Chaosium Digest Volume 21, Number 3 Date: Sunday, August 17, 1997 Number: 3 of 4 Outlined Mythos Decks: The Corrupt Deck (Cedric Chin) MYTHOS The Expedition Deck (Cedric Chin) MYTHOS A Funny Thing Happened on My Way to Vienna (Cedric Chin) MYTHOS A Gentleman in Dunwich (Cedric Chin) MYTHOS The Hero's Journey Deck (Cedric Chin) MYTHOS The Miskatonic Valley Deck (Cedric Chin) MYTHOS On the Moon and In the Sea (Cedric Chin) MYTHOS -------------------- From: cchin@frk.com (Cedric Chin) Subject: The Corrupt Deck: A Mythos Deck System: Mythos The Corrupt Deck Introduction: This deck is the only Kingport-only deck I have made. The deck is essentially a tuned deck based on the Corrupt Deck from the MSGS. You will need two copies of the Corrupt deck from MSGS. (Yes, the two Steadfast decks from MSGS can be used to make a tuned Steadfast deck!) Interestingly, even though Dreamlands adds more Kingsport Locations, only the Old Brick Powderhouse made it into this deck. This deck also has many free "slots" to add Artifacts or other cards. Sets: MSGS (x2), Limited Edition. Summary: MSGS Deck. Artifact deck. Kingsport. Munchkin cards: Any Investigator: Any Investigator Adventures: * The Price * Alone in the World * The Interesting Shop Cards for The Price: - Servitor Monster: Servitor of the Outer Gods, Unique. Any such Monster. - Corrupt Cultist: The Terrible Old Man, Kingsport, Unique - Steadfast Ally: Any two such Allies - Kingsport Location: Any two such Locations, including Underground to reach N'Kai and summon Tulzscha - N'Kai: N'Kai, Exotic Location, Unique - Enchanted Knife: Enchanted Knife, Weapon, Artifact (x2) - Tulzscha: Tulzscha, Monster, Outer God (requires Underground Location and a Solstice to summon) Other cards: - Shining Trapezohedron, Artifact: This Artifact can be used to replace a requirement to play an Outer God or GOO. - Dawn of the Solstice, Event, Day: This card fulfills a requirement to summon Tulzscha. Comments: Unfortunately, Kingsport has only one Corrupt Cultist, and he's Unique. N'Kai is, too. In addition, at least in my gaming groups, Tulzscha is one of the best known GOOs -- as soon as you play the Solstice, expect it to be buried! Cards for Alone in the World: - Phobia: Any two such Phobias - Weapon: [Enchanted Knife, Weapon, Artifact (x2)] - Ambush: Ambush, Event (x2) - Two Cemetary Locations: Any four such Locations in Kingsport - Corrupt Cultist: [The Terrible Old Man, Kingsport, Unique] - Servitor of the Outer Gods: [Servitor of the Outer Gods, Monster, Unique] - The Forgotten Crypt: The Forgotten Crypt, Kingsport (x2) Comments: Brackets indicate a card used in another Adventure for this deck. Again, two Unique cards make this Adventure difficult to play. Cards for The Interesting Shop: - Four different City Locations with the Tome or Artifact Attribute: See below - Any thing (Tome or Artifact) costing at least one Sanity: See below Comments: All of this Adventure's requirements overlap those of the other Adventures. -------------------- From: cchin@frk.com (Cedric Chin) Subject: The Expedition Deck: A Mythos Deck System: Mythos Deck Name: The Expedition Deck Introduction: With this being a 25-point Arkham deck, The Great Epidemic can be replaced with Seeking Everlasting Life I, or Knee Deep in Doom (with the reusable 197 E. Pickman Location). Sets: Limited Edition Summary: Arkham Deck. Tome deck. Munchkin cards: An Unexpected Calamity. This deck is also a single-City deck, the fastest sort of deck to play. Investigator: Any Adventures: * The Expedition (+11) * The Great Epidemic (+9) * The Interesting Shop (+5) Cards for The Great Epidemic: - Doctor: Dr. Allen Halsey, Arkham (x4, if possible) - Three Days: Any six Day Events - Typhoid Epidemic: Typhoid Epidemic, Event - Herbert West: Herbert West, Unique - Night: Any two Night Events - Doctor in your Story Deck: [Dr. Allen Halsey, Arkham] - Zombie: Zombie (x4) - Sanitarium: Arkham Sanitarium, Unique. Any Sanitarium Recommended Cards: - Harvey