So my initial thoughts. Lets have a conversation (and tell me where your opinion is different).

Trench Knife: Feel similar to how I feel about Blackjack. The lack of damage bonus makes it a no go in my book. I could see some uses for the special ability of not taking OOO from engage actions, but it would be pretty rare and would need some cards that synergize with it that don't exist yet.

Ambush: I like this card a lot. Better in a 3 or 4 than a 1 or 2, but a good, solid card. Cheap on the XP to.

Charles Ross Esq: Trying to get my head around this guy. He is basically one free resource a turn, for items only but you can use it on other players. Frankly Milan and his 4 resource cost has been grating on me lately and I am looking for alternatives. I am thinking Roland may like this guy. Jenny may become an all star with him.

Forewarned: This one is just very good.

Dario: He seems okay. He is pretty pricey, but a bonus to two skills is pretty nice. Skids, Jenny and Lola could use that.

Sneak Attack (2): Its definitely better than the level 0 version. I am not 100% sure that I would spend xp on it with other options, but I suspect the Rogue in my game will drop it in his deck pretty quickly.

Storm of Spirits: This is probably the best card in the pack. (Forewarned and test of Will may be better but no one remembers things that you cancel before it goes on the board.) Again probable better in a high player count game.

Book of Shadows: For most characters, this would just be a path to the level 3 version of the card and its kind of meh like the l3 version. With Daisy, this card gets a lot more impressive. I can really start building an effective Daisy caster deck with a number of the low cost mystic cards from this cycle while relying on her 5 Lore (with minor bonuses) to grab clues.

Fight or Flight: A good, solid card. Not sure where I would put it, but looks solid. Cards that can boost fight or evade are pretty effective. The lack of skill icons is notable. (I believe the only others are Lucky and Emergency Cache).

A Test of Will: Probably my favorite Exile card to date.

Devil's Luck: Okay maybe this one is my favorite exile card.

Calling in Favors: If I ever get around to making an Ally deck, this will be there.

Though I agree on most accounts I have some differing opinions, First Dario, having played rogue multiple times and many always wishing for more money Dario is stellar just in his gain 2 resources, granted its conditional but it is still a very strong ability, especially for rogue, and my other major disagreement is Calling in Favors is the star of the pack, it is a search, return and cost reduction all in one, it has a place in any deck that likes to use more than just one ally in it, and in guardian, survivor and seeker it is an all star in almost every deck, if you dont think so I encourage you to use it in your multiple ally decks, I have used it in 5 different decks and I was never sad to see it drawn and almost always used it that turn to huge gain.

hm, I had some different takes.

Trench Knife: Like you, don't see much use for it.
Ambush: Not a huge fan of this one either. I'd like it allright but for it's 1 xp cost. I dont want to pay XP for this, not even 1. I have more than enough to spend XP on.
Charles Ross Esq.: This guy i like a lot, especially in Jenny, but basically any time he makes logical sense.
Forewarned: Great.
Dario: eeeh... Sorry Dario. I don't like the idea of having to keep 10 resources around just to trigger his passive text. The 2 resources is more compelling but he is pretty expensive already to get out, so you have to use this a bit to make up for it. Well and good, but the killing blow on this card for me is that he competes directly with Leo de Lucca.
Sneak Attack (2): Pretty decent with high player counts. I feel the use of this card is pretty much entirely dictated by player count. I'd run it in 3 or 4.
Storm of Spirits: Bleck. Sorry!!!! I know I'm in the minority here, but I really don't like this card. It's too expensive. 3 resource cost is too much, there, I said it.
Book of Shadows: Here's an interesting one. I mean everyone has mentioned, "wow, this works for Daisy!" I'm just thinking. ".... mmkay. So what?" I mean... what spell does Daisy like here? Not Rite of Seeking, she doesn't want to sub in her WP for her intellect, even if she can pick up an extra clue... Clarity of Mind? Alchemical Transmutation? Am I rocking your world yet? No? Okay then.. Shriveling? You can get lots of charges on a spell that's honestly only mediocre for you. And you're giving up your book action you could be using for Encyclopedia, or Old Book of Lore, both of which are bananas. It's an interesting puzzle piece. Once we get a spell that's strong on Daisy this is going to be good but. .... but not right now. Not right now...
Fight or Flight: Not bad. Not much for me to say right now, I like it with Zoey and a Shotgun.
Test of Will: Probably the best exile card we've got. Unfortunately you have to play Survivor to get it (I kid, I kid! Agnes and Minh can have it too.)
Devil's Luck: Nice
Calling in Favors: Well... I don't really love it. I've run it a bit. It's much harder to get to work than you might think. 6 games I've played it so far and it's been good for absolutely nothing. Seriously, wasn't even useful one time. Disappointed here.

