The Great Cthulhu - Worlds Report!

The Great Cthulhu - Worlds Report!

Welcome back, and sorry for the long delay! Life is certainly busy right now. But, thankfully I am now back and energetic from my experience at Worlds. I am going to start off with the news for CoC and my personal take on it.

The State of the LCG union address (the CoC take)

So for those that haven't heard or read in the forums the state of CoC in a sort sum is this: The game is going to be moving ahead as normal... for good and for bad. There is no rotation. While for many veterans out there this is good news, to me personally it isn't the best possible news. Let's quickly talk about the elephant in the room... this game's active online community is quite small unfortunately. This game is the best game mechanically I have ever played, and I have played over 12 different card games in my life. I just feel that this game isn't getting it's just dues in terms of player base. Would a rotation have increased the community in CoC? Maybe, or maybe not, but it would have been worth a chance. I have bought everything (except the out of print packs) in just this year and even I would be willing to give that all up to try to increase the size of the player base!

However, the game is getting a new expansion early next year, and they have already announced the next expansion after that, which means it is either done or almost done with development. So, we can expect at least two new expansions throughout next year, which is amazing. Also, speaking of the out of print packs, these are finally going to be available soon! Sure its print on demand, which maybe not the greatest in general, but it is still allowing us to get the cards we need, which is amazing.

So, it is clearly a good message for Call of Cthulhu - we don't have to worry about the game dying on us, Woo! And based on the FFG sales figures, the state of the game looks bright. So, I'm suggesting that lets not even bring the usual "We're all doomed!" talk up for a whole year - there's really no reason to worry new players.

Tournament!

So, on to the fun part! (: Worlds this year we had 19 people, which I hear was 6 more then last year, so although still not amazing attendance, it is clearly on the rise. Also, I know a lot of people on the forums wanted to make it but couldn't, and hopefully will make it next year... so here's hoping we can push forty next year!

(Important Note: In a Team covenant interview they said that Worlds will be an extra day in length next year, so since CoC is the smallest game, one should be prepared for the possibility that Worlds for CoC may be stuck on a Wednesday. Hopefully you all can plan around that, if it is the case.)

So, back to the tournament. It was a real struggle picking what deck I wanted to play, so I had to find input from two people in the community, and I was still struggling greatly with the decision. For the longest time I wanted to run something with Hastur, even though it is one of the currently weaker factions, the cancel it provides is very strong right now. There are so many things worth canceling in this game currently, and only Hastur can provide that control. However, since I am still not amazing at this game, I couldn't find a way to build a deck properly with them, without greatly weakening my character base. I think it is a very strong option to add as a third faction (which Jeremy proved can be done with success even without the Festival).

So what other options did I have? I have always had a soft spot for Syndicate, as I originally thought about getting into this game after watching Board Walk Empire and seeing on FFG's main page about the Syndicate Deluxe Box... and ever since then Syndicate has been my favorite faction. So, my first thought was that Syndicate with MU have a very powerful rush deck that is strong in combat/arcane/and investigation and could use Alternative Historian to cancel Terror struggles. However, I didn't like the vulnerability to control it seemed to have.

Next, I tried Syndicate with Yog, since Yog may still be the strongest faction, and has some of the best characters and control cards. But I just didn't like the deck I put together. Then, I tried Shub with Yog, because it has great characters with some character control, support control and recursions for the late game. But in the end I felt it was just slightly too slow... So, after taking a few days off, I tried a Shub Syndicate deck because they are probably my two favorite factions, and I had a list I actually loved. Then, just a few days before the tournament, I just had a gut feeling the deck wasn't quite good enough...

So, as you can see I really struggled with the decision. So what did I do? I went to an updated version of my Store championship and regional deck, because I have done great with that in the past. And for those unaware that is Syndicate with Cthulhu...
Here are the three main decks that I was considering:

Yog-Shub

Deck Created with CardGameDB.com Call of Cthulhu Deckbuilder

Total Cards: (51)

Character: (31)
1x Ancient Guardian (Core Set)
2x Black Dog (Words of Power)
3x Corrupted Midwife (Ebla Restored)
3x Faceless Abductor (The Order of the Silver Twilight)
3x Many-angled Thing (The Gleaming Spiral)
2x Professor Nathaniel Peaslee (The Key and the Gate)
2x Servant to the Elder Things (Lost Rites)
2x Stalking Hound (Perilous Trials)
1x The Claret Knight (Seekers of Knowledge)
3x Y'Golonac (Core Set)
1x Elder Thing Scavenger (Written and Bound)
3x Hack Journalist (Dunwich Denizens)
1x The Red-Gloved Man (Whispers in the Dark)
2x Karin Marley (Ebla Restored)
2x Dreamlands Fanatic (In the Dread of Night)

