Pacta Arcana - Pacific Rim Slumber Party

Welcome to the eighteenth 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. This time, join me for another trip into the murky mysteries of what lies beneath the surface.

Yog-Sothoth and Cthulhu

Something has rent the Space-Time of earth’s ocean floor frighteningly close to Cthylla’s slumber-party, and while we mere mortals cannot sense it, nor comprehend it, the Yithians from the outer aeons have felt the disturbance and sent their scouts to probe the matter. Unfortunately for the scouts, Cthylla likes crunchy scout-toppings on her seaweed ice-cream. (Bingeing on ice-cream is her way to pass the time more quickly.) Even more unfortunately, the Yithians aren’t the only ones to sense the opening of this aqueous gate, and what may come through could be even worse than those puny Kaiju could ever hope to be. And not even giant robots can help us if that comes to pass.

This is another take on an “Ancient-One” deck - this time gathering inspiration from Tom Capor’s store championship experiment - which utilizes one of the cheaper ways to tease the big-baddies into play, Broken Space, Broken Time (or BSBT for short). The crux of the deck revolves around Yithian Scout and Cthylla, who can sacrifice one and another appears on his heals. Not only that, but once all three are in play, you are either milling one card each turn or sacrificing an opponent’s character, basically for free. But that’s not all! Because of the rules, every time Yithian Scout enters and leaves play it is treated as a different copy and its trigger resets, which means that as long as Yithian Scout can keep entering play with his discard trigger, he force your opponent to sacrifice multiple characters each turn.

What do I get out of this deal?

Other than the Scout, Yog-Sothoth brings some of the “usual suspects” for tempo control in the game (Peaslee, Abductor, Many-Angled Thing, Rite of the Silver Gate, and Pushed into the Beyond), and a great synergy to putting characters into play (Stalking Hound and Opening the Limbo Gate). Cthulhu in this deck is really bringing two cards: Cthylla and Dreamlands Fanatic. And really that’s all you need. There are a couple other things going on in this deck though, other than the Cthylla/Scout combo. First, there are other Ancient Ones that you can grab with BSBT: Glaaki, Nodens, and Zstylzhemgni. Glaaki and Zsty are great defenders to just draw out the game, and Nodens is a great toolbox character in case you need a reset. Second, there are other control elements which feed teasing AOs into play: The Mage Known as Magnus can discard a big AO from your hand to destroy a problematic character, and then you can put that AO into play with Opening the Limbo Gate.


The Deck:

Total Cards: (51)

Character: (31)
3x Faceless Abductor (TOotST)
2x Professor Nathaniel Peaslee (TKatG)
1x Nodens (KD)
2x Glaaki (AoA)
3x Stalking Hound (PT)
3x Yithian Scout (TKatG)
3x Dreamlands Fanatic (ItDoN)
2x Black Dog (WoP)
3x Many-angled Thing (TGS)
2x Constricting Elder Thing (IotF)
2x Cthylla (SoK)
2x The Mage Known as Magnus (TWC)
1x Zstylzhemgni (DotU)
2x Sebastion Blake (DotU)

Support: (7)
2x Rite of the Silver Gate (TKatG)
3x Frozen Time (TKatG)
2x Hermetic Text (TGS)

Event: (13)
3x Broken Space, Broken Time (CoC)
2x Mists of Lethe (TKatG)
3x Journey to the Other Side (Core)
3x Pushed into the Beyond (TbtA)
2x Opening the Limbo Gate (Core)


Thoughts on Gameplay:

• "Wait a minute, Danigral!" you say. "There are only 5 Cthulhu cards in here!" Yes, that's right. But since the core combo is between Yog and Cthulhu, it's still fit for an article about faction pacts. Besides, if you really wanted to hard-cast Cthylla, you could always resource a Dreamlands Fanatic at some point.
• A critical opening hand would look like an early game control element like Peaslee or Abductor or Pushed, a copy of BSBT, and maybe at least one jumper or a copy of Journey to the Other Side, so that you can fish for the cards you need and set up your future rounds.
• Resourcing is very easy with this deck, since it is mostly Yog-Sothoth. It’s best to set up with 1 Yog on each domain, but you are free to put a neutral or off-faction on one of your 1 domains since you’ll be using those mostly for Black Dog.
• It can’t be underestimated how great a defender Zsty is. His only downside is that he has no arcane so that he can be an effective attacker as well. Because of that, Hermetic Text is included so that Zsty can become Super-Zsty, and simultaneously fuel the discard for Opening the Limbo Gate (or Mists of Lethe or Yithian Scouts). With Sebastian Blake, you can easily recur my good cards over and over again anyway.
• Our ubiquitous jumpers (The Black Dog, Dreamlands Fanatic, and Stalking Hound) are once again featured in this deck. (Master of the Myths was in there prior to the latest FAQ, but alas!) Because of that, not to mention for BSBT, you will need a way to deal with Snow Graves and Flux Stabilizer. Frozen Time and Constricting Elder Thing are there for just such a purpose. Don’t waste them on unnecessary cards (even if they might be annoying!) until you’re sure your opponent isn’t running those cards.

Thanks for reading! Join me again for next Pacta Arcana in a few weeks, but in the meantime, post below your favorite Ancient One, and the best way you've used it in a game.

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, back in 2010. While he’s played AGoT more competitively, he’s harbored a secret love for CoC and has played it casually and competitively for almost 3 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!