I think Joey "The Rat" Vigil was the most unusable rogue card in the game until this version of him appeared in weaver of cosmos. Now, "The Rat" is one hell of a card, especially for Tonny Morgan. It is not only the cost that is reduced (4 to 2) but also a new fast ability that is added (Discard an Item asset from play: Gain two Resources) This new card gives a new refreshing strategy to rogues to get money super fast by discard assets from play that have no charges/supplies/ammo and play a new one (or even an exact copy of the same card from you hand) by paying the cost plus 1 resource. And it is fast! This opens a whole new world for rogues, as they can now explore a whole new bunch of cards that where never used. Such as Colt Vest Pocket. Also "The Rat" can create some sweet combos that can change the game drammaticaly - I will explain what I mean later on. I play the Dream Eaters B Campaign with Tonny and Mandy. Tonny is an amazing investigator with insanely number of actions and he is heavily combat oriented. Some weapons such as .41 Derringer and Switchblade are essential for him and other such as Chicago Typewriter not so much. He has also 2x Tony's .38 Long Colt. In his collection of guns, I have added 2x of Colt Vest Pocket and using the ability of Rat, this card has now a meaning, because it is a gun bomb which is used normally for 3 attacks (maybe 4 if you put a bounty in an enemy) and before discarding it at the end of the turn, you just discard this asset and get the money back like you have never played it. The +1 damage is sweet and the bonus +1 strength gives a great 6 to handle weak enemies like Rats, Zoogs and overall enemies with Swarming. With this combo you won't need to use your best arsenal against them and you keep bullets for the fatties. Think Rat as Sleight of Hand, but with a reward. The advantage of Sleight of Hand is that it gives you the asset again in your hand so you can circle it again, the advantage of Rat is tha he gives you resources. You can choose which scenario is better for you or you u can use both because Rat is an unlimited source of Sleight of Hand. This can literally save you when you draw an encounter card and you are low on ammo. Also, another thing is that if you want to play a new asset that takes a slot that is already occupied, instead of discard it and get nothing from it, you can use Rat's ability and benefit from both cases - get 2 resources and play this asset fast! Finally, a great combo with Rat is to circle a gun which has Well-Maintained. Just put this sweet fast card underneath the gun and when it is out of ammo, discard it, get the 2 resources and then take the gun back to your hand, to play it again (fast or not) or even commit to a test. And the best part for Rat is that both his abilities can be used UNLIMITED in the turn. You don't exhaust him!!! Combine him with Charisma and Delilah O'Rourke and Tonny becomes a killer machine!

Carolyn Fern absolutely loves this card and it’s paired supposed “weakness.” She can clue with her base stats and then hulk out midway through a scenario to take on the inevitable enemies. Meanwhile, your likely horror-healing deck thrives off the dependable horror from the paired weakness, feeding your Keen Eye stat boosts with the generated resources.

Also, unless I screwed up the scenario rules, it lets you absolutely CRUSH one of the scenarios in FA.

I guess in a Mandy Thompson's deck, that weakness becomes a very powerful card. If we draw Through the Gates (with Mr. "Rook", for example), we'll trigger a search in ALL THE DECK, but that "search" will be canceled if we have Shocking Discovery in the deck. So... we'll have removed two weaknesses at the price of one card from the deck and one card from the encounter deck. I really think it's worth it.

Do all parts of that "as if" from the FAQ apply here?

Don't attacks of opportunity occur before you reveal the chaos token? ("An attack of opportunity is made immediately after all costs of initiating the action that provoked the attack have been paid, but before the application of that action's effect upon the game state.")

This card specifically says "You are now investigating as if you were at the chosen location", so surely the attacks of opportunity don't happen here?

An incredible card when teamed up with my current investigator: "Ashcan" Pete. He often gets a free test he doesn't care about when Duke takes him off to go off investigating at other locations. (When he uses the Duke investigate action to move to another location and investigate, he is effectively using one action to "move", but if there are no clues there, he still investigates, and only minds failing if there is a nasty chaos token - he's just indulging his trusty dog, who's going off sniffing around the place.)

It is especially strong when teamed up with a few more survivor cards, such as one or two Drawing Thin, to "improve" the chances of failure, by making the test 2 or 4 steps more difficult of the test, and add further economy to a test that effectively didn't even cost an action. I love the way it turns the game on its head and you really don't want to draw an elder sign, in case you waste your card.

On top of that, that you can use it with the upgraded Grisly Totem to return Take Heart to your hand afterwards, and do the same thing again next round!!

I'm currently playing my (non-taboo) "Ashcan" Pete deck and have just upgraded my Grisly Totem. Together with Rabbit's Foot; Relic Hunter, and two Drawing Thin. I'm looking forward to getting them all out, using a "free" action to investigate and deliberately fail. If i get it right, for the cost of exhausting a few assets and moving, I'd get 6 resources(2 from each Drawing Thin, 2 from Take Heart, draw 3 cards and get Take Heart back into my hand. (or using the other choice for Drawing Thin, gain 2 resources, draw 5 cards and get Take Heart back).

Do that combo for a couple of turns in a row and your hand is full of cards, with resources worthy of a rogue, ready to boost the skill checks you want to succeed with Scrapper; Fire Axe; Plucky or Dig Deep; and all those lovely skill cards you just drew.