Well-Maintained

I think Jury-Rig raises the usefulness of this card even further for the 6 investigators who can take both without buying Versatile (and I wouldn't buy Versatile for a single copy of Jury-Rig):

While I typically don't like assembling a three-card combo, Old Keyring + Jury-Rig + Well-Maintained is pretty strong. You won't get Well-Maintained back, but you will get the Keyring and Jury-Rig back.

Lantern only gives you -1 shroud instead of Keyring's -2, I think it's better for the Investigate combo because of no Uses (X) and you can discard the Lantern on demand, which allows you to wait until the combo is assembled and then "recharge" your Jury-Rig when empty.

Any Firearm + Jury-Rig + Well-Maintained is a great combo with this and Jury-Rig, as it allows you to recharge the Firearm AND the Jury-Rig, and obviously synergizes really well with Act of Desperation.

A Well-Maintained Backpack is really interesting for investigators who need to find their items and supplies, and / or those wanting to search their decks (anyone who can take this and Astounding Revelation or Surprising Find)

Well-Maintained says "Attach to an Item asset you control." Backpack says "If there are no cards attached to Backpack, discard it." As written, Backpack would not self-discard if Well-Maintained is attached. You would need some other means of discarding such as playing a second body slot over the first Backpack. — Pugtato · 1
@Pugtato correct, you need to "push" a backpack out with another body slot item. — DrMChristopher · 467
Survival Knife

Card text : " After an enemy attack deals damage to you during the enemy phase..."

Interaction against Retaliate enemy :

  • Retaliate : "Each time an investigator fails a skill test while attacking a ready enemy with the retaliate keyword..."
  • Enemy Phase : "... Upon completion of dealing the attack (and all abilities triggered by the attack), exhaust the enemy." (Though it would ready soon in Upkeep Phase, that's why no one bothered turning the enemy 90 degree after it attacks.)
  • Triggered Ability : "A ability with a triggering condition beginning with the word "after..." may be used immediately after that triggering condition's impact upon the game state has resolved."

Performing Fight against Retaliate enemy therefore has 2 potential outcomes in the case that you fail :

  • If it is exhausted before you trigger , Retaliate is disabled at the moment you are testing Fight against it.
  • Inversely if it is still ready while you are testing your Fight, you will get hit if you fail your counter-attack.

(More related rules : "After", "Deal")

Unfortunately "After an enemy attack deals damage to you" is not the same as "after an enemy attacks you". After damage dealing step it is still not exhausted yet. (Someone also asked before)

You will have to take Retaliate attack if you fail the test.


Therefore :

  • Enemy that gains debuff while exhausted, you will not gain that advantage during the counter-attack. (e.g. spoiler Carcosa enemy)
  • Sometimes exhausted enemy gains a buff. (e.g. spoiler Carcosa enemy, spoiler Carcosa enemy) Your Fight will not have to account for these buff just yet, as it is not yet exhausted.
  • Massive : "The lead investigator chooses the order in which these attacks resolve. " "The massive enemy does not exhaust until its final attack of the phase resolves."
    • If counter-attack can defeat it, choosing one with Survival Knife to take the hit first and defeating it saves the rest of the team from getting hit.
    • If it is both Massive and Retaliate (e.g. spoiler Carcosa enemy), Retaliate is not disabled no matter the knife holder take the hit earlier or the last.

Also unrelated, but Interpreting "You" When Taking or Being Dealt Damage : This FAQ has direct reference to Survival Knife so worth a read.

