Gathering Forces (AC-021)

Gathering Forces (AC-021) is an Action card in Resident Evil: The Deck Building Game, first introduced in the first expansion set Alliance. It is the succesor to The Merchant but is much more effective due to its other uses.

Overview
Gathering Forces has a unique effect that can make a player's game go much faster; any cards the player "Gains" (either through a Buy action or a character's effect) goes straight to the player's hand instead of being immediately dicarded to circulate into the Inventory. This is assisted by two of its symbol effects, which grant the player +20 Gold and +1 Buy. Additionally, it grants the player +1 Action, so the card could be stacked with more of the same to gain more Gold, Buys, and Actions. This makes it highly effective for player's wishing to accumulate cards for their Inventroy. Though its Gold Cost of 90 makes it the most expensive Action card in the game, its well worth the effort.

The artwork on Gathering Forces is taken from official artwork of Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles. It depicts Albert Wesker in the background and shows in the foreground (from left to right) Carlos Oliveira, Jill Valentine, Chris Redfield, Rebecca Chambers, and Billy Coen; showcasing all of the game's playable characters except for HUNK, Ada Wong, and technically Richard Aiken.

Strategies

 * Albert Wesker and Claire Redfield; characters whose Level 1 effects grant them extra Gold, make it easier to take advantage of the extra Buys made available to the player.
 * The promotional Jill Valentine card (based on her Lost in Nightmares appearance) is granted an extra Buy and Action through her only effect. This can make for a really interesting combination.
 * If one of the decks in the Resource Area is trimmed down to its "special weapon", this card can help the player obtain it and use it immediaely if they have the Ammunition to do so.
 * With the lower Gold Cost of most Herbs, this card can help the player acumulate healing items quickly. Though not just for recovering Health, as the effects of George Hamilton and the second Claire Redfield card both use Herbs to work.