Support: (10)
2x Book of Iod (Ebla Restored)
3x The Festival (The Key and the Gate)
2x The Plague Stone (Terror in Venice)
1x The Three Bells (The Unspeakable Pages)
2x The Necronomicon: Olaus Wormius Translation (Touched by the Abyss)

Event: (8)
3x Pushed into the Beyond (Touched by the Abyss)
3x Thunder in the East (Kingsport Dreams)
2x Burrowing Beneath (Core Set)

Conspiracy: (2)
2x Negotium Perambulans in Tenebris (Dunwich Denizens)

Syndicate-Shub

Deck Created with CardGameDB.com Call of Cthulhu Deckbuilder

Total Cards: (50)

Character: (31)
2x Black Dog (Words of Power)
3x Corrupted Midwife (Ebla Restored)
2x Grasping Chthonian (Initiations of the Favored)
3x Hack Journalist (Dunwich Denizens)
2x Karin Marley (Ebla Restored)
1x Lena Di Boerio (Denizens of the Underworld)
2x Marine Salvager (Denizens of the Underworld)
2x Naomi O'Bannion (Denizens of the Underworld)
2x Peter Clover (Seekers of Knowledge)
3x Savio Corvi (Terror in Venice)
2x The Claret Knight (Seekers of Knowledge)
1x The Red-Gloved Man (Whispers in the Dark)
3x Tragic Celebrity (Conspiracies of Chaos)
3x Y'Golonac (Core Set)

Support: (10)
2x Book of Iod (Ebla Restored)
3x The Festival (The Key and the Gate)
2x The Necronomicon: Olaus Wormius Translation (Touched by the Abyss)
3x The Plague Stone (Terror in Venice)

Event: (6)
2x Burrowing Beneath (Core Set)
3x Immurement (Denizens of the Underworld)
1x Thunder in the East (Kingsport Dreams)

Conspiracy: (3)
3x Negotium Perambulans in Tenebris (Dunwich Denizens)


...and finally the deck I ended up running:

Syndicate-Cthulhu

Deck Created with CardGameDB.com Call of Cthulhu Deckbuilder

Total Cards: (50)

Character: (32)
2x Black Winged One (The Sleeper Below)
3x Dreamlands Fanatic (In the Dread of Night)
2x Dwellers Below (The Sleeper Below)
3x Fall Guy (Denizens of the Underworld)
3x Hack Journalist (Dunwich Denizens)
3x Innsmouth Troublemaker (Core Set)
2x Lena Di Boerio (Denizens of the Underworld)
3x Naomi O'Bannion (Denizens of the Underworld)
3x Obsessive Zealot (The Sleeper Below)
3x Peter Clover (Seekers of Knowledge)
2x The Claret Knight (Seekers of Knowledge)
2x Wheelman (Denizens of the Underworld)
1x Black Dog (Words of Power)

Support: (9)
2x Called by Azathoth (The Spawn of the Sleeper)
1x Dutch Courage (Core Set)
3x Flooded Vault (Terror in Venice)
3x Khopesh of the Abyss (The Shifting Sands)

Event: (9)
2x Deep One Assault (Core Set)
3x Immurement (Denizens of the Underworld)
2x On the Lam (Denizens of the Underworld)
2x From the Depths (The Sleeper Below)

Conspiracy: (0)


A very quick report of the games:

First round
Faced up against MU and Yog. Basically any deck with MU, is a good match up for my deck, I have discovered. I can match their Rush and plain Control more characters. Sadly I didn't take notes, so none of these games have great detail, but I won 3 stories to none. Flooded Vaults for a Khopesh around Lucas is amazing.

Round two
Unfortunately round two I had to face up against Tom and his Shub/Yog deck. He got a Claret Knight out and Plague stoned me to death... Just like my match against Jeremy in the Regional. I was so mad at myself, because that game I resourced both of my Called by Azathoth, that I put in just to counter the Claret Knight... in the end he still probably would have beat me, but it sure would have at least made it a match. Now, I lost 3 stories to none.

Round three
This is where I am going to start getting frustrated. FFG, if you read this, please try to fix this issue in the future. Since my surname is Zimmer, and they do the parings alphabetically, I got paired down, so even though I am now 1-1 I had to face an 0-2. This wasn't an even a match. I faced a mono-Cthulhu deck, and I rushed to get a story on the second turn, he had a Dormant Cthulhu on the story, but he didn't resource enough Cthulhu yet to be able to put him into play (due to the Stalwart icons) and it was over then.