Walters, Arkham. Arthur Munroe, Any City: These Reporters lower your hand minimum by one, to allow you to cycle through your deck to retrieve the Unique Herbert West. - Arkham Asylum and Greenwood Asylum Comments: Dr. Allen Halsey is an Uncommon, so it's difficult to collect four of him. However, with Herbert West being Unique, you may need to draw your entire deck before completing this Adventure, so three or two Halseys are acceptable in this deck. The Reporters play a minor role by lowering your hand size by one, to hopefully draw the necessary cards. To kill off Halsey is unexpectedly difficult. He's immune to epidemics, and if no one attacks you, he can stay alive for quite awhile. The Arkham Asylum and Greenwood Asylums require you to draw a card; if the card is a Monster, it attacks, you can defend with Halsey. Alternately, various spells will turn an Ally into a Monster, and these can be used to put Halsey into your Story deck. Also, a single Zombie will return to your Threat if any Ally was lost in Combat, so you can't assume a single Zombie you played to your Threat will end up in your Story deck. If played with Seeking Everlasting Life I, you will have Skull icons tomes, so can use the Command the Dead, a Skull icon spell, to summon a Zombie during your turn, have it go to your Story Deck, and play the Great Epidemic. Cards for The Expedition: - Miskatonic University Location: Orne Library, Arkham (x1 or x2) - Two Allies: [Any such Allies from the Great Epidemic] - Travel by Sea: Tramp Steamer, Event (x2) - Storm: Any such Storms, Event (x2) - Unexpected Calamity: Unexpected Calamity, Event (x2) - Amnesia: Amnesia, Event (x2) - Site: Hangman's Hill, Arkham (x2) - Tome: Any two such Tomes - Three Monsters: [Zombie (x4)]. Any three Living Dead Comments: Brackets indicate a card used in another Adventure for this deck. The Tramp Steamer is the only Travel by Sea Event that allows you to return to the same Region you left from. You can use it to return to a Sanitarium (the alternative is to Walk to a Sanitarium, thus giving your opponents an opportunity to play an anti-Location card against you). Living Dead Join, so it's not difficult to play three Monster cards at once. Cards for The Interesting Shop: - Four different City Locations with the Tome or Artifact Attribute: [See below] - A Tome or Artifact: [See below] - Any thing costing at least one Sanity: [See below] Comments: Brackets indicate a card used in another Adventure for this deck. All of this Adventure's requirements overlap those of the other Adventures. The Interesting Shop isn't necessary for this deck, but the deck requires almost no modification to include this Adventure. -------------------- From: cchin@frk.com (Cedric Chin) Subject: A Funny Thing Happened on My Way to Vienna: A Mythos Deck System: Mythos A Funny Thing Happened on my Way to Vienna Introduction: This deck combines the best two dual-Region Adventures, The Strange Case of Charles Fort, and The Auction. There are quite a few Events for these Adventures, all mildly obnoxious and at least disruptive. Sets: Limited Edition Summary: Dual-Region Deck. Tome deck. Dunwich, Arkham. Munchkin cards: Aldeberan Moves in the Sky. This Event is required for The Strange Case. Investigator: Any Investigator, preferably one who can read Tomes costing two Sanity Adventures: * The Auction * The Strange Case of Charles Fort Cards for The Auction: - Two City Locations in Lovecraft Country: Any such Arkham Locations - The Auction House: The Auction House, Vienna, Europe (x2) - Thieves in the Attic: Thieves in the Attic, Event (x2) - Police Investigation: Police Investigation (x2) - Artifact or Tome costing two Sanity: Any two such Artifacts or Tomes Other Cards: - Cockpit Monoplane, Event, Travel by Air (x4): This Event is needed to cross Regions. The Events in The Strange Case of Charles Fort prevent anti-Travel by Air Events from being in play for a long time. - Fly, Spell, Diamond icon: In play, the