The Lucky Number

Event. Cost: 1.

Action: Choose a character in play (other than Bilbo Baggins). Add Bilbo Baggins' total , , and to that character's , , and respectively until the end of the phase.

"I am the clue-finder, the web-cutter, the stinging fly. I was chosen for the lucky number."
Bilbo Baggins, The Hobbit
Magali Villeneuve

On the Doorstep #13. Baggins.

The Lucky Number
Reviews

I was going through the On The Doorstep cards and I noticed that this card has no reviews, so I felt like I should leave one. I normally don't like events that boost stats temporarily. But this card offers you a big boost - you get to add Bilbo's total , and to each of the stats of another character. This means you're getting a minimum of 3 of each stat added to another character for one phase, which could be as much as 6 or 9 or even more if you have Sting or Burglar Baggins! And the quests in the second half of the Hobbit saga are tough, so you might end up needing such a huge temporary boost to push through a questing or combat barrier. I didn't use this card much during my first play of the Hobbit saga, but now that I've rethought it, I'm going to give it another better try.

PS: This whole review was prompted because I noticed that this card is right in the middle of the player card list for On the Doorstep despite the other and cards being at the end of the player card list for the other saga expansions. At first I was curious why this was, but then I noticed that it's because they made this card's number 13. Very clever.

PPS. EDIT: I know this card's wording isn't the clearest about whether you add the sum of Bilbo's stats to the other character (e.g. +3 to each stat with unmodified Bilbo) or just his individual stats (e.g. +1 to each stat with unmodified Bilbo). But what convinces me that you add the sum is that the text says "total." If the text didn't say "total," then it would be clear that it adds Bilbo's individual stats and not the sum of his stats. Also because spending a resource and a card just to give a character +1 to each stat for one phase is rarely worth it, especially considering you only get to use cards in quests in The Hobbit saga, which is only 6 quests out of the whole game, and those quests make you want to hang onto your resources to use for scenario-specific effects.

I don’t think this is correct. The card says “respectively” so the target character will get +1 willpower, +1 attack, +1 defence (assuming unmodified Bilbo). — tburrows 8
@tburrows What makes me believe the other character gets +3 to each stat is because the card says to add the "total" to each stat "respectively", which gives me the idea that you sum up the 3 stats and then add the total to each stat separately. And because spending 1 resource and a card to add 1 to each stat for one phase is nearly useless, especially when you consider that you can only use this in The Hobbit saga, which is only 6 quests in the entire game, and the fact that you need to spend a <span class="icon-baggins"></span> resource on it, which the quests in The Hobbit saga require you to spend at specific points. — waltercardcollector 25
Whoops, it looks like the formatting of my comment reply above got messed up. The last sentence should say "Baggins resource" instead of that code nonsense. — waltercardcollector 25
I don't think the 'total' means you add all the stats together and add that number to each of the beneficiary's stats. It makes more sense to me that 'total' is being used as a distinction from 'printed'. Any effects that boost Bilbo's stats get included, to make it more tempting to play (perhaps in tangent with Halfling Determination in addition to Sting), but without being so busted as being able to add +9 to all stats, which I personally think would be a bit insane for a 1-cost event. So you can still boost it, but even with just Bilbo and Sting it's a 1-cost event giving +2 to each stat, which makes it better than Blade Mastery (stat-per-cost-wise, at least) and is on par with similar events like Durin's Song and Halfling Determination, with the obvious upside of not being trait-restricted in who you can play it on. — aea2o5 35
@aea2o5 Hm I can see that. The thing is, if that were the case and you didn't earn Sting, then this card seems pretty useless. My perspective is more of that this card is only usable in 6 scenarios out of the whole game, so it's OK for it to be powerful. — waltercardcollector 25
Adding onto my previous comment: It's especially OK for this card to be powerful because you have to spend a Baggins resource for it, which the Hobbit saga quests incentivize you to hang onto in order to spend them on scenario-specific effects. — waltercardcollector 25