Disclaimer: Pre-Scarlet Keys release review.

Hit and Run is the Ally version of Sleight of Hand, a card so good that it was in the first batch of tabooed cards and had a second taboo later on. The latest version is a 0-3 Item. Interestingly enough, Hit and Run does not come with a limit. Did not learn the lesson or that the jank is more contained?

Interesting Allies to play with Hit and Run:

/Neutral Allies:

• Gregory Gry comes to mind immediately, play him, bet the 3 resources to each test you're about to perform and get him back in your hands for another round! $$$
• Leo De Luca is the other obvious choice, H&R Leo, play Calling in Favors and dig any other Ally from your Deck for 2 resources since you are replacing a 6-cost Ally.
• The Red-Gloved Man seems quite sick here too! You do not have him for the Mythos Phase when doing it this way, but you still have an extra round with a 6 base stat.
• Priest of Two Faiths why not, to add a few to the Chaos Bag.
• Anna Kaslow to find your Tarot Cards.

Other Classes:

• Beat Cop (2)/Field Agent/Agency Backup/Aquinnah (3) to get a single use and get it back in your hand. A 1-cost fast damage/clue is really good. See Working a Hunch for a comparison.
• Special mention to Guard Dog that doesn't exhaust and so if you give it 2 damages (3 with The Star • XVII or if you heal it), you can deal more damage than with Beat Cop (2).
• Alyssa Graham to Doom her and then call her back immediately.
• Elle Rubash to easily discard an over-Doomed Asset.
• Dr. Elli Horowitz if you would ever want to find a Relic in your Deck and place it in your Discard Pile, let's say for Scavenging purposes. That could be interesting for the Dunwich Gators.
• Jeremiah Kirby of course, get the big bonus another time! Works also with Art Student Medical Student and Laboratory Assistant to a lesser benefit.
• Research Librarian to find more than 1 book in your Deck, triggering that many Astounding Revelations.
• Library Docent to cycle those Old Book of Lore or any tome that has uses, .

Who would be interested in using it?

• Big money Decks that would like to abuse Gregory Gry, with a + for being able to oversucceed.
• Gators that would be interested in using the The Red-Gloved Man more often.
• Gators with or access.

Besides our Ally monster, Charlie Kane, who is for the moment not necessarily tending towards , all this tends towards Preston Fairmont benefitting the most from Hit and Run for both the The Red-Gloved Man cycling and generating more resources with Gregory Gry.

Following are Trish Scarborough, Rex Murphy and Jenny Barnes that have access to the Allies that activate when coming to play.

Finally Leo Anderson and "Skids" O'Toole also benefit from the testless clue/damage, especially as they are likely to play these cards already anyways.

Conclusion: Not nearly as busted as untabooed Sleight of Hand, Hit and Run is nice, especially in combination with Calling in Favors to turn the Ally into research and a discount. Outside of this, there are not so many outstanding targets, but I'm sure that for every new Ally there is, we'll be thinking about this card again.

So first it's a new card that makes you search your deck and so that can trigger Astounding Revelation and Surprising Find (and Occult Evidence in a Mandy Thompson deck).
It's also a tutor among 6 cards at the cost of 1-2 clues. And technically a "pay 1 resource and place 3 clues on your location to draw 6 cards" event.

And finally I think it will be interesting in a Barricade deck (meaning a deck in which you investigate without moving from the location you played the Barricade in): you put on your location (where you an always investigate) clues that you got from other locations (which required to use cards such as In the Know or Seeking Answers) to draw cards to get the other "distant clues". With the side bonus of Astounding Revelation recharging In the Know.

I love playing "big hands" seeker (or other classes with access to seeker cards) decks so when I see this card I don't consider that it's a wwillpower / intel (8) test but a potential (0) test (and a (2) would already be great).

For me the best use is on a hunter enemy in a Trish Scarborough deck: you now have an aloof enemy that follows you and give you an extra clue each round thanks to Trish abiity ! And it allows combo with Eavesdrop if the enemy has a low evade value (a Hunting Nightgaunt for example).

I think it compares somewhat well to Lockpicks.

Pros:

• No xp cost
• Doesn't exhaust on use
• Gives your investment back and then some
• Ability to commit icons to investigation tests (which are more common than in Rogues)

Cons:

• No bonus to skill test
• 6 uses only instead of potentially unlimited uses

One thing needs to be said is, if you are banking on Lockpicks to have unlimited uses, then you can mentally add 2 to each skill check difficulty. Then Lockpicks is only better when you have 3 or more (with static boosts added).

Let's also take a look at Flashlight:

• Better than Thieves' Kit if your character's ( - ) score is less than 2.

• Better than Thieves' Kit against less than 2 shroud locations.

• Has half the uses

• Cheaper by a single resource

I wouldn't choose Thieves' Kit if:

• My investigator only needs to assist clue getting occasionally.

• My investigator has less than 4 base

• I will have both and static boosts and I plan to have some over-success thing going on

I think Thieves' Kit will see at least as much play as Lockpicks without dethroning it, which is great.

Just don't bother with its upgrade, 3 xp is so expensive for what it provides (+1 skill value and +1 resource return on success).

Not really so much as a review, it's a really good card, but I just tested Darrell(proxy), I had this in his deck. I never thought that could of been him in the art, and it might not be. But he tests at a 8 for it, you know he's getting those clues.