How to Play Cthulhu Wars: Opener of the Way Expansion

Game Objective

The Opener of the Way faction is described as the most peculiar, demanding precision and offering unparalleled flexibility. The main objective is to grow over time, promoting units and redesigning the map's Gates structure. The faction will not dominate the game early on but must develop gradually. Although the manual does not detail the overall game victory condition, the faction's focus is on strategic evolution and adapting to other players' actions.

Setup

After all other players have completed their initial setup, the player controlling Yog-Sothoth (the Opener of the Way faction) must:

1. Place 6 Acolyte Cultists in any unoccupied Area of their choice.
2. Place a controlled Gate in the same chosen unoccupied Area.

The faction components include:

• 1 Faction Card
• 6 Spellbooks
• 1 Rulebook
• 18 figures (6 different types, all purple):
  • 1 Power marker
  • 1 Doom marker
  • 6 Acolyte Cultists
  • 4 Mutants
  • 3 Abominations
  • 2 Children of Yog-Sothoth
  • 1 Great Old One (Yog-Sothoth)

Game Flow

Refer to the manual for details on this section.

Actions and How to Play

The Opener of the Way faction is highly flexible and must react to other players' actions. You will always have something effective to do, depending on the situation.

Units and Promotion

• Keep a Mutant with your Cultists. If someone enters your Area, it's an opportunity to battle and promote with Million Favored Ones. This also returns Cultists to your Pool to be recruited by Monsters placed via They Break Through.
• Don't fall into the trap of using Million Favored Ones exclusively to get large units; it's acceptable to buy them directly.
• Don't be afraid to "promote" a Spawn of Yog-Sothoth into just two Mutants.
• If a Spawn of Yog-Sothoth is Pained in a Battle and you promote it via Million Favored Ones, it first retreats to an adjacent Area and ONLY THEN fragments into multiple Mutants.
• If a Spawn is eliminated by a Pain result because it was surrounded by the opponent, you do not receive the Mutants.
• You can cycle units through your Pool to promote them. For example, if you have a Mutant and an Abomination eligible for promotion via Million Favored Ones, but you don't have an Abomination figure in your Pool, you can first promote the Abomination (returning a figure to the Pool) and then the Mutant.

Yog-Sothoth as Great Old One and Gate

• Yog-Sothoth "really" costs 10 Power to be Awakened (6 for him and 4 for the Spawn you give up), but it's flexible because you can pay in installments: summon a Spawn on one turn, then Yog-Sothoth on the next.
• You can summon Monsters through Yog-Sothoth.
• Yog-Sothoth provides 2 Power during the Gather Power phase.
• He grants 1 Doom point for being on the map during the Doom Phase.
• If he performs a Ritual of Annihilation, he gains a point for being a Gate (and an Elder Token for being a Great Old One).
• As a Gate, Yog-Sothoth can always summon Monsters to his location.
• Unlike other Gates, he can coexist with a normal Gate and is never "abandoned."
• Cultists do not control him nor can they "ride him."
• He cannot be moved with The Beyond One as if he were a Gate.
• On specific maps:
  • Dreamlands map: Yog-Sothoth counts as a controlled Gate in a Citadel Area (even with Zoogs present). This allows two players to control a Gate in a single Citadel Area. During the Doom phase, if Yog-Sothoth is in the Citadel Area that the Bhole attacks, he is destroyed along with the normal Gate, if any.
  • Primeval map: Yog-Sothoth is never "occupied" by a Glacier.
  • Yuggoth map: He can only control the Slime Sea Overlook if there is no controlled Gate present (the controlled Gate takes precedence). He can use the Laboratory Surgery ability without controlling the Gate (and if there is a controlled Gate there, that player can also use the Surgery ability). He gains +1 Power when he is in the Green Pyramid; his presence can awaken the Watcher even without a controlled Gate there.
• Yog-Sothoth is an enemy controlled Gate in the Ocean, providing Power for Cthulhu via Y’ha Nthlei.
• If Yog-Sothoth is the ONLY Gate in an Area where Ithaqua is Awakened, Yog-Sothoth is replaced by Ithaqua. If another Gate is available, that Gate is replaced.
• You can use Beyond-One to move a Gate to Yog-Sothoth's Area.
• Enemy Great Old Ones still cancel Beyond-One even if the Gate in question is not controlled by their faction.
• Yog-Sothoth is not, technically, a "controlled" Gate for the Awaken requirements of an independent Great Old One (which requires a controlled Gate and their own Great Old One).
• Chaugnar Faugn's Miri Nigri ability, which gives 3 Combat dice to Gates, applies to Yog-Sothoth. The Combat bonus is applied once per Area, not per Gate.

Spellbooks

• Channel Power: A useful spell, as your faction is often "hungry" for Power. Save it for special occasions. It can be used more than once in the same Battle, allowing rerolling failures (1, 2, or 3) by paying 1 Power per reroll until you run out of Power or all dice are hits. Cannot be combined with Dread Curse of Azathoth.
• Million Favored Ones: A core ability you'll want early. It happens after Pains and Kills are inflicted.
• Dread Curse of Azathoth: Harasses enemies with death from the sky. Enemy units are often in the same Area as Gates, and you can drive them out with Dread Curse while your units remain. It is not considered a Battle, despite rolling Combat dice. Cannot be combined with Channel Power or any other Pre-Battle, Battle, or Post-Battle effects (such as Regeneration, Necrophagy, or Madness). The victim selects the targets; you choose which results apply to which faction. After the victim selects the Pained units, you select which adjacent Area each unit retreats to, including Areas containing Opener of the Way units. Cannot be used to attack units not controlled by any faction (such as Zoogs or Filth tokens from Abhoth if he is not in play), as it requires applying Combat results to specific factions.
• They Break Through: Possibly your most hated Spellbook by enemy players. Allows you to summon a Monster to any Gate on the map, including abandoned Gates.
• Dragon Ascending: Choose the right moment, and this can completely reverse the course of the game. Using this Spellbook is NOT an Action, meaning you can do it even if you are completely out of Power. If used during Gather Power and you tie with another player in Power, whoever was the First Player in the previous turn chooses.
• Dragon Descending: If you wait for the perfect moment, you might not get its benefits – seize the opportunity.

Movement

Movement is not cheap for you, so use Beyond-One and They Break Through as substitutes.

End of Game and Scoring

Refer to the manual for details on this section.

Tips for Winning

• Summon a Spawn of Yog-Sothoth early: Despite the high cost, this allows you to bring out your Great Old One at the right time (usually when 2-3 others are already on the field).
• Use Million Favored Ones strategically: Keep a Mutant with your Cultists to take advantage of battle and promotion opportunities. This also replenishes Cultists in your Pool to be recruited by Monsters via They Break Through. Don't limit yourself to using it only for large units; buying units directly is also valid.
• Leverage Spellbook flexibility: With 6 Spellbooks, you can declare more than one Battle in a round, which is a huge advantage for the faction. Use Beyond-One early in the game to steal Gates, move long distances, and escape threats. Use Dragon Ascending to reverse the course of the game, remembering that it is not an Action and can be used even without Power.