As I understand here, you attach a relic card when she enters play only? So there is only one attached at a time? The EACH relic bit has thrown me off.

As I understand here, you attach a relic card when she enters play only? So there is only one attached at a time? The EACH relic bit has thrown me off.

I 'm actually surprised noone has writen a review about this card yet, so I thought I'd write one myself. I think this card is actually quite good. Mystics don't usually have a good source of card draw and this card is really good for that. But it doesn't offer only card draw, it can also offer resources, which are usually not a big issue for Mystics; you can run Forbidden Knowledge and/or David Renfield and have a satisfying source of resource generation, but the best part of this card is that it can give you a certain amount of resources and/or cards, what you need at most at the time you use it. The only other card that uses the language "gain X amount of this, or X amount of that or any combination thereof" is Emergency Cache (3) and both of these cards offer you the choice to get what you need at most at the time you use them, and I think that's kind of neat. Now this card can't exactly be used whenever you want; you have to wait the right time to use it, but when you use it, you get a really good bonus.

I think a lot of Mystics will usually have plenty of good targets for this card. A spell that has run out of charges or that you don't need in play anymore, a used-up Forbidden Knowledge, an Arcane Initiate that you don't want in play anymore either because you 've drawn many of your spells, or because you want to get rid of that doom (or maybe both), but I think the best target by far for this card is David Renfield. It basically becomes another card that allows you to abuse him. Why use Forbidden Knowledge or Painkillers to kill him after he has accumulated a lot of doom?? Use this card instead and get even more benefit out of him!! Now Moonlight Ritual and Calling in Favors are still superior choices for abusing David Renfield but this card adds up to these options and it can be a better inclusion in some decks.

I think this card is especially good for Marie Lambeau because she usually wants to have a lot of spells in her deck so that she makes good use out of her special ability and she 's the no. 1 candidate to use David Renfield. It might be bad for Akachi Onyele because she might want to keep her spells in play so that she can recycle them with Spirit-Speaker and it doesn't really comply with decks that use Recharge. But I think it can find a good place in many Mystic decks.

I tried this card in my pure seeker Ursula Downs deck that focused on mobility. I was playing on STANDARD difficulty. In my experience this card is mediocre or even bad if you plan to use it just to enhance your economy. The problem is that in order for this card to be worth, you have to use it to play a card that costs 4 resources or more, because if not you are just saving 2 resources or even less , which is quite bad considering that Emergency Cache gives you 3 resources without the risk of having to pass a test to get them.

The fact that the only seeker asset that costs 4 is Dr. Milan makes things even worst because you want to have him in play before using Unearth the Ancients, not only because of his reaction ability but specially for his +1 intellect. What I mean is that without Milan's +1 Intellect you are probably just sitting at 5 or 6 intellect at best and this makes passing the 4 investigation test quite a gamble without committing any more resources or cards (which would make playing Unearth the ancients meaningless). This situation gets even worst on Hard or Expert difficulty and if you consider the negative affects of failing a test if you draw the wrong chaos token. This card is therefore almost useless to summon the only asset it would be worth using it for, namely Dr. Milan.

The bonus card if you use it to play a relic is also mediocre, considering that there are not much seeker relics as of now (3 I think) and they cost 3 or less resources.

Some smart player would say: Hey but you can use this card in combination with Ursula Downs ability and the asset Fieldwork to make it worth but the answer will still be this card is bad, because if you play Unearth the Ancients with Ursula's ability you are not getting a free action or making it fast, remember you could have most likely used Ursula's ability to investigate normally, get clues and get closer to victory. Fieldwork is good to have indeed if you are using this card, but having to pull a combo to effectively use a card with a mediocre effect is obviously not worth your time and effort.

You can of course also use this card in combination with Rex Murphy's ability and a cheap asset like Magnifying Glass and even maybe a Double or Nothing to get some free clues in a high shroud location. I personally haven't tried this cheese strategy yet but I think that it isn't great either (and I am not even sure if the rules allow it). It lacks consistency because you need to much conditions to pull it off and there are allot easier ways to investigate in high shrouded locations for seekers.

In conclusion I think it is a pity that such a thematic card has no place in the current meta. I hope that in the future an XP upgrade will make it worth considering.

Dark Prophecy is an interesting card. For 1 resource, you basically have the ability to hunt for a "bull shit" token on command. While you are not guaranteed to draw one with a 5 token pull, the odds do greatly improve.

Why would you want to draw a bullshit token? Perhaps you are hoping to have lots of options on a test to improve your odds of success. Maybe you are being defiant and trying to ignore a bad result. Or maybe you are hunting for a trigger off of a niche card like hypnotic gaze or song of the dead.

Usually, this card will let you succeed at a test when you need it, but it isn't always worth the slot.

IMHO, it justifies its slot when paired with other effects like Premonition, Glimpse the Future or Defiance moreso than it does to support cards like Song of the Dead.

In its shell of bag manipulation, it is a pretty neat card, but I don't know if all mystics would bother with it.

I can see Leo Anderson being a popular investigator with a lot of people. There's a lot to like about him: he's got strong stats in the areas that many players care about the most, he's got a focus on ally cards (which are normally considered quite important), and he's got an easy-to-understand card pool containing some good Guardian weapons.

I'm surprised there haven't been more reviews on him on this site, so I thought I'd put in my two cents.

