Sign Magick

Sign Magick is a combo card, and one with rather strict limitations. You need to have two different Spell or Ritual assets in play, both with an => activation cost. And you need to have useful targets for those assets.

Would you like to combine Shrivelling and Rite of Seeking? Then you need an enemy and two clues on your location. Want to combine Sixth Sense and Rite of Seeking? Fine, but there better be at least 3 clues on your location for that to be worth a RoS charge, and it better be your last action this round (Since a special token + Rite of Seeking will end your turn early). What about earning cash from Alchemic Transmution while searching for clues with Sixth Sense? Yep, that can be effective but you need to include Alchemic Transmution in your deck - a card that's almost never worth it unless you can activate it for free.

In reality it's hard to line up three, often expensive assets in Arkam Horror, and then find enough useful situations to make Sign Magic worth your time. Especially since Sign Magic is quite useless on its own and since the combo falters as soon as one of your spell/ritual assets run out of charges.

I can see some use for this card, however. For example an Akachi deck with lots of spell assets. She has her own charge economy, so it's easier for her to find room for the necessary pieces and get them in play.

olahren · 3546
I think this works best with support spells like alchemical transmutation or scrying 0. Or assets with unlimited uses like wither and sixth sense — Django · 5148
I suppose the upgraded version of sixth sense is also a potent option only fot the chance to find a clue at another location — Tharzax · 1
You definitely need a lot of play actions to take use of this card. You likely want to take use of the third arcane slot anyway. I think Dexter and Mystics with access to "Ever Vigilant" have an advantage here. On the other hand might Agnes want this card to try to make "Clarity of Mind" work. (Or in case of parallel Agnes "Healing Word".) I don't think, this card will become a Mystic staple, but I see decks, that might want it. — Susumu · 381
The community has long since criticized this game for how boring mystics came be. This card, as Django points out, enables you to play spells that you ordinarily would never touch like Alchemy (which is cheap) or Wither for a combat focused multiplayer mystic. Yes, it’s not likely to help with your generic fight and clue spells, but it does shake up the class and help unplayed cards see the table now. — LaRoix · 1646
Let's hope for a 4 Xp, Exceptional version of Sign Magic that's a *permanent*. Now that would open up some interesting playstyles. :) — olahren · 3546
Oh man, a permanent version of this card would be so good! — snacc · 1008
Does this card allow to play the 2nd spell without using it's charge? — Gracchus · 1
@Gracchus You should pay all cost except action, so that you should pay the charge of second spell if necessary. — elkeinkrad · 500
"Different spell" does not mean "spell with a different name", right? Means I could use two copies of a spell/ritual with it? — Magitator · 1
As per the "Different" entry in the Rules section, it does need to be a different card title so two copies of the same spell/ritual would NOT count as "different." — MindControlMouse · 45
True Understanding

Will add some pieces of data I was looking for when entered this comment section and didn't find it fully. I will repeat something of what was already mentioned, trying to make my own review pretty comprehensive. Everything turned out to be in the rules, though, but who reads them before they need it? DISCLAIMER: I will be using some encounter cards from different cycles as examples, so if you care about that sort of spoilers, don't follow my links).

