The Future is Written and BoundA Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game spotlight
I know always that I am an outsider; a stranger in this century and among those who are still men.
–H.P. Lovecraft, The Outsider
Hidden in the shadows of their cloistered lodges, the Order of the Silver Twilight is rapidly gaining power. As the Revelations cycle takes us deeper into the secrets of Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game, we find more and more names Written and Bound into the Silver Twilight’s ledgers. From lowly recruiters to lords, senators, and Lodge masterminds, each member of the Silver Twilight works to advance the faction’s secret agendas.
The Master of Initiation
Among those responsible for the Silver Twilight’s growing strength is Nathan Wick (Written and Bound, 13), their Master of Initiation. One of the most powerful members of the organization, Nathan Wick can assign Lodge members where and when they’re needed. Generally, this means that he can direct Lodge characters to stories during the story phase.
Nathan Wick offers players some fairly amazing opportunities to reshape the Silver Twilight’s approach to the game. First of all, Wick allows you to keep your plans secret from your opponent right up until the moment of truth. Because his ability is an action that is limited only by the number of cards and Lodge characters in your hand, you can play characters and commit them to stories on your opponent’s turn after you already know where his characters are headed… and which icons they have.
Meanwhile, characters in your hand are often easier to protect than those on the table, especially with such deadly Relics as the Khopesh of the Abyss (Shifting Sands, 16) currently prevalent in the metagame. Yes, you have to find a way to safeguard Nathan Wick, himself, but it’s much easier to keep one character safe than half a dozen.
In the end, everyone works for us
Finally, while the characters Wick brings into play must leave play by the end of the phase, this can be a blessing as much as a curse. Many of the Silver Twilight’s strongest characters trigger responses when they enter play, and if they must leave play by the end of the phase, this means you can trigger their responses repeatedly over the course of many phases.
The Recruiter for the Lodge (The Order of the Silver Twilight, 35) can fetch a stronger character for Wick to assign to a story, or you can simply discard the character he recruits in order to field a higher-ranked member. The Initiate of Huang Hun (Curse of the Jade Emperor, 40), Lord Jeffrey Farrington (The Order of the Silver Twilight, 18), and the High Wizard of the Order (The Order of the Silver Twilight, 24) all bounce your opponent’s characters when they enter play. When Nathan Wick lets them enter and leave play for no cost (other than a discard), your chances of gaining board advantage increase considerably. The same holds true with Clifton Rosenberg (The Order of the Silver Twilight, 16), who at six cost is normally too expensive to play, even if he does bounce all Heroic and Villainous characters in play (including those pesky Ancient Ones). Suddenly, the Master of Initiation helps us understand how the Lodge mastermind’s plan is likely to move toward fruition.
Of monsters or men?
Soon, the Order of the Silver Twilight will be strong enough to contend with any threat posed by rival Cultists, Monsters, and Criminals. Soon, the Silver Twilight will have the power to force their will upon a universe of heroes and Ancient Ones.
But when the Order of the Silver decides, at last, to reveal its purpose, who will join them as allies? Will they seek to save the world, or control it?
Dark alliance
“I have harnessed the shadows that stride from world to world to sow death and madness… Space belongs to me, do you hear?”
–H.P. Lovecraft, From Beyond
It’s quite possible the Order of the Silver Twilight has allied itself with forces that defy human comprehension. Primal forces that seek to undo all we hold sacred. In turn, the Silver Twilight seeks little more than a place of prominence in this new world order.
In this case, we suspect the Order may be allied with the minions of Shub-Niggurath, the Dark Mistress of the Woods, whose endless spawn excel at populating the game, even finding their way back to play from the discard pile.
With Hungry Dark Young (Core Set, 131), Rampaging Dark Young (Secrets of Arkham, 21), and Small Ghouls (Core Set, 127), players can reduce the cost of the discard necessary to trigger Nathan Wick’s ability. Of course, if the Dark Mistress herself, Shub-Niggurath (The Cacophony, 114), enters play, the Silver Twilight’s plans will become fully transparent. By offering Dark Young sacrifices (discards), the Order can stall her rivals long enough for her to reach full strength (enter play). In turn, when she raises her Dark Young, playing them from the discard pile, they give strength to the Order with Terror icons and their ability to return Silver Twilight members from the discard pile to the table.
Humanity’s last hope
I am forced into speech because men of science have refused to follow my advice without knowing why.
–H.P. Lovecraft, At the Mountains of Madness
Still, there are some who suspect (or hope) that the Silver Twilight have been gathering strength in order to combat the Ancient Ones that threaten all human existence. Those who hold this theory share the belief that the Silver Twilight has kept to the shadows in order to prevent minions of the Ancient Ones from finding ways to circumvent their plans. They also look at all the secret synergies one can find in a deck that partners Silver Twilight with Miskatonic University.
From Miskatonic University, the Silver Twilight can gain the card draw it so desperately needs to fuel its agenda. With multiple copies of the latest Scientific Text (Secrets of Arkham, 7) and the insights of Professor Rice (Dunwich Denizens, 63), Nathan Wick can easily find the resources he needs to assign Lodge members to the stories where they’re most needed. The partnership between the Order of the Silver Twilight and Miskatonic University would be A Conspiracy of Scholars (Conspiracies of Chaos, 44) that can move swiftly enough to find the means to drive back the Ancient Ones before they can root themselves.
Meanwhile, the professors of Miskatonic University have to be aware of Nathan Wick’s importance to their shared plans. Perhaps this is why they’ve invested so much time and so many resources to recovering the Disc of Itzamna (The Breathing Jungle, 57).
And once Nathan Wick, the Initiates of Huang Hun, Lord Jeffrey Farrington, and the Order’s High Wizards remove the obstacles posed by those who would stand against you, Professor Lake (The Mountains of Madness, 83) can help limit your opponent’s ability to recover.
The future is Written and Bound
Some believe in free will. Some believe the future is Written and Bound. Whatever the truth may be, the Order of the Silver Twilight, and its role in the world’s fate, are soon going to become significantly stronger.
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The Future is Written and Bound
