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Chaosium Digest Volume 20 Number 05
Chaosium Digest Volume 20, Number 5
Date: Sunday, July 6, 1997
Number: 2 of 2
Contents:
CF: Mi-Go (Shannon Appel) MYTHOS
A Mi-Go Deck (Shannon Appel) MYTHOS
--------------------
From: appel@erzo.org (Shannon Appel)
Subject: CF: Mi-Go
System: Mythos
** THE CARD FILES: MI-GO **
THE CARD
--------
Name: Mi-Go
Set: Mythos Limited
Type: Monster
Value: 2
Subtype: Lesser Independent
San: 0
Special Effect Box: Each Mi-Go surviving to affect your opponent's
Allies or Investigator also steals one chosen Artifact. Your opponent
must Bury the card in his or her Story Deck. Joins Mi-Go.
VARIANT CARDS
-------------
There are two alternative Mi-Go which are similar enough to the
original to include in this same Card File.
THE WORKER MI-GO
Name: Mi-Go
Set: Mythos Standard Game Set
Type: Monster
Value: 2
Attributes: Corrupt Worker
Subtype: Lesser Independent
San: 0
Special Effect Box: Each Mi-Go surviving to affect your opponent's
Allies or Investigator also steals one chosen Artifact. Your opponent
must Bury the card in his or her Story Deck. Joins Mi-Go.
Notes: Except for the addition of the Worker attribute and the new
artwork, this card is identical to the Mythos Limited Mi-Go.
THE SOLDIER MI-GO
Name: Mi-Go
Set: Mythos Standard Game Set
Type: Monster
Value: 2
Attributes: Corrupt Soldier
Languages: Glyphs
Subtype: Lesser Independent
San: 0
Special Effect Box: Joins Mi-Go.
Notes: This Mi-Go has the Soldier Attribute, the Glyph Language, and
new artwork. This Mi-Go can not steal Artifacts.
THE SOURCE
----------
"It was not for nothing, alas, that I had pored for hours over the
kodak views of the Outer One's claw-prints which Akeley had sent. Too
well did I know the marks of those loathsome nippers, and that hint of
ambiguous direction which stamped the horrors as no creatures of this
planet. No chance had been left for merciful mistake."
-"The Whisperer in Darkness", H. P. Lovecraft
The Mi-Go are one of the many alien races of Lovecraft's mythos. They
are a strange type of fungoid creature utterly unknown on Earth. The
Mi-Go inhabit Pluto, which they name Yuggoth. They visit Earth to mine
certain minerals which they can not find in their own home. Records
seem to indicate that the Mi-Go have had a presence upon the Earth
since prehistoric times. Sometimes, the Mi-Go are called the Fungi
from Yuggoth or the Abominable Snowmen. The Mi-Go first appeared in
Lovecraft's "The Whisperer in Darkness". Since, they have appeared
most prominently in Campbell's "Mine on Yuggoth" and Pagan
Publishing's _Delta Green_.
CLARIFICATIONS
--------------
As is noted on p. 25 of the Dreamlands rulebook: "Many Monsters have
special effects that affect an opponent in some way. These may only be
used against the opponent that the Monster is directed towards, unless
otherwise noted." This means that you can only steal an Artifact from
the opponent that your Mi-Go was directed at.
Mi-Go have their special effect occur if they "[survive] to affect
your opponent's Allies or Investigator". This means that they steal
Artifacts even if there is no Cosmic Battle, such as when they are
Summoned by a Summon/Control spell. This is in sharp contrast to
Monsters like the Insect from Shaggai which must explicitly "[survive]
the Cosmic Battle".
The Mi-Go Soldier honestly can't steal Artifacts. This is balanced by
the fact that it knows one of the obscure languages (glyphs).
QUESTIONS
---------
Q: There are three different Mi-Go. How many can I put in a deck, 4 or
12?
A: P. 14 of the Dreamlands rules state that you may not include
"more than four copies of any one non-unique card (indicated by
Card Title) in any one deck". For all deck-building purpose, those
different Mi-Go act as the same card, and thus you may only have
four total. This may be 4 Limited Mi-Go, 3 Limited Mi-Go and 1 MSGS
Mi-Go, or any other combination totalling four.
Q: Can I Join a Limited Mi-Go and a MSGS Mi-Go?
A: Yes. Each card says "Joins Mi-Go" and each card is titled "Mi-Go",
so they can Join.
