Pacta Arcana - San Marco Breakfast Club

Welcome to the fourteenth 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 week I will continue to visit The Agency, this time with another Human faction. Because who doesn’t love underdogs, right?

The Agency and Silver Twilight

Both The Agency and Silver Twilight have largely been considered "support factions" in the past: The Agency because they are perceived as a one-trick pony that has lacked the versatility to compete at higher levels with other factions on a card-for-card basis; The Silver Twilight because as a new faction, it has lacked the depth in its cardpool that other factions have.

Recently though, the Terror in Venice deluxe expansion has caused players to give a second look to Agency and ST because of the superb supports that have a built-in immunity and the additional cheap characters. San Marco Basilica (TiV) is a day card that lets you stand one or more characters a turn, depending on how many domains you have available. Hermetic Seal (TiV) does a lot in a cheap package, giving you a versatile cancel to a lot of annoying enters play abilities, like Many-angled Thing (TGS), Lord Jeffrey Farrington (TOotST), and Deep One Rising (SoA).

What do I get out of this deal?
Agency has always had some pretty efficient 2-drop characters, and a great package of events that provide excellent support for a rush deck from turn 1. What they’ve been missing are useful characters at the 1-cost slot, a modicum of useful characters with , and a way to get more use out of their characters by stand effects or without having to overcommit them every turn. ST now helps the 1-cost problem and the problem with arcane, and San Marco Basilica helps the stand problem. With the efficient chuds, day synergy, and a good icon spread in all except , this makes a pretty effective and resilient rush deck, with the added bonus of having effective ways to close the game.

The Deck:
Characters (31)
Guardian of Dawn (TiV) x3
Trial Judge (TGS) x2
Paul LeMond (Core) x3
Zanni (TiV) x2
Master of the Myths (IT) x3
Dirk Sharpe (TBJ) x2
B. Ramsdale Brown (TKatG) x2
Lord Jeffrey Farrington (TOotST) x3
Initiate of Huang Hun (CotJE) x2
Protector of Secrets (IotF) x3
The Terrible Old Man (KD) x3
Undercover Security (Core) x3

Supports (7)
Hermetic Seal (TiV) x2
San Marco Basilica (TiV) x3
The Rays of Dawn (TH) x2

Events (12)
Behind Bars (SotD) x3
Shotgun Blast (Core) x3
Small Price to Pay (Core) x3
Eldritch Nexus (Core) x3

Thoughts on Gameplay:
The traditional problem with rush decks has been their “glass cannon” nature: if they don’t go off, they fizzle out. The good thing about this deck is that it can be very fast, and it can also come from behind pretty well. If your opponent overextends once, he’s provided you an opportunity to close quickly. The general strategy is to rush as many stories early on as possible with your weenies to get most stories in a position to close. Zanni (TiV) is a superstar - if you are bouncing and wounding just a character or two a turn, he will net you unopposed almost every time. Guardian of Dawn (TiV) can sometimes get you 3 tokens on its own, but becomes a lot better when it’s day. Paul LeMond (Core) can copy Guardian’s icons, or an opponent’s even.

There are also a number of characters that can double as attackers or defenders, such as Master of the Myths (IT) and The Terrible Old Man (KD). With enough 1 domains, you can rush with all your characters on your turn, stand them with the Basilica, or have domains left for Master of the Myths or Small Price to Pay (Core). That is why you have x3 Eldritch Nexus (Core) to try to get an extra domain as early as possible, since in this deck that generally translates to board advantage. Other than the one-cost cards, Paul, Master of the Myths, and the Basilica all have repeatable 1-cost effects to use your extra domains on. Flux Stabilizer (PT) or Prepared Alienist (TKatG) can hurt a little, but not that much. There isn't much you can do about Flux Stabilizer, but Small Price works wonders on the Alienist. Try not to overcommit if Flux is in play, since you can't rely on Master of the Myths or Dirk Sharpe to jump in on defense.

Ironically, you can use the rush deck’s weakness into a strength by tricking your opponent into thinking you’ve overextended. When he swings in leaving just a few characters on defense, you have a number of tricks to come back and get unopposed for those final 2 tokens at a story: Small Price to Pay, Protector of Secrets (IotF), Zanni, and Trial Judge (TGS). Of course it’s not always that easy, which is why you have B. Ramsdale Brown (TKatG) to recycle your characters and events for immediate use, or Lord Jeffrey Farrington (TOotST) for more problematic characters.

Among all the problems you'll face, Khopesh can sometimes give you difficulty, but a well placed Small Price to Pay can help the Khopesh wielder to his grave. Sometimes an over-zealous Khopesh deck can be a boon to you by mangling its own board position to give you an opening on your turn. Night-based decks can also cause some problems depending on how many of your Day supports you have out; for that reason don't play all your Day supports at one time to avoid 2+ for 1s. It's important to note that this is not a Day deck, though. It merely has some synergy with Day. All the Day supports provide an effect (other than Day) that helps speed the deck, whether it's protection from sacrifice effects, standing, or reducing terror on the board. Also, the only character that really requires it to be day is Trial Judge, who is only x2 in the deck, simply for this very reason. He is helpful, not critical.

A Few Notes on the Deck:

• Your resourcing will generally be 2-2-1-1, and 2-2-1-1-1 ideally late game. You can go to 3 only if necessary to play Jeffrey or Ramsdale Brown if you need a quick boost. Otherwise, your 3 cost dudes can be resourced if they’re not immediately useful.
• The key to this deck is all of the weenies. The most problematic card that can hurt you is Negotium Perambulans in Tenebris (DD), which doesn’t see a ton of play right now; regardless, you still have some characters that will not have to commit to Negotium.
• Knowing when to play your characters for the greatest effect is critical. Try not to waste your Protector’s ability if it won’t net you an unopposed story.
• Most people try to wipe an opponent’s board with Initiate of Huang Hun, but he is good for a one-time use too to get rid of one of your opponent’s dudes and bounce Protector or Jeffrey back to hand to use right away. Don’t try to abuse him in this deck, even though if you would have board advantage and you’ve somehow managed to go to 2-2-2, you can certainly try that strategy.
• The Basilica and Trial Judge combo is pretty great, and wonderful to close out a game by just using all your domains to target the opponent’s problem characters and swinging in with all your dudes for the win.
• Shotgun Blast is useful turn one since it can generally hit smaller dudes, but becomes less useful the longer the game goes. Every once in a while you can hit their chud and bounce something good with Initiate or Farrington, or hit a combat-soak chud at a story to do damage to an opponent's heavy hitter. But mostly, after turn 2 it will most likely be resourced.
• Black Dog is another card to consider in this deck since you are generally trying to reduce your opponent’s board, but he is really only a defender since he has no skill. If you want to include a copy, take out 1 of either Paul or Old Man, or maybe even Undercover Security.

Thanks for reading, and a special thank you again to Wildefox and Midian for helping out with the article. I hope you have enjoyed their contributions as much as I have! Join us again for Wildefox's take on Pacta Arcana in a couple weeks.

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