Cryptic Writings

You're just never going to draw it during your turn.

Finding it is nice, but most of the time you will just feel bad and annoyed. It's not important enough to try and search for it with search effects. And the rest of the time it's just a bad Emergency Cache and you'll be cursing it in anger!

The card is quite decent in Norman Withers decks, and I could imagine it in a deck with Scroll of Secrets.

Tsuruki23 · 2568
Heavy disagree. If you build your deck to cycle quickly, you will frequently draw this during your turn. Even Crack the Case require you actually clear a location to get the burst. This is just gas in a draw heavy deck. — StyxTBeuford · 13043
Yeah, a typical draw-heavy deck will draw 2x, 3x, or even 6+x as many cards during their turn as during the upkeep. — Death by Chocolate · 1488
And at worst, you've got 2 int symbols, the best non wild symbols to have in the game. It hurts less than accidentally drawing Astounding Rev, which you should still run despite that risk in a search deck. — StyxTBeuford · 13043
I agree with Styx. Harvey with his Vault of Knowledge out has got great odds of drawing this during his turn. If it's early in the game, you'll be glad to have the resources. If it's mid to late game, those icons are beautiful. A great card either way. — Pinchers · 132
@Death by Chocolate, can you link me a deck that draws 6 cards every turn? Curious. — flamebreak · 25
@flamebreak simple example: any Seeker investigates commiting PMP, drawing Perception (2), exhausting Gristly Totem, passing, gaining +4 cards in a single skill test; investigating again commiting the Perception, gaining +2 cards. Exhausts a Taboo'd Scroll for +1 draw. Exhausts Rook for +1 draw. Exhausts Dream-Enhancing Serum for +1 draw. Plays Cryptic Writings for +3 more. Spend 6 secrets from the Necronomican for 6 more cards. Of course, this will be spread out in a few turns to avoid running into the hand size limit...or you might not care becuase you have the Dream Enhancing Sereum in play. — suika · 9497
@flamebreak uh oh you're actually talking to the maker of such a deck. Death by Chocolate made the legendary Trish goes brr deck and it does just that actually. — kellyhoang92 · 1
Question....Is Cryptic Writings a dead card (aside from it's 2 book icons) in your opening hand? My reading of it says YES because drawing your opening hand is not "on your turn" — BillyB · 21
@BillyB You are correct. "Your turn" refers to a specific time within the investigator phase, however your opening hand is drawn before that. — snacc · 1008
Burning the Midnight Oil

On command resources for what you want to be doing anyway. Grab it alongside other economy to fuel a greedy engine (something that runs on Hyperawareness for example, allies or is also doing stuff with guns).

The trick that makes this so nice is that it's unconditional. A Crack the Case requires that you finish a location, this one hands you the resources just for trying (and you are allowed to fail!). All of a suddent you're playing this card and possibly getting a clue along with your resources, instead of just standing there to play Emergency Cache. There is no setup-cost unlike Dr. Milan Christopher.

One thing you might find yourself doing is playing a Roland Banks or Luke Robinson and playing this at a 1-shroud, that's just a really big tempo boost!

Great tempo, completely dependable, valuable benefits. A great addition to the cardpool.

Tsuruki23 · 2568
Whitton Greene

Wholly unimpressive. The faction is chock full of draw-mechanics that are better than this, and there are allies who do the + buff unconditionally.

It is a bit nice that you can use her to sift for a Segment of Onyx and other relics, which is handy sometimes.

She is'nt terrible, she's just worse than the status Quo, which is a pretty high bar to aim for. If there are big nerfs as of this review (Okt 2020) then my stance might drastically change.

Tsuruki23 · 2568
I mean, the Seeker status quo without taboo is Milan and Rook (the latter is fully expected to be taboo soon). Picking between Whitton and taboo Milan seems like a genuine choice, especially if you’re anyone who cares about tomes or relics. Luke starts with one in play, and anyone with Charon’s Obol access can have her bonus on permanently as well (Ursula, Trish). It all depends on what you’re fishing for, but I will say her level 2 version makes taboo Milan look pretty weak, especially as Seekers have better means of burst resources now. — StyxTBeuford · 13043
I tried running her in a few decks, and I'd say she's pretty good. The 2xp version a bit more so though (searching 6 deep is a bit underwhelming). The key is having good targets like Dream Diary, Occult Lexicon, or Crystalline Elder Sign. She can allow you to take some of those as only 1 copy which can save a lot of XP and deck space. Also definitely sturdier than Dr. Milan. — Zinjanthropus · 229
Pretty good for Roland Banks and Joe Diamand get Timeworn Brand, Armor of Ardennes (roland only) and Pendant of the queen. Will boost on her upgrade is also great for both. — Django · 5148
Though, I'm guessing she is worse on higher player counts, as it's less likely that Whitton's controller will be able to reveal all the locations. Also pretty bad if you draw her late after all locations are revealed. — Zinjanthropus · 229
Encyclopedia

Im a fan of this card but in practice it's a bit of a downer.

(Daisy Walker exists, she can make any tome work, and this one isnt bad in her).

At 2 resources and some actions you get pretty big bonuses to a skill. If you target yourself you'll be getting +2 for, probably, 2 actions. If you target somebody else, it's 3 actions of fun! This card is a good way to supercharge a friendly fighter (How does that work? Are you reading a workout routine?) or power up a spellcaster ("You can do it, you have the power of Friendship!"), but because you only cash in on the buff twice yourself then it's of limited value to the user.

That said, upping your to 6 or 7 right before attempting to pick up from a 4 shroud isnt a bad idea, it's an option. But using it before making an attack means that your foe is getting an attack of opportunity, making it near-unusable in this manner.

This thing has 5 Secrets, there are implications there, and I think Amanda Sharpe might find it a helpful way to brute-force through a round where her skill cards didnt co-operate.

Try it, it'll probably be mildly useful but not groundbreaking. Frankly I love the fact that it has the same effect as the XP version but limits it with secrets, so it's just as powerful, but limited. I want to see more stuff like this.

Tsuruki23 · 2568
Well, you're much more likely to buff a fighting-focused investigator's attack, who's more likely the one engaged to the enemy, than your own attack as a Seeker. — TheDoc37 · 468
- Step 1: Give +2 Attack — Fovar · 22
Scoundrels love this. Example: Step 0: Tony Morgan gives 1+ bounties on a large foe. Step 1: Give +2 Attack. Step 2: Tony stacks all the bonuses as well as a Quick Thinking. Result: 5+ attacks with a +2. — Fovar · 22
Lesson Learned

Take a hit. Get clues. This card is ridiculously good (compare it to, say, Intel Report). But there is a couple mechanics to keep in mind of.

1) It has to be damage! A spooky type of enemy that deals no damage wont let you trigger this!

2) You cannot prevent the damage, it has to be at least 1 damage not negated and not resisted, so a Flesh Ward for example blocking a 1 damage attack would render this unplayable.

3) It has to be an attack, so any effects enemies might cause that deal damage dont count, only actual attacks.

So yeah, with those conditions cleared, have fun with your clues!

Obviously you ought to keep some horror healing handy to recover some of the horror (and damage) you will inevitably take for using this card.

Tsuruki23 · 2568