Asset

Talent. Trick. Illicit.

Cost: 3.

Rogue

Uses (4 supplies).

Spend 1 supply: Evade. You get +2 for this evasion attempt. If you succeed and the evaded enemy is non-Elite, it does not ready during the next upkeep phase.

Drazenka Kimpel
The Scarlet Keys Investigator Expansion #62.
Disguise

FAQs

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Reviews

This card seems pretty amazing, a +2 to evade in most characters who want to be evading enemies in the first place nearly guarantees success, and preventing the enemy from readying next upkeep seems like it would be really helpful for evasion, which is one of the most tempo positive but value negative basic actions in the game. However, this rubs up against the classic problem of middling cards in Arkham: the effect is nice, but not so transformative that it shakes up what your doing, and it is a nonbo with cards that do shake up what your doing, which means that it isn't exactly worth the deckslot despite having essentially no problems in a vacuum.

Specifically, a big problem with disguise in most characters who can take it is that rogues have other far stronger ways to counter the long term value problems evasion has, either via cards like Pickpocketing and Both of the Lucky Cig Cases to turn evasion into a value machine worth doing to the point you actively will keep enemies about to do it over and over, or cards like Dirty Fighting and .25 automatic to turn it into a very efficient kill tool. Or, even better, doing both.

Compared to drawing a bunch of cards and getting cash, or just nuking the enemy for 4 damage at a combat value of +4 for 1 action, exhausting the enemy an extra turn is... nice, but not exactly something you want to do in most cases. VS non-hunters usually an evaded enemy becomes irrelevant, and while exhausting a hunter for an extra turn is good, you need to use disguise at least twice with relevant exhausts and a relevant action you otherwise would like to take to see value for the action cost of playing it alone, forget about the 3 resources and a card, or the greater costs if you are using evade based econ which push the theoretical cost of this card very high indeed.

Usually, if your doing that many relevant evades, things are going so poorly disguise is probably not helping you that much. For the same reason, the tempo advantages of a longer exhaust are a bit questionable. While the exhaust lets you take heat off your primary combatant for longer by allowing you to evade more enemies if the board starts getting flooded (Ex: Using 2 actions to evade 4 enemies a turn instead of the 2 you normally could), if your combat potential is falling so far behind that you need to constantly exhaust enemies in a desperate bid to stay above water... it probably behooves you to just add more cards into your deck, such as good kill events or the aforementioned Dirty fighting alongside a .25 automatic and mauser, to ensure you don't get into that boardstate which is so poor that disguise, while theoretically helpful, probably won't actually get you to the point you win the game with.

There is one character that springs to mind as a good disguise user, and that is Rita. While Dirty Fighting is FAR more her speed, the lack of pickpocketing, lucky cig case, or the ability to combine dirty fighting with .25 auto means that evasions for Rita are mostly just a free 1 damage ping if she intends to kill the enemy, and a turn free of attack when she doesn't. While Rita is proficient at killing things, higher health normal enemies can definitely strain her coverage in a way they don't for 'real' rogues. For example, on a flop where you and another player draw an enemy each, and one of you has a 4 health nasty, a .25 auto+dirty fighting combo lets a rogue evader just nuke the 4 health beast in 1 action, leaving them 2 actions to engage and evade, but Rita doesn't really have that option, as she traded her non-event nuke potential for the consistency offered by survivor cards. Like many survivors, Rita doesn't often fall behind but lacks many tools to catch up, and stalling one enemy for 2 actions legitimately can give her the window she needs to 'catch up' and do a full clear of all enemies. It isn't amazing, nor essential for the character, but its definitely a card that has helped a relatively flat character become a lot more dynamic.