  • What is "skill test from an ability"? I was sure that ability is only what is triggered, but I was wrong. Yes, there are triggered abilities (if a scenario card has any type of arrow, triggering which you initiate a skill test, you can commit this card, e.g. Bedeviled), but also: constant abilities (an effect that simply exists and doesn't have any specific point of initiation according to the rules. As I understand this card fits), forced abilities (something after word "Forced" that initiates a skilltest. In theory, bc I didn't find examples) and revelation abilities (skill test after word "Revelation", so, yes, basically half or even more cards of the encounter deck, like our favorite Rotting Remains or Crypt Chill). That's when I got true understanding what is this card about.
  • What is "scenario card?" From rules: "Scenario cards include act cards, agenda cards, location cards, treachery cards, enemy cards, and scenario reference cards." and "Weaknesses with an encounter cardtype (such as enemies or treacheries) are considered to be player cards while they are in their bearer’s deck, and are considered to be encounter cards while they are being resolved, and once they have entered play". So you can find some clues while committing True Understanding to Searching for Izzie. And don't forget that abilities on weaknesses in threat area or attached to the location can be triggered by other investigators in the same location (yes, pure Jenny can spare her out-of-class card room for something more appealing while her seeker can watch her back). Above mentioned Bedeviled now can also be taken away from Finn with some additional use by your seeker. And, basically, any parley action with skill test can be assisted with True Understanding. This chatty Cathy Poltergeist! Always spills the beans.
  • TL;DR the card is not that situational as one can find and, given you can commit it not only to your own skill tests, you are unlikely to find yourself in a situation when it's been uselessly sitting in your hand for half of a game without any chance to be triggered. It's much more easier to use it than, for instance, Evidence! while it is an actionless and 0-resource cost way to get a clue. The test, you need to pass, can also be easier than the location's shroud value.
chrome · 60
Yeah, I love this card. I find myself trying to squeeze it in wherever I can, just for the action compression. — SGPrometheus · 835
I don't think you gain a clue from "Searching for Izzie" with this card, because it would still be a "discovered clue", and Izzie says "instead of discovering clues". — Susumu · 381
@susumu I'm 99% sure it works with "Searching for Izzie". That's how I would reason it: You use two actions on a scenario card (since it is the one) to initiate the investigate action and therefore a skill test. Then you follow the sequence of skill test timing in accordance with the rules. You determine success or failure of the test during the stage ST6 and at this point you get the clue due to effect of the card if your test is successful. Only THEN, at stage ST7, you apply skill test results, i.e. consequences of the test. It is specifically stated in the rules that sometimes these consequences may be modified by the card text and you get something different from what you normally should obtain. Text on the card "Seaching for Izzie" absolutely definitely (at least for me) refers to modification of Investigate action results. Otherwise the text should be worded as "You cannot gain clues during this action." — chrome · 60
It's true, that success or failure is determined at ST6, but reaping the clue from TU is like any other effect of the action in ST7. And Izzie even says "instead of discovering clues" (plural!). If you commit a "Deduction" to the test, you also won't get a clue from it in my understanding. — Susumu · 381
The text on Izzie, or indeed any other encounter card, is irrelevant: TU grants you a clue as a totally separate effect. You don't gain clues when you succeed at Frozen in Fear, but TU will still give you one. Don't be confused by the limitations imposed by Izzie; they only apply to the investigation made from the card's action. Deduction doesn't work because it specifically modifies that investigation; TU is totally separate from it. — SGPrometheus · 835
True Understanding will discover a clue while performing "Searching for Izzie". This follows the ruling for Rex Murphy's ability to discover a clue — SanguineYume · 1
"Lucky" Penny

A straightforward use for this is as a curse-heavy solo Rogue, at which point this simply turns half your curses into blesses. In theory, this averages the value of all curses to 0.

In practice, of course, you still have increased standard deviation, which is worse than not having the curses there at all... your worst-case scenario still means assuming all your curses come up cursey.

So perhaps the better way to look at it is as an automatic 50% saving-throw-vs-curses. Difficult to say if that's worth a 4xp one-of.

HanoverFist · 744
50% until you have false covenant, then it might as well be 100% given you can selectively trigger false covenant only when the curse matters. — Zerogrim · 295
Guidance

I have run this a couple of times with parallel Roland now, because one of his directives (Red Tape) makes Guidance fast! Now it may still not be the most optimal card, but now you don't lose an action playing it, which is good.

HorrorBros · 7
This could also be nice with farsight. Get your fighter into position with pathfinder and safeguard and grant him more actions to kill the boss. — Django · 5148
I had the same thought. It's not too bad... it's a passable card for Parallel Roland w/ Red Tape. However, it was also one of the first cards I ended up cutting. Django's idea of using it with Farsight is also an interesting idea, because Deep Knowledge is also an Insight card and could thus be considered a Farsight enabler... — GermanJoey · 1088
"Get over here!"

I think this card can be situational (for 1 data point, I had fairly little use for it in my recent Carcosa/2-player campaign), but it had strong synergy with Zoey Samaras for specific spectacular situations, mostly because of 2 things:

I’m mostly sad that it and it’s updated version can’t do anything about SPOILER, otherwise it would have scorpioned two potential birds with one stone.

krzhang · 7