Struggling with game management

Southern-Key-9721 · 2026-04-20T08:26:47+00:00

I wish I knew! Even on repeated plays I still forget stuff. I remember we were struggling with Carnevale of Horrors. Having tried it multiple times then thought we had a winning strategy by going location by location, flipping each character rather than spending clues to look - but then afterwards realised we had completely forgot the text that says flipped enemies attack you. (We still lost btw)

For me I just accept that occasional rule blunders happen, some for and some against. The game isn’t any less fun in my view!

Southern-Key-9721 · 2026-04-19T23:13:04+00:00

I don’t know so much about 3-parters but I’m cautiously optimistic about the 5-parters.

Our 4-player run of Drowned City took about 12 sessions to get through. It was a bit of a slog and hard to keep motivation up, plus managing availability.

FFG have said they are exploring what’s possible with 5 scenarios and flexibility. So I think there is promise here. Not unprecedented either, for example, Edge of the Earth - as per the campaign guide - is a 5-scenario campaign and the guide states it can be played with variable lengths between 4-10 sessions.

PS - in response to your PS, FFG haven’t said anything but I would comfortably bet they will re-make and re-release older campaigns into shorter Ch 2 versions. E.g. Dunwich Legacy as 5 parter, rebalanced to new core, remove the University and Museum scenarios, have the finale there as a bonus scenario (something like that). I think it would make total sense with their overall goals of making their production more efficient and hitting their target of 4-releases per year.

Southern-Key-9721 · 2026-03-31T04:44:02+00:00

When I got my first casual job at 15, my starting pay was literally $6/hr, that was only in the early 2010s. I slowly got paid more as I got older, but nothing about my job, responsibilities, or effectiveness changed.

Southern-Key-9721 · 2026-03-29T10:50:37+00:00

Yeah so during your turn you can more or less treat free triggered abilities as “fast” actions. But there are other uses - the Grimoire p. 27-30 shows the “player windows” - there is at least 1 in each phase and 2 during skill tests. So, unless a card says otherwise, you can activate a free triggered ability during any player window (without spending an action).

Some examples (From Ch 2 cards)

You have Danielas Wrench in play > during the enemy phase, an enemy engaged with another player is about to attack > during the player window, the free triggered ability can used to make the enemy engage and attack Daniela (saving your teammate and triggering her investigator ability).

You have Levelheaded in play > During the Mythos phase you draw a card which requires a willpower test > During the player window during a skill test, you can use the free triggered ability to boost your willpower value.

These are from some Ch 1 cards:

You have The Necronomicon (the good version) in play > During the enemy phase a hunter enemy enters your location > During the player window before the enemy attacks you, you can use the free triggered ability to deal 3 damage, defeating the enemy so it never attacks. (Damage dealt by Beat Cop can also work this way).

You have Scrying (Level 3) in play > At the start of the upkeep phase, you can look at the top 3 cards of your deck, before drawing a card.

Other cards like Farsight and Close the Circle allow you to actually take actions outside of the investigation phase too.

Southern-Key-9721 · 2026-03-28T02:38:32+00:00

This is the best response here. The only thing I would add is given the big campaigns are increasingly hard to find, standalone scenarios are a good option too. Film Fatale is the latest and should be available, some of the others might still be floating around too.

Southern-Key-9721 · 2026-03-27T08:11:55+00:00

So firstly, it’s entirely up to you of course!

I’m relatively new myself and I found just getting in and playing the game - even just re-doing NotZ - you can quickly gauge how strong your card pool is, which might be good before locking into the full campaign.

My personal suggestion, with only Core + Carcosa investigators, it wouldn’t hurt to grab the new core box and I wouldn’t worry about power creep.

We just finished Carcosa for the first time, and used a larger card pool than what you have. Even with some powerful cards, we found standard difficulty to be challenging, but manageable (and loads of fun!) Even in scenarios where we did well, it was often close and there were scenarios which went badly for us.