5argon · 9623
Good catch, but I think many people, including me, do not realize that it's possible retailate attack is not generated due to enemy's exhaustion. I believe this review will be more interesting if the backstory is given at the start of the review. — elkeinkrad · 485
I've been cobbling together a parallel back Roland deck for Scarlet Keys and are wondering if this will make me able to snipe the Coterie assassins out of the shadows? I'm reading the rules and nowhere does it say you can't attack the enemies in the shadows. — Chillstad · 34
Grim Memoir

This card is absolutely wild. It's incredibly efficient for the price, with the most easily searchable keyword in the game (Research Librarian, Whitton Greene), gives a +2 boost at level 0 on an item which is unconditional, and further boosts the most important resource in the game; card draw, all the while giving 4 uses for 3 money for a single hand slot. Fingerprint Kit exhausts and has 3 uses while only giving a +1 boost and costs 4 resources. Further, the uses are secrets, which, while this isn't a strong contender to boost the uses, the fact is you can very easily with Astounding Revelation or Eldritch Sophist, or Truth From Fiction. Did you need more handslots to hold it and get more boosts with Magnifying Glass? Arcane Enlightenment is right there

In Daisy this feels like a no brainer because she has the extra action just to use this. Harvey loves this because its an easy and reliable way to proc an activation of drawing a card during his turn. Minh can use it to keep powering her Skill commitment engine. Ursula can also trigger it using her extra action. This feels good for Trish, and Joe, and Roland as well. Hell, if you're clueving with Jenny, Charlie or Lola it seems like a no brainer. Darrell may want this over test-at-0, just for card draw. Mandy likes it, Norman, Rex looooooves the +2 boost. Everyone who can take it should consider it. The fact it doesn't exhaust can make for incredibly powerful turns with Amanda if she has a Deduction under her, if you set up a turn to just investigate with this 3 times going bam bam bam. She needs a little bit more of a boost than the others perhaps, but its crazy how efficient this is compared to any other asset at level 0 that has the Investigate keyword on it. Even Luke who has a higher brain stat, could respec to using this for the first few scenarios going standard seeker with Dr. Milan and Magnifying Glass and this for test at 7 until he gets more XP to dump Sixth Sense (4) or your spell of choice. He can even be running Perception and Deduction with this and be perfectly fine until he gets some 10-20XP.

I could compare this with Cryptographic Cipher, but that at least has a potential of gaining you 3 free investigates. But dammit I will compare, because this gives you 4 investigates you were going to do anyway, with a +2 (where the Cipher had a -2 to shroud on the action) and you can draw an extra card most of the time. It costs the same amount of resources, and has 1 extra use. The power creep is real. The closest comparison in fighters is Glory. Guardians or any fighter have very few benefits at level 0 the way this just gives it to you. The upgraded Thompson turning bullets into money, or On The Hunt getting you money for killing, or the upgrades on Runic Axe. Outside of Investigator powers like Tony's Bounties or Zoey's engagement, there simply is no comparison with how well Seeker cluevers get rewarded compared to Guardian fighters.

Once again, Seekers simply receive cards that straight up reward them for doing what they do best in the most efficient way. Even if there were an upgrade for this, I have no idea what it would need to add to make this better, because I could see this being in a deck from campaign start to campaign finish. I would run this over Magnifying Glass simply because I get the boost, and if I'm drawing more cards, I get to my skills such as Deduction or any of my other good cards much faster that it's irrelevant.

The Scarlet Keys had so many good cards for every class, and many archetypes, but this is subtly one of the best and I could very well see it as a new staple.

Yeah I definitely could've seen this card being 2 or 3 xp — Nenananas · 251
Honestly, this strikes me as a bit too good. Like you said, it rewards Seekers for doing what they want to be doing anyway, an the opportunity cost (forgoing Magnifying Glass) isn't as great as one might first think. Honestly, I don't think taboo would be unjustified for it, either chaining or making it exhaust to use. — NightgauntTaxiService · 392
an easy upgrade would remove the secrets and you would be able to use it infinitely or until something terrible happens — brkndevil · 19
Otherworldly Slaughter

If someone whats to know the translation of the gliphs:

come you did what do to here again you are nothing; timeless, forgotten, a figment, a shard of a fractured memory; but here, so much more; a promise, a signatory, a blood-inked curse in a covenant of tear drops ever swimming ever falling ever drowning in thoughts in memory in time; and it, it is the final err, it is the shell reign; and your thoughts, they are its and it is you; coin-sides, both end all and nothing at once, all at once, all at once.
Call for Backup

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?

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