dezzmont · 212
By scenario 6 7 or 8, you’re really digging for static buffs. Disguise lets you evade even in really tough chaos bags, when just having the shoes and Peter out isn’t cutting it. — MrGoldbee · 1453
I think even in a limited collection environment, for Finn (the implied gator in this case), you have better options that don't disrupt your evasion economy as much if you have to handle the rare 4 or 5 evade enemy, and those options also are just better for other things too. For example, Flashlight (3), which Finn can also scavenge, and which solves the 'how do I handle clues' problem to boot which is far more a consistent concern for Finn than 'how do I evade enemies' problem, which he already can do quite easily in 90% of cases even on scenario 6, 7, and 8. In a larger collection, you have well connected (3), high roller, streetwise (3), red clock, Lola and/or Delilah, and just skills in general. You don't usually need to evade at 8 once a scenario, forget 4 times, outside the hardest difficulties, and in those you are much better off using the 'I win this test' tools rogue has, or just using a skill to get the first evasion and then killing the enemy. Why try using pickpocketing on a really hard to evade enemy when almost every encounter deck has a 1-3 evasion chump you can handle? — dezzmont · 212
Those are all XP Cards. Disguise is 0. — MrGoldbee · 1453
Yes, but if by scenario 6, 7, and 8 you don't have the Xp budget for a core 'this is how I pass tests' card, you are doing something wrong. Disguise's potential is probably stronger early campaign, as it can be used in a level 0 deck to make up for the lack of killing power .25 (2) and dirty fighting bring, but it definitely isn't a card I would want to have in most level 6, 7, and 8 rogue decks specifically to help me pass the test. By then, I should definitely have other stuff online that isn't just better than disguise, but anti-synergistic with it. — dezzmont · 212
I was very happy with this card in Rita, but I rarely used it on enemies, I wanted to defeat. The double turn down effect often buys you time to finish off a location and leave a non-hunter there with just one evade, but the best use case (in TFA) is the Boa Constrictor, who is hunter, but Vengeance 2, and with an enemy like that, Disguise buys so much time for you. I indeed also used it vs. the Harbinger, who in her Return-form starts with 4 evade, and still is alert, just for the +2 buff. That's a nice thing, that you can use it against elites, if you just need the buff, or against regulars, if you need to put them down for longer. — Susumu · 366
I found the +2 to be helpful in Kymani on higher difficulties when I needed to massively over-succeed to discard the enemy — mordequess · 55

Used this a few times and it's really good in Kymani Jones on hard difficulty.

The +2 puts you at a pretty good chance of success since most rogues have 4 or 5 agility and enemies tend to have low evasion.

And the payoff is really good. 1 extra full turn to do what you need to do any get away.

The cost is reasonable and comes with a lot of uses. Compare it to Slip Away which costs the same but it's easier to trigger the effect here and you get 4 uses!

fates · 53

Something not mentioned yet: Disguise could be useful in a Trish deck, taking benefit of the exhausted enemies to gather extra clues. I think it's worth considering, and a few decks are already including it. This is especially relevant in higher player counts, when it's common to have 4+ clues in a location, and thus the extra turn with an evaded enemy provides extra clues with less actions.

samarkham · 3

I thought this was expensive and a waste until I tried it in combo with underworld market. It's wonderful for Winifred, alone or in combo with other pieces.

First, it’s a great way to pass agility tests. +2 gets you to seven, more with your boosts. And keeping enemies tapped is as good as defeating them sometimes. If you’re flex, you don’t want to spend all your time with two guns in your hand; this is slotless.

Dirty Fighting and .25 are the perfect combo with your near-guaranteed evade. When you play the aviatrix, you want to bank on massive success, and this is a great starting place. If not, commit it for the symbol and move on with your life.

MrGoldbee · 1453

This card excels at higher player counts (more enemies to manage) and when you don't want to kill them (Forgotten Age). Otherwise I find it rather expensive and slow. If you think you're only going to need it once or twice Slip Away is a much better option.

Oweldon · 38
Evade then fight is a potent build now and Disguise gives you a massive boost to the strategy, see dirty fighting. — Zerogrim · 292

Just as Slip Away may be a better card for you if you only need to evade occasionally, Trench Coat may be a better card for you if you need to evade frequently. Trench Coat obviously provides a lower bonus and uses a slot (and also does not delay readying for non-Elite enemies) but it does come with two health which can be mighty handy.

GeneralXy · 40