The Black Cat

Finally a card to dump an otherwise unused . How often did I draw an when playing Zoey Samaras and felt betrayed by the chaos back, because I was testing on a Willpower treachery and not on a fight check. Countless time I drew the when playing Ursula Downs and quitly thought "Okay, I have a free move, if I would only need to move right now, which I don't". Any Investigator with a pretty situational effect should consider this. It is Chaos Bag control at its best. It is absolutely worth 5xp to me.

thakaris · 199
Guardians have some of the most situational/least useful elder signs, plus access to trusted which boosts this cards effectiveness by a bunch — Difrakt · 1325
Great one for Norman Withers, especially if he's running max level Shrivelling or Azure Flame. — Krysmopompas · 366
Not sure, if you meant that, but the damage or horror from Azur Flame/ Shrivelling is not a "normal effect" from the token, but an effect from the spell. Since the token is NOT canceled by the cat, it would still trigger. — Susumu · 381
Shining Trapezohedron

This in theory looks like good Mystic card. As a Mystic you already want to stack willpower boosts. This lets you willpower not only to cast spells, but also pay for them. If you get to 6-7 willpower, you are almost guaranteed to be able to play 2-3 resources spell each turn for free. I'd say this pairs well with Jewel of Aureolus, allowing you to reveal more tokens and generate more resources and cards, but they both cost XP, and use same slot. But I can see funny Agnes 2x Relic Hunter build, where you want to use this,Jewel of Aureolus and Heirloom of Hyperborea and play as many spells as possible, while drawing insane number of cards while doing this. This would be deck with pretty large ramp up, but after getting set up, you should cycle through your deck at insane speed.

picollo · 211
Mystics are starting to look like B.A. with all the accessories they have now. "Whut you talkin' 'bout?" — bern1106 · 2
is it possible to lesser the cost of the will test by 1 if you combo it with Robes of Endless Night? — Dukarrio · 2
Yes it combos as it says resource cost not printed resource cost. — Hyperbolic_Mess · 1
Crystallizer of Dreams

Can we get an official ruling on whether The Painted World can be placed under Crystallizer of Dreams? I understand the arguments for and against this in other reviews, but there still seems to be some uncertainty.

My take is that according to the section "Play" in the Rules Reference, TPW is played after you choose a card to copy and pay the appropriate number of resources. You can then activate Crystallizer of Dreams, and only at this time. Then the Painted World/copied event effects are resolved, including a new "Instead of discarding..." effect. Then according to the "instead" section of the rules reference (see below), the most recent replacement (the one on TPW) is used. So the combo doesn't seem to work.

"The word “instead” is indicative of a replacement effect. A replacement effect is an effect that replaces the resolution of a triggering condition with an alternate means of resolution. =If multiple replacement effects are initiated against the same triggering condition and create a conflict in how to resolve the triggering condition, the most recent replacement effect is the one that is used for the resolution of the triggering condition."

jmmeye3 · 632
TPW does the replacement effect while playing, Crystallizer’s replacement is *after* playing, therefore is the more recent effect — Difrakt · 1325
I like that interpretation because I want to try the combo, but the "play" section of the Rules Reference seems to suggest that the card is "played" after its cost is paid and any restrictions and conditions are met, but before resolving the effects of the event. Here's the quote: "Any time an event card is played, its effects are resolved and it is then placed in its owner’s discard pile." This seems ambigious, but to me fits better with playing being separate from both resolving the effects in the text box and separate from discarding the event. — jmmeye3 · 632
It's been debated back and forth and no one can come to a solid ruling right now- strong arguments exist both ways. It's literally just going to have to be FAQ'd. Until then, play this in Sef however it makes sense to you, or just don't play it with her. — StyxTBeuford · 13049
i don't see, where can be any confusion. Apendix I. clearly states, that the card is considered played AFTER its effects are resolved — Adny · 1
I really do not think this is the place to settle FAQ disputes. Threads upon threads, even here, have already gone back and forth over the card. Just wait for it to be settles officially, there's little point in continuing these discussions on DB. — StyxTBeuford · 13049
Mists of R'lyeh

I just finished reviewing the level zero version of this card (see Mists of R'lyeh), so figured I'd take a look at the all-grown-up variety. On its own, I think it's pretty great -- for two resources, you get an asset that almost guarantees you five successful evade checks, and some additional mobility to boot. But of course, the real question is not whether this card is good, but whether it is so much better than the original Mists that we'd pay 4xp to upgrade into it. And I think the answer there is no.

This card is identical to the level zero version but for two changes: you get an additional charge, and you get a hefty +3 to the evade check.

Let's take the extra charge: how often are mystics going to need to evade five times in a scenario? Rarely, I would think. So while the insurance is nice, I think I'd prefer to use my xp on other things.

How about the +3 boost? Obviously that is much appreciated. A 4 on 3 check feels very different than a 7 on 3 check. But again, I wonder if it is really worth a massive 4xp. I feel like I could keep the original Mists make do with some static will boosts and the odd pitch from the hand.

In short, this card seems a little TOO premium. I might opt for a trim that provides, say, a +2 to the will check and no extra charges for 2xp. But this one tries to sell me more than I really need.