Round four
So I got pared down again...So at 2-1 I faced 1-2. Up against a mono-Syndicate, just like MU, mono-Syndicate is a cake walk for my deck (although there were times things that made me little nervous, because syndicate can rush quick if you are not ready to stop it), but with Khopesh I have way more control than mono syndicate, and I won once I was able to get Naomi out, use Immurement, then play On the Lam and finally trigger On the Lam again after committing to the story to make the three characters he had ready not be able to defend.

Ended 3-1

However, with cutting to only Top 4, and after being pared down twice my strength of schedule didn't match the other 3-1 players and I finished 5th... was still a fun day and I was happy with how I did for my first Worlds. I just wish I had gotten to play one more round, because although David beat Tom and so he deserved that spot, I know because of the decks I would have had a really good chance to have won that match up. Congrats though to the top four and everyone else! Special shout out to the guy from, I think it was France (sorry some European country at least!), that flew out just for worlds without even winning a National to get the airfare paid for them.

Now that's real commitment!

Draft
So we also found out that at Worlds there were draft packs available, which instantly made me happy that I didn't buy the CCG box like I was going to. 8 of us that didn't make the cut gathered together and did the first ever draft with the set! I ended up going 3-0 and winning the draft (: So I got first ever worlds draft champ under my belt (;.

Here's my deck:

Deck Created with CardGameDB.com Call of Cthulhu Deckbuilder

Total Cards: (40)

Character: (22)
2x Dreamlands Wanderer (Twilight Horror)
1x Dabbler in the Unknown (Core Set)
1x Carl Stanford (Seekers of Knowledge)
1x Clifton Rosenberg (The Order of the Silver Twilight)
1x Nigel St. James (The Shifting Sands)
1x Nathan Wick (Written and Bound)
1x Magnus Stiles (Shadow of the Monolith)
2x Lodge Librarian (The Order of the Silver Twilight)
2x Baleful Reveler (Terror in Venice)
2x Ageless Mi-Go (Secrets of Arkham)
1x Mi-Go Surgeon (Secrets of Arkham)
1x Mi-Go Commander (Secrets of Arkham)
1x Mi-Go Caretaker (Murmurs of Evil)
1x Hungry Dark Young (Core Set)
1x Predator of the Night (Perilous Trials)
1x Watcher of the Woods (Core Set)
1x Lucas Corn (Written and Bound)
1x Savio Corvi (Terror in Venice)

Support: (12)
1x The Setting Sun (Twilight Horror)
2x Cryptic Writings (Search for the Silver Key)
1x Gentleman's Club (Core Set)
1x Crescent Blade (The Order of the Silver Twilight)
1x Ritual of Inferno (That Which Consumes)
1x Ritual of Exclusion (The Unspeakable Pages)
1x Elder Binding (Aspirations of Ascension)
1x Mi-Go Skull (Into Tartarus)
2x Book of Iod (Ebla Restored)
1x Dhole Tunnel (Twilight Horror)

Event: (4)
2x Feint (Secrets of Arkham)
1x Brazier Enchantment (The Order of the Silver Twilight)
1x Burrowing Beneath (Core Set)

Conspiracy: (2)
1x Death Comes for All (Terror in Venice)
1x Unending Festivities (Terror in Venice)
Overall it was a great experience. For those that don't like the idea, you really should still give it a try! You are not paying for the cards, you are truly paying for the experience. Throughout my time at worlds I did 2 Thrones drafts and 1 CoC Draft and they were maybe more fun then the standard tournaments. Also, the fact that FFG was willing to make a Draft set for this less popular game, lets us as a community support it by trying to set up a draft night at our local gaming stores. I am going to set one up and hopefully get at least three other people to give it a try, as it's much easier way to get people to try the game as well.

Summary
Worlds was amazing! I am so happy I got into CoC this year and it was a blast meeting the players. Was happily surprised to find out that Tom is a very cool guy and easy going, as I was a little intimidated to face him because of his reputation as a winner, but he was talkative and friendly during our match (I ended up getting my revenge against him in the game of thrones joust (; ). Congrats to Jeremy for winning yet again (double champion again!). Also thanks for lending me the out of print cards I haven't been able to get yet .

I am hoping to see a lot more next year! Maybe with the additional day, despite the possibility of it being a difficult one like a Wednesday, maybe it will help the CoC Tourney have less competition with the other LCGs and we can get the handful of people who could not participate due to still being in the running for the AGoT Melee to do CoC next year.

Upcoming in future Great Cthulhu articles is a Starter deck and review for Sleepers below, as well as a review of the first two cycles, since us newer players will finally get our hands on them. Hopefully once I get another Draft in I know some more details about how it works and can write about that, as well as many more articles (: I don't want to make promises about how often I will do articles, but I am going to try to make sure I make time for this more then I have recently. Also, if you wanna play on OCTGN at sometime send me a message, I wanna start recording some games again as well.