Arkham Horror the Card Game the Essex county Express Mythos pack review

The Arkham Horror card game is excellent, and its really exciting to see the first few expansion products, to get a feel for where FFG are going with the game.  The first expansion we got to see after the main game was the deluxe Dunwich Legacy pack, and that was a cracker!then we took a trip into the Miskatonic Museum,
Not to mention some diversions to Venice Carnevale of Horrors, then we even had got to trek through the Bayous in Curse if the Rougarou. This time its a Train journey, how bad can that be??



"It seemed that the railway express clerk on No. 5508 had been able to recall an incident which might have much bearing on my loss…"
     –H.P. Lovecraft, Whisperer in Darkness

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce the upcoming release of The Essex County Express, the second Mythos Pack in The Dunwich Legacy cycle for Arkham Horror: The Card Game!
Among the sixty new cards in The Essex County Express, you'll find twenty-eight player cards, including four copies of a new weakness, along with a thrilling new scenario. In The Essex County Express, your investigations lead you outside the town of Arkham, and while the train may offer the fastest transit to your next lead, it may not offer the safest…
When the train rumbles, shakes, and lurches to a halt, you and your fellow investigators must race from your car to the engine. If you can't get the train moving in a hurry, you and all the other passengers may fall prey to whatever unnatural things seem to be crawling, shifting, and oozing their way from car to car, growing ever larger as they do so.




So lets take a look inside and see if they can keep up the home runs with excellent packs.  Do not worry though, no encounter cards will be spoiled, just the player cards........





Going Off the Rails

Nothing in the world of the Arkham LCG is ever as simple as it seems—not even a train ride. In The Essex County Express, the linear progression you might expect to follow through a train may lead you, instead, through any of a vast number of permutations.

At the beginning of the scenario, you'll randomly select one of three different versions of the Engine Car to put into play facedown. Then, you'll create a line of six random Train Cars , all of which you select randomly, and place to the left of the Engine Car. You and your fellow investigators must then work your way from the leftmost Train Car to the Engine Car, but there's no telling what you'll find along your path.

As a game that blends the traditional customizable card gaming and roleplaying experiences, Arkham LCG® goes to extraordinary lengths to place you into your investigator's shoes and allow you to see the in-game world through your investigator's eyes. By creating a measure of suspense every time you open the door to the next Train Car, the scenario from The Essex County Express serves as yet another example, and you can expect that you'll gain a thorough appreciation of your investigator's sense of dread and anxiety in the face of uncertainty.
 

So lets take a look at some of the cards that make an appearance to help us expand and tune our decks.....  For the Guardian class we get the 2 cost Bandolier Asset, which gives you an additional hand slot to hold only a weapon, and an extra health... very.. Handy.. see what i did there... yes im sorry. no more bad jokes.  Stand Together will cost 3 X to add, but is a 0 cost event that that lets you and another investigator at your location gain 2 resources each, and draw 2 cards each, so excellent for action economy!
The Seekers get the 2 cost asset ally Art Student.  She adds an extra health and 2 sanity, and after she enters play you discover a clue at your location.

Deduction is a 2 XP cost Skill, that can help you gain more clues, as you gain an extra if you pass, and 2 more if you pass by 2 or more successes, so a big way to get clues real fast for sure!
Rogue class get the 0 cost Event, Im outta here! it can be played only if the scenario card has a resign option, and well.. you resign and get the hell outta there. A good option if you have taken a battering.

Switchblade is a 1 cost asset weapon, that is2 is 2 XP to add to your deck, but it gives you +2 for the gfight, and if you succeed by 2 or more you deal an extra damage, so good for clearing enemies when needed.
Mystic Class gets the art of the pack award with the stunning Hypnotic Gaze. ts a  cost event spell that's fast so doesn't use an action and you can play it when an enemy attacks an investigator at your location.  You can then cancel the attack, and reveal a random token from the bag, if it a non number, then the enemy damages itself.

The Shriveling is a 3 cost, 3 XP spell with 4 uses.  You can spend one to use  intellect instead of fight for a combat, you also gain 2 intellect an inflict an extra damage for the combat, but, if you draw the wrong symbol you take a horror too, i imagine at seeing the effects of your brutal spell.
Survivors get Lure,  a 1XP 1 cost event that is attached to your location.  During the enemy phase each enemy moves as fast as possible to that location, but at the end of the round this is discarded.  Its great to drop and move on clearing a path to where you want to go.

Newspaper is a 1 cost asset that gives you 2 lore whilst investigation if you have no clues, so great for a buff to get you going.
Lastly we get a couple of neutral talent assets, that are permanent.  They each cost 3XP to add, but i think are big helps and wel worth trying to get a hold of.

Charisma gives you an extra Ally slot, which is a godsend for more health, sanity, and more abilities too.

Relic Hunter gives you 1 extra accessory slot so you can tote more gear around with you.


If you like Arkham Horror the card game, this is a no brainer, you NEED to get it, it adds a lot of much needed options for deck building, which due to its currently young life are only growing slowly.  once more im impressed how FFG have added something totally different with new mechanics for the train, and another challenging but awesome scenario that again has plenty of replay value due to your choices.  It can as all the others be played standalone, or in part of the campaign. I cant wait to see what they do next!


It comes in with an RRP of £14.99 so head on over to your local game store and grab yourself a pack.

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