Chaosium Digest Volume 24, Number 7 Date: Sunday, March 29, 1998 Number: 2 of 3 Contents: Building a Better Deck (Guy Hail) MYTHOS CF: Deep Ones (Guy Hail) MYTHOS -------------------- From: GRHail@aol.com Subject: Building a Better Deck System: Mythos Building a Better Deck Before playing your deck, match the conditions for an Ally's play to Location cards in your deck. For example, Toodee-6 may be played at any Location with the Government & Artifact attributes. Put such a Location in your deck (the Pentagon, for example). Patricia Bridgette Jodoin may be played in Paris. Put a Paris Location in your deck. Now that I've given you that advice: read the INTERPOL card. It's in Rome, but it's special effect is powerful. For Allies you'd like to play, but don't want to add two or three Locations just to play one Ally, use Hitch a Ride, Train, Keeness of Two Alike, Surprise Meeting, or another means of side-stepping requirements on where an Ally may be played. If you have Artifact cards in your deck, these may be played only at Locations that have the Artifact attribute. Make certain that there are several Locations with the Artifact attribute in your deck. Then match Tome cards to Locations with the tome attribute. Cards in Play Mean Faster Play The strategy of Mythos is simple: get your cards out. Many times I've played I've had to pay a point of Sanity to reshuffle my deck when my opponents forced me to discard cards that were required for an adventure. As many cards as possible should be in play in the Ally or Artifact & Tome areas, as Events, or in the Story Deck. The more cards in play around your Investigator, the smaller your Mythos Deck. The discarded card will return to play quickly when one-half of your deck is already in play around your Investigator. The only cards you might want to hold back on playing, either by retaining them in your hand or by discarding them at the end of a round, are unique cards that are not necessary for the Adventure you're trying to complete (for example, Toodee-6, necessary for Plan 9, isn't necessary for Ashes, Ashes Azathoth). By Holding Toodee-6 in your hand, you make certain it can be played at the proper time. But: playing the Toodee-6 card when it isn't necessary could provoke an opponent into playing a discard event or spell at the wrong time If you're aiming to complete a different adventure you've tricked your opponent into misusing a valuable card. Watch those Monsters! Playing every Monster in your hand may cost you the game when the combat value of your Monsters exceeds the combined Sanity of your opponents. Don't laugh too hard. It's any easy mistake to make when several Monsters join or receive bonuses from locations or events. The Men in Black Monster are likely to lower your opponent's Sanity because its special power to flip facedown an opponent's Ally can change a defending Ally into a non-defending Ally. Be careful the Men in Black don't lower your opponent's Sanity to zero, unless by doing so you will win the game. Monsters are your first line of defense. Hold on to one or two at the end of the each round to to supply some defense in the next round. Cards Should be Useful for Several Adventures Nearly every card in your deck should fulfill a requirement on two or more Adventure cards. For example, Plan 9 requires Toodee-6 and Look to the Future requires a corrupt Ally. Toodee-6 fulfills both these requirements. I say nearly every card should fulfill an adventure requirement, because I can't stop having fun with a few of my favorite cards. Sometimes these cards are required for an adventure, sometimes they're not. For example, the Governmental Coverup Event is required only for the Whispers in Darkness, but I enjoy too much postponing play of an opponent's The Expedition by forcing discard of Amnesia by Governmental Coverup. But Discarding Hurts! Playing cards exposes them to being discarded by an opponent play of a Spell, Artifact, Ally, and Event. Discarded cards don't count for fuilfilling Adventure requirements. Holding cards in your hand exposes them to being discarded following play of Unexpected Calamity (Limited Edition). Therefore, play as many cards every round as you can, at least down to the Maximum number of cards your Investigator may retain at the end of the Round. Retain those cards that are necessary for an adventure and which are easy for opponents to discard. Build a Discardable Deck The more cards played, the more cards can be drawn to refill a hand. It's a simple observation, but I have sat at tables where every opponent played an Investigator with a high maximum and added Zadok Allen as an ally! These opponents did not speed through their decks because they retained six or more cards at the end of every round. At tournaments you must build a deck that plays quickly. It should contain no more than 55 cards. It should be designed so that three or four