There are quite a few people that I have already heard giving this a sub-par rating, but I couldn't disagree more. I think that this card is an auto-include in any rogue deck that can pick up a level-1 upgrade such as "Skids" O'Toole, Wendy Adams or Jenny Barnes.

If you are going to swap out a single card (ever) this has already paid for itself. You can put off paying for it until you are going to want to swap things out, but honestly there should always be considerations of swaps in decks after you start playing it. No one's deck and design comes out perfect. Decks start out with certain themes and elements and should always find tweaks and personal preferences.

As we are playing, new packs come out all the time. With those new packs come other level-0 cards that you will most likely consider. And when you can swap them in for free with your current deck on the fly with those releases and become much easier to get those new shiny toys interacting with the cards you have been building around.

So far, it has already saved me 4 experience. Would all of those been done if they weren't for free; no (perhaps 1 or 2). It lets you be "adaptable" and improve yourself. Challenge your deck after every play through and every pack release. I think this is amazing. And paired with Charisma coming out in the new pack, I will likely use Adaptable again to build some additional allies themed into the deck after this purchase so that I can get a nice array of different characters for my Jenny Barnes deck and build on a nice new style of play. So, while others are seeing this as mediocre, I wanted to put my opinion out there. I think this card is amazing.

The previous reviewers have stated the benefit(s) of this card: providing versatility and the ability to make changes in your deck later in a campaign. A good example someone gave is with Sleight of Hand. Until you spend the xp to get Lupara, you don't need Sleight of Hand yet.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Adaptable also lets you swap out the out-of-faction cards in your deck too!

For example, the Dunwich Legacy cycle investigators (Jenny the Rogue) are allowed up to 5 level 0 cards outside their faction. With Adaptable, you can choose those 5 colors to serve a particular purpose (maybe, make Jenny into a decent clue gatherer with Seeker cards). Then, once you have the xp for the amazing Rogue clue-gathering cards (Lola Santiago, Lockpicks), then you can substitute those Seeker cards for different cards (maybe something to make her more able to handle enemies so she can investigate locations alone).

TLDR: Adaptable lets you swap around level 0 cards, across ALL factions that investigator is permitted to include in their deck. Versatility, from being "Adaptable", can improve efficiency and survivability.

The card is nuts! I always buy it if I can.

If your deck-building game is strong you can probably go without it. But when I play with my GF we never spend much time on building a new deck. We grab all the cards we consider good for the build and go with it without a second thought. Of course we never have clear idea about what upgrades we will make. This means rarely sub-par cards are taken with the idea they will shine once certain upgrades are done. And having to spend XP on level 0 cards we failed to take initially is a major pain.

Here comes Adaptable! You can start with whatever cards you want and once you grasp the dynamics of the investigator and the team needs , you can make changes accordingly. Last time I played Finn, I started with 25 unique cards (single copy). With Adaptable I easily got second copy of what proved good, and dropped the useless.

Why take Sleight of Hand from scenario one? Why not take the Luparas/Typewriters/Derringers first and swap cards that help more in the early campaign?

Lots of freedom to change your deck at little to no price. For me that card is pure value and if you are not playing it - you should!!! There is not a single drawback I see.

Bonus point: thematically it makes perfect sense rogues to have adaptable decks :)

Almost everybody can take Down the Rabbit Hole now using Versatile and In the Thick of It. Though you don't purchase the cards you swap you should be able to swap Down the Rabbit Hole on and off your deck.

During upgrading you can first upgrade your cards with reduced xp cost, then swap Down the Rabbit Hole for another card an then buy new cards.

During next upgrading do the other way round, first buy then swap and upgrade if necessary.

You could even use Adaptable twice to do it on the same turn.

Or am I wrong and abuse this too much?

I feel like this game doesn't facilitate tinkering with lvl 0 cards once you are in campaign.

However this card can offer some investigators at least 5 XP discount for doing so. (Basically swapping a total of 6 cards) I'm in search of truth here and hopefully I can shine a light on Adaptable.

I have been delving in the deck-building of this game for a long time now and here's where it lead me:

4 investigator have a particular predilection towards a card like Adaptable. (Technically 5 - Lola Hayes - Unfortunately I have no desire to play her)

1. Jenny Barnes can take any 5 lvl 0 cards and at early levels she doesn't have the support of Lola Santiago. Once she gets there, 2x Art Students and 2x Working a Hunch are no longer needed. And we can swap those for 2x Deduction. And since there are two spots open for any class cards, why don't we protect a rogue with 2x Ward of Protection? The last two were tricky to figure out and took me by surprise. 2x Daring Maneuver were in a pool of cards I couldn't quite place. Why would anybody use them instead of any Neutral skills? Well, .41 Derringer allows you to take additional actions if you succeed by 3 or more. So with cards Sure Gamble and Daring Maneuver we can ensure we get there. Hence this is a later swap.

2. "Skids" O'Toole. I'm currently returning to Carcosa with him and Patrice Hathaway, and I have always underestimated "Skids" O'Toole as a potent investigator. I playtested him a bunch and he is not the worst by any means. Cat Burglar is the first guy he meets walking out of prison. And somehow he get's interested in ancient relics such as Ornate Bow. A small tangent. The first two cards I would instantly want is Venturer and Bandolier. To carry Lockpicks with a Bow. (Venturer instead of Contraband which was used with .35 Winchester) 2x Narrow Escape and you can safely reload Ornate Bow in front of an enemy (I also suggest using Crystallizer of Dreams here). Again the last two came quite late. Swapping 2x Scene of the Crime for 2x Followed gives us a variety of options when and where to find clues.

3. Leo Anderson. Here is a similar trick as with "Skids" O'Toole. As soon as we get M1918 BAR we would want to supplement it with 1x Contraband, 1x Venturer and 1x Bandolier. M1918 BAR provides us with just enough damage, yet the bonus of strength is not the best against low health enemies. 1x "Eat lead!" can go a long way to handle that problem. Swapping 2x Scene of the Crime for 2x Followed gives us a variety of options when and where to find clues. Same as Skids.

4. Finn Edwards is a juicy one. He is closer to Jenny Barnes with the ideas. He wants a great rogue ally to fight like an assassin. Delilah O'Rourke! Early we want neutral skills for more consistency - 2x Manual Dexterity and 2x Overpower. Once we get the boosts from out fellow assassin we can branch in better lower value skills such as 2x Hatchet Man and 1x Opportunist. And we are in Syndicate now so we need a proper Trench Coat too. All of this is supported by Streetwise and 2x Pay Day. Early in his life Finn was getting 2x Lucky! with his drinking (Liquid Courage). Once he graduated to Liquid Courage he chose his own path of staying sane (above 5 sanity). So 2x Lucky! swapped for Fight or Flight and Practice Makes Perfect. 2x Momentum are Practiced skills as are 2x Hatchet Man.