Arkham Horror: TCG – The Tarot Cards of ‘The Circle Undone’
Fantasy Flight Games previews some of the new cards from ‘The Circle Undone’ and introduces their new mechanics to the game. Time to face your fate and check out the new Tarot Cards coming to Arkham Horror: The Card Game.
The Circle Undone is the next deluxe expansion coming out for Arkham Horror: The Card Game and with it a new story is kicked off along with a slew of new cards. Today we’re taking a quick look at the Tarot Cards as they introduce a new item slot for players and have a new mechanic in play for the investigators of Arkham Horror.
The new cards add a couple of new things to the game. First off, they have the new Tarot trait. Card traits in the game are a keyword system that can help trigger other effects in the game and are mostly used as a reference for those game mechanics. The second thing these cards introduce is the new Tarot Slot. This is completely new asset type and each investigator can have exactly 1 of these assets in their control at a time.
These cards also have a special trigger in that if the investigators start the game with them in their hands, they can play the for immediately and for free – ignoring the 3 resources it would normally cost to play them. Not a bad trade off. From the looks of things, these cards all provide a pretty standard boost to their respective classes’ skill set.
- Guardian – Ace of Rods, +1 to Fight
- Seeker – Death XIII, +1 to Lore
- Mystic – Four of Cups, +1 to Will
- Survivor, Five of Pentacles, +1 to health and sanity
- Rogue, The Moon XVIII, +1 to Agility
There is also a “neutral” option if you wanted to run that instead – The Ace of Rods:
This card is more of a “one-shot” option, but it’s perfect for an investigator who’s looking for a big swing on a turn as it provides +2 to all skill checks until the end of the turn. But not all Tarot cards are helpful. The expansion also introduces a new basic weakness to the game – The Tower XVI:
This weakness has a couple of draw backs. First off, while this card is in your hand you cannot commit cards to skill tests which prevents you from boosting your skills. Next, in order to get this card out of your hand you have to pay the requisite 4 resources AND this card takes up your lone Tarot slot. That means it also removes any other cards that were previously in that slot (you lose the bonus). Finally, this card also has the caveat that you CANNOT mulligan this card and it has to stay in your opening hand. That changes one of the core mechanics to the game and is pretty devious!
As basic weaknesses go, The Tower isn’t the worst out there – but it does take 4 resources to clear and for some investigators, it could be really devastating to draw (Minh comes to mind). Although, if you can pay to get it out, you can also remove it pretty quickly by playing one of your OTHER Tarot cards over the top of it and removing it from play. Other than that, it’s not going to be that bad of a weakness. Alternatively, because it’s technically an Asset, you could also chuck it if an effect calls for you to discard an Asset you control (ie, a failed encounter card check).
The Circle Undone $29.95
The Circle Undone is the fourth deluxe expansion for Arkham Horror: The Card Game. Here, your team of investigators delve into the mysteries of Arkham’s past, uncovering its macabre history and the motives of those who dwell in its shadows. This expansion contains a playable prologue, first two scenarios of The Circle Undone campaign, as well as new investigator and player cards to further customize your investigations in the world of H. P. Lovecraft’s Mythos.
Will you embrace your fate – or is fate what you make of it?
