DANZA MACABRA

PROLOGUE

Welcome to the Dance of the Dead, where I’ll be showcasing a deck that tries to encourage a good time for all, even if it means the revelry leads to an early grave! It is a deck that focuses on a Conspiracy to be found in the new Terror in Venice boxed set, and attempts to make use of it in a way that may not be immediately apparent. So join with me in the splendor of Unending Festivities (TiV)




OVERVIEW

Looking at this Conspiracy, it lends to a couple of quandaries about how to make it perform for you. These being, that you’ll be needing some Characters / Supports / Events that can marshal your forces outside of the Refresh Phase, and that it might also be nice to have a subset of Characters that can still be of use to you when they are exhausted. The party is definitely in full swing, and it takes a bit of impetus from the player to stir a deck from its drunken stupor. Syndicate would certainly profit from such an occasion with their powers of exhaustion. What better way to slink behind the scenes and use underhanded techniques than when the majority of the city is inebriated? But what other Factions might make use of this carnival atmosphere? And what festivals might suit their own agendas? Danza Macabra looks at one in particular, and during this time, when the spirits of the deceased are being honored and celebrated, the cultists of Hastur and Cthulhu join forces to manipulate the population. And oh yes. Maybe have a few Local Brew (THBtS)s in the meantime.


THEMATIC OVERLAY

The time is ripe, and during the upcoming Unending Festivities (TiV), your worshippers are planning to infiltrate and encourage the downfall of the great city of Venice. With the aim of getting it off to an early start, Ol' Lazy Eyes (CoC) helps in harvesting the produce that will ensure an enjoyable time for all. And if you can get the revelers drinking before they even get there, The Seventy Steps (IMoD) can make it a celebration some will never remember (or survive for that matter).



Next comes some dedicated followers that have the strength of conviction to withhold from the alluring atmosphere that surrounds them. The Jiang Shi (CotJE) and Lord of Y'ha-nthlei (SoA) care nothing for the pleasures of men, and can be depended upon to keep their ‘minds’ on the overall plan. Of course most don’t, but expendable Cultists flooding through the population is a priority in any case, even if some of them are laying in gutters the majority of the time. The ability to do it and pick themselves back up though would be very handy. Performance Artist (Core), Degenerate Serpent Cultist (TWB), Obsessive Sycophant (TBJ) and Jade Salesman (CotJE) will be wandering through the streets with this aim and peddling their discord.

It is very likely though that with such a grand affair, there will be some security patrolling the thoroughfares and possibly competition from cults dedicated to the other Elder Gods, but chances are it will be minimal. A good Conspiracy needs some ways of distracting or eliminating them. The Somnambulant Dreamer (TWC) can do this quite effectively while also enjoying the atmosphere, and others can be waylaid with the The Cavern of Flame (ItDoN) or the Harbinger of Insanity (MoE), who uses the more weak willed and paralytic of its own Cultists to momentarily encourage others to do his bidding whilst also enlisting any other Cultists that happen to be infiltrating the festivities. Black Dog (WoP) will be prowling the alleys and waiting to pick off these lone sentries, along with Deep One Assault (Core) and Devolution (SftSK), coercing many to give in totally to their wanton abandon. To further influence the city’s defenders and other protagonists, Power Drain (Core) can see them stumbling drunkenly to their knees instead of doing their duties, and completely oblivious to the celebrations stands the Guardian Pillar (SftSK), which will always be readied regardless of the Unending Festivities (TiV) that are going on around it.

Lastly, no good attempt to corrupt an entire population can be done without a decent base of operations. And San Giorgio in Alga (TiV) is the perfect place. A lot of effort has been put into orchestrating a quick and successful start to the festival, and from this Location the conductors can make sure that these preparations have less chance of appearing after the fact and interrupting proceedings. It’s also a great place for the Dreamlands Fanatic (ItDoN)s waiting off shore for their rapid insertion onto the streets, and provides some small insurance against the forces of humankind launching a strong retaliation during the Day when there is a lull in the merry making.



And so the plan has been laid. The barrels have been tapped. Performers and revelers are quickly filling the courtyards and waterways. But like Sodom and Gomorrah before it, can Venice’s doom be brought about by its debauchery and decadence?




