The Returned

“My sister’s sacrifice won’t be in vain.”

Isabelle Barnes has been on the run for as long as she can remember. She finally escaped from the Olmsteads, a family cult who thought of her as the “final piece” for some dark and twisted ritual. She doesn’t know what made her so special to the cult, but now, thanks to her sister Jenny, Isabelle is finally free. But freedom came at a price; her sister gave everything to get Isabelle back, and for that, Isabelle intends to make the Olmsteads—and all those who prey on the weak and innocent—pay in blood. Armed with her lost sister’s twin .45s, Izzie can finally turn to face her pursuers head-on.

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 Isabelle Barnes (Core Set, 13)!

Joining the game’s roster as the new core’s Survivor investigator, Izzie steps onto the scene with a score to settle and hell to raise. Her playstyle revolves around using her high sanity to her advantage, intentionally taking horror in order to commit a skill card from her discard pile during a skill test. This lets her get multiple uses out of handy skills like Slippery (Core Set, 80) and Timely Intervention (Core Set, 81) in a single deck cycle, giving Izzie a leg up when dealing with the unexpected threats of the Mythos.

Of course, sometimes you have to deal with those threats the old-fashioned way, and that’s where Isabelle’s Twin .45s (Core Set, 14) come into play. This pair of pistols packs quite the punch, allowing Izzie to make use of both her combat and her agility skills when dealing with monsters. Even better, the .45s let you shoot twice with a single action, which means Izzie is more than capable of (and more than willing to) fire several shots in a turn against a particularly nasty foe.

As you might expect for a Survivor, the rest of Isabelle’s deck is all about pushing forward no matter what, even in the face of insurmountable odds. Since Izzie wants to deal herself horror to get multiple uses out of her skill cards, she’ll want to mitigate the horror—and damage—that she takes from enemies in any way she can. That’s where Aleksey Saburov (Core Set, 72) comes in. With his ability to heal himself over time, Aleksey can take quite a few hits for you over the course of the game, letting you get plenty of mileage out of Izzie’s otherwise low health and freeing up her sanity to use as a resource. After dealing with an especially grisly monster, use some Bandages (Core Set, 73) to patch yourself or Aleksey up, and if things start getting really hairy, you can equip Izzie with a Jumpsuit (Core Set, 75) for some added protection.

That Jumpsuit can do more than just soak a hit. If you discard it during your turn, you can retrieve any Tool or Weapon asset from your discard pile, potentially letting you get even more uses out of Isabelle’s Twin .45s. Even if the .45s aren’t in your discard pile, you could grab another handy weapon like the Meat Cleaver (Core Set, 77) instead. This beefy blade works especially well with Izzie’s playstyle, since it both hits harder when her sanity is low and lets her heal some horror when she manages to take out an enemy with it. With Izzie’s Elder Sign ability being the other primary way she can heal horror from herself (in her pre-built deck, at least), you’ll certainly appreciate the mental catharsis this giant cleaver can bring!

As demonstrated by Isabelle’s innate ability and the Jumpsuit in her deck, a staple of the Survivor playstyle involves retrieving or reusing cards in your discard pile. Naturally, there are other cards in her deck that also follow this trend, such as Hunter’s Instinct (Core Set, 74), which can pull an event back into your hand. That event could be “Shove off!” (Core Set, 79), a handy tactic that lets you both evade and damage an enemy simultaneously…if you succeed. If you fail, then the event returns itself back into your hand, which means you could try again or use it to fuel a skill test later. In similar fashion, if you fail an investigation test by 2 or less, you can follow it up with “Look what I found!” (Core Set, 78) to immediately discover 2 clues at your location, letting you “fail forward” in true Survivor style. Finally, when you really, really need to succeed a willpower or agility test, you can spend some resources to boost yourself with Levelheaded (Core Set, 76), and there’s no limit to how many times you use it!

Speaking of limits, there comes a point in every quest for vengeance where the pressure, anger, and stress gets to be a bit too much to handle. With her constantly using her own sanity as a resource, it’s only natural that Isabelle will eventually hit her Breaking Point (Core Set, 15). Depending on her current remaining sanity, this dangerous signature weakness could deal Izzie up to 3 direct damage, which is a frightening thing when she only has 5 health to begin with. Thankfully, by relying on friends like Aleksey Saburov and her fellow investigators, Izzie can put herself back together and pull through those toughest moments.

By now, we’ve given you a good look at the Survivor cards in Isabelle’s pre-built deck. Of course, most investigators in Arkham Horror: The Card Game can mix in some cards of other classes, and Izzie is no exception. While Survivor cards are her main focus, Isabelle Barnes can also include some Mystic cards in her deck. As for what specific Mystic cards are part of her pre-built deck, you’ll just have to wait and see!

Bullets in the Dark

If that’s not enough of Isabelle Barnes for you, then we’re also excited to announce Bullets in the Dark, an upcoming new Arkham Horror novel from our friends at Aconyte Books! Written by Cath Lauria, this book accompanies the release of the new core set and puts Isabelle at center stage. Looking for justice in a transformed Arkham, Izzie teams up with Tommy Muldoon, and their combined detective work reveals the city’s dark underworld teeming with murder and eldritch mayhem.

Get ready for a thrilling crime noir adventure when Bullets in the Dark arrives in spring of 2026. Be sure to sign up to the Arkham Horror newsletter and follow Aconyte Books on social media if you want to find out more!

Surviving the Horrors

With her ability to utilize her own sanity and her perseverant drive for vengeance, Isabelle Barnes is a fantastic example of what the Survivor class has to offer in Chapter Two of Arkham Horror: The Card Game.

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

Written by Peter Schumacher