Just bought the core set! Every thing about this game seems really fun. I like the fact that out of the box you simply shuffle 2 decks together and play.

This simplicity is what drew me to the game. I want something that me and my friends can get together and play balanced games without extensive deck construction. (We are currently into Magic right now and I am getting sick of the pressure to keep decks optimized and ready for competition)

So here is my plan, each time we play, we choose our two factions and mix them together to form our deck. The same will be done with expansions. So we would play with the core set and choose 1 or two expansions to play with. Each player plays with ALL the cards of their faction from the chosen sets.

Would this create faction imbalance depending on which sets we play with? Are there Asylum Packs geared toward one faction or the other? (Silver Twilight excluded)

Thanks for the help!

SlyMcNasty said:

Well, I tried to make balanced decks when I first started and the onus of balance is placed on the players, and not the decks, in such a limited format.

By that I mean that you need to know the playstyle of each faction, and how they interact with other factions. Their strengths and weaknesses if you will.

Now the question of will they be balanced in this way if two people who know such info as above can play equally well. While I think it is a great idea and very much worth pursuing, I do not think this was the objective that FFG were attempting when they made the core and how they distribute cards throughout the asylum packs.

You and your group will need to find that balance and remove or add cards that destroy or encourage your perceived sense of balance.

SlyMcNasty said:

Actually, I used pretty much the same approach for the first two AP cycles.

However, and that's where the bad news comes in, I've found that there you must be careful about which faction you combine. Not all two-faction combos work equally well. You need to add a lot of cards from later AP cycles and engage in _some_ deckbuilding before all combinations become viable.

Out of there box there are strong factions (Agency, Cthulhu), average factions (Hastur, Shub-Niggurath), and supportive faction (Miskatonic, Syndicate). I've found Yog Sothoth to be the weakest faction of the core set, but other players had different findings. The balance shifts a bit when adding more APs, and Yog in particular benefits a lot from later cards, eventually turning it into a strong faction.

I think as long as you and your friends keep an open mind and don't get frustrated when losing a game due to a weak faction-combination, you'll be fine. It's a great way to discover what works and what doesn't.

Thanks for the advice! My first full length game was interesting and a bit concerning using this method. I do not have any Asylum packs, so me and a friend just mixed 2 core decks each and randomly distributed 5 neutral cards each.

I played Shub and Miskatonic, he played Hastur and Agency. Pretty much all of my Terror was canceled by Hastur creatures and Agency "Willpower" characters, he then had me easily beat on combat. I scored 2 story cards and he had 1.

By that time our decks were running low so he was able to wait me out since I had drawn a few extra cards with a location. I definately see how the Agency can be a bit more powerful in this kind of play. They have alot of combat and willpower as terror protection. It also seems like it would be super easy to mill people with constructed decks.

Also I noticed a large imbalance in Ancient Ones. Cthulhu is awesome as is, but Shub really needs a deck full of Dark Young to be cool. Yog needs a good amount of spells to become the rush AO that he seems to be.

Hopefully this was a one off and future games show more balance, but it sounds like there are better faction combos. Maybe random factions in the future.

I consider Agency to be the best beginner's faction. It's powerful and very straightforward in its approach.

Most Ancient Ones rarely matter in games with a limited card pool because they're too expensive to play. Most games are over (or at least decided) before they make an appearance.

An exception to this, and the true powerhouse of the Shub Niggurath faction is Y'Golonac. It's affordable and will often win you a game single-handedly. Make sure you understand how his ability works, though. It's probably the trickiest one in the core set.

You should also be aware that there are cards that can be very difficult to counter if you're using semi-random decks. Examples include Shotgun and The Ravager from the Deep.

I'm doing the same thing right now, and the other posts makes sense. I can at least share my experience.

We pick two factions each, shuffle them together with a 10 neutral cards and we play. It seems like your style of play r keeally gets defined by the factions you are playing against. The goal is to have the most fun playing. I think we decided that Cthulu and the Agency can't belong to one player with that setup (definitely a fun-killer for the opposite, beginner player).

What will interest me is what happens if someone gets used to that style and decides to play tournament style later. Right now if someone plays Miskatonic University and the Agency with the core deck, you can win with Hastur and The Syndicate if you understand the rules. However, I can't imagine playing against someone who has three copies of those cards (like Open For Inspection F34) and just wails on you if you are trying to have some fun with a different faction. I guess I'll find out in the next months.

Good luck trying it a different way, hope you have as much fun!