Q: I'm using N'gah-Kthun to play Mi-Go as Allies. How many Mi-Go can I
play? Usually, I could only have one Ally of a certain Title in
play.
A: The precise restriction is listed on p. 40 of the Dreamlands rules:
"You may only have one copy of a specific card of the following
card types in play at any one time: Allies, Locations, Great Old
Ones/Outer Gods, and Adventures." This restriction only applies to
cards as they're being played, which means it only refers to to the
natural Type written on a card. This means you can have up to four
Mi-Go in play as allies (since their natural type is Monster).
Conversely, if you already have John Scott in play as an Ally, you
can't add another copy of his card to the Threat at a Gate (since
his natural type is Ally).
Q: Can I Join N'gah-Kthun and a Mi-Go at a Country Gate, and at the
same time use N'gah-Kthun's power to play them both as Allies?
A: No. There's a timing problem. N'gah-Kthun isn't in play as an Ally
until after you've already played the Mi-Go and N'gah-Kthun.
However, you could Join N'gah-Kthun and a Mi-Go, play N'gah-Kthun
to the Ally Area and the Mi-Go to the Threat (Joining doesn't
require that the cards stay together, except in cases of Tomes with
Spells and Allies with Weapons).
Q: If I play a Mi-Go as an Ally, can I later move it to the Threat?
A: In general, no. Allies can be moved to the Threat only via certain
cards, such The Innsmouth Look or Body Warping of Gorgoroth. Mi-Go
in play as Allies are no different.
Q: Can Mi-Go in play as Allies be used for Adventures?
A: It depends on the Adventure. Mi-Go in play as Allies are Allies,
not Monsters, thus you couldn't use them for Kneep Deep in Doom
until you got them back into your Story Deck. However, if an
Adventure specifically called for a Lesser Independent (not a
Lesser Independent Monster) or a Mi-Go, then you could use one of
your Mi-Go Allies. Remember also that all Monsters played as Allies
are Corrupt. Thus, Mi-Go Allies can fulfill requirements for
Adventures needing Corrupt Allies.
STRATEGIES
----------
A number of specific cards work well with Mi-Go. A Mi-Go deck combined
with a number of these would be fairly formidable.
* Albert N. Wilmarth (Limited) - This combination is solely thematic.
Wilmarth was the Professor who visited Henry Akeley when Akeley was
being hounded by the Mi-Go.
* Assault on Y'ha-Nthlei (Limited) - This Adventure is annoying
because it's set in Lovecraft Country, yet requires a Steadfast
Soldier, and all of the Soldiers are found in Europe. You can get
around this by playing the Mi-Go Soldier as an Ally, and then giving
him a Battle Axe to make him Steadfast. Pretty convoluted, but it
will work, and can bolster the Adventure so you don't have to solely
depend upon Surprise Meetings with European Soldiers.
* Circles of Thaol (Limited) - Allows you to Summon or Control a
Lesser Independent Monster. This is useful with Mi-Go because the
Mi-Go will automatically survive to affect Investigators and
Allies. Thus, a S/C Lesser Indepent Spell guarantees that you'll
steal one Artifact from an opponent.
* Dust of Suleiman (MSGS) - Another S/C LI Spell.
* Henry W. Akeley (MSGS) - This combination is primarily thematic.
However, if you choose to use the Mi-Go soldiers to play Glyph
Tomes, Akeley will be a nice addition.
* Lonely Akeley Farmhouse (MSGS) - This combination is primarily
thematic. However, if you use the Speech Machine to make your Mi-Go
better, this gate will become reusable.
* Mi-Go Braincase (Limited) - This combination is solely thematic.
* N'gah-Kthun (MSGS) - This Mi-Go Leader joins with Mi-Go and thus
immediately make them better since you now have a set of five
Joining critters. He also allows you to play Mi-Go as Allies at
gates, which can be very useful. First off, it's better to have
Allies than Monsters because you aren't forced to attack. You rarely
win games by Sanity Loss, so it's usually better to protect
yourself. In Mythos, the best offense is a good defense. Second,
this lets you save Mi-Go for future Adventures. Third, in the case
of the Mi-Go Soldier, it gives you easy access to an Ally with the
Glyphs language. Usually, Glyphs speakers are pretty rare, with a
maximum of one or two in a subregion. Using N'gah-Kthun you can play
four glyph-speakers in a wide variety of (Country) Locations.
* Nightmare (Dreamlands) - If this Threat Event is in a Directed
Threat with Mi-Go, each Mi-Go gets to steal an Artifact even if it
is lost during the Cosmic Battle.
