Make Craft Game

One of the biggest variables I’ve noticed about the mystic class is their desire for more. This is most noticeable by the fact that three different level zero cards give extra experience. Delve Too Deep is a classic that can affect the entire table. There are similar cards in other classes that accomplish something during the scenario to gain extra experience.

One thing that is not normal for other classes is to have cards that passively give you experience discounts or flat extra exp. I did have a deck where I had all possible passive experience boosts on. It was insane how much I could level up. “Down the Rabbit Hole” is great if you plan on mainly leveling up existing cards. “Arcane Research” is great for a spell-heavy deck. “The Great Work” is something I will never not take. It is just a flat experience gain. The only downside is you really can’t let your character die.

Drawing cards are important to any investigator class, but the mystic class has multiple ways to do so. Some more… interesting than others. The draw three cards and then pick something is a classic. But gambling for cards is a more fun mechanic. “Crystal Pendulum” is a staple in most of my mystic builds. Not only does it give a passive increase, but it is a card generator if you guess correctly.

And while many interactions target player decks, mystics will play with danger by targeting the encounter deck. This allows them to manipulate the encounter deck and tailor the challenges to fit the investigator who will draw it. This can help reduce the damage taken by the mythos phase since it can help your investigator avoid (or perhaps not avoid) a monster or make sure tests are favorable to the investigators.

Sometimes, the mystic class can just say no. No, the enemy isn’t going to do that. Or no, I don’t want to deal with any of this. This ranges from ignoring effects or tokens to canceling effects entirely. “Ward of Protection” is one of the best defensive cards against the Mythos deck because you can cancel some cards. This does have a cost, but often, the cost will be less than the penalty for failing the test.

Curses can be dangerous because they negatively impact investigators during the token draw. It modifies the test by negative two and has you draw another token. And drawing multiple curses on the same test can be a bit brutal. These will affect some investigators more than others. Especially those who pass by a low margin. The mythic class will either use curses as a currency to gain a stronger effect or try to turn the token into something more positive during a test.

In my opinion, doom is the most dangerous currency to work with. Because doom is what drives the game forward. Towards a bad ending. But the cards can give some good effects and have possibilities to remove the doom as well. Some of the allies that play with Doom don’t have removal capabilities, but they can die. And that’s another way to get rid of the doom.

I will state that Doom builds work best in campaigns that have very high or very low Doom thresholds. With high thresholds, there is time to play and remove and play and remove. This allows for good momentum and build-up. For low thresholds, if you know that Doom is going to change the agenda next mythos phase, why hold back? It’s going to clear anyway, so why not have fun?

The mystic class is very good at boosting skills and manipulating the token bag. Both can minimize the damage in skill tests (although the latter more than the former). The fun part about the skill boosts for tests is that there are quite a few options that take up different slots on a player’s tableau. Often, many boosts are competing for the same slot, while mystics will have multiple boosts spread across.

The ability to manipulate tokens is one of the best ways to mitigate the randomness of the tokens. Because it allows you to either work with a known number (instead of something random) or allows for some responses. The best example of this is “Olive McBride,” as she has you pull three tokens from the bag and choose which two to apply. This can end with a bigger number, but it puts more power into the player’s hands. Which could be helpful for card boost,s looking specifically for symbols.

The mystic class will often focus on using willpower to cast their spells. And they love action compression. A basic investigative action will get you one clue per action (if successful). Many mystic spells look at that and say, “I can do better”. They will pick up clues in sets of two (or three as the levels grow higher).

The fighting spells are close (but not exact) mirrors of the investigation spells. There are some pairs that are very similar in their negative effects. Some of the spells are unique to fighting as well. “Drain Essence” allows you to heal vicariously by transferring damage from your investigator to an enemy. But you must have that damage to transfer it.

Just like the investigate and fight actions, some spells focus on evade. In my opinion, there are very few reasons to run these. Some mystic class investigators can take advantage of exhausted enemies, but fighting is more preferred in general. The evade actions also have similar counterparts in the other core action spells.

The mystic class does have access to a few ways of healing. I feel like that is not true of all classes, so it’s worth pointing out. I do think that Mystics lean toward healing horror since they are often inflicting horror damage on themselves as a side effect of some of the spells. These spells are very much in the “nice to have” category.

There are also a handful of spells that do not fit neatly in any category. Movement is something that is also covered by spells, but those are more event spells than arcane slot ones. “Power Word” is an interesting spell as it takes semi-control of an enemy. They still act like an enemy, but you can compel them to do other things for you. “Summoned servitor” is adjacent to this as well, as there is a creature to control, but it is not an enemy. 

The last thing I want to talk about concerning spells is something I call arcane assistance. These are cards that help increase arcane slots. Mainly so a player can play more spells. Sometimes, playing a lot of spells can help an investigator but there is not always a need. Most spells are charge-based, which leads them to be replaced once the spells are used up.  I think the need for arcane assistance is character-driven.

Short answer? You’re not. The mystic class has some of the most expensive assets and the worst economy to fund itself. Some cards run better in certain builds (i.e., “David Renfield” for a doom build and “Voice of Ra” for a token manipulation build), as well as some universal cards. But money will be a struggle. That is just a sad truth for mystics. Magic is expensive.