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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!
3
Pacta Arcana - A Study in Yellow
May 09 2013 05:05 AM |
Danigral
in Call of Cthulhu
Call of Cthulhu Pacta Arcana Danigral
Welcome to the fourth edition of Pacta Arcana, in which we will explore the depths of deckbuilding with multiple factions in the Call of Cthulhu LCG. In each article of this series we will be looking at combining two factions (sometimes more) together to form a cohesive deck around a particular theme, combo, or strategy.Miskatonic University
and Hastur 
Last time on Pacta Arcana, we explored the terrifying pact that Carl Stanford made with the Dweller on the Threshold for power over time and space. But Yog-Sothoth isn’t the only Ancient and Terrible One to impinge on our world. Hastur also creeps into the minds of us mere mortals, threatening to tear the sheer fabric of our sanity, especially of those like the students and professors of Miskatonic University who are too curious - or perhaps too naive - to forego investigating his terrible signs. Combining these two does a few things: 1) Hastur’s lunatics offer spot character control to slow down your opponent; 2) Miskatonic University provides some card draw and restoration effects to keep your lunatics happily dosed with meds; and 3) they both have excellent effects that take control of opponent’s characters, as well as icon manipulation to help protect your characters at stories and push through for success tokens.
What do I get out of this deal?
Miskatonic is usually all about rushing stories to win multiple success tokens in one go. Hastur is about control, through targeted insanity effects and cancels. When put together they form a hybrid rush build that controls the tempo of the game, and creates enough holes in your opponent’s board to rush for stories.
Stygian Eye (IT) - For two cost you can take control of almost any character. The minor drawback is that if you take control of a character without [terror] or willpower, and use it, it will go insane, but if it has [terror] or willpower, then you can use it with impunity. The best part is that if it ever leaves play it gets shuffled back into your deck for later use.
Infernal Obsession (TAD) - The older brother of the Stygian Eye, for one more cost there's no drawback, but unlike the Eye, it doesn't get shuffled back into your deck.
Museum Curator - This guy is amazing when you have such great support cards in the deck.
Deranged Diva (WoP) - She's the star especially with restoration effects, slowly washing away your opponent's board to make holes for your other characters to rush.
Thoughts on Gameplay:
The object of this deck is to slow your opponent down enough that they can't stop you from getting multiple success tokens with your weenie characters. You do this by forcing them to drive their characters insane, and then taking control of their bigger characters, so that you are relatively unopposed. Whatever characters they have left on the board can be easily controlled at stories using struggle or icon manipulation. Versions of this deck are currently one of the dominant archetypes sweeping regionals tournaments right now.
The Deck:
Characters (32)
Alternative Historian (SoK) x3
Archaeology Interns (IT) x3
Crazed Arsonist (WitD) x2
Dangerous Inmate (SfW) x2
Deranged Diva (WoP) x3
Dr. Carson (TSotS) x2
Dr. Laban Shrewsbury (WaB) x3
Lucas Tetlow (SoK) x3
Museum Curator (TWB) x3
Performance Artist (Core) x3
Professor of Folklore (ER) x3
Victoria Glasser (Core) x2
Support (12)
The Necronomicon (SoA) x1
The Cavern of Flame (ItDoN) x2
Guardian Pillar (SftSK) x2
Stygian Eye (IT) x2
Infernal Obsession (TAD) x2
Flux Stabilizer (PT) x3
Event (6)
Binding (Core) x3
Scotophobia (Core) x3
A few notes on the deck:
- This deck has tons of control for Ancient Ones. To start, Dr. Laban Shrewsbury is a beast. The longer the game goes, the more likely you’ll draw him, and the less likely your opponent will keep a villainous character on the board at all. Plus there are some villainous characters that are cheaper that see play, too, such as Carl Stanford (SoA), Aziz Chatuluka (TSS), and Corrupted Midwife (ER). But it doesn’t stop there! With both Binding and Scotophobia, you can target AOs to remove their terror to drive them insane. If you can manage to do this in combo with Victoria Glasser, you can even take control of the AO when it becomes insane with Infernal Obsession or Stygian Eye. Once the AO is restored, it’s yours and once again impervious to terror, preventing Stygian Eye from falling off. A hit and miss combo, but still a beautiful thing if it goes off.
- Ideally though, AOs shouldn’t even make it to the table from other ways because of Flux Stabilizer. This also prevents annoying characters like Master of the Myths (IT) and Black Dog (WoP) from popping into play.
- Binding and Scotophobia are for pushing through critical successes at stories. Alternative Historian and The Cavern of Flame also serve that purpose. Each of those focuses on one thing and you may need practice determining in which situations they are best to play. Binding and The Cavern of Flame can shut down one big character to tip the balance of struggles in your favor. Scotophobia can negate a [terror struggle]. Alternative Historian can shut down any struggle, so either [terror struggle] or [combat struggle] most likely since those have the biggest consequences for a rush deck.
- Lucas Tetlow is critical to protect against a big weakness of this deck, Khopesh of the Abyss (TSS), which is why he’s in the deck x3. You want to try to have him in play asap to protect against a Cthulhu player possibly playing this turn 2.
- I threw in a couple of Victoria Glassers because you can also bounce her to your hand with Dr. Laban Shrewsbury to use her effect again, especially if your opponent isn’t running AOs.
