Pacta Arcana - The Miskatonic Demonic Fantasy Football Team

Welcome to the twelfth 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 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.

Previously, on Pacta Arcana, we took a disturbing trek deep into the woods with the undercover agents of both the Agency and Shub-Niggurath weaving intrigue upon intrigue, and conspiracy upon conspiracy. This week, we see the faction of the black goat return, emerging from the fog shrouded depths of the forest to ally with the plucky humans of Miskatonic University so that together their united force may at last achieve...

...a rousing game of football?

Miskatonic University and Shub-Niggurath

This is a combo deck, designed to make good use of the ability on this particular card.

Normally the criteria for Norm is fairly hard to meet, even with weenie rush Miskatonic decks. However one of the many things Shub-Niggurath excels at is flooding the board. The focus of this deck is on filling your hand and discard pile with as many Dark Young as possible, then cheating Shub-Niggurath (TC) into play. Considering there are thirty Dark Young in the game at the moment, raw numbers isn't much of a problem. Where the faction has struggled on it's own is simply getting all those hungry little demons up into their hand. That's where Miskatonic steps up to contribute a little more than just the coach and the Gatorade.

What do I get out of this deal?

As I alluded to above, each faction brings one vital card and trademark ability that when combined creates a killer combo. Shub has the raw numbers needed to make the combo work in the form of her thousand young, and the Great Old One herself has a card ability that puts them into play. Miskatonic provides the draw engine that allows you to actually get those cards into your hand and discard pile, and Norm Grzbowski (AH) is the card that this is all designed to work around. One of the great things about this pairing is that the cost for a lot of the draw in Miskatonic is being forced to discard something else, but since Shub's long reach extends even into your discard pile it's actually more of a benefit than a drawback. Think of your discard pile as your own personal demon vault!

Key Cards

• Norm Grzbowski (AH) and Shub-Niggurath (TC) - Without them this deck does not exist.
• Obsessive Insomniac (IMoD) and Scientific Text (SoA) - Cheap, effective draw. This deck lives and dies by the amount of cards you can get into your hand/discard every turn. These are the key cogs in your machine.
• Shocking Transformation (Core) and Unspeakable Research (SoM) - The Shub card gets you Norm and the Miskatonic card gets you Shub*. They really were made for each other. Use these to fish out the combo piece you might be missing.
• Under the Porch (THBtS) - Two great things about this one. First, Shub doesn't need to stick around for this combo to work, she just needs to show up. Second, you can play this before you need it, then trigger it the second you do.
• Professor Rice (DD) - There is a staggering amount of triggered effects that draw cards in this deck. This lovely chap makes them all work just that much better.
  
  *Really it gets you Under the Porch (THBtS) since you don't actually want Shub-Niggurath in your hand. Shub costs 6, and since you only need her "enters play" ability you really don't want to have to pay full price for her.

Thoughts on Gameplay:

The important thing about this deck is balancing furious draw with a certain amount of story blocking. You aren't really that focused on winning stories until you have your coach and a family football team of demons ready to instantly win them for you, but you can't just let your opponent run all over the board doing whatever they want before that point or you will most assuredly lose. When you can field some Dark Young, do so, and play them aggressively. Remember, it doesn't matter if they die because when Shub arrives they'll all be coming back with a vengeance. So make your opponent work.

Cards like Student Archaeologist (Core) and Dr. Ali Kafour (Core) can provide some very solid draw, especially if you have Professor Rice (DD) lurking around. They are, however, vulnerable. Send a few of their demon pals with them to try and win the terror and combat you can, and take the hits when you can't. Most of the Dark Young are immune to terror, but they can definitely eat the wounds. If you win arcane, always ready the Archaeologist and then commit her again on your opponents turn. Since we're on the topic of the good Dr. Ali, some of you may have noticed that he is Heroic. That means he needs to die before Shub shows up. Fortunately, that isn't very hard to do. His one combat means that if you send him to oppose a story where the other player has a significant presence, he probably isn't coming back. At least not intact. If your opponent isn't obliging enough to take care of your characters for you, he is a great late target for Forbidden Knowledge (TWC). Or maybe a mid-life crisis (Shocking Transformation (Core)) might have him taking a new name and coaching sports.

There are two main dangers to the deck. The first is your opponent rushing the stories before you can field your team. You can mitigate that by getting out some demons and blocking, and by simply out-rushing them with your draw engine. The other danger is drawing all three copies of Shub-Niggurath. There isn't a whole lot you can do about that other than grit your teeth and hope one of your domains is already close to six resources. The deck is thick enough that the chances of getting all three copies is pretty low, but still definitely possible. That's the reason Archaeology Interns (IT) were included in this deck, and if you draw one of them early I recommend keeping them in your hand so you can sneak a copy of Shub back into your deck if you do happen to get that third card in hand.

The Deck:

Characters
Shub-Niggurath (TC) x3
Norm Grzbowski (AH) x3
Ancient Guardian (Core) x3
Collector of Sacrifices (TOotST) x3
Ferocious Dark Young (WitD) x3
Hungry Dark Young (Core) x3
Predator of the Night (PT) x3
Rampaging Dark Young (SoA) x3
The Mother's Hand (SoA) x3
Trampling Dark Young (IotF) x3
Watcher of the Woods (Core) x3
Ya-te-veo (TUP) x3
Corrupted Midwife (ER) x3
Dr. Ali Kafour (Core) x2
Professor Rice (DD) x3
Natural Philosopher (Core) x2
Focused Art Student (WitD) x2
Obsessive Insomniac (IMoD) x3
Student Archaeologist (Core) x3
Alternative Historian (SoK) x3
Archaeology Interns (IT) x3

Support
Book of Iod (ER) x1
Under the Porch (THBtS) x3
Forbidden Knowledge (TWC) x3
Scientific Text (SoA) x3


Event
Shocking Transformation (Core) x3
Unspeakable Research (SoM) x3
Unearthing the Ancients (Core) x3
Feast of Famine (Core) x3

A few notes on the deck:

• Did I mention the deck was 82 cards? It's a beast, but it works. With the amount of cards you have to draw in order to win, you would easily deck yourself with a standard 60 card deck, plus you simply wouldn't have enough fuel for the fire. The only trouble I've had with the size of this deck is when I go to shuffle it.
• When you discard, always discard a Dark Young. Don't be afraid to let some of them die in struggles to prevent your opponent from dominating early stories. Their stay in the discard pile will be brief.
• Scientific Text (SoA) and Book of Iod (ER) should ideally be placed on people who won't be comitting to stories, like Professor Rice (DD) or an Obsessive Insomniac (IMoD), but don't hang on to them waiting for the perfect matchup. You need as many cards as possible, as soon as possible.
• If either of your key cards (Norm or Shub-Niggurath) end up with all three copies in the discard pile somehow, you can try and use Corrupted Midwife (ER) to save them. Just make sure you can pay the cost, and remember the midwife can't be out with Dr. Ali Kafour (Core).
• Alternative Historian (SoK) is the best card you have for helping shut down your opponent while you gear up. Since you don't care about discard, the cost is laughable.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed our examination of a Cthulhu deck with a lightly lighter tone. See you next time for another edition of Pacta Arcana!