Cycle VI: The Innsmouth Conspiracy

By Antimarkovnikov, in Arkham Horror: The Card Game

SISTER MARY!! Soooo excited. A classic Guardian/Mystic.

Amanda Sharpe! 2222 and a very interesting ability. A little like Joe’s hunch deck, in that it’s use it or lose it. I’m curious to hear your takes on how it impacts playing her and what kind of decks you’d build for her.

I called it with Trish!! She just makes so much sense to be in this release. Not that this is a stretch, but I’m betting she will be our first Rogue/Seeker, with the all new and very cool trait of “Spy”.

Dexter Drake. I am a little surprised he’s in this expansion, since they don’t usually release a Novella investigator and the expansion they’re in back to back. Will he have his alternate cards, I wonder.

Silas’ new mini definitely does not have the ‘Innsmouth look’!
Which begs the question: He felt intentionally absent in the announcement and he’s not mentioned in the article, which seems like they didn’t want attention drawn to him. The art change to his mini in the article would mean his investigator card is going to look different too. So could he be the first investigator to have two different investigator cards????

Is think this may be a 6 investigator expansion, so there could be one we still don’t know.

I absolutely love the art on Predestined. Cursed and Blessed! Floods and keys! I like the way the new tokens will mix things up, especially for replaying older campaigns.

May 5. A little Cinco de Mayo party people!!

Edited by Mimi61

All of the novella investigators have alternate card art. Silas's mini card art in the announcement is the same as his art for Eldritch Horror and Mansions.

Amanda looks like a blast to me.

Edited by Ildirin

Sister Mary + Olive will be interesting (whether she is taking her or another mystic is). Depending on the bag and deck builds, you could use Olive to weed curses out on a less important test or boost your tests a lot more effectively.

Really enjoy the idea behind bless and curse. It seems so simple on the surface, but there's a lot of interactions to consider.

Momentum seems like a crazy choice for Amanda's ability, making each test even easier, but you may have to commit something to the first test due to her 2 value stats. And level 2 deduction is pretty crazy...

EDIT: Can we talk about the new Seeker 'identify' asset for a moment (Cryptic Grimoire)? You have to add 10 curses to the bag to identify it. Sure, some flip back, but think about how often you will get like 3 or 6 in the bag and then draw them and have to remove them only to spend more actions adding more to the bag on your next turn? At the very least, it will take over 3 entire turns to place enough curses in the bag... and that's if none are removed (and also if nobody else helps you put more in).
ahc52_cryptic-grimoire.png
How powerful do you think the upgrades will be?

Edited by Soakman

Amanda Sharpe might be the first Seeker I genuinely like (I sorta like Minh but she's so overpowered)! Her ability is amazingly cool and opens up so much space for mischief - like Vicious Blow under her Investigator card to become a fighter for a round, or Leadership (2) and making loads of resources. Between her and Silas (and the comments by the designers), there's a really strong focus on Skill cards this cycle which I am really in favour of, since they're a hugely underdeveloped part of the game thus far.

Blessed and Cursed are classic Arkham Horror effects and I really like what they've done with them - particularly the teasing about how each of the classes will interact with them. They'll also breathe new life into the multi-token draw effects.

I really love Sister Mary - it's very cool to see another Guardian who isn't really a fighter - her deckbuilding is surprising (simply 0-5 Guardian, 0-2 Mystic), which at first blush doesn't seem fitting since it locks her out of other Blessed cards and lets her be a nun-with-a-gun, but hey, I'm here for Sister Mary with her Holy Flamethrower, particularly given that she only has 0-2 Mystic so in the long term can't do very well using spells for fighting - I foresee either using Rite of Seeking (2) on top of weapons and one of Empower Self or Spiritual Resolve, or Mind's Eye. Either way, definitely the investigator I am most interested in though Amanda and Trish are both very interesting ideas.

