Miskatonic Univeristy - New Player Cards (vol I)

Hello again, my dear readers! Based on your reactions posts about investigators build a good and needed cycle. However every now and then it’s good (and necessary since we’re running out of investigators anyway) to write about a different subject. The recent release of Miskatonic University creates an opportunity and need to share my thoughts about the new player cards.

There are 13 new cards – 2 neutral ones, 2 for each class and a whopping 3 new Survivor cards (2 out of them use the new exile mechanic introduced in Dunwich Legacy rules).

A first glance over the cards made me quite optimistic already – they seem to be on the stronger end of the spectrum and one can easily see a game play situation/deck they would fit well. Even the ones I don’t particularly fancy still seem to have good uses and match particular play styles.

I do not plan to have a very detailed look at all of them, would like to make some general points about them instead - particularly the ones that might be less obvious. I have chosen 2 cards to describe in more details in a separate post – Song of Dead and Brother Xavier.

Guardian cards seem to be an attempt at creating different Guardian sub-types. Emergency Aid not only provides an enormous boost for existing allies (more uses of for Beat Cop [2] and Guard Dog), which is rather obvious. It also delivers yet another healing card in Guardian’s arsenal. And since they are usually paired with low-Stamina characters, it is an additional opportunity for a support/healer role to be added to Guardian characters. You can read more about the sub-classes in upcoming post.

It's bit funny to use Pathfinder for extra movements... in a museum

Seekers are given yet another quick movement card. I guess this is the direction designers wish to develop the class. I’ve got a Plan on the other hand (sort of along Whoops) is another of the cards that provide some means of fighting to less-fighting classes. Such cards are not only necessary to make solo playing enjoyable, but also do not disturb overall class archetype too much, while making deckbuilding far more interesting. After all, these are only singular cards. They do not allow to consistently deal with monsters, but rather to manage “back to the wall” circumstances or give them something to do, when team is facing a “boss” enemy. Their existence also arranges for another layer of decision making – should I keep the card for later and ask my team fighter to relieve me now? Or should I rather use it now, to allow him to do some other job he’s currently busy with?). Both of these cards are very strong, so Seekers (and Roland) get a substantial boost.

I have mixed feelings about the Adaptable card. This comes back to my approach to the game. I like to treat it as a role-playing experience. Granted, it’s easiest during first run of the campaign and somehow manageable during next few runs. And it is definitely getting much harder afterwards. You can’t make yourself forget content of the cards, resolutions etc. Therefore, willingly or not, you do plan your actions based on the knowledge you’ve gained. However, using Adaptable for the purpose of deck changing, in order to adjust it to scenarios feels… well a bit like cheating. As very well pointed out by KP The Aficionado (link to the whole great article at the end of the post) – if you decide to swap level 0 cards, you might as well take Adaptable, so it’s cost-effectiveness is terrific. Contraband is yet another Rogue – support card, slightly underpowered in order not to become grotesquely overpowered in the future, when some multi-use asset comes into the card pool. 

I am a big fan of teamwork cards.

Mystic is my beloved class and yet again they got really awesome cards! Delve to Deep is easily my favorite card in the whole set. First of all, it is incredibly thematic. It reminds of Lovecraft characters, who decide to pursuit the blasphemous knowledge despite knowing that curiosity might lead to their demise. Further on, it builds on Mystic’s tendency to deal a lot with the encounter deck (Ward of Protection, Drawn to the Flame, Scrying…). Lastly, it has a very unique and powerful effect! Great stuff! And in the later stage of the campaign it can easily be replaced, as experience gets less and less important (cards bought in the beginning of the campaign stay with you for its whole duration, while the ones acquired later for fewer scenarios).

In a popular vote for the best card of the mythos pack
held among all the Shuffle's authors
Delve Too Deep won, getting 100% votes!

Survivor cards deserve mostly few words about the exile mechanic. I am a big fan, as it adds yet another layer of decision making. They also seem to have a reasonable cost and extremely thematic uses (designers even considered a very role-playing aspect of the fire extinguisher – using it as a blunt weapon – truly a nice touch!). The 0 level card is rather on the weaker side, though one might see a good use for it, particularly in bigger teams, more prone to have multiple enemies at one location.

Important note - if you don't find an ally you DO NOT exile Flare

Last, but not least, the neutral cards. It becomes quite clear to me now, there are 2 categories of neutral cards. The first category encompasses staple cards, needed, or at least very useful for investigators of every class (and pretty much everyone) – 5 double icon skill cards, Emergency Caches etc. The other one includes cards that are weaker than their class – restricted friends. You use them to have some means of covering your class’ weaker sides or just for the synergy/combo related benefits (think: Knife, clearly an inferior weapon to any Guardian stuff). The two new neutral assets clearly belong to the latter one, providing a weaker way of healing or a combo opportunity for Agnes (possibly more of clever synergies will show up in the future).

So we’re 2 expansions in and so far Mystics got almost exclusively strong cards, while other classes more of a hit and miss ones. The class ideas are getting clearer with each pack and I’m already biting my fingernails impatiently waiting for next cards.

What are your favorite new cards? Which one do you consider the strongest? Let me know in the comments section!And definitely check out Delve Too Deep's post about the new cards.

Addendum: Here is the second part of DTD's analysis (with quit few guests on board.

 All images are courtesy of cardgamedb.com and fantasyflightgames.com