Card Game DB
Sign In
Create Account
Welcome to Card Game DB
Register now to gain access to all of our features. Once registered and logged in, you will be able to create topics, post replies to existing threads, give reputation to your fellow members, get your own private messenger, post status updates, manage your profile and so much more. If you already have an account, login here - otherwise create an account for free today!
Register now to gain access to all of our features. Once registered and logged in, you will be able to create topics, post replies to existing threads, give reputation to your fellow members, get your own private messenger, post status updates, manage your profile and so much more. If you already have an account, login here - otherwise create an account for free today!
2
The Thousand Young Review, Part 1
Jul 10 2015 12:15 PM |
Danigral
in Articles
Call of Cthulhu CoC Shub Deluxe
Our staff has put together a first blush analysis of the newly released The Thousand Young, the deluxe expansion featuring the All-Mother Shub-Niggurath and her putrescent progeny. This is the first of three parts: (almost) all of the Shub-Niggurath characters.We’ve used a one through five scale; five being the best. The cards are listed in numeric order. Our reviewers are listed in alphabetical order. For inquiring minds, profiles of each reviewer can be found at the end.
Let us know your own thoughts in the comments!
- BanalityBob - 3/5 - Not terrible, not awesome. Avatars are an interesting theme with the new Nyarly, and she can make them cheap enough to be scary. However, there’s definitely a lot of card disadvantage involved. Claude Owen seems brilliant with her though to really explode starting turns 3-4. At least she has an icon to help with struggles if you topdeck her late game.
- Danigral - 3/5 - Certainly not as powerful as Shubs other weenies at the same cost, but she’s not bad either. At least she can do something while waiting to trigger her ability. Regardless she will only see play with other Avatars to get an early 3 or 4 cost character out, and in turn getting Nyarly out to start getting more Avatars into hand. She may see most play with Claude Owen too.
- dboeren - 3/5 - It remains to be seen how well Avatars work out as a theme, and she’s pretty dependent on Avatars to be worth her salt. However, some of them look fairly promising.
- Kamacausey - 3/5 - Shub gets another cost reducer. Granted, a far more limited cost reducer, but a cost reducer nonetheless. Any shub deck running avatars couldn't go wrong running the Handmaid.
- mnBroncos - 2/5 - Really dependent on what Avatars you are running, also Shub has already better accelerating cards that I can’t see this seeing much play. Does at least have an icon.
- Reckoner - 3/5 - She has an icon and skill which makes her on par for 1 cost characters but the ability is what will determine if she sees play. If there is an Avatar/Nyarly deck to be made, she will almost definitely be a part of it.
- Banalitybob - 3/5 - The obvious combos are with French Quarter to flood terror or combat icons or Frenzied Ghoul to make Frenzied Ghoul a dangerous blocker, since with Ambushing Ghoul you can pretty much always count on it being on top of your deck unless someone wastes some removal on it. It’s a decent jumper too when it’s restriction is met, although tribal Ghouls isn’t a super strong strategy. He does add a lot of icons To Richard Upton Pickman though.
- Danigral - 2/5 - Another cheap efficient weenie (can I even call it that, more like knockwurst?) for Shub. It’s a great surprise defender too in a deck with other ghouls. The downside is a real kick in the knockwurst though, since it is essentially choking your draw every turn you choose to play him. I’d run it x1 in any Shub deck, with the aim to resource it if I don’t get other cards I need.
- dboeren - 2/5 - For the most part I’d rather have Black Dog, and his drawback of going back on top of your deck is kind of bad. Maybe if you have extra draw to help mitigate him, as with Book of Iod or a Shub/Misk team-up which is a combo that can use some muscle.
- Kamacausey - 3/5 - Shub also gets another jumper. Not nearly as effective at doing what Black Dog does since you have to already have in play another ghoul to use his jump ability, but he has the added benefit of having skill so he can bully a story since he has so many icons for his low cost. I think there is a deck out there that will make good use of him but he's not for every shub deck.
- mnBroncos - 2/5 - A surprise attacker/defender is always good, however, with it returning to your hand that is a big downside. Shub isn’t particularly strong at drawing cards so clogging up your draws is a real problem.
- Reckoner - 2/5 - It is hard to justify playing this even in a ghoul deck when Black Dog is available. This will end up choking your draw, which is never good, but it does have quote the icon stack for 1 cost.
- Banalitybob - 4/5 - In decks where you reveal the top card of your deck quite a bit, this is basically free combat icons and a body to drive insane or wound if you (somehow) lose combat. It’s fantastic when paired with characters like Peter Clover and especially Martin Herring. Obviously, it doesn’t go in every deck, but in the decks it goes into, it’s an all star.
