(Edit: Added thoughts about Enchanted Blade and viable characters)

I was a big fan of this card.

Was.

For a brief time during Carcosa this card was alone in its niche, as a medium/high ammo gun with a respectable bonus to . You could really smack around some basic enemies and deliver Vicious Blow with this thing. It was an arguable upgrade over just a Machete but this thing shot up in stock upon the release of the taboo list.

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Since those barbaric times, Timeworn Brand has been released, literally taking over the niche of 1-handed minion slaying weapon that surpasses .45 Automatic via infinite use and that brutal 1 / scenario special attack. Sure the XP cost is more then doubled but the effect also booms exponentially.

To make matters worse there's also .45 Thompson which does the minion killing specialist role even better than Timeworn Brand. While Timeworn Brand is a stronger all around combat tool, .45 Thompson can be used to blow up minions and then immediately pay for a Lightning Gun to blow up a boss. .45 Automatic does just the minion killing thing and much less efficiently then Timeworn Brand.

Finally, Enchanted Blade is a thing that exists now, and it completely takes over the niche of "sidearm / backup weapon". 1 Charge less is easily made up for by the infinite use +2 usage and the combined horror heal and card draw makes it so that Enchanted Blade totally overwrites .45 Automatic for anybody who can field 3-xp weapons.

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To be more particular about what .45 Automatic brings to the table, gaining +1 to hit and Retaliation immunity is relatively fine for 2 xp, and getting 2 of them for 4 Xp isn't bad, semi- characters like "Skids" O'Toole and Diana Stanley actually ought to consider it (And I know I had fun with it in William Yorick before Timeworn Brand came out). The real issue is the card slot. Why spend 2 card slots on this weapon, when you could go big and get Timeworn Brand? Especially if you're trying to be the squad's fighter, in which case 4 shots from .45 Automatic will last little time indeed, but then if you're trying to be the fighter then why not .45 Thompson? It takes 2 hands? Then there's Timeworn Brand again! See the problem here?

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.45 Automatic is not a bad card. If you want to fight and can take XP weapons, and don't want to overspend XP on the combat role and/or want to have a hand free, then thats the exact current niche that .45 Automatic fills. It's the main combat weapon for someone who doesnt intend to fight a lot. It's not bad, especially in solo, but it's kind of too-balanced to really shine.

Right now the current folk who might want to try it:

• A Roland Banks who is trying to balance clues and combat, this would be a 3rd weapon after Enchanted Blade.
• A "Skids" O'Toole who is using Lockpicks, this would be his go-to alongside Lupara.
• A Diana Stanley deck, this one is legit not bad as a main weapon, especially if you can tuck it under Diana Stanley by shooting a retaliate enemy when you have no (or perhaps just 1) ammo left.
• William Yorick might want one to tide him over until he can afford XP to swap a different weapon for Timeworn Brand. The way William Yorick interacts with Knife however undercuts this point.
• Joe Diamond has few options for upgraded weapons and he rather likes guns.

Note that only one of those decks is a .

If i have St. Hubert's Key in play and would be defeated by horror, can i choose to use only this card, the key or both to heal up to 4 horror?

Filler for 200 characters. Filler for 200 characters. Filler for 200 characters.

Does this card work with Lola Hayes, when she's not in guardian? This cards ability has no so i think it's a constant effect and works.

If it works, could be a combo with Otherworldly Compass, Lantern or Lockpicks.

In the mythos phases where this is good, I foresee it being amazing. Sometimes you'll get three draws that your seeker/mystic could easily handle and will just have to make do, but if there is a round where your seeker cannot be bogged down with enemies because they need all their actions to win the scenario, this is insane. Give yourself all the enemies (are you roland or Zoey?), avoid all the horror (have fun, agnes), and give your allies the breathing room they need to win. Much like ward of protection, I think this will go in every deck that can take it as a safety against defeat late in the scenario.

A core set card with no review? Yummy.

Sneak Attack is a cool rarity, the testless damage trick! The funny bit is that you actually need to beat a test, the evade.

The upside to trading a fight test for an evade test is that evades tend to be easier, even so 2 actions for 2 damage is bad rate, so whats the angle? Sometimes you need to evade anyway! Retaliating enemies, perhaps the health pool is too damn big for you to deal with in one turn.

Sneak attack is not a strategy unto itself, it's an element in it, say you play Wendy Adams and don't intend to fight with anyway, Sneak Attack! Say you play in a 3 man team, you evade things and run away to deal with clues, why not soften up the bad guy to make it easier for your fighter to kill? Perhaps you "evade for money" via Pickpocketing and Sneak Attack is a natural combination of cards. Alongside Ornate Bow or Backstab you can deal 5 damage in one round, enough to kill off most foes in the game. Sometimes you just play two copies of Sneak Attack to finish something off, 4 damage for 3 actions, despite the cost and card expense, especially given that the damage is all automatic.

Sneak Attack is flexible, effective, and you'll be glad for it when you draw it, it might sit a bit in your hand and you'll be tempted to chuck it at a test, don't, save it and eventually it'll get you out of a heap of trouble. It slots into builds with many aforementioned cards, Backstab, Ornate Bow, Track Shoes, Peter Sylvestre,Pickpocketing, all the agility based stuff. Stay aware of your cost curve! You dont even need all of them, a character like Finn Edwards for example can supplement a big gun with Sneak Attacks and Peter Sylvestre, using the to pick fights and then tag teams the gun and Sneaks in tandem.

The characters who can use Sneak Attack at it's best and it's build-mates include Sefina Rousseau, Finn Edwards, Wendy Adams. Note that all of these have a special set of skill that makes Sneak Attack really shine, a free evade, repeat-use events, combining the evasion centric elements in the and pools. "Skids" O'Toole can do it but he might not afford it.

The upgrade is a tactical choice, it's lukewarm in solo bot it allows you to boop at enemies engaged with friends, freeing you from the evasion requirement, it is indeed an amazing upgrade, but only if you got friends!