DANZA MACABRA

3 x Performance Artist (Core)
3 x Jade Salesman (CotJE)
3 x Obsessive Sycophant (TBJ)
3 x Degenerate Serpent Cultist (TWB)
3 x Ol' Lazy Eyes (CoC)
3 x Somnambulant Dreamer (TWC)
2 x Black Dog (WoP)
3 x Dreamlands Fanatic (ItDoN)
3 x Harbinger of Insanity (MoE)
3 x Jiang Shi (CotJE)
3 x Lord of Y'ha-nthlei (SoA)

2 x Unending Festivities (TiV)
2 x Power Drain (Core)
2 x Devolution (SftSK)
2 x Deep One Assault (Core)

3 x The Seventy Steps (IMoD)
3 x San Giorgio in Alga (TiV)
2 x The Cavern of Flame (ItDoN)
2 x Guardian Pillar (SftSK)



TIPS ON PLAY

Blathering aside, I wanted a deck that was quick and control based, and made use of the Conspiracy in the ways mentioned. As a lot of my Events and Supports are 2 cost, I also didn’t want my Characters getting in the way of playing them early, and so opted for more 1 cost Characters than average. This also makes it highly likely you can play out the maximum amount of bodies before laying down the exhaustion sinkhole. Lastly, the facts of the deck are that some of your Characters may never see the light of Story Phase interaction, so I thought it would be best to have these being some useful 1 cost chumps instead of spending more for a similar effect, or perhaps risking the spot on what could be just a more expensive drunkard. To this end it will often be the case that you go straight to a 3-1-1 Domain set up, and possibly maintain this for consecutive turns. This unusual lean towards the 1 cost positions being inhabited by Characters (essentially 14 of them) also frees up space to include some higher cost Events and Supports. To summarize the overall intention of gameplay:



- The driving force is obviously Unending Festivities (TiV), so get this down as early as possible. Note that it’s really not needed till the second turn so maybe keep it in the hand if drawn initially as the opponent will be more likely in for a surprise if they over commit first turn. The Seventy Steps (IMoD) is just icing on the cake. Certainly play this as soon as possible. It’s excellent in stalling any Master of the Myths and early milling attempts, although take caution if you are playing second and the opponent has laid down a number of Characters before you.

- Don’t be afraid to sacrifice your cheap and free Cultists with the Harbinger of Insanity (MoE). These little guys may never see refreshment, and one aim of the deck is to get the opponents ready Characters to do the work for you, hopefully leaving them exhausted for their following turn. If there are several Cultists on the opposing side of the table, as could be the case from a flood of Dreamlands Fanatic (ItDoN)’s, use this ability to take one and then sacrifice it to take another one until all the 2 Skill and below ones are removed.

- One way of readying the Jiang Shi (CotJE) is to commit it using its ability to Unending Festivities (TiV) along with a normal Character. The 2 Arcane struggles can then see both of them refreshed for the following turn. Failing this, it can still be used as a defender in the opponents turn. Just remember that a Terror struggle needs to be taking place for them to activate. Of course using this and the Lord of Y'ha-nthlei (SoA)s ability is generally best left until the last moment. In some cases the opponent can simply overlook the fact that an exhausted Character has the means to commit / ready, and make errors in their strategy, especially if they have other things like the The Cavern of Flame (ItDoN) to worry about.

- If possible, always keep and play San Giorgio in Alga (TiV) as early as is convenient. This Location will filter its multiples out and avoid the annoying situation of drawing a Conspiracy or unique when you already have one in play and other ‘deck fails’ of a similar nature. With a fairly low cost spread it is also likely that you will be top decking quite quickly, and having the choice of 2 cards from the top 4 (essentially), leads to a far more effective and fluid assault. The deck relies on capitalizing early and can run into problems if you can’t do so.

- Devolution (SftSK) is a rather nasty Event to play when the opponent may only have a couple of Characters readied. If this is the case, you generally target the Character with the lowest Skill. The other will be exhausted, and the targeted one will take the wound (and hopefully be removed). Of course the scenario will dictate the action though as there may be a lower Skill exhausted Character that is causing you some problems.


POSTSCRIPT

The above list is a very streamlined and direct build but is certainly not the only way that the deck can function efficiently, nor is it necessarily the way I would run it. I’ve done it thus so that others may tweak and modify to their own content, and have a lot of room to do so, and also to highlight the main aspects of the overall strategy. Other cards (and by no means exhaustive – excuse the pun) could be Muddy Waters (TAD), Carl Stanford (SoA), Demon Lover (Core), Castro (TKatG), Crazed Arsonist (WitD), Victoria Glasser (Core),Lurking Deep One (AoA), Dangerous Inmate (SfW),Blind Submission (Core), The Unspeakable Oath (TiV), Swimming in the Deep (TiV), Coffee House (TTotT), Cyclopean Stone (TKatG) and many more. You may even want to go for a more durable long game deck with Seeker of Mysteries (SoA) and Mnomquah (JtUK) for example. The possibilities within the game are endless and I hope you enjoy !!