Necronomicon draft products for Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game introduce a new draft format for the game. Players jointly build their decks in real time from a shared pool of random cards, then test their mettle against each other using these newly-built decks.
The Necronomicon Draft Starter features 10 stories and 7 fixed neutral cards that serve as the foundations for your Necronomicon draft decks. The starter also contains rules for draft play and 2 story cards unique to the Necronomicon draft format. The Necronomicon Draft Starter is made available to you via Fantasy Flight Games in-house manufacturing, and you may reuse the contents of your Necronomicon Draft Starter through any number of Necronomicon draft events.
Bring the excitement of draft play to Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game! Each player in an Necronomicon draft will need two separate packs:
* One fixed, reusable Necronomicon Draft Starter pack – rules and 17 essential cards that provide a foundation for your deck
* One Necronomicon Draft pack – a selection of 50 randomized cards to be drafted
The cards in the Necronomicon Draft Starter that are marked “draft only” are only legal within the draft play format. All other Necronomicon cards can be found in standard Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game LCG products and are legal for use in any format. Due to slight differences in production quality, all draft cards used in tournament play must be sleeved in opaque or art sleeves.
What Is Draft Play?
Draft play is like a parallel universe, close to the world of standard Call of Cthulhu game play, but separated by a thin veil. When you enter its reality, though, Call of Cthulhu Draft Play introduces a unique set of challenges, forcing you to build a deck from cards that you select one at a time from a limited number, without full knowledge of the available card pool. Accordingly, you’ll develop strategies for how to select your cards and build your deck. Furthermore, you’ll stretch and adapt to the format’s challenges as you and your friends test your mettle against each other with draft-built decks.
What Should I Expect from the Necronomicon Draft Pool?
Lead Developer Damon Stone offers this introduction to the Necronomicon draft experience:
“The Necronomicon draft pool is an environment in which deep powers long asleep grow restless, as do their monstrous supporters, while at the same time mortal associations marshal their forces to regain control of human destiny."
“Within the 240-card draft pool, each faction gains a subset of cards that present numerous interactions with each other, as well as a strong core of utilitarian cards which highlight the faction’s strengths."
“Day and Night mechanics are also available, as well as a number of cards from the Dreamlands cycle that interact with them, and these can help create an interesting tug of war."
“Two new story cards are included in the Draft Starter, unique to this draft pool, which will help round out a cherry-picked story deck. A Crack in the Ice allows you to remove a troublesome card from the game, potentially changing the game’s whole complexion."
"Rampaging Shaggoth has an ability similar to several other story cards, forcing each player to discard a won story card… However, unlike the past the story cards that featured similar effects, the effect of Rampaging Shaggoth has an important “if able” clause that gives its winner the opportunity to create a one-sided story loss, making this story even more valuable for come-from-behind efforts and increasing its usefulness."
“Finally, since Call of Cthulhu Draft Play features no restrictions on the number of cards you can include by title, and no restricted list, deck-building takes on an entirely new dimension.”
What Do I Need to Play?
If you want to start a Necronomicon draft with your friends, each player will need to bring two items: a fixed, twenty-card Draft Starter and a randomized Draft Pack.
Draft Starters: The Necronomicon Draft Starter is a fixed collection of necessary cards that can be reused any number of times, so you only need to purchase this item once to participate in any number of Necronomicon drafts. Draft Starters contain rules for draft play, some utilitarian neutral cards, and a unique Necronomicon story deck that introduces two new story cards designed specifically for the Call of Cthulhu Draft Play experience.
These cards are clearly distinguished from both the larger Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game LCG card pool and the cards in the Necronomicon Draft Packs, allowing you to collect and sort them after each of your games. No matter how many Necronomicon drafts you play, you’ll only ever need one Draft Starter.
Draft Packs: The heart of each Necronomicon draft are its Necronomicon Draft Packs, each of which is an unique collection of fifty randomized cards, carefully compiled from a 240-card set called Necronomicon.
All draft cards are clearly identified by a new icon, and starter pack cards are further distinguished from draft cards.
All cards in Necronomicon draft products, excepting the stories, are legal in standard Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game tournament play. However, because of variations in production color and card-stock resulting from our in-house manufacturing, players using draft cards in tournaments must sleeve their cards with opaque or art sleeves.
Begin Your Investigations
The portals have opened. The Ancient Ones begin to stir from their eons of slumber. Draft play has arrived to Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game!
Explore new options and face new challenges in the face of utter insanity. Pick up your Necronomicon Draft Starter and Draft Pack today!
Note: Necronomicon draft products do not serve as a replacement for the standard Call of Cthulhu LCG model. Instead, Necronomicon products allow players to enjoy the game through an additional format of play.
