Hello all,

I'm trying to get a sense of which cards to integrate when from the expansions into the main game. Some expansion rules have a "visiting" variant, where the extra cards are not permanently integrated. Other expansions, mainly big box expansions, but some small box expansions as well (such as Lurker at the Threshold) do not offer a "visiting" variant. Their rules state to integrate their cards once and keep them there.

My questions are, and this relates to the Arkham Horror League which I want to try:

1) Do the non-visiting expansions fully integrate their cards from the get-go? Is there any reason to not have these cards permanently added to the game?

2) For Arkham Horror League scenarios, what happens when two or more small box visiting-capable expansions are needed? Are both cards integrated as visiting style or permanent style? Are the cards but on top of each other in a stack at the beginning (and you decide which one goes on top?)

Apologies if my questions are inane or foolish, but I'm dying to hear some answers/opinions!

1. Depends upon what you mean by "fully integate". You can certainly shuffle all of the expansions cards together with their basic Arkham decks. The problem is, not only will you have a Mythos deck two feet tall, but the more cards you add the more the theme, flavor and presence of each individual expansion is diluted. For example, the six "Next Act Begins" cards of KiY are supposed to be a major threat in that expansion; but if you use the permanent feature and add more than (at MOST) one additional expansion, they become an utter joke because you're lucky to see one a game.

Similarly only Dunwich and Innsmouth expansion cards open gates on those respective boards. Shuffle those cards together with all of the other expansion Mythos cards and you basically kill Dunwich and severly weaken Innsmouth, since the frequency of gates opening there will be massively reduced.

So yes, there are some terrific reasons not to add all of the expansion cards permanently to the game. Some people suggest using only one big box expansion and one small box expansion at a time. Personally, I think it's best to forget the small box expansions (unless they have a visting mode and you wish to use it) and use Dunwich Horror, Kingsport Horror, and Innsmouth Horror. That combo has made for, in general, tremendously challenging and enjoyable games for my group, the outcome often literally hinging on the last Mythos card drawn.

2. I believe this question is answered in each invidiual league scenario. I know www.boardgamegeek.com has them all archived under the "Arkham Horror" entry.

You make very good points, Solan.

I definitely noticed the extreme dilution of having every single Mythos, Gate, and Arkham Location card in play at once. I guess I'm realizing the extreme modularity of this game, and really picking and choosing the kind of game to play at the moment. Makes it a much more amazing game than I first thought!

What about common items, spells, allies and unique items? Are all of the ones from non-visiting style expansions integrated permanently? I don't see how they would really dilute gameplay, unless I'm mistaken...

zombipuppy said:

The smaller Investigator Decks don't "dilute" in the same way. You would only notice a dilution effect if you were targeting a specific card, rather than a card type. In other words, you might not find a Wither in every game, but you will find enough Combat Spells (with hands). You might not draw a .45 or an Enchanted Blade, but you will draw Weapons. You might not see any Elder Signs, but...er...well, then, tough break.

Allies only dilute if you draw an Encounter that calls specifically for an Ally that isn't in the 11 you drew for that game. Many of us cover for that by having an Ally Deck (the dealt 11 that are boarding at Ma's) and a Citizen Deck (all the rest). You can look for a specific Ally in either deck, but random ones come from Ma's. If the Terror Track goes up, discard 1 from Ma's and 2 from the Citizens (if you own all 34 Allies).

zombipuppy said:

Thank you! And yes, I actually do find some problems with dilution for Common Items, Spells and Unique Items. For example, the CotDP Spells are pretty subpar and putting them in considerably reduces your odds of getting a useful Spell. King in Yellow, on the other hand, has terrific Spells, but almost no weapons among the Common Items and only a few among the Unique Items. And JGT, I've gotta say, when you're playing all four boards and have twenty unstable locations out there, plus four Double Doom token rumors, you WANT Elder Signs to be at least a little bit accessible! That's why I think their frequency when you've added the Dunwich and Kingsport Unique Item cards is just right.

Solan said:

Agreed: I've removed most of the craptastic DP Spells. I kept 2 each of Markings of Isis, Astral Travel, and Feeding the Mind, and adopted them into my Dunwich box. Disagree: Not everything has to be a gun, and I don't have the same masochistic aversion to the Press Pass as many others, so I like the KY Commons, and the KY Uniques are exotic and nifty. (At least they have more utility than the Dunwich Missions.)

Solan said:

And JGT, I've gotta say, when you're playing all four boards and have twenty unstable locations out there, plus four Double Doom token rumors, you WANT Elder Signs to be at least a little bit accessible! That's why I think their frequency when you've added the Dunwich and Kingsport Unique Item cards is just right.

Well...that's why I don't play with all four boards. I didn't go into my Mythos Deck, but what I do is take the base game Mythos, add the Black Goat Mythos (used to have the only Arkham Location Gate Bursts not dependent on any other board being in play, but now Black Goat Mythos can be substituted with Lurker Mythos), and then add the Mythos for whichever of the three other towns I'm playing. This combination does not interfere with decent activity in Dunwich, enhances Innsmouth quite a bit, and...well, nothing interferes with Kingsport's Rift Mechanic.

Solan said:

Hah. It's funny you should say that. I found Swarm of Locusts and REVELATION OF SCRIPT both useful in a game of Lurker yesterday.

I combined all the Investigator cards, and all the Gate cards (not counting the Dunwich/Kingsport expansion worlds). I then only add the Mythos cards from the expansions I play that specific time. I think I did add the BGotW cards (and maybe I'll add the Lurker cards) since they don't have expansion specific references on them.

Note: I only play with one expansion at a time.