Card Reviews · ArkhamDB

Best way to prevent instant death :

: Alter Fate (1 or 3xp) or Devil's Luck (1xp)

: nothing trivial, maybe Cheat Death (5xp)

Orphic Theory allows you to ignore the card text before it triggers. Use it within your investigation phase then draw the last cards of your deck. Beyond the Veil won't trigger, meaning it will stay in your threat area. But you're temporarily safe.

Delay the Inevitable can only be played during your turn so be cautious. Play it then draw the last cards so it will trigger immediately. Then your discard pile is shuffled into your deck during upkeep phase, before you have a chance to draw it again (and die instantly).

Alter Fate: same thing, use it during your turn then draw the last card(s). The 3 xp version won't cost an action. Devil's Luck is more efficient, but it will cost you 1 xp each time it is used if you want it back (unless you bought Déjà Vu).

5/31/25

Ayoross · 3

"Cheat Death" won't do much. It doesn't help, if you have to take two or more damage, than you could take onto your investigatorcard. There is a better option in the campaign for 0 XP, but you have to win scenarios for it: Dr. Francis Morgan, who can soak you 4. He in fact let me survive BtV as solo Agnes once in a run, when "Deny Existence" and "Alter Fate" where not yet printed. — Susumu · 382 5/31/25

Ah, indeed, I#ve overseen that: "Cheat Death" could indeed help, if you try to get defeated by other means before your deck runs out! Then you would discard BtV without triggering it. — Susumu · 382 5/31/25

You forgot Devil's Luck (1). — AlderSign · 423 5/31/25

@susumu : you are wrong about Cheat Death : You cannot overkill or be overkilled. Once you drop to zero, that's the sum total of the damage you will take. Cheat Death can be used to heal you back up to 2/2. — Ayoross · 3 5/31/25

You are wrong in that regard. See RR: Dealing Damage/Horror — Susumu · 382 5/31/25

When an investigator [...] is dealt damage and/or horror, follow these steps, in order: 1. Assign Damage/Horror: Determine the amount of damage and/or horror being dealt. Place damage and/or horror tokens equal to the amount of damage and horror being dealt next to the cards that will be taking the damage/horror. [...] All damage/horror that cannot be assigned to an asset must be assigned to the investigator. 2. Apply Damage/Horror: Any assigned damage/horror that has not been prevented is now placed on each card to which it has been assigned, simultaneously. [...] After applying damage/horror, if an investigator has damage equal to or higher than his or her health or horror equal to or higher than his or her sanity, he or she is defeated. — Susumu · 382 5/31/25

You would be right, that an asset cannot be "overkilled" (except by damage or horror that is dealt as specific direct to an asset, like there is with some treacheries targeting allies). That's because of a paragraph, I shortened in the last post: "An asset cannot be assigned damage beyond the amount of damage it would take to defeat the card, and cannot be assigned horror beyond the amount of horror it would take to defeat the card." But the investigator card will take any amount of damage or horror, like previously mentioned. And the case of being dealt "equal to or hight then..." is covered for investigators. — Susumu · 382 5/31/25

@Susumu: you forget a part of the text : « When an investigator is dealt damage, place damage on the investigator card and/or on any of that investigator’s asset cards that have health, up to the amount of damage each card can hold. » — Ayoross · 3 5/31/25

Besides: if you could not overkill an enemy, like you said, the basic weakness "Unspeakable Oath (Bloodthirst)" would be unsolvable. — Susumu · 382 5/31/25

Where do you have your quoted sentence from. But it does not contradict my take: Assets can only be dealt damage (or "hold") up to their health and sanity value, any excess has to be dealt to the investigator, who can "hold" unlimited damage or horror, but will be defeated, if it is equal or higher than the given stat. — Susumu · 382 5/31/25

@susumu: As I understand the rule : you get 10 damages, your investigator has 7 health. You assign 7 to your investigator, the rest on your assets, and some damage remains. You have still being dealt more damage than your life, but at the end there are only 7 tokens on your investigator card. Same for Unspeakable Oath. — Ayoross · 3 5/31/25