Cockpit Monoplane has no problems, but the Fly Spell doesn't hurt this deck. Comments: My deck has a Latin Investigator and several Tomes costing two Sanity, plus their spells, for this deck. Arkham has many Tome Locations, so such a deck isn't too hard. The number of Spells in this deck will allow you to shrink your deck. Cards for The Strange Case of Charles Fort: - Professor: William Channing Webb, Any City (x2) - Aldebaran Moves in the Sky: Aldeberan Moves in the Sky, Event (x2) - Full Moon: Full Moon, Event, Night (x2) - Eclipse: Eclipse of the Sun, Event, Day (x2) - Earthquake: Earthquake, Event (x2) - Storm: Any two Storms, Event - Drought: Drought, Event (x2) - Two Locations in different Regions: [Arkham Locations. The Auction House, Vienna, Europe (x2)] Comments: Brackets indicate a card used in another Adventure for this deck. One drawback about this deck is that there is only one Ally in this deck, so Monsters will have no problems attacking you. However, four Sanitariums (two in Lovecraft Country, two in Europe) are something of a compensation. Many of these Events will bury Day and Night cards, typically needed as a required card to play another card (eg. a GOO). -------------------- From: cchin@frk.com (Cedric Chin) Subject: A Gentleman in Dunwich: A Mythos Deck System: Mythos Deck Name: A Gentleman in Dunwich Introduction: Here's yet another deck to see if any Dreamlands Adventures could be played outside the Dreamlands. The cards don't overlap, but they sure fit the Whateley theme. Sets: Limited Edition, Dreamlands, two copies of MSGS are recommended. Summary: Dunwich Deck. Tome / Artifact Deck. Munchkin Cards: Yithian Mental Contact. Several cards in The Even Stranger Case of Charles Fort require other cards in play to play them. Yithian keeps those cards in play. Investigator: Any Latin or Greek Investigator. Adventures * The Dunwich Horror * The Even Stranger Case of Charles Fort The Dunwich Horror: - See Playing the Dunwich Horror for Card List Comments: See Playing the Dunwich Horror Cards for The Even Stranger Case of Charles Fort: - Gentleman: Squire Whateley, Dunwich (x2) (from MSGS) - Rain of Fish: Rain of Fish, Storm, Event (x2). May only be played when a Storm is in play. - Swarm of Insects: Swarm of Insects, Night, Event (x2 or more) - Phobia: Any two Phobias - Strange Humanoid Encounter: Strange Humanoid Encounter, Event (x2). May only be played at Night. - Country: [Any Dunwich Country Location] - Station: Boston & Maine Train Station, Arkham (x2) (from MSGS) Other Cards: - Any Storms, Event (two or three): These Events are needed to play the Strange Humanoid Encounter. Comments: Brackets indicate a card used in The Dunwich Horror. Note that many cards in this deck require other cards to be in play. -------------------- From: cchin@frk.com (Cedric Chin) Subject: The Hero's Journey Deck: A Mythos Deck System: Mythos The Hero's Journey Deck Introduction: This deck takes place mainly in the West. There's not much overlap among the Adventures, but at least most of the deck takes place in the same Region. Although listed as a Dreamlands deck, some Limited Edition cards are useful; such cards are labelled as Limited Edition in this list. Sets: Dreamlands, with some Limited Edition. Summary: Dreamlands deck. Tome/Artifact deck. The West. Munchkin cards: Chant of Thoth, Spell, Diamond icon. Surprise Meeting. The Adventures do not have a high overlap, so the Chant can be used to discard unnecessary cards and draw new ones. The Fly Spell is recommended for this deck, and is also a Diamond-icon Spell, so it's not difficult to have both of these cards in this deck. This deck has many Sub-Regions and many Allies, so Surprise Meeting is extremely useful. Both these cards are Limited Edition cards. Investigator: Any Investigator Adventures: * The Meow Ceremony * The Gathering * The Hero's Journey Cards for The Meow Ceremony: - Cats of Ulthar: Cats of Ulthar, Event, Travel by Cat (x2) - The Market-Place: The Market Place, Ulthar (x2) - The White Whale Inn: The White Whale Inn, Ulthar (x2) - Cat from Saturn: Cat from Saturn, Monster (x2) - Cat Chieftan: Cat Chieftan, Ally, Ulthar (x2) - Hovel of the Cat Haters: Hovel of the Cat Haters, Ulthar (x2) - Petition of Menes: Petition of Menes, Spell, Dream icon (x2) Recommended Cards: - Any two Tomes with the Dream icon. - Barzai the Wise, Ulthar: If you don't have a Dream icon Tome in a language your Investigator speaks (ie. English), Barzai can hold a Spell for you. Comments: The Meow Ceremony is one of the few Dreamlands Adventures that can be played in only one Sub-Region. Annoyingly, the only Dream icon Tomes that are in a language any Investigator speaks are Rares. Cards for The Gathering: - Chief: [Cat Chieftan, Ally, Ulthar (x2)] - Priest: Nasht & Kaman-Thah, Any Temple. Atal the High Priest, Ulthar. - Merchant: Wandering Peddler, Any Country (x2) - Dreamer: HP Lovecraft, Any Dreamlands. Randolph Carter, Any Country. - Three Locations in different cities, towns, or villages: Any such cards, including Ulthar (from the Meow Ceremony), and a Gug City, Underground (for The Hero's Journey). The Harbor of the Black Galley is in Dyath-Leen, and has an Outside Location with the Gate Attribute, to summon Nyarlathotep for The Hero's Journey. - Weapon: Any two Weapons - Accoutrements of Heroes: Accoutrements of Heroes, Artifact (x2) - Temple: Temple of the Elder Ones, Ulthar, Unique. The Temple of Loveliness at Kiran, Ourkandos Wilds, Unique. The Onyx Temple, Dyathleen, Unique. The Temple of Bokrug, Mnar, Unique. These Locations also serve as Location to meet various Allies in this deck. Cards for The Hero's Journey: - The Gathering: [The Gathering, Adventure] - Two Travel Events: Ship of Clouds, Travel by Air (x2), and [Cats of Ulthar, Travel by Cats (x2)] - Underworld Location: [City of Gugs, Gug City.] Peaks of Thok, The Wildlands. See Comments. - Any non-Underworld Location: [Any such Location] - Any Outer God: Nyarlathotep, Outer God (x2). This is a Limited Edition card. - Day: New Moon, Day (x2). This is a Limited Edition card. Other Cards: - The Shining Trapezohedron, Artifact, Unique: This Artifact fulfills a requirement for summoning a GOO. This is a Limited Edition card. - Fly, Spell, Diamond icon: This Spell allows you to travel to another non-Exotic Region as if Walking. This is a Limited Edition card. Comments: Brackets indicate a card used in another Adventure for this deck. Ship of Clouds allows Travel from one Region to another. Cars and Camels are also useful to travel among the Sub-Regions and Country Locations in the West. The City of Gugs qualifies as a City for The Gathering. The Peaks of Thoth is a Country Location with the Artifact Attribute; with the Peaks of Thoth, for The Gathering, you can meet Allies encountered in Country Locations and find a Weapon. Both these Locations are Outside and have the Gate Attribute, so may be used to summon Nyarlathotep, which requires an Outside Location and a New Moon. The New Moon, of course, is to summon Nyarlathotep. -------------------- From: cchin@frk.com (Cedric Chin) Subject: The Miskatonic Valley Deck: A Mythos Deck System: Mythos The Miskatonic Valley Deck Introduction: This is the only Miskatonic Valley Deck I've constructed. Because Miskatonic Valley is a country Sub-Region, it pretty much asks for Migo Allies. As a result, it's also an anti-Artifact deck. The Adventures require some Locations available in Innsmouth. Sets: Limited Edition, MSGS. A second copy of MSGS is useful for another Martin's Beach and Hammond's Nerver & Brain Tablets for The Mystery at Martin's Beach Adventure. If you have the Dreamlands, you can add The Snake Den, Miskatonic Valley, to this deck. Summary: Limited Edition / MSGS deck. Artifact / Tome deck. Munchkin cards: Discover Secret Cache, Chant of Thoth. Cache is useful because not many Locations feature the Tome Attribute, and some Locations necessary for the Adventure in this