1 hour ago, awp832 said:

Storm of Spirits: Bleck. Sorry!!!! I know I'm in the minority here, but I really don't like this card. It's too expensive. 3 resource cost is too much, there, I said it.

In the class that has Uncage the Soul, I find costs almost irrelevant. Setup for Mystics is pretty cheap nowadays, so it's easy to have 3 resources hanging around.

especially since mystics also have two other level 0 resource acceleration cards, that are remarkably good.

1 hour ago, Starbreaker1 said:

especially since mystics also have two other level 0 resource acceleration cards, that are remarkably good.

Alchemical Transmutation is remarkably good? o.O

3 hours ago, Network57 said:

Alchemical Transmutation is remarkably good? o.O

Depends. It set me up for nearly an entire game just based on a single use. I got a great pull, so got max resources, but was exactly what I needed at the time to clear a hallway with Storm of Spirits. I'd like to see a leveled-up version with a higher ceiling on resource returns, but it's not a bad choice.

Also: I have feelings bout these 2 specifically.

Trench Knife could be especially good on someone who gains effects from engaging. I believe it could be useful on Zooey in some circumstances, but not a ton. It become more valuable when you are stuck with a pure seeker/pure guardian combo that travel together. The problem is that it is almost always a better strategy to split up to make better time and so it's not often that you have to pull another enemy off of someone because you aren't close. It's too situational.

I like the idea of Calling in Favors with Ashcan so that you can reset Duke's health/sanity pool. That's a super good nearly free heal, and you won't have to choose whether to put Duke back out or the ally that you're lowering the cost on because Duke doesn't cost an ally slot. Unless I got something wrong, I think this is perfectly valid and stupid good.

It could be really useful on cards that require damage to trigger effects also because, again, a free 'heal' so to speak. I wouldn't pass it over without giving it another look.

Dario seems like a tough include unless you are really focusing on resources (and why? unless you have a ton of cards to play...) Might be good in a deck that relies on free-trigger abilities that cost resources or in a deck with teamwork, but seems difficult to make work for you. You'd think he'd be good with Sefina, but I find trying to figure out how to get to 10 resources without spending any on her spells a little too much effort as by the time you have yourself set up, how many turns have you wasted to get there?

My thoughts on a few:

Trench Knife: Don't see this being better than Taunt if you're worried about engagement risks.
Ambush: Very nice for later play-throughs when you know something big and nasty is going to spawn on top of you. As a general defense mechanism it's not bad, but I'm not sold.
Ross: Really nice, but he's going to have a hard time competing with Milan. Usable with Charisma, I think - combine Milan's reliable resource generation with the ability to pay for other people's stuff, and it's going to be a nice late-campaign play.
Book of Shadows: Agree with the above that it sounds better than it really is for Daisy. It might be nice for Rite of Seeking though, giving her a Rex-like acceleration. Lots of pieces to put in place, though.
Storm of Spirits: Great when you need it, but those times are going to be limited. I feel like it's a card that's going to spend a lot of time sitting in your hand.
Dario: He'll basically stall out a Rogue, making you treat 10 as zero. It's a really solid stat bonus though. I think I'd like him best with Jenny. Skids will have issues, since you need to spend resources for those extra actions. [Edit: I think you approach Dario as a sort of inverse Dark Horse]
Fight or Flight: Really nice full-turn boost for fighty Survivors. Don't see Agnes, Minh, or Wendy getting much use out of it, but it's very nice for Yorick or Pete.
Calling in Favors: Spectacular with Guardians and all their damaging allies. Use up a few health on a Beat Cop or Guard Dog, then swap it out for a fresh one. I took this approach (lacking Favors, obviously) with Yorick and he worked pretty well.
Various new cancels: Obviously pretty good

All around I think the

I like the look of Dario in a Jenny deck. She can get to 10 resources easier than anyone with her passive ability and Hot Streak, and bumping two of her stats up to 4 when he's turned on is nothing to sneeze at. I'll have to test him more to see how he plays though, competing with Leo is a very tough place to be.

