The Feast of Hemlock Vale - Guardian - Part 2

[@LittleBlueJug]

Whoa, I feel totally differently. Wolf Mask is definitely the best mask of the set. It makes 4 fist fighters extremely consistent. Even if you end up using it for just a fist boost, it can result in an unexpected courage per enemy fought. If you plan on using 1-2 attacks for most enemies, it's incredible. Just plays so well with Ruinic Axe with Hunter, so you get those engage triggers so easily. To expand on Ruinic Axe synergy, you can use wolf mask as a pseudo-charge counter on Ruinic Axe if you want to hit a +4 threshold on Hard mode token bags, but need to save a charge on Ruinic Axe for Damage/Hunter. It's just so powerful, tutored by backpack, which ultimately allows you to free up other icon cards for other fun guardian cards.

[@TheWhispererinDarkness]

As someone who plays solo, the best mask at any given time is the one that rounds out my deck. I've tested Wolf Mask in some of my Guardian decks but ultimately cut it in favour of one of the others because it didn't provide the bonuses I needed. Wolf Mask is a great card. Definitely worthy of the unanimous Elder Sign rating. But it hasn't been the auto include I thought it would be in solo. .

[@Kings_Gambit]

FFG: "Here's a card to get clues." Matastrophic: "Why not Dynamite Blast?" 💣💥😅

[@accountnamewithheld]

Wolf mask is the strongest card in this set.

[@TheWhispererinDarkness]

I agree that it's the strongest Guardian card in the set. As for the set as a whole, my money is currently on the Myconid.

[@Jay_Frank13]

Yeah I disagree, Wolf Mask is the strongest mask.

[@Mattastrophic]

I love how the debate to have is about *which* mask, because of how strong they all are.

[@zi00mbal]

What's the reasoning behind the claim that Hold up needs to be a basic fight action? I was pretty sure that this is not the case. Not that it would make this card great or even good, but it does open some interesting combos. Particularly for rogues who can take this.

[@TheWhispererinDarkness]

The designers issued a ruling on Hold Up to a player via email. I was able to track down the original question and answer on the Mythosbusters Discord server. I won't repeat the question, since it is quite long, but here is the answer: "When Hold Up states "perform a fight action against the chosen enemy," it means that you resolve a skill test using your combat value against the enemy's combat value, and if you succeed you don't deal damage but instead play the chosen Item. This process only costs you 1 action." The designers have a bad habit of issuing rulings by email that don't make it to the wider community. They did something similar to clarify Kate's ability. It took months before that ruling was included in an official FAQ. I assume the same will be true of the Hold Up ruling.

[@zi00mbal]

@@TheWhispererinDarkness Thanks for the detailed reply! This sucks though, not only makes the card basically unusable, but also goes directly against the flavor. I was sure the entire idea behind it was using your weapon to play a different asset instead of dealing damage.

[@kayosiiii]

From a game design perspective - at this point in the games lifespan if you have to think of a reason not to include a card in your deck then that should be rated a curse. At some point either you remove enough of the challenge from the game that it stops being interesting or you need to design the scenarios to be more difficult to compensate. With regards to "Hold Up" - there are two words on the card that completely change how you evaluate it - those words are "Trick" and "Parley". This card is bad if you play it outside of a trick deck or a parley deck, as it combos with cards like "Chuck Fergus", "Fine Clothes" & "Crafty". It also gets better if you have other cards that also trigger on succeeding by a certain threshold, which guardian does have some of.

[@fivifivia1146]

Hold up is definitely one of the cards ever printed....can't believe what a big pile of shi*t is it, and how nobody said anything before printing such a bad card lmao

[@TheWhispererinDarkness]

It's a bad card. It doesn't help that the wording is unclear. The designers have already issued a ruling re the fight action that will make it into an FAQ at some point. It's highly unlikely I'll play it regardless. Deck slots are precious, and I don't have time for that type of janky BS.

[@kayosiiii]

It's not. It's also not a great card but you have to evaluate it in the light of other cards that interact with the "Trick" trait and the "Parley" action. It's purposefully below curve to compensate for this.