Just got the core set, and it came with a couple of pathetic noob questions:

1. Terror seems to be REALLY strong, in the games I've played so far. Am I missing a reasonable counter in the core MU/Syndicate factions, or are they at the mercy of the Mythos?

2. The online store says some of the older asylum packs are out of stock. Does anyone know if they're being reprinted?

Thanks!

Well, terror is the first struggle. Humans have work to do to counter. Agency will net you some willpower. MU can play Binding or Sleeping Pills. Rush a bunch of weenies and account for a couple getting picked off. But play to your faction's strengths. mono MU stands little chance otherwise.

Buy your asylums on the secondary market, and I mean packs, not singles. Here are just a couple. http://chris-long.com/cthulhu/links/

Dustmonger said:

2. They are being reprinted. Several of them already appear in the upcoming section of this website.

Hey! Welcome!

Terror can be strong, but Willpower will protect from it. Also, when a character has a terror icon, they're immune from insanity.

It's quicker than combat, but more characters are immune.

I only have the core set... I assume binding and sleeping pills are in asylum packs?

Are there Miskatonic characters that have willpower in the asylum packs? I'm enthralled with the faction fluff, having been a fan of the Mythos for over 15 years now, but I'm concerned i may have to combine them with a faction that packs terror icons. MU/Hastur seems very solid, but there's the whole heroic / villanous snag.

MU doesn't have many (if any) willpower characters. I can't think of any off the top of my head. But a mono faction deck really restricts the decks ability. The cardpool at the moment isn't large enough to accompany such decks. MU could easily get paired up with any other faction though...in fact, I think MU is the only faction seriously lacking any defense against Terror other than the occasional attachment (Sleeping Pills)

You have Binding in your core. You should succumb to the game and divert alot of money. Consider: buy two more cores. Always buy three of the first fourteen asylum packs. Download the Deckbuilder. Plan your purchases based on the cards you want. Welcome dustmonger! This game is all about the theme for me too. The more mythos in your blood, the more fun the cards. It feeds on itself.

Agreed, terror is not what it was, and MU pairs well. Hastur, once the weakest mythos faction, has leapt to an, it seems unanimously agreed, best faction overall. The boards of yore harped on how Hastur's insanity wasn't powerful enough. Now they've taken Hastur along well. But it excels for the reprints as much as its current releases. More classic power cards were reprinted, the strongest selection of all factions in core. But, importantly, insanity is not now a more prominent force. Had syndicate brought forth, oh I don't know, On the Lam, Gangster's Moll, the Fugitive, Burning the Midnight Oil, Warehouse, Ancient Gold, Seventh House, the Rip Off, and Gun Runner's Club, we'd live in a gangsta's paradise. Any faction could have been skewed. By Jove, MU could have taken first, albeit with an extreme list of other faction exclusions.

With LCG, everything is turned on its head. What once held true for a faction, isn't the case any longer. LCG is 2/5 as big as CCG was, but the proportional change, rather than cumulative, is exponential. It's what you can make with the bone's you've got. Now that's a bit too harsh. But if you think so, I've bet you've got the thirteen asylum packs in triplicate.

Dustmonger said:

Multiple cores is the 'more of the same' choice. Not that it's a bad choice, if you want to embrace a more competative approach to deckbuilding. You'll create greater consistancy in your decks, but as a starting player it may be better to invest in some asylum packs first, to expand the number of strategies and variety, so you'll learn more about the game, the possible play styles and what kind of strategy fits you as a player.

It's always encouraged to download the Deck Builder , ofcourse, to see what is what. And if you'll find out about a tournament near you (Regional Season is about to start) just join even if you have a slightly less optimized deck; It's a great opportunity to meet other players (For some reason, in this game they tend to be friendly) and learn a great deal about playing the game.

Then, you can always invest in multiples.

College is the perfect environment for this game. Access to very cool classic rooms in ancient university buildings, bulletin boards in the student union and all kinds of free communication resources, common rooms in dorms, huge access to geeks and dweebs looking for late nights without girls, clubs you can tap into like the knights who boff each other in the head with padded helberds, the D&D club. university sanctioning, varsity lettering in cthulhu. you could add plush cthulhu making and some weed to get the girls to come out.

Get with the times. The girls outnumber the guys in the gaming club, and cthulhu is an accessory of choice. Unfortunately, for an engineering school, there's distressingly little "geek" factor here, and the gaming club's got some very narrow ideas about what "proper" gaming is (read: D+D4E and nothing else). Still, I'll have to find the league info. Know if FFG allows colleges to serve as a tournament location?

MechSpike said:

Steve Clarney.

Yes, the card's blue and 'officially defected to Agency' but it's still a Miskatonic character.

Dustmonger said:

I don't see a reason why not... I checked the regionals application forms and it doesn't say that you have to be a shop or something.

MU willpower: Randolph Carter.