I think Jenny is maybe the one place he makes some sense. He sort of costs 14 resources in that case, which is steep, even for Jenny. But with her own ability and 1 action on Dario she can earn 4 resources a turn pretty easily, enough to play even most of the expensive cards.

But then again, is WP and INT what she needs improving on? Maybe? WP is nice for defense against the mythos, but probably not one of your staples in Jenny. INT is good for finding clues but... could have taken Milan Christopher or Alyssa Grhram for much less. Dario is in-faction, which is good, but still.

What about a Charisma deck with Dario and Hired Muscle? That could get her combat to 4 as well, and between Jenny and Dario you should have no problems paying for Hired Muscle. Again, Beat Cop would do the job simpler, but out-of-faction. This would let you spend your 5 out of class cards on other pick ups.

Maybe Charisma, Dario, Milan? gets clues pretty easy, even easier with Arcane Studies or Streetwise. Could be ok.

In all of these situations, it still hurts to not be taking Leo though.

I've seen Sefina decks get a ridiculous amount of resources, maybe Dario could be decent there, as the Will boost can help with any spells she decides to use? Requires XP, and as everyone says, he's not Leo. And I haven't actually played her myself, but it seemed like an interesting thought.

8 hours ago, jaqenZann said:

I've seen Sefina decks get a ridiculous amount of resources, maybe Dario could be decent there, as the Will boost can help with any spells she decides to use? Requires XP, and as everyone says, he's not Leo. And I haven't actually played her myself, but it seemed like an interesting thought.

Yep - my brother plays Sefina and has Dario. He's got two Hot Streaks in his deck, which he can play multiple times with Sefina's Painted World cards. Plus Emergency Caches! Our last scenario, he got up to the 10 resources and almost had another 10 more. Then when it came down to the wire, he spent all the money boosting stats to investigate and help crush the scenario. It worked great!

38 minutes ago, Adira said:

Yep - my brother plays Sefina and has Dario. He's got two Hot Streaks in his deck, which he can play multiple times with Sefina's Painted World cards. Plus Emergency Caches! Our last scenario, he got up to the 10 resources and almost had another 10 more. Then when it came down to the wire, he spent all the money boosting stats to investigate and help crush the scenario. It worked great!

Be careful and don't tempt fate by spending 20 resources to get you to +10 over the test! Any time you pump high enough to beat any token but the tentacles, you're going to draw the tentacles.

1 hour ago, Adira said:

Yep - my brother plays Sefina and has Dario. He's got two Hot Streaks in his deck, which he can play multiple times with Sefina's Painted World cards. Plus Emergency Caches! Our last scenario, he got up to the 10 resources and almost had another 10 more. Then when it came down to the wire, he spent all the money boosting stats to investigate and help crush the scenario. It worked great!

Do you know what card he was using to boost? Streetwise or Arcane Knowledge? I've thought of doing this with Sefina (I'm running a deck of hers myself), but I think it might be inefficient to spend a lot of time building up resources for Dario if you don't use them toward her events. Sounds like it can be really useful if you need an investigation boost (but she has access to lockpicks, drawn to the flame, and rite of seeking), but I guess my problem with having all the cards in the deck for resource generation means less cards to spend the resources on.

Deckbuilding always makes me want to put everything in my deck, but the deck restriction limit makes it so tough to decide.

22 hours ago, Soakman said:

Do you know what card he was using to boost? Streetwise or Arcane Knowledge? I've thought of doing this with Sefina (I'm running a deck of hers myself), but I think it might be inefficient to spend a lot of time building up resources for Dario if you don't use them toward her events. Sounds like it can be really useful if you need an investigation boost (but she has access to lockpicks, drawn to the flame, and rite of seeking), but I guess my problem with having all the cards in the deck for resource generation means less cards to spend the resources on.

