Vicious Blow is probably the most used card in this game, tied with Deduction, and their omnipresence in deckbuilding hasn't decreased since the core game came out.

Long Shot arrives much later in the game and looks very similar, with just a few exceptions:

• Cons:
  • No icons
• Pros:
  • Can be committed to evasion tests
  • Can be committed to a test at a connecting location
  • No icon means it can be committed to non- attacks like Mystic Spells, or Rogue Tricks. (Thanks @dscarpac for pointing it out in the comment)
• Other:
  • Is in a different class.
  • Tommy Muldoon, William Yorick and Amanda Sharpe can take both.

At this state of the game, anyone using a full collection should not experience difficulties passing tests anymore in Easy/Standard or even Hard mode if they optimise their decks slightly, so the downside of the missing icon seems less important than the flexibility offered by Long Shot.

So, will it be a new staple for any fighty ? Let's find out when users start publishing decks!

I think the reviews on this page are outdated after multiple expansions have added to the cardpool and I wanted to point out that I think this weakness is now pretty reasonable to deal with, and statistically, is probably just going to cost you 1 damage and 1 horror. It could do more if you fail tests, but Rita now has a few ways of dealing with this.

The primary way now that is unmentioned is with Sweeping Kick from Edge of the Earth. If you hold one of these in hand (assuming you draw it before Hoods) this is a 3 damage attack with rita baseline 8 to 3. Even the -5 in Forgotten Age poses no threat here. The hoods attacks you for 1 damage and 1 horror, and of course, taking the horror isn't good, but hopefully you have Rita's Boyfriend out by now. Taking this option from scenario 1 requires In The Thick of It, and Rita has the health pool to willingly take the 2 physical Trauma.

A more expensive way of removing them from the deck if you intend to cycle, is Fend Off 3. You once again take the 1 damage and 1 horror, but then you never worry about this aloof enemy ever again. Someone else has already mentioned the overcommitting needed on something like Brute Force, but it isn't out of the question to have Overpower or a Gravediggers Shovel handy, which puts you at 8 to 3, needing to oversucceed by 2 which is statistically most of the bag most of the time.

At the time of writing this review just before the release of Hemlock Vale, we have had spoiled a symbol-less Survivor version of Vicious Blow, called Long Shot which can add the needed +1 damage to a Derringer or Baseball Bat attack. This method if you're going the combat stat could result in a single fight action, basically completely neutering Hoods as a weakness.

As of now, I think the cardpool is just getting more flexible, and as it does, the Hoods becomes a weaker and less threatening weakness. As you get some XP into your deck, it becomes yet easier. I think as of now, Hoods is a below average weakness with multiple ways of dealing with it, and statistically the worst outcome seems to be 2 actions and 1 point of damage and horror, which is pretty manageable. Barring autofails, this weakness can be a single action to deal with in a variety of ways. Timing of course can change things, and enemy weaknesses should never be underestimated for showing up at the worst possible time, but I think at this point, no matter how Rita chooses to fight them off, they just aren't much of a threat, because they are just yet another enemy, and Rita is done runnin'.

I don't think it can be overstated how powerful this card will be for either both front options for Agnes (with regular back). She will be able to test most of her Willpower tests at an effective base of 7.

Regular Agnes: If you can take horror regularly enough (Ward of Protection, Forbidden Knowledge etc), she can get multiple uses a turn.

Parallel Agnes: Due to being able to choose when to deal damage to herself, I think Parallel Agnes is even stronger. Assuming she has the soak available (which she should, it's an Agnes deck), she should be able to improve every test she has to make.

Another combo I thought of that Benwobbles didn't also mention, you can also use Smoking Pipe/Painkillers as batteries for this.

In Night of the Zealot, Midnight Masks, playing standard difficulty.

Imagine you are testing 3 vs 3. For instance, Wendy or Skids has 3 and wants to investigate a shroud 3 location. You draw a -1 and you would fail. There are 15 remaining tokens in the bag. Playing Hit me would draw the next probabilities.

-2/15 -> you fail.

-2/15 drawing the 0 -> you fail

-1/15 drawing the

-1/15 drawing the , maybe you succeed (depends on the effect)

-9/15 remaining tokens. Prob success= 60%.

In Dunwich, playing Ashcan Pete in Standard difficulty. Imagine you investigate with Duke 4 v 4. You draw a -1. Hit me! There are 14 remaining tokens. Only the zeros, the skulls and the autofail make you fail. That is 65% probs of success.

This card can make you pass a -1 fail. I guess this card gets better if:

1-your elder sign is powerful and cause you to pass (Skids, Ashcan Pete, Will Yorick, ...)

2-If you play expert there are less zeros

3-You want to succeed by something and there are a lot of negatives in the bag. Maybe you draw the -4 and activate some succeed by 3 effect.

I can't see many scenarios where this is better than Lucky. Ok, Lucky is fantastic. But this card is not reliable, nor unplayable. I think you might play it if you like gambling.

Currently running her in a Roland Banks deck to help me find my Cyclopean Hammer. I took her as a one-action, four-cost Well Prepared that can be used (hopefully) multiple times until you manage to find said weapon. Then she provides +1 willpower to help that same weapon hit harder, +1 intellect to help investigate when you're lacking enemies, and nice horror soak.