2 hours ago, Mimi61 said:

Which begs the question: He felt intentionally absent in the announcement and he’s not mentioned in the article, which seems like they didn’t want attention drawn to him. The art change to his mini in the article would mean his investigator card is going to look different too. So could he be the first investigator to have two different investigator cards????


Is think this may be a 6 investigator expansion, so there could be one we still don’t know.

@Annette Soleil is correct that the art difference is simply the promo vs. non-promo art - see the rubbish art for Novella Roland (aka Inspector Gadget) and the amazing art for Novella Carolyn. I feel more like he wasn't mentioned because he's such an obvious given (and confirmed in the article) and because, aside from his normal signatures, he's a known quantity - people have been playing with his promo form for years now - so it would be a bit of a cop-out to devote a lot of time to him.

Edited by Allonym

I will not like Amanda more than Daisy. I WILL NOT!!

18 minutes ago, Soakman said:

EDIT: Can we talk about the new Seeker 'identify' asset for a moment (Cryptic Grimoire)? You have to add 10 curses to the bag to identify it. Sure, some flip back, but think about how often you will get like 3 or 6 in the bag and then draw them and have to remove them only to spend more actions adding more to the bag on your next turn? At the very least, it will take over 3 entire turns to place enough curses in the bag... and that's if none are removed (and also if nobody else helps you put more in).

ahc52_cryptic-grimoire.png
How powerful do you think the upgrades will be?

Finally, an Untranslated card that's actually a challenge to identify! Tides of Fate will make it far easier to translate (especially if playing alongside Sister Mary) so it might be another Daisy card (she can also use her ability to add more curses to the bag).

Edited by Allonym

I am looking forward to this batch of investigators...Amanda, in particular, looks fun and I really like the new mechanics. I have already ordered some more coin capsules in preparation.

58 minutes ago, Allonym said:
1 hour ago, Soakman said:

EDIT: Can we talk about the new Seeker 'identify' asset for a moment (Cryptic Grimoire)? You have to add 10 curses to the bag to identify it. Sure, some flip back, but think about how often you will get like 3 or 6 in the bag and then draw them and have to remove them only to spend more actions adding more to the bag on your next turn? At the very least, it will take over 3 entire turns to place enough curses in the bag... and that's if none are removed (and also if nobody else helps you put more in).

ahc52_cryptic-grimoire.png
How powerful do you think the upgrades will be?

Finally, an Untranslated card that's actually a challenge to identify! Tides of Fate will make it far easier to translate (especially if playing alongside Sister Mary) so it might be another Daisy card (she can also use her ability to add more curses to the bag).

I really like the idea of a 0 card that you have to really earn the upgrade for. A question I have is if the leftover blessed and cursed tokens stay in the chaos bag after a scenario is finished, or if it all re-sets. I assume they all come back out, but I don’t remember them saying. Hope really hard that Sister Mary doesn’t draw her weakness the minute you finally get to 10!!

Amanda looks very intriguing. I am curious to see the cards they are going to release that will speak to her ability. Practice makes Perfect was obviously pre-released for her, since there are precious few Practiced cards to pull from as a typical seeker.

When they first mentioned the blessed and cursed tokens, I was wondered if they would also interact with those traits on player and investigator cards too. Like the Hungering Blade or Patrice, or even Father Mateo. (which could’ve breathed new life into him). It doesn’t seem like it though, which seems odd, since they are traits already in the card pool. I think they will make things very interesting, from the chaos bag to the interaction of investigators.

2 minutes ago, Mimi61 said:

I really like the idea of a 0 card that you have to really earn the upgrade for. A question I have is if the leftover blessed and cursed tokens stay in the chaos bag after a scenario is finished, or if it all re-sets. I assume they all come back out, but I don’t remember them saying. Hope really hard that Sister Mary doesn’t draw her weakness the minute you finally get to 10!!

Amanda looks very intriguing. I am curious to see the cards they are going to release that will speak to her ability. Practice makes Perfect was obviously pre-released for her, since there are precious few Practiced cards to pull from as a typical seeker.

