Pacta Arcana - Monster University

Welcome to the seventh 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 Cthulhu

Last time on Pacta Arcana, we delved into the insidious underbelly of Arkham, where the the Syndicate is king, and yet where something far more sinister lurks in the night waiting to snatch the unprepared. But while the night-owls drink the night away at the Clover Club, and those unfortunate few lose their skill and sanity to the stalking terrors of the night, the students and faculty of Miskatonic are up late pouring over their tomes and artifacts of an ancient era...and which perhaps are better left alone.

There were a few directions I could have taken with this faction pact. My first draft was to build a deck around Eschatologist (SoK), A Voros Hal'l Jon (SoK), Atlantis (SoK), and Ghatanothoa (IotF), with the idea of cancelling effects long enough to get a lock by continuously tutoring Ghatanothoa. That deck failed miserably. I decided to revert to a way to abuse The Khopesh of the Abyss (which has already much discussed at this point). The card itself is a double-edged sword, in practice being much less efficient than it first appears to be, but still a very good card. Building a deck around it requires some thinking about how to mitigate the loss of card advantage. Putting it on characters with toughness is one way to increase Khopesh’s efficiency, but another is using effects that save the character it is attached to from destruction.

What do I get out of this deal?
With Miskatonic, although they excel at rush tactics, they also have some great control cards. This usually helps them pace the tempo of the early game to clinch the win quickly, but it can also be useful in a control build, which has long been Cthulhu’s preferred domain. Miskatonic has long had a knack for card advantage in general, which helps a control build by giving it more options to choose from for any given situation. Cthulhu, on the other hand, has lots of control effects, but effectively little draw. It seeks to dominate the board, and forcing your opponent into committing poorly, overcommitting, or making choices he didn’t want to make.

Key Cards
Museum Curator (TWB) - Play him and get a support card in play for free.
Khopesh of the Abyss (TSS) - Targeted wounding!
Infirmary (WoP) - Save your Khopesh-armed character.

Thoughts on Gameplay:
Museum Curator - as if you haven’t heard me talk about it before - is a superstar. His ability, hands down, is one of the best in the game for a 2-drop character, since it gives you card advantage and resource advantage. In fact, it bypasses cost completely so you don’t have to worry about resource matching, steadfast, loyal, or cost at all. This is the backbone of the deck, since it can put Khopesh and Infirmary into play. You can then wound two of your opponent’s characters, which destroys the Curator, and he bounces back to hand with Infirmary, and Khopesh shuffles back into your deck. A neat trick. If you’re lucky (and the chances increase as the game goes), you can pull Khopesh again the next time you play the Curator, maybe even the same turn.

And that’s really it. Most of the other cards are there to provide support for this core combo that will keep your opponent’s board practically clear. You do have some other good options for characters to put the Khopesh on, including Campus Security Guard, who already comes with Toughness +2, The Terror of the Tides, who has essentially Toughness +2, and Prepared Alienist, who has Toughness +1. Dr. Laban Shrewsbury, Master of the Myths, Cafeteria Lady, and Muddy Waters are there to slow your opponent down until you can get a good lock on the board.

You want to build up your domains to 3-2-1 with 2 MU/1 Cthulhu on the biggest; 1/1 on the second; and 1 MU on the third. This will allow you to play any card in your deck.

The Deck:
Characters (29)
Alternative Historian (SoK) x3
Dreamlands Fanatic (ItDoN) x3
Museum Curator (TWB) x3
Campus Security Guard (SoK) x2
Carl Stanford (SoA) x2
Master of the Myths (IT) x2
Professor of Folklore (ER) x3
Dr. Laban Shrewsbury (WaB) x3
Cafeteria Lady (AH) x2
The Terror of the Tides (TTotT) x3
Prepared Alienist (TKatG) x3

Supports (16)
Muddy Waters (TAD) x2
Atlantis (SoK) x3
Infirmary (WoP) x3
Mask of Sthenelus (IT) x2
Khopesh of the Abyss (TSS) x3
Called by Azathoth (TSotS) x3

Events (6)
Deep One Assault (Core) x3
Magnetic Spike (NN) x3


A few notes on the deck:

• Your opponent can try to outpace you and play more characters than you can wound or characters that you can’t wound (such as Ancient Ones). Called by Azathoth can help with AOs and other invulnerable characters, and Laban can help with the Villainous ones.
• Your opponent can also try to overpower you by resource-ramping and putting characters into play with the usual shenanigans. Prepared Alienist can help with that. If Alienist doesn’t seem to do the trick, consider adding a couple Flux Stabilizers. They can be put into play with the Curator, but they are also hit with the Spike, and with Prepared Alienist, can be a bit redundant. The good thing about Alienist is that if your opponent turns out not to run cards like Black Dog, Master of the Myths, or Under the Porch, etc., then you now have a pretty good 2-drop character for stories. Flux Stabilizer gives you no such flexibility.
• Deep One Assault and Magnetic Spike are your support control. Although DOA is loyal, it can still reliably take out 0 or 1 cost supports. The Spike is interesting since it’s more global, but also hits all of your supports except Khopesh and Mask of Sthenelus. If you have your combo out though, it’s easy to play Spike to bounce all of your opponent’s supports, play Curator to put one of your own back in to play, and put the others on the bottom of your deck for later (they’ll get reshuffled the next time your relic leaves play.) It’s not optimal, but it can really hose an opponent that depends too much on supports.
• Atlantis is there to protect against Scholar of Yith, and other discard-pile effects, as well as to shuffle your Curator back into your deck if somehow it gets discarded/destroyed/etc.

Thanks for reading! Join me next time for another edition of Pacta Arcana. Next time, join me as I build a deck around an exclusive spoiler from the upcoming Terror in Venice expansion!

Any feedback, suggestions, or comments are welcome.

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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, engaging gameplay, and deep deckbuilding CoC offers. And he wants to convert you. Cthulhu Fhtagn!