This could probably go into the deck building forum as well, but I though the question was broad enough that maybe it should go here instead.

Anyway, I saw a post from someone about a card that allowed you to re-execute a story effect from a won story being good because it fit well with some of the current stories. His point made sense, but it also pointed out that I really don't take the stories into account when designing a deck.

This might be because of my minis wargaming background, where I'm a staunch believer in building "all-comers" sort of armies rather than tailoring them to an expected opponent or scenario. But for whatever reason, I've always subconsciously assumed that decks were story-neutral, that you should be able to run the same decks with any set of stories pretty well.

So I guess I'm wondering whether I'm off-base with this or if most of you feel the same way that you give little if any concern to what stories your decks will be used with.

As a second question, how many of you stick to the official current story set? Or do you pick sets at random? Shuffle them all together?

We usually play here with all the story cards mixed, unless a new set of story cards has been published recently. And even if we would only use the most current ones, i would not take them into consideration too much, unless playing with Academy and there is a serious bomb in the story pile, as Academy has some cards that can manipulate story card effects. Actually, it's very rare that we actually let the effects of the stories resolve, unless it's a "win more" situation (apart from occasional drunken recklesness). Of course sometimes we also houserule that you HAVE TO play all story card effects, which makes games more chaotic.

I don't take story cards into account when deck building, though I probably should. Unfortunately, I already have a hard enough time coming up with new themes or combos, so adding yet another layer of complexity would probably make my head explode. However, I do know which story cards help/hurt the deck I'm playing (and do likewise for my opponent), and therefore I'm keenly aware of the stories in play I must win or contest when they pop up. So far, The Seventh Gate, The Second Dragon, Chaos Unleashed, and The Congress of the Keys seem to be the most sought after stories.

Regarding the story cards we use:

For the majority of our games we play with the new 12-card set from the Shifting Sands AP. I find this is a great set to use when introducing new players to the game. The effects aren't as far-flung as some of the older story cards, and they seem to be implemented more often than not, which gives the game some added tactical depth.

As we include both CCG and LCG cards in our decks, we also play with the Arkham and Eldtrich Edition story cards (giving us a total of 5 different sets to draw from). We don't mix any story card sets. I placed them all into hard sleeves (UltraPro Top Loaders) and keep them separated in different deck boxes. I ask everyone what story set they'd like to use this time around (or make an executive decision and just grab one at random) and we go from there.

Shangfu said:

First off, I really like your house rule. I may have to give that a try the next time my group plays.

Second, if you're not using the new 12-card set from the Shifting Sands AP, I would give it a go (without mixing in other cards from previous sets).

I found the story effects to be more balanced, more interesting, and eminently more executable than past sets. Some of the effects can seem somewhat benign at first glance (such as The Congress of the Keys forcing you to discard your hand and then draw a new one), but if resolved at the right time can really screw over your opponent. I've lost many an Ancient One that I've been holding onto since turn one due to losing that story. On the flip side, my Mi-Go deck has benefited from winning The Second Dragon on several occasions, so that's one I often go after full tilt.

I do, but that almost certainly has to do with the new cycle of story cards where the effects are asymmetrical and my background with a Game of Thrones where you must take into account your opponents plot deck if you hope to have any success.

If the next cycle of story cards that comes out is along these same lines I expect to see more people taking into account the story cards. With the conspiracy cards we have now and them being able to be triggered (they are treated as story cards for effects if I recall correctly) I think that will increase the strength of that particular card.

I should point out I take the story deck into consideration, but I don't let it dictate design of my deck, so much as make sure I have ways of surviving certain activated effects or taking advantage of them if I win the story.

I agree with Yiope. If you haven't played the new stories in seclusion then you should definitely give it a try. First because that is the current legal story deck for tournaments and if you play in tourneys it is better to be familiar with them than not, and second because they are awesome.

We've been using the current stories only, but there's been some talk of playing with some of the older sets sometime for variety.

Part of it is that for a long time neither of us had any opponents so in effect we "missed" some of the earlier sets.

That, and I still need to get a copy of the Eldrich Edition story cards. The starters show up on eBay from time to time but I don't really need the whole thing - I just want the story cards as these are the last ones to complete my story collection

dboeren said:

1) Nope. Not even a slight consideration. The newest story cards are much better for strategic planning, but not to the point where I take them into consideration when developing deck strategies.

2) Not me. Actual tourneys are few and far between so there is little if any reason to just stick with those 12. I shuffle my entire set of CCG and LCG era story cards together and am happy I own all 48 story cards printed to date.

I get more kick out of the variety than I do by using negligible strategy present with 12 story cards.

dboeren said:

That, and I still need to get a copy of the Eldrich Edition story cards. The starters show up on eBay from time to time but I don't really need the whole thing - I just want the story cards as these are the last ones to complete my story collection

dboeren,

I have an extra set of Eldritch Edition story cards, as well as a set of Arkham Edition story cards if you need those too. If you like, I can mail them to you.

Let me know.

dboeren said:

Until I can reliably see a single (or more) stories EVERY game I never felt comfortable actually building a competitive deck to take advantage (or avoid the disadvantage) of the story deck.

I only use the current set when I can. After all, I have a tournament coming up.

When new story cards are released I immediately check if there's something which lends itself to be integrated into a deck. Miskatonic has a lot of ways to manipulate story cards.

When the latest set was previewed I immediately thought of using Twila Katherine Price's ability on the Seventh Gate to move stories into my won pile without actually winning them. Unfortunately, Damon decided to adjust the rules to refute my cunning scheme