- Danigral - 2/5 - No skill is really not great, so the best thing this has going for it is it’s possibly free if you are running stuff that reveals the top card of the deck, but I’m not sure a lot of those will be worth it yet. Also, I’m sooooo glad this has a limit to prevent horrible combos.
- dboeren - 3/5 - Reasonable cheap combat. Kind of vanilla, but he punches above his weight class and you won’t be sad when he goes insane or soaks a hit for you. Resilient is a reasonable option if you want more flexibility with reveal effects.
- Kamacausey - 2/5 - I pretty much loathe characters with zero skill because they are essentially useless at stories, so they have to be pretty impactful and useful outside of stories to impress. Even with two combat icons, resilient, and his built in action this guy still doesn't do it for me.
- mnBroncos - 2/5 - Unless you're running a significant number of cards that reveal top card of your deck you will never play this card. A 1 cost 2 combat and 0 skill is a horrible character it doesn’t matter can get it into play for free.
- Reckoner - 4/5 - I think that this card has a lot going for it. Two icons, offset by the lack of skill, but being potentially free is a nice ability. There are a number of nice synergies that you can potentially leverage with this card (Frenzied Ghoul comes to mind), which is what brings it up to a 4 for me. Thank great Cthulhu that it is limit 1.
- Banalitybob - 2/5 - Toughness and okay icons make Jean Deveraeux not a complete waste of deck space, and his Sorcerer subtype can help Yog/Shub decks that run 9th Ward. However, he’s unique, and his ability is dependent on a completely randomized aspect of the game though as well as your opponent winning a story, so it’s not relevant enough to be worth much of anything. It would take a special deck or a limited collection for me to slot him, and even then, he’d probably be a 1 of to fill in a gap.
- Danigral - 4/5 - This is going to go in every Shub deck eventually simply because a lot of the stories are so automatic and “win-more†that he alone can slow your opponent down. No longer can a slow start turn into a loss when your opponent happens to win Chaos Unleashed, or trigger one-sided story effects. He’s a pretty solid character too.
- dboeren - 4/5 - Solid icons and Toughness for his cost, although skill is a bit low. His ability makes him a bit like a budget non-Loyal version of Ardois Bonnot to cover your stories with really bad story effects. Sorcerer is kind of nice too.
- Kamacausey - 3/5 - Decent icons and toughness for two cost is nothing to sneeze at! His ability, although dependent on what stories are out and if he is at the story or not, can be game changing if it goes off so this guy will definitely see some play. I disagree that he is for every deck though.
- mnBroncos - 4/5 - I think this guy will be at least a 1 of in most Shub decks. Being able to not let your opponent trigger a key story effect or forcing opponent to trigger an effect that greatly hurts them can be a huge game changer.
- Reckoner - 4/5 - This guy is going to see a lot of play, good icons and a fantastic ability. Being able to shut down stories like Chaos Unleashed or forcing an opponent to trigger something like Within the Ice is really powerful. He does not get a 5 because he is unique and has relatively low skill.
- Banalitybob - 3/5 - Bayou Shaman has a lot of icons for a two drop, has a relevant character type, and an action that, while it’s definitely slow and is card disadvantage, can recover a good card that had to be buried in a domain early in the game. He’s something I would consider for pretty much any deck running Shub, but I’m afraid he’s also something that would usually be cut first if I needed room for more proactive cards.
- Danigral - 3/5 - While Shub definitely has better characters in this cost range, it’s also hard to pass up multicon arcane. He will fit well in a deck that plays the long game with more expensive cards to avoid crippling yourself with early-game resourcing.
- dboeren - 4/5 - Nice early icons and you can trade him in if you’ve got no further use for him later on. Works particularly well if you have cards that work off the top card such as reveal effects or Book of Iod which helps speed up his card advantage and makes it easy to seed your domains with the Black Dogs and Events because you can retrieve them when needed.
- Kamacausey - 4/5 - I am a big fan of versatile characters like the Bayou Shaman. He has decent stats for his cost and an extremely relevant ability. We all know how excruciating it can be to resource some of your best cards early but with him you don't have to worry as much because he can go fetch them later in the game when you need them most.
- mnBroncos - 3/5 - Solid icons and skill for a 2 cost character (also cultist does have some synergy) the action won’t always be used but it can get you a card that you didn’t need early game when you want it. I played the Syndicate character before that you could spend a resource to replace a card you have resourced with top card of your deck and I find this guy more versatile.