- Museum Curator is so, so, so, so good. He can get out a Necronomicon for free very early in the game, and any of your other supports for free. A common theme in my articles: “Free is good!â€
- As you play, if you find other attachments are giving you trouble, consider finding a place for
Magnetic Spike (NN), which will bounce all attachments except your cool relics, and choke your opponent’s draw for a few turns. If you have a Museum Curator in your hand also, you could play him then to get back whatever support of your own you just bounced for free, and shuffle the others back into your deck for later.
Once again, the deck above includes cards from the full card pool, including 3 cores, 1 Secrets of Arkham, 1 Seekers of Knowledge, and the following packs: Into Tartarus, The Terror of the Tides, Whispers in the Dark, Screams from Within, Words of Power, The Spawn of the Sleeper, Written and Bound, The Wailer Below, Ebla Restored, Perilous Trials, and The Antediluvian Dreams. That can be a lot if you’re just starting out, so if you wanted to build a similar concept, but on a budget, you could make a few adjustments.
Here is a decklist using only 2 core sets, 1 Seekers of Knowledge, and a few less chapter packs, including Into Tartarus, Whispers in the Dark, Words of Power, Written and Bound, The Wailer Below, and Perilous Trials.
Characters (33)
Alternative Historian (SoK) x3
Archaeology Interns (IT) x3
Crazed Arsonist (WitD) x3
Deranged Diva (WoP) x3
Dr. Laban Shrewsbury (WaB) x3
Lucas Tetlow (SoK) x3
Museum Curator (TWB) x3
Performance Artist (Core) x2
Victoria Glasser (Core) x2
Whitton Greene (SoK) x3
Research Assistant (WoP) x2
Marcus Jamburg (WoP) x3
Supports (11)
Stygian Eye (IT) x3
Flux Stabilizer (PT) x3
Mask of Sthenelus (IT) x1
Arkham Asylum (Core) x2
Song of Suffering (WoP) x2
Events (6)
Binding (Core) x2
Scotophobia (Core) x2
Dr. Carson's Treatment (Core) x2
We lose our powerhouse restricted card, Guardian Pillar (since it's still in the widely unavailable Dreamlands cycle), so we need to replace him with some power characters at that price-point; we'll pick up Whitton Greene, and Marcus Jamburg (who also can recur Flux Stabilizer). We're also losing one of our lunatics and one of the ways to restore lunatics, which means that we need to pull double-duty with Deranged Diva, and make the insanity stick for longer, so we add in Arkham Asylum, Dr. Carson's Treatment, and Song of Suffering. We also removed Infernal Obsession (since it's really the only good card in that pack), and so we need to bump up Stygian Eye to x3. I threw in x1 of Mask of Sthenelus because with a little less board control, we want our characters to be a little more resilient, and because you can pull it with the Curator.
Once again, thanks for reading! Join me next time for a special edition, looking at what the new champion-designed card, The Festival, can do for multi-faction deckbuilding.
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Danigral started hoarding Call of Cthulhu the same time as A Game of Thrones. While he’s played AGoT more competitively, he’s harbored a secret love for CoC and has played it casually and competitively for over 2 years. Initially drawn into the game through a fascination with Lovecraft’s mythos, he fell in love with the innovative mechanics and engaging gameplay CoC offers. And he wants to convert you. Cthulhu Fhtagn!
- badash56, pleechu, blinovitch and 2 others like this
11 Comments
You mention the Descendant as a key card, but its not in the deck. And thats probably right because I dont really think its a key card for this deck.
About the deck:
There are a lot of Unique cards in it with two or more copies. You could end up drawing useless cards because you simply cant play them.
about stealing and/or making insane:
Stealing cards in early game could be the main reason for getting a win. Its much better then making a character insane as you have to make one of your characters insane (neglecting Victoria here) to make a character of your opponent insane, in short, you lose a character to get to a story and so does your opponent. More of a draw. When stealing characters you gain one and your opponent looses one. Much, much better.
Therefor I recommend to put in Stygian Eye x 3, as its cheaper then Infernal obsession, but most of all, the unique part does not hurt you that much when stealing a character without terror icons:
These style decks are extremely effective. I would say easily tier 1. A similar style deck took 2nd and 3rd at worlds last year. It is just the right balance of control and rush. Cthulhu is really a game about tempo - and these decks start off very fast. If you jump head on turn 2 after stealing a character, it is often hard for your opponent to catch up.
A few cards to watch out for:
Negotium Perambulans in Tenebris (DD) - Yeah not fun to deal with.
The Seventy Steps (IMoD) - If your opponent drops this on turn one - it's not going to be pretty. The arsonists will help, but often the damage is already done and you're behind on stories.
Nice work!
@Darkman - I agree that Stygian Eye is just plain better than Obsession, and normally I would run x3. Maybe even going up to 51 cards to do so. I have found that its generally better to draw into both on turn 2 or even turn 3, than it is to draw either 1 on turn 1 simply because of the character quality on turn 1. In regards to unique characters...In general, that is good advice! I'm not sure it will be that big of an issue in this case, though. There are 4 unique characters altogether. Lucas Tetlow is there to get into play early for protection from certain support cards; Carson is there for utility to ready lunatics; Whitton is the power character which you want early or multiples of since she'll be a target for destruction; Shrewsbury stays in the deck for the most part.
@Badash - I haven't found a whole lot of Seventy Steps being played right now. You're right, though, it can slow down a rush deck, but lunatics don't care about being exhausted to trigger their ability, and Stygian Eye and Obsession don't care about the Steps either, so there is that.
I think the MVP of decks like this is Museum Curator (TWB). Dropping him on turn one and hitting one of your big supports is just awesome. He really is one of the most useful characters in the game.