* Petrify (MSGS) - A sneaky way to Bury an Ally. You Petrify him
during the Spells phase of Combat, and a few short seconds later,
your Mi-Go carries him away. Best used against really annoying
Allies, like Harry Houdini, and Allies with important Special
Effects (like Samuel Winsor or the Providence Howard Lovecraft).
* Speech Machine (MSGS) - Jewelry of the Deep Ones for Mi-Go!
Increases all Mi-Go by +1, as well as all Mi-Go Leaders (currently
just N'gah-Kthun).
* Whispers in Darkness (MSGS) - An Adventure that calls for several
cards mentioned in this file: Henry W. Akeley, Speech Machine,
Lonely Akeley Farmhouse, and N'gah-Kthun.
When you use a Mi-Go to steal something, you want to optimize what you
steal. Here are a few options, in order from least useful to most
useful:
* Steal Artifacts that are Quite Helpful - This is stuff that your
opponent is making good use of. Things like: Jewelry of the Deep
Ones, Chimes of Tezchaptl, Speech Machines, etc.
* Steal Artifacts that are Currently in Use - If your opponent is in
Space or Underwater, you can be real nasty, and steal the Artifact
protecting them there (ie, a Diving Suit, Space Mead, or Thag Weed).
If an opponent is in the Past, you can steal the Lamp of Alhazred,
knocking him immediately back to the present.
* Steal Artifacts Needed for Adventures - Burying cards listed in
Adventures isn't helpful because they'll just drop to the Story
Deck. However, you can bury cards needed to play *OTHER* cards
required for Adventures. If you think your opponent is going
Underwater, take a Diving Suit. If you think your opponent is going
to Resurrect an Ally from the Past, take the Grecian Lekythos. If
you think your opponent is going to Summon a GOO, take the Shining
Trapezohedron. If you think your opponent is going to cross
dimensions, take the Silver Key.
* Steal Allies Needed for Adventures - This only works in conjunction
with the Petrify Spell. It is slightly more useful than stealing
Artifacts because Allies are a bit harder to play. However, very few
Allies are needed to play other cards for Adventures. Rare
exceptions might include: Samuel Winsor (to create a Church in
Europe) and Randolph Carter (to bring the King of Ilek-Vad into
play). Some Allies might be holding spells necessary to play other
cards, such as the Resurrection Spell.
Of course, the Mi-Go Soldier can't take advantage of these strategies,
because it isn't a thief.
COUNTER STRATEGIES
------------------
Mi-Go can be a real annoyance if they steal Artifacts you need. There
aren't really any ways to just stop them, so you need to defend
yourself.
* Protect Your Artifacts - A number of cards protect Artifacts. The
Seal of Isis is the easiest to play, although it costs one Sanity.
If you prefer to use Allies, there are a number who protect
Artifacts: Raymond LeGrasse (Lovecraft Country Cities), K. J. Hooper
(Arkham), Luther Harden (Arkham), Ray Stuckey (Arkham), Thomas
F. Malone (Boston), The Terrible Old Man (Kingsport), Ahmed (Cairo),
and Haragrim (Celephais). In general, these Allies do well in point
comparisons to other Allies, and thus you should make sure to
include any from your subregion if you have Artifacts. However,
Allies are vulnerable, so if you *REALLY* need some of your
Artifacts, the Seal of Isis should be included as well.
* Duplicate Your Artifacts - If you just have one necessary Artifact,
it's often better to duplicate that Artifact then include lots of
Artifact protectors. It might be better to put three Silver Keys in
your deck than one Silver Keys and two Seals of Isis. You'll have
the same level of protection, and you'll be able to use your Silver
Key quicker. This strategy doesn't work if you have several very
important Artifacts, as opposed to one.