- Reckoner - 2/5 - The Shub 2 cost slot is really bursting with options and in most cases you are probably going to choose another option. I would have been much more impressed if the card went to hand, but really the biggest thing going for this guy is the arcane icons.
- BanalityBob - 5/5 - I’m ranking this as highly as I am, because Mi-Go are a popular tribe, and this is one of the absolute best ones. His icon isn’t awesome, but being able to spew out the meatier and nastier Mi-Go early is really powerful, and he does that like a champ. This is definitely what anyone who wanted a Mi-Go deck needed to make it more than a casual pipe dream.
- Danigral - 3/5 - This will be great for a Mi-Go deck, but that’s about it, hence the average score. Mi-Go decks are notoriously slow, so this will really help to speed them up.
- dboeren - 4/5 - Exactly what Mi-go have been waiting for to make them a more competitive archetype, and his icon is also something they’re traditionally weak in. Loyal is a small drawback but not a big deal at cost 2. Every Mi-go deck will run this guy.
- Kamacausey - 4/5 - This guy is only going to see play in a mi go deck but he will be a 3x in the deck for sure. He helps to accelerate the mi go stampede early enough to where it will be super annoying to deal with. Great utility character for the mi go's and one they desperately needed.
- mnBroncos - 4/5 - only going to go in one deck and so far that deck still remains to be seen as a top tier deck. However, with that said if Mi-Go become tier 1 this guy will be a big reason why. Reduce and not to a limit of one is a big deal, however, wounding this guy and being loyal is downsides.
- Reckoner - 3/5 - This guy is perfectly built for a Mi-Go deck, but that is all. He will be a cornerstone of the Mi-Go decks moving forward, but lack of flexibility hurts.
- BanalityBob - 4/5 - This is an extremely powerful character. Two relevant icons, two skill and Fast on a two drop is already ahead of most of the curve, and his ability to combo with Resilient cards, Ambushing Ghoul and even Restless Dead makes him fantastically dangerous. He’s a card that definitely needs to be considered for both offensive and defensive Shub decks that don’t include Negotium.
- Danigral - 5/5 - Hands down one of the best weenies in the game in terms of efficiency.
- dboeren - 4/5 - Very strong icons for his cost, even if it’s not reliable your opponent has to worry about it. His one drawback is that he’s best in a mono deck and most decks benefit from the bigger pool of two factions. He’s a great add if you have a free slot in your Mi-go, Dark Young, etc… mono Shub decks though.
- Kamacausey - 4/5 - Now here's a doozy! One of the best pound for pound characters at his cost. In a deck that can reliably make his ability work he is a 5 but with his icon spread and the fast keyword he is already above average for his cost and therefore deserves no less than a 4.
- mnBroncos - 4/5 - in a heavy shub deck this guy is a true monster. A character that is most of the time a 2 cost for four icons and being fast is a strong character at stories.
- Reckoner - 5/5 - This is just a fantastic card. Two icons with fast makes him a challenge to defend or go on offense against and then you can trigger his ability and if it hits look out. I can see this replacing Twilight Cannibal and that says a lot.
- BanalityBob - 3/5 - Keelut suffers much the same problem that Akhlut does, although Shub’s Monster contingent is far beefier. Combining this with a Ghoul deck with Baka and cards like Albino Goat Spawn could get nasty fast, because you’ll be winning all the combat and terror struggles. You’ll still have to find a way to get decent arcane and investigation playing basically mono- faction, though or you might end up a bit on the slow side. Still, having multiple Keelut in play with even one or two Monster characters can make things rough on an opponent.
- Danigral - 1/5 - I didn’t like the Cthulhu versions of this card and I don’t like this one. For cost 3 there are much better cards. Compare to Savio which gives ALL your characters Terror and Fast.
- dboeren - 2/5 - An OK card for a mono-Shub monster themed deck (with Ghoulist Worshipper), but won’t see play outside of that.
- Kamacausey - 2/5 - If shub didn't already have so many great 3 costed characters than this guy might stand a chance but as is he will just get overshadowed time and time again. Poor Keelut...
- mnBroncos - 2/5 - downside of only Shub cards (at least this one allows neutrals too) is a real downside. Also I don’t see many Chthonian cards being played and adding just a combat to monsters isn’t enough to make this guy see play at 3 cost.
- Reckoner - 1/5 - The three drop slot is a sweet spot for deckbuilding in this game and so each character in that spot needs to do a lot. Keelut just doesn’t have enough going for it and like Akhlut, I don’t think it will see much play.