cards can be discarded from every hand. In a tournament, someone is sure to draw a lousy hand, play once or twice, then pass. If you need every card in your hand for an adventure, you're doomed. The best way to build a fast-play, multiple-adventure deck is with the Mythos: New Aeon edition. It's possible to build a four-adventure deck of 52 cards! The best Investigator to match with a discard deck is the Enthusiastic Chorus Girl (Dreamlands) followed by the Pragmatic Hobo (Limited Edition, but check the errata; the Hobo is played identically to the Homeless Waif) and the Homeless Waif (Dreamlands). If none of these are available, use an Investigator with discard-and-draw special ability. * * * G R Hail grhail@aol.com -------------------- From: Guy Hail Subject: CF: Deep Ones System: Mythos ** THE CARD FILES: DEEP ONES ** by Guy Hail THE CARD ======== Title: Deep One Value: 1 Set: Limited Edition Starter & Mythos Standard Game Set Type: Monster Subtype: Lesser Servitor Race Sanity Gain/Loss: none Dimension: Any Dimension Special Effect Box (Limited Edition): Add 1 point to the value of this card if your opponent is in a Water Location. Add 1 point (cumulative) if your Investigator has the Jewelry of the Deep One. Joins Father Dagon, Mother Hydra, Deep Ones, and Shoggoth. Special Effect Box (Mythos Standard Game Set): Add 2 points to the value of this card if any Storm Event is in play. Joins Deep Ones. The artist for the Limited Edition is Tom Sullivan; for the Mythos Standard Game Set Edition, Heather McKinney. THE SOURCE ========== "Their appearance - especially those staring, unwinking eyes which one never saw shut - was certainly shocking enough;...." -The Shadow Over Innsmouth, H.P. Lovecraft Deep Ones are humans transformed into creatures that must live underwater, though they may visit the world above the waves for short periods. Seventeenth-century trader Obediah Marsh made a corrupt bargin in South Seas that transformed him and left his descendents carrying the taint known as the Innsmouth Look. QUESTIONS ========= Q: Do the Mythos Standard Game Set Deep Ones receive the bonus from the Jewelry of the Deep Ones, if I have it in play? A: Yes. The Special Effect of the Jewelry of the Deep Ones reads "Increase the card value of all Deep Ones, Father Dagon, Mother Hydra, and certain Corrupt Cultists by 1 point." Even though only the Limited Edition Deep Ones mention the Jewelry of the Deep Ones, the Mythos Standard Game Set Deep Ones receive the +1 bonus, too. Q: May I put four Limited Edition Deep Ones and four Mythos Standard Game Set Deep Ones in my deck? A: No. Only four copies of one card may be included in a deck (only one if the card has the uniqueness dot). A card is "one card" if it has the same title as another card. You may put four Deep One cards in your deck, each copy chosen from either edition. Q: If play more than one Deep One to my threat, must the cards stay joined when I create my Directed Threats? A: No. Cards joined for simultaneous play may be separated unless other rules apply. Unlike Spells which must remain joined to Tomes, no rules require the Deep Ones remain joined. Q: Do the Mythos Standard Game Set Deep Ones join the Limited Edition Deep Ones? Do they join Father Dagon, Mother Hydra, or Shoggoth? A: The Mythos Standard Game Set and Limited Edition Deep Ones may join together in a single play. The special effect box in both editions reads "joins Deep Ones." The Mythos Standard Game Set Deep Ones also join Father Dagon, Mother Hydra, and Shoggoth. This edition's Deep Ones special effects box only reads "Joins Deep Ones", but the Father Dagon, Mother Hydra, and Shoggoth card each reads "joins Deep Ones." For two cards to Join at least one of them must say it Joins with the other. Q: Can I play one Deep One, one Father Dagon, and one Tcho-Tcho People, all joined? A: No. When attempting to join three or more joined cards for simultaneously play, the cards join only if every two-card combination of the cards join. The Tcho-Tcho People joins any Lesser Servitor Monster, thus it may join the Deep Ones (from either edition or both editions in any combination), but the Tcho-Tcho People do not join Father Dagon, Mother Hydra, or Shoggoth. Q: When I played three Mythos Standard Game Set Deep Ones to my threat, the Downpour Storm Event was in play. Just before the end of the round, another player played Dawn of a New Day, a Day Event, which buried Downpour. Do my Mythos Standard Game Set Deep Ones receive the +1 increase in value? A: No. The Storm Event must be in play when the Directed Threat containing the Deep Ones is revealed. A Storm Event may be buried for any number of reasons during play (Day or Night Events, Aldebaran Moves in the Sky, or use of the Kennedy Space Center's special effect box). A player casting a Command Lamp-Eft or a Darkness of the Void spell in the Spell & Artifact Use phase of