So...continuing on from the theme of the thread titled "Paying Card costs" - appx wording - in this same sub-forum (check that one out too, and comment if you find it interesting !)....I was continuing to consider cards that allow for "put into play" effects as was of getting them in the game.

Since, as Dadajef pointed out quite clearly, the FAQ says you can "bypass the need for a .... resource match" when you play such cards, it means that all such cards can (barring a few exceptions like The Thing Behind You - which needs you to bounce a Hastur character back to hand when putting it into play from your hand, with the reduced cost method) be put into pretty much every deck in the game, so long as you intend to always play them "from the hand" - using their special "Enters Play" abilities.

As noted in that thread, the most obvious and powerful one would be The Terror of the Tides, for the sheer "Suprise" factor and strength of the card....but also, consider a Dreamlands Fanatic in an Agency deck ?

He's normall a 3-cost character (if played naturally) for Cthulhu, with 1-Terror, 1-Arcane and 2-Skill. He also sports the "Fast" keyword/ability. But it's his special way to get into play that interests us here:

Response : After an opponent's character leaves play, put Dreamlands Fanatic into play from your hand.

Imagine turn 1 as Agency....you play Paul Lemond and an Agency Medic.

The opponent goes...puts down something like a Servant of Nodens or some other opening game character. Your turn, you play "Small Price to Pay" and drive the Medic Insane, to Wound the Servant of Nodens. He has left play, so you can trigger the Response ability for the Dreamlands Fanatic you have in hand, and he gets put into play automatically - bypassing the need for any Resource matches ! Now you have a Fast - Terror causing character - with Arcane...in your AGENCY deck...on Turn-2...you probably also resourced again and laid out something like Undercover Security.. now you can promptly take 2-3 Success Tokens at ALL THREE STORIES.....on Turn-2.

AWESOME

There are probably a few other cards that function like the Fanatic and The Terror of the Tides...but I can't think of any right away...does anyone else know the full list of them ? (those characters that can be put into play by paying some alternate cost - without the normal Resource match way of playing ?)

Rosh87 said:

You clearly have spotted something I use to play in my decks (Cats of Ulthar, Terror of Tide, Fanatic). I tend to play this for several months (since Terror and Fanatic are out) and I splashed it in my bi-factions decks... And there is a problem if you consider the ressource curve. Mostof the time, I get two of those in hands and it screw my ressource matchs. It's like playing a trifaction faction, even if you only own 6 Cthulhu cards.

Cats of Ulthar works the same way, and I tend to consider Julia Brown (with her replacement effect) acting the same way !

There is also Zoogs, that came up from your ressources... and might return there.

it's the interest of the 'put into play' rules. You could find a lot other example of some cards you put in your deck even without playing the faction. You are playing shub with some shocking transformation or Yog with Twilight gate. Put some cthulhu Ravager or some T-men in your deck to put them into play with your shocktrans and play the surprise !

It's not a problem to put in your deck some cards you will not play normally. Just think if it is very useful for your strategy or if it is just joker cards (in these case Cats or descendant d'Eibon are better than the Terror). Think also, your opponent can do the same thing and have you some cards to deal with these surprise effect ?

Yes, the fanatic is the card you can meet in agency deck or all wound/destroy/return in hand deck even without playing cthulhu. A clasical first turn is to play it at the end of the first opponent turn. For exampe, he puts, 3 birds, 1 dog and 1 seven steps. You play a shotgun blast to destroy a bird and put exhausted your Fanatic. Then your turn begins, you ready the Fanatic (so you will have someone to deal in defense with the dog or birds if you have nothing to destroy the seven steps) and you begin to play with already a character in you play area. Even if you are playing Hastur, yog or the new Silver faction with some cards to remove characters from play, a fanatic can be useful in your deck. So all factions can use Fanatic, it depends just how you deckbuilt your game.

0-cost cards without Steadfast is another example. The shub Snow Grave is useful in all deck, just to block the Descendant d'Eibon, or Agency prize manor deck, yog decks, etc...

It's for that the deckbuilding is an important part of the game, you can always discover funny things to do.

Thanks for the good commentaries. I just found it should be highlighted because, for example, Hellfury (who I think has played the game for a time - probably more than me, for sure !) - himself seemed a bit suprised that the FAQ had clarified this in such a manner. Even Professor (IIRC) said he had always been playing it with you NEEDING a Resource Match to use those special ways to put into play.

So the idea / big news - that you do NOT need it...well, I thought that should be emphasized !

It means you can do a lot of "surprise !" - type stuff on your opponents....and they must constantly be on-guard for such "suprise" cards like Eibon and Terror of the Tides, etc.

The reason - only big reason - why I would like Terror over Descendant (don't be mad at me Hastur ! = Jim Black ) - and ONLY in this circumstance, is that it has Terror + Combat...and only costs you 3-Resource to put into play from the hand....while d'Eibon needs you to throw away 2-jeton de reussite (did I say it right ? ) ....to use his "Surprise !" - ability.

success token = "marqueurs de succès" in french, but "jeton de réussite" could be also correct in french.

merci beaucoup ! - now I know how to say "Success Token" in French !

How do they say "The Great Old One" - when reference to Cthulhu himself ?

-

And, on Topic.... does everyone agree that this revelation about these cards being playable in any deck make for some interesting combinations ? The idea of totally surprising someone who thinks you only have Miskatonic in hand, with a Terror of the Tides seems incredibly powerful.

Yeah...Well, yes. Ok. So where is the revelation?

It's a revelation if you didn't realize it previously. Of course some of the more experienced players knew this for a long time, but newer players are just learning.

Right ! So forgive my enthusiasm, if it's considered common knowledge....I took it that it was not, since Hellfury himself seemed surprised by it and deemed it "Stupid Broken" - and he's played the game longer than me (not saying that much given my 2-months, roughly - but you get the point).

I have been playing since February, so I am not an old hat.

I am just more vocal since most of the old guard left long ago with drama on their minds and all that is left is a ghost town where the newbs have to fill in the gap left in their absence. Sure, some are still around, but just barely.

I was aware of how terror of the tides worked, but for some reason I thought that thing behind you required a resource match for its action. This right there shows my novice skills since I didnt connect the two.

It's for that for all new players (and old players because they forget a lot), the reading of the FAQ is very important to understand some point. Taking control of characters, attachments, putting into play a card, permanent effect, etc... It's a good base to understand how is working the meta and to understand why there are some big mistakes in the FAQ (ex, the rule for the duration effect of the chess prodigee which is a confusion between permanent effect and triggered effect / the confusion about playing area (which is the virtual boardgame) and 'in play' or 'out play' status which is a status for the cards not for the play area / the confusion between triggered abilities and triggered effect, with the wrong example with Jack brass brady, etc...

Since one year, FFG have the return of a lot of players and playtesters. May be one day, we will see a real FAQ for the LCG and not just some rules added sometime without looking at both the rules.

Well, we, older Hats, are still in the place to help ... That's true we don't read the board that often, but there are a lot of talents here : Konx, Marius, Dadajeff, B_P and a lot of others. ..

Don't forget the great Champion, Hastur = Mr. Jim Black ! - d'Eibon....shudder...that card still gives me fits !