- BanalityBob - 4/5 - I love how there are several cards in this set that make Jaguar Warrior more viable. That aside, Baka is a real game changer card. Being able to direct a wound is extremely powerful, especially with decent icons and a body attached, and Shub seems to have quite a bit of toughness floating around. The fact that it’s also resilient and is a Monster means that Shub has a new extremely strong three drop.
- Danigral - 4/5 - Not a great body, but this will be the centerpiece of some fairly mean tricks, whether combined with other removal or bouncing.
- dboeren - 4/5 - A free targeted wound is absolutely great and it’s fairly easy to work around the wound on your side for the trade to come out in your favor and Shub has ample Toughness if you want it. Being a Monster can work to your advantage as well.
- Kamacausey - 4/5 - Although Baka doesn't impress stat wise he gives shub something they have never had before in targeted removal and that itself is awesome. Shub has plenty of characters with toughness so his drawback is easily mitigated. I look to see a lot of this guy in the future.
- mnBroncos - 5/5 - I maybe overrating this guy but a one time use of Khopesh on a character seems absolutely playable.
- Reckoner - 4/5 - One of the biggest weaknesses in Shub has been a lack of targeted removal. Well that problem is now solved. Shub has a lot of toughness, so soaking up the wound should be relatively. Only average icons and skill for the cost keep this from getting a 5.
- BanalityBob - 3/5 - This effect is amazing. Taking away your opponent’s hard work is fantastic, although the cost and body attached to the effect are high and underwhelming, and removing it from the game is a little rough. Still, with cards like The Three Bells as backup, and Patsy or Maurice Diggs, your opponent will have a hard time keeping success tokens on stories. This isn’t a card for just any deck, but it’s really devastating in the right deck.
- Danigral - 3/5 - I want to think of this guy as a delayed event, except you have a guy while you wait to trigger it. It will either force your opponent to use removal on it in order to decrease its impact, or combine it yourself with wounding to trigger it exactly when you want, which ideally would be when your opponent has 3-4 tokens on a story (within winning range). Letting it die to combat won’t ultimately do much unless you have other characters there since you may be giving up tokens after the disrupt. I want to wish that it didn't get removed from game, but on the other hand, thank God it does. lol
- dboeren - 3/5 - Meh stats, this guy exists mainly to throw under the bus and undo your opponent’s success tokens. He’s no Hack Journalist, but you’ve got better ways to kill him on command than Syndicate does.
- Kamacausey - 3/5 - Another one of the thousand young to swell the black goat's ranks. His icon spread isn't that impressive but this character is all about the ability anyway. A welcome addition to the dark young.
- mnBroncos - 2/5 - In some games this guy could be very powerful you can reduce someone's success from 4 to 0, however, with the card pool as big as it is now this effect seems to limited, and can’t automatically trigger it when you will need it makes it to hard for me to see it getting much play.
- Reckoner - 3/5 - This guy lives to die. He has underwhelming icons, okay skill, and will mostly see play in decks that want to extend games, but wiping away an opponent’s success tokens can be really powerful and I’m going to go out on a limb (pun unintended) and say very frustrating.
- BanalityBob - 3/5 - If your meta is is overrun with rush decks, Elspeth, Iod, and Negotium are going to be besties. She puts the brakes on a lot of deck archetypes, but other than that, her icons aren’t great. She’s a meta call, but a strong speedbump if your deck needs one.
- Danigral - 3/5 - She doesn’t have great icons or any trait synergy with Shub, so I see her really in some sort of choke control deck such as Agency. Ultimately, I don’t see her having much impact on the meta since it already centers on 3-cost characters.
- dboeren - 4/5 - Puts the brakes on rush decks hard and Shub can still ramp or discount to work around her themselves. She should be quite interesting but watch out because a character is easier to remove than Negotium.
- Kamacausey - 4/5 - Another character that is all about the ability instead of the icons but this ability really sets this lady apart. She will put the brakes on rush in a hurry. The only thing keeping her from a 5 is her icons, or lack of them.
- mnBroncos - 4/5 - Rating this lady high because of my own personal preference. I am kinda sad with how little characters of cost 3 and higher see play and this girl can really push the meta in a way to have players play a few more of those costed characters.
- Reckoner - 4/5 - I think that she is going to come to define a deck archetype. If a choke/prison deck is your thing then you are going to want to brew with this lady.