--------------------
From: appel@erzo.org (Shannon Appel)
Subject: A Mi-Go Deck
System: Mythos
** A MIGO DECK (62) **
INVESTIGATOR
Respected New England Doctor
ADVENTURES (3)
The Curious Parcel x1
The Theron-Marks Society x1
Whispers in Darkness x1
ALLIES (7)
Any City:
William Channing Webb x1
Arkham:
Albert N. Wilmarth x1
Dr. Allen Halsey x1
Prof. Wingate Peaslee x1
Dunwich:
Wilbur Whateley x1
Vermont:
Henry W. Akeley x2
ARTIFACTS (7)
Mi-Go Braincase x1
Speech Machine x1
Star Stone of Mnar x1
Enchanted Weapons:
Lightning Gun x2
Mist Projector x2
EVENTS (12)
Discover Secret Cache x2
Government Coverup x2
Surprise Meeting x1
Phobia:
Agoraphobia x1
Batophobia x1
Claustrophobia x1
Threat:
Nightmare x1
Travel:
Car x3
LOCATIONS (15)
Arkham:
Arkkham Mystical Supply x1
Arkham Police Department x1
Arkham Sanitarium x1
Golden Eye Society x1
Hangman's Hill x1
Miskatonic University Orne Library x2
Old Arkham Cemetary x1
Danvers:
Massachusetts State Hospital x1
Dunwich:
Congregational Church x1
Vermont:
Lonely Akeley Farmhouse x3
Nerburyport Public Library x1
Waterbury State Hospital x1
MONSTERS (9)
Greater Independents:
Gnoph Keh x1
Yithian x1
Lesser Independents:
Insect from Shaggai x2
Mi-Go (Limited) x2
Mi-Go (Worker) x2
N'gah-Kthun x1
SPELLS (6)
Folk:
Dust of Suleiman x1
Petrify x2
Water:
Circles of Thaol x2
Wave of Oblivion x1
TOMES (3)
Cthaat Aquadingen x1
Ponape Scripture Hoag Ms. x1
Unaussprechlichen Kulten x1
Strategies:
This Mi-Go deck is great at Burying stuff. Lots of stuff. Bury
Artifacts with the Mi-Go or the Lightning Guns. Even Allies might fall
prey to this if you cast Petrify first. You can also Bury Allies with
Gnoph Keh and the Yithian. Wilbur Whateley can bury Tomes. The Insects
can bury Spells.
One of the Allies is very tricky to play. Wilbur Whateley can only
appear at one Location, but he's not required for an Adventure. If you
can get him out, cool. If not, don't worry about it. There's a
Surprise Meeting too, to help play him. It could be useful for Henry
too.
This deck contains the ABC's of phobias: Agoraphobia, Batophobia,
Claustrophobia. Aka: No where to run, no where to hide. They can
really mess someone up.
Optimum strategy for Adventures: play through your deck once, going
for The Curious Parcel. Get out N'gah-Kthun at a Country Gate, and
Mi-Go as Allies. Give them Enchanted Weapons. Get out the stuff for
Whispers and Darkness and The Theron-Marks Society that you can: Tome,
Spell, two Steadfast Allies, Weapon, Henry W. Akeley, Speech Machine,
N'Gah Kthun. About half of these are needed for The Curious Parcel
anyways. You have a hand size of 6, so hold on to the perishibles for
the later Adventures: the Adventures (2 cards), Phobia (1 card), Car
(1 card), Governmental Coverup (1 card), Country House (1 card). Then,
you can win in a minimum of seven rounds: Car, Lonely Akeley
Farmhouse, Governmental Coverup, Whispers in Darkness, Phobia,
Theron-Marks Society. You'll also have to convert one of your
Enchanted Weapon-wielding Mi-Go during a combat round following the
play of Whispers in Darkness. You might be able to shorten this even
more by finessing the Phobia and Lonely Akeley Farmhouse beforehand.
The worst Adventure stickler in the deck is N'gah-Kthun because he's
unique. Try and keep him around.
Tomes are pretty darned hard to get out in this deck because of a lack
of Locations for them. Don't ever discard the Discover Secret
Caches. Even if you get out your Tomes, they'll still be occasionally
useful for Artifacts. Likewise, don't throw away the scant Tome
Locations without thinking about it first. They are the MU Library in
Arkham, the Danvers Sanitarium, and Newburyport Library in Vermont (4
cards total).
Remember that the ability to play N'gah-Kthun ang the Mi-Go as Allies
depends on Country Gates. Namely: The Lonely Akeley Farmhouse, the
Danvers Sanitarium, the Waterbury Sanitarium, or the Congregational
Church (6 cards total).
After a number of games, this deck seems to work quite well, primarily
due to its ability to stop or slow opponents while you work away at
your Adventure.
There are several cool combos implicit in the deck:
Mi-Go + one of the Summon/Control Lesser Independent Spells lets you
"shoot" an opponent. Scratch one artifact.
Nightmare + Mi-Go or Insects guarantees use of their special ability.
Mi-Go + Petrify lets you bury an ally.
Circle of Thaol + Star Stone of Mnar lets you Summon both a Lesser
Independent and a Greater Independent at the same time.
--