Deckbuilding always makes me want to put everything in my deck, but the deck restriction limit makes it so tough to decide.

He used Streetwise. In our campaign, Sefina is the investigator and Yorick is the fighter. So his deck is dependent on things like Lockpicks, Rite of Seeking, Drawn to the Flame, but also has Shrivelling, Storm of Spells, Backstab, Sneak Attack, etc.

He actually doesn't usually bother to build up his resource pool. One of his basic weaknesses is Paranoia, but our last scenario he got Paranoia early in the game, so then he went all out building his resource pool and going crazy. Plus with Leo de Luca and Dario out, he could get an additional two resources per turn for basically free.

Calling in favors is a card suited for Lola (ONLY)

She utilize this card with best allies in every faction. Also the combo when you used your The Red Gloved Man to pick him back to your hand and then play for free cost another ally is pretty good to pass. Buy 2x Charisma and enjoy your bodyguards.

We sure it works that way on Lola?

Lola: You can only play, commit, or trigger abilities on Neutral cards or cards of your role.

Card: Then, search the top 9 cards of your deck for an Ally asset and play it,

I get cards overall rules, but they don't necessarily override other cards.

32 minutes ago, Jobu said:

We sure it works that way on Lola?

Lola: You can only play, commit, or trigger abilities on Neutral cards or cards of your role.

Card: Then, search the top 9 cards of your deck for an Ally asset and play it,

I get cards overall rules, but they don't necessarily override other cards.

I'm not sure if this is exactly what FrodoBaggins2 was referring to, but you are correct -- effects that "play" cards, such as Calling in Favors and Ever Vigilant, are still restricted by Lola's text. Effects that "put into play" cards (such as Sleight of Hand) are not restricted by her text (except, of course, for being in the appropriate class to play the initial effect itself, such as rogue for Sleight).

I still think it's better suited for Ashcan and Duke. But not bad for Lola either assuming he is right.

But now I am wondering... you'd be able to play Calling in Favors because it is neutral, but if you were a Survivor atm and happened to pick up only beat cops and guard dogs and could not change roles anymore that turn, would you not be able to play the beat cop and so the card would fizzle and just cost you 1 resource for playing it in the first place (you'd still get RGM or whoever back in your hand though)?

I don't like this combo with RGM because it still takes an action to play Calling in Favors, so if you use it on RGM you only get the benefit of his bonuses for two actions instead of 3. If you are guaranteed to get an ally out that you can play for 'free' it is better, but if Lola's restrictions narrow that likelihood, I kind of prefer A Chance Encounter for FGM recursion for that because it has more commitable skill pips.

1 hour ago, Soakman said:

But now I am wondering... you'd be able to play Calling in Favors because it is neutral, but if you were a Survivor atm and happened to pick up only beat cops and guard dogs and could not change roles anymore that turn, would you not be able to play the beat cop and so the card would fizzle and just cost you 1 resource for playing it in the first place (you'd still get RGM or whoever back in your hand though)?

I think this is correct. Same could happen to anyone if you couldn't afford the cost of whatever ally you drew.

1 hour ago, Soakman said:

I don't like this combo with RGM because it still takes an action to play Calling in Favors, so if you use it on RGM you only get the benefit of his bonuses for two actions instead of 3. If you are guaranteed to get an ally out that you can play for 'free' it is better, but if Lola's restrictions narrow that likelihood, I kind of prefer A Chance Encounter for FGM recursion for that because it has more commitable skill pips.

I think the big advantage here would be that it gets RGM back into your hand to play him again next round. He's cheap enough to make that work, so it ends up being 5 actions worth of boost.

1 hour ago, Buhallin said:

I think this is correct. Same could happen to anyone if you couldn't afford the cost of whatever ally you drew.

I think the big advantage here would be that it gets RGM back into your hand to play him again next round. He's cheap enough to make that work, so it ends up being 5 actions worth of boost.

That's fair. I keep forgetting he costs 5 experience to include, but his play cost is only 2.

Actually makes a a pretty awesome combo even better for Ashcan as you can palm Duke, put out RGM for free, or vice versa as Duke costs 2 as well. All while, of course, healing any damage on Duke and you also don't really lose Duke's benefits because your stats can be set at 6 via RGM.