- BanalityBob - 4/5 - Just two skill isn’t awesome, but with good icons and those abilities, it doesn’t matter much. Savio night decks are pretty much the best thing Shub has to offer (and it’s offering a lot), and in those decks Rene is a walking Shotgun that’s hard to get rid of, fast, and has a dangerous icon spread. Any deck where I’m making it night and I’m playing Shub wants at least 2 of him.
- Danigral - 3/5 - Another card to slot into a deck with Savio, who will make it night. In my opinion, invulnerability is extraneous and the ability is too expensive. Fast is nice, but with Savio he’ll already have it. I think he may be just too inefficient on his own. Maybe if you are doing night without Savio he'd be worth it without being redundant, but why would you do that?
- dboeren - 4/5 - Dependent on Night obviously, but when the sun goes down he’s a superstar. Only thing he’s missing is Arcane.
- Kamacausey - 3/5 - Another character to push shub further in the direction of night. He is awesome at night but meh when it isn't. They are just too many shub 3 drops to pick from.
- mnBroncos - 4/5 - Shub a lot of the time want to make it Night anyways because of how good Savio is and this guy I think could go right into those decks.
- Reckoner - 3/5 - Slots right into the Shub Plague Stone deck but if it is not night, he is just an okay character.
- BanalityBob - 3/5 - Rend is a scary, scary critter, but he has a few things working against him. First, only two skill means that he can’t really go to stories alone, because while he can easily kill an opposing character off with combat, all it takes to win the other icon struggles is another character. Still, Toughness +5 is phenomenal, even if he can’t wield a Khopesh, because of Pervasive Toxemia. He’s a good 1-2 of in Shub decks, but there are definitely characters I’d prioritize playing over him.
- Danigral - 3/5 - He’s a great body to defend alone at stories, but that’s about it. I’d rather have a 3-cost that can double as both attacker and defender. The toughness is the best thing going for it.
- dboeren - 3/5 - Solid blocker and potentially an atomic bomb with Ia! Ia! and any effect that gives him wounds also makes him stronger in combat for a potential extra surprise.
- Kamcausey - 3/5 - He can be a monster story blocker but even more so than that I think he will be a combo piece in some future deck.
- mnBroncos - 3/5 - In a more controlish shell this guy will see play. He is one of the best blockers in the game, he can’t go insane, is fast, can take many wounds, and gets better the later in the game. I really like this guy.
- Reckoner - 3/5 - He is at his best blocking or in combination with something like Ia! Ia!. I prefer flexibility and he makes a poor attacker, that is probably why I think he’s just a 3.
- BanalityBob - 3/5 - This costs four. Baron Samedi, Lady Espirit, and Smoke Serpent cost four as well, and they’re all from the same box. While it is important to note that the character you wound does not have to be at the same story as Marsh Gug, and you don’t have to be opposed to win the struggle, it’s not a card I’d want more than maybe one to two of in my deck, and there is definitely a lot of competition at the four drop slot in Shub. His value does go up quite a bit in Monster decks or decks with cards like Pervasive Toxemia, and in that archetype, I’d give him a 4.
- Danigral - 3/5 - This won’t really make Gugs a thing, the lack of terror hurts since it can limit stories where he goes alone. That said, this is an aggressive card. It can put your opponent on the defensive when he is going to lose a character if he lets it go unopposed.
- dboeren - 4/5 - Targeted wounding is very good so I value him pretty highly. His Arcane is important since you can potentially use him on both turns and not common in faction. Monster gives him some extra synergy.
- Kamacausey - 4/5 - The more I look at this guy the more I like him. Yes he is costly at 4 but his ability is insane! Much like Baka he gives shub some targeted removal. His ability will not be hard to trigger either since shub excels at the terror and combat struggles. I think this guy will be a sleeper from this box.
- mnBroncos - 3/5 - Very close to a 4 to me. Being a strong character, and having an arcane which Shub is weak at, with direct damage is all very strong. Just at the 4 cost you have higher expectations and I do think he is playable but nothing making me crazy excited about.
- Reckoner - 3/5 - Targeted removal was something that Shub was lacking, but now there are several options. I just don’t think that this card competes against the other options at the 4 drop slot in Shub. For this cost you could have an Ancient One. He will fit into a Gug deck, but those decks are not really competitive. I give the designers credit for fitting Gugs into a new set though.
- BanalityBob - 3/5 - Ways to count icons from one character at multiple stories is extremely strong, and there are several very powerful and/or cheap resilient characters in this set like Restless Dead and Baron Samedi. In fact, since the Baron wants to go to stories alone due to his ability, giving him four more icons without committing another character is extremely strong. The only things holding Smoke Serpent from a higher rating are its low skill and lack of protective abilities of its own.
