Lord Triloth · 1897
Roles: Very powerful clueing and decent damage output.
Soak/Healing: Very good in higher levels. Ok in low levels.
Draw Engine: Strong Card draw, partly because of his innate ability.
Resource Engine: Also very good, but mostly fuelled into Arcane Studies(4).
Encounter Protection: Very high at all levels.
Complexity: High.
'I'm starting with the man in the mirror.'
Hello and hi to everyone.
Welcome to the new and improved version of my older Mind's Eye Norman deck, of which I'm proud to say that it beat the TCU-Ironman event on the 24.10.2020.
I won't go into every little detail of the geniality if this deck, you only understand when you actually play it, but make sure to check out the older version of the deck for more details.
Originally I was planning to run only a slightly tweaked version of the older deck, but then, a few days before the event, the new Taboo-List dropped and chained Rook for 4xp.
So, I needed to improvise. And the solution I came up with, ended to be much better then the original.
'Who can you say that? Who can you say that?'
This new version is based upon a new card from the Jacqueline Fine-Stater Deck. Namely Arcane Studies(4).
That cards feels like it was been made for this deck, because it boosts the only two stats you will ever need in this deck, with Mind's Eye. The thing you need though, to make it work like you want it to, is a solid resource engine. In this deck that engine is based on search for Astounding Revelation, playing Burning the Midnight Oil from the top of your deck, do both with Arcane Initiate and maybe a burst of cash from Deny(5) on Dayana.
The problem with the old deck always was to get high enough (and maybe a bit less ) to smash every test reliably, but this is now made possible the studies.
To replace Rook's search and to reliably trigger Revelations I've added Arcane Initiate and Research Librarian. The initiate targets are all three copies of Blood-Rite, Ward and Deny, and you can remove the doom by just killing it or using Sacrifice or Calling in Favors. The researcher's main goal is to fetch the Occult Lexicon, but he's also useful, if you want to get the new Scroll of Secrets(3) into play.
Other search options are Practice Makes Perfect and Calling in Favors for the skills you need and the allies you don't.
Scroll is also a knew card in this deck, because it's power level raised after it's buff in the last Taboo. With the new version you're know capable of using the card on the top of your deck, as you want or replacing it with a new card. Norman himself buffs the power of scroll, because he can naturally see the top card of his deck.
'Go back to where it all started'
The first and most important upgrade is Mind's Eye, for it's the main card in this deck. For the level 0 I usually take two copies of Mind over Matter, because it fills a similar role and the third copy usually just anything else.
Arcane Studies(4) is the second centrepiece of the deck, and I usually take Higher Education(0) just for the lol's, because he could never take the Level 3 version. It boosts the same stats, if you want a real explanation.
Then you want a Charisma for all your allies.
Dayana Esperence is in the deck for encounter protection, and Maleson is the closest I could find in the Level 0 seeker stuff. He isn't even a bad card in this deck, because he can cancel enemies or other annoying cards drawn.
Then downgrade your spell events and slot in a second copy of Calling in Favors and add a Perception for the 2 Enraptured, to make it to 5 -cards in the Level 0.
So, how did the Ironman go then?
I played to prologue on the Friday before the event. Choosing Jerome and Gavriella as my investigators. My plan was to move both into the Master Bedroomearly game, and then letting Jerome put up a Barricade, to camp there until 7 doom. And that's exactly what happened. Both of them 'disappeared into the mist'.
The first two scenarios were a blast, me and my partner Yorick got all possible xp, killed Josef and befriended some witches.
The Secret Name was not so much fun, even though they pulled out the win after two and a half hours. I've never really had problems with SN, maybe because I never played it solo, but I was scared of it already in planning, due to it's pure length.
Wages of Sin was ok, but not great either. I managed to get two heretics, but then I went to Hangman's Brook and resigned.
For the Greater Good was a bit of a shit show (if you'll excuse my French). I got all four keys and Nathan to spawn, but then a damned Wizard of the Order and a Ancient Evils advanced the last agenda. So, I didn't bother to even try to fight the Guardian, and just headed for the resign.
Clutches of Chaos was not much of anything. Time was running short already, so I moved resigned with both investigators immediately.
The finally I got up to the throne, after getting to a pulse of about 180 and a first agenda of two turns it turned out like this ... (post of a tired but emotional mind in the Farkham Nights discord channel)
'He had been an actor and he had been a Gravedigger, before his fate had driven him on the path of these terrible beings. He had done things with his body and mind he'd never ever thought he be able to do. And as he keeled now in front of the infinite chaos, the humans had given the name Azathoth, spinning and spiraling here in the boiling, nighted abysses of the universe, he knew what had to be done. Behind him he heard his former university professor Norman Withers screaming to him, what had the fuck he was doing there, but Yorick ignored him. So, he took out the flute he had found back in the haunted woods and started playing a strange melody. His body and mind bent, and made him to something else, while he continued playing. His brothers, as he entered their circle, greeted him, before they succumed back to their the strange pipping that didn't seem so strange to Yorick anymore. And so, the ancient evil started slumbering again. Until they would stop playing, and start to sing the song of doom.
Victory, Victory, Victory!
Yeeeeeeeees!!!!
This last game was terrible for my tired nerves. I had such a bad start with the first agenda advancing in the second round, because of two drawn cultists, that put two doom on Azathoth until the end of the game. But Jerome was sooo amazing in this scenario, he canceled like 5-6 treacheries. That probably saved me the game, after such a bad start.'
Thanks allot for reading until the end.
I hope your Ironman went as well (or even better) then my did, if you participated in the event and make sure to leave any kind of comments to this deck or the one before down below.
Additionally I'd of course be happy, if my deck convinced you to try out Mind's Eye Norman.