If you're interested in a handy list of Rogue cards that may benefit from this bad boy — here you go: arkhamdb.com

If your investigator is not limited by Rogue cardpool — delete "f:Rogue" from search input and hit Enter.

I think this card having icons is a mistake, faustian bargain is by most accounts a very strong card, like obscenely strong, it makes its way into almost every deck I make even if team mates don't want curses the idea of gaining 5 resources from me is too tempting.

That said the idea that when you are fully set up and you can afford to not play this card and keep the curses at bay you don't even have to consider this a dead card, will and intellect tests are endlessly being made so you will just commit this in the late game, I feel like that's a mistake, can you just say no to the bargain and go on with your life?

Like any true evil bargain it should be there....tempting you, begging you to play it "its only two curses...come on, you can handle that can't you.... and you need the money, what if you draw something expensive and need it out fast?"

Like all cards that channel dark forces, faustian bargain proves there is a reason the good guys are always on the back foot, evil just get the best toys.

This card is considerably better when you're using it in a Sign Magick deck. You don't need to waste actions activating this anymore, just use it in conjunction with a spell you're already using! The same can be said for other under-used spells such as Clarity of Mind etc. That's more of a note about Sign Magick, but it's still worth mentioning!

At five XP and seven resources, you absolutely have to build your deck around agency backup. It’s not incidental, it should be critical.

Thematically, this card is Roland Banks pulling out all the stops. No more skulking: it’s time to meet force with force. It can give him clues or some sanity soak, and with Hallowed Mirror he can keep it going even longer.

Zoey would have to pick up some rogue economy cards to afford this.

But this is the card Tommy players salivate over. Calling in Favors to make it happen, then using them up to get cash back. (The last damage/horror can even come from someone else at your location, giving you eight resources, three damage and three clues per use.)

Pair this with the The Star • XVII for truly ludicrous results.

Arkham has a grudge against healing. I'm of the opinion that the usual theorycrafting arguments against slotting healing are overly simplistic; they ignore the fact that while healing does not directly help you win, there are times when the game simply becomes an endurance test and soak alone can't save you. There are also investigators who can put it to much better use than others, and interactions with other cards that can elevate it even further. Nevertheless, healing has historically been very weak and/or inefficient, and at the end of the day if you're going to slot it, it better be really good.

And this one is good! For 2 resources and an action, you heal 1/1 AND get a 1/1 soak. That's hard to compete with at level 0.

"But how can an ally be better than a slotless asset, like First Aid, or an event?". Because that problem is an opportunity in disguise!

Just a few examples:

• Along with all the other allies with instantaneous effects, Calling in Favors is going to be very powerful and versatile.
• William Yorick can recur this actionlessly after a fight, when he or his friends may need it (traditionally he may prefer more soak, but consider this in multiplayer).
• When Tommy Muldoon plays this he can sacrifice it, get his money back (in resources or bullets), and draw it from his deck again, ad nauseam, turning him into a mean team healing machine.
• Leo Anderson makes this an actionless 1-cost card, and it's non-unique, so he can put it under Mitch Brown, and since it can heal his other allies he can tank like nobody's business.

You may have noticed I've only mentioned investigators. I might be missing something but apart from working with Miskatonic Archaeology Funding I don't really see this contending in decks. That may change but for the time being I think the only seeker interested would be Joe Diamond, and he's half guardian anyway, and has other ways of staying alive.

Meanwhile, the combos are simply off the wall. In addition to working great with investigator abilities in this faction which I mentioned above, let's not forget the growing pool of allies who turn pain into gain. Beat Cop, Guard Dog, Grete Wagner, and the ultimate Agency Backup would all appreciate a medic. This is a lot like First Aid of course, which can be used multiple times instead of just having an instantaneous effect, but requires XP and another action to play and doesn't combo in the ways previously mentioned.

There is of course a cost not printed here, but one that looms over us all when we consider slotting allies, and that's the human cost. Is it high time Arkham's best and brightest stepped up and started helping with this eldritch horror problem? Should we perhaps consider not placing Massachusetts' next generation of medical professionals in harm's way? Do they get course credit? You decide!