combat would also bury the Storm before it could affect the Deep Ones. Q: My opponent's Directed Threat contained three Limited Edition Mi-Go. My Directed Threat held two Limited Edition Deep Ones. My opponent chose to use the Mi-Go's power steal my Jewelry of the Deep Ones. Do my Deep Ones receive the bonus from the Jewelry of the Deep Ones before it is stolen? A: Yes. When the threats were revealed, the Jewelry of the Deep Ones was in play. The value of each Limited Edition Deep Ones is increased to two. The theft of the Jewelry of the Deep Ones Artifact by the Mi-Go occurs during the Resolve Additional Effects phase of combat, and this is after the Cosmic Battle. Q: When playing Knee-Deep in Doom, if I have the Jewelry of the Deep Ones in play, do my Deep Ones count as two points towards the twenty required by the Adventure? A: No. Once a card is buried in the Story Deck it returns to its printed values and attributes. A Deep One card pulled from the Story Deck to complete an adventure requirement is not in play. It receives no increase in value for any reason. Q: Do Deep Ones receive the +1 bonus if my Current Location is the Marsh Mansion? Even when the Deep Ones are played as Allies? A: No. Deep Ones are Marsh allies only in the story. STRATEGIES * Multiple Bonuses - Although the bonuses are different both editions of Deep Ones can easily increase their value. When your Investigator has the Jewelry of the Deep Ones in play and the opponent at whom the threat is directed is at a Water Location, the Limited Edition Deep Ones increase their value from one to three, but unlike Men in Black (a three-point New AEons Monster), Deep Ones cost no Sanity to play. The Lovecraft Country, the South Pacific, and New AEon regions have many Water Locations; while most Middle East, Europe, or Exotic Locations lack the Water attribute. In the Dreamlands, the North and the Underworld are deficient in Water Locations. Because Deep Ones join, four may be played simultaneously to the threat. When the threat is revealed, if all the Deep Ones are in the same Directed Threat and if all bonuses apply, this threat will be worth twelve points. The Mythos Standard Game Set Deep Ones increase their value from one to four when your Investigator has the Jewelry of the Deep Ones in play and any player has a Storm Event in play. Unlike the bonus on the Limited Edition Deep One, the bonus of the Mythos Standard Game Set Deep One applies if any player has a Storm Event in play when the Directed Threat is revealed. When you have in play the Jewelry of the Deep Ones, and any player has a Storm Event in play, the value of Mythos Standard Game Set Deep Ones increases to four points, but unlike Dark Young (a four-point Mythos Standard Game Set Monster), Deep Ones cost no Sanity to play. When the threat is revealed, if all the Deep Ones are in the same Directed Threat and if all bonuses apply, this threat will be worth sixteen points. There are many, many valuable Storm Events that interfere with travel or walking, that add the gate or water attribute to cards, or that fulfill the requirement for summoning a Great Old One or Outer God. Several Storms also add the Water attribute to all Locations. * Knee-Deep in Doom - After the multiply-joining Living Dead, the joining combination of Limited Edition Deep Ones, Father Dagon, Mother Hydra, and Shoggoth is the strongest simultaneously playable combination. The four Limited Edition Deep Ones, Father Dagon, Mother Hydra, and Shoggoth cards have a total value of 17 points, three short of the total required for the Knee-Deep in Doom Adventure. Adding the Shoggoth Lord (value 3) from New AEon brings the total to 20 points. Although the Shoggoth Lord does not join with the others, it does increase the value of the Shoggoth in the Cosmic Battle (and when the Shoggoth is in play as an Ally, if you manage this). * The Great Menagerie - The Great Menagerie Adventure requires four Monsters of different subtypes. Two Limited Edition Deep Ones, Father Dagon, Mother Hydra, and two Giant Albino Penguins (which join with all Monsters) supply two cards of three types: Lesser Servitor, Greater Servitor, and Lesser Independent. * Innsmouth, Where the Water is Pure - If you're placing the Deep Ones & Jewelry of the Deep Ones combination in your deck, go ahead and go whole hog: play in Innsmouth. The combination of New AEon and Limited Edition Innsmouth Locations supply everything an Investigator needs: gates, artifact and tome attribute Locations, city Locations, country Locations, sites, phobia-losing Locations, and a secret passageway. Make your deck a nearly-single subregion deck (you'll have to leave Innsmouth to visit Sanitariums) and that deck will play quickly, have powerful Allies, and have strong Monsters. The Jewelry of the Deep Ones also increases the value of Robert Marsh, Barnabas Marsh, and Jeremiah Brewster, all corrupt