“Those creatures are definitely gonna know what hit ‘em.”

Daniela worked hard to make a name for herself as a mechanic. She’d only just paid off her new garage when Arkham was devastated by that cataclysmic flood, sending her business quite literally underwater. Rather than mope, she rolled up her sleeves—like always—and got right back to work. Now she works an extra shift tuning up engines at the new meat-packing factories. But she’s started to hear talk about strange things going on in the waterfront district: locals gone missing, corpses drained of blood, and rumors of a shadowy figure that stalks the alleys at night. Daniela knows better than to dismiss these strange happenings as mere circumstance. Whatever it is, she intends to be ready.

Back in October, we revealed the new core set for Arkham Horror: The Card Game, which heralds the beginning of an era we’re referring to as “Chapter Two.” With that new core set comes a new set of five core investigators, and one of those five is Daniela Reyes (Core Set, 1)!

Returning to the scene as the new core’s Guardian investigator, Daniela remains a tough-as-nails mechanic who can take a beating and dish it back in spades. The original version of Daniela was all about retaliating against enemies that attacked her, and this new, seasoned version expands on that playstyle even more. Now, after any investigator at Daniela’s location is attacked, she can punish that enemy with a mean swing. While Daniela can only do this once per round, she can use any Fight ability in her arsenal to do it, which works wonderfully with her new and improved Wrench (Core Set, 2). With her wrench in hand, Daniela can freely engage an enemy, take a hit from it, and then immediately retaliate with an attack of her own—and she can do all that without even using an action!

Naturally, with a playstyle built around counterattacks, Daniela is going to want plenty of cards to help her take as many hits as possible. Fortunately, her pre-built deck comes prepared for exactly that. For starters, the Bodyguard (Core Set, 16) ally continues the theme of counterattacks by being able to soak a hit for not only Daniela, but also any other investigator at her location, and he’ll dish out a point of damage if he is defeated. Pair that with Daniela’s innate ability and the Fight ability on her wrench, and the unsuspecting enemy could wind up taking 3 damage in retaliation—or even 4 damage, if you boosted that counterattack with Vicious Blow (Core Set, 25)! Even without the Bodyguard, Daniela can equip Resilience (Core Set, 21) to increase her own durability, and with the event Lesson Learned (Core Set, 22), she can turn an enemy attack into a source of clues. Speaking of clues, Scene of the Crime (Core Set, 24) is another great source, potentially grabbing you two at once if there’s an enemy nearby.

So now you have a decent grasp of Daniela’s defenses, but what about her offenses? While we already covered her wrench and Vicious Blow, that’s only scratching the surface of what she can do. Use Right Tool for the Job (Core Set, 23) to find yourself a Tool or Weapon asset, which could be Daniela’s Wrench or something more traditional, such as an M1911 (Core Set, 19) or a Machete (Core Set, 20). Keep in mind that Daniela can trigger any Fight ability for her counterattack, so it’s a good idea to equip multiple weapons and keep her options open. If you’re having trouble landing hits on a particularly tough enemy, equip Endurance (Core Set, 17) onto Daniela for some impressive boosts to her combat skill (so long as you have the resources to pay for them). Once you finally take that enemy down, Logan Hastings (Core Set, 18) can help you recoup the resource cost for doing so, giving you access to even more options for delivering a beatdown to the monsters of the Mythos.

At this point, you have a good grasp of the Guardian cards in Daniela’s pre-built deck. Longtime fans of Arkham Horror: The Card Game may recall that the original version of Daniela could also include Survivor cards in her deck—in fact, her deckbuilding options emphasized the Survivor class a bit more than Guardian. While this new version of Daniela has a more traditional focus on Guardian cards, she can still splash Survivor cards in her deck for some extra versatility, which is fitting for a tough customer like her. If you’re curious about what sort of Survivor cards you can find in Daniela’s pre-built deck, be sure to check out our preview of Isabelle Barnes and the Survivor class from a few weeks ago!

On the topic of survival, we can’t end our preview of Daniela Reyes without talking about her signature weakness. Daniela is known for being tough and determined, and her fearless, go-getter attitude can often lead her to putting herself In Harm’s Way (Core Set, 3). This treachery represents the recklessness Daniela displays when throwing herself head-first into the fray, and it can cause her to wrack up injuries fast. The only way to get rid of it is to persevere through the pain and keep fending off foes, a task made more bearable when Daniela relies on her allies and her fellow investigators to help mitigate the damage coming her way.

Standing Guard

With her ability to counter enemy attacks and her tough, can-do attitude, Daniela Reyes is an excellent example of what the Guardian class has to offer in Chapter Two of Arkham Horror: The Card Game.

Look forward to our previews of the Rogue class in the coming weeks!

Written by Peter Schumacher