Guys, apologies for the back-to-back questions today. Trying to get Wendy through a sticky situation. I have a question about how to properly use Wendy's Amulet relative to spending actions.

I need to do a skill test versus a Locked Door. I'm planning to use Dig Deep to make it a 6 agility versus a 4 difficulty check.

I have Wendy's Amulet in play, and my topmost event card is Lucky! If I fail the test by two or less, I plan to use Wendy's Amulet to play Lucky! and turn a failed skill test into a success.

But does playing Wendy's Amulet count as an action? Or is it all considered part of the original skill test action?

To further complicate matters, Lucky! is a fast card, so playing it wouldn't require an action. But I'm not sure if I still need to spend an action to activate Wendy's Amulet.

I feel like I'm trapped in a logic loop here, second guessing the rules. Little help would be much appreciated.

Wendy's Amulet has a constant rule while in play that the topmost event in your discard can be played as if it were in your hand. So it's effectively the same as playing a Lucky! from hand, which is a Fast Action. So the entire card interaction counts as a Fast Action. You don't need to use an Action to trigger an asset unless you are triggering a rule on an asset preceded by the Action icon. Like for example the Fight Action on the .45 Automatic. Also the Asset doesn't Exhaust as a cost unless specified in it's rules text.

Excellent!! I really appreciate that clear response. Totally makes sense now that Wendy's Amulet functions as a constant ability.

When it comes to Asset cards, the game is (normally) really good at delineating between no action, free triggered ability, reaction and actual action, depending on the symbol used on the card.

Wendy's Amulet is a good example of a "no action required" situation, though the "as if" element of the wording has the potential to generate tricky situations. Admittedly, playing a card "as if" it is in your hand is probably the least complicated of these scenarios. Daisy's Tote Bag is another example of an Asset with a constant rule on it - get it in play, and have even more books to read while the Guardian kills things...

The useful side of Sophie gives us an Asset with a free triggered ability on it - that squiggle replaces a lot of text. You can use this ability in any player window, as long as you're able (and willing) to pay the cost.

Heirloom of Hyperborea , on the other hand, gives you a reaction trigger - whenever X happens, you may do Y. In this case, it makes playing a spell an action that replenishes your hand, which is often handy for Mystics.

Roland's .38 Special would be a classic example of an asset with an actual action on it, as indicated by the solid arrow. To use it, spend an ammo, then follow the sequence for a Fight action. Simples.

Some Assets may also be Fast, like Finn's Trusty .38 - that makes getting them into play a Fast Action, meaning they can be played during any player window, and won't provoke an Attack of Opportunity, but the Fast nature will normally have no effect on the action on the asset, if there is one. You want to shoot someone with Finn's gun, it has the same action cost as Roland's.

I'll handle the easy questions. If we are gonna talk about the nuances of "as if" I'll see myself out depending on the card interaction in question "as if" can get pretty hard to get straight. Here in Wendy's Amulet it's pretty straight forward. In the case of Luke Robinson's investigator ability it is the subject of several different FAQ rulings.

Can't say I blame you for that approach, phillos - there's a reason I'm not planning on playing Luke any time soon

20 hours ago, phillos said:

Luke Robinson's investigator ability it is the subject of several different FAQ rulings.

And hundreds (edit: perhaps even thousands : D ) of arguments on ArkhamDB and Reddit.

If anyone has any more questions about Wendy and her abilities this video tries to explain them.

https://youtu.be/CKjdqhzNfls

Hope it helps!