I'm really excited by the new preview of the Tarot-type player cards: https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2018/12/31/a-dark-omen/

It's cool that they take a distinctive Tarot slot. With no skill icons, they look like a little bit of a drag, but persistent skill and attribute buffs at level 1 are nothing to sneeze at.

The discussion of the Tower weakness seems a little muddled. At first it seems to suggest that it would block your character's Tarot asset slot when played. But then there's a tip about using another Tarot asset to get rid of it, along with a mysterious allusion to a lingering effect. What?

Also: I like the card designs of the Tarot cards themselves (within the frame of the game art). I wonder if the whole deck is already on someone's drawing board? It's not one I recognize from elsewhere.

1 hour ago, Carthoris said:

The discussion of the Tower weakness seems a little muddled. At first it seems to suggest that it would block your character's Tarot asset slot when played. But then there's a tip about using another Tarot asset to get rid of it, along with a mysterious allusion to a lingering effect. What?

The mysterious allusion basically seems to just be some spooky flavour text. Otherwise, the way the Weakness works is this: While it's in your hand, it blocks you committing cards. The only way to get rid of this effect (aside from forced discard) is to put it into play. To do so, you spend 4 resources and an action, and it takes up your Tarot slot, discarding any Tarot card already in play. Unlike the other Asset weaknesses, the Tower doesn't have any text preventing it leaving play, so you can play another Tarot card to replace it (and any effect that causes you to discard assets in play can get rid of it). There's an interesting question if you get both the Tower and another Tarot card in your opening hand: Do you put the other Tarot card into play using its Response ability, to get the discount, knowing that you'll have to get rid of it when you decide to get rid of the Tower? Or do you choose not to do so in order to replace the Tower with it once you've played the Tower, accepting the huge resource and action inefficiency of doing so?

Sadly, I think it's basically going to be the case if you get the Tower that you'll just forego getting any other Tarot cards in the first place, as it's not worth the additional hassle and disadvantage. The Tower looks like it'll be a pretty punishing weakness for anyone who relies on skills (Minh, Silas, Broke-*** Pete) and further encourages low-skill and no-skill decks (obviously it prevents any card being committed, not just skills, but non-skill cards do stuff other than being committed).

4 hours ago, Carthoris said:

Also: I like the card designs of the Tarot cards themselves (within the frame of the game art). I wonder if the whole deck is already on someone's drawing board? It's not one I recognize from elsewhere.

They need to make them as separate Tarot deck!! (Maybe PoD, but still... we need it :P)

If they did calendars this year...

I would certainly buy an actual tarot deck that they produced! This should be a no-brainer!

16 hours ago, Allonym said:

The mysterious allusion basically seems to just be some spooky flavour text. Otherwise, the way the Weakness works is this: While it's in your hand, it blocks you committing cards. The only way to get rid of this effect (aside from forced discard) is to put it into play. To do so, you spend 4 resources and an action, and it takes up your Tarot slot, discarding any Tarot card already in play. Unlike the other Asset weaknesses, the Tower doesn't have any text preventing it leaving play, so you can play another Tarot card to replace it (and any effect that causes you to discard assets in play can get rid of it).

I believe you have the truth of it! … an interesting weakness that can actually 'benefit' you when drawing crypt chill (?)…. unless tarot can only be discarded by playing another tarot card of course.....

If a tarot card is in your opening hand and it’s played do you have to pay it?

23 minutes ago, Burgie1996 said:

If a tarot card is in your opening hand and it’s played do you have to pay it?

Nope, if it's in your opening hand you get to simply put it into play, no resource cost, no action cost.

On 12/31/2018 at 6:50 PM, Allonym said:

There's an interesting question if you get both the Tower and another Tarot card in your opening hand: Do you put the other Tarot card into play using its Response ability, to get the discount, knowing that you'll have to get rid of it when you decide to get rid of the Tower? Or do you choose not to do so in order to replace the Tower with it once you've played the Tower, accepting the huge resource and action inefficiency of doing so?

Shouldn't you be able to just discard the Tower, since you discard to slot limit after you play the card, not before?

I think what Allonym meant is this: IF you start with both The Tower and another Tarot in hand, you can either:

1. Play the Tarot for free. But you'll have to discard it if/when you decide to play The Tower.

2. Don't play the Tarot for free. Play The Tower first, and the Tarot later to discard the Tower, paying all costs.

It's an interesting decision, but if you already have The Tower as your basic weakness, you might decide that you'd just skip over all the Tarots so you don't even have to make this decision.

what i mean is, you play the tarot for free, then you play the Tower, then the slot restrictions are checked and you discard the Tower

1 hour ago, Adny said:

what i mean is, you play the tarot for free, then you play the Tower, then the slot restrictions are checked and you discard the Tower

You would have to discard the non-Tower tarot card in this situation. "If playing or gaining control of an asset would put an investigator above his or her slot limit for that type of asset, the investigator must choose and discard other assets under his or her control simultaneously with the new asset entering the slot." From the current FAQ, fifth point under Rulebook Errata (emphasis mine).

In Addition, Even if you can get rid of it by playing another card, in the worst case its still 7 ressources total to remove the weakness (4 Tower 3 other Tarot Card). Hospital depts are 6 ressources in comparison.

I would find it intriguing if the Tarot was expanded to a full deck, and printed, that would be useable in game, as well as an actual tarot.

The discussion has come up before, I think (either on here or on BGG) and someone found the artist's twitter, where it was said that a full deck does not currently exist and never might. But they have large high quality versions of all the ones that do.

5 hours ago, Eldan985 said:

The discussion has come up before, I think (either on here or on BGG) and someone found the artist's twitter, where it was said that a full deck does not currently exist and never might. But they have large high quality versions of all the ones that do.

Ah, a little disappointing. Hopefully the question comes up a lot and they are encouraged by it to complete the deck.

Hmm. How many Tarot cards have we seen, and how many might there be?

It actually seems that almost every Agenda so far has a tarot card on it. If we assume an average three per scenario, that's already 24/78 covered. That said, all the Agendas we've seen have been Agenda I and I think agendas actually have the same art throughout one scenario? So more likely just 8.

We've seen:

Major Arcana:
V: The Hierophant: Agenda 1a of For the Greater Good
IX: The Hermit: Agenda 1a of The Secret Name
XII: The Hanged Man: Agenda 1a of Wages of Sins
XIII: Death: Player Card, the Circle Undone
XVI: The Tower: Weakness, the Circle Undone
XVIII - The Moon: Player Card, the Circle Undone

Swords:
Ace of Swords, Player Card, the Circle Undone

Cups:
Four of Cups, Player Card, the Circle Undone

Pentacles:
Five of Pentacles, Player Card, the Circle Undone

Rods:
Ace of Rods: Player Card, the Circle Undone

So, as expected, heavy on the Major Arcana, light on the Minor Arcana. We might at least get a full set of Major Arcana

On 1/2/2019 at 10:03 AM, armin321 said:

In Addition, Even if you can get rid of it by playing another card, in the worst case its still 7 ressources total to remove the weakness (4 Tower 3 other Tarot Card). Hospital depts are 6 ressources in comparison.

Plus the action to play The Tower, where Hospital Debts uses free actions.

On 1/1/2019 at 6:13 AM, mwmcintyre said:

Nope, if it's in your opening hand you get to simply put it into play, no resource cost, no action cost.

kinda glad i bought a few for Rex with his xp