Fundamentally, this card increases your hand size. So far, there's only 2 investigators where I've found the 8 card limit becomes a problem; Daisy Walker when she's using the Old Book of Lore each turn, and Rex Murphy when choosing to fail elder-sign tests, or using Search for the Truth.

For them, this card could be really useful. However, both can also take Dr. Milan Christopher, whose +1 and paying resources for investigating is probably preferable. He's a much stronger card.

However, at the right time, and with those investigators, this could be a useful ally for a part of the game. I think you have to see this as an ally you might want late in a game, similarly to how a Research Librarian is most useful at the start.

So, in short - possibly useful, but highly situational, and I'd only bother for investigators who can draw a lot of cards.

It's worth noting that in the Dunwich campaign you sometimes don't want to get too far through your deck, so getting a third of your deck into your hand is maybe not the best idea.

This card always seems to appear right when it is extremely inconvenient for me. The fact that doom is placed directly on the agenda is just so devastating to your game tempo. The 2 fight is not much of a challenge but the fact that Silver Twilight Acolyte has 3 health means most investigators will have to use at least 2 actions to take care of this card unless you have some special effect at your disposal like Agnes's special ability or vicious blow. To summarize, a kind of annoying reflecting the itch in the middle of your foot.

To consider the humble magnifying glass, in this or its level 0 form, one should keep in mind the way in which most act decks progress: the collection and spending of clues. Clues, barring a few tricks of a persuasion, or some exceptional luck, are found through successful investigation actions, using . And the magnifying glass provides a static +1 for those - and only those - actions. As such, it's a lovely card.

In its level 1 form, it costs 0 (a bargain!), can be played without spending an action because it's fast (double bargain!!) and boosts one of the core actions many investigators will be attempting (...triple bargain?!). While not as showy as some of the alternative clue-gathering techniques, such as those outlined above, or as potent as a Flashlight, which can reduce the shroud of some locations to 0, effectively ensuring success on any chaos token but , the magnifying glass is nonetheless reliable and inexhaustible - no charges, no uses, just steady +1 .

There's more: the upgraded version of this card comes with a which allows for quick pocketing of the glass. Given that it's free in resource- and action-cost to play, and then to return to hand, that's quite the boon. Why might one want to do that though? Perhaps hands are getting full and an investigator wants to bring out a gun, sword or book; perhaps there's a big test ahead, such as a parley action, in which you'd prefer to commit the magnifying glass for its icon; perhaps you're worried about being made to discard assets - there are plenty of such effects - and you'd rather hold on to the glass. More than anything else, it provides options: it may take up a hand slot, but it doesn't do so permanently, and if your investigator finds their role in the scenario shifting from combat to clues or vice versa, bingo, out/in comes the magnifying glass. Tip top.

It certainly looks menacing, but is the Kukri any good? I basically never want to attack without dealing additional damage, but at the cost of an additional action it hardly seems efficient. Compared to the only other Neutral Weapon in the game, Knife only costs 1 resource to play, but it does require an additional skill test to achieve the same effect as Kukri. The real cost of that actual skill test will depend heavily on the difficulty of your scenario. Still, I'd give the edge to Knife for it's one-time ability to throw it at the enemy for extra Combat and Damage.

If Knife is better, Kukri could still be considered to be a third or fourth copy of Knife to make sure your investigator never knocks on a door without a melee weapon in hand. But let's consider who would need extra blades. As we'll see shortly, the combat-oriented classes aren't lacking for other options, and even if the other classes are looking for extra damage, Seekers can use "I've got a plan!" and Mystics can use Shrivelling. Both of these are better options and more thematic.

Looking at the game's list of weapons, the Guardian and Rogue both get firearms, and the Survivor gets a Fire Axe. The Machete and Baseball Bat are also quite good, and depending on the purpose of the deck, these cards could be worth the reach out of faction. Finally, the Switchblade is a very interesting card that I doubt can be adequately compared to any of the other weapons because of how situational it's use is. "Skids" O'Toole and Agnes Baker both have a base combat of 3, so the Switchblade would probably need some help to hit most enemies.

In the end, despite the wicked curve of our Himalayan machete, the Kukri seems outclassed by almost all of our other options.

Something like old trusty, this 'un

The .45 is something of a template weapon: 4 resources provides 4 ammo, each shot giving +1 and +1 damage. That breaks down to 'pay 1, get +1 and hit for 2' which is no bad thing at all. Of course, the cost to play the card is not insignificant. If you draw the .45 late in a game, particularly if you're already set up with another weapon, perhaps even a different firearm, you might struggle to afford this. Yet the cost is a hallmark of the .45's reliability: there are no conditional clauses on this weapon. You get bang for your buck and each shot you take gives you the same bonuses.

The .45 also provides some of the boons we'd associate with a staple, reliable firearm. It can be reloaded with Extra Ammunition, have its ammunition double with Contraband (as though you had a second clip sitting in your pocket, useful for those times when you don't have a duplicate .45 ready and waiting...). We've also, at point of reviewing, seen two enemies who care how you attack them. This marvel rewards keeping your distance; something in the sky fears firearms. Neither of these last details are a reason to make the .45 a "must-include" in a dedicated combat-deck, but they are certainly points in its favour.

The icon on the card is a slight disappointment, in so far as if you're set up with another weapon, particularly as a dedicated fighter, you're probably not trying to evade too much. Perhaps an upgraded .45 might have and and provide further utility.

The three investigators who can take the .45 (discounting the fact that all Dunwich investigators can, plausibly) are Roland Banks, "Skids" O'Toole and Zoey Samaras. All have respectable , and appreciate the bonus from the .45. All have access to other guardian weapons, but will happily include the .45 to fill out the weapon slots of their deck. I suspect it will be some time before this card is not given consideration by any would-be fighter.