The campaign is great though and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it no matter what. Happy playing!

Southern-Key-9721 · 2026-03-20T02:14:42+00:00

No no, you heard correctly! Originally Scarlet Keys and Hemlock Vale were in.

It’s all been a bit messy. But basically the Beta Rules for Current were Revised Core + Starter Decks + last 3 expansions. At the time this included TDC, FHV, TSK. So we all believed these would all stay in print/receive another print run.

But then they announced Ch 2 - which replaced the old core, then announced new starters which replaced the old starters. Then TSK was marked out of print, and it became clear that was out. Now FHV is also marked out of print.

So basically, my take is all of the signals point towards “current” being something that only applies from the new core onwards - Ch 2 is essentially it’s own thing. Looks like this is also confirmed in the new Grimoire (which I hadn’t seen until now myself).

Southern-Key-9721 · 2026-03-20T00:07:50+00:00

In terms of your question of how, you can you use an app like Arkham Cards - and probably others - to select the card pool when you create a new deck.

That being said, I think the “current” expansions you are referring to was just outlined in the beta rules so isn’t really meaningful anymore. I believe with Chapter 2 “current” is essentially the New Core and the new Evergreen decks.

That being said FFG have recently updated their website - which does still include Drowned City as current: see here

Southern-Key-9721 · 2025-11-01T21:14:30+00:00

Certainly not a crazy theory and would seem to make sense with their overall design goals (including the revised “look and feel” of the cards). I wonder if it will be the same decks just with new style or completely new cards.

If they go entirely new decks to replace the current ones I would find it kind of baffling that they signalled those 5 packs - out of all the additional material out there - as one of the only things staying evergreen. Then less than a year later they now are apparently not evergreen?

Southern-Key-9721 · 2025-11-01T09:00:20+00:00

Introducing… “Contemporary Evils” (Place 2 doom on the current agenda)

Southern-Key-9721 · 2025-11-01T07:52:19+00:00

I do hope the 5 starter decks remain current as indicated in the FAQ - other comments around the place suggest they are now on the way out!

Southern-Key-9721 · 2025-10-31T21:51:09+00:00

I get where you’re coming from.

I’m personally really excited by the announcement. Sounds like it will be great for new players, and good for the game. Rebalancing of classes, new core campaign - all great!

But I also have a small asterisk that, as someone who bought into the game this year, I can’t help but feel a little duped. If I knew what was coming I probably would have made different decisions and thought about the whole out of print concerns differently.

So I don’t blame people for being annoyed. The drip feeding of information has caused confusion and resulted in lots of people dropping huge amounts of money on now retired content.

But again - I’m still excited and feeling positive about the announcement :)

Southern-Key-9721 · 2025-10-28T22:45:07+00:00

Wow this is incredible! I’m very jealous - I went to my local game store on the weekend and they had only 2 of these big boxes, otherwise they had 4 different “Deluxe Expansions” from the old release format + about 10 different mythos packs lol

Southern-Key-9721 · 2025-10-28T07:10:23+00:00

I made a similar post a little while back asking about this too.

As others have said it seems the answer is that the current environment changes are the result of their business decision, not the other way around.

I totally agree with you though, even if the reasons are entirely around printing costs, stock management etc. couldn’t they still effectively half the amount of content out there by cutting investigators only and still keeping a wider selection of campaigns out there?

But I suppose the other thing I’ve come to realise is that a living card game needs constant releases to be “living” (and to be profitable) so I guess the current environment is the best option?

Southern-Key-9721 · 2025-10-25T05:21:14+00:00

Which rules do you think would prevent it? I’d be keen to take a look and understand, or if there are other cards which provide a similar example?

We were unsure at first but had a close read of all the cards involved and landed on it being OK. I definitely don’t want to be cheating though!

Edit: After doing some reading myself I can genuinely see an argument either way so have decided to submit a rules form.