Though if you're taking Arcane Research then it only costs 2 XP, which seems fine if you already took the level 0 version anyway. — StyxTBeuford · 13049
Yeah, and if you have two AR's (and resulting mental trauma), you may be steering clear of Shrivelling anyway, thus opening up a slot for the Pea Soup Fogs of R'lyeh. If I were playing a seekerly mystic mainly looking to stay out of harm's way, I'd feel very safe indeed with this in play. — Mordenlordgrandison · 464
For anyone who has access to both (which is just Akachi and Marie I think), I prefer Suggestion. Suggestion [1] is 3 fewer XP for a comparable skill bonus, and Suggestion [4] has that nifty attack-cancellation ability. Of course you do lose out on the free movement, and the extra buck isn't nothing. — Yenreb · 15
I would be rather surprised, if we don't see "Mists of R'lyeh (2)" in "Return to Forgotten Age". "Rite of Seeking (2)" was also in the corresponding Return box. — Susumu · 381
I was right. There is now a picture of all the cards here: https://imgur.com/a/QVN351E However, turned out, that even the 2 XP version has the extra charge and instead a less great +1 boost. Still, the option to "free upgrade" it over 4 scenarios might be worth it, after you upgraded your other priority spells faster. — Susumu · 381
Mists of R'lyeh

If you're a mystic on an awkward date (this ghoul does NOT look like his eHarmony pic...), the Mists will get you out of it more times than not. It's a great level 0 asset. Not too expensive at 2 resources, and with impressive longevity at 4 charges. How good is the ability to use will instead of agility? For Agnes, Akachi, Patrice, and Jim, that's a +2 on the check, with the skills unmodified. With Mateo, Marie, Daisy, and Luke, it's a +1. For Diana, variable. And for Norman, a hefty +3. And that's not counting the many will icons your mystic likely has in hand, or the odd static boost from David Renfield or Holy Rosary.

And the good news doesn't stop there. After the mists cease to swirl, where are you? Well, you could just be right where you were -- but you don't have to be! If you pass the evade check, you get a free move as well to an adjacent location. If you use use all your charges (probably not likely, granted), that's an impressive four free actions.

Like lots of mystic cards, there's a side effect if you draw one of the ugly tokens, but it's not too bad -- you lose the least important card in your hand.

It may be handy to compare the Mists to your other evade options as a mystic. They are mostly events:

Blinding Light: The same cost as the mists, but single-use. It dings your ditched enemy for a damage, but the side effect is a bad one -- a lost action. This makes evading on your second action a risky proposition. Even if you succeed, you could lose your third action, meaning that you'll start your next turn right back where you started: engaged with an enemy and needing a card to help you evade it, which card is now in your discard pile.

Banish: With this event, you don't just evade your enemy -- you punt it to the other side of the map as well. In many situations, that's as good as defeating it. But it costs you an XP. And even if it didn't, Ethereal Form and the Mists seem better to me -- Ethereal Form gives you a better shot at the check itself (without succeeding which, nothing matters), and the Mists give you four uses instead of one, while still letting you put some distance between yourself and your befuddled foe.

Bind Monster: If you enjoy watching flipped turtles try to right themselves, you'll probably like this card. But if you aren't evil, the 3 resource, 2 xp cost will likely turn you off. Sure, it theoretically lets you pin an enemy down for the whole scenario, but given all the various checks you'll have to pass, all the resources and experience, you may as well just put the poor thing out of its misery and shrivel it a couple times!

Ethereal Form: Not enough to swathe yourself in mist? Then BECOME the mist instead! When you let your too too solid flesh melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a dew, your evade check is almost guaranteed to succeed, since you ADD your will value instead of swapping it in. And you disengage with everything else, too. In fact, if you're mobbed, this card gets BETTER, because you can choose the enemy with the lowest evade to target. If your arcane slots are likely to be taken up by other spells, this is a good event to have in your back pocket.

Summary: None of the mystic evade events really impresses except Ethereal Form. If you're running a lot of other spell assets, consider a copy or two of Ethereal Form for your evasion needs. If not, it'd be a high-stakes mistake as a mystic to miss on a take of the mists... and that pun-spree's going downhill fast so time to sign off!

The main issue with Mists of Ryleh is that most Mystics can't not run 1-2 combat spells and 1-2 investigate spells in the Arcane Slots in their deck. This card is great but you will probably have to run Sign Magick to get it into play. — The Lynx · 993
I disagree with that. Mystics often run 4-6 spell assets and Mists is perfectly fine if you have other ways to get clues or do damage. In solo this card gives you move compression as well which is really strong. I really love this card in Luke for example because he can just use events to get clues. In fact with Dream Eaters events this has become more true. I've run Mists with Patrice, Luke, Akachi, and Jim, and I think it does incredibly well without Sign Magick. There's really no issue with Mists in my mind- it's an incredibly strong card and it's probably underplayed because people focus too hard on using Shrivelling and Rite instead of other options. — StyxTBeuford · 13049
I'm running this in Zoey for TFA. The only contest for arcane slots there is Enchanted Blade. And there are plenty of enemies you'd rather evade and leave behind in this campaign, rather than kill. — Yenreb · 15
I'm playing mystic and off-class mystics these days that dont focus on weapon spells, so the spell lineup is Investigation spell + Evade spell, rather then the usual Rite + Shrivell. I'm very impressed with the results. — Tsuruki23 · 2577
From the perspective of someone playing only with cards up to Forgotten Age - this card seems REALLY good. You can add it to your Rite of Seeking + Shrivelling package, and now you're way more consistent at actually being able to play the game. No Shrivelling? OK, you can now at least Evade enemies until you find one. The free movement has been straight-up action compression most of the time. — Blackhaven · 9