My memories are very confused. There is even much doubt as to where they begin; for at times I feel appalling vistas of years stretching behind me, while at other times it seems as if the present moment were an isolated point in a grey, formless infinity.
–H.P. Lovecraft, The Book
The Relics introduced to Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game with the Ancient Relics cycle of Asylum Packs share a tendency to return to play, even after they are destroyed, but some of these ancient Relics are better kept out of reach for all eternity. And who is better suited to cause things to be lost in the space between spaces and the time before time than the mighty Yog-Sothoth? The Ancient One grants his followers the strong magic and complicated rituals necessary to cast such artifacts Into Tartarus.
Yog-Sothoth’s many Spells and Rituals often provide handy, multifunctional tools to force cards from one state of being to another. Ritual of Bellephar (Into Tartarus, 108) is no different. You can either use it offensively, to destroy your opponent’s deck, or as a way to get cards into your own discard pile, to retrieve them or to get various bonuses, like the cost reduction on the Ancient One himself, Yog-Sothoth (Core Set, 101).
Your time is up
Once your opponent’s deck is depleted, he’s eliminated from the game. Discarding your opponent’s deck is a more direct approach to victory than say, winning stories, and maybe even more satisfying. You can watch your opponent’s horror as a deck is slowly drained. Add to the terror as your hand size grows. With a couple of unspent Rituals of Bellephar in your hand, you can strike the final blow. The longer you wait, the more effective they become. It’s even possible to play them at the last possible point, and suddenly turn around what may have appeared to your opponent a certain victory. Despite their cheap cost, the Ritual is not something you want to use on the offense early on.
Going this route, Yog-Sothoth offers many cards that eat away at decks early on. Gatekeeper (Secrets of Arkham, 33) abuses struggles to whittle away cards. The dual-sided effect of Hermetic Scholar (Secrets of Arkham, 34) can provide both targets for reanimation as well as a quick and easy way to get deck-sizes into the danger zone.
Yog-Sothoth even has some handy support cards that help out. Prism of Many Views (The Twilight Beckons, 20) always shows some of the things you will throw into the abyss, either by the Prism itself or by other discard effects, and Blackmoor Estate (Core Set, 114) ensures a steady path to destruction, leading up to your final blow.
Beyond the flow of time and space
If the purple faction is not enough, you can find some extra deck manipulation in the Miskatonic University faction. With its accelerated draw mechanics Miskatonic is a natural complement to Yog-Sothoth’s machinations, and cards like Magnetic Spike (Never Night, 78) only add to the destruction as you can tear apart all the support cards your opponent paid to build, targeting the domain with which he paid to build them.
With the Ritual of Bellephar, the followers of Yog-Sothoth will soon gain the power they need to cast their opponents Into Tartarus. This fifth Asylum Pack in the Ancient Relics cycle will arrive soon, and its arrival shall herald a host of devastating new strategies.
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