Concept: Mono Cthulhu Control Deck

Optimal win: turns 12-15

Most challenging opponent: Deck Grinders

The concept behind the Hydra Assault is to get both Cthulhu and the Hydra into play. Cthulhu will serve to control and limit the number of opposing characters and the Hydra will enable you to bring the Deep One hordes back into play again and again. Three failsafe Dimensional Rifts give this deck a fighting chance to clear the board when facing deck destruction/grinder decks.

Character Cards (30 total)

x3 Lord of the Silver Twilight (Cthulhu) *2* - Cultist harbinger for Cthulhu

x3 Silver Twilight Temptress (Cthulhu) *2* - Lure investigators to their death

x3 Young Deep One (Cthulhu) *2* - Combat enhancing Deep One

x3 Adult Deep One (Cthulhu) *3* - Deep One that can avoid card effects by paying two

x3 Lord of Y'ha-nthlei (Cthulhu) *3* - Another Deep One character

x3 Deep One Rising (Cthulhu) *3* - A Deep One that enables you to destroy an opponent's non-Deep One non-Ancient One Character

x3 Mature Deep one (Cthulhu) *3* - A Deep One used to destroy attachments

x3 Ravager of the Deep (Cthulhu) *3* - A Deep One used to win stories by forcing other characters to take wound when joining it at a story

x3*Hydra (Cthulhu) *5* - Used to bring Deep Ones back into play "Recycle"

x3 *Cthulhu (Cthulhu) *6* - Used in combination with the Hydra to force opponent to destroy a character while you recycle deep ones

Events focus on either slowing down investigator decks or annhilation

x2 Midnight Rendveous (Cthulhu) *2* - Used to slow down Fast Investigator decks

x3 Deep One Assault (Cthulhu) *X* - Used to annilate opponent's characters or support cards

Support Cards focus on controlling stories or failsafe board clearing

x3 Shadow Reef (Cthulhu) *1* - Deep Ones gain terror

x2 Communal Shower (Cthulhu) *2* - Used to impact multi colored decks by limiting commits to one faction

x3 Dark Quagmire (Cthulhu) *2* - used to reduce success icons at a story

x2 Sleep of Reason (Cthulhu) *3* - used to provide terror at stories

x2 Scalethorn Asylum (Cthulhu) *3* - Turns characters into Deep Ones and enhances combat

x3 Dimensional Rift (non) *4* - Failsafe board clearing

This deck still needs some tuning.

At least an interesting mono faction deck !!

Well, thematically speaking, I may not be the best advice, but I'd rather lower Cthulhu and Hydra to 2 and add 3 Dreamland fanatics (remember destruction is it's best way to enter play.

Speaking of Sleep of Reasons, I don't know if it's a nice card to include in : First of all, if you d'ont have the rift already in play, deep ones are sensible to Terror and this card will wait in your hand for a certain amount of time. If I were you, I would look at the new pack with the diseased sewer rats or Feint (an event).

Giving some surprise is always nice and your deck might need some. I had'nt seen anycard that would prevent your deep ones to be destroyed and you don't seems to abuse the Lord (one of my favorite CCG card) with the scalethorn asylum and a splash of neutral plague (potentially

Thematically, the adding of Julia Brown in Neutral and Cthulhu's version might be fine !

Dammit, I was all excited about the combo of: Cthulhu, sacrifice Deep One Rising, fish it back into play with Hydra to destroy another character, but nope, doesn't work. If only Hydra had been pay 2 to put a Deep One char back to hand from discard (or DOR had "enters play" wording instead of "when you play").

Some advice :

To slow down a rush deck (remember a good rush win between turn 3-5, you are winning turn 12-15 so you must wait !) you will need cards like Sacrificial Offerings (Core Set F59), Pulled Under (Core Set F57) or A Single Path (The Horror Beneath the Surface F30) (a good card to block rush from magah birds). All these cards are cost 1 or 0 so it's good for the first part of the game. You can source always the same domain to have 4 or 5 resources and have always cheap cards to use your other domains.

The Sleep of the Dead (Sleep of the Dead F100) is very good also to slow down your opponent.

I think also you don't need Scalethorn Asylum, you have already a lot of Deep One in your deck.

You need also 3 copies of the Seekers of Mysteries if your idea is to have rapidly Cthulhu or Hydra in play.

Dadajef said:

This was the main thing that popped out when I looked at the list. The hydra recycle works pulling deep ones from the discard pile right? So, playing a character card and naming it a deep one is a waste. Just keep your deck skinny and work with the deep ones you have.

I would suggest squeezing in crazy Carl and some Dreamland Fanatics. Having an invulnerable 3 cost character is great for slowing down your opponent. Meanwhile the Dreamland's Fanatic is free after you play a Deep One Rising. This is a huge character swing on turn 3. You would also then have three different cultists that can be sacrificed to Carl in a pinch if need be. I do realizes it makes the deck more of a Deep One/Cultist deck but you already have 2 cultists in there.