deck have neither the Tome nor Artifact Attribute. The Chant will allow you to cycle through cards to find the Unique cards for The Mystery at Martin's Beach Adventure. Investigator: Any Female Ally (see The Birds and the Byahkees) Adventures: * The Mystery at Martin's Beach * The Theron Marks Society * The Birds and the Byakhees * One Dark and Stormy Night Cards for The Mystery at Martin's Beach: - A Steadfast Ally: Any four such cards (see the Theron Marks Society) - Martin's Beach: Martin's Beach, Miskatonic Valley (x2) - The Martin's Beach Monster: The Martin's Beach Monster, Monster, Unique - Phobia: Any two such cards - Dr. Hammond's Nerve & Brain Tablets: Dr. Hammond's Nerver & Brain Tablets, Artifact (x2) - Cthulhu Rising: Cthulhu Rising, Event, Unique Recommended Cards: - Chant of Thoth, Spell, Diamond icon: This spell allows you to discard and draw cards, allowing you to find the Unique cards for this Adventure. Comments: Two Unique cards (that can't be played to the Play Area) make this Adventure a little difficult to play. Cards for The Theron Marks Society: - Monster: [The Martin's Beach Monster, Monster, Unique.] Any Monster - Phobia: [Any two such cards] - Tome and Spell: See Recommended Card list. - Country House: [Ammi Pierce's Tottering Cottage, Miskatonic Valley. Nahum Gardner Place, Miskatonic Valley] - Two Steadfast Allies: [Any four such Allies] - A Weapon: Any two such cards. See Comments Recommended Cards: - Migo (x4), Monster. N'gah-Kthun, Monster, Unique: If you play N'gah-Kthun at a country Location, you can play him as an Ally, then play Migos as Allies. - The Speech Machine, Artifact: This Artifact adds one to the value of Migo and N'gah-Kthun. - Enchanted Weapons, Artifact, including the Lightning Gun: The Migo as Allies cannot use their Special Effect boxes. But equip them with Enchanted Weapons, and they can be placed into your Threat. (The Special Effect of Migo is to bury opponent's Artifacts if the Migo affects your opponent's Investigator or Allies. With Enchanted Weapons, they will become more powerful and be more likely to affect your opponent.) The Lightning Gun's effect is to also bury an opponent's Artifact. - Dust of Suleiman, Spell, Diamond icon: This spell summons Lesser Independents, which include Migo. Note that, if summoned, your Migo will "affect your opponent's Investigator or Allies" and thus be able to use its Special Effect, which is to bury an opponent's Artifact. - Waterbury State Hospital, Vermont, Unique. The Snake Den, Miskatonic Valley, from the Dreamlands: These are just more country Gate Locations. - Thieves in Your Attic, Event: This Event causes a random Artifact of your opponent to be buried. Comments: Go Migo! (Bye Artifacts!) You may need to add Tome Locations in Innsmouth to have enough Tome Locations for this deck. Cards for The Birds and the Byahkees: - Dawn of a New Day: Dawn of a New Day, Day, Event (x2) - Two different Water Locations: [Miskatonic Valley and Innsmouth Locations] - Ally of the Opposite Sex: Any male Ally (the Investigator is female) - Two different Forest / Country Locations: [Miskatonic Valley Locations] - Monster: [The Martin's Beach Monster, Monster, Unique. Migo (x4), Monster. N'gah-Kthun, Monster, Unique] - Press Location: Innsmouth Courier, Innsmouth Cards for One Dark and Story Night: - Powerful Storm: Powerful Storm, Event, Storm (x2) - Three different Miskatonic Valley Locations: Any six Locations, [including Martin's Beach, Ammi Pierce's Tottering Cottage, and Nahum Gardner's Place] - Travel by Car: Car, Event, Travel by Land (x2) - Church: Christchurch Cemetary, Innsmouth. Faith Baptist Church, Innsmouth -------------------- From: cchin@frk.com (Cedric Chin) Subject: On the Moon and in the Sea: A Mythos Deck System: Mythos Deck Name: On the Moon (Quest) and in the Sea (Temple) Introduction: I think this deck was put together to build an East deck, or to use Celephais' The Great Bazaar (where you can play two Artifacts per