A Dark Omen

“Whenever he awakened he retained a vague sense of having undergone much more than he remembered. He was hideously sure that in unrecalled dreams he had talked with both Brown Jenkin and the old woman, and that they had been urging him to go somewhere with them and to meet a third being of greater potency.”
   –H.P. Lovecraft, The Dreams in the Witch House

It is a breezy, chill evening in Arkham, perfect for a stroll through Independence Square, or so you thought until the moment the soothsayer offered to tell your fortune. With each draw from the deck, the cards reveal a grim future. For days, you cannot banish their dark tale from your mind. Then, when you hear of four people who have disappeared from an event hosted by the Silver Twilight Lodge, you find yourself facing a disturbing question: is the fate held in the cards meant for you alone, or for all of Arkham?

Today, we're pleased to offer you a closer look at the tarot cards that hold the key to your fate in The Circle Undone deluxe expansion for Arkham Horror: The Card Game—now available for pre-order at your local retailer or online through our website!

Embrace a New Truth

The Circle Undone centers around a new coven of witches who have taken up residence in Arkham, and the new team of fearless investigators who must stand between the witches and the city of Arkham. Magic permeates every corner of the city, creeping like a mist through the cracks in locked doors and beneath shuttered windows. As the divide between the present and the past begins to fade, it is only natural that this deluxe expansion should include a collection of player cards with the new Tarot trait. These assets hold the key to your fate in the tales they spin, but whether they speak of what will be or what may be remains to be seen. 

Along with this new trait comes a new slot, neither bodily nor arcane. Tarot slots are a new type of asset slot introduced in The Circle Undone, indicated by a new icon in the lower right corner of certain cards. As with other slots, tarot slots limit the number of asset cards of that type that you can have in play at a time. Each investigator has only a single tarot slot available—so you must choose carefully which card will touch your fate. 

Each faction has a unique Tarot card to play into the heart of their class. For example, the Five of Pentacles (The Circle Undone, 39) bolsters a Survivor’s strength with additional health and sanity, while The Moon • XVIII (The Circle Undone, 31) helps a Rogue slip into the night with extra agility. Regardless of their class, each of these assets have a cost of three, but if you have one in your opening hand, you can put it into play immediately, without spending an action or any resources. But helpful as they may be, the cards can only reveal and advise. They cannot influence or impose. How you choose to confront the challenges before you is up to you.

If none of the faction-specific cards speak to you, you may choose to include the neutral Ace of Rods (The Circle Undone, 40) in your investigator’s deck. This card is limited to a single turn… but what a turn that may be! You can use the Ace of Rods to take an additional action during your turn, raising each of your skills in this key moment. This could give a Seeker the boost they need to clear the clues from a location with a high shroud, or for a Guardian to wipe out a powerful enemy before they can attack. No matter what terrors may return to haunt Arkham from its shadowed past, with a flash of insight to prepare your skills and the opportunity to pull off your plans, you can take the fateful step and do what must be done.

Circumstances Beyond Your Control

But not all insight into your future works in your favor. Along with the other Tarot assets of The Circle Undone comes the new basic weakness, The Tower • XVI (The Circle Undone, 42). Unlike other weaknesses in Arkham Horror: The Card Game, if this Omen is drawn in your opening hand during setup, you cannot replace it. And so long as you hold The Tower, you cannot commit cards to skill tests, whether the test is your own or an ally’s. The Omen may be yours, but your fate is inextricably tied to those who fight alongside you. If you cannot help others or even yourself, perhaps your presence will do more harm than good.

If you wish to free yourself of your chains, you must pay four resources to bring The Tower into play. However, you only have a single tarot slot, potentially denying yourself the boons that your other Tarot may provide. But if the fate of your team is in your hands, you will have little choice but to suffer to serve the greater good. Your only hope is that the cards will work in your favor, revealing an advantageous Tarot after The Tower is in play. But even if you destroy the object, the mark still remains. There is no escaping your fate.

The Fateful Step

Whether you embrace your fate or deny it, the cards do not lie. Will you be able to change the future and save your city from the terrors of the past? For all you know, you may only be able to delay the inevitable, but in your heart you know that Arkham is well worth the fight.

Pre-order your copy of The Circle Undone (AHC29) at your local retailer today or online through our website here!