- Danigral - 2/5 - A non-Cthulhu serpent is interesting, but he’s got really low skill. I might throw in 1 copy in a deck with avatars, since at least some of them have arcane and that would really put some power on the attack. Otherwise, he probably wouldn’t make the cut.
- dboeren - 2/5 - He requires a specific deck build to shine and there will never be that many Resilient character to trigger him. You can make him good, but you have to plan the deck around that goal.
- Kamacausey - 2/5 - A non Cthulhu serpent is cool but this guy is just overshadowed by so many better characters. His ability is neat in theory but I just don't see it being used all that much.
- mnBroncos - 1/5 - At four cost this guy is just not good enough to ever see play. To me there is very few resilient characters worth playing and unless someday we get more characters with resilient I don’t see this guy every seeing competitive play.
- Reckoner - 2/5 - There are just not really enough resilient characters to make this guy great. And at 4 cost, the character needs to be great to see play.
- BanalityBob - 2/5 - Cultist is a relevant subtype, and card advantage is sweet, but this is a four drop that can’t deal with opposing characters, has no protection from insanity or destruction, and has no investigation. Sure, you’ll probably never lose an arcane struggle, but this is a slow, expensive, fragile draw engine.
- Danigral - 3/5 - Card advantage is nothing to scoff at, even if it comes in a 4-cost character that is weak to pretty much every sort of control. The addition of arcane in Shub is welcome, too. That said, something like Bill Strauss doesn’t really see play, and he’s cheaper and more likely to survive stories.
- dboeren - 2/5 - Unappealing icons and an ability that while good, I can’t justify paying 4 for, especially when Book of Iod is cheap, less conditional, and helps seed your discard pile in addition to drawing a card. Maybe with enough Cultist synergy…
- Kamacausey - 2/5 - Not very impressed with this 4 cost character. Nice to see some cultist support in the box but overall I think this one misses the mark.
- mnBroncos - 3/5 - I will definitely be testing this cultist out. Like I said earlier besides the Book of Iod, Shub really lacks card advantage and getting an extra card a turn can be key. Also, this character alone helps you win an arcane struggle which was often a big weakness of shub as well. Yes it is four cost but also is strong in two of Shubs downsides.
- Reckoner - 2/5 - I am normally not one to scoff at card advantage, but this is just not enough for 4 cost. And the icons mean that this is probably not going to stories alone. I expect my 4 drops to be able to tangle with a Black Dog and win.
- BanalityBob - 3/5 - Shub is the faction most likely to be able to play multiple four drops, and Lady Espirit allows you to capitalize on that. She has two pretty relevant subtypes, good skill, decent icons, and fast, so with a 4 cost companion or an icon booster, she can solo stories with ease. Lack of investigation and protection hurts, but with an ability that good, she is an extremely aggressive and powerful character. It’s just a matter of whether other four drops would be better or not.
- Danigral - 5/5 - This card is going to be awesome. Right now the meta centers on 3-cost cards. So many decks don’t even have 4 cost, and if they do, they may not be able to handle her icons with fast. Very solid story-contender.
- dboeren - 5/5 - Her ability is incredibly good, especially with the current meta emphasizing cost 3 and below. Fast will let her stand up to one big guy reasonable well, but not really more than that. Good candidate for Investigation if you can find a way…
- Kamacausey - 4/5 - Now this is a 4 cost cultist I can get behind! Awesome icon spread, the fast keyword, and an ability that shuts down so many other characters, yes please!
- mnBroncos - 5/5 - Simply amazing. You dont have to even be running heavy on the big cost characters for this character to be good. This character wins stories alone. Also, fast and solid icons this so far is the best character in the box to me.
- Reckoner - 5/5 - She has a good icon stack, high skill, fast, and an ability that can take over a game that makes her a 5 for me.
- BanalityBob - 5/5 - Similar to the Mi-Go Worker, I’m only giving this guy such a high rating because of what he does in the obvious deck he goes in. The Lord of the Mi-Go is a beast that lets you flood the board with his Mi-Go minions. He gets out of hand fast. Mi-Go might actually be a real and dangerous thing now.
- Danigral - 4/5 - The obvious deck is Mi-Go mono-Shub, probably using Shocking Transformation as restricted, in order to search him out as early as possible and then play the Mi-Go you sacked for him. This deck will almost build itself now...