Stats

Leo Anderson's stats are as follows:

• 4 - This is a great defensive stat. Leo doesn't currently have many ways to actively leverage this stat, but Guardian investigators usually have notoriously low sanity pools, and failing tests is one way to take a lot of sanity damage.
• 3 - Given that Guardian investigators are normally here to fight and not investigate, this is actually a pretty reasonable stat. With a Flashlight in hand, he can manage to pull a few clues through investigate actions.
• 4 - this is what Guardian investigators are usually here to do! This stat is on par with most of the other investigators in this class. With a weapon in hand, Leo is able to go toe-to-toe with most enemies.
• 1 - This stat is pretty low. Leo Anderson might go a whole scenario without passing a single test. However, this shortcoming is manageable if you work around it - normally by fighting instead of evading, for example.

I'm a big believer in the idea that, in most cases, having high stats and low stats is better than having all average stats. I think Leo Anderson's stats are very good. This is the stat distribution Roland Banks wishes he had!

Leo's health and sanity totals are fine. Sanity is typically more desirable in most Arkham Horror scenarios, but a lot of damage is accumulated from failed tests, so I think Leo benefits from having a larger health pool.

Overall, Leo's stats help him power through and get stuff done. He can use his , his to ward off horror-inducing treacheries, pick up the occasional clue with his , and his health lets him endure tests failed by his low .

Deck Requirements

Leo Anderson has access to Guardian cards level 0 through 5 and Rogue cards level 0 through 2.

The Guardian card pool offers a lot of excellent options for combat. Because of his ability, Leo is going to want a lot of allies, and Beat Cop and Venturer are standout level 0 ally cards for him from the Guardian faction since they improve his ability to fight and use items. This class also gives him access to a lot of good weapons. I think Leo Anderson is most effective when he focuses on his strong Guardian cards.

Rogue cards might seem like an awkward fit for an investigator with a stat of 1. However, Leo wants ally cards, and ally cards can be expensive - Rogue cards can be a great way for him to boost his income. Lone Wolf is a great option for him since it can greatly increase his resources over the course of a scenario, and Sleight of Hand can let him get more mileage out of items with limited uses for a very cheap price. While he doesn't have access to Hot Streak (4), Hot Streak (2) can normally set him for the game if its played at the right time. Of course, there's also the ever-popular Leo De Luca - I can see a Leo/Leo team-up being an attractive option for a lot of players, especially since Leo Anderson can play allies more cheaply.

For card upgrades, Charisma was practically made for Leo Anderson. While it's possible to play this investigator without having purchased the Essex County Express mythos pack, I think it would make things much more difficult. Leo Anderson wants allies! Charisma gives you the ally slots you need to get them into play more easily.

Signature Cards

For his unique cards, Leo Anderson has a fairly strong signature card with a relatively mild Weakness card.

Mitch Brown lets Leo play more allies which is very important. I often consider using Calling in Favors to try and draw him out sooner rather than later. Mitch can only host non-unique allies, though, which is a knock against Leo De Luca. However, I like that it subtly focuses players and rewards them for creating an expedition of generic, faceless men. While Mitch doesn't do much on his own, he enables you to do things like play a Beat Cop to help you fight while you have a Venturer keep your firearms reloaded, and it's those situations where Leo really starts to shine.

Bought in Blood can be a little annoying, but it is not as bad as other signature Weakness cards like Cover Up or Crisis of Identity. If Bought in Blood causes you to discard an Ally from play, it's almost like an automatically-failed Crypt Chill. If it causes you to discard Ally cards from your hand, it's almost like a milder version of Amnesia. If it can't do either of these things, then you're either playing Leo Anderson in a very unusual way or you're already having terrible luck! In that case, it's a dead draw, which is pretty much just a one-action penalty with the potential for it to come back and get you again later. As far as Weakness cards go, it's generally pretty manageable when it shows up.

Special Ability

In my opinion, Leo Anderson has an awesome ability. While you probably won't be able to trigger it every turn, it does offer some incredible efficiency. It saves an action and a resource every time! That's pretty nice. It also lets Leo play an ally asset without triggering an attack of opportunity. This is a big deal - it means Leo can let an ally get soak damage/horror, get discarded, and then get replaced with a new ally without getting hit with any extra attacks. In the right situation, this can be incredible.

Leo Anderson is a very difficult investigator for enemies to kill. Right from the start of a campaign, if he can play Mitch Brown early in a scenario, he can get 3 allies out. Ideally, these allies will be played out over a few turns so he can play them at a discount and without using actions. With most of Leo's allies having 2 damage soak and 2 horror soak, that means he essentially has an additional 6 soak for damage and horror. That's as much as Calvin Wright and Lola Hayes each have for their base damage and horror tolerance! (A caveat - while he might be a good candidate for Charon's Obol, his inability to run away from enemies still makes this a risky purchase for him. When Leo Anderson fights, it's a fight to the death!)

Leo Anderson's ability is ok. It normally lets you pass the check, which is nice, and you occasionally get an ally draw out of it, which is good too. Not the best ability but still solid.

Conclusion

Leo Anderson is a different kind of Guardian. Roland Banks is about killing enemies as a means to get clues; Zoey Samaras and Mark Harrigan are about killing enemies as efficiently as possible. Leo Anderson's specialty is, ironically, being a Survivor. He can take all of hits that Arkham Horror throws at him, absorb them, and then fight back. His playstyle is a little different, but very fun - you often do feel like you're managing an expedition when you use him! It's all about managing your items and choosing when to deploy allies at a critical moment. He fulfills his Guardian duties different from the others in his class, but he still does them effectively, and so I'd definitely recommend giving him a try.