That's not like it is written: First, assigning damage to assets is entierly optional. Even if it defeats you, you can take it on the chin. (Which might be conveniant in cases, where it is very likely, that you get defeated by horror otherwise soon, and a physical trauma suits you better than a mental one.) But the RR mention, you first assign damage next to your cards, then apply it to your cards. And you apply all, which has not been prevented, no matter how much it had been. Since your assets are limited to their printed value, you have to assign and then apply all the rest on your investigator. — Susumu · 382 5/31/25

Well, the Learn to play manual (my quote) seems to say that you cannot assign more damage to a card than its health value, not only assets. The RR seems to say otherwise, all this is not very consistent. Actually, I see no reason your actual health could go negative, even skill checks cannot. And Cheat Death would be mostly useless. — Ayoross · 3 5/31/25

Have you noted this in RR : « if an asset has damage equal to or higher than its health » They use the same prophylactic wording. — Ayoross · 3 5/31/25

The Golden RUle includes: "If the text of this Rules Reference directly contradicts the text of the Learn to Play book, the text of the Rules Reference takes precedence." My take seems also to be the interpretation of others in the community. See the comment by SGPrometheus on a review for "St. Hubert's Key" by Snakesfighting 6 years ago, which has been agreed on by other people in the community: "That would be neat, but it doesn't quite work that way. Your flashlight analogy doesn't apply; horror doesn't reduce your sanity, you simply put "x" horror on your investigator. Then if your total is higher than your sanity, you're defeated. If you have this in play, you'd discard it, heal 2 horror, then if you still have more horror than sanity you're still defeated." — Susumu · 382 5/31/25

Susumu is definitely correct. Hank Samson getting overkilled has been a thing since he came out. The Learn to Play isn't a good source for official rules. — Eudaimonea · 6 5/31/25

Beyond the Veil

Bolas

Wanted to add that this card is worth reconsidering now that we have Marion Tavares. You can use her ability to make Bolas draw one card, evading with her 4 Combat instead of 3 Agility is great, and you can commit her signature! Also Its a good placeholder to upgrade into Sweeping Kick once you get XP.

So yeah its nice to see this card have another home.

5/30/25

tactis · 22

"Where's the party?"

This card seems completely broken for Power word focused Alessandra build (without taboo, taboo makes Power word almost useless for Alessandra).

Just think about it: you have an upgraded Power word waiting in your hand and you go looking for that elusive party you've been hearing about all night. You get in through the door after sweet-talking the bouncer and get your pick of the people mingling inside. After flirting with some sweet but poor-looking people you finally settle your eyes on the king of the room. You spin his head around and before he knows it, he's completely in your power.

He's quite likely good enough for almost everything, be that giving you clues on your investigations, globbering your enemies and healing you physically and spiritually. A perfect slav... I mean companion for the evening.

5/29/25

Teos · 74

Antikythera

The card works best if you do the precision seeker build, but it’s just super powerful on its own in any build, just throw it in your seeker deck and grab extra clues left and right or draw cards and gain resources non-stop, no need to build around it.

DakonBlackblade · 13

Yeah, it's crazy that you get something almost all the time. — AlderSign · 423 5/29/25

Bewitching

Seems kinda weird. How do I find a card in my top 9 that matches an attached card when the attached cards are face down? I know it's a bit pedantic, but I guess they wanted the draw to be random, but the search to have to find an attached card. Fine, but you'd have to know what's attached, which you cannot.

5/28/25

AussieKSU · 1135

But You know wich cards are attached to Bewitching: Before drawing opening hand You searched the 3 Tricks and attached them to the permanent! So, You know very well which cards are facedown!! :-D — Piegura · 7 5/29/25

Q: Can I look at facedown cards beneath or attached to other cards I control? If I use the [lightning] ability on Ancestral Knowledge to draw one of the cards attached to it, am I allowed to know what each card is, or is it random? --- A: Unless an effect states otherwise, investigators are allowed to look at the other sides of facedown cards beneath or attached to cards they control, such as Ancestral Knowledge, Backpack, and Diana Stanley. If you are given the ability to draw, play, or interact with one of those cards, you may look at them to know which one you wish to draw or play. This is not true for facedown cards that are attached to encounter cards or placed facedown via a scenario effect, such as swarm cards, empty space, or tomes beneath locations in the challenge scenario Read or Die. In these instances, players cannot look at the other side of those cards unless instructed otherwise. - FAQ, v.1.9, June 2021 — Susumu · 382 5/29/25

Thanks! — AussieKSU · 1135 5/29/25