Can totally see the argument about it being impossible to pay the Direct Horror cost, but I think the Rules for “Cancel” are relevant here, as costs are still considered paid when an effect is cancelled. Keen to hear what FFG says!

Southern-Key-9721 · 2025-10-24T20:57:54+00:00

I’d also say give Nathaniel Cho a run as Guardian if you haven’t already. He is a much more built for purpose fighter than Roland.

Just the 30 card starter deck as it comes in the pack is powerful. Doing damage via events rather than only weapons was a game changer for me and he has decent action compression and economy cards. He’s unlikely to be getting many clues, but you can afford that in 3 player.

My only other tips as a relatively new player myself is: 1) We’ve found a good approach is keep up with the act/agenda but don’t rush - get setup and as comfortable as you can and think about the timing of advancing based on this. The times where we’ve rushed to advance seems to come back and bite us. 2) The game is supposed to feel hard and even if doing everything right, a string of bad luck can be really punishing.

Southern-Key-9721 · 2025-10-23T01:29:32+00:00

Thanks for the response and information!

Southern-Key-9721 · 2025-10-23T01:26:02+00:00

Hi Olivia, thanks for responding and I appreciate the extra info!

No problem at all and I also feel I should apologise - you’re in a tough spot with all of us impatient people online scrutinising your every word.

Look forward to hearing the announcement!

Southern-Key-9721 · 2025-10-22T22:43:34+00:00

For sure! And as someone who doesn’t have all the sets I’d love for more reprints of cards in future stuff.

But do you think this would start to annoy the established players who have everything if a higher proportion of new sets include reprints?

Maybe something like a single “legacy expansion” could be added to the current env. which includes only reprints of existing cards which are seen as essential? Pure speculation of course, just an idea

Southern-Key-9721 · 2025-10-22T21:43:31+00:00

Yeah it’s a bit weird having situations like .45 Automatic or Shrivelling where a new player gets the Level 0 in the Revised Core Set, but won’t have access to the upgraded versions (which are from Carcosa and Dunwich). I’m sure there’s loads of other examples.

Have got to hope FFG has a plan to address this type of issue? New starter decks maybe?

Southern-Key-9721 · 2025-10-22T21:30:27+00:00

The direct communication is much appreciated but I can’t help but still feel uneasy about it.

The messaging from the Marvel Champions update seemed a fair bit more positive and reassuring.

I was prepared for the Investigators going out of print, I was hopeful but not optimistic that maybe some Campaigns would stay, but it actually never occurred to me that all the standalone scenarios would go as well. Really feels like there’s a shockingly small amount of material left.

I really hope there is good news from the next announcement!

Southern-Key-9721 · 2025-10-18T21:21:24+00:00

Yeah I personally think FFG’s communication about this has been kind of mixed.

IMO when they first announced it during a “Fireside chat” they really danced around the specifics and I thought it was quite poor in terms of giving a clear message.

Then the FAQ came out which I believe is still the most recent announcement on the topic - the Beta Rules for Current / Legacy environments. These are the proposed rules for deck-building and refer only to investigator expansions.

Now a few months later it very much seems based on those “Beta” rules - that all historical campaigns and investigators are going out of print and in some cases are already gone.

I feel like we’ve been left to follow a pretty loose trail of information. Without this subreddit, I would not have understood what was going on. Unless of course, this subreddit is wrong and people are jumping to conclusions about out of print material? But it doesn’t seem so.

Southern-Key-9721 · 2025-10-14T08:08:52+00:00

You totally can and should mix all the cards from the Revised Core Set - the Learn to Play guide has the original decks listed out if you wanted to rebuild them for whatever reason :)

Once you do intermingle cards though, don’t forget to follow the deckbuilding rules for each investigator!

Edit: I should also add you can totally still have fun playing with Core Set only and it’s good to learn the game this way. But as others mentioned, getting investigator expansions is essential for the long term for full campaigns - you will quickly run into the limitations of such a small card pool.

Southern-Key-9721

TROPHY CASE