Honestly, I've not used Guard Dog a lot, but it seems to me that it's the Guardian ally for non-guardians. It can efficiently do 3 damage over time, for a reasonble cost, and it's quite nifty being able to invoke an attack of opportunity, soak it up and kill off an enemy.

However, let's face it, if you're a guardian, you probably just want to beat things - so Beat Cop is a more natural fit. And if you've got access to guardian level 1 cards, you could upgrade to Brother Xavier, who offers more, and still does 2 damage. He's better in every way.

So this leaves the place that Guard Dog shines as being with investigators with poor/moderate strength, and access to guardian level zero only. That's pretty much Jim, Rex, and Pete, and the latter two have better allies to take priority.

With Jim, though, Guard dog is pretty good, and it's health/sanity balance nicely compliments Jim's, and gives Jim a good way to do a little damage when he needs to.

Brother Xavier is a bit weird. Why would I want +1 in a Guardian card in my Ally slot? And he can soak up other investigator's damage. And if he's discarded he does damage, a bit like a Beat Cop (0)? What kind of strange combination is this?

Yet the thing is ... he's really good. That +1 helps an investigator like Roland or Skids avoid sanity damage from the encounter deck. 3 health / 3 sanity is awesome, and he can tank for anyone in his location. And should things get desperate, and you find yourself in combat, he can use all his health and sanity and then do a meaningful amount of damage to get you out of trouble. In short, he's awesome.

I think Brother Xavier is actually better than Beat Cop (2); only slightly more expensive, cheaper in terms of XP, and can do as much damage. Beat Cop only wins if you really need that +1 combat, and can live without that extra sanity and willpower...

Like Beat Cop (0), his major advantage is to combat, so fighting investigators like Roland and Zoey might want to think about him. For your 2 XP you get:

• +1 Health and +1 Sanity over the level zero Beat Cop.
• You can take damage (rather than discarding) to do 1 point of harm.

However, I'm not sure he's worth the investment of XP. Granted, he might be for Roland, who has quite unbalanced Health and Sanity; Roland could use him as a sanity sink, and use his damage to do additional harm to enemies, and he's a little cheaper than Brother Xavier which Roland likes (as he's often strapped for cash).

Beyond Roland, though, it seems expensive in terms of XP over Brother Xavier

Beat Cop - for when you absolutely want to rough up a witness, accept no substitutes.

It's surprising that there have been no reviews, given that he's such a staple in Guardian decks.

It's major advantage is the +1 , and I did treat it as an auto-include for fighting investigators. That bonus can make a big difference. However, there are some good alternatives.

The discard ability could be useful to get that final point of damage, but it's an expensive card to discard to do that. Beat Cop (2) is better in that regard, as you can just assign damage rather than discard, but it still feels an expensive thing to so. I found that more often I'd sooner use that point of mental and physical damage to soak up a hit.

Alternatives might be Guard Dog, which is much better for dealing damage. I find it more useful for less combative investigators, but with Zoey and Roland (and possibly Skids), I'd sooner they were fighing; the +1 bonus lasts longer.

Also, if you're using experience, Brother Xavier is surprisingly good. You don't get the +1 , but he's an awesome shield, provides +1 (which helps Roland and Skids particularly), and does 2 damage when he takes that final hit.

Whilst regular Opportunist is rather useless, this has a use, albeit a very specific one. Pushing checks where you want to get the benefit for beating by 2 or more.

Opportunist is the perfect support card for a combative rouge who relies on .41 Derringer or Jenny's Twin .45s or Switchblade to do their thing in combat. Throw it in and guarantee the boosted success, and then get the card right back to use again. Double up when you find the second copy for even greater chance of success.

Skidd's and Jenny throwing upgraded Opportunist cards with one of the weapons above are effectively throwing Fight 6-7 at every opponent they come across. Excellent in standard difficulty games.

Just pray you dont get that