When they first mentioned the blessed and cursed tokens, I was wondered if they would also interact with those traits on player and investigator cards too. Like the Hungering Blade or Patrice, or even Father Mateo. (which could’ve breathed new life into him). It doesn’t seem like it though, which seems odd, since they are traits already in the card pool. I think they will make things very interesting, from the chaos bag to the interaction of investigators.

I am more or less certain that leftover tokens will be removed from the chaos bag after the end of the scenario, in the same way that sealed tokens don't remain sealed between scenarios. Anything else would be a fundamental change to how Arkham works.

Sister Mary's weakness is really rough, though you can use Deny Existence to completely ignore it.

1 hour ago, Duciris said:

I will not like Amanda more than Daisy. I WILL NOT!!

I love Daisy too. With all the new Tomes and Abigail Foreman? Holy cow! She may be the most versatile investigator in the game. She can have a Tome for all seasons and reasons and situations, including the encounter deck. Daisy + Knowledge is power, her Tote Bag, Mr Rook and all the ways to add secrets to the tomes that need it, with Abigail’s ability = 5 Tomes out at once. Five different Tomes that can do so many different things, from searching, to putting cards into play for less cost, to discarding terrible treacheries or enemies from the encounter deck, to adding to skill tests, to dealing damage to enemies without a test, all with almost no chance of running out of uses! It has to be a pretty amazing investigator to top Daisy’s all around power.

Amanda does look very intriguing though and will be able to cross the great divide of all classes, with her ability. At first glance, how good will she be? I was a little skeptical of Patrice, and now I’m a convert. She has become one of of my all time favorites. Amanda could also become more than meets the eye, or she could be like Joe. I have always wanted to love Joe Diamond and his hunch deck. It just never has any vavoom for me. At least with Amanda, you can choose what to put under her, so it could be stellar.

3 hours ago, Allonym said:

I am more or less certain that leftover tokens will be removed from the chaos bag after the end of the scenario, in the same way that sealed tokens don't remain sealed between scenarios. Anything else would be a fundamental change to how Arkham works.

Sister Mary's weakness is really rough, though you can use Deny Existence to completely ignore it.

I know they won’t stay in the bag, though it could be an interesting wrinkle. That they could, actually didn’t even occur to me until I was writing it.

Excellent call with Deny Existence. Her weakness is tough across the board. Most investigator weaknesses don’t affect everyone! It’s right for her persona though.

Edited by Mimi61
1 hour ago, Mimi61 said:

A question I have is if the leftover blessed and cursed tokens stay in the chaos bag after a scenario is finished, or if it all re-sets. I assume they all come back out, but I don’t remember them saying.

When you add for the full campaign you have the "for the remainder of the campaign" clause in there. Lacking that, agree with the others above that the bag will reset at the beginning of each scenario.

On 4/30/2020 at 6:06 PM, Mimi61 said:

I love Daisy too. With all the new Tomes and Abigail Foreman? Holy cow! She may be the most versatile investigator in the game. She can have a Tome for all seasons and reasons and situations, including the encounter deck. Daisy + Knowledge is power, her Tote Bag, Mr Rook and all the ways to add secrets to the tomes that need it, with Abigail’s ability = 5 Tomes out at once. Five different Tomes that can do so many different things, from searching, to putting cards into play for less cost, to discarding terrible treacheries or enemies from the encounter deck, to adding to skill tests, to dealing damage to enemies without a test, all with almost no chance of running out of uses! It has to be a pretty amazing investigator to top Daisy’s all around power.

Amanda does look very intriguing though and will be able to cross the great divide of all classes, with her ability. At first glance, how good will she be? I was a little skeptical of Patrice, and now I’m a convert. She has become one of of my all time favorites. Amanda could also become more than meets the eye, or she could be like Joe. I have always wanted to love Joe Diamond and his hunch deck. It just never has any vavoom for me. At least with Amanda, you can choose what to put under her, so it could be stellar.

