After years of avoiding card games (collectable, living or otherwise) my fascination with Lovecraft and Cthulhu prompted me to pick up the CoCLCG. I think I get the rules of play, but it seems the rules for deck construction are vague and assume prior understanding of deck construction from other card games. Sorry if the following are obvious questions but I'm still playing the Newbie card:

- The rule says that a deck must have 50 cards minimum... does that mean I can have as many cards as I want?

- The core set states a composition rule of two factions and some number of neutral cards. Does this constraint apply to all deck building? If not, what are the specific constraints

- The only limit I could find was no more then 4 Conspiracy cards. Are there others?

- What do people store their decks in? Not really interested in individual sleeves but would like to get some card deck boxes to keep them from sliding all over the place.

Thanks for the help... I'm sure before long I'll be organizing games and tournaments at my local game club!

-

BrooklynMike said:

Soon, it will also be obvious to you! Welcome to the game.

BrooklynMike said:

In theory, yes. But you can have only 3 copies of a card with a particular name and the more cards you put in, the less consistant/coherent your strategy will be. So, try to stick as close to 50 as possible for the best results.

BrooklynMike said:

Again, you can mix all factions if you like; You'll notice when resourcing, you'll run into problems getting resource matches a lot more, if you have 3 or more factions.

BrooklynMike said:

It's a typo. There used to be a max of 4 per card, but now it's 3 per card.

BrooklynMike said:

Sleeves are highly recommended though. In addition I use the CoC Deck Tin, but it's harder to find these days.

There are lots of deckboxes out there, though, and most of them do nicely.

BrooklynMike said:

Enjoy!

I like Rook steel storage systems, always like to say. And the cthulhu deck boxes are great. Please do sleave your cards. You'll be happy when you do. Buy a few packs of the same color, black, for easy mix and match. In this game you've got your monotheists and your buddy factionists. Either will deign to consider a lean amount of neutrals. Most buddyists relegate a support faction for its gears and complimentary elements, and thus do well. Monotheists have more fun. Their story is full and rich with favorite deep cuts and tendencies toward style, but is still an engine. Three factions is fun enough until you play someone who knows what they're doing, and you don't get to see uncle fluffy for cost six, and sulk home wondering if you like the game enough to break up what two hours ago was "the killer deck" and now just seems to miss the point entirely.

johnny shoes said:

I've heard of Rainbowtheists even, who like to use all 7 factions in elaborate combo decks. Although it's rare to see those in a post-ritual, LCG format. But it certainly is possible...

Ahhh, back in the day (before those pesky errata!) the Rainbow deck was virtually unbeatable!

For those with access to old CCG card lists, these were some of the key Rainbow Deck characters (all now nerfed):

EE U8 Man on the Inside
MN R8 Unexpected Ally
EE U39 Military Escort
MN R24 Heterodox Physicist
EE U69 Expatriate Reporter
MN R40 Chemist
EE U132 Thing from the Stars
MN R79 Forgotten Ones
EE U162 Spectral Hunter
MN R93 Alchemist
EE U184 Black Spawn from Below
MN R114 Interstellar Visitor

You'd then add a smattering of Rituals (I liked the "Wish for..." series such as "Wish for Power") to activate half your characters and maybe a utility card or two (such as "Light of Reason" for card draw).