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Denizens of the Underworld

Announcing the Sixth Deluxe Expansion for Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game

“It ain’t what you did that bothered O’Bannion,” the man said. “It’s where you did it. Arkham’s docks is Syndicate turf.” The man paused to strike a match, and its glow illuminated the scars running down his face as he lit a cigar and took two slow, thoughtful puffs. “You gotta protect your turf,” he said. Then, he drew his pistol and took aim…

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce the upcoming release of Denizens of the Underworld, the sixth deluxe expansion for Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game!

It’s time to send Arkham’s coppers and cultists to sleep with the fishes! In Denizens of the Underworld, the Syndicate’s rogues and racketeers run amok, controlled by the criminal kingpin himself, Danny O’Bannion. Business is good at The Clover Club, even though the house always wins, and the criminal underworld pursues a host of new tactics to make sure no one ever muscles in on its turf.

Denizens of the Underworld introduces 165 new cards to Call of Cthulhu (three copies each of fifty-five individual cards), roughly two-thirds of which provide the Criminals of the Syndicate with new names, tools, and tricks. You’ll be able to build stronger decks around characters with the Criminal subtype, use new tricks to cheat luck, ensure no contest is ever fairly fought, and explore new Tactics. Additionally, you’ll find a new Ancient One, a new cop to pursue all the new criminals, and new characters and Tactic events for all of the game’s other factions.

Criminal Intent

Maintaining a criminal organization as powerful as the Syndicate requires the diverse talents of a range of thugs, hit men, con artists, burglars, and arsonists, and Denizens of the Underworld allows you to recruit all these Criminals, and more, to your Syndicate decks.

The Criminal subtype has long been the Syndicate’s hallmark, and Denizens of the Underworld pushes this aspect of the faction’s identity even further with sixteen new Syndicate Criminals. From the organization’s hit men to the Clover Club Pit Boss (Denizens of the Underworld, 12), and from the divers sent to salvage goods from the bottom of the sea to the fall guy used to deflect unwanted attention, these new Criminals ensure that the Syndicate can always call upon the right mix of skills and abilities to protect its interests… even as those interests push further into realms dark and sorcerous.

Of course, one doesn’t have to become a full-fledged member of the Syndicate to get involved in organized crime. One can simply take a bribe, or take the occasional odd job without asking questions, and the cards of Denizens of the Underworld don’t limit their Criminal intent to the Syndicate alone. Other characters, like Robert Friendly (Denizens of the Underworld, 44), may lend their services to the Syndicate as the organization explores new partnerships in decks built around the Criminal subtype.

Loading the Dice

Every good criminal organization needs a respectable public front, and the Syndicate finds its home at The Clover Club (Denizens of the Underworld, 20), Arkham’s finest den of iniquity. The nightclub is always hopping, and you’ll always find booze, dice, and cards in good supply. Just remember that the dice are loaded, the dealer likely has an ace up his sleeve, and the bartender’s smile belies the countless instances of violence he’s witnessed.

In Denizens of the Underworld, you’ll find plenty of ways for the Syndicate to “cheat” some of the game’s basic premises. Would you like to draw from the bottom of your deck? Sure, no problem. How would you like to commit all your exhausted Syndicate characters to a story? You can do that. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to exhaust all your opponent’s characters in one fell swoop? Yep, you can do that, too. It’s a gamble, but you can load the dice in your favor.

The cards in Denizens of the Underworld are full of the Syndicate’s whole array of dirty tricks. From character exhaustion to skill manipulation and support card “acquisition,” you’ll find plenty of new ammunition for the Syndicate’s signature methods, and you’ll also find a few new tricks thrown in for good measure. Denizens of the Underworld provides the Syndicate with some very helpful character destruction and domain control, such as you’ll gain with the great, multi-purpose card, Reallocate (Denizens of the Underworld, 32).

New Tactics for the Turf War

Over the years, members of the Syndicate have taken a few knocks from the Ancient Ones and their followers. Now, as they prepare a new, strengthened, retaliatory bid to expand their domain, they have devised a whole new array of tactics, and Syndicate players will benefit greatly from the three new Syndicate Tactic events appearing in Denizens of the Underworld.

However, they’re not the only faction looking to change up its tactics and bring new surprises to the escalating turf war. Each faction finds a new Tactic event in Denizens of the Underworld, and a new neutral Tactic, Outmaneuvered (Denizens of the Underworld, 41) can help protect any character, no matter which dark power targets him with an event.

Crime Pays If You Do It Right

Given the number of accountants they have working to cook the books, we may never know exactly how much the Syndicate will benefit from the 165 new cards in Denizens of the Underground, but we can safely bet the expansion will give them a big boost as they look to defend their turf… After all, the box is heavily loaded in their favor.

Denizens of the Underground is scheduled to arrive at retailers in the fourth quarter of 2013. Until then, visit the expansion’s description page for more information and keep your eyes to our Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game website for more related news.

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Source: Denizens of the Underworld (http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_news.asp?eidn=4352)