cultist Allies. The Jewelry of the Deep Ones and the cultist cards are required for the Stand Against the Order! Adventure. Cultist Allies may be played to a threat as Monsters at any Location where they may normally be played, if that Location has a gate. Some Innsmouth Locations also increase the value of Marsh Allies, and this Location bonus is cumulative with the increase supplied by Jewelry of the Deep Ones. The Abigail Marsh bonus is cumulative with both the Location and Jewelry of the Deep Ones bonuses, too. You might consider using that "impossible" adventure, Assault on Y'ha-Nthlei. An Innsmouth theme deck can be built Knee-Deep in Doom +5 / +2), Stand Against the Order (+9 / +4), and Assault on Y'ha-Nthlei (+12 / +4) for those times when you and your friends want to play theme decks or raise the campaign requirement for finishing to 25 points. (This deck can be quite small, 52-55 cards.) In Innsmouth there is a secret passageway from Devil Reef to Y'ha-Nthlei (but not the reverse). The Assault on Y'ha-Nthlei requires soldiers. Use Surpise Meeting Events to play European Soldiers, or play a combination of Monster soldiers (Servants of the Silver Twilight, Mythos Standard Game Set Mi-Go) as Allies by means of Call the Unnamed One (from the New AEon edition) plus any artifact that changes an Ally's attribute from Corrupt to Steadfast. (All Monsters played as Allies are corrupt.) Two artifacts that make an Ally steadfast are the Dreamlands edition Battle Axe, playable in the Waking World, and the New AEon edition M-16 Assault Rifle, playable in the Waking World by use of the Time Flux card. COUNTER STRATEGIES The two best strategies to counter the fantastic joining combination of Limited Edition Deep Ones, Father Dagon, Mother Hydra, and Shoggoth are either your own powerful joining combintion (for example, Living Dead) or Yithian Mental Contact, which can be used to bury Jewelry of the Deep Ones or the Monsters. Be aware that burying a threat with Yithian Mental Contact prevents the buried Monster cards from being used in the Cosmic Battle. The buried cards are in the Story Deck and may be used to fulfill Adventure requirements. * Stalking - If an opponent has built a theme deck in Innsmouth, put four Serial Killer cards in your deck. Keep one in play against the Innsmouth-based opponent at all times. (Only one Serial Killer can affect the same opponent at a time.) * Hire a Thief - Deep Ones are weak Monsters, easily beaten. Put the Limited Edition Mi-Go in your deck. Or the Dreamlands edition Minion of Karakal. If these Monsters survive the Cosmic Battle, you get to choose Artifacts that your opponent must bury. A buried Jewelry of the Deep Ones doesn't increase the value of Deep Ones or corrupt cultists. If your deck is already full of Monsters, put Thieves in Your Attic in your deck. * They're Mine Now - A Shoggoth is a Lesser Servitor Monster, subject to the same control spells as Deep Ones. If you suspect someone will play these Monsters in combination, put the spells Angles of Tagh Clatur (Eye) or Embody Charnel Oder of Xura (Dream) in your deck. Special Tomes are not required. Allies that can know spells (even those tatoo'd at Cite Tatoue) and Artifacts that can hold spells (for example, Mi-Go Braincase) may hold spells of any type. Embody Charnel Oder of Xura, a Dream icon spell, may be played in any Dimension (it lacks the Dream Dimension icon that would require it be played in the Dreamlands dimension). Listen for a threat created that costs two sanity; that player has just played either the Shoggoth, controllable by Angles of Tagh Clatur or Embody Charnel Oder of Xura, or the Father Dagon-Mother Hydra combination, controllable by Voola Ritual (Cthulhu). * There Was A Mighty Ripple in Time - If control spells aren't your forte, use Instability in the Mythos. A threat with four Deep Ones, without or with the Shoggoth, Father Dagon, or Mother Hydra can be discarded or stolen with Instability in the Mythos. An opponent afraid of Instability in the Mythos will not play several joining Monsters in the same round. This will slow the opponent's play. * It's a Beautiful Day - Deep Ones are weak Monsters. If your opponent has the Mythos Standard Game Set Deep Ones, play a Day or Night card on your turn to bury that Storm. Your greater Monsters (Dark Young, Byakhee, etc.) will bury Deep Ones with plenty of strength left over to bury defending Allies and inflict Sanity loses. The Command Lamp-Eft Spell becomes a Day Event when cast. * A Fear too Great - Any card that increases the cost to play Deep Ones or Jewelry of the Deep Ones makes these cards more difficult to play. The phobias Bacteriophobia, Mechanophobia, and Rhabdophobia cause a Sanity loss when a Deep One or Jewelry of the Deep Ones is played. * Cthulhu Is On The Front Page - This New AEon Media Hyperbole event closes gates. No gate, no joining Monsters. --