I will sing Amanda's praises to anyone who'll listen just from looking at her card, so count me as baised, but I think she might become my favorite investigator. With cards like Eureka, Perception, Dr. Rook, Practice makes Perfect, I think it's going to be really easy to find what you want when you're going to want it. Amanda has lowish stats, but I bet that you get a magnifying glass or two down and you can investigate just fine. Pack some wilds in case you need to be flexible during your turn and I bet she's good to go.

Edited by Ildirin
1 hour ago, Ildirin said:

I will sing Amanda's praises to anyone who'll listen, so count me as baised, but she is a very close step ahead of Patrice for my favorite investigator. With cards like Eureka, Perception, Dr. Rook, Practice makes Perfect, it's really easy to find what you want when you're going to want it. Amanda has lowish stats, but I've found that you get a magnifying glass or two down and you can investigate just fine. Pack some wilds in case you need to be flexible during your turn and I've found you can accomplish nearly anything you need to.

I haven’t had the pleasure of playing Amanda yet, but after my Patrice experience of starting out skeptical and ending up convinced of her prowess, I will absolutely give Amanda the benefit of the doubt!
The best thing about this game, is being able to really explore the strengths (or even weaknesses) of the investigators. Some truly do rise to the top.
But if you haven’t played Daisy in a while, dust her off and play around with some Tome centered decks. There is so much more in the offing than there used to be. Upgraded Old Book of Lore is amazing for example. She makes that deck build a force!

5 hours ago, Dr Dee said:

I am looking forward to this batch of investigators...Amanda, in particular, looks fun and I really like the new mechanics. I have already ordered some more coin capsules in preparation.

I have a plethora of coin capsules! I accidentally ordered two sets of 200. If anyone needs coin capsules, I will happily share!

Amanda already has proof of concept:

I already run a Practice Makes Perfect/Deduction/Enraptured combo deck with Luke in TFA hard mode that is just super strong.

I think Momentum is going to be ridiculous with her. Or Take the Initiative on a turn she goes first.

Slap down Perception, spend a turn discovering clues, and draw three cards for free.

Use Vicious Blow with the upcoming Mind Over Matter (2) and become a competent fighter at the drop of a hat.

Throw down Eye of Truth, test at 6 or higher for a round, and hopefully pin a treachery next Mythos phase.

Where are people getting Amanda from?

17 minutes ago, Eldan985 said:

Where are people getting Amanda from?

The video announcement with Evan, Matt and Jeremy. It is available on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVdtwwDkrUA

Edited by Assussanni
14 hours ago, Assussanni said:

The video announcement with Evan, Matt and Jeremy. It is available on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVdtwwDkrUA

I think the question may have been more; How have people already played her if she was only announced yesterday?

Edited by Mimi61

I'm guessing Ildirin is a playtester for FFG.

No, just someone who has too much time on their hands right now. She looked so interesting from the preview that I played a couple of quick solo games with her. I'm also dying to know what her special cards are, hope they're even more interesting than her!

On 4/30/2020 at 9:42 PM, Mimi61 said:

I haven’t had the pleasure of playing Amanda yet, but after my Patrice experience of starting out skeptical and ending up convinced of her prowess, I will absolutely give Amanda the benefit of the doubt!
The best thing about this game, is being able to really explore the strengths (or even weaknesses) of the investigators. Some truly do rise to the top.
But if you haven’t played Daisy in a while, dust her off and play around with some Tome centered decks. There is so much more in the offing than there used to be. Upgraded Old Book of Lore is amazing for example. She makes that deck build a force!

Too true, I don't think I've actually played as her since the Return to Night of the Zealot.

Funnily enough, I had a daisy deck put together to start playing soon, but it was temporarily tweaked to try out Amanda.

When i saw the livestream and all those new tokens that are going to be added to the game my first reaction was that i might pass on this one. I feared that all those new tokens might clutter the game too much (As what happened in my opinion with Eldritch Horror when all the expansions were out).

Now i am not so sure if i will stand correct, but i am still torn if i like it or not.