- dboeren - 5/5 - Along with Mi-go Worker, this is the other half of making Mi-go into serious contenders from this box. He’s costly, but he’s a huge benefit once you can get him out and he’s not an Ancient One so you can even Shocking Transformation him into play if you want to and he responds well with effects that put him into play temporarily too. Obviously, he’s not going into any other decks but he looks pretty golden for Mi-go themes.
- Kamacausey - 4/5 - Another staple for mi go decks. Now they have another way to bring back their characters from the discard pile to keep the swarm coming and another way to reduce the cost as well. All hail lord of the mi go!
- mnBroncos - 5/5 - Okay now this is a guy pushed to make Mi-Go a thing. Being able to reduce cost, while also getting to play cards from discard pile is all good. Shub has enough ways to reduce cost that in a Mi-Go Deck it isn’t a huge deal this guy costs 5 you will make him work in a Mi-Go deck.
- Reckoner - 4/5 - This is another card that only suffers from a lack of flexibility. He has good icons, skill, and toughness and will probably only see play in Mi-Go decks. But in those decks this card is amazing. If Mi-Gos are a thing it was definitely this box that put them there.
- BanalityBob - 4/5 - I want to give Baron Samedi a 5 for that art. While he’s only middle ground for avatars, he’s the one most likely to be played, because Handmaiden is the best enabler for avatars, meaning Shub is the faction to play it out of. His ability can be quite debilitating, especially combined with icon boosters and cards like Smoke Serpent, although he does lack arcane and investigation which hurts. His Resilient keyword means he keeps coming back nicely, meaning he’s down to be sacrificed to bring out new Nyarly, and his combat abilities mean your opponent will think twice before opposing him.
- Danigral - 3/5 - Decent body, but there are better characters for Shub at the 4 slot. I’d run him in a Nyarly avatar deck. He is a good defender to slow the game down since an opponent can’t get easy tokens just by overcommitting at one story.
- dboeren - 3/5 - His ability is strong but I think it will mostly be a deterrent and not actually get triggered. Also, he does not play well with your other characters at the same story. Probably a 4 if you can find a good way to trigger him by surprise and wipe out a bunch of enemy character.
- Kamacausey - 3/5 - Another story bully to add to the shub ranks. He kind of reminds me of ravager from the deep but for shub instead of Cthulhu.He is one of the better avatars and if avatars become a thing I'm sure he will be a part of the deck.
- mnBroncos - 3/5 - Isn’t anything too powerful but I do think this guy will see some play in decks. He has good icons and a situational extremely powerful effect. But, that is the problem for a guy at 4 cost is having the situational effect.
- Reckoner - 4/5 - He gains a bit from the fact that he is an amazing Shocking Transformation target and the fact that he is the Avatar that is most likely to see play due to the Hand Maiden.
- BanalityBob - 2/5 - Yeb is a strong Ancient One, but that doesn’t stop him being expensive, and the downside of ramping one domain to get Yeb out in a timely manner means you will only have one domain for a while. It’s an effect that needs to be built around, and I’m not sure it’s strong enough to actually be built around.
- Danigral - 2/5 - The twin terror to Nug, and cool design that lets you ramp and then punish your opponent for not ramping. This might be a 1 of in many Shub decks that are building up to catch an unwitting opponent, but overall I think he won’t have enough impact for his cost.
- dboeren - 3/5 - Yeb seems to want a deck that ramps heavily, potentially with Nug, or else one that carries enough weenies that you don’t mind paying his cost. But, when you can pull him off it’s potentially a game winning move so he seems worthwhile.
- Kamacausey - 3/5 - An ancient one that wants you to build a deck around it. Although his ability has the potential to cripple your opponent he can hurt you as well. He will probably make a good late game finisher in the right deck.
- mnBroncos - 3/5 - Forcing an opponent to sacrifice possibly 3 cards (maybe more if opponent is playing Eldritch Nexuses). Is game changing. However, you yourself will most likely be Sacking two cards. Is ancient one so has a lot of Protection. Nug sees a fair amount of play for 5 cost and I think a Play of Nug into Yeb is a seriously strong play.
- Reckoner - 3/5 - I love the flavor in how well Nug and Yeb work together. I’m not sure that Yeb will see a lot of play by itself, but with Nug in a ramp deck the two Ancient Ones could be a potent combination.
BanalityBob - I switched from Magic: the Gathering to Call of Cthulhu just back in March of 2015, but I bought in hard, and it’s easily my favorite card game. I’ve gotten top four in several local tournaments and even won a few times at our local game night.