turn). I don't know. Anyway, it's here. Sets: Dreamlands, Limited Edition. Summary: Dreamlands / Limited Edition deck. Artifact deck. The East. Munchkin Cards: Surprise Meeting, Chant of Thoth. One of the Adventures requires the King of Ilek-Vad, and to play this card you need to first play Randolph Carter. Surprise Meeting helps get these cards into play faster. Chant of Thoth allows you to cycle through this deck faster, especially since these Adventures have little overlap Location-wise. Try using it at The Great Bazaar. Investigator: Any. Because the Temple of Atlantis is Unique and needs the U-Boat (Travel by Underwater) to reach it, the Enthusiastic Chorus Girl is recommended. Her Minimum is two, allowing you to cycle cards quickly through the deck, but her Maximum is five, which is high enough to save cards from Round to Round. Adventures: * Moon Quest * The Temple * The Interesting Shop Cards for Moon Quest: - Night: Lunar Eclipse, Event, Night (or Full Moon, Event, Night) (x2) - King of Ilek-Vad: King of Ilek-Vad, Ilek-Vad (x2). You must have Randolph Carter in play to play this card. - Merchant: Wandering Peddler, Any Country (x2) - Any Location that costs Sanity: Merchant's Quarter, Rinar (x2) - Black Galley: Black Galley, Event (x2) - Far Side of the Moon: Far Side of the Moon, Exotic Location (x2) - Moon Beast: Moon Beast, Monster Other Cards: - Randolph Carter, Any Country (x2): This card is must be in play to play the King of Ilek-Vad. - Sky Galleon, Event, Travel by Air and Sea (x2): This card allows travel to a Space Region (ie. the Far Side of the Moon). - Thag Weed, Artifact (x2): This Artifact allows you to breathe in Space, which is necessary for (or else lose 5 Sanity on each of your turns on) the Far Side of the Moon. Recommended Cards: - Create Time Warp, Spell, Eye icon: This Spell allows you to leave the Far Side of the Moon (or Temple of Atlantis). Otherwise, you must use the appropriate Travel by Event to leave. - Zenig of Aphorat, Artifact, found only on Exotic Locations, Unique: When buried, this Artifact can be used in place of any required card in an Adventure. - Seal of Isis, Artifact: This Artifact prevents the other Artifacts from being buried or discarded. Many Artifacts in this deck are needed in play. - Captain of the White Ship, Any Water, Ally (x2). The White Ship, Event, Travel by Sea (x2): This combination allows you to ignore the travel requirements when travelling to an Exotic Location. - Flee to Special Room, Event: This Event allows you to keep Randolph Carter and the Captain of the White Ship in play. - Labyrinths of the Gnorri, Ilek-Vad. Cliffs of Glass, Ilek-Vad: These are Country Locations in Ilek-Vad. Thus, you may play both Randolph Carter and the King of Ilek-Vad here. You must breathe Underwater at the Labyrinths, but the Diving Suit is recommeded for this deck (see The Temple). Comments: The Lunar Eclipse increases the point value of the Moon-Beast. The Night Events can also be used to bury any Storms preventing Travel by Sea. Cards for The Temple: - Travel Underwater (U-Boat): U-Boat, Event, Travel Underwater (x3) - Two different Water Locations: [Any four such Locations] - Lost Temple of Atlantis: Lost Temple of Atlantis, Exotic Location, Unique - Disk of the Hyades: Disk of the Hyades, Artifact (x2) - Tome: Any such Tome. See Comments Other Cards: - Diving Suit, Artifact (x2): This Artifact allows you to breathe Underwater, which is necessary for the Lost Temple of Atlantis. Comments: An Eye icon Tome is recommended for the Create Gate Spell recommended for Moon Quest. Create Gate is useful for this Adventure to leave Atlantis. Cards for The Interesting Shop: - Four different City Locations with the Tome or Artifact Attribute: See below - Any thing (Tome or Artifact) costing at least one Sanity: See below Comments: All of this Adventure's requirements overlap those of the other Adventures. Celephais' The Great Bazaar is, of course, one of these City Locations! --