Then suddenly I saw it. With only a slight churning to mark its rise to the surface, the thing slid into view above the dark waters. Vast, Polyphemus-like, and loathsome, it darted like a stupendous monster of nightmares to the monolith, about which it flung its gigantic scaly arms, the while it bowed its hideous head and gave vent to certain measured sounds. I think I went mad then.

- H.P. Lovecraft, Dagon

As Yuggoth rises in the night sky, and a new cycle of Asylum Packs looms at the horizon, the hissing of Serpents is slowly growing louder, mingling with the Whispers in the Dark. Still, the Deep Ones are all but forgotten. It's time to shine another spotlight on this upcoming Asylum Pack and the profound terrors that come with it.

When building a deck around these mermen-gone-wrong, there are a lot of options. The recent Secrets of Arkham dives deep into Innsmouth lore, giving a lot of tools for Deep One decks to thrive. It already starts with Seeker of Mysteries (Secrets of Arkham, F47) helping out in accelerating your resources towards summoning Dagon (Core Set, F42.) Furthermore, Lord of Y'ha-nthlei (Secrets of Arkham, F26) emphasizes the defensive nature of a slower, but more powerful deck by offsetting effects like that of Syndicate Liaison (Core Set, F68) and always making sure no story will go uncontested – Especially when Scalethorn Asylum (The Path to Y'ha-nthlei, F109) brings out the true nature of any character.

Also enjoying the help of the Seeker and doing her very best to always keep Deep Ones around is Hydra (Secrets of Arkham, F25) whose reanimation ability also has a certain synergy with the Julia Brown (The Path to Y'ha-nthlei, F107) by recycling any discarded Deep Ones.

Deep One Rising (Secrets of Arkham, F29) returns to join Diseased Sewer Rats (Secrets of Arkham, F44) in adding destruction and keeping you from being overwhelmed early on. Rats are troublesome to any deck, but far less for these undying Walkers-Beneath-The-Waves. Aside from Hydra breeding an endless stream of them, Innsmouth Troublemaker (Core Set, F47) can soak up the wound, and help surviving a terror or combat struggle afterwards.

The Whispers in the Dark Asylum Pack spawns another ocean dweller capable of taking a beating: Backwater Deep One (Whispers in the Dark, F3) is a sturdy specimen of the fish-kin, whose tough scales can weather a Sacrificial Offerings (Core Set, F59) bringing the hurt where it belongs without sacrificing your board position.

Combat icons appear in great numbers, and withstanding the consequences of losing one is a very relevant ability in most current meta-games. Backwater Deep One isn't the most flashy of cards, as it is just a cold body you throw at anyone daring to investigate a story card. Despite it's simplicity it can play a pivotal role in rounding out your resource curve, making sure you can make optimal use of your domains while waiting for the Great Old Ones to show up, putting you in control of the game and win in a battle of attrition.

Deep One decks are becoming versatile tools capable of handling a wide range of situations and controlling the speed of the game, slowing it down it fit the more controlling play style of the Cthulhu faction. Lowering the average cost of your team while enhancing durability could be shockingly effective.

Special thanks to Marius Hartland, who provided this card spotlight.