Danigral - I started hoarding Call of Cthulhu the same time as A Game of Thrones, back in 2010. While I played AGoT more competitively, I’ve harbored a secret love for CoC and played it casually and competitively for over 4 years, winning a number of store championships and placing top 4 at Worlds 2014.
dboeren - Call of Cthulhu was my first card game, I actually came up through boardgaming and then miniatures gaming rather than Magic, which I always saw as a rip-off. But, I really like the LCG model and the theme of Cthulhu, and after having played all the other LCGs I feel it’s got the best mechanics too. The highest I’ve placed so far is 2nd at Gencon before losing a nail-biter to Tom Capor.
Kamacausey - I got into Call of Cthulhu back in 2012 after receiving a book filled with H.P. Lovecraft's short stories and falling in love with the lore. I've played numerous different card games over the years but Call of Cthulhu offers unique gameplay that is unmatched anywhere else. It has kept me coming back for more and more and in turn has led me to multiple top 4's at the national championships, 2 store championship titles and 2 regional championship titles.
mnBroncos - I got into Call of Cthulhu right after worlds 2013. I am a newer player, however, have experience with over ten different card games and I dove head first into this amazing game. In the three tournaments I been able to do I’ve taken 2nd twice and going 3-1 last year at worlds finishing fifth and just missing the cut due to strength of schedule because was paired down twice. I write the Great Cthulhu articles (may come back sometime) and even though I don’t get to play this game as much as I would like I have a deep passion for this amazing game.
Reckoner - I began playing Call of Cthulhu in 2013 after learning the game from Wilbur. Before that I had been a competitive Magic the Gathering player. I have played many games, but Call of Cthulhu is by far the most enjoyable 1v1 game that I have found. I have won several store tournaments and made top 8 at the 2014 US Nationals.
- WWDrakey and Cumber like this
11 Comments
This deluxe box is chock-full of characters, as promised. Unfortunately, the site won't let me insert more than 20 images in the article, so I'm saving the last three Shub characters for the next article.
Great review - thanks guys! Really happy with the box (as with all the deluxes).
I was wondering why there weren't images for the last few.
Once all three parts are out, if it isn't included I'll give the highest and lowest 5 scored cards from the set, as well as the total score of each reviewer.
Looking forward to the next part
Great read. As a new player, some excellent analysis of the cards, and some combos pointed out that I either didn't see or wouldn't have known about.
I'd been planning The Greater Good as my next purchase, but I might go for this instead.
You all seem happy with Rene Bonvillain, but is he better than ya-te-veo? Rene is a three drop with an ability that might not be active. And when it is active, it costs too much. I'm always looking for 1-cost domains to use during build up. With a two cost action, I'd rather play characters instead. Might just be me.
I don't agree with everything you posted, but it was a great read.
Rene is rated so high (at least by me) because maintaining night in Shub is extremely easy, and he gains invulnerability alongside his shotgun ability. The reason I like him over Ya-Te-Veo is because he can hit anyone at the same story, meaning that opponents will most likely not commit against him or only commit weak characters so that it is easy for him to be unopposed.
Yeb is low, honestly, because Rite of the Silver Gate is around, and his ability is painful to you as well. Both players are going to be working off of one domain for a bit after he hits play, but most likely their deck won't have 5 drops that can get easily Rite-ed out of play.
I rated Rene a solid 3. In any Shub deck with some kind of night, he's a decent character. The ability is not that great honestly - I mean, it's good, but paying 2 is a little much. My biggest complaint with him is that the best way for night in Shub right now is Savio Corvi, and in that deck, Rene is mostly redundant and unnecessary. I half expect something to happen to Savio in the FAQ, and if so, Rene's stock may rise a little, even if using something like The Setting Sun.
I wouldn't consider Eldritch Nexus an auto-include by any means. 5 cost cards have to be very good to warrant, and remember that it is double-sided, so you pretty much have to be ramping all domains to play him without a negative effect on yourself. Even with something like The Festival or Nug, that's still a lot of turns, and while you're building up for a 3 for 1 or 4 for 1 (not even considering the cards you are dumping into domains during resource phase) you still have to worry about contending at stories.
After playing against a Mi-Do deck this week, I would say that Mi-Gos are now a force to be reckoned with. While I rated Mi-Go Worker and X-O somewhat conservatively as a whole, they are definitely 5/5 in a Mi-Go deck, and they are the central pieces of Mi-Go now.
Mi-Go is a thing-o! Time to charge up the Deckatron and start pumping out lists.