work. Carolyn Fern pays the effect back and has a lot of ways of getting multiple classes into play, and can take Close the Circle, Gang Up and Join the Caravan. Having a method of healing from a distance is nice, too.

SSW · 209
I disagree that Cho like Gang Up at all. It is a Fight event with the spirit trait, but that is all it has going for it. As a mono class ‘gator Cho is already the worst at achieving synergy, and there are VERY few multiclass guardian assets that work with his playstyle. The bonus Combat is rarely useful to him, and the bonus damage is very rarely going to be worth the xp, resources, and set-up compared to Monster Hunter, One-Two Punch, and many other options. — Death by Chocolate · 1447
I'd agree if the tri-class cards didn't exist, but Prophetic is already very good for Cho, giving bonuses for the free events that don't boost fight like Monster Slayer, and paying for the expensive ones that do give boosts. And that alone, once in play, gets Gang Up to a 5 damage event for 1 exp. — SSW · 209
I feel like the operative classes for this card are Seeker and Guardian, ideally plus Rogue as the 1 move adds significantly greater flexibility, in Hard+ play. The damage & clue-find are testless. That aint bad! The heals are nice and all, and perhaps go well with Guardian as they can buffer the AOO this will trigger if you start engaged (another reason why Rogue for the move is valuable, as you can initiate the event in a separate room to avoid AOO and move in to deal dmg/cluefind). — HanoverFist · 719
Having tried gang up on Nat, I found it unreliable. If you can get Prophetic out early, that's good. If you can't get Prophetic out, it's a dead card sitting in your hand that you simply can't pay for. — suika · 9413
According to https://arkhamdb.com/rules#Ownership_and_Control you control all the cards in your hand, deck and discard pile. — david6680 · 64
Had been answered on other synergy cards, but while this is technically true, card abilities can only interact with other cards, that are in play, unless they state otherwise. So there is no "synergy" with cards in deck, hand or discard pile. — Susumu · 366
Does the "heal 1 horror/damage from any card" applies only to the cards you control? Or you can heal ANY card of any investigator ir any other card in Play that hace health/horror ?" — Rafael · 27
@Rafael: I would say its pretty clear - it really is ANY card, you don't need to control it or be at its location. Making this the most flexible heal ever (but still most of the other effects are more impact-full in most cases) — AGAZUR · 1
I think people are sleeping on this card for mystics. Scroll of secrets, brand of cthugha, divination, and prophetic are all good cards in their own right. Blur is available although niche. Dexter can take rogue cards including Eon Chart. The card seems worthwhile if you can reliably hit on three of the modes. The ability to heal testless on any card in play is particularly amazing. — SpicyNugy · 2

I think my favorite thing about this card is how it shows that all along, the REAL clues you were searching for were The Friends You Made Along The Way!

If I'm not mistaken (and I absolutely could be) I think I recognize Naomi, Peter, and Warren in there from Dunwich! (Not sure who the big fella with the staff is.)

HanoverFist · 719
It also looks like a misfit group of Left 4 Dead survivors XD — 5argon · 9935
sorry to disappoint, but These für are Models after certain CoC LCG Players: https://arkhamhorrorfiles.fandom.com/wiki/A_New_Day — PowLee · 20
@PowLee That is maybe even cooler. — Death by Chocolate · 1447

"A player controls the cards located in his or her out-of-play game areas (such as the hand, deck, discard pile)." Core rule book page 16

So this card is not actually difficult to activate at all, but insanely easy. You need one copy of a multi-class card that does not remove itself from the game. Or take an extra couple of seconds to think about deck construction with the Dunwhich investigators' 5 lvl 0 cards of any class deckbuilding option. Or play an investigator who gets to build cards for his deck based off traits.

Fully activated this card is one of the best in the game, measured in action economy, effect per card draw/resource, or value for experience, in all metrics this card is among the best.

After having realized this I doubt I'll end up playing many decks that don't feature the synergy cards ever again.

EntropyEJ · 247
I'm afraid that while you do control cards in your discard pile, from abilities in the RRG "Card abilities only interact with other cards that are in play, unless the ability specifically references an interaction with cards in an out-of-play area." So call for backup doesn't see your cards unless they are actually in play. This is the same as the reason that if an encounter card causes you to discard an asset you control you can't just look in your deck for an asset, discard it, and be like "yep, that's resolved" I think if you check the faq on corrosion you will see this faq — NarkasisBroon · 10
It's on the faq for crypt chill actually, not corrosion — NarkasisBroon · 10
@NarkasisBroon I have 2 objections to that interpretation of how this works. — EntropyEJ · 247
1 I would argue that in this case control is actually verging on a specific reference to the out-of-play areas since that is part of the definition of control. — EntropyEJ · 247
2 This isn't actually an interaction. It's not trying to do anything with the cards in the out-of-play area. It's simply referencing what is in the players Control. If this isn't a case where the cards in the players control also includes cards in the out-of-play areas, the I can't see when that would ever be the case. And if it's never the case then that part of Control's definition could never come into the effect, creating something of a rule paradox. Which makes me thing that your interpretation of the rules are incorrect. — EntropyEJ · 247
If your interpretation is actually the one that FFG intended as the way this card should be played then I think they need to issue a ruling on this. — EntropyEJ · 247
Page 16 in the rules, Ownership and Control: A player controls the cards located in his or her out-of-play game areas (such as the hand, deck, discard pile). And Call for backup says: if you control a class card. And the card never say in-play or assets. So this is the rule that you need to reference. — Kitescout · 1
I think the interpretation of the class cards needing to be in play is the more obvious interpretation... but they could have easily made that more obvious by saying it on the card. From reading over the ability rule that Narkasis mentioned, the big question now is whether or not this is a "Constant Ability" as it's obviously not the others, and it's only abilities that don — Vlishy · 3
*it's only abilities that don't count out of play areas. If it's a constant ability then you must have it in play, if it's not then you just have to deck build around it, would love a ruling on this... — Vlishy · 3
Other cards that use the same "you control" language as the synergy cards: 1) Whitton Greene. Are you saying she now gives you the bonus just because you have a relic/tome somewhere in your deck or discard pile? 2) Able-Bodied. Does it count EVERY item in your deck? Or only the ones in play? 3) Can you use Calling in Favors on ANY ally in your deck, or do they have to be in play? This is not a new question and I don't understand why this misinterpretation is so prevalent suddenly when it comes to synergy. If you apply the rules holistically instead of cherry-picking them there is zero question here. — MiskatonicFrosh · 342
Miskatonicfrosh is correct. Entropy, sorry but this is Arkham Horror. You’re trying real hard to get away with as much as you can but the game won’t let you :) Think about Crypt Chill. So are you going to discard an Asset from your discard pile? LOL The answer to the question of control when applying to interacting card events has been clarified as cards in play. You can’t just use one section of the rule book and ignore the other. The ability section discusses this as well as the fact that this specific question has already been rules as applying only to cards in play. Happy Arkham horror-ing! — rainman1646 · 2

Some desk and upgrade planning is required. But this card can be so insanely amazing and fun with Double, Double. It's probably one of the strongest card to double, it seems to me.

A way to make this combo work with ease-

  1. pick Jenny Barnes
  2. fill your splash with various permanent colours (ex. Geared Up, Down the Rabbit Hole, Forced Learning or even Shrewd Analysis, etc.)
  3. buy Double, Double. Pray that you draw it. Use LCC or LCC lv. 3 to find it, etc. Buy CFB.)
  4. enjoy the doubling effects! Enjoy the whooping gang effects of move 2x, deal 2 damages, discover 2 clues (both can be from different locations), heal 2x horrors and damages for $2 and an action.

Another way for Rogue to get their colour synergy going is for course to upgrade to Bruiser, Crafty and/or Antiquary. Getting the mystic synergy is probably must difficult for most Rogue. Some Rogue build wants neither Antiquary nor Blur.

Well this is at least a 12xp combo. So, ya, it better to be pretty great.

liwl0115 · 41
Antiquary gives 2 ressources per round for Favor card... Precisely what costs Call for Backup with Double, double. — Emmental · 128
Jenny is actually much stronger with this combo now, since Taboo-ed Scroll of Secrets is fast and Thorough Inquiry can be comboed with Double, Double to draw 10 cards for 3 actions. Jenny can easily abuse Green Man Medallion to purchase Double, Double and two Copies of Call for Backup by the end of the first scenario, and she's also one of the best investigators to get assets from all 5 classes because of her access to 5 out of class cards. — Telosa · 53

Official rules response on Call for Backup, re: the potential of healing damage/horror from cards without health. (You can't.)

Q:

Call for Backup reads, in part, "heal 1 horror from any card" and "heal 1 damage from any card". Can these effects be used to remove damage/horror from locations (or other unusual cards) that can have damage/horror placed on them for scenario mechanic reasons? (If the answer is "yes", that should really be errata'd out, or else it can break numerous scenarios.) More generally, can it be used to heal damage/horror from cards without health/sanity? (E.g. Daisy's Necronomicon.)

A:

Thank you for your interest in Arkham Horror: The Card Game.

To answer your question(s):

We are ruling that, unless explicitly stated otherwise, cards without a health value cannot have damage healed from them, and can cards without a sanity value cannot have horror healed from them.

When Call for Backup states that it can heal “any card”, that card must be able to be healed. Daisy’s Necronomicon cannot be healed.

Feel free to reach out to us if any more questions arise!

Sincerely,

Alex Werner, FFG Game Rules Specialist

Rules questions and their answers are reviewed by both the Arkham Horror: The Card Game design team and the Game Rules Specialist.

anaphysik · 95
isn't that inconsistent with Ancient stone (Minds in Harmony) being able to heal daisy's necronomicon (from a previous FAQ under Minds in Harmony) — aurchen · 1
Hello! Can you share and forward the official ruling email (including questions and answers) you received to arkhamdbfaqs@gmail.com? This is the mailbox of Jared, the official FAQ maintainer, and he will update the verdict you received into ArkhamDB! — Jacksonsu · 1

If I played this card while engaged does it provoke an aoo? What if I use it to deal 1 damage and kill the enemy? What if you play this card, use it to move to a location and discover a clue, but you get engaged by an enemy as soon as you move to the new location? I'm assuming that just the playing of the card itself will provoke an aoo.

Magicalwzrd · 6
Yes, it will provoke an AoO. But not, if you mover into a location by th rogue ability and engage it, only, if you are already engaged while initiating the play sequence. Besides, there are better places to ask rules questions, like BGG or Discord. — Susumu · 366

Does this card can interact with permanent cards?

So, for example, if a play with "Ashcan" Pete and I start the game with 1 card of each other class than survivor (Down the Rabbit Hole, Forced Learning, Geared Up and Underworld Support) and play a Survivor Card and Call for Backup.

What will happen?

flaviodupim · 1
Yes, you controls your permanent cards. This card is very good in a Lola deck with permanent cards from different classes — king_doragon · 1
You also control your Charakter sheet